Buck Martinez Of ACE Leadership Group On How To Write A Book That Sparks A Movement

An Interview With Sara Connell

Be truthful to who you are and never compromise your personal core values.

As part of my series about “How to write a book that sparks a movement” I had the pleasure of interviewing Buck Martinez.

Following a successful 30+ year career in the energy industry, Buck Martinez decided it was time to do what he was truly passionate about — mentoring others. In 2013, in partnership with his daughter, he founded Student ACES, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission to inspire and develop high school student athletes to become men and women of character, honor and integrity. What started with just 32 students has grown to impact the lives of more than 50,000 students throughout South Florida in under 10 years. Buck is passionate about investing in our youth and works countless hours serving in the capacity of teacher, mentor and coach.

His passion has not only impacted the lives of students, but executives as well as he inspires fellow community leaders across various industries, from construction to sports and everything in between, as a leadership coach and author of seven books.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you share the “backstory” about how you grew up?

My family fled a communist Cuba in the early 1960s when I was just a small child to come to the United States with only $5 to our name. My parents worked extremely hard and instilled in us the importance of faith, work ethic, and surrounded us with family — family was, and still is everything to me. Growing up I loved sports, I learned so many lifelong lessons and met some of my best friends on the fields. If I wasn’t home for dinner, my parents always knew where to find me…I was ALWAYS on the baseball field or shooting baskets in the neighborhood. Fast forward quite a few years and I was fortunate to attend St. Thomas University where I continued my love for baseball as a third baseman (freshman year) and then a catcher while earning my Bachelor of Arts degree; this was where I developed a real appreciation for leadership and the importance of being a “student athlete” as I was named captain for three consecutive years and received the Scholar Athlete Award.

Following graduation, and after pursuing a major league career, I started working for Florida Power & Light (FPL), where I worked for the next 35 years in highly challenging roles such as negotiating labor contracts and ultimately identifying and originating clean energy opportunities in the state to promote visibility, commitment, and economic development. I was fortunate to see a lot of our country during my time with the organization and I took it as an opportunity to learn the greatness of our country and our people.

Shortly after starting with FPL, my wife Silvia (who I was fortunate enough to meet in high school) and I started our family; we are blessed to have three beautiful daughters and four amazing grandchildren.

In addition to my three beautiful daughters, I have also been fortunate to be a father figure in the lives of many young men and women, two of which lived with us for some time. They too are my family; I can confidently say they have had as much of a positive impact on the lives of the Martinez family as we may have had on their lives. I am forever grateful that they came into our lives and extremely proud of all they have accomplished — all of my children.

Fast forward to 2013, while still working at FPL, I was driving a U-Haul across the state with my daughter, Krissy Webb. During the ride she asked me, “who will my twin daughters look up to?”. After a long ride talking about what the high schools are not doing to prepare students athletes to be leaders, Student ACES (ACE = athletics, community, education), a 501c3 with the mission to inspire and develop high school student athletes to become men and women of honor, character and integrity, was born. In less than 10 years since inception, we have directly impacted the lives of more than 50,000 students throughout Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Shortly after the start of Student ACES, and upon my retirement from FPL, my passion for mentorship and for helping those around me reach their highest potential, inspired me to found ACE Leadership Group where I serve as a life coach and executive coach to individuals in many different roles from corporate executives to professional athletes and as a consultant to companies seeking to develop their management teams.

Along the way, education remained a constant. I went on to achieve my MBA from NOVA Southeast and graduated from the Boston University Leadership Program, the Harvard University Program on Negotiation, and the Lifeworks Leadership Program. I have served as an adjunct professor at Keiser University, and I currently work with over 1,200 student athletes at St. Thomas University and as a speaker at conferences, schools and leadership forums. I am constantly learning from those around me.

