Episode summary
The Lowest Standard You Accept Defines Your Culture: Jonathan Kingery, DoubleLine
Dakota Rainmaker Podcast
· · 36 min · Hosts: Gui Costin · Guests: Jonathan Kingery
Summary
Jonathan Kingery argues that great distribution leadership starts with client experience, disciplined habits, and a clear operating system. He traces his path from being a financial advisor at 22 to asset management leadership roles at Lord Abbett, Franklin Templeton, and DoubleLine, saying that spending seven years on the advisor side permanently shaped his belief that everything should start with the client and work backward.
A major theme is the value of process. Kingery says a sales process turns habits into freedom by removing day-to-day thinking so relationship managers can be more creative in front of clients. He ties that to CRM discipline, describing CRM as the central nervous system and chassis of the client business, especially as AI tools like voice notes and Claude become more useful only when the underlying data is accurate and current.
He also emphasizes leadership, culture, and standards. Kingery says the best teams are those where everyone is bought in and holds each other accountable, and he argues that the lowest standard a leader accepts defines the culture. For young professionals, he recommends writing down goals and principles, revisiting them regularly, and using them as a north star when priorities get noisy or ambiguous.
Key takeaways
- Kingery says everything in distribution should start with the client and work backward, because he spent seven years as a financial advisor before moving into asset management.
- He believes a sales process creates freedom by turning good habits into routine, which frees salespeople to be more creative in client meetings.
- Kingery calls CRM the "central nervous system" and "chassis" of the client business, and says AI is only as good as the data entered into it.
- He says leadership should focus first on talent, then structure, and that the lowest standard a leader accepts defines the culture.
- For young professionals, Kingery recommends writing down goals and principles and revisiting them regularly as a practical north star.
Notable quotes
“if you do not choose your own habits, your habits are going to choose you”
“it's the central nervous system as I it is the central nervous system to the client business. It's the brains. It's the spine”
“the lowest standard you're willing to accept will define your culture”
“I would ask the individuals to grab a pen, grab a sheet of paper, and I want I would ask them to write down”
“Leadership begins with self-awareness and vulnerability”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Rain Maker podcast with your host Geek Cen. The goal of this podcast is to give listeners a unique look into sales strategies from top industry executives. We introduce you to the heads of sales and heads of distribution who will help you understand the inner workings of the successful sales organizations from philosophy to execution.
This podcast is essential for sales professionals seeking wisdom from the best in the field. If you're not familiar with Dakota and their Dakota rain maker content, please check out dakota.com to learn more about their services.
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Visit dakotaota.comdakakota marketplace today. What is up everybody? It's Geost, founder and CE of Dakota.
Welcome to our latest episode of the Rainmaker podcast. I'm so thrilled to be joined by Jonathan Kry. Jonathan, welcome.
Thank you, Gez. Great to be back and be back in my home city of Philadelphia. — I love it. Mr. Kingsry joined Double Line in 2025 as a chief distribution officer and is responsible for managing the firm's US relationship management team which includes institutional wealth management subdvisory and retirement client business. He's also a member of Double Line's executive committee. Prior to Double Line, Mr. King was with Franklin Templeton as head of US wealth management and served on the firm's management committee.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- sales leadership
- distribution team building
- crm and call notes
- culture and standards
- ai and data quality
Companies and tickers mentioned
- AXP
- DoubleLine
- Franklin Templeton
- Lord Abbett
- American Express
- Anthropic
Watch the episode
Watch “The Lowest Standard You Accept Defines Your Culture: Jonathan Kingery, DoubleLine” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Dakota Rainmaker Podcast, this episode and its artwork belong to Dakota Team. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
