July 07, 2025 | 38 MIN

The No Policy, Policy with Gui Costin

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In this thoughtful episode of Evolve: Reinventing Leadership, Building Freedom Cultures, Gui Costin, founder and CEO of Dakota, joins host Yvette Bethel to explore the philosophy behind his “no-policy policy” and how building a trust-based, adult-centric culture can transform the workplace. Known for reshaping sales and leadership in finance, Gui shares how his people-first mindset has helped him build two multi-million-dollar companies while rejecting traditional management structures.

Gui explains that the shift began in 2011 with the formalization of The Dakota Way, a highly structured but non-bureaucratic system rooted in trust, personal accountability, and clarity of purpose. Instead of controlling behavior through detailed rules, Dakota operates with clear expectations, player-coach team leads, and no middle management. Employees are trusted to manage their time and responsibilities like adults—with no vacation or T&E policies—while aligning around a core set of principles.

Contrary to assumptions, this freedom-driven approach doesn't lack structure. Dakota implements detailed onboarding, regular check-ins, and high standards of performance, all supported by intentional communication tools like Slack. Gui emphasizes that a flat, trust-based culture allows people to operate at their highest level and eliminates the internal friction often found in hierarchical organizations.

Trust, according to Gui, is both given and earned. Leaders build it by modeling consistency, integrity, and emotional intelligence—reading the room, listening actively, and expressing gratitude. At Dakota, career growth isn’t tied to managing others, but to delivering results and driving meaningful projects forward.

The conversation also explores how AI is accelerating expectations for output and making it even more important to empower people who can adapt and execute quickly. Gui discusses how Dakota has leveraged tools like ChatGPT to augment thinking and speed up problem-solving—part of his broader view on evolving leadership and avoiding stagnation.

For leaders considering a similar cultural shift, Gui advises starting by clearly defining your company’s core principles and expectations, then creating mechanisms for employees to report progress with transparency. He believes a high-trust environment, anchored in kindness and clarity, doesn’t mean lowering standards—it means enabling people to thrive without unnecessary control.

Gui’s appearance on Evolve offers a compelling vision of modern leadership—one where trust, structure, and speed coexist to build businesses that are not only high-performing but deeply human.

Podcast Experiences

  • Building a Culture ofKindness and HighPerformance: LeadershipLessons from Dakota

  • Mastering Sales Targeting & Outreach with Gui Costin

  • Measure Success: Successful Sales Strategies That Actually Work

  • Mastering Institutional Sales with Allen Gray of Silvercrest

  • Driving Sales and Success with Brad Jung, Russell Investments

  • Democratizing Private Equity with John Bailey, OneFund Investments

  • Guantong (“GT”) Sun on Process-Driven Fundraising at Turning Rock Partners

  • Scaling Private Wealth with Doug Krupa, KKR

  • Michele Colucci on AI-Driven Healthcare at DigitalDx Ventures

  • Driving Distribution with Discipline – Daniel Noonan, Cohen & Steers

  • Earning Trust, One Deal at a Time – Drew Dolan, DXD Capital

  • Joe Grogan on Culture and Consultative Sales at WisdomTree

  • How Stacy Havener Built Havener Capital on Storytelling and Strategy

  • Capital Formation, Not Sales – Inside CAZ with Christopher Zook

  • Fundraising with Precision: Inside Optimizing Sales at LAB Quantitative Strategies with Shane McCarthy

  • Inside the Capital Formation Playbook of RMWC with Michael Rubenstein

  • Educate, Don’t Sell – Danielle Brown’s Fundraising Playbook at Altriarch

  • John Donovan on Building Trust and Transparency at TowerBrook

  • “Thinking Big” with Urban Standard: Seth Weissman’s Approach to Fundraising and Growth

  • Andrew Saunders on Building a Collaborative Sales Culture at Castle Hill Capital

  • Inside 65 Equity: Leon Brujis on Partnering with Founders for Growth

  • Inside Dundas Global Investors: James Curry & Andrew Brown on Hybrid Sales and Service

  • Culture, Content, and the Future of Investment Sales

  • The No Policy, Policy with Gui Costin

  • Sales Confidence, Culture & Connection with Gui Costin

  • Gui Costin On How To Create a High Performing Sales Team

  • How To Win More Deals with Effective Cold Email Techniques with Gui Costin

  • How to Build Unconventional Cultures That Thrive with Gui Costin

  • Leading with Kindness: Building a High-Performance Culture Without Burnout with Gui Costin

  • The Dakota Way

  • Mastering Sales with Data Driven Growth with Gui Costin

  • How Dakota Raised $30 Billion For Their Clients

  • The Dakota Way: Why it Matters with Gui Costin

  • What We’re All Missing to Be Successful at Sales and Like It with Gui Costin

  • A Culture Of Success

  • Words Matter: How Gui Costin Built a Culture of Kindness and ExcellenceNotable Leaders' RadioPlay

  • Mastering the Art of Fundraising: $40 Billion Raised Dakota CEO, Gui Costin

  • Unlocking the Leadership Code: Lessons from the Frontlines

  • The $40 Billion Secret: Gui Costin on Trust, Leadership, and Redefining Sales

  • Helping Investment Firms Thrive – Fastlane Founders with Gui Costin

  • The Power of Kindness

  • Sales Leadership in the Investment Industry with Gui Costin

  • A Modern Leader’s Guide to Sales Success with Gui Costin

  • Gui Costin’s Proven Formula for Coaching Sales Teams to Success

  • Capital Raising Campaign Strategies with Gui Costin

  • Embracing Accountability in Sales with Gui Costin

(610) 764-0539
Gui@dakotaLive.com

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