Mick Unplugged - Kerim Kfuri: Thriving Through Chaos-Supply Chains, AI, and Strategic Calm

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everybody, really excited for you to check out this episode with me and my good friend, Kareem Kifuri. You know, Kareem and I actually met on set at Shark Taint together. We both are our mutual friends of Dame and John. In this episode, we're really going to go into supply chain. That's the business that Kareem is in. And we're going to talk about how important supply chain is to leaders, to entrepreneurs, and the businesses.

Starting point is 00:00:26 We're going to talk a little bit about how AI is important and vital. title in that industry. We're going to go into a few things about how and why you need to have strategic calm and chaos. Oh, thank you so much for that intro. Really appreciate it and great to see you. Of course. Great seeing you, man. You know, we got to spend some time together out in L.A. I'm a couple of, I guess it's right out a month ago now. And I really got to know you and really became honored to be in your circle, man. Like you're one of the smartest people that I know. But what I think I love the most about you, Kareem, is just that calmness that you have, right? Like, we're in some chaotic times in the world that you're in and we're going to get there in a second.

Starting point is 00:01:11 But just the calmness that you display and the elegance that you display, man, is amazing, brother. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. And you're a hundred billion percent correct. We are in some very chaotic times and cooler heads prevail. And, you know, it really comes down to some very, very, very simple wisdom that we need to all employ in the way that we run our businesses, the way that we run our lives. And it all works out. You know, I'm a supply chain optimist is what I would call myself. And I think that that's a word that is rarely used when it comes to supply chain today. I mean, think about it. Everything you hear is just negative headlines about this. But the reality of it is that through challenges and obstacles and chaos is where the

Starting point is 00:02:04 opportunity exists. And that's where you really start to be more of an optimist when you start to realize that, but we need to know how to get to that place. And so I try to talk to businesses and entrepreneurs and people about that approach, that mentality. Yeah. You know, Kareem, you're exactly right, like supply chain is wild right now. But a lot of folks don't understand the everyday person out there doesn't understand the complete circle of supply chain. Can you walk us through exactly what supply chain is, why most of us in our everyday lives are impacted by it, whether we know it or not? Sure, absolutely. And I'm going to try to make it as simplified as I can. But because my goal, as you said before, is to really try to make this relatable. How does this impact everything

Starting point is 00:02:59 that we do and need and use every single day? So essentially, supply chain touches every one of our lives every single day. Let's talk about the things that we eat, right? We go to the supermarket. We need to buy produce or we need to buy different kinds of products. Well, there was a process that got that produce on those shelves. And it started way back, you know, in growing and fields and farmers and then refrigeration and transportation and got to warehouses, then distribution and trucking and delivery to then finally get it on the shelves in a timely fashion where products are not expired, they're there when you need them, they're at a cost which is affordable, and it's this supply and demand mechanism. And that's just a very brief example of just

Starting point is 00:03:48 what we put into our bodies every single day, right? Because if that doesn't matter, I don't know what does matter. I mean, basically air and water are just there too. And so when we talk about, you know, global supply chain, we're really talking about this end-to-end mechanism from A to Z that allows consumers to have what they need when they want it. And that essentially there's a balance of supply and demand in basic economics, right? Consumers have a demand and there needs to be a supply to feed that demand. And the chain is all of the steps, you know, one after the other, the other, to ensure that it meets that demand and that the supply is adequate, not over surplus or under surplus. And that as long as it's there at a timely fashion and at a price point that everybody

Starting point is 00:04:41 can sort of afford and consume, then we have a thriving economy where consumerism continues to grow and develop. So generally speaking, when we're talking about the manufacturing space, and that could be everything from your computer to the shirt you're wearing, to the things that you buy every single day on Amazon Prime that show up on your doorstep in two seconds, right? There's a supply chain to all of that manufacturing, and that's a big part of what we do at the Atlas Network. We help entrepreneurs, small, medium, and large-sized businesses with their manufacturing supply chain. And what that starts with is having an idea, right? Yeah. Picking the right supplier, making sure that you have good visibility and transparency

Starting point is 00:05:28 into the manufacturing process, either you're there or have hired guns or groups like hours that are there, eyes and ears on the ground, quality control process to ensure that the goods meet the industry standards or the needs of a customer, client, or marketplace. When that's all done, logistics to basically get the goods packed up, taken to a port, put on a container or a ship vessel, transited, customs clearance when the goods come through the ports to ensure that everything is cleared appropriately. Trucking to take it to some level of a customer site or a delivery warehouse for fulfillment, distribution into the market where you basically have it in the market.

