Life After Football: Leadership & Business with Jehu Chesson and Bo Dever | The Leaders Club Ep. 0

[This is Jehu Chesson and I’m Bo Dever. Welcome to The Leaders Club. We’re so happy you guys are tuning in. Uh man, Bo, we’ve known each other for what 10 plus years, almost 15 now. 14. It’s 2012. It’s been uh crazy to think about. Yeah, man. No, time has flown by for sure. But super grateful to be doing this with you. Um the audience has some great things in store from us this season. maybe share a little bit about Bo, you know, what do you think the audience can expect as we’re taking them through this journey of The Leaders Club? What is The Leaders Club? You know, what are we trying to do here, man? Yeah, I I think the title speaks for itself.

You know, The Leaders Club both, you know, you and I learned so many lessons through our time, you know, at Michigan. You know, you continuing your career on into the NFL and then both have been successful in our own rights in the business world, um, and in life after football. So, I think touching base on a lot of those stories, a lot of athletes, um the the unseen successes that they experience and and their lessons that they learned through their time in sport, um is is something we’re going to dive into more and really touch on and and I think it’s kind of a good thing that our our viewers can expect as we move through the season. That’s exactly right, man.

Um, but before we dive a little bit more into that, you know, I’m sure they want to know who we are. So, like I said, my name is Jehu Chesson. Uh, originally from West Africa, grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Obviously went to the University of Michigan with Bo Dever here, my roommate. Um, Bo, what what was our first really memory together at Michigan? Was it um we didn’t really do any recruiting visits together, did we? No, but uh we didn’t find out till till later that you know we were both at that camp our junior year of high school and your dad took a photo of you and I’m standing next to you in the line for the the wide receiver drills and we had no idea that we were next to each other.

Yeah, that was like your year. [laughter] Yeah. Yeah. No, it was crazy just that weird, you know, small world coincidence. But I I think we we bonded pretty quickly on on you know coming in just in the class with you know you me Amara Darboh um texting each other all the time. Um just getting to to know each other you know kind of through through that before we got on campus and then you know just started working out and and doing all the drills and all that stuff together. Yeah. No 1%.

Um but yeah, no so I I think may maybe um share a little bit to the audience, you know, who you are, who Bo Dever is, you know, uh where’d you grow up, where you from, and um sort of kind of where did you get your business acumen from or did you have business acumen, if you will? Yeah. So, I was uh I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. Um came to Michigan as a preferred walk-on. And I think, you know, to answer your question, where I learned a lot of my my business experience was, you know, watching my dad as I grew up. Um, he’s been very successful in the business world as well.

And just seeing him and how he builds relationships and how he, you know, handles himself on a day-to-day manner while doing meetings and and calls and and just kind of sitting there and listening like a fly on the wall is just really learning through, you know, watching him. Um, so I think that’s where I can attribute a lot of my success to in the business world to to, you know, watching my dad as I grew up. I think we all can attest to um you know, you’re a product of your environment, right? You’re a product of, you know, where you come up.

And that’s why we think it’s so important where you go to school because um you’re going to be surrounded by people who are going to influence your behavior without you even really realizing. And you know, I just know being roommates with you freshman year all the way throughout my whole whole career at Michigan, you know, you influenced me in ways that you probably still don’t even know, right? um just attention to detail, caring, and you know, those are all great qualities of a leader.

And I think a lot of people think of leadership as you know, you’re a captain or you’re a sergeant, you’re a general, you’re a president, you’re all these different things, but I I really do believe that, you know, everybody is capable of leadership and we all have to be capable of following and uh capable of leading. Um, you know, and so, uh, one of the things that I really appreciate about this podcast and the types of people we’re going to be bringing on is really just learning a little bit more of what makes a good leader. Um, why they were called into the roles they were called in to be.

And a lot of times as athletes, there’s so many things like the grit and the drive and the rigor that made us really good on the field, but how does that really translate to off the field, right, Bo? So, um maybe maybe let’s dive a little bit more into sort of um your experience at Michigan and and I can share a little bit more for mine too, but what were some of the things that really build us up as leaders uh at a school like Michigan? Like why Michigan um in the first place? Yeah. So, you know, I came in as preferred walk-on. I think I had maybe two stars attached to my name and that’s because they created a profile for me. Um, so, you know, wasn’t highly recruited by any means.

