How to Make Your People Proud of What They're a Part Of

Jesse Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and is the owner of the Savannah Bananas. Jesse really enjoys talking about leadership, culture, and what it takes to build something special. And what he’s built with the Savannah Bananas is just that. It’s very unique, and what he’s building is fascinating. His teams have welcomed more than 1 million fans to their ballparks, and have been featured on MSNBC, CNN, ESPN, and Entrepreneur Magazine. ESPN did a feature on what Jesse is creating in Savannah. The Bananas have been awarded with Organization of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Business of the Year, and won the CPL Championship in their first year. While they emphasize fun and entertainment at their baseball games, they also win. The Savannah Bananas currently have sold out every game since their first season, and have a waiting list in the thousands of tickets. In addition to that, Jesse discusses the wait list they have for players who want to come play for them, and for employees at a time when people are leaving companies in droves, Jesse points out that they are willing and able and wanting to come work for his organization. He released his first book, Find Your Yellow Tux: How to be Successful by Standing Out, in January of 2018 with a world book tour at Epcot. Jesse has been featured on over 500 podcasts and is an in-demand keynote speaker all over the country, sharing his fans-first experience on how to stand out, be different, and create raving fans, both customers and employees.

Jesse had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“Swing hard in case you hit it” (8:45).

“Every day I see things from my kids that blows me away” (10:15).

“I make sure I do things all day that give me energy” (11:50).

“No matter what, we are hungry for entertainment. We’re hungry for fun.” (14:30).

“The best creators are often just creating something for themselves” (15:00).

“I am hungry to use this platform too entertain millions with something they’ve never seen before” (15:30).

“Success is happiness and freedom and fulfillment. The ability to do what you want, when you want, to give you purpose (16:20).

“I’m mostly just doing something I love, and it gives me energy” (16:30)

“Every decision we make, we ask ourselves is it fans first?” (18:05).

“How do we create things people have never seen before on a baseball field” (18:30).

“We’re not focused on winning, we’re focused on having fun. And what happens when you focus on having fun? The wins take care of themselves” (21:20).

“I’ve really pushed the envelope on hiring my weaknesses and growing that way” (28:15).

“Our hiring process is over 3 months long” (30:00).

“Our mission is fans first, entertain always” (31:00).

“We call every person that buys merchandise from us and thank them. We call every person that buys a ticket from us and thank them” (34:10).

“Every single morning I do 10 ideas” (37:00).

“My biggest fear is irrelevance” (37:15).

“My idea book is always on me” (38:30).

“We don’t believe people want to be managed. They want to be led” (45:00).

“Everyone plays a role in our show” (46:15).

“We’ve done lots of things that didn’t work, but it’s led us to all the things that do work” (51:00).

“I’m not focused on the next quarter, I’m focused on the next quarter century” (51:15).

“You do what gives you energy, and my energy list is sharing, creating, and growing” (53:40).

“If you want to be lifted up, lift others up” (55:00).

Additionally, make sure to search “Yellow Tux” anywhere to learn more about Jesse and the Bananas!

Thank you so much to Jesse for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.