Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Do you want to know what real leadership looks like in action? Do you want to know what inspiration looks like in action? Well, if you do, this is the episode for you. I'm interviewing the one and only Mayor Andre Dickens, the mayor of the city of Atlanta, I consider the best city in the United States.
We're going to talk about how he knew at 16 he wanted to become the mayor of the city of Atlanta. Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up. This episode is going to change your life. This is my good friend, Mayor Andre. Mayor Andre Dickens, how are you doing today, sir?
Hey, I'm doing well. Thank you for that.
Chapter 2: What inspired Mayor Andre Dickens to pursue a political career?
I'm excited to be on with you today.
I am the honored one, man. Been a huge fan of you for a very long time. You know, I travel all the time. Delta is my airline. And every time I'm in Atlanta on the shuttles, I hear your voice and it's always soothing. You know how travel can be sometimes. So your voice is a calming voice on those shuttles.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So Mayor Dickens, one of the things that I love to ask folks is what's your because? That thing that's deeper than your why, right? Like everybody starts with why, and that's really awesome. But I think your because is your true passion, your true purpose. So if I were to say, Mayor Dickens, what's your because? Why do you do the things that you do?
Because I've been led to do it since I was 16 years old here in Atlanta. Born and raised right here in Atlanta. I've wanted to be mayor since I was 16 years old, watching Ambassador Andrew Young when he was the mayor of Atlanta. And I was just inspired. And I've always wanted to like help people become the best version of themselves. It's because I was helped by so many people.
This city helped raise me and helped make me from the Atlanta public school system to parks and recreation to just good people at church and around the community. I was made this person that you see here today is because of other people that have helped me get to this point in life. And so my because is it's time for me to give back and lift as I climb.
Wow. So Mayor Dickens at 16. You just said you knew you wanted to be the mayor. That is so ambitious, but also so fulfilling and rewarding. So what at 16 really drove you? Like I know Mayor or Mr. Andrew Young was that driving force. How did you really know that it was possible at 16?
Yeah, I really can't explain where that might have come from. I don't come from a family of people that are in politics. Of course, my mom voted, but not necessarily. She wasn't some campaign leader or political figure. She read the newspaper, talked about what she read, and she would fuss at local or national figures like everybody else. She didn't go to college.
I became the first in my family to go to college when I went to Georgia Tech. But at 16, I just felt on my heart that Atlanta was the best place in the country. We were this growing city. And Ambassador Young was really talking about our civil rights roots and how we are this. We're going to one day be this big international player, this powerhouse.
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Chapter 3: How is Mayor Dickens empowering the youth in Atlanta?
It happened four years ago. And it's been the ride of my life.
Man, and you're doing an amazing job. I just want you to know that, too. I live in Greenville, South Carolina, but I have family in Atlanta. So I'm down there at least twice a month visiting. And the change that you've made, the vibrance of the city is a true reflection of the impact that you have. So I want to make sure I'm giving you your kudos for all that you do for the city.
Thank you. Two summers I had an internship in Greenville and Taylor's and Greer's, South Carolina, that area. That was when Michael Jordan tried his hand at baseball. I was there that summer. I was in Greenville that summer and in the winter at Tom Pierce.
So I know a little bit about your neck of the woods. There you go. There you go. So you talked about Georgia Tech. I'm going to leave that alone. You know, I'm a bulldog at heart, so I'll leave that alone. But you've gone from engineer, an entrepreneur to mayor, right? What through line connects all those roles? And more importantly, how have they shaped your approach to leadership?
Yeah, there are a few through lines through that. One is the incredible ability to solve problems. If you're an engineer, that's what you go to school for. They give you a ton of problems to solve. You learn all of the formulas, all of the strategies, all of the techniques. You learn how to grab a little bit of information and solve complex matters.
Well, as an entrepreneur, you got to figure it out. It's every day. Every two weeks is payroll. Every month is electricity and rent. And then it's always competitive factors, how to do better, how to make your dollar stretch farther, how to open up another location. I was an entrepreneur. I owned a series of furniture stores that I started from scratch.
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Chapter 4: What strategies does Mayor Dickens use to build trust in his administration?
And it became a multimillion dollar business. I had 30 employees in different locations. So being a problem solver helps there. And then being mayor, I mean, what mayor doesn't see his or her share of problems every day? We have millions of people that give me input saying we want better this. We need more of that. And I even see things that I want to solve.
And so problem solving is a great skill set to have as an entrepreneur, as a mayor, and definitely, of course, as an engineer. The other through line that I would say is the ability to work well with others, because when you're solving problems, you may not be the only person that has all the answers. So I've labeled Atlanta as a group project.
I say Atlanta is a group project and everybody galvanizes to that because the mayor can't put an S on his or her chest and go around here and be in 50 places at one time solving all the problems by Friday. No, it takes all of us. It brings people together. And so entrepreneurship is about how to leverage the capacity of others.
And then, of course, as an engineer, you're working in a group environment to be able to help deliver something for the company or for the organization. And so I'm a force multiplier. I'm somebody that can take, you know, one person here, one person there, one idea here, one idea there. bring them all together so that we get the greater good out of that.
And so it's been so helpful to be an engineer, to be in this office, to be someone who knows how to bring people together to get things done. That's why we're doing so much so fast. I think it's part of my nature and part of my experience.
I love that, man. I love that so much. And I try to tell leaders, especially entrepreneurs, The importance of being involved with your city government, right? You solve a lot of problems. You also hear a lot of complaints. And I personally feel people wouldn't complain as much if they actually were involved with the city or their local government, right?
Like if they were going to some of these meetings, to some of the town halls. Yep. Mayor Dickens can't press a button and make everything happen. Right. But he can listen and then he can share maybe the truth of things that are going on. And I'm using you as an example. But I've always believed no matter where I live, the first thing I do is get connected with my city government.
I love for you to tell the listeners and viewers how important that is from your viewpoint when business leaders and entrepreneurs get to to be involved with the city.
It is so important. It is vital. Businesses benefit from a thriving city, so they should contribute to a thriving city. They should contribute to a city that's struggling to help it thrive. They should contribute to a thriving city so that it thrives more. These things really are group projects.
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