Derek Zahler – From Special Forces to Sustainable Solutions – Leading Through Innovation

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. Today’s guest is Derek Zahler, managing partner at Lindon Brock Equity Partners and also founder of C-SixB. We might have to talk about that later. Derek is a strategist and innovator with more than a decade of experience aligning people, ideas and resources to drive sustainable growth. I would be remiss if I did not tell you that he is a former US Army Special Forces soldier, and he brings the discipline and adaptability of his military background to the business world where he builds partnerships, unlocks opportunities, and helps organizations navigate complex challenges. Derek , welcome to the show.

Derek Zahler : Thanks for having me, Trisha. That’s, uh. That was awesome.

Trisha Stetzel: Feels a little formal. Based on where I think we’re going to take our talk today. All right, so first, tell us a little bit more about Derek.

Derek Zahler : Um, yeah, I’m. I’m just a guy. Um, I like a whole bunch of stuff. And, you know, as it concerns this, uh, this program, you know, I’m really, uh, I’m really green energy transition person. Um, I like I like looking on the fringes for solutions. And I like building teams, so I like being a part of the mix. I like being a part of what’s new. And, uh, you know, generally just being a part of the discussion.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I love that. All right. Derek, the the subtitle under your name says hurray for everything. Tell me more.

Derek Zahler : Hurray for everything. Um, yeah. That’s, uh, I actually stole it. Uh, I don’t know if any of your viewers are Simpsons viewers, but a long time ago, uh, I used to watch a lot of The Simpsons. Um, I thought it was hilarious. I saw the band. Hooray for everything. Uh, when I left the military, I thought, you know what? I’m going to kind of take that on as a a little bit of a positive thing. It’s one of my LLCs, and it just kind of reminds me that, you know, a lot of what we do, um, you know, you should you should have a smile on your face when you do it. So hooray for everything. Uh, I think it’s, um, it’s just kind of a fun, fun way to fun way to live in your business life.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that you bring such positive energy. Uh, whether it was you and I on the telephone or here on video. So. Alright, we’re going to have a little fun. You were sharing with me before we started recording today. Something that’s really stuck with you that you didn’t in the beginning really realize how important it might be as you brought it on this journey with you. So give us some backstory on so what?

Derek Zahler : So what? Yeah. So when I first joined, uh, team uh, in the Special forces, uh, community in first group, uh, my boss looked at me, uh, before our first deployment. He said, Derek, you need to really answer only one question when you’re doing something is. So what? And at the time, I thought it was infinitely stupid thing. Like, what do you mean, like. So what? You’re my boss. I’m in the army. I’m just going to do what you say. Um, but it kind of stuck with me. It hung around, it rented space in my head, and, uh, you know, as I. As I thought about it. You know what? That’s a that’s actually a pretty valid question. So when you think about, hey, we’re going out to training and you ask yourself, so what? And then you’re like, okay, well, I want to be a be a better soldier. And you’re like, so what? Um, you kind of almost feel like a toddler, but you arrive at a more, um, meaningful reason, right? And I think you can kind of pull that apart and say, you know, are we doing the right thing? Am I doing what’s good for me or what? What I believe in. And the. So what? Is what got me there. So it’s one of these kind of small, silly stories that stuck with me while I was in the military. It’s kind of guided me strangely, uh, you know, afterwards. So. So what became kind of a fun. It’s like a hooray for everything. You look at it, you’re like, oh, that’s silly. Hooray for everything. Um, but you start pulling it apart. You find your own meaning in it and, you know, makes me smile. And it brings a little more introspection to the, uh, the process.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I love that. And and to you as a human. And by the way, I love The Simpsons. I grew up watching The Simpsons, too. Simpsons are awesome. Hooray for everything. Um, can we talk a little bit about the work that you’re doing? I know that you mentor, you’re involved in a couple of different organizations. You are a partner at Linden Equity Partners. Just give us an overview of what you do in in your businesses and the organizations you belong to.

Derek Zahler : Yeah, I think the, the one common thread, which is we look for more non-obvious answers. Um, lindenbrook is kind of what ties everything together, whether it’s looking on the periphery for sustainable agricultural projects, uh, or processes, um, if we’re involved in an investment banking transaction, uh, to be pulled in as a, you know, a senior advisor and say, hey, we think we understand this. Um, and here’s how we look at things. So we like to, you know, look at things from a different angle. Um, the name Lindenbrook or Liedenbrock, depending on the translation, comes from Jules Verne, by the way, from journey to the center of the Earth. Uh, for those of you that have read that way back when, but, uh, the professor who actually goes to the center of the Earth is kind of this weirdo that that kind of dabbles on the edges of things. And so we thought, you know, that’s great. We’re going to look on the outside and try to take a slightly different perspective. Uh, you know, whether it is csexp, whether it’s, again, investment banking or it’s just an infrastructure project. So we like to test our assumptions and just say, hey, you know, maybe we don’t know what we think we know.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Yeah. Okay. So thinking about this, who who is it that you normally engage with Derek. Who would you be looking to. Like what connections are you looking for.