Sharing my perspective and having the opportunity to partner with others to share their views and understand their perspectives is also extremely important to me and prompted me to author seven books — Building Blocks of Leadership for Young Adults, The Captain’s Leadership Playbook, Straight Talk, Man Up: Leading a Life of Honor, 7 Steps for Success, Your Winning Formula, Discovering the Champion Within You, and my most recent, Inspiring Champions.

When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story?

I was then, and continue to be now, a fan of biographies. I love learning about life through people and their lived experiences. There’s not one book that comes to mind that inspired me to take action, however, I am a huge fan of Jackie Robinson and his legacy. His life story has inspired me throughout the years, and I encourage everyone to learn more about him and his story.

What was the moment or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?

I decided to write 7 Steps for Success when I realized that so many were looking for a roadmap. As the co-founder and president of the board for Student ACES, a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission to inspire and develop high school student athletes to become men and women of character, honor and integrity, I was surrounded by children and families who were looking for a roadmap to help guide them on their journey. 7 Steps for Success provides a clear and insightful roadmap for those who are continually working to define their purpose in a world full of obstacles in the journey we call life. Complete with real life lessons, valuable insight from recognized leaders and just the right amount of inspirational messaging, this publication is fitting for all generations, but has been found to really resonate and having the biggest impact with today’s youth.

What impact did you hope to make when you wrote this book?

As the author of 7 books, all of my books were written for different reasons, however, they all have similar purpose — to inspire people to be the absolute best version of themselves and to strive to always be leaders in the community that value honor, character and integrity.

1. Inspiring Champions: Inspiring Champions is intended to provide a powerful, yet simple guide to help you navigate through today’s challenging times. Each chapter include leadership lessons, stories, and probing questions that will give you the tools to stand up and be your own person and not conform to society’s norms. Inspiring Champions challenges you to become a transformational leader capable of developing a powerful and impactful vision that will influence others to follow you. Our country is desperate for young leadership lessons, stories, and probing questions that will give you the tools to stand up and be your own person and not conform to society’s norms. Inspiring Champions challenges you to become a transformational leader capable of developing a powerful and impactful vision that will influence others to follow you. Our country is desperate for young leaders capable of wearing the armor that protects against merciless and hateful attacks toward our fundamental principles such as hard work, respect for others and self, earning trust, and sacrificing for others and the country. You will learn the critical tools necessary to develop your brand, and the positive values and qualities that you will unleash on the world, and you will do it with a loud voice that many will hear and welcome. Be confident, poised, and strong as you begin your quest to be a transformational leader, and always remember: Stand Up and Be Yourself. Don’t let others intimidate, threaten, or harass you into accepting their baseless and false narratives. You can be the transformational leader that influences others to carry your message proudly and boldly. Without your leadership, we will continue slipping behind as a country. You, and America, were made for greatness. Be the one that makes it happen; don’t wait for someone else to lead. You can be a difference-maker.
2. Building Blocks of Leadership for Young Adults: From television, internet, and social media, today’s students are being bombarded with many and confusing messages. Without the proper foundation, our students can be influenced to make the wrong decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. This book is intended to provide a foundation to our young men and women. With candid discussion and illustrations, our young men and women will have the opportunity to understand and apply valuable lessons that will serve as a foundation for life.

The fundamental principles discussed in this book are:

- Commanding Respect

- Earning Trust

- Sacrificing for Others

- Work Ethic Second to None

Whether it is in the classroom, on the athletic field, in the community or your family, these principles will provide a path to success.

3. The Captain’s Leadership Playbook: The book is designed specifically for young men and women to leadership skills, techniques and life lessons that will enable them to lead each of their teams, on and off the field, in today’s highly competitive world. Student athletes have the unique opportunity to hear from athletes, world-class experts and leaders in their respective professions. The Playbook is designed to teach leadership skills such as communications, respect, trust and sacrifice. The book will also encourage the reader to facilitate team discussions on the difficult issues facing our young leaders.

