Mick Unplugged

What makes a bottle worth remembering? For Dixon Dedman, the answer starts with the people who share it.

The master blender behind 2XO joins Mick Hunt for a conversation about bourbon, hospitality, creative conviction, and the legacy he hopes to leave his children. Dixon explains how his family's hospitality roots shaped his purpose, why blending requires more than mixing percentages, and how he approaches mouthfeel, maturation, and secondary oak exposure.

Mick also tastes Rapper's Delight during the conversation, and Dixon shares the story of a father and son celebrating a new generation with a bottle of Kentucky Owl. That moment brings the conversation back to his because: making something that becomes part of another person's meaningful experience.

In this episode:

How hospitality shaped Dixon's purpose and approach to bourbon

The challenge of reproducing a small sample blend at barrel scale

Why creative conviction matters when developing a whiskey

His focus on mouthfeel, viscosity, and the overall drinking experience

The personal connections that matter beyond awards and ratings

His hope that the next generation will carry the family legacy forward

Listen for the lesson that travels beyond bourbon: exceeding expectations can turn a product or service into a moment someone remembers.

Chapters

00:00 A moment beyond selling bottles

00:40 Meet Dixon Dedman

03:06 What is your because?

07:30 Moments, memories, and personal connection

10:07 Unplugged Truth: the craft of blending

15:20 Putting a personal mark on whiskey

19:27 Hot Takes: tasting Rapper's Delight

22:01 Mouthfeel and the drinking experience

35:00 The Room: a toast to three generations

39:29 2XO and the recorded plans discussed

42:20 Unplugged 5

46:08 The legacy Dixon hopes to leave

48:08 Closing reflections

Follow Mick Unplugged for more conversations about purpose, leadership, and the because behind the work.

Connect & Discover Dixon Dedman:

Instagram: @dixon_dedman

LinkedIn: @dixon_dedman

X: @dixon_dedman

Website: 2xowhiskey.com



FOLLOW MICK ON:

Spotify: MickUnplugged

Instagram: @mickunplugged

Facebook: @mickunpluggedYouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast

LinkedIn: @mickhunt

Website: MickHuntOfficial.com

Website: howtobeagoodleader.com

Website: Leadloudseries.com

Apple: MickUnplugged

Book: How to be A Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One

#MickUnplugged #Leadership #Podcast #DixonDedman #2XOWhiskey

Your next difficult conversation may not need a stronger argument. It may need a better question.

In this episode of Mick Unplugged, Mick sits down with his coach, Derek Gaunt, for a personal conversation about the communication skills that changed how Mick leads, negotiates, and approaches conflict.

Derek draws on his law-enforcement and hostage-negotiation experience to explain tactical empathy: recognizing another person's perspective without having to agree with it. He breaks down why explaining too early creates resistance, how tone affects a conversation, and why an objection can point to a concern that has not yet been spoken aloud.

Mick shares how asking what success looked like to a client uncovered a need he had missed. Derek also discusses the practical ideas behind Fight Less, Win More, the role of curiosity, and why difficult conversations often deserve a phone call instead of another long email.

The conversation closes with lessons on coachability, silence, trust, and staying grounded under pressure.

In this episode

Why acknowledging a perspective is different from agreeing with it.

How listening helps uncover the information missing from your assumptions.

Why you should ask what success looks like before deciding what someone needs.

What a hostage-negotiation training exercise reveals about tone and pressure.

How unaddressed concerns can resurface after an agreement.

Why Derek encourages live conversation for sensitive back-and-forth discussions.

What coachability looks like when someone is already successful.

How silence creates space to learn.

Takeaways

Before your next difficult conversation, replace one assumption with a question. Listen to the answer before preparing your response.

Follow Mick Unplugged for more conversations about the because behind how we live, lead, and grow.

Chapters

00:00 Meet Derek Gaunt, Mick's coach

03:29 The Because: sharing the gift of communication

05:25 Derek's journey in law enforcement

11:33 The Unplugged Truth: see their perspective

16:44 What does success look like?