Starting point is 00:06:13 Then you have sales that occur. and then you go right back through the whole process again, through reordering. And that's really the steps, at least with regards to the manufacturing process of supply chain. So as I just laid out for you, eight, nine, ten key steps, anything that disrupts, any one of those steps disrupts the supply chain and disrupts you being able to have what you want when you need it at a price point and time frame that is adequate. it. Now, we're in a convenience world, a convenience culture where essentially we want everything faster than that. Yes. And that is where disruptions end up causing a major havoc. We have

Starting point is 00:06:59 disruptions that you can control and disruptions that you cannot control. It's the uncontrollable disruptions, the acts of God and nature and political environment and global conflicts and and pandemics, and force majeure and all of these things, strikes at ports and so forth, that you wouldn't have seen that happening until it ends up happening that adequately, you know, disrupts just as much as the things that you can control, which is your relationship with your suppliers and communication and timeliness and defect rates and quality control. So it doesn't matter whether it's things you can potentially control through risk mitigation processes or the things that you can't control that just come out of the blue,

Starting point is 00:07:45 either way, it impacts what we need and what we use every day. And that's what I try to, again, communicate through kind of having a relatable voice in this complicated space that touches every one of our lives. Yeah, there's so much, Kareem, that I want to unpack in that process that you talked about. But I want to start with this. What's your because? And I call your because that thing that's deeper than, your why. Like, when did this version of Kareem what you're doing become you, but more importantly

Starting point is 00:08:19 again, what's your because? Like, why do you do the things that you do that keeps you driven every day? I think the things that I do that keep me driven is my want and need to make an impact on this planning while I'm here. And I think that that's, you know, an important motivation. to try and want to leave a mark that is yours, one that long after you've gone away, you have either created a better way forward for humanity and for those at large that benefit from what it is that you do. Because we all are in it for the basic needs to just feed ourselves and enjoy a life that we can, you know, be proud of with our family and friends and everything else. But beyond that, you know, what really drives you? And I think for me, it's always been that

Starting point is 00:09:15 idea of leaving a mark. So through history, you know, I look at people like the Alexander the greats and, you know, these people that shaped continents and created things like, you know, the first public libraries and, you know, innovators like, you know, Benjamin Franklin. And, you know, these people in, in the world that we speak about today, years after hundreds of years, years, thousands of years after, because they were transformative, that is inspirational to me. And it shows to me what the human being is truly possible of. When we dream it, we can achieve it. You want to put somebody on the moon, enough technology resources we get there. You know, you want to build a computer that makes all of our lives more simple. It happens.

Starting point is 00:10:04 You know, you want to develop some new way of, you know, running a society. society or democracy and so forth, you know, that happened through thousands of years and things of that nature. So we have such greatness within us all. And it all starts with the basic belief that we can all be great. And I've always subscribed to this idea of a limitless mindset, right? People talk about a growth mindset. I believe in a limitless mindset that we are only restricted by our own selves and the boxes that we put ourselves in society is going to put us in all kinds of boxes but then it's up to us to then say regardless of what's happening around me my surroundings my education my background i am going to do something that you know motivates drives

Starting point is 00:10:57 me and pushes me forward and that's that's at the crux the foundation of what i do and and who i am it just happens to be in this business area this industry but it's all motivated on this concept of just really wanting to, you know, make a change. I love it, dude. I love it. And I know one of your mantras is strategic calm and chaos, right? Like, if you follow Kareem, you're going to hear him say that reference that a hundred times a day, right? And sometimes, Kareem, I think you're talking to me because I need that every once in a while.

