In Conversation with Newsmaker

“Dov Baron is a special entrepreneur, he does amazing podcasts, but he’s also a speaker and a consultant. For 34 years he’s been helping entrepreneurs, not only taking to business to the next level but if you like to 10x your business, then Dov is the guy.” – Kevin Harrington. This is one of the many compliments that Dov receives regularly. Dov Baron is a headline speaker for global conferences on leadership, influence, business and embracing purpose driven authentic leadership. He has been speaking internationally for over 30 years. He’s the man with a finger on the pulse of the evolving world of NextGen leadership.

In June 1990, while free rock climbing, Dov Baron fell approximately 120 feet and landed on his face.
The impact shattered most of the bone structure of his face, disintegrating some of his upper jaw
and fracturing his lower jaw in four places. After nine reconstructive surgeries, no external evidence
remained of the damage; however, this experience was life-changing. Before the fall, Dov had spent years building a reputation as a dynamic speaker and teacher in the field of personal and professional development, but it wasn’t until years after the fall that he began to see the beauty and elegance of what had really happened – the return to his own CORE –what the calls his ‘Authentic Self’.

Today, Dov has been sharing his wisdom and expertise privately and on international stages with professional leaders for more than 30 years. Dov’s influence has created a massive social media platform with over 200,000 followers via Face book, Twitter, LinkedIn, Podomatic, iTunes etc. Dov’s commitment is to take you by the hand and show you why tapping into your Authentic Self is the MOST important key to finding, developing, and retaining your top talent. One of Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers to hire, Dov Baron is a master storyteller and considered by many as one the leading authorities on Authentic, Purpose Driven Leadership. Outside of speaking and training, Dov works with diverse leaders and executive teams to build the bonds that create organizational cultures that become Fiercely Loyal. Dov is a bestselling author of several books. His latest book is Fiercely Loyal; How High Performing Companies Develop and Retain Top Talent. (In-Phase Publishing, 2015 ©)

In an exclusive interview with Beyond Exclamation, Dov shares his journey.

Q: What was your goal while growing up? Did you always want to be where you are right now?

Dov: My goal growing up was to understand. I wanted to know why things were the way they were and why people did what they did (particularly when it didn’t make sense to me) However, at ten years old I was profoundly impacted by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I believe that day was the catalyst for the work I’m honored to do.

Q: What are some of the most important achievements, highlights, biggest challenges or roadblocks of your journey as a leader? If possible, kindly help us with statistical insights as an overview of your individual achievements. 

Dov: Some of my most significant achievements are that I have spoken for a United Nations/State Department event, at the world Business Conference in Iran as well as at major events and private corporate trainings in many different countries around the world. I’ve written 12 books. I have the #1 podcast in the world for Fortune 500 listeners (Inc.com cited our show as the #1 to make you a better leader). We have an 11-part national TV series “Pursuing Deep Greatness” on ROKU TV and I write for many outlets including Entrepreneur.com and Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global. I have run businesses on three continents. But none of these compare to being married to my queen for more than twenty years. We are more in love today than on our wedding day.

That being said, I have faced many hurdles not least of all was falling 120 feet to what should have been certain death while free-climbing in British Columbia, Canada in June 1990. At the time of the fall, I was experiencing greater success than I’d ever known and after I fell everything was destroyed–not just my body, but also my emotions, beliefs, status and finances. I was forced to examine what truly maters when everything else was stripped away. Having experienced more than ten reconstructive surgeries, extreme anxiety and deep suicidal depression, I was forced to examine my deeper truth and find my purpose.

Q: Have you achieved all that you had desired? Tell us about the moment when you realized that your hard work has finally paid-off. What keeps you driven and determined towards work? 

Dov: Of course, I have not achieved all that I desire. I doubt that I ever will. My desire is to leave a massive legacy that will far out live me. This is not a legacy of wealth (although that is not excluded) but rather a legacy of massive positive impact.

One moment where I knew that my hard work had paid off was at the end of a three-day training when people generously lined up to say thank you. I had never been very good at receiving compliments or gratitude and so in order to train myself to let it in, when someone would say “thank you” I would ask them to tell me specifically what they were grateful for. At the end of this particular training, a lady looked to be in her early forties said, “I just wanted to come over and say thank you and also let you know how powerful and life changing this was” I smiled and said a most sincere “Thank you.” However, I also remember asking, “May I ask you specifically what it is that you are staying thank you for?”

She paused for a moment and then said, “I would like to thank you on behalf of my grandchildren.”

I’m certain that I looked confused. She pointed to a young couple who looked like they might be in their early twenties. “That’s my daughter and new son-in-law. They are pregnant. Because of what we learned from you at this training, our relationship has completely transformed. I know that because of that my relationship with my grandchild and future grandchildren will be also be transformed.”

There are not too many times where I am lost for words, but this was certainly one of them. Tears rolled on to my cheek and in that moment, I knew I was on purpose.

It is being on purpose and facilitating how others can have not only more success but far greater fulfilment through living their purpose that keeps me going through whatever struggles I’ve faced since.

Q: What seeded the vision of Authentic Paragon Alliance Inc.? Brief us about the services that Authentic Paragon Alliance Inc. provides and tell us why customers choose you? 

Dov: The seeds of the speaking and training arms of our business were born of the desire to transform leadership away from “command and control” and towards service. We see business as far more than entity of commerce. We believe business and more specifically leadership is a vehicle for our high-level clients to make a massive difference in the world. They do this firstly through their own corporate culture but also through those they impact with their produces and services.

We believe that we are drawn to become leaders not only to upgrade the quality of the lives of those we love and care about, but also because there’s an opportunity to evolve the heart, soul and mind of not only the leader but also those they lead. The clients we work with are by mutual agreement. We interview them every bit as much (maybe more) than they are interview us. These are companies, brands and leaders who want to dominate their industry through massive positive contribution.

Over the last 35 years we have stayed ahead of the curve by designing specific trainings and entities to best facilitate the growth of our clients. Now they are now all under one banner (Dov Baron International) and can be found at FullMontyLeadership.com including our podcast, TV show and the Authentic Speakers academy for leadership. To achieve our purpose, we facilitated executive corporate intensives to elicit the personal purpose of the stake holders and C-Suite individuals. From there we partner with our clients to design the manifesto upon which their culture will be built. We drill down into the none-negotiable maxims of the organization and develop practical strategies for the integration of the corporate purpose, and create a culture based on that purpose upheld through these maxims. We also privately coach and mentor those in leadership positions within the organization.

Q: Amidst all your responsibilities and roles at Authentic Paragon Alliance Inc., how do you manage to balance between professional and personal life? 

Dov: The work life balance that every Baby-boomer and Gen X-er has been pursuing is a lie! Millennials understand that it’s not work-life balance; it’s work-life blend. The reason Millennials want “meaningful” work is because they understand that they have no desire to be one person at work and another out of work. I live by this. My work and my life are not separate. My wife has been my business partner for the last fourteen years. She runs the administrative side of our business and co-facilitates our training. We work together and we play together. If I have a thing outside of my health and gym time, it would have to be my delicious time gardening.

Q: What are your individual plans going ahead? What does the future hold for Dov and Authentic Paragon Alliance Inc.?

Dov: We are building a global movement of Purpose Driven, Soulful connected leaders driven to create a massive positive legacy. We will do this through continued expansion, more books, trainings, videos, on-line trainings the podcast, TV shows and so much more.

Contact Details:

Dov Baron International
Address: 938 Howe Street Unit 404
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1N9 Canada
Email Address: dov@fullmontyleadership.com
Phone No: (778) 379-7517
Website: www.fullmontyleadership.com