Uh, my dad played at Michigan in the 80s as well, so named after Bo Schembechler. um you know, didn’t really have any other options of where I would go to school just from a standpoint of that’s what I grew up knowing and bled from, you know, the day I was born was, you know, Michigan through and through. And so I think, you know, one of the biggest things that I I learned at at Michigan was, you know, you could be competing with the best of the best and if you just work hard and and keep working hard, you know, you can can get your your shot as well. You know, I came as a preferred walk-on and ended up, you know, being a starting slot receiver our junior year.

And and so I think that’s one of the biggest kind of lessons that I learned through, you know, my time playing football was just the the hard work, the dedication, the patience of, you know, you’re you’re building your craft. It’s not, you know, created overnight, right? I wasn’t walking into the building on day one and and getting playing time. It was, you know, all those hours of drills on the JUGS machines, um, you know, the tennis ball machines, you know, the extra route runs, extra conditioning, the extra weightlifting, um, you know, all the all the stuff that’s put in behind the scenes that isn’t shown on Saturdays, right?

So, those were, you know, just some of the lasting lessons and and, you know, it carries over a lot into the business world. um not the physical, you know, weightlifting and conditioning cardio aspect, just the attention to detail that you learn, you know, through the process and how that, you know, translates over to the business world. So, Jehu, tell me about your experiences at Michigan and in the NFL and how those translated to you having a successful business career that you’ve you’ve had so far. Yeah.

No, I think um when when you ask me that, I my mind goes to sort of this this idea or this principle that um ironically enough, you know, I don’t know where I got it from, but it’s always just kind of stuck in my mind. I think it was like a coach in high school, but um essentially um this idea of luck, right? Like, and what is luck? And it was defined to me as um the intersection of being prepared and having an opportunity. And uh so when I say I was lucky, right? I think um I can really attest to this because when I first came to Michigan, um you know, I was recruited uh really grateful to have a full ride scholarship, but didn’t really make significant impact, you know, to Michigan until my junior year or so.

Um but what what happened though and when I look back at my story um [clears throat] the luck part was me you know doing the lifting you know doing class right just being a complete student athlete um but being consistent right like that was the biggest thing was being consistent but then well what was the opportunity the opportunity came um spring of 15 where you know Harbaugh’s first spring ball at the University of Michigan uh and I just committed you know completely into being the best football player I could possibly be. Um, playing and doubling down into my strengths. And that’s when I started finding success because I started stacking the little wins as John Baxter would say.

And so all of a sudden, you know, me being prepared and having the opportunity and executing transformed into this amazing career at the University of Michigan, I would go on to get drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. And same thing in the NFL, you know, it’s uh it’s a game of being prepared and always staying frosty like Coach Harbaugh always says. So, um I feel like in order for you to really maximize your potential and maximize your capabilities, it’s that daily grind that you have to do when nobody is watching. But then all of a sudden, you’re going to be given an opportunity, right? Opportunity, that’s just how life, right? Opportunities come. And if you’re prepared and you execute, you maximize the opportunity.

And if you don’t, you know, I I really think that’s what failure is. Failure is um you know, you have an opportunity, but you don’t seize the opportunity in a way to advance your personal professional goals, but hopefully you got another one, right? But you don’t always get a second chance. So, you’ve always got to be ready. You’ve always got to be frosty. So, Jehu, I remember our our our second semester freshman year in the winter.

You know, we were having 5 a.m. workouts every other day, you know, full course loads. you know, I I remember you had a lot on your plate during that time, but how did you manage, you know, keeping a positive, you know, headspace and and having the ability to get everything accomplished that you needed to? Yeah, man. Um, I mean, the short answer is one faith.

Um, a little bit more elaborate answer is really trying to, you know, have a good system around me, man. um like that semester I know between you know relationship um school football I was also rushing Alpha Kappa Psi at the time where we had to do over 70 1-hour interviews with uh different brothers in the fraternity it it was a full course load man um but I think for me it was it’s really just having support and and a system with each of the different silos of things I was doing um to be able to know that um people had my back but um how I managed my time and how efficient I was. Um having somebody like Harold Waters, Dr.