I firmly believe that I should be incumbent on us to lay out a clear agenda of values that we can all agree should be taught to all of our students. The following are examples of these values:

• Commanding respect
• Earning trust
• Leadership through sacrifice
• Ethics and morality
• The power of a positive attitude
• Honor and character
• Integrity
• Hard work and work ethic standards
• Developing a confident self-image and brand

The inspiration for The Captain’s Leadership Playbook is derived from our deepest desire to see every student achieve a foundation of leadership that will generate positive outcomes and tremendous success in their life. These young men and women have the unique opportunity to be inspirational and influential in the lives of others. It is our goal to provide the student athletes with a foundation of leadership that will help them to become successful in every walk of life.

4. Straight Talk: You have questions about how to conduct your life, but when you look around all you see are people whose actions seem questionable. Sports players, religious figures, politicians, and even friends all seem to make bad decisions. How, then, can you find out how to live in a way that will result in an exciting and productive life? Buck Martinez, who has worked with our youth for more than 40 years, hears questions every day about how to develop strong personal values, how to behave towards others, where to find the personal integrity to do the right thing when everyone else seems to just be going along for the ride. In Straight Talk, Buck offers answers to these questions and many more, and shares the stories of people who made the right choices, in spite of the odds being against them. Topics include managing money, having a great work ethic, becoming a person who lives by strong personal values, behaving responsibly towards the opposite sex, and making intelligent choices about drugs and alcohol use.

5. Man Up: Leading a Life of Honor: As men, we are blessed to have the opportunity to play with and lead the greatest team we will be associated with in our life, our family. Let’s take the opportunity and with passion and conviction, become men that lead with honor and integrity. Over the last four decades, society has relentlessly attacked the role of man. It is no coincidence, that we are facing difficult challenges. There are many discouraging statistics and negative trends related to our youth that are attributed to the void left by men such as the rise in teen incarceration, teen pregnancy, teen violence and many other negative trends. Man Up is a call for all men to rise up and step up and become the leaders that their families need them to be. Our country has been adversely impacted by the failure of men to be responsible and dependable. Men need to search deep and challenge themselves to live up to their potential. Our country and our families deserve your best!

6. Seven Steps to Success: 7 Steps to Success provides a clear and insightful roadmap for those who are continually working to define their purpose in a world full of obstacles in the journey we call life. Complete with real life lessons, valuable insight from recognized leaders and just the right amount of inspirational messaging, this publication is fitting for all generations, but has been found to really resonate and having the biggest impact with today’s youth.

7. Your Winning Formula, Discovering the Champion Within You: Your Winning Formula challenges you to become a transformational leader capable of developing a powerful and impactful vision that will influence others to follow you. Our country is desperate for young leaders capable of wearing the armor that protects against merciless and hateful attacks against our fundamental principles such as hard work, respect for others and self, earning trust, and sacrificing for others and country. You will learn the critical tools necessary to develop your brand, the positive values and qualities that you will unleash on the world, and you will do it with a loud voice that many will hear and welcome. Be confident, poised, and strong as you begin your quest to be a transformational leader, and always remember, Stand Up and Be Yourself. Don’t let others intimidate, threaten or harass you into accepting their baseless and false narratives. You can be the transformational leader that influences others to carry your message in a proud and bold manner. Without your leadership, we will continue slipping behind as a country. You, and America, were made for greatness. Be the one that makes it happen; don’t wait for someone else to lead. You can be a difference maker.

Did the actual results align with your expectations? Can you explain?

We live in a society where everyone is looking for instant gratification and many are looking for a shortcut to get here…it’s a journey. 7 Steps for Success forces readers to dig in, to evaluate, to reflect and to identify where they are on their journey, how they got there and how they can help themselves get to where they want to go.

Unfortunately, I would have to answer this question by saying that I am disappointed with the results. I am disappointed because I’ve seen the impact that this book, followed by the discussion of this book and the implementation of practices recognized throughout this book has made a difference in the lives of so many and its reach has not been what I had hoped. Many times, I have tried to incorporate this book to support character education programs in the classroom and I have not yet been successful in doing so.

