How Hayes Barnard Went From Flunking 1st Grade to $10B

TL;DR

Learning disabilities like dyslexia can push founders to surround themselves with talented people instead of doing everything alone, which is how businesses scale. Hayes Barnard flunked first grade, has dysgraphia and dyslexia, and built a $10 billion company by recruiting the smartest people he knew and empowering them. The key habit he calls 'give up to go up': delegating rather than becoming a control freak.

Transcript

If I told you that a kid flunked out of first grade, I don't think the first thing you would say is, "That's a future billionaire." You probably would have joined the crowd of people that made fun of me for being dumb. Today, he's known as this guy you see on the cover of Forbes, tech entrepreneur, this billionaire, son god, because of all the work... Read More

Key Insights

• Level five leaders, a concept from Jim Collins' book Good to Great, often share three traits: a learning disability, severe 'daddy issues' or a falling out with their father, and a near-death experience or career-ending injury that forces greater sacrifice.
• The phrase 'give up to go up' means delegating tasks to others instead of doing everything yourself; leaders who insist on doing 15-minute tasks themselves become control freaks whose businesses never scale.
• Dyslexia can become an advantage because it forces you to surround yourself with really smart people who are good at different things, celebrating their talent instead of trying to do everything on your own.
• Hayes Barnard flunked first grade due to dysgraphia and a form of dyslexia that nobody could diagnose at the time, so teachers and peers simply thought he was stupid, causing lasting self-confidence issues.
• Ari Emanuel, who runs CAA and Endeavor and is also dyslexic, cannot focus enough to read contracts, so he built a machine of people who excel at contracts, letting him operate in his zone of genius.
• Being the smartest person in the class can be a liability because that person gets frustrated with slower learners and refuses to train others, choosing to do tasks alone rather than empowering a team.
• Childhood trauma from being an outcast drives many male leaders to grind 100-hour weeks later in life to gain the affirmation and respect they lacked, especially those seeking male affirmation.
• A mentor named Ron Edwards, Hayes' gym teacher, stepped in as a father figure and took him to banquets to meet athletes like Jim Hart and OJ Anderson, giving him a lens that there might be a way out.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is a level five leader according to Jim Collins?

A level five leader, a concept from Jim Collins' book Good to Great, is someone who has a great deal of compassion and empathy for people, gives up control to go up, empowers people instead of micromanaging them, and recruits top talent to place in roles that allow organizations to scale. Barnard learned he was one over lunch with Jim Collins at Stanford about 15 years ago.

Q: What does 'give up to go up' mean in business?

'Give up to go up' means delegating tasks to other people instead of insisting on doing everything yourself. Barnard explains that very competent people often refuse to spend an hour training someone when they could finish a task in 15 minutes themselves, so they keep repeating that task forever. They never delegate, become control freaks, and their business fails to scale because they must be involved in everything all the time.

Q: Why can dyslexia be an advantage for entrepreneurs?

Dyslexia can be an advantage because it forces you to learn to surround yourself with really smart, talented people rather than doing everything alone. Barnard describes recognizing others' brilliance, like someone amazing at bond math, and starting companies with them. Instead of trying to do it on his own, he celebrates the extraordinary minds around him, each good at different things, which builds a stronger team than any one person could produce alone.

Q: What three traits do many great leaders share?

According to Barnard, many level five leaders share three traits found a couple layers below the surface. First, a learning disability or being on the spectrum, which leads to being made fun of and creates trauma that drives them to seek affirmation and respect. Second, severe daddy issues or a major falling out with their father. Third, a near-death experience or career-ending injury that forces greater sacrifice and prevents them from quitting under adversity.

Q: How does Ari Emanuel handle contracts despite being dyslexic?

Ari Emanuel, who runs CAA and Endeavor and is also dyslexic, cannot focus enough to read contracts even though his entire talent-agent business is built on contracts. Instead of forcing himself, he built a machine of people who are amazing at contracts and brings them into the room. He respects, values, and needs them, and they know it, allowing him to operate in his zone of genius while they operate in theirs.

Q: What was Hayes Barnard's childhood like with a learning disability?

Barnard flunked first grade because of dysgraphia and a form of dyslexia that no one could diagnose at the time, so people just thought he was stupid. He went to a resource room for kids who could not read, wrote his letters backwards, and struggled through a Dick and Jane book in third grade, which he found soul crushing. His friends who advanced made fun of him for roughly twelve years, causing serious self-confidence issues.

Q: Why do some leaders work 100-hour weeks?

Barnard explains that childhood trauma drives many leaders to grind through 100-hour weeks. Being made fun of, having few friends, and being an outcast as a young person, especially combined with a learning disability or being on the spectrum, creates big trauma. This wants them to do things later in life to gain affirmation and respect, particularly male affirmation, so they grind relentlessly to earn the recognition they lacked as children.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Hayes Barnard, a billionaire featured on the cover of Forbes and known for his work in the solar industry, flunked first grade because of undiagnosed dysgraphia and dyslexia, was placed in a resource room, wrote his letters backwards, and was mocked by peers for roughly twelve years.

• Barnard credits Jim Collins' 'level five leader' framework from Good to Great, which he learned about over lunch at Stanford, noting such leaders share learning disabilities, daddy issues, and near-death experiences that fuel their drive for affirmation and their refusal to quit under adversity.

• The central lesson is 'give up to go up': rather than doing everything himself, Barnard recruited the smartest people he knew, including co-founders Jason Walker and Matt Dawson, celebrating their talents so the company could scale into a $10 billion business.