Derek Zahler : Yeah. So primarily it’s I’ll say everybody. Right. Um, but our space, uh, is sort of rooted in the financial industry and the investment banking. Um, not a lot of people really understand that. But if we could break it down in really simple terms, it’s any business that’s looking to get bigger or sell, right. And it’s a lot like selling a house a little more complicated. Um, but we like partnering with those folks. Whether you’re saying, hey, I’m trying to sell my plumbing business, I’m trying to bolt on something that’s more renewable, like biochar. Um. It’s that’s where we that’s where we step in. And we’re not, you know, here to compete with, you know, real big investment. No JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs but more on the beginning side and saying, hey, if you need a partner, you need a friend. You just need some advice, some someone to translate the the unknown. That’s kind of where we start.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. And you tend to like this green space, right? I love it. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so can we talk a little bit about that? Listen, you published an article just a few days ago, uh, called Hunting Unicorns with a canteen. Can you tell me more about that?

Derek Zahler : Yeah, again, it’s one of those kind of poking around the periphery. I love it. It’s structured water, by the way. So for those of you who don’t, don’t want to go to the, uh, it’s like a three minute read, but it talks about something that, uh, the health and wellness industry has been exploring. It’s called structured water. Um, and a lot of people believe there’s, there’s benefits to it that, you know, we can sort of explain a lot of heuristics because it’s extremely expensive and time consuming to really prove that structured water exists. Um, but I love it. And I think it kind of it’s a it’s a vehicle. It’s an idea that opens my mind saying, hey, you know, if there’s a possibility, um, and that’s so what is hey, it could help. It could really, really benefit a lot of people. Then. Then there’s good cause to go after it. There’s good cause to engage it, or at least open your mind to it. And I think if we can approach a lot of the problems like that, um, you know, hooray for everything, you know, all together. So.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that if you guys are looking for the article, it is a very short read. It’s on, uh, Derek’s LinkedIn page. If you’re looking for Derek on LinkedIn, it’s d e r e k um z a h e r is his last name. You guys can check out that article and a few others that might be of interest to you. Um, you. So we just talked about the green space, but I, I know that you’re also involved in traditional industries mining pipeline operations, if I’m not mistaken. Right. Um, so how do you how do you balance these legacy industries with these new disruptive opportunities as you’re moving through your journey?

Derek Zahler : Yeah, that’s a that’s a fantastic question. Um, so I’ll start with mining. Um, mining is so I, you know, we want to chat about it. I worked for a very large coal mining company, uh, a number of years ago. And, you know, coal mining is literally and figuratively dirty word. It’s one of those things that’s, you know, immediately polarizing. And, you know, it’s kind of it was my, you know, kind of attempt my education, say, hey, things aren’t that simple, right? Coal isn’t horrible, but you kind of have to know where you came from to know where you’re going. So, you know, how do you reconcile that with, you know, pipelining. Pipelining was an infrastructure business that I had. Um, it’s still something I care deeply about. I think in this country, infrastructure is a very difficult problem to solve. But where this all comes together and where Linden, Brock and everything else kind of ties into this is you’re always looking to move, right? Nothing’s nothing’s great in a static form. I think a lot of your military viewers can appreciate the adage, you know, you say, hey, look, we can go left around the hill, we can go right around the hill, we can go up and over the hill. But the one thing we do know that if we stand still, we’re going to get killed.