Waters uh was one of the academic advisers at the university and you know just talking to him and being honest with him about you know what I was feeling. you know, not not every, you know, we talk about mental health and having a positive headspace. You know, not not every single day is going to be, you know, sunshine and rainbows, right? But what you do want to make sure is on the gloomy days, you know, you have things that you can fall back on, right? Like good conversations with people you trust and really talking about what you’re going through because it really does help. So, I think that was probably one of the most stressful times in my life. Um, and people like Dr. um Dr. Dr. Greg Greg Harden. Dr.

Greg Harden means so much to me, you know, rest his soul. But he he also was a resource that I went to to, you know, be um to confide in and to talk to. Um at the end of the day, we just need somebody to talk to, man. Like you you got to you got to be real. Like even you like being around people you like and you know, it’s not always just talking through your issues or your problems because sometimes you sound like a broken record, but it’s also being around people that lift you up. You know, I remember um throughout that super stressful time um you know, there are different uh the Walking Dead series would come on. What was that?

Sunday nights, you know, uh Game of Thrones would come on, just you know, we just be be together and just hang out and be together and all that energy was was contagious, right? So, really watch who you hang around and and make sure it’s u it’s a positive environment, but also have have leadership figures in your life like the Dr. Hardens of the world and the Dr. Waters of the world to make sure that you’re confiding in people that can actually help you with some of the things you’re going through. So, that’s what I’d say I did. Um, it’s not perfect, but you know, again, you know, it’s it’s we’re not on the mission of pursuing perfection. We’re we’re or actually I should say this.

In the pursuit of perfection, you’ll end up getting better, right? And that’s what I think of the whole mental health space. So, Jehu, tell me about your transition from from playing in the NFL. You know, like you said, you were you were fortunate and blessed to to be drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and, you know, you played in the NFL for uh what was it? Four years, 5 years. Um, and then, you know, you ultimately made that transition for, you know, your your new life after football. You know, tell us about that and and, you know, what that looks like for you now and where you are today. It’s funny, man.

Like looking back, um, one of my coaches, Andy Reid, you know, he he’d always say, uh, hindsight is a son of a buck. Um, because you have a full picture of things, you know, when you look back on things. But while I was transitioning out of the NFL, I never really knew I was actually transitioning out of the NFL, right? And and that’s really the problem that most athletes face is they never know you’re actually going through the transition, right? So, it’s tough to be prepared for something when you never know when that thing would happen, right?

And so, that’s part of some of the when you hear all these, you know, sort of uh issues that pro athletes have, you know, transitioning from their sport, it really stems from that because the unknown um is is is scary, right? you get anxious around thinking about things that you don’t know what could happen and you don’t know really what the repercussions of some of the things going around you could be. So, um trying to transition in that can be can be pretty scary, right? So, but we all go through that, right? But it’s just um how you deal with that. So, for me, um I think one of the things I did was um [clears throat] you know, I was always a good student.

Uh always had a good head on my shoulders. um you know come from a loving home uh you know really good Christian values and principles. Uh my mom always told us love God love people and because I love God and love people. I always try to connect with people and try to you know create you know substantial relationships and I I didn’t really know why I was doing it. I just felt like it was the right thing to do. And I had a few people when I was going through sort of ambiguous times with the NFL, um, you know, tore my tricep, you know, tore my flexor tendon, had all these injuries. Um, wasn’t too sure if I was going to even be playing the next season.

Wasn’t even too sure, you know, if if I could even catch a ball still, right, with all the surgeries I was having. Um, but what I started realizing was getting perspectives and hearing other people’s stories um, as to what they were doing. And what that kind of did was kind of give me information to kind of apply to my own situation and make it my own story. Um, so for example, um, I had u had a few friends that had different skill sets. Like I had a friend who was a fabricator up in New York. He’s really good at welding. That was his skill. That was his lifestyle.

Had another friend who was a um, uh, he was a real estate broker down in Florida. had another friend who was uh he worked on you know cloud software with Microsoft and so these different friends and these different people in my life like made me realize that I really didn’t have any skills right like when football was over right I could run fast I could get open I could catch the ball but outside of that I didn’t really have any tangible skills that I could actually do so then that’s when I was like man I got to learn something so naturally like a lot of folks you know I’m like okay well how can I I’ve got a little bit of money.

Um, you know, I’ve got the the grit, I’ve got the drive, I’ve got the ambition, right? I’ve got the discipline, which a lot of times this is what companies hire for cuz they’ll teach you the skills, right? But I didn’t know that at the time. So, you know, started a couple of companies myself and they started becoming, you know, successful. Tell me about some of the lessons that you learned from your time at Michigan. At Michigan, you know, the hard thing about Michigan is, you know, you don’t just have to play football, right? You actually got to go to class, right? because you know all these professors they’re doing research they do all these things and they take school very seriously as well.

