Every episode of the podcast begins with Mychal Connolly Jr. relaying the basics of how it got started.
鈥淒uring a high class project, my teacher told me 'it's unrealistic being a CEO.' It's been my dream since I was 10, so I told her, 鈥榠t is realistic.鈥�"
Then Mikey, as his family calls him, invites listeners to follow him on his journey to learn what it takes to lead a company, a business or a community organization.
The podcast began about a year ago, when Mikey was still a senior in high school 鈥� after his teacher in a business class asked students to pick a car based on the income of the career they wanted.
Mikey said 鈥� he wanted a really nice car, so he was going to be a CEO.
When his teacher told him it wasn't realistic for him to be a CEO he said he pushed back.
鈥淚 defended my dream and I ended up becoming a CEO for that project,鈥� Connolly said.
Mikey is now finishing his first year at Holyoke Community College, and simultaneously over the last 12 months he's interviewed about 60 CEOs and CEO types around western Massachusetts 鈥� bank presidents, restaurant owners, community organizations directors, lawmakers and truck drivers.
During a 30 minute interview, he asks a series of questions that eventually get to the nugget鈥攚hat does it take to be a successful leader?
A series of questions and some consistent answers
Top tips Mikey has learned and shared through the podcast 鈥� develop confidence in yourself and your ideas.
鈥淵ou just got to believe in yourself. I did not realize how simple it really was," he said.
Even as simple as just slowing down Mikey said, getting out of your head and sometimes taking a leap of faith.
Another CEO trait, listen to people.
"As a leader, your biggest quality is to be able to listen to the others around you," Mikey said, "not only your team members, but also your customers, so that you can learn how to improve.鈥�
Several people on podcast episodes shared this advice, including Holyoke Community College President George Timmons.
"As a leader, you got to be humble enough to say, hey, what's the greater good?," Timmons said during Episode 28. "Is it because [the idea] is my way? Because I'm the president and it has to be my way? Or you know 'so and so introduced Option B' and it's going to still get me there and it's going to create better buy in," Timmons told Mikey.
Since few start off their adult lives as CEOs, finding out how they arrived at this point is a key part of the conversations.
When Mikey asked Diana Szynal how she became president of the Springfield Regional Chamber, she was strikingly candid about the hurdles.
鈥淪o one was I didn't finish college," Szynal said in Episode 16. "I was going to UMass to be a kindergarten teacher and, you know, basically ran out of money. I was supporting myself [in my] early 20s. It was actually at that time that I started working for the town of Hatfield. And... I just fell in love with local government.鈥�
Reaching a TikTok generation
The intended audience for Realistic CEO videos are people around Mike's age, late teens, early 20s. But with each video episode originally a half-hour long, will they watch?
鈥淗onestly, TikTok brain has kind of messed up the kids 鈥� and my 鈥� attention span," he said.
So Mikey and team package the long interviews also into shorter YouTube clips.
That team includes Mikey鈥檚 father, Mychal Connolly Sr., a marketing and content creator, and CEO of a digital billboard business.
In the job of parent, Connolly said he is mentoring his son.
鈥淗e's learning to become a CEO. He's learning how to make the decisions. Sometimes he listens to me, sometimes he doesn't,鈥� Connolly said.
With Realistic CEO, Connolly has been connecting him to business contacts around the region, working with him on speaking with adults and getting projects done.
A children's book too, and the "LBW"
Realistic CEO began as a children鈥檚 book, written by both Connollys.
It features a little boy named Tony who lives in Dreamville. Like Mikey he sets out to prove that no dream is too big鈥攅specially becoming a CEO.
The class project for Tony is a lemonade stand.
鈥淎nd then as he grows older, he turns the lemonade stand into a lemonade company,鈥� Mikey explained.
The book 鈥� colorful and short 鈥� highlights qualities a CEO wannabee might need to know about, including the "LBW," the long or lonely boring work that is part of the job.
In the podcast, Charles Evans spoke about that. Evans was an aspiring NBA player, who now owns a team in the American Basketball Association
鈥淎s far as anybody wanting to own a team, it's a lot of hard work, a lot of grit, a lot of grind, a lot of dog days, a lot of tired days, a lot of heartbreak," Evans said. "But for the most part, you know, it's worth it."
The "LBW" for Mikey is booking interviews, he said, waiting for people to get back to him and booking speaking gigs at schools 鈥� which is happening more and more, to his surprise.
鈥淚'm naturally super introverted. So this is out of my comfort zone," Mikey said, adding that over the last year, he's definitely become more comfortable.
Mikey has also demonstrated to himself and others 鈥� he has the markers of a Realistic CEO, especially determination.
