Yes, I know. It’s Monday. I’m a day late with this week’s newsletter, but it’s worth the wait… I promise.
I spent the weekend in San Luis Obispo (SLO), California. For those of you who don’t know me personally, I attended Cal Poly SLO from 2010-2014 after transferring from Rice University my freshman year. After getting my degree, I left SLO and began my professional hoops career.
I’ve been very fortunate to travel the world and live in various places, but there’s something about SLO that will always feel like home. We’ll discuss why after this week’s Wins and Wobble!
Weekly Wins
If you’ve never been to the central coast of California, I really hope you can change that one day. Between Santa Barbara and Paso Robles lies one of the best regions for weather, scenery, and my personal favorite… wine. Any chance I can get up to SLO, I take it. This time, I was able to drive myself for the first time since summer of last year. Feels good to be back in the driver’s seat.
I go to NYC this week. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it is that I absolutely LOVE the city. Everything from the pace of the walking to the sounds of the subway in a bustling metropolis give me the energy I crave a lot of days here in LA. Our event “sold out” at 40 RSVPs, we had to add another 10 slots and now they’re almost gone, too. WILD.
Weekly Wobble
Some people I had really good relationships with in college are no longer with us. These were donors, staff, etc. that were instrumental in not only our basketball team’s success, but my personal growth and development between the ages of 18-22. It was weird not seeing them, but I know they’re on to greener celestial pastures. Still, they passed on information that I use today.
This week’s focus is: Opportunity.
As a college athlete, I only knew one aspect of campus, sports. For college to be a blend of so many people, traditions, and backgrounds, athletic departments are often a silo. Each team is also in their own bubble so they can focus on competing for championships. You never really see the academia side of things, you just know someone out there is paying for your scholarship.
Dunking faces aren’t pretty.
This weekend, I got a chance to see life on the “other side” thanks to my good friend, former Cal Poly ASI president, and new business owner Sarah Storelli. Sarah was not only a great leader for our student body, but she was one of our team’s biggest supporters. She even flew out to St. Louis when we played Wichita State in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Her dedication to CP was (and still is) unmatched!
A few weeks ago, she messaged me and asked if I was free 10/24-10/26 for an invite-only Cal Poly Honored Alumni Weekend to celebrate this year’s honorees and Sarah’s new appointment as one of three Chairs for the Cal Poly University President’s Council of Advisors.
As I mentioned before, I’m always looking for a reason to go back “SLOme”, so it was an obvious yes. However, this time would be different. I wouldn’t just be attending a game or walking around campus with some of my basketball lineage descendants, I’d be attending formal events with the real power players who make things shake.
Again, I knew these people existed because Cal Poly being named the “Best in the West” for 33 straight years isn’t an accident. Yet, I had never actually met them to put faces with names. It was officially that time and Sarah was throwing me a hell of an alley-oop lob here to introduce this more mature, CEO version of myself to people who mostly knew me as the captain of the basketball team back in the day.
On a deeper level, Sarah cares deeply about the inequities that people of color face on a local, regional, and national level. She’s advocated for that throughout her time at IBM and AWS. She’s been able to navigate those spaces while also trying to provide a platform for people to be heard, seen, and supported. Her invitation to these events was just that, providing a chance at equity for someone she knew would command the room and dunk the pass.
SLOmies!
Fast forward to Sunday, I now had 15 new LinkedIn connections, 8 new phone numbers, a few new newsletter subscribers and several new ideas I’ll be able to see come to life on campus in 2026. All because someone who had the access chose to share the spotlight and create a form of equity that the world needs more of.
I’ve long told my clients there is a very simple, fair business funnel. Sure there are sales and marketing funnels, but we start with the “Fundamental Funnel.”
Diversity of People = Diversity of Thought = Diversity of Revenue
It could all be so simple.
If everyone in the room looks the same and came from the same background, how do you expect to grow? I’ll tell you firsthand, you can’t… regardless of what the current administration says about DEI initiatives.
I realize I’m in a position to do a lot of great work though my workshops and curriculum, but if no one knows about it, what does it matter? We need more people like Sarah who have managed to get to a level of status and prestige, and then turn around to offer a hand to those still climbing.
Hey, maybe you’re the “Sarah” in your life. Through your connections, you could be helping the next big idea be born or, less grandiose, just introducing people from various backgrounds to let them establish their own Fundamental Funnel.
With that being said, I’ll leave you with one question for the week:
What good are all your accolades and recognition if you’re not able to share that learned experience with the next generation of leaders who may not look like you?
Sarah and Jordan (my college teammate) supporting CP football.
Have a great week and I’ll talk to you next weekend!