Starting point is 00:11:30 I need to hear, hey, Mick, as a leader, you're going to see chaos pretty much all the time because that's what makes us leaders. right. But that strategic calm, and I want to break those two words down individually, strategic and calm, right? Because a lot of times when there's chaos, when there's disruption from the leader perspective, we know we need the strategy. And we focus on the strategy, but we're doing it with that same disruptive mindset, right? Or sometimes it's a reactive mindset. And usually that's the worst thing that you can do. What I learn from you, Kareem, is this. And I speak and teach emotional intelligence all the time. And so I'll kind of put this into my framework a little. I borrowed it from you, Kareem. So it thumbs up to you. It's take a moment and find calm, right? Find your peace

Starting point is 00:12:19 and then go dominate. And you don't say that verbatim, but that's how I take it when you're talking to me. It's, hey, you know that something has to get done, right? Find calm and then go do what it is that you do. So can you break down in your words? strategic calm inside of chaos and what that means to you and how we can go get that. Yeah, absolutely. And I think you said it very, very well. But it's the importance of knowing that you need to take a moment. You've got to actually, when you are in these complicated scenarios, whatever they may be, you got to go inside. You've got to go inside and you've got to basically meditate on it for a minute and think through it calmly. You know, play some music.

Starting point is 00:13:07 eat something, you know, disconnect a bit to then see things transparently. And it's in those moments that you're really able to think with a rational mind. Because there's always going to be this scenario of let me just kind of solve this thing as quick as I can. And by doing that, you lose out on the perspective and you lose out on the opportunity to really get to the best outcome. So you have to sit back in the moment, and you need to, you know, really fathom what is happening, you know, the challenge you're being faced with. And when you have calmed down is where in your strategic mind turns on. You start saying, okay, now there's three ways to do this, ABC, and you start playing through these different scenarios. If I did this, then these five things would happen.

Starting point is 00:14:00 If I did that thing, then these two things would happen. And as you start to formulate this or even write it down, journal it, or however you tend to kind of come to decision making process for yourself, some people use grids, decision matrices. It just depends on how you work. You end up coming up with the rational thought that will allow you to feel good about what you're suggesting or going to go forward with. and at the same time probably will be the most impactful. But you've got to get out of the moment to really be able to get back into the moment is the way I would put it.

Starting point is 00:14:41 I love that. So now let's take that philosophy. And let's talk to the small business owner that's listening or watching this right now. And let's go through supply chain, right? how when something goes wrong, right? You ordered a product or you're building a product. And it's your first order and you're so excited.

Starting point is 00:15:06 Like you're going into Walmart, right? And you're so excited. And Kareem's going to tell you when you consult with him, be prepared because it's not going to go as smooth as you expect, right? Walk us through an example of the strategic calm for that small business owner that has that product that they're waiting for the delivery of and how they can put that into practice with what they do. All right. So here is where the mindset has to shift in the beginning where you have to be negative with a positive intention. So what do I mean by that? Assume from the beginning

Starting point is 00:15:45 that everything is going to go wrong. That sounds terrible because as an entrepreneur, all you want is everything to go right. Right. But the problem is, is that the supply chain is so complicated and there are so many variables and steps that you need to say, what am I going to do if the delivery doesn't come on time? What am I going to do if the quality isn't where I need it to be? What are we going to do if, you know, basically define the fail points, define the areas that could be a challenge or a difficulty towards you being successful and assume that if any one of those things happen, happen, how you're still going to pivot, adapt, and move forward.