Derek Zahler : So it’s always been my thought. You got to take these things and start. Keep moving. Right. Um, like a lot of people, I have young kids. They are my motivation. They are. They are the reason I push for the green transition. Transition into what’s more efficient? What’s cleaner? You know, I think every parent wants to leave the world in a slightly better state than we found it. Um, and give them the same opportunities, if not more than what we had. So that kind of at the back of my mind drives like, how can we get better, right? We can’t just accept it. Infrastructure or material. Material processing will stay the same. I think we’re we’re all we all think we realize it’s not going to not going to fly even in the near future. Um, but that’s kind of that’s where my mind goes. So it’s not I don’t really exclude either legacy or kind of old spaces, because I think there’s always ways to renew and ways to introduce ideas and people and energy to the, uh, to the process. So, hey, let’s at least keep talking. I know it’s a difficult world we live in now to have have real discussion or discourse, but, uh, again, you know, we try, right? And, you know, that’s all we can do. Mhm.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. Absolutely. So can we dig into that just a little more like the whole idea of um aligning resources. We talked a little bit about that. But aligning people and ideas and being a leader, how does this all come together when we do have such in some cases conflicting ideas about these resources? Yeah.

Derek Zahler : Yeah. Uh. Fantastic question. I don’t know, really has a great answer. But, you know, I think, again, leadership plays the probably the most pivotal role there, right? I mean, in a world that’s growing more polarized, um, and a little more confused, I think leadership is probably the core tenant there. Right? I mean, whether it’s education saying, hey, look, we hire for like the enthusiasm we hire for like the personality, we train you to get there. I think that’s kind of, again, maybe cliche, but I think that’s it’s true. Right. We all have to learn something new, whether that’s integrating AI, um, learning that we might not have enough lithium on Earth to supply the current battery usage as, uh, as it’s projected, um, or to kind of look at the infrastructure we’re talking about plumbing and saying, hey, look, these are some really old pipes. And, you know, water is, you know, kind of an important thing in this world. Um, so, yeah, I think when you when you get down to it, the leadership and the team components, sort of everything. And I think we can see that in cultures that, you know, where businesses really thrive and saying, hey, look, we’re not really excluding we’re not we’re not compartmentalizing these, these thought leaders or, you know, thought contributors. Um, I think the idea that leadership will kind of prevail and that’s difficult, right? I don’t I don’t say that someone like, hey, follow me. Um, but I think everyone can, can appreciate, you know, good and bad leaders. But I, we you started with the. So what? Um, I got in there thinking, man, my team sergeant maybe doesn’t know his ass from his elbow, but, like. But there was something there, right? And and, uh, I was, you know, a new young guy, and and it just took time. And so if we can have patience and that I think that’s again, it’s my hope. I know, maybe I sound like a little bit of a bleeding heart, but it’s I think it works for everything that’s out there.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm I agree. And you know hiring for attitude versus knowledge and skills is something we could all learn, right? And bringing people in who say, hooray for everything like you.

Derek Zahler : Yeah, right.

Trisha Stetzel: Forget it. Can’t teach a good attitude, I guess, is my point. You want to hire someone who comes with some, right? Yeah. Above the line.

Derek Zahler : Yeah. That’s that’s, you know, a great one because, uh, one of my hobbies is, uh, demography. Right? And I think we’re in a we’re in a space where, you know, you got some. The extras are turning, the older ones are turning 60, 65, and, you know, people shaking fingers at Gen Z and, uh, it you’re kind of framing it. Right. And so but if you hire for attitude, you say, hey, we’re going to bring all these people along. And, you know, whether you’re at the end of your career, beginning of your career, um, have technical skills or not, I think that’s, um, you know, you’re riding this wave of, of employees, leaders. Um, yeah. Hire for attitude. Right? Like, bring them along. Right. It’s it’s easy to be beat people down and keep them out of the party. It’s hard to bring them along.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. And everything else we can teach them. Knowledge and skills can be taught all day long.

Derek Zahler : That’s right.

Trisha Stetzel: All right, so besides the, uh, one thing that we already talked about that you learned from the military, what other lessons or even skills did you bring with you as you came out of the military and moved and transitioned into, uh, the world outside the military?

Derek Zahler : That’s a great question. I think the first one I’m going to I know almost every military member veteran can appreciate. I think Patience took that one out. Right. I think we transitioned, um, and we have a knee jerk to have no patience. Even though patience was kind of, like, beaten into all of us. Like, you will stand here and wait just to get assigned to be more waiting. So, you know, patience, I think is a is a is a huge one, right? If we can be like, hey look, we were, we would wait on a tarmac just to wait for more orders to find out that we were just going to be moved to the other side of the tarmac and wait. Um, like, there should be that part of us there. Like, hey, we’re used to waiting. Um, so the patience of all this is, um, I think that’s like, you know, like, bring that to the table, like, breathe deep, um, find some peace in the moment, and it’s patience. Mhm. Um, and I think the next part is another thing that all veterans probably have in their, their, you know, beaten into their DNA, uh, which is sort of adaptability. Right. Like knowing when to pivot. Right. There’s I talk a lot to friends, family, different audiences saying, you know, attrition is real, right? And we love to say, no, quit, don’t quit, don’t quit. That’s sort of easy, right? We know the world isn’t just as easy as, like, never quit. I think it’s knowing when to quit or when to pivot, I think a lot of veterans can can understand that. Like, hey, look, this is this is a dead end, right? We must pivot. You’re not quitting on the mission. You’re just maybe quitting on this path. Um, and knowing how and when and, you know, so what, uh, to quit. So I think those those those two, I would call them pillars. Really? That’s that was my big takeaway. Patience and knowing when to quit. Right. Not too early, not too late. You know, not an easy answer, but I think we all got there. Yeah.

