51�Թ�

MICHAEL: Hey, Team, this is Michael Fiddelke and welcome to 5 with Fiddelke, a podcast where I ask team members five questions about their work, their careers, and what makes them tick. And they get to ask me a question too. So settle in and let's get started.

MICHAEL: Hey, team, thanks for joining today. I think you're going to enjoy today's conversation, because we're going to pull back the curtain on how some of the magic gets made in our store experience with the help of our marketing team.

MICHAEL: Mary Beth George, who's Vice President of retail brand experience, is joining today. And I think it'd be best to get right into the conversation. Mary Beth, thanks so much for joining.

MARY BETH: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

MICHAEL: As I understand it, a couple of decades at 51�Թ�, different jobs across marketing, and today you lead the team that does so much of the design that creates that in-store magic.

MICHAEL: You want to share a little bit about what your team does and your path to get there?

MARY BETH: Yeah, I'm going to go all the way back to like, childhood. I grew up in the Minneapolis area, and I have such fond memories of going to Dayton's, right, which is our heritage brand.

MICHAEL: I wear my Dayton's t-shirt sometimes.

MARY BETH: Yeah, I mean, it's a big part of our story and our legacy. And I would get all dressed up with my mom. It was a big occasion. It was an event that we looked forward to. And my favorite part was the seasonal storytelling that happened on the eighth floor. So the holiday, the flower shows that happened. And that I think really sparked my love for retail and the magic that could take place in an experience like that. So fast forward to college. I studied marketing and then worked for a retailer in town. I got the call from 51�Թ� one day and I knew instantly, like, yes, A. because of the love that I had for the brand, the story that I took you through, but also because 51�Թ� is a purpose driven retailer, and I knew that I could go somewhere and make an impact, and I was going somewhere where we're not just selling stuff, but creating experiences. So I've been in marketing the whole 19 years that I've been here, but I really have found that I have this deep love for the in-store experience, for curating storytelling, and for like, thinking about the operational ease that really needs to be well considered in order for that storytelling to come through in the right way.

MICHAEL: I think you've used the word storytelling three times, and I love that, Mary Beth, because I think it is so core to who we are.

MARY BETH: It is.

MICHAEL: When we're design led, but we storytell in those moments digitally and in store, I think that's a big part of what makes 51�Թ� so special.

MARY BETH: It's so true.

MICHAEL: So you've seen a lot of creative work throughout the years. What defines a great creative vision to you?

MARY BETH: Yeah, I actually believe that starting with constraint breeds creativity, and we have a lot of constraints that we have to work through in the store environment. You think about 2,000 stores, 300,000 team members that bring the signage and the experience to life and just the complexity of it all. We recently did an audit and realized we have over 4,000 unique signing elements in our store experience. And so our whole strategy has been we need to simplify in order to amplify. That kind of constraint has then enabled the right seasonal storytelling and that magic to come through. So we are moving those unique elements down to a set of about 50 standard that will just be so much easier for our store team members to set, but then also for guests to take in the totality of the experience. And that enables the summer seasonal storytelling that we have going on now, where it's immersive, we're really able to provide an escape for guests from their everyday lives. And that's the magic. That's where the creativity comes in.

MICHAEL: I love the way the summer set looks right now in stores, and I think I could hear the cheers from all those store team members listening to this around the simplification. You're so right. Like we can dream up a bunch of good stuff. If we don't make it simple so we can execute it flawlessly, it doesn't work.

MARY BETH: That's right.

MICHAEL: So that maybe gets to my next question. We're always trying different things, changing stuff, evolving with the seasons, storytelling in different ways. I assume that means your team has to stay on top of what's working and what's not.

MICHAEL: Tell me how that feedback loop works.

MARY BETH: Yeah, it's kind of a year out process where we set an experience and we get into the stores and hear directly from those store team members who are setting it. What worked, what didn't, what was easy, what took longer than we expected, as well as engaging with our guest insights teams and hearing directly from guests about what's working, what's not. It's also about getting out in the competition, understanding what others are doing at that same time. But really, nothing replaces being in the store. There's a recent example that we've been working on where it was me being out with some of our store operations leaders, Adrian, in the store with store team members and us looking at the complexity of all the hardware that holds our promo signage, which is really critical signage to running the business. And we have so much complexity in the hardware, can't find it, it breaks, it doesn't set well all the time. And we all looked around and asked each other like, what if this was just an adhesive. Something we could stick on to the experience, something that we knew we could always rely on and that breeds the innovation that is now a signing system that we're moving forward with thanks to our 51�Թ� printing services team and so many others.