Starting point is 00:16:28 So you're preparing for the worst case scenarios so you have the best case outcome. And this is a very difficult thing to say to entrepreneurs and small businesses because they have to be their own cheerleaders every day. They have to assume that everything is going to go right. But the moment that you do that is the moment that you set yourself up for real disruption. disruption where you have no choices, where you have no options anymore and you're just kind of, you know, sitting at the whim of things hopefully going correctly. Unless you own that factory, unless you own that boat, unless you own that fulfillment warehouse and all those

Starting point is 00:17:11 different facilities, you were at the mercy of these third parties that work and manage your supply chain. So each one of those areas needs to be thought through carefully, understand, where there could be challenges and so forth. So then in the end, you hopefully can have the best outcome or plan for scenarios where if there's a disruption, you'll be ready for it. Now, so that's where it really starts. And that's how we do everything on our end.

Starting point is 00:17:41 We, no matter if we did a production a hundred times, with the same factory, great quality results a hundred times, I always educate our teams on the fact that every production is the first time. And you have to think about it that way because any number of things could change a different person working the production line, a different environmental condition, something that's another kind of level of challenge that makes that production a little bit different than the other hundred before. And manufacturing and supply chain is not about getting a defect-free scenario. It's about understanding what the defects are and managing

Starting point is 00:18:23 them in a level of tolerances that are okay for that industry or for that production and so forth. Because will your customer stop buying from you if the color of your blue is 2% different from one piece to the next? Probably not. But you as an entrepreneur, all you care about is that your baby is perfect. And that also can create scenarios of analysis paralysis where you don't basically put anything out in the market because it wasn't 100% perfect and it may never be 100% perfect there are variances there are tolerance so on so the advice to these businesses are expect challenges and disruptions do it with a positive intention but thinking about it in terms of some scenarios that could possibly happen

Starting point is 00:19:12 be willing to be flexible and adaptable to the process itself and the other main part is is learn from the process because there's so many businesses and entrepreneurs that may have like never made a particular product before. Well, guess who you can learn the most from? The suppliers, you know, interview them and say, hey, here's the product. What do you think are going to be all the challenges that we're going to face on this thing? If they're a good supplier, they'll give you a list. If they're a bad supplier, they'll say, it'll be perfect. It's in those scenarios where they say it's perfect or they yes you to death run away very quickly because that is the scenario that is going to set you up for absolute breakdown and failure it's and it's a kind of a

Starting point is 00:20:00 difficult challenge but I do say oftentimes that one of the one of the big red flags during the supplier selection process is being yes to death everybody who says you know can we you know do this you know on this infinite you know infinite way and the answer is yes then run away quickly. Yes, sir. So at the Atlas Network, the work that you do, the, I don't want to say the perfectionist that you are, but the gold standard that you are. I'm going to call you the gold standard. That means you have a lot of standards, right? And you hold not only yourself and your team, but the people that you work with, the clients that you have, you hold everyone to a standard. And I am the same way. And I talk to people all the time, I don't set goals.

Starting point is 00:20:52 Goals are personal. I set standards. So can you talk about the importance of standards for you at the Atlas network and why that's so critical in the supply chain world? Yeah, absolutely. So in order to have good standards, you have to have a good process. And this is where it starts for us. So we've always had the same three-part process, no matter what we're making, completely agnostic on product or industry. And it is, pick the right supplier, have eyes and ears on the ground, have third-party attestation. These three columns are basically what holds up our house. Picking the right supplier is this mechanism of both quantitative and qualitative factors, right? How many years in business? What kind of certifications? How many employees?

Starting point is 00:21:40 what's their levels of revenue, exports to the markets that you're working within. You basically have a list of 10 or 12 different metrics to give you an idea on paper how good they are. The qualitative factors are professionalism, timeliness, responsibility, accountability, these things that, you know, the communication process that allow you to understand how the dynamics are going to be with the actual supplier. Then we have eyes and ears on the ground because you need to have your own visibility. and your own transparency into your process or hire people to do that for you because a factory is always going to want to cut corners. They're always going to want to just move along to the next