Trisha Stetzel: Well, and I think we we know how to get stuff done. Right. So I like to call it DSD. We just get stuff done. Uh, and, and not always the way everyone else wants us to, but we’re going to we’re going to get it done for sure.

Derek Zahler : Yeah. Hey, if we have to dig a hole, we don’t have a shovel. We’ll find a way to dig a hole. Right?

Trisha Stetzel: It’s okay. Yeah, we’ll figure it out. Um, you’re very involved. Or it just in our conversations and In looking at your profile, involved in mentorship. And I believe that mentorship is very important. Uh, I also heard you talking about, um, really digging into how are how are all of these generations that are in the workforce now going to get along and use each other’s knowledge and experience and expertise to make the world a better place? So let’s talk about mentorship. Number one, um, did you have great mentors as you were growing up, if you will, and finding the place that you are now, and how are you mentoring others to receive the same type of support?

Derek Zahler : Yeah, absolutely. I had, uh, I had a ton of I have a handful of great mentors of a handful of shaky ones. Um, but my, my early career was actually spent, uh, in, in, uh, in athletics. Um, so I reflect a early young Derek , um, just a lot of lot of football, a lot of baseball, you know, wrestling these kind of things. So coaches. Coaches were my real mentors. Um, they taught me a lot. They they spent time with me. Um, and you could almost see it reflected in. Well, I could see it reflected in my own actions, how I treated other teammates when I was, uh, older or younger. And you went through the process. Right. I think I’m, uh, you know, just so everyone knows, I’m an old. I’m a young extra. I’m an old millennial. Millennial, depending on where that is. Um, so the we call it hazing, but it’s you went through those, like, initiations where, like the breakdown and then build back up. Right. And the military does that. You know, there’s a formula clearly. Um, but but there’s also, you know, there’s a, there’s a level of attention to the, to the subject. Right. So it’s such a, it’s such a interesting thing to apply. Like when I was young. Oh that’s how they were doing it.

Derek Zahler : That’s how they built me up when I was, when I was at my weakest, when I was at my strongest. How did how did that resonate with me? Um, I think that was extremely important for me and just saying, hey, can I pass that along? Not that I know. You know, I don’t know a lot about a lot of things. Um, but I do know how it felt, and, uh, I know how Special forces treated it. Um, so, you know, I try to try to kind of collate those, those experiences and saying, hey, this is what I learned. Can we do this in business? Right again? Can we can we hire for attitude and then train for success? Um, you know, ideas are ideas, right? When we want to start putting some some rubber to the road, you know, then we can, we can get down there. So yeah, that’s I think, uh, it’s an enormous part of it. I mean, I still look to some mentors I have now. I’m fortunate, uh, my father still alive. He’s he’s one of my strongest mentors and strongest advocates I’ve ever had. So, um, he’ll be the first one I go to, but I do have a handful that, um, you know, younger and older. So.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I love that. So for those that are listening today that say, gosh, I don’t know if I really have a mentor, uh, where do I find one? What what advice would you give to folks who don’t really feel like they’ve got that strong support system right now?

Derek Zahler : Yeah, that’s that’s a fantastic question. Um, but we are in an information age, right? I mean, we met each other, uh, through through LinkedIn. And, you know, it’s just getting to a party, being willing to put yourself out there saying, hey, I like your work. Um, can we chat? I think that’s the, uh, that’s the easiest way. I mean, there’s tons of thought leaders out there, especially in the the interwebs. So, you know, LinkedIn is a great spot, you know, for business. Um, but, you know, if you’re more connecting locally, there’s just there’s going to be people or institutions or anything you admire, just, you know, raise your hand, put yourself out there. It’s, you know, most people want to help. I would say most people do have that sense that, you know, I’m trying to do good as well as doing well. So, um, yeah, you just gotta have that, have that ability to stand up and raise your hand.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. All you gotta do is ask, because there are people out there who want to be in your room now. Be careful about who you let in your room because, well, there are those people you don’t want there in the first place, and they’re really hard to kick out if you let them in your room.

