I recently went one on one with Thomas Serrano, founder and CEO of Exclamation Group.

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? 

Thomas: I am here today, speaking with you about entrepreneurship and leadership, thanks to my dad. My dad graduated as a Spanish teacher, then started a business and became an entrepreneur. I saw this all while I was growing up, you know, there was a lot of discussion at the table, because my mom was running the business on the back end, and my dad was running the business on the front end. The business he started was a cleaning company. He taught himself everything that he needed to know about running a business and cleaning big condominiums in the French Riviera where I grew up. You have a lot of rich people living there, and they pay lots of money for their buildings to be clean. 

My dad had to manage a team of staff. His management style was focused on responsibility. You know, usually when you have a cleaning business, you take a crew of five or six people, you put someone in charge, that one person basically makes sure everybody's cleaning and active. For my dad, it was the opposite. He would send people out on their own. And they were responsible for their own schedule, work, and quality of work. 

That was my first teaching for my dad, when I was maybe 12 or 13 years old, listening to him share these experiences. He was successful and got a lot of attention in my town, even from the mayor because he was creating a lot of jobs for people who might not have had access to this kind of opportunity. That was my first lesson, give people responsibility. 

I also got a taste for entrepreneurship. So when I went to my studies at the best business school in France, my major was entrepreneurship. And after school, you do an internship, and my internship was setting up a sports event, in the city of Nice in the French Riviera. For this, I was really by myself as a student. I organized the French championship of Jetski, a major race which took place in the city of Nice. I was only 22 years old, and it was a big success. The biggest of the year for that Federation. This early success made me realize that I liked working on live performance events and that I liked putting together the sponsors, the audience, and bringing all the elements together. 

That's the only thing I know how to do and that's the only thing I am really passionate about. My work makes me want to come back to my desk every day (because there is no day off in events) and I’m happy to do it. In event management, there is no nine to five.

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?

Thomas: The good news is that there are no barriers to start. All you need is a laptop and a phone to start a business. There is no large investment, you don't need to build a factory, you don't need to have any engineering degree or anything, you can just start with a few items and a good idea. 

I think the key is asking yourself, what is your unique selling proposition? When you want to do something and grow your business, make sure you take the time to think it through. What's very unique about you and your business that makes you special? What about you, in particular, is special and will motivate people to work with you? For me, for example, I have these luxury brands, mostly European ones, like Mont Blanc, or high-end jewelry and high-end watches, and my experience as a French man, who grew up in Europe, has helped me translate these brands’ heritage to the American luxury consumer because I can really understand their DNA. The growth will come from thinking through your strategy, making sure you have the unique assets, or assets in addition to knowing the luxury market and the luxury brand. 

My second piece of advice is: just act fast. I think speed is very key. In terms of speed of your work but also in how you present yourself. In events, as in life, you cannot be even five minutes late. As entrepreneurs, we have that in our DNA to work really fast to be super agile. Of course, in the US, you know very well that we thrive in terms of speed, creativity, and innovation.

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Thomas: Think slow and act fast. This is for everything that you do as a leader and I think it's really important. Along with that, going back to the lessons I learned from my father, making sure that people are fully responsible and don't need you to micromanage. From my experience, an effective leader will give employees freedom, trust them and they will pay you back. So, don't over-manage your people. Don't overcontrol them. Empower them with the ability to do their job. You hire them, you evaluate, and you know, they are worth staying in your team. I think that will be a big piece of advice as a leader. 

Leading by example is also important. Something that I do that I find effective is once a year we gather as a team in a special place and we share objectives and past results. We discuss and get excited about the new vision, whatever the size of your team is, could be 3 or 3000. Those moments where people are gathering physically and connecting in a nice space for a couple of days, or a couple of hours is very energizing, especially post-COVID. So as a leader, make sure to spend time with your team and engage with them. Having people participate in these gatherings makes them feel like a team and makes you feel like a leader. 

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Thomas: Generally, to be a better leader, do not hesitate to ask questions. It could be asking clients, it could be asking vendors or people you just met, or people you know well, but don't hesitate to ask for pieces of advice. I think that will save you a lot of time, energy and money. Growth, I think, can come from learning from others.

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

Thomas: Again, I would say, think slow and act fast. Also, have faith in what you do and work hard. Meaning, believe in yourself, be confident, follow your instincts, and have discipline. 

To be the best you can be requires a lot of time and energy and it isn’t easy. But you don't want to have any regrets. So work hard and then be confident in yourself.

It isn’t just about coming up with a good idea, the execution is key. And the execution comes, unfortunately, with a lot of work. Do not underestimate how hard you need to work. An entrepreneur can have a great idea that is going to be successful and awesome but you have to be able to execute your plan. It’s not just about the idea, it’s about execution. So that will be that will be my biggest advice.

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

Thomas: Listen more. Listening has two big assets. One is that you're gonna learn and you will be able to adapt and become a better manager. And when you truly listen to your team, you get a bigger return on investment. If your team really feels like you're listening to them and you're taking into account their opinion, then they will follow you to the moon. So, that's some very simple piece of advice as a good manager. 

There are many different ways to listen and make your employees feel heard. Some people will be much better at giving and getting their feedback in writing, some people will be much better discussing feedback with you over coffee. So I think “active listening,” as we used to say in social media many years ago, is really important for managers. 

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

Thomas: Again, I think it's, it's really about what you do before you can even market something. It’s important to make sure that your products always have a very unique selling proposition. I can market my product and be confident that it's way better than the competition after that is going to be so much difficult to sell and to market that I don't want to waste all that energy and all that money. 

I'm reading a few books about, you know, negotiation. And I think that's an important skill, whoever you are selling or buying. But I think negotiating is always part of life in everything you do. And having some specific skills and knowledge about negotiating in something that will be a great asset for your life. Learn as early as possible and it will give you an edge in many different ways. Because we sometimes, you know, just assume that we're good negotiators. It's not true. I know quickly.

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

Thomas: I never had a mentor, unfortunately. Ah, I wish I had one. I never found one.

Here is some good advice I’ve received. Be yourself. Follow your instincts. These are two different pieces of advice. Be yourself meaning whatever your qualities are, whatever you think you're good at. Build on that. Responsibility, taking everything on, and being yourself is going to bring you happiness and you're going to accomplish much more. 

Follow your instincts. For leaders, this is a real asset that people don't rely on enough. You know, when your gut feelings tell you, “I don't like that person I should not hire them,” or, “I love that product that should I don't know I should work for that company,” whatever it is. And usually, it's something that is not rational. So because it's not rational usually it's not a business decision because we associate business decisions with a rational. I make a lot of business decisions based on emotions. I believe if you know your instincts and if you know how to follow your instinct it is successful. In my job I need to make emotional connections between the products and the clients to make them dream about acquiring a new watch or a new high end jewelry or high jewelry product. So, I really believe in you knowing that emotional asset connection or emotion. These feelings are so powerful and I think in business we always put them aside because you're not supposed to be emotional in business. You're supposed to be cold and make only rational decisions. Following your instincts brings up emotions that people don't want to listen to because they feel it's just not serious business.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is 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. 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. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, 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. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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