Starting point is 00:22:22 project. You need to have some group to hold them accountable so you have your own mechanism in place. And then finally, the third part is third party attestation, literally hire people that are paid to find mistakes. They are paid to find mistakes. And if you do that, you really, get a good level of visibility across the entire spectrum that will give you a much better level of outcome. And you talked about setting standards. My goal and focus always is that if the industry standard is 1%, let's say, as a defect rate, we're saying we're not accepting anything less than a half a percent. So basically, we will look to fail the industry standard knowing that, I'm sorry, we will look to fail our own standards

Starting point is 00:23:10 knowing that it's well below the industry standard. And in this way, we also safeguard that if there are variances or tolerances that were well within the industry standard, although we may not be exactly within our standard. And so this is the way that you really appropriately manage standards by having formulaic strong processes. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:23:35 Yep. I love that, dude. I love that. I want to give you another shout out, another quick praise, because in your book, Supply Chains Up and Downs, I find that is one of the most impactful leadership books out there. Right. Like, yeah, it reads specific to the supply chain industry, the niche that's there. But, brother, you have this one part of the book where you talk about the importance of contingency. planning. And I talk about that so much. You know, a lot of times people come to me and they're like, Mick, what's your plan A and what's plan B, C, and D? And I'm like, plan B, C, and D are to make sure plan A works. Like, I'm not switching. I have a lot of contingency planning that I do to make sure that plan A is going to work. Yeah. Like plan B is still a part of plan A. I just might have to get to plan a different way. But there's no such thing as a different plan. Sure. And And you reiterate a lot of that same mindset in this book. So I love for you to share a little bit about the importance of contingency planning for the business leaders and entrepreneurs out there. Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, we'll talk about it in terms of supply chain, but really it resounds to your life.

Starting point is 00:24:55 Absolutely. And as you said, I kind of like what you said that it's always a plan A. It's just that there are different options to make a plan A work, which is the plan B becomes a plan. plan a or the plan C becomes the plan A, but it never was not a plan A. And plan A maybe to just kind of get that thing to where you needed to be at a certain time and place and so on and so forth. But, you know, supply chain specifically as the book is titled, Ups and Downs, is a roller coaster ride. It's a tumultuous environment where anything and everything can happen. The best outcomes and the worst outcomes can occur. And so with this in mind, to be to be ahead of disruptions, to be ahead of the fact that, you know, the worst case outcomes can and do occur, you must have alternatives. But those alternatives support your overall goal.

Starting point is 00:25:52 So your goal is X and your alternatives, A, B, C, D all support that overall goal, which is X. one big area for sure is in suppliers you know don't have all your eggs in one basket you need to have supplier A, B, C, and D prototype with all four of them and be ready that if supplier A has an issue that B, C, and D are just waiting in the wings to take over so you don't really have some major disruption

Starting point is 00:26:22 but you would not believe how many companies do not have those redundancy plans. They basically just have used the same supplier for years and years and years and years. And when that supplier says, hey, the costs are going up by 10 or 20 percent, they just deal with it.

Starting point is 00:26:42 Or when they say we're going to miss the time frame by one or two or three months and your customer is going to have to deal with it, they just manage it as opposed to looking for a better way. You need to always be looking for better options. And we maintain a network here of almost 2,000 supplies. That is our network across commodities, textiles, and innovation products, many different areas. And we're consistently putting in and taking out suppliers into this network, looking for the brightest and the best who is doing it in the most efficient way, and removing those that are doing a bad job, too. So it is important to know when to draw the line on behavior and quality and timeliness and, and, and,

Starting point is 00:27:29 know when a supplier just isn't the right supplier anymore. Sometimes they may be the right supplier for today, but they aren't the right supplier or in the past, but they're not the right supplier in the future as you're scaling or growing or entering new markets or whatever it may be. And you have to be willing enough to be working on that in the background. So while you're working through your current relationship with your existing supplier, you're still kind of putting it out there, putting the feelers out there to find supplier A, B, C, B, C, D, E, F, that could also be good just in case the main one has an issue.