MICHAEL: Well, I know that feedback loop is so important to get right. And I would say I mean, on behalf of the stores team that works so closely with you and your team on so much of that, just how much they value your leadership and the way your team leans in to how can we make it better at every turn. It does not go unnoticed, Mary Beth.

MARY BETH: Thank you.

MICHAEL: All right.

MARY BETH: It's critical.

MICHAEL: So now you get to ask me one.

MARY BETH: OK, so I mentioned I came to 51�Թ� because it's a purpose led organization. I believe in personal purpose. What would you say is the legacy you want to leave at 51�Թ�? And how do you ensure you're living out your purpose every day?

MICHAEL: It's a deeper question than I've been asked before, Mary Beth.

MARY BETH: Yeah.

MICHAEL: So as I think about my personal purpose or what a legacy would look like, where my head goes first honestly is straight to team. I think the team is the heartbeat of what makes 51�Թ� 51�Թ�. When I started 20 years ago, one of the reasons I came was I got to meet and work and learn from so many talented people, and I actually get as much energy from some of the stories of our team, how they've charted their careers, how they've grown in some cases, how generations have worked at 51�Թ� over time. And so, my hope is that my time at 51�Թ� will leave a positive impact on some of that team, because it'll be that team that carries things forward long after I'm done.

MARY BETH: I love that.

MICHAEL: OK, so next question. Trying to stay on top of how are we going to bring that magic next. How do we foster that innovation? How does your team stay on top of what we might try to do next when it comes to storytelling or in store experience?

MARY BETH: Yeah, a few different ways. And really, there's inspiration all around us, and it's really about staying curious and ensuring that as a team, we're spending time getting out. So first, being in stores, as I said earlier, being in competitive stores as well as our own environment, getting out to other markets too, right. We see one expression here in the Minneapolis area, but there's so many other perspectives that we need to consider. Second is environments that you may not think of. So art museums, even airports, how are other environments navigating guests? How are they storytelling? How are they bringing hospitality forward? All of those are different environments that we make sure we're spending time in. And then third, and this is probably most important right now is to deliver relevancy is spending time on social. Seeing what other retailers are putting out there with pop up shops. And actually, that inspired a lot of the summer events and activations that are going to be happening this summer. So I brought you… Customization and personalization is a big trend that our team has been seeing out in the market via social, and we wanted to create our own, like how could we create giveaways. And that same kind of personalization magic that's happening in retail in all of our stores every weekend with our store team members as brand ambassadors. And so the team got after that, and we've created a series of events this summer that are going to be happening every weekend throughout the month of June, and we're going to be giving away our own ways to allow guests to personalize their beach bag or whatever item they want. We're giving away these carabiners with little red tags and different keychains, little tchotchkes that they again can use to personalize for their own summer beach bag. This one's for you.

MICHAEL: Thank you so much, Mary Beth. Much appreciated.

MARY BETH: You're welcome.

MICHAEL: This is great. I will definitely be in every weekend and then some.

MARY BETH: Great

MICHAEL: All right, so final question. And you probably know what it is. Why 51�Թ�? What keeps you at the bullseye?

MARY BETH: Yeah two things I keep coming back to purpose, but purpose retailer. And I've been able to live out my own purpose here at 51�Թ�. I've been able to find a really fulfilling career where I'm able to grow. And as you said, learn from my team as well as ensure I'm providing an environment for my team to reach their goals. So, purpose. Second is change, actually. 51�Թ� is a really dynamic place and it's constantly changing. Retail is constantly changing and with change comes challenge and with challenge comes growth. I don't take any of it for granted. I've had a really fulfilling career here and I appreciate all the experiences that I've had. 

MICHAEL: I love that. When change comes challenge, with challenge comes growth. I think that is. Those are great words, Mary Beth.