What moment let you know that your book had started a movement? Please share a story.

When my mother-in-law, my biggest critic, said to me, “every person in America should read 7 Steps for Success.”

What kinds of things did you hear right away from readers? What are the most frequent things you hear from readers about your book now? Are they the same? Different?

When I wrote this book, the intended audience was young athletes. Then I had parents coming to talk with me about how impactful the book was and how happy they were that their son or daughter was reading the book, but that they also found it applicable to their current stage of life. Regardless of whether it was a child or an adult who read the book the perspective that they shared with me was valued, valuable, accepted and appreciated.

What is the most moving or fulfilling experience you’ve had as a result of writing this book? Can you share a story?

In addition to my mother-in-law’s approval, which in all honestly was extremely important to me and also meant a lot, it was the willingness of the legendary Paul Mainieri, coach of the 2009 College World Series Championship winning LSU Tigers, to play a part in 7 Steps for Success. His belief in the lessons recognized throughout the book prompted him to write a forward for 7 Steps for Success.

Have you experienced anything negative? Do you feel there are drawbacks to writing a book that starts such colossal conversation and change?

I welcome honest feedback throughout all of my endeavors and have my entire life. Whether intended or not, if a book forces us to have open and honest conversations with others and we better ourselves and one another because of it, then I am willing to go through the negative for my community and future generations to come out better as a result.

Can you articulate why you think books in particular have the power to create movements, revolutions, and true change?

With the instant gratification of today’s society, the power of the written words in book form have been compromised. With a book, we are forced to visualize and use our imagination to support what we are reading. Powerful words can prompt change, support justice, promote fairness and reinforce important life lessons if we would all just put in some time to reading the words on the page.

What is the one habit you believe contributed the most to you becoming a bestselling writer? (i.e. perseverance, discipline, play, craft study). Can you share a story or example?

I am a firm believer in the importance of honor, character and integrity and I will never stray from or compromise my personal core values. I will also never stop fighting for what I believe in or for achieving my dreams, perseverance is big for me.

Overcoming obstacles and persevering builds character. It’s what makes us who we are.

As a young child and throughout my high school years, I suffered through had a number of injuries. While there are some who may feel defeated, I looked at it as a challenge. Instead of hanging it up, I looked at it as an opportunity to learn to become ambidextrous. Only a few months later, I taught myself to throw from both sides. Instead of feeling defeated by the obstacle, I was motivated by it, and I feel like I have lived my life that way every step of the journey.

What challenge or failure did you learn the most from in your writing career? Can you share the lesson(s) that you learned?

The challenge that comes to mind immediately when thinking about my writing career would be the obstacle of trying to help others recognize just how much they impact the lives of other people — whether positively or negatively. All of my books touch upon the importance of character, honor, integrity and leadership and I just wish that all readers, as well as those they talk to as a result of reading the book, would recognize the impact that we all play in the lives of others.

Many aspiring authors would love to make an impact similar to what you have done. What are the 5 things writers need to know if they want to spark a movement with a book?

1. Write from the heart.
2. Believe in your purpose.
3. Say it with conviction.
4. Disregard the naysayers and have thick skin.
5. Be truthful to who you are and never compromise your personal core values.

The world, of course, needs progress in many areas. What movement do you hope someone (or you!) starts next? Can you explain why that is so important?

I hope that all authors will find the fuel to reinforce the importance of purpose, passion, and conviction as character education is visited within our school system. We cannot help our youth enough.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

LinkedIn: buck martinez

LinkedIn: Student Aces, Inc.

Instagram: @studentaces

Facebook: @studentacesforleadership

Twitter: @StudentACES and @AcesSpotlight

Thank you so much for these insights. It was a true pleasure to do this with you.