So um I had the good fortune of surrounding myself with good students and obviously surrounding myself with good athletes and so I was always being pushed on the academic side and on the uh athletic side and one of the things I did was join a professional business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi um where we would learn about different business functions and things like that and really get exposure to different things. And so I always kind of had that like entrepreneurial mindset where when I got into the NFL, I was always looking for different opportunities um to really connect with people and to really try to, you know, expand my network.

And one of the things I quickly realized was I just, you know, outside of football, I didn’t really have any other, you know, kind of tangible skills and I was looking for ways to sort of try to apply myself um to and and learn different things. I was always super curious. So, I think really putting the right people around you to inspire you, to help you learn, and and this sounds kind of weird, but it’s so true, is like learn how to learn, right? Like I think that’s one of the best things about being an athlete. Um, you know, coach comes in with a new install with a new route with a technique or something and you’ve got to learn it. You know, you have such a short amount of time to learn a whole playbook.

Like, taking those skills and moving it into like the business world, like it’s all about speed, right? Because a lot of the success I’ve had in business is because um not that I rushed through things was it was more so that it was speed to the opportunity, right? Uh understanding what the opportunity was so you could execute. So um I I think Michigan created that sort of operating system for me to where when I got to the NFL, I wasn’t just focused only on sports. You know, in the offseason, I was making connections even during the season. you know, every away game we went to, I would invite a Michigan alum uh from AKPsi out to dinner just to hear their story and to get inspired and to see what I could learn.

And I think um what I would tell this generation now today is, you know, expose yourself to different things. Like find out what you like, find out what you don’t like, but ideally you’d like to find that out through other people so that you don’t necessarily make expensive mistakes like they made, you know? So, um that’s kind of how I got it. But like what about you Bo? Where where did you sort of see yourself when you were at Michigan? Cuz you know you didn’t go pro. You didn’t go to the NFL but you pro in something right? I believe you’ve been in sales now at [company name unclear] for what however many years now. What? Eight eight years now.

So my career at Michigan was cut short due to concussions and and I had a candid conversation with coach Harbaugh um you know when he first came in that fall camp. Um, you know, I had a concussion that spring that was pretty bad and then, um, had a concussion that fall. And one of the things, you know, we discussed was, you know, you can replace a shoulder, you can replace a knee, but you can’t replace your brain. And so knowing that, you know, hey, I’d had some success at the college level, you know, realistically and realistic expectations were maybe could have gotten a try out somewhere, but you know, the name wasn’t coming off the draft board.

Um, I wasn’t in the that that Saturday or Friday, Saturday, definitely not a Sunday. Um, and so, you know, I transitioned from from being a player to now, you know, being a coach. And that was something that always piqued my interest was, you know, the other side of the ball. And and I got a lot of good experience, um, you know, going from from being, you know, wearing the jersey to to wearing the headset. Um, and I learned a lot through that experience as well, just like I did, you know, from playing. you know, there’s a lot more that goes into it than, you know, just us showing up to the building for practice and the coaches having that that prepared.

Um, you know, I was still in school, you know, full full credit course load. Um, but it was also working now probably 60 70 hours a week inside Schembechler Hall. you know, you’re breaking down game tape, you’re getting the game plans ready, you’re getting the practice scripts, the quarterback wristbands, the, you know, coordinating with the the managers of what you need on the field. Um, so, you know, there was a lot that went into that behind the scenes as well. And I I initially had thought, you know, maybe that was a career path that I wanted to to take and to go down. And um ultimately decided that, you know, that wasn’t for me.

But, you know, continued on, did an extra, you know, two seasons, my my senior year and then our fifth year together as a grad assistant. And, uh, it it got to a point then where, you know, you ask yourself, what’s next, right? What’s next for for Bo Dever? And you start kind of doing a internal analysis of of what am I good at? And one of the things that, you know, kind of came to the front was, you know, I’m a people person. I’m I’m very good at having conversations with strangers. I’m very good at, you know, curating and building relationships with new people and and that aligns with sales very well and and pretty spot-on.

Um, and so, you know, started kind of then looking at it from a standpoint of, okay, sales is such a broad, you know, scope and a broad spectrum of what you could go into. um you know where where can I find a a niche or a sales market that would be you know best suited for me. Um and at the end of the day I’m third generation plastics industry. My grandpa was in the plastics industry. My dad’s in the plastics industry and it kind of felt like a no-brainer for for me to to carry on that uh tradition. and um you know been doing that for about 10 years and haven’t looked back.

Uh Bo, can you give me a little insight of like what were some of the skills um outside of being a people person um that you feel like Michigan helped prepare you for um your job today? Like is there anything specific in there that you know uh the Michigan environment um helped you prepare for? Yeah. No, I I think you know, you go back to an athletic standpoint and and viewpoint of it. You know, I wasn’t the biggest, I wasn’t the fastest, I wasn’t the strongest. And and I attribute to to my playing time and and the ability to see the field was based on my dependability. The coaches knew I was dependable. They knew I knew the playbook.

They knew that, you know, we could go out there and they could call a play and I knew what the X, the Z, the tight end were doing, the slot receiver. I could tell you at that time, you know, what the offensive line’s protection assignments were and even the quarterback’s, you know, read progressions. That was just kind of being dependable and knowing the playbook. And I think that translates over to, you know, life in sales too, that, you know, you have sales managers and and VPs and and higherups and and I think the the success of, you know, being dependable is that they know that you’re going to do what you’re supposed to do without having to be asked.

They don’t have to, you know, wonder and and say, “Hey, where’s Bo Dever today and is he doing, you know, X, Y, and Z of what he should be?” Um and and so I think that’s where you know a lot of success comes from too is you know you have that dependability you know not only from you know people internally on your side but the customer side as well you know there’s you know dozens of other you know plastic resin distributors out there but what we really set or how I really set myself apart is you know being dependable on you Is Bo going to follow through with what he says? Is the information that he’s sharing with me regarding the market accurate? Is the price that, you know, we’re discussing fair?

And so that’s probably the biggest thing and the word that keeps popping in my mind, you know, dependable is how I was able to be successful at Michigan, but also I’ve been able to be successful in u you know the professional setting. No.

Yeah, that’s that’s good. the even you just saying that you just said something there where I think is the most important trait um anybody transitioning can have um is follow through right like to follow through um the ability to follow up cuz I think a lot of times you know we put ourselves in you know positions where um you try to prepare for success you know that’s why we train coach Tolbert always said at Michigan training and working out lifting running all this stuff like it just give it’s just giving you a chance at success, right? Like nothing is guaranteed. So, but when you look into the real world, right? Like it’s all about follow-through, right?

Like if you you you get somebody’s number, you follow up with them, right? Like uh somebody says, “Hey, give me a call or hey, meet me here at this time.” Okay. Hey, you’re punctual. It’s it’s literally all the little details that are stacked on top of each other that makes a good leader. And and I think that’s really what we’re after here on this show is we really want to bring on people in the community um in the world that we identify, we believe are good leaders and have them tell the story of how they built on those different character traits of good leadership because there are very different leadership styles, right?

Like there are a lot different types of people out there that have different experiences, but we want to highlight those stories. Um here on The Leaders Club, we want to make sure that um people can get a different sense of all the different types of leadership styles that are out there and hear people’s stories and see how they’ve evolved into being the types of leaders they are today. Because you’re not only just called to be a leader in your company or your business, but how do you lead your family off the field, right? How do you lead your sons or your daughters or how do you lead your friends groups? Like what kind of decisions are you guys making?

Like those are sort of the things that we want to highlight here on the The Leaders Club. And the idea and the hope is to really inspire people to really question their leadership choices and their styles and make sure that they’re creating the proper environment for their success. Uh not only just for themselves, but for the people around them because it’s all about culture, right? Hey guys, thank you so much for tuning in today. If you liked what you heard, please like, comment, share, subscribe. Before we go, we’d like to thank a couple of our sponsors. Yeah, we’d like to thank Invictus Mergers and Acquisitions, a consulting firm serving privately held companies with integrity and personalized service.

We’d also like to thank our sponsor, the Football Alumni of Michigan, a 501c3 dedicated to helping former teammates. If you’d like to learn more, please go to michiganfootballalumni.org. See you next week. If you like this kind of content, please like, share, follow, and subscribe. And as always, go blue!]