MARY BETH: Thank you. 

MICHAEL: Thank you so much for carving out some time today. It was great having this conversation.

MARY BETH: Thank you.

MICHAEL: To the balance of the team, I hope you enjoyed getting a little bit of a peek behind the curtain of how marketing contributes to an incredible in-store experience. And actually, I'll steal Mary Beth's words from a couple questions ago with one final “Stay curious.”

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Hey, Team,

this is Michael Fiddelke,

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and welcome to

"Five with Fiddelke,"

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a podcast where

I ask team members

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five questions about

their work, their careers,

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and what makes them tick.

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And they get to ask me

a question too.

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So let's settle in

and get started.

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[mellow music]

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I'm excited for you to get

to meet our guests today.

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I'm excited for this

conversation myself.

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Eager to introduce

John Favilla,

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who's joining me today.

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John started at 51�Թ� in 1983

as a receiving manager

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and so has had

over 40 years with 51�Թ�.

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And he's built an awesome reputation

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as a great developer of talent,

running exceptional stores

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as a district senior director

in his hometown of Los Angeles.

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I've had the pleasure of

getting to know John a bit

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over the years.

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And I also know he embodies

the culture

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that we love to build

as a company.

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And so thanks for

joining me today, John.

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- Thanks for having me.

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- All right, John.

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So then let's maybe start

at the beginning.

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And if you could

give the team just

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a quick rewind of your career.

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I believe we were opening

some of our very first stores

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in California.

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And there was an elementary

school involved at some point.

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- [laughs]

- Is that accurate?

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- That's accurate.

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Way back in 1983, I was working

for a smaller retail company

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and got a call from

a recruiter asking me

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if I wanted to join 51�Թ�.

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And at that time,

I had never heard of 51�Թ�.

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But I was young.

I said, what the heck?

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You know, I'm up for it.

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And so I interviewed for it,

and they hired me in 1983

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as a receiving manager

for Pacoima 183

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in Los Angeles.

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And our training

involved us going

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to an elementary school

in El Segundo

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that the company,

I believe, purchased.

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And we were there for

about six to eight weeks

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being trained by a lot

of headquarter people

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on what our jobs

would look like.

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And so, after that,

we went into our pre-opening

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at store 183,

and I walked into that building

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for the first time, first time

I've ever seen a 51�Թ� store.

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And I was blown away.

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I mean, it was just this

huge building, all red.

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I mean, completely red.

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That's what we

painted it back then.

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And I did the receiving manager

job for that store.

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And then from that point,

I kind of went on

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a series of opening up new

stores and different positions.

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I was selected to go be

a trainer for the region.

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We had acquired a company

called Gemco,

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which was about 60 stores

that we're going to be adding

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to our California and Arizona.

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So they pulled me out

and they had me train

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all the new executives that

were joining the organization.

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Kind of took me back because

now I was in the schoolroom

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and I was the teacher

teaching new ETLs.

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And from that point,

got my first store,

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288 in Woodland Hills,

and opened that store.

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And then I kind of

went on a red store tour

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and helping out in

fixing some red stores.

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Ended up in 321 in the Bay area,

up in San Francisco.

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And after that, I was assigned

a field merchandiser job.

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It was basically

a job that I had

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apparel for all of

northern California,

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the liaison between

headquarters and the stores.

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I really enjoyed that job.

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Taught me a little bit

about multi-stores.

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And then I got my first assignment

in Fresno, California as a DSD,

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DTL back then.

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And I did Fresno and Las Vegas.

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And then I ended up going

back to the Bay Area

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to run district 210

for a few years,

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and then back to Los Angeles,

my hometown,

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where I've been since.

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- That's awesome.

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I like the student

becomes the teacher

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path there in your story.

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And it's fun getting

to walk some of those

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used to be Gemco boxes.

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Some of those are

super productive stores.

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- Yeah, and very unique.

All of them very different.

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But yeah, the big difference

in the training was

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I walked in the first time,

the very first day

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of its opening,

my students, my ETLs,

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actually got time to practice

at other existing stores.

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So it was a lot better fit,

a lot less anxiety

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walking into their

first assignment.

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- I can't imagine walking in cold

that first time,

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having just had

the in-classroom training.