Derek Zahler : True story. True story. Yeah.

Trisha Stetzel: Oh my goodness. Alright, as we get to the back end of our conversation, Derek, you we’ve talked about all of the hats that you’ve worn over the last only few years. I wouldn’t say several because you’re not really that old, uh, soldier, entrepreneur, strategist, mentor. If you could leave the listeners with one piece of advice about creating sustainable success in business and even in life, what would it be?

Derek Zahler : Um, openness. I would say open your mind, open your heart type of thing. Um, I think sustain success, sustain growth, whatever you what you want to sustain happiness, I think, comes from opening yourself. And I know that’s that’s a silly thing. I know I’m probably walking down the Brene Brown like vulnerability, um, path. But, you know, it really is true if you’re open to it. New ideas, new people. Um, I think you’re gonna you’re going to be fine, right? If you can look at your team now and analyze like, hey, what’s what’s going on? What’s happening? Where do we want to be? With an open mind and an open heart, um, you’re going to find people that want to come in. You’re going to find those pieces that that support the trajectory you’re on. Um, and the mission. And I think that’s that’s key, right? It’s not without its road bumps or, you know, setbacks, but the openness that what I found really helped me to saying, hey, like, I don’t know, everything. Um, I don’t know everything. Um, but I’m open to listening. So there you are.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. So I it it strikes me that I have one more question. I know I said I was done, but I this This really came to mind for me because I was having this conversation earlier today about lead by example. And when you’re leading difficult people, sometimes leading by example doesn’t feel like it’s working. So talk to me about leadership and leading by example.

Derek Zahler : Yeah, I think leading by example, uh, comes from a bit of self-awareness, a little bit of emotional intelligence. I think when you understand what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, what you think, you understand what you don’t understand, uh, communicating that is, is probably should be at the top of the list, right. Because people, you know, there’s a bit of, you know, the desire to follow a, you know, a flawless, you know, beautiful, never, you know, omniscient type of leader. But I think we all know that’s not that’s not feasible. It’s not happening. So the communication is like, hey, here’s who I am. You know, I’m in this position. I’m setting the I’m setting the course right. Understanding the difference between the strategic or the leadership role and the tactical, um, execution. I think it’s also important to kind of delineate, I think everyone who’s been in the military understands the difference between the strategy and tactical roadmap. Um, that gets buy in, right. Transparency in a lot of ways gets buy in in a way to communicate that belief and saying, hey, let’s let’s underscore the strength play to our strengths and away from our weaknesses. I think we’re going to do well as a team. Um, that’ll be that is close to the bridge as I can make, uh, with, with dealing with those difficult, uh, those moments.

Trisha Stetzel: Um, I like that. But it all, it all rolls into this sustainable success. If I can talk, uh, in knowing going back to what you said earlier about being able to pivot or know when to say no or know when to say yes, right. Uh, and as leaders, we have to make those hard decisions. And sometimes we do have to be very transparent and hard conversations happen whether you like them or not, right? They always happen. Okay. Circling back around as we finish up with hooray for everything! And do you have the answer to your question? So what?

Derek Zahler : I think I do. I think it’s taken me a long while. Uh, but the so what is it’s got to be meaningful to you. It’s got to make you happy. It’s got to feel right. I know that in this day and age, we don’t have a lot of time during the day to sit and be with ourselves truly, in a quiet manner. But I think your, you know, if you want to get a little, uh, woo woo, I think your higher self knows, right? You’re like, this does serve me. I feel good about this. Um, you’ve gone down that path and or it doesn’t. And I think the so what should be a lot of your, you know, your guiding light.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. This was awesome. Thank you so much for your time. I’m so glad that I talked you into coming on the show with me, because I’m pretty sure I talked you into it.

Derek Zahler : This is wonderful. I love I love the opportunity. It’s been great.

Trisha Stetzel: It’s been fantastic. You guys, if you want to connect with Derek, LinkedIn is a great place to find him. That’s how I found him. It’s d e r e z a l e r. Derek, again, thank you so much for being with me today.

Derek Zahler : I appreciate you.

Trisha Stetzel: It’s all the time we have for our show today. You guys. If you want more information about Derek, please go connect with him. And of course, all of the places that you can find him will be in the show notes. You can just point and click. I hope you guys have a fantastic day. And until next time.