Starting point is 00:28:02 Yeah, I freaking love that, brother. Like I said, that book I go to a lot. And then when I got to meet you, I was mad because I didn't know that you were going to be there because I wanted to have a signed copy of the book, so I'll make sure that that happens. That's just a little bit shameless, shameless moment for me is I need a sign copy. So I'll make sure we'll see each other again really soon. So I'll make sure, of course. A question I wanted to ask you, because you're the guru of this, how is AI impacting supply chain?

Starting point is 00:28:33 Well, I believe that AI is impacting supply chain in many different ways, but the really, the most sophisticated ways have yet to be seen, meaning we're in a time right now where we need to consistently be looking at re-engineering. products. And I'm talking about in terms of from an environmental standpoint, a sustainability standpoint, even a cost material standpoint due to things like tariffs and so forth. And I think that where AI is going to really impact global supply chain and manufacturing is when we put in more and more repositories of data, good data sets, we're going to be able to put in a particular product, right, with specs or technical drawings and say, re-engineer this for me. Push a button and say, you know what, you've been making this for years and years out of steel and this, that, and the other.

Starting point is 00:29:34 What you really need to do is because of the load tolerances and the balances and the cost structure and the environmental impact, you need to make this out of resident or you need to make this out of aluminum and let AI do some of the industrial engineering for us to then be able to produce products that are more effective, more efficient, have less of a carbon footprint, and are really able to assist us, especially in times like now where there are tariffs. We have a scenario right now where 50% tariffs on copper. Copper impacts consumer appliances and telephones and the automotive industry and everything else.

Starting point is 00:30:13 Well, wouldn't it be wonderful if AI would run us a bunch of different scenarios to say, hey, you don't need to use copper anymore. use this because when we scour all of these databases and data sets and engineering tools, we come up with the fact that the real material to use is X for this application and Y for that application and so on. So I think that's where there's a huge opportunity to impact global supply chain on the engineering and the manufacturing side. You know, and I think that that's going to be a big, a big deal for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Last question before we get in to some quick five.

Starting point is 00:30:53 You know, I know that you believe in mentorship and partnership. Damon John, who mentors me as partners with you, how valuable is that? Because, again, I don't care if you're listening and you don't run a business. In your personal life, mentorship, and partnering with the right people with the right mindset that believe in you is critically important. The partnerships that you've had, Damon and. and a lot of the others, how important has that been for you on a personal level? Forget the business level. We can all see what it does on the business level. What is that done for you personally?

Starting point is 00:31:30 Well, you fail when you stop growing, right? It's really when you fail. And you need to be seeking out scenarios where you're not the smartest person in the room. And when I say the word smart, that is a diverse concept. Smart in terms of X, Y, Z, different industry. So it is always, always my focus and goal to surround myself with people that I can continuously be learning from and continuously be offering information as well. And I think that the true definition of mentorship comes from those two-way street scenarios where you're learning and the people that you are learning from are also learning. And it's just this scenario of interactivity that really spurs conversation and opportunity. and opportunity and personal growth and development. So my relationship with Damon is as such.

Starting point is 00:32:26 He is someone that I respect greatly for the things that he's done through his life and through his business ventures and has grown to have levels of success in areas that I admire, greatly admire. And so I am learning a great deal in being in his company and at the same time trying to impart whatever. I can as well by levels of my expertise and my knowledge and my skill sets into things that are beneficial to him because he's obviously in the world of global supply chain and manufacturing and companies that he's involved with or gets invested in in things like Shark Tank, you know,

Starting point is 00:33:06 there's a lot of places where I can be able to give some thoughts or ideas and guidance as well. So these two-way street scenarios I think are absolutely critical and essential when it comes to mentorship. And it's really, it's really mutual mentorship, I think, that is where you get the best outcomes. Totally agree, brother. Totally agree. All right, Kareem, I know you're busy. So I'm going to get you out of here on my, on my quick five. So I know you're extremely busy. You travel a lot, right? Like, I think I met you in L.A. in two days later, you're going to have to be in New York. And then you have to be somewhere else. Like right after that, I was like, man, Kareem and I have like the same crazy schedule.

Starting point is 00:33:47 So what's your, when you're traveling, right? What's your like go-to comfort food out on the road somewhere? Like is there a spot? You're always going to talk about it. Anywhere. Anywhere? Yeah. Oh, man.

Starting point is 00:34:02 Chocolate. Okay. Absolutely chocolate. I mean, and I say anywhere because obviously I'm not going to say mac and cheese when I'm in Greece, you know, or anywhere else. But, no. I mean, just a good, a good piece of chocolate somewhere is always good, you know, at the end of the night or just somewhere where I can just, you know, do that. You know, I love, I'm a sweet tooth person. And so, you know, chocolate is a big thing for me. Okay. All right. Again, with all you're traveling, Kareem needs a reset, right? Where are you going?

Starting point is 00:34:37 To my room. Honestly, to my room to basically probably watch some, you know, mindless things on YouTube that just really allow me to just disconnect. I think the other day I was in Greece or traveling or doing something for work. And I ended up, you know, watching like Caesar Milan, the dog whisper or something and just seeing how he was, you know, calming down some dogs by specific techniques. or, I mean, my mind just goes to really strange places. I'll get into some, you know, engineering show or I'll get into, you know, something about watches. I'm a big watch guy.

Starting point is 00:35:16 I love time pieces. So I love the mechanics and neurology and so forth. And, you know, I just, I love the things like, you know, how things are made, those kinds of shows and so forth. So just, you know, chilling out in your bed, watching a little bit of some shows, YouTube things. or listening to some great music. I think more than anything else,

Starting point is 00:35:38 just disconnecting. I love it. Speaking of time pieces, shout out to Kevin O'Leary and Nancy, John, like you gave them some time pieces. I didn't get one, but we'll talk about that later.

Starting point is 00:35:50 Talk about that later. It's funny because, you know, being in global supply chain and manufacturing, I have the unique honor of being able to create our own products sometimes, our own brands, and it ends up being things that I'm interested in

Starting point is 00:36:03 and I love. So, you know, about four years ago, we created a really neat disruptive watch company called Core Time Pieces. And, you know, I know Kevin's a big watch guy. So, and he likes red. And we have a bunch of red watches and things. So I brought out a few. And I said, you know, Kevin, if you like to have one of these, he could. And, you know, he's half Lebanese.

Starting point is 00:36:25 And I'm Lebanese. So we had that little, you know, connection as well. And I just, I was happy to give him one. And yeah. There you go. Well, I like blue. Just throwing that up. You got a blue one.

Starting point is 00:36:35 I'll let you know four timepieces. I'll get you a blue one. There you go. All right. Back to the quick five. The biggest leadership lesson that you learned that you didn't expect to learn. Biggest leadership lesson I learned that I didn't expect to learn. I'll tell you for me, mine was patience.

Starting point is 00:36:55 I didn't understand how much patience you needed as a leader until I really became a leader. Yes. Yes. Okay. Adoption. Adoption of leadership. And what I mean by that is, is that oftentimes as leaders, we go into certain scenarios saying, I've got this great idea. I'm going to want to present it. And, you know, everybody's going to just listen to it and they're going to love it. That's a big mistake because leadership is only as successful as the adoption of your leadership. So what does that mean? It means. It means. means that you need to understand what motivates your audience. You need to understand what their needs, goals, concerns are and speak to that or modify what you were going to talk about to ensure that it hits those points. And those audiences are going to be different.

Starting point is 00:37:53 One audience may care more about these things. Another audience may care about those things and so forth. So as a true leader, I believe the most important factor is the adoption of your leader. which starts with understanding your audience, fully understanding your audience and speaking to them in their own language and their own terms. Yep, I love that. Next question out of the five,

Starting point is 00:38:17 what's your next biggest win? What's the next win for Kareem? To be the relatable voice of global supply chain is the next biggest win. Because, again, it's an area that touches everybody, these lives and we have a unique opportunity now because of the level of visibility and scrutiny that's being put on this concept and this industry to really educate people so they know why it's important. And this is happening at the college level where more and more undergraduates

Starting point is 00:38:56 are studying global supply chain management and at the master's degree level as well. I think it's going to be probably taught even in certain levels of school, you know, high schools and things of that nature. And I want to be right there to be a sounding board and to be an educator in this space because I've been in the trenches. I don't have any hair up here. And the reason why is is because I've dealt with, you know, the things that a lot of people would never really want to deal with. And what I do have is white or gray. So I want to take all that experience. and be able to put it out, you know, for people to better their businesses in their lives. I love that, dude.