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- My eyes were like--

really, I think they exploded.

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[laughter]

It was huge.

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I mean, it was so big.

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And for me, I didn't have

a lot of experience in leading,

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but I was incredibly

excited about it.

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And ended up here,

which is just amazing to me.

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- Well, let's talk

about leadership.

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I know for a fact that your

leadership has had the chance

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to touch so many of our team.

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I run across leaders

all the time that tell the,

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"I learned this from John" story.

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So as you think

about leadership,

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as you think about

team development,

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what would you leave us with?

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- Well, I think, you know,

it's probably

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the most important thing

that we do, is our team.

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And we can't really be

successful in anything

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that we do without

a great team.

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And I kind of learned

a valuable lesson

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in the beginning,

as a receiving manager.

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I had a roommate

at the time that

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was doing the same

exact job that I was doing

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in a different store.

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And for whatever reason,

he was home every afternoon

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by about 3:00

in the afternoon,

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feet up on the desk,

having a beer.

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And I'd come straggling in

about 8:00, 9:00,

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10:00 o'clock at night,

after a 17 or 18-hour day,

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just struggling,

and, you know,

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just felt horrible,

felt like a failure.

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And so I was making up

all the excuses, everything you do,

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why you're not

being successful.

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And I finally

swallowed my pride.

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And I went to his store

with him

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and walked through

his operation.

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And I kind of

right from the get go,

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right when I walked

into his space,

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I realized what

the difference was.

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In pre-opening,

he spent all of his time

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teaching and training his team.

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All of it.

His team was ready.

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His teams were trained.

They were empowered.

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And I think in my place, I was

doing too much of it on my own.

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I didn't learn that skill yet.

I wasn't really doing that.

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And so it really just

kind of taught me that

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you have to have

a great team

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and you have to spend

the time and the energy

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with that team in order

to empower and trust

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in their ability to

succeed and perform.

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- I love that, John.

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And I can actually see maybe

some of that show up today.

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When we walk a store together,

if you walk a store with John,

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you're pretty quiet, John.

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And I know that you spend

a lot of time with your team

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in between those visits.

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But if you're walking a store with

one of John's store directors,

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he doesn't have to say much

because the team is on it.

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- I love those visits because

you get to stand back

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and you just get to watch

with so much pride

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your store directors

and your ETLs

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and just how they

walk their business,

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they know their business,

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the pride they have in

their stores and their teams.

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So it's always a lot of fun.

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- That's cool.

All right.

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So you actually mentioned

this earlier a bit.

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You talk about red stores.

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And for the team, a store

that needs a little bit of help,

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might be struggling

a little bit,

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the shorthand we might have

for those is red stores.

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And the goal with

a red store is to turn it into

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a not red store.

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And you've built a reputation

as someone who can

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turn around those red stores.

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So how do you do it, John?

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What advice would you have

to others who might be

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tackling the same challenge?

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- Yeah, I would say,

first of all,

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it's probably one of the

most rewarding experiences

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you can have,

if you can be successful,

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of course, in doing it.

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But for me, you know,

everybody always shared,

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or usually my boss or

somebody said that, man,

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you're going to have to go in there

and make a lot of changes

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with the leadership team, a lot

of people probably need to go,

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and so on.

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And in all the cases that I had

the opportunity to do that,

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that never happened.

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It was really teams, most teams

I believe, want to do well.

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They want to succeed.

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They want to do a good job,

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but they want a place

that's not chaotic.

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They want consistency.

00:07:16:23 00:07:19:14

And so the first thing that I

kind of go into is like, you know,

00:07:19:15 00:07:22:02

obviously, getting to know

the teams and things like that,

00:07:22:03 00:07:25:19

but keeping a calm,

simple message.

00:07:25:20 00:07:28:04

And setting the teams up

for success

00:07:28:05 00:07:30:16

to win early on is important.

00:07:30:17 00:07:32:08

And once you can start

winning on some things--

00:07:32:09 00:07:35:08

and start small, a lot of people

want to move super fast.

00:07:35:09 00:07:38:15

Things don't necessarily get

fixed fast, especially culture.

