LEXINGTON, Va. April 10, 2025 — Former AMB Sports and Entertainment CEO, Steve Cannon, spoke at Virginia Military Institute April 1 as part of the Center for Leadership and Ethics’ (CLE) Courageous Leadership speaker series, “Paradigm Shifts.”

After being introduced as the second speaker in this year’s series by Col. David Gray, executive director of the CLE, Cannon seated himself comfortably on a stool on the stage in Gillis Theater to have a relaxed conversation about leadership with his audience comprised of cadets, faculty, staff, and community members.

Cannon, who graduated from West Point and served as an Army airborne ranger, noted that he had been to VMI once before when he was still a cadet. He had attended a leadership conference in 1986, where he met Forrest Pogue, the official biographer of Gen. George C. Marshall Jr., VMI Class of 1901.

“I still have a signed three-volume set that sits in my library as a reminder of that trip.”

In the Army, he was stationed in Germany, as part of a border patrol unit during the fall of the Berlin Wall. After five years of service, he decided to leave the military and serve in a different way.

“I’ve changed uniforms, but I’ve never stopped serving. Every place I’ve gone, I’ve found ways to use that platform to give back to the communities I serve, and to honor the military.”

His first job out of the Army was chief of staff for the president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz. Nearly 20 years later, Cannon assumed the job of president and CEO for Mercedes-Benz of North America.

The national headquarters was moved from New Jersey to Atlanta where Cannon met Arthur Blank, owner of the NFL team, the Falcons, who was looking for a CEO to run his portfolio company, AMB Sports and Entertainment. For 10 years, Cannon ran the portfolio which included the Falcons; the professional soccer club, Atlanta United FC; the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home arena for both teams; and the PGA TOUR Superstore.

Cannon shared with his audience 15 leadership lessons that have guided him in his journey starting as a West Point cadet and throughout his military and civilian careers.

The first lesson he shared was, “Create a Compelling Vision.”

“If you don’t have vision as a leader, how are you supposed to inspire those around you to do things that they don’t believe they can accomplish?” he asked. His vision for the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was to build the greatest sports and entertainment venue in the world. “We wanted it to be like the Ritz-Carlton, attractive and delivering a high level of hospitality and care to everyone who walks through the door. A compelling vision inspires people and gives them purpose. Whatever you are leading; a squad, platoon, department, or company, articulate your vision for the group.”

Lesson two was, “Listen More Than You Speak.”

“There’s a real reason why we’ve got two of these and only one of these,” he quipped as he pointed to his ears, then to his mouth. “The only time you’re learning is when your mouth is closed, and your ears are open. Many leaders mistakenly believe they need to show how smart they are. But good leaders understand that their job is not to be the smartest person in the room, but to extract all the smarts from everyone else in the room.”

In correlation to the second lesson, the third lesson Cannon shared was, “Ask 1,000 Questions.”

“Wherever I go, I ask questions. I listen to people, and I hear their points of view. It’s helped me to understand organizations in ways I never would if I hadn’t asked those questions.” He clarified the point with an example of when he first joined Mercedes-Benz and discovered a toxic culture there. “Leadership was disconnected. Employees didn’t trust their leadership, and they performed at an abysmal level.”

Cannon launched a companywide employee satisfaction survey. “We got brutalized by our associates telling awful things about what leadership and their jobs meant to them.” Cannon used that information, came up with a plan to transform the culture, shared the plan with the associates, and challenged them to hold leadership accountable. In a short time, the company was transformed to one of Fortune magazine’s most respected companies in the United States. “You’ve got to build trust, and that’s what you are able to do by asking 1,000 questions.”

Lesson four — one VMI cadets are intimately familiar with — was, “Set Ridiculously High Standards.” Cannon stated that whether you work in the military or as a civilian, your job as a leader is to set standards within your organization.

“I found that people want to be part of organizations that set ridiculously high standards. Associates will naturally gravitate to the standards leaders set. If you set low standards, don’t be surprised if you get a low performance. If I shoot for the stars and I land on the moon, that’s still a pretty good outcome. Setting high standards is a vote of confidence in your team. It tells them you trust and believe in them.”

Lesson five was, “Be Visible.”

"Nobody wants to follow a leader they never see or can’t interact with or relate to. In the military, it’s called ‘battlefield circulation.’ In the civilian world, it is ‘management by walking around.’” Cannon illustrated by sharing his habit of arriving three hours early to every event at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first several years of its opening. “I would get there when the ticket-takers, the hospitality providers, the guest service and relations folks arrived, which often totaled 4,000 people. My ritual was to start at the top and walk the stadium. I’d walk every single concourse along the way. I would greet and hug people, have conversations, and join team huddles. I would walk five miles per event, and that was my way of being a visible leader. People will go the extra mile when they know that their leaders are going the extra mile.”

One of Cannon’s favorite lessons, and one he credited to management consultant and author, Peter Drucker, was number six, “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast.” Cannon pulled his iPhone out of his pocket to use as an analogy to explain the meaning.

“This is our single most indispensable device. It’s easy to use, and with a couple of touches, you can answer any question. The operating system is what transforms this inanimate object made of metal and glass into a magical device. Think of culture as the operating system that governs how an organization functions, and the master coder for the operating system is the leadership. Leaders manage rituals and conversations. They can celebrate employees and recognize great performances. Culture is perhaps the most important thing, and if you pay attention to culture, the outcomes will follow. If you pay attention to the outcomes, bad things will happen.”