Starting point is 00:39:40 Last question, and it's going to be a great segue. For every leader that's out there, what is the best podcast or show that they should be watching or listening to? And why is it the Supply and Demand Show? I'm not even answering the question. Well, you know, the Supply and Demand Show, it's a really, fun podcast where we try to humanize the supply chain and because it can get very technical and so forth. So I do that show with my good friend Richard Crawford who has a hit show on Amazon called Leave No Trace, which is amazing. He travels around the world. It's like ecotourism and so forth.

Starting point is 00:40:21 It'll be in Antarctica or sleeping on the side of a cliff in Peru and we've known each other for years and years. And between us, we have a very nice dynamic and playful banter where we bring on different business leaders and influencers that come from many different industries and have them talk about supply chain as it impacts the, you know, the wine industry or the cigar industry or a global tourism or whatever may be to really give that idea that again, no matter what we're talking about, supply chain pervades and has a presence. And so it's a real kind of, you know, fun, exciting way for people to learn more about supply chain in effect. 15, you know, 20 minute podcast. Yeah, supplying demand show on YouTube. I appreciate you calling it out.

Starting point is 00:41:08 That's the show every leader needs to watch. I probably watch and listen to. I promise you. Cream, man. Again, I could talk to you all day. I know you're busy, so I'm going to let you get out of here. But where can people find and follow you and also where can we buy your books? Absolutely. So Instagram, social media, you know, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn. YouTube, we've got it all under basically Kareem Kifori would be the name. My main website for anybody who needs any global supply chain solutions or assistance is the atlasnetwork.com, T-H-E, the Atlas Network.com. And for the book, it's at supply chain ups and downs.com or on Amazon as supply chain ups and downs. Those are really the big places for me. And then finally,

Starting point is 00:42:00 the last one is it's just generally about myself. I have a website which is kareem kifori.com for any sort of philosophy and leadership shows a lot of media and things that I'm doing these days too. So any of those places would be good. But definitely in the social media, follow me. I talk a lot on Instagram. We post every single day about, you know, unique little 30 or 60 second tidbits on why supply chain is important. I love it. Karim, you know what we're going to have to do? we're going to have to come back and do one for subscribers only. Oh, I love that. And go deep into some real logistics challenges.

Starting point is 00:42:38 Yeah. We'll have some of my guests and viewers ask us some questions. So if you're listening to this show right now, come up with some questions for Kareem and I. We're going to do a subscriber only show where your questions are going to get answered. How about that, Kareem? Love it. I think that sounds great. And I actually recently did something like that at Harvard.

Starting point is 00:42:57 They had me do a lecture at their supply chain class. And beforehand, you know, they had registered, pre-registered, and had all the questions. And it was great. It was such a nice dynamic. And, yeah, I think it's a great idea. We'll do it. So, Kareem, again, I appreciate you, man. Can't wait to see you in person again so we can have another great time.

Starting point is 00:43:19 Appreciate all that you're doing, especially in the supply chain world, man. The world needs the Atlas Network. So thank you. Thank you so much. great podcast and I'm hoping to see you soon yes sir yes sir and for all the viewers and listeners remember your because is your superpower go unleash it 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

Starting point is 00:43:51 action because the next level is already waiting for you have a question or insight to share, send us an email to hello at mickunplugged.com. Until next time, ask yourself how you can step up.

Mick Unplugged - Kerim Kfuri: Thriving Through Chaos-Supply Chains, AI, and Strategic Calm

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