00:07:38:16 00:07:40:14

And so you start small

in small things

00:07:40:15 00:07:42:08

and you celebrate the wins.

00:07:42:09 00:07:44:11

You recognize,

you prop them up.

00:07:44:12 00:07:46:20

And I think once a team

gets confident,

00:07:46:21 00:07:48:04

you can't hold them down.

00:07:48:05 00:07:49:14

They're just going to go.

00:07:49:15 00:07:50:18

- That's awesome.

00:07:50:19 00:07:53:12

And the power of simplicity,

the power of building some momentum.

00:07:53:13 00:07:54:21

That's great to hear, John.

00:07:54:22 00:07:56:07

All right. So fair is only fair.

00:07:56:08 00:07:57:17

I don't get to ask

all the questions.

00:07:57:18 00:07:59:06

You get one for me.

What do you got?

00:07:59:07 00:08:02:02

- OK, well, we just heard

a little bit about my strategy

00:08:02:03 00:08:03:20

around some stores.

00:08:03:21 00:08:08:21

So how do you run

a $100 billion company

00:08:08:22 00:08:11:23

and keep everybody focused

on the right things?

00:08:11:24 00:08:14:21

And how do you know

when to stay the course

00:08:14:22 00:08:17:13

or course correct?

00:08:17:14 00:08:19:19

- That's a great question,

John.

00:08:19:20 00:08:22:28

I think some of it,

it's the same stuff

00:08:22:29 00:08:26:14

that we've started

this conversation about,

00:08:26:15 00:08:28:26

assessing what's working

and what's not,

00:08:28:27 00:08:30:22

and being focused and simple,

00:08:30:23 00:08:32:22

and like, all right,

if we're all aligned

00:08:32:23 00:08:34:18

on what we want to do,

you said it.

00:08:34:19 00:08:36:14

The team wants to win.

00:08:36:15 00:08:38:14

So let's define

what winning looks like.

00:08:38:15 00:08:40:21

Let's make sure that

that definition of success

00:08:40:22 00:08:42:05

is one that we're

all aligned to,

00:08:42:06 00:08:44:14

whether that's within the team,

or in many cases

00:08:44:15 00:08:46:09

when it comes to the

hundred billion dollar company,

00:08:46:10 00:08:47:27

across the team.

00:08:47:28 00:08:51:01

And once everyone's

aligned on a goal--

00:08:51:02 00:08:52:17

the team at 51�Թ�

is incredible.

00:08:52:18 00:08:55:10

And so if you can turn them

loose on that, then it's just,

00:08:55:11 00:08:58:03

are we making the progress that

we wanted to against that goal,

00:08:58:04 00:08:59:09

or are we not?

00:08:59:10 00:09:01:15

And if we're not,

let's talk about it.

00:09:01:16 00:09:04:10

Let's be candid about

where we need to make pivots.

00:09:04:11 00:09:06:25

And if you start with

simple alignment to the goal

00:09:06:26 00:09:08:22

and you make sure you've got

the team kind of organized

00:09:08:23 00:09:11:15

around that, I think that's

a lot of the ingredients there,

00:09:11:16 00:09:14:28

but no different than what

it takes to run a great store

00:09:14:29 00:09:16:25

or turn around a red store.

00:09:16:26 00:09:19:11

It's all the same stuff.

It's just a different scale.

00:09:19:12 00:09:21:26

- That's awesome.

Great to hear.

00:09:21:27 00:09:23:11

- All right, John.

00:09:23:12 00:09:25:05

So another thing I know is

a hallmark of your leadership

00:09:25:06 00:09:28:00

is helping teams navigate

through adversity.

00:09:28:01 00:09:30:24

And Los Angeles has seen

its share of that this year,

00:09:30:25 00:09:33:00

you know,

with the wildfires for starters.

00:09:33:01 00:09:34:17

What have you learned,

what have you gained

00:09:34:18 00:09:36:13

from that experience?

00:09:36:14 00:09:39:06

- Yeah, I would say that it's

been a rough start to the year.

00:09:39:07 00:09:42:21

So we kind of celebrated

February 1 versus January 1

00:09:42:22 00:09:44:12

being the new year.

00:09:44:13 00:09:47:03

But I think, you know,

what