19:41 The warning signs you should not ignore

21:45 Hot Takes: tone and pressure in negotiation

28:09 Find the concern beneath the objection

31:05 Why the conversation needs a phone call

35:05 Fight Less, Win More

39:08 The Room: a conversation that changed Derek's path

41:30 What Derek looks for in someone he coaches

45:05 When the skills change your personal life

48:12 The Unplugged Five

53:00 Silence as a negotiation tool

54:17 Trust, training, and final lessons

56:43 Closing

Connect & Discover:

Instagram: @derekmgaunt

LinkedIn: @derek-gaunt-2943a824

Website: The Black Swan Group

Book: Fight Less, Win More: How Master Negotiators Influence Hearts, Minds and Deals

Clip: 60 Seconds or She Dies



FOLLOW MICK ON:

Spotify: MickUnplugged

Instagram: @mickunplugged

Facebook: @mickunpluggedYouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast

LinkedIn: @mickhunt

Website: MickHuntOfficial.com

Website: howtobeagoodleader.com

Website: Leadloudseries.com

Apple: MickUnplugged

Book: How to be A Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One

#MickUnplugged #Leadership #Podcast #DerekGaunt #Negotiation

This Monday on Mick Unplugged, we’re revisiting Mick Hunt’s conversation with David Pollack about standards, faith, leadership, and the work behind personal growth.

David shares how mentorship and his experiences in football shaped the way he approaches challenges, leads others, and keeps growing. Mick and David explore the “50-40-10” principle, why preparation and consistent effort matter, and what it means to hold your standards when your feelings pull you in another direction.

Whether you’re hearing this conversation for the first time or returning for another listen, consider where you can put one of these lessons into practice this week.

This is a re-release of a previously recorded episode.

In this conversation:

Choosing standards over feelings.

The role of preparation and effort in the “50-40-10” philosophy.

Leadership built on care, influence, and understanding the people you lead.

How an invitation and a mentor helped shape David’s faith journey.

Adapting through challenges and learning from setbacks.

Reflection: Where are you letting a temporary feeling make a decision that should be guided by a lasting standard?

Follow Mick Unplugged for more conversations about purpose, leadership, and your because. Share this episode with someone who could use it this week.

Connect & Discover David Pollack:

Instagram: @davidpollack47

Facebook: @PollackFF

X: @davidpollack47

YouTube: @DavidPollackCFB

Website: davidpollack.com

Podcast: See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack

FOLLOW MICK ON:

Spotify: MickUnplugged

Instagram: @mickunplugged

Facebook: @mickunpluggedYouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast

LinkedIn: @mickhunt

Website: MickHuntOfficial.com

Website: howtobeagoodleader.com

Website: Leadloudseries.com

Apple: MickUnplugged

Book: How to be A Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One

#MickUnplugged #Leadership #Podcast

What happens when you get the house, the car and the things you thought would make you happy, then realize your real dream was already at home?

Ms. Pat joins Mick Hunt for a funny, candid conversation about family, authenticity and defining success for yourself. Discussing her memoir, Ms. American Dream, she explains why happiness has no price tag, how she prepared for Hollywood when she did not know the language, and why she thinks of fame as a job rather than an identity.

They also explore the money lessons she wants younger generations to learn, the podcast appearances that helped open doors, and the legacy she hopes to leave: keep going and never let someone else tell you who you are.

Explicit language. Discussion includes personal experiences with debt and credit, not individualized financial advice.

Ms. Pat's purpose is bigger than getting a laugh. She wants people to know that their hardest experiences do not have to hold them down forever.

In this episode:

The Because: laughter, survival and moving forward after difficult experiences.

The Unplugged Truth: why material success did not define her American dream.

What home, family and being Patricia mean to her.

Preparing for a table read through practice instead of pretending she already knew everything.

Why treating people well matters more to her than acting famous.

Hot Takes: the credit, interest-rate and saving lessons she shares with family and friends.

The Room: trusting her instincts about podcasts before Hollywood called.

The Unplugged Five: food, Atlanta, comedy and the legacy of never giving up.

Connect & Discover Ms Pat:

Instagram: @comediannemspat

Facebook: @mspatcomedy

TikTok: @comediannemspat

YouTube: @MsPat

X: @MsPat

Website: mspatcomedy.com

Book: Ms. American Dream: A Memoir of Making It No Matter What



FOLLOW MICK ON:

Spotify: MickUnplugged

Instagram: @mickunplugged

Facebook: @mickunpluggedYouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast

LinkedIn: @mickhunt

Website: MickHuntOfficial.com

Website: howtobeagoodleader.com

Website: Leadloudseries.com

Apple: MickUnplugged

Normal gets normal results. What would happen if you stopped copying your industry and started creating an experience people could not stop talking about?

In this Mick Unplugged re-release, Mick Hunt sits down with Jesse Cole for a practical conversation about building a fans-first business. Jesse shares how joy, memorable moments, and a willingness to try what others will not can change the way customers and employees experience your brand.

The conversation goes beyond the show on the field. Jesse explains how his team looks for customer friction, why values matter most when they cost you something, and how storytelling keeps a growing organization aligned. He recounts a ticket-email mistake and the decision to make it right, even at what he describes as a $6 million cost to the company.

You will also hear why failure can be treated as discovery, how gratitude helps create fans, and why great leaders keep teaching, repeating, and getting their reps in.

If you lead a team, serve customers, or are building something of your own, this conversation will challenge you to stop settling for ordinary.

This is a re-release of an archival conversation. References to team counts, tours, ticket demand, and projects reflect the time of recording.

The big idea

Being different is not the goal by itself. Creating an experience people remember, talk about, and want to share is the goal. Jesse Cole explains how he uses that distinction to lead, generate ideas, and build a fans-first culture.

In this episode

- Jesse's deeper purpose: bringing people together through joy.

- Why copying the normal practices of an industry tends to produce normal results.

- How to identify friction in everyday customer interactions, from invoices to the live experience.

- The "you wouldn't believe" test for a memorable moment.

- Why a company's values need to show up in decisions, not just on the wall.

- Jesse's account of an email mistake and a costly ticket commitment.

- How repeated stories and team recognition reinforce culture.

- Why watching customer behavior can reveal more than asking for opinions.

- The setbacks behind ambitious ideas and the discipline of continuing to improve.

- Gratitude as a daily practice for leaders, employees, and customers.

- Why great leaders teach, repeat, and practice communicating.

Put it into practice

Choose one ordinary interaction in your business. Find the friction. Write down three ways to make the experience more useful, surprising, or memorable. Then thank one person who has helped you build what you have.

Chapters

00:00 Why this conversation is a business masterclass

00:40 Welcome to Mick Unplugged

01:39 Jesse's because: bringing people together with joy

03:38 Bring the energy and make moments matter

04:23 Why normal gets normal results

07:51 Find the friction and create memorable experiences

09:50 Making fans-first values real

10:13 The ticket mistake and the cost of doing right

13:13 Storytelling and a culture that scales

15:26 Reinvention without losing your direction

16:19 Build the best experience and watch your fans

18:53 The setbacks behind the show

21:17 Inspiration, energy, and doing hard things

22:41 Gratitude and creating fans

24:28 Great leaders teach and get their reps in

26:53 Creativity, speaking, and sharing the journey

29:36 Quick questions: yellow tuxes, big moments, and lessons

31:21 The daily creativity routine

31:51 Jesse's message about legacy

33:13 Your because is your superpower

Connect & Discover Jesse Cole:

Instagram: @yellowtuxjesse

LinkedIn: @yellowtuxjesse

Facebook: @jesse.cole.129

TikTok: @yellowtuxjesse

YouTube: @yellowtuxjesse

Website: findyouryellowtux.com

Savannah Bananas: thesavannahbananas.com

Non-Profit: bananasfoster.org

Books: Fans First

Banana Ball

Find Your Yellow Tux

FOLLOW MICK ON:

Spotify: MickUnplugged

Instagram: @mickunplugged

Facebook: @mickunpluggedYouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast

LinkedIn: @mickhunt

Website: MickHuntOfficial.com

Website: howtobeagoodleader.com

Website: Leadloudseries.com

Apple: MickUnplugged

#mickunplugged #jessecole #thesavannahbananas #fansfirst #leadership