Podcast Summary: Mick Unplugged

Episode: Sunny Bonnell – Reveals Lessons From Embracing Defiance and Uniqueness

Host: Mick Hunt

Guest: Sunny Bonnell (Co-founder of Motto, Author of Rare Breed)

Date: September 4, 2025

Overview

This episode of Mick Unplugged dives deep into the power of visionary leadership and the necessity of embracing defiance and uniqueness in both personal and professional spheres. Mick Hunt sits down with Sunny Bonnell—leadership thought leader, co-founder of Motto, and author of Rare Breed—to explore what drives truly innovative leaders, how organizations can foster aligned vision, and why so-called rebellious character traits are essential for modern success. Together, they challenge traditional leadership paradigms and encourage listeners to celebrate what sets them apart.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Because” Beyond “Why” in Leadership

• Sunny’s Driving Purpose (01:55):
  • Sunny explains her “because” is to help people, companies, and leadership teams find and realize their ultimate potential. She highlights a major gap in organizations: most are not led by visionary communicators, making alignment and passion difficult.
  • “I wanted to build a company that would champion the greatest visionary leaders… People who dream of a world that doesn’t yet exist and who have the guts to wrestle that vision forward in a world that’s trying to stop them.” — Sunny Bonnell [01:55]

2. Visionary Leadership vs. Operational Leadership

• Dissecting Leadership Myths (03:23):
  • Mick and Sunny agree: “Getting stuff done is not a leadership trait” (Mick [03:23]).
  • Visionaries can execute, but their real power is in rallying teams with a clear vision and building organizational alignment.
  • Sunny: “If you have a visionary leader, and you empower visionary thinkers within the company, you drive that down through the culture… you move quicker.” [04:34]
• Visionaries & Stabilizers (10:00):
  • The most effective organizations have both visionaries (the “Why” people) and operational stabilizers (“How” people).
  • Sunny discusses her partnership with Ashley (COO of Motto): “While I’m dreaming big…and driving the company toward visionary leadership, she’s helping make those ‘how’ things happen.” [10:00]

3. Alignment on Vision, Mission & Values

• Case Study: Fortune 75 Company Exercise (13:03):
  • Mick recounts asking a room of high-level leaders (chairman of the board, shareholders, senior execs) to recite their company’s mission and values—almost nobody could.
  • “If your team has zero idea what you…believe and feel, there’s no way they could ever deliver to your expectation.” — Mick [13:03]
• Simplicity & Action-Tied Values (14:29):
  • Sunny shares how Motto solves this with “Vision Camp”—a hands-on workshop for executives to crystallize vision and create actionable, memorable core values.
  • “It’s not enough to have a statement if you do not tie actions and behaviors to the things you want people to demonstrate.” — Sunny Bonnell [15:40]
  • At Motto: “If we ask what we do here, everyone will tell you: ‘We do big things.’” [16:40]

4. Embracing Uniqueness: The Rare Breed Philosophy

• Origin Story (18:46):
  • Sunny and Ashley started Motto with $250 as young women in a male-dominated field. Labeled “rare breeds,” they leaned into their differences.
  • “You have to succeed because of who you are, not despite who you are.” — Sunny’s father [20:40]
• The Seven “Vices” as Virtues (20:50–22:00):
  • Rare Breed asks: “What if the parts of yourself that people criticize…are actually your selling points?”
  • The book reframes “vices” like rebelliousness, audacity, emotion, obsession as potential strengths—if properly harnessed.
  • “You have to learn how to temper some of the sharp edges…but when you learn to use them in the right moments and at the right time, they become a force for good.” [22:07]
• The Light & Dark Sides of Uniqueness (22:25):
  • Acknowledges the risk: “These traits…are powerful, but they’re perilous. They can undo you.”
  • Key lesson: “Know the difference between the light side of that trait and the dark side.” [22:45]

5. Lessons Learned: Worth & Defiance

• Sunny’s Core Insight (24:02):
  • “You have to be thankful for really small minds, because…that’s how the rose grew from the concrete.”
  • One of her biggest leadership lessons: “You deserve to be there. You have to grab the moment… You can’t wait.” [24:30]
  • Her “because” is still “igniting possibility in other people”—especially those who underestimate their own worth. [24:10]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On visionary alignment:
  “Brands and companies that don’t have alignment around vision often spin their wheels…they can’t get things done even with an army of people.”
  — Sunny Bonnell [04:34]
• On leadership focus:
  “If 60 plus percent of what you do is getting stuff done, your team isn’t the best team that they could be because you’re doing it the wrong way.”
  — Mick Hunt [03:23]
• On core values:
  “If we ask what we do here, everyone will tell you: ‘We do big things.’…Simple, easy to understand: ‘Is this big enough? Am I doing everything I can?’”
  — Sunny Bonnell [16:40]
• On embracing rarity:
  “You have to succeed because of who you are, not despite who you are.”
  — Sunny’s father, quoted by Sunny [20:40]
• On “Rare Breed” vices:
  “What if you learned how to harness the power of a vice, turn that vice into a virtue and use it to your advantage?”
  — Sunny Bonnell [21:12]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:55] Sunny describes her core “because” and vision for Motto
• [03:23] Mick and Sunny discuss the misalignment of ‘getting things done’ with leadership
• [04:34] Sunny explains the need for visionary alignment across all levels
• [10:00] Sunny on integrating visionary and operational roles; “visionaries vs. stabilizers”
• [13:03] Mick’s real-world exercise exposes a lack of clarity on mission & values
• [14:29] Sunny discusses Vision Camp methodology for clarifying company vision
• [18:46] Story of founding Motto and the genesis of “Rare Breed”
• [20:50–22:00] The concept of “vices” as virtues and learning to channel uniqueness
• [24:02] Sunny’s biggest lesson: self-belief and the imperative to seize the moment

Resources & Where to Find Sonny Bonnell

• Motto Website: wearemotto.com
• Instagram: @wearemotto
• LinkedIn: Motto on LinkedIn
• Sunny’s Keynote & Projects: sunnybonnell.com
• Vision Camp: visioncamp.io

Final Takeaways

• True leadership is rooted in vision, not just execution. Empowerer, not ‘doer,’ is the new leadership North Star.
• Simplicity and actionable values drive alignment and high performance—mission statements must be lived, not just written.
• Uniqueness—the so-called “vices” or outlier qualities—are essential advantages if wielded with wisdom.
• Everyone has a role in “doing big things,” but must claim their moment and believe in their voice.

"Remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it."
— Mick Hunt [26:36]