I recently went one on one with Buck Martinez, founder of the non-profit Student ACES and author of the new book Inspiring Champions.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Buck: My family fled a communist Cuba in the early 1960s when I was just a small child to come to the United States with only $5 to our name. My parents worked extremely hard and instilled in us the importance of faith, work ethic, and surrounded us with family – family was, and still is everything to me. It was from my parents that I learned the impact of servant leadership. At every opportunity, they helped others flee Cuba to come to a country that they were proud to be a part of because it provided the family with more opportunities and a brighter future, and most importantly, freedom.

Growing up I loved sports; I learned so many lifelong lessons and met some of my best friends on the fields. If I wasn’t home for dinner, my mom always knew where to find me…I was ALWAYS on the baseball field or shooting baskets in the neighborhood. While it often played to my advantage, I believe one of the biggest mistakes that I made was pushing myself too hard on the field when I was younger which led to many injuries. As a young child and throughout my high school years, I suffered through a number of injuries. While there are some who may feel defeated, I looked at it as a challenge. Instead of hanging it up, I looked at it as an opportunity to learn to become ambidextrous. Only a few months later, I taught myself to throw from both sides. Instead of feeling defeated by the obstacle, I was motivated by it, and I feel like I have lived my life that way every step of the journey. 

Being a team player shaped who I am today, and taught me many life lessons, however, I think I often pushed my body to the limit. The lesson that I took from it – it’s ok to give yourself a break and to be careful with overuse. After all, we are only our best and able to contribute the most to others, if we are at peace and functioning at our optimum.

Adam: What are the best leadership lessons you have learned from leading a non-profit organization? 

Buck: In addition to my three beautiful daughters, I have also been fortunate to be a father figure in the lives of many young men and women, two of which lived with us for some time. Here again, I saw them yearning for father figures. They too are my family; I can confidently say they have had as much of a positive impact on the lives of the Martinez family as we may have had on their lives. I learned so much about leadership from them. I am forever grateful that they came into our lives and extremely proud of all they have accomplished – all of my children. 

“Don’t tell the students you’re going to do something or show up if you’re not going to follow through with it.” We say it often to many of our partners, mentors, and alumni who students in the Student ACES program respect.

Adam: What are your best tips for fellow leaders of non-profit organizations?

Buck: Never compromise your core values. Find your passion and never stray from your purpose or your commitment to approaching every activity with the highest integrity. Understand that you must have the conviction to battle through your obstacles. Remember, it may not always be easy, but it will be worth it.

I wish I understood the importance of passion and the role it would play in finding my purpose at an earlier stage in my life, but I’m just happy that I found it as some never do.

“A leader is a person of influence entrusted by the coaches and the players to positively affect and influence the character of the team.” - Buck Martinez

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Buck: I am a firm believer in the importance of honor, character and integrity and I believe all three to be defining qualities of effective leaders. I will also never stop fighting for what I believe in or for achieving my dreams, perseverance is big for me, and I believe for fellow leaders as well. 

Overcoming obstacles and persevering builds character. It’s what makes us who we are. 

The core values of Student ACES are also the core values I believe to be important to leaders:

• Command respect

• Earn the trust of others

• Winning attitude

• Sacrifice for others and your team

• Have a work ethic second to none

• Show humility and integrity

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Buck: 

1. As an individual who is passionate about helping people and teams to reach their fullest potential, I am a firm believer in development plans. We can all benefit from development plans, as well as all areas that we can focus on to help us reach our fullest potential, and finding our purpose as individuals and as a team. Succession planning is also extremely important in the world of business – always have a plan. One of the key developmental areas I work with people on is to help them identify their blind spots and work on addressing them. Commit to continuous improvement and never stop learning.

2. Be committed to your purpose and always act with passion and conviction. What I like to refer to as your secret sauce. Know what differentiates you from the rest. There are more than eight billion people in the world, know what sets you apart. Understand your superpowers and work diligently to use them to pursue your passion. Identify and determine your purpose, fuel it with your passion and have the conviction to relentlessly battle through adversity. Remember that life tends to be ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond.

3. Learn to say no. No one is good at everything. Stay focused on your mission and don’t pivot unless it’s 100% your decision. When we compromise and take on projects that we’re not in agreement with, nor passionate about, or frankly just not good at, we’re not putting our best foot forward and our work product and our reputation is impacted. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams? 

Buck: Be extremely clear about your organization’s values as well as your non-negotiables. The clearer the communication from the beginning about what matters most, the more likely it is that new hires will be aligned along the way. Hiring people that share your passion and are aligned in their core values is paramount.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? 

Buck: I think my greatest piece of advice was to give maximum effort to whatever you do. Whether it is your most passionate activity or doing something you are not thrilled about, honor the task by giving it all you have. There might be times when we are not feeling our best, but it is rewarding to know we still put in maximum effort.

Adam: What should everyone do to pay it forward?

Buck: Find something you're passionate about. When you're passionate about something, giving back doesn’t feel like work it’s your purpose. It’s also much easier to remain committed. 

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Buck: We live in a time when our youth are searching for ways to contribute and make a difference. Each of us has a responsibility to leave this world better than we inherited it and this means that we should be investing in our youth the significance of being men and women of honor, character, and integrity.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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