← Mick Unplugged
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- [00:00]
Mick
Ladies and gentlemen, if you ever wanted to know how to spot raw talent before the world even sees it, how to turn talent into a global brand, and how to lead when pressure is at its peak, then this episode is for you. I'm sitting down with Mr. Matthew Knowles, and we talk about the strategy behind Destiny's Child, the mindset that keeps leaders relevant, and the life lessons from surviving cancer. This is a rare, unfiltered look into the mind of a true visionary. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Mr. Matthew Knowles. Mr. Knowles, how are you doing today, sir?
- [00:33]
Matthew Knowles
I'm doing great, Mick. Thank you for the introduction. That was very warm and. Very warm and awful of you. So thank you for that.
- [00:43]
Mick
You know, I was telling you offline there. There's several men that have shaped my life with you being one of them. Between Les Brown, Daymond, John, Robert Irvine, and Matthew Knowles, I always tell myself, if I can take pieces of those men, I can be the best that I can be. And you've been the blueprint, not just for me, but for several people for so long. So on behalf of people that you don't know, Mr. Knowles, I'm saying thank you.
- [01:09]
Matthew Knowles
Well, you know, as you get older, you. You don't realize, and then you start to realize how many people and lies that you've touched along the way. And. And I'm at this pathway of my life. It's really just a good feeling to know that you made a mark in some kind of way. So, again, thank you.
- [01:33]
Mick
You totally have. And, Mr. Knowles, on the show, I like to ask, what's your because? Right, that thing that's deeper than your why, that true passion that you have, that thing that makes you continue to do the amazing things that you, Mr. Knowles, do. So if I were to say, what's your because? What's your purpose? Why do you keep doing and giving the way that you do?
- [01:54]
Matthew Knowles
Well, I think you said it, Nick. You. You actually said the because from. For me, it is the passion that. That is the thing that wakes me up in the morning and excites me. And I go to bed at night thinking about it. Every time I do a speaking engagement, you know, it looks easy. You go on the stage 30, 40 minutes, but I might spend two, three days of research, and I do it because I love it that much, and I want to make sure I give my very best. So for me, the because is the passion. That's why I do it. And. And I'm grateful that at this point in my life that. That I can make that decision that Maybe some can't that are younger if I want to do something or not. And that's the defining for me is am I passionate about doing it.
- [02:52]
Mick
When did you realize that you had that thing?
- [02:56]
Matthew Knowles
Right.
- [02:56]
Mick
So I'm going to go back to Fisk University. One of my really good friends, Kenny Anderson, was the head basketball coach there for several years. And so I go on campus and I see Matthew Knowles, and I had no idea that you were a Fisk graduate. Right. So when you were at Fisk, the things that you've accomplished in your life, the amazing things and the wisdom that you pour into people, did you know it then?
- [03:22]
Matthew Knowles
Well, it's interesting that you bring up Fisk, because I was literally on Wednesday, I had breakfast in Houston, I had lunch in Nashville, and I had dinner in Laguna Niguel, California, all in one day. And so I was actually in Nashville and and was going over the Vanderbilt and had some time and actually went to Fisk and actually went on the campus and actually went to the gym and. And I wanted to just. And I took a photo and I wanted to just relive in my mind, you know, we won two championships, SIAC championships, play basketball there. And I, I. And I got to meet the new basketball coach, new female basketball coach. So it was, it was a wonderful feeling just to go back. It's been 50, 50 years since I graduated from.
- [04:24]
Mick
Wow. Wow. You don't look a day over 25. Still, though, I'm gonna give it to you.
- [04:29]
Matthew Knowles
Well, thank you. Thank you.
- [04:31]
Mick
You know, Mr. Knowles, one of the things that I adore about you is your resiliency. And you've been very open about, you know, being a recoverer of male breast cancer. And you do so much around health awareness. Why is it important for men? And I'm going to talk to men first. With the egos that we have, why is it so important to put the egos aside and to get the regular checkups that we need?
- [05:03]
Matthew Knowles
I think. And that's an extremely good question, Mick. It baffles me often with men and women, especially those of color icon. Most people don't realize I did 20 years of diagnostic imaging in my corporate life. I saw zero radiography in 1980 through 1988, which was the leading modality at that time for breast cancer detection. And I every mountaintop I could yell early detection. Then I went to Phillips Medical System and became the first black to sell MRI CT scanners and America. And then I ended my career with Johnson and Johnson as a neurosurgical specialist. So that's my background. And I've always talked about early detection. And the thing that really baffles me when you look at the stages of cancer, stage, you know, 1, 2, 3, 4. Fortunately, I was diagnosed at stage 1A. But unfortunately, those who wait, those who don't just do a simple blood test for PSA for men or a simple mammogram that might give you 30 seconds of distress, that can determine if you're going to be in one of those stages or if you're at risk.
- [06:31]
Matthew Knowles (continuation or emphasis)
And I've seen both stages, stage one and four. If you can prevent from being in stage four and chemotherapy therapy and all the pain that goes with it and the challenges for your family and caretakers, why would you ever do that? For something that could take 30 minutes or two hours of your day with parking and to go take one of those tests, One in eight men in our lives, lifetimes will come down with prostate cancer. We'll be diagnosed with that. One in eight women in their lifetime, one in eight will be diagnosed with breast cancer. So I don't understand. And the more and more you give those platforms to us, like right now, so those listeners can see and hear, I don't think they maybe put that in their evaluation when they say we don't want to do it. But the second reason, I think it is cultural conditioning.
- [07:37]
Matthew Knowles
Since slavery, we've been taught cultural conditioning that until it hurts, that's when we take care of it. If it's not hurting, then it's okay. That's not how cancer works. It could not hurt for a while.
- [07:57]
Mick
Yeah.
- [07:58]
Matthew Knowles
And it can be, when it hurt, a really short lived outcome. So please, those of you listening, please, early detection is the key.
- [08:09]
Mick
And from your viewpoint, is it an annual checkup that we should be doing when we get to a certain age? Should we be doing it twice a year? Like, from your viewpoint, how often should we be getting these checkups?
- [08:24]
Matthew Knowles
Well, from my own personal experience of having male breast cancer, for me, now that I've really thoroughly research and understand genetics, it really starts with getting a genetic test, understanding your family history. Like, for example, my grandfather died of prostate cancer. Four of my dad's five brothers died of prostate cancer, and his only living brother has prostate cancer. So I'm at risk. But getting a genetic test early, I'm saying Now, in your 20s and 30s, to see how at risk you are. And then if you see that you are at risk, then routinely, annually, getting those simple exams, they're so simple. They're so simple and easy to do.
- [09:20]
Mick
See, now you just have me. I'm going to go do something. I've never had a genetic test, right. I'm going to now because you're right. It's so important because you can test for things, but if you don't know the why behind the why, the because around your health and wellness, then you're still kind of shooting in the dark a little bit, right? Like, you're still kind of getting generic responses versus, hey, Mick, this is your genetic history. These are the things that we can do now from a prevention standpoint, like the light bulb just went off for me and I thank you for that. So for all the viewers and listeners, like, please understand, your genetic history is vitally important because Mr. Knowles just told us so.
- [10:03]
Matthew Knowles
And just so our viewers know our listeners, because we get a frightened for pain. I get it. It's a, it's a saliva swab. It doesn't hurt. It's a saliva swab. So, you know, we don't want to say it, but I think a lot of guys out there that think they're tough. We scared of needles. And, and, and nobody wants to say it. Someone say it out loud. I think a lot of brothers are scared of needles. And I want to say it.
- [10:33]
Mick
Yeah, yeah, no, the saliva test. I get it. So everybody, you can go do that. You don't have to prep for it. We can all do that. We can all do that. You know, Mr. Knowles, again, you've been a blueprint for me. You've been one of my core fours. I call it when I have your guys name on my wall. And I literally mean that. I'm gonna take a picture and send it to you, please. So you know, I'm not messing with you. You have a keen eye for talent. And I'm not even talking music. Like what you've done musically stands the test of time. But what you do for brands, what you do in the sales arena, like that keen eye that you have. When did that start? Like, when? I don't want to say when did you know? But like, when did you know that? Doggone it. I'm Matthew Knowles. I got it.
- [11:24]
Matthew Knowles
Well, I was fortunate, Mick. No, I'm third generation entrepreneur. I saw my grandfather in Marion, Alabama, with 200 acres of land. I saw this man from a genius perspective leased off 50 acres of that land to the city there in the paper mill. And what does paper mill need? These trees. So they would cut off all the bush and trees to make paper. And I saw my grandfather go behind them and farm that was super genius. They paid him to clear his land off so he could farm. My dad was a truck driver, but he convinced the people he worked for to let him use this truck all the time. And he would go tear down houses, and he would sell the wood, the copper, the aluminum. He would buy old cars and sell all the parts. He would make 10 times what he was making working. My mom was a colored maid who made $3 a day.
- [12:35]
Matthew Knowles (continuation or emphasis)
She convinced that white woman and her friends to give all the hand me downs, all the hand me downs. And on the weekend, I saw my mother and her two best friends as they used to make me three at the needle. As they were getting older, I saw them make these beautiful quilts made 10 times more than she made. So I got to grow up in that kind of environment of creativity and thinking outside of the box. So to have that again, that genetic.
- [13:05]
Matthew Knowles
In a different way, to see my.
- [13:08]
Matthew Knowles (continuation or emphasis)
Parents and their entrepreneurial was, you know, that that's what was still in the back of my head growing up. That I can do this being motivated by my parents, that I could be the best, that I could be getting encyclopedias when they didn't have a lot of money but taught me to research, research. Knowledge is power. All of those things is what I think in my toolkit.
- [13:36]
Mick
So we have that in common. One, my grandfather was, I'm going to say, a sharecropper. My grandfather was also, like, the first black sheriff in our hometown. My grandfather was the first black everything. But he didn't want to be defined as being the first black. He said, because if you define me as that, then you're saying that that's the only reason I accomplished what I did. But also in my household were the encyclopedias. And so as a kid, I was. I knew things that maybe I shouldn't have known or I couldn't connect dots at that time. But as I got older, I started realizing, wait, I know more, I've seen more, and I'm able to do that. So, one. Just hearing you say that is awesome. And the other thing that I respect the most about Matthew Knowles is this. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna look you in your eye as I say this. You are always the most relevant person that I know. Meaning as generations and society changes, you always adapt and evolve. And there are a lot of people, and I know that you're going to know what I'm saying by this. They can do what they do in the generation they were in, but as things change, they don't adapt their Message doesn't relate to whatever's going on. Now you stay so relevant. I think that's one of your most genius points, is just staying relevant. Why is that important for you as an entrepreneur, as a leader?
- [15:03]
Matthew Knowles
Well, you have to stay relevant. The world is changing all that every day, every second now with technology. And you know, you heard me tell my background in corporate, it was technology. So in technology you have to evolve and modify because technology changes by the hour. So I, I think the second reason, Mick, is because I work as a professor now, 20 plus years around young people, and I think that really helps me to stay relevant. I, I remember years ago I was at Texas Southern University, one of my classes and one of my students said, you know, press, Professor Knowles, you have a, you have a lot of material in that suit. I was like, what do you mean by that, son? He's like, you know, it's kind of baggy. That's not what's hip now. So I get the benefit of being around, you know, Gen Z and understanding their behavior. But again, it's just that thirst for knowledge. I've always been curious. I've always wanted to know why in my. And I've always wanted to think outside of the box and not be a box in thinker. Somebody that's been conditioned and told, this is a way we have to do it. And you never say, well, why do we do it that way or try another way.
- [16:35]
Mick
Yeah, yeah. You know, I have something written down that I heard you say a long time ago and I didn't get it until I became an entrepreneur. I heard it in my early 20s and it's more relevant and impactful for me now as an entrepreneur and leader than it was then. You, I think, were the first person that said you are a brand and your brand speaks for you when words can't be said. And when I heard you say that again, I was probably, I was just graduating College. I was 21 and I got it, but I didn't get it until 10 years later when I started my first business or 7 years later. Can you tell the listeners and viewers why it is so important one, to see yourself as a brand and if you're a business, to focus on the brand because it does speak for you when words can't be said.
- [17:32]
Matthew Knowles
Yeah, that's. We are all individually as well as in our, our corporate careers as well as in entrepreneurship. We are a brand. The moment we walk outside the door, we're messaging to the world. Sometimes without words, often without words is how we look we call it the optics. Always the optics. What are the optics? You know, and so you have to understand how to build a brand and messaging and brand development. There's a reason why someone goes and gets a pair of Jordans versus going to Walmart and getting a pair of sneakers. They're all sneakers. They're both sneakers. But what was the brand development that went into making you be aware that I want a pair of Jordans? You know, you see, I always talk about entrepreneurship is the whole who, the what, the why, the where, who is my customer, what is my product, why should they buy it? That becomes the marketing and branding.
- [18:43]
Mick
Right.
- [18:43]
Matthew Knowles
And then the where is the distribution channels. I don't make it complicated. A lot of people making folks and professors make it complicated. It's as simple as the who, the what, the why, the wear. And that's why that branding. When we went into the music industry, they were selling records. I was building brands. That's why I partnered with l' Oreal and Destiny's Child and Beyonce to put their music and to put them in those commercials. Because the target market that we learn in marketing, finding our target market were those women. See, people didn't understand that those songs by Destiny's Child, Independent Woman, Bills, bills.
- [19:29]
Matthew Knowles (continuation or emphasis)
Bills, Girls, Girls, Girls, strategically were empowerment.
- [19:34]
Matthew Knowles
Song, female empowerment songs. That was part of the branding and marketing female empowerment. And even if you, you know, look.
- [19:45]
Matthew Knowles (continuation or emphasis)
Fast forward into Beyonce's career, female empowerment, you look at Solange, she's branding blackness.
- [19:54]
Mick
Yeah, yeah.
- [19:55]
Matthew Knowles (continuation or emphasis)
Unapologetically black. So you have to understand branding and.
- [20:00]
Matthew Knowles
Marketing, it's a really powerful tool.
- [20:03]
Mick
Yeah. Where do you think we'll go individuals? Where do you think people are going wrong? Where are they missing the mark because you broke it down so simply. If I, if I'm an entrepreneur and I'm watching or listening to this and it's like, I got it. Mr. Knowles is saying I need to focus on brand. What are they doing wrong that they could easily fix?
- [20:24]
Matthew Knowles
Well, I think today there's so much information out there at your fingertips. I mean, it just requires again, going back to that simplistic simplicity of why I wrote the DNA of achievers, the 10 traits of Holly professionals that are, you know, really have been successful. And it starts again every time with a passion like, is this really what you want in life? This is really what you want in your profession. And sitting down and taking a piece of paper and writing down 10 things you love and eliminating till you get to three. Eliminating to you get to that one thing that you love and you want to do in life because when you live your passion, you never work. You don't work when you live your passion. You work when you have a job. When I live my passion, like right now, I'm not working, I'm having fun. I'm enjoying this. I'm excited about this interview. But what coexists with passion, and that's where a lot of people go wrong, is our work ethics. You know, they go together like a glove. You find. I always use Kobe Bryant. When he, after he got off the six months of the basketball season, the other players were out having fun and chilling. Kobe was in the gym getting up at 4 o' clock in the morning so he could spend time with his family still. But he was doing this model called six, six, six, six months. After the season, he practiced six hours a day, six times a week. And that's what it takes for greatness. A lot of people okay with just being good or average, but there's some of us that strive for greatness and those work ethics and the 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell, the brother from Canada, talks about an outliers. 10,000 hours that it takes to be great. Trust me, Beyonce's put in 10,000. Trust me, Michael Jordan put in 10,000. I can go on and on. Serena and Venus. I can go on and on. The people that are great at it because they love it.
- [22:56]
Mick
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And another one of your pillars that you taught me to go along with work ethic is consistency, right? And I, when I speak with leaders, I talk about this trait more than anything, is how important consistency is to everything. Because when I can see your consistency, it tells me your actual core values. Right? I can see your commitment. I can see your integrity. I know I can trust you. What do you think about that one? You taught me that. But why is consistency also important for, for leaders, for entrepreneurs, for entertainers?
- [23:33]
Matthew Knowles
Well, to, in order to move the needle, you're going to have to say it, do it over and over and over and over and over. You can't move the needle with just saying it a few times or doing it a few times or displaying it a few times. You have to consistently mean constantly doing that thing constantly and doing it at a high level constantly.
- [24:02]
Mick
Yes, sir.
- [24:02]
Matthew Knowles
You know, every thing has to be thought out. You know, it's just a lot of moving parts. I take the music industry, for example. There's probably, you know, you've got 50, 60 moving parts that all we see is artists on stage. We don't see how they Got there and what was required to get there, the planning that was required, the team that was required. And again, going back to passion and work ethics.
- [24:33]
Mick
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And I know one of your passions, one of the things that you're really proud of, the work that you do with the global brand or with the 0 prostate cancer and everything that you're doing there, being a global brand ambassador, talk to us about the work that, that you're doing and that that community is doing.
- [24:55]
Matthew Knowles
So that's why I was in Nashville. You know, I'm very transparent and I, in my first book, I have a chapter called Talk to Do Ratio. Talk to Do Ratio that goes back to that consistency thing. So I was in Nashville because there's a young black man at Vanderbilt who is a genius in his early 50s in urology and I wanted to get a consultation with him regarding my own prostate issues. Fortunately, I don't have cancer today, but I'm being proactive instead of reactive.
- [25:42]
Mick
Yeah.
- [25:43]
Matthew Knowles
And I said to my physician in Houston, I think you're waiting for this to happen. I don't want to do that. I want to be preventative. That it never happens.
- [25:57]
Mick
Yes, sir.
- [25:58]
Matthew Knowles
So I would. That's why I was in Asheville. To be preventative, to get a. Others opinion, to get an expert opinion.
- [26:08]
Mick
There you go. There you go. I love it. So, Mr. Knowles, I'd love to give you just a little bit of time to talk about the, the great things you have going on this week. I know you're going to be in Martha's Vineyard, but talk to the viewers and listeners about what you have going on there.
- [26:23]
Matthew Knowles
Well, I'm excited because I've never been to Martha's Vineyard. My wife has been many times and so she's quite excited also about coming. But I'll be there on Wednesday, August 20th. That's Wednesday of next week. There's a discussion and panel that's being given by Touch for life and it's 3 o', clock, starts at 3 o' clock in the afternoon. So some of the best minds in medicine and cancer experts and, and folks who have gone through the experience as well, like myself, a cancer talking about health and wellness for black folks. And so I'm, I'm really excited about Touch for Life and how we can touch someone and save their life.
- [27:17]
Mick
That's awesome. I'm going to make sure that I have links for Touch for Life, links for everything that you're associated with in the show notes and descriptions. If you are a fan of me, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to not just support Mr. Knowles. And I'm not talking about financially, but I'm talking about helping spread the awareness for all the things that he's doing. I'm talking about some of the books that he has written are going to change your life because they've changed mine.
- [27:50]
Matthew Knowles
If, if.
- [27:50]
Mick
If there's someone who stands for professionalism, for equality, for brand building, for the modern leader like myself, it is Mr. Matthew Knowles. And Mr. Knowles, I just thank you for, for being the icon that you are, for being the voice that you are. But for more importantly for me personally, being that shoulder that I could stand on because there were times that I needed it. And every time you were there, whether you knew it or not, you've been that shoulder that I proudly stand on. So I personally want to thank you, sir.
- [28:25]
Matthew Knowles
Mick, I can tell you have a good, good heart and I thank you for that. Means you got some great parents somewhere in that DNA.
- [28:35]
Mick
Yes, sir. Great parents, great grandparents.
- [28:38]
Matthew Knowles
Yeah.
- [28:39]
Mick
Raised in the South. So you already know what that means. And again, you being that person that I could look to, I can never thank you enough. But I just want you to know that a big part of who I am is because of you.
- [28:53]
Matthew Knowles
Well, thank you, Mick. And if any of you like to know more, just simply go to matthewknolls.com.
- [28:59]
Mick
Matthewknolls.Com we'll have that link there. Everybody, please do that again. Mr. Knowles, thank you so much for your time. For all the viewers and listeners, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.
- [29:14]
Mick (Podcast Outro)
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Mick Unplugged. If today hits you hard, then imagine what's next. Be sure to subscribe, rate and share this with someone who needs it. And most of all, make a plan and take action because the next level is already waiting for you. Have a question or insight to share, send us an email to hello ickunplugged.com until next time, ask yourself how you can step up.