By example, Cannon reminded his listeners of the Volkswagen emissions scandal in 2015, when a software engineer rewrote a program for EPA testing that essentially told the engine to behave differently when it was being tested, and to give a false signal of efficiency. The company was caught cheating and it cost them billions of dollars in lost trust.

“That is what happens when you chase an outcome. If you create a place where people love what they do, and feel connected to your vision, you will create a culture that will unleash power and propel your organization to new levels.”

“Be Nice,” was Cannon’s seventh lesson.

“When I went around that stadium, I was nice to everybody. Does that mean I’m a pushover? No! I’ve learned how to give hard feedback in a way that doesn’t blow a person up. I’ve seen people get blown up publicly by their leaders. I don’t believe that humiliation and lack of respect will make anyone a better performer. You can lead well, challenge people, and set ridiculously high standards, all with human kindness that makes people say, ‘I’ll do anything for that person.’”

For further insight, Cannon recommended the book, “Leading With Kindness” by William Baker, Ph.D. and Michael O’Malley, Ph.D.  

The eighth lesson was, “Make Sure Your Words and Actions Align.” Cannon stated that leaders are constantly watched by their followers to ensure that what they do and say are in harmony.

“The minute you say something that differs from your behavior, you’ve lost credibility. You’re never allowed to have a bad day as a leader. You are on stage and being observed, so if you must let off steam, go where you will not be noticed.”

“The Best Feedback is Fast Feedback,” was Cannon’s ninth lesson. He referred to athletic coaches as examples.

“The coach’s only job is to bring the best out of the people they lead. Something coaches do better than everybody is providing immediate feedback. A coach will either pat a player on the back for a good play, or kick him in the butt if he performed poorly. As leaders, we have to be feedback machines. Unfortunately in the corporate world, we’ve gotten lazy. We hide behind HR-related things like quarterly or annual performance reviews. If you’re only giving feedback on a quarterly basis, you’re failing as a leader. Good leaders give feedback all the time, so their people know how to improve.”

Number 10 was, “Appreciation is Your Most Powerful Leadership Tool.” Cannon recommended that leaders show their appreciation frequently and generously. As an example, he displayed a photo of the 60’ high “Heroes of Hospitality Wall” placed prominently in the stadium.

“We even created a little ceremony recognizing the people being inducted. We invited their families, and the people who mattered most to them. There was so much pride and emotion. It cost us very little, but appreciation is like rocket fuel. The more fuel you put in an engine, the further it’s able to go. If you use your position to recognize people, that’s going to go a long way.”

Cannon warned of a red line never to cross in lesson 11, “Never Undermine a Person’s Dignity.”

“There is no scenario by which you can humiliate someone either publicly or privately. I’ve seen leaders humiliate people in public, and it made my skin crawl. I tell every one of my leaders that if I ever see them undermining someone’s dignity, I will walk them immediately to the door, take their key card and block them from our system. I can’t emphasize it enough. When you’re nice to people, you’re going to get more results.”

The 12^th lesson which applies to all relationships was, “Be Present or Don’t Show Up.”

"Give your all to whatever it is you’re doing. If I’m at a meeting, I’m fully engaged at that meeting. I’ve seen people in meetings texting or checking emails. My personal rule is I never bring my device into an important meeting, because, unfortunately, all of us have been conditioned to reach for our phone the minute we hear a buzz. That’s why I keep mine out of reach. I’ve seen couples on dates at restaurants and they’re both on their phones. Leave your phone, and enjoy quality time with your friends, and family.”

“Connect The Dots,” was the 13^th lesson. “In the absence of information, people will connect the dots in all the wrong ways, so it’s our job as leaders to connect the dots and provide context.” To illustrate, Cannon showed a video of one of the most painful days of his entire career, Feb. 5, 2017. The Falcons were leading the Patriots 28 to 3 at Super Bowl LI. But the Patriots made one of the greatest comebacks in sports and won 34-28 in overtime.

“It was a painful loss to our fan base, our organization, and our players. Everybody was devastated. It was my job as the leader to provide context, both to our fans and our employees. So, we produced this video and shared its message that there’s going to be times your team wins, and times your team loses. But as upsetting as the loss was, we communicated that we would learn from it and apply the lessons to future endeavors.”

A lesson Cannon learned while traveling through Silicon Valley, was 14, “Failure is Data.” Cannon shared that many organizations view failure as the Boogeyman.

“If you do that, everyone will be so afraid of failure they will avoid it at all costs. They won’t stretch or innovate. But, if you view failure as data, and say, ‘This doesn’t work, let’s go in a different direction,’ as an organization you’ll be able to be flexible and pivot. No one will get it right 100% of the time.”

The last lesson was, “The Glass is Always Half Full.” Cannon said he is naturally optimistic.

“Our job as leaders is to bring the best out of people, and have them achieve things they may not believe they can. Recognize failure, learn the lesson, and move on to the next task.”

Cannon concluded his talk stating what he learned at West Point, “It all comes down to servant- leadership. The most important aspect of leadership is my job is to humbly serve the organization. My only job when I walked those five miles every game was to fire up our team to serve them, and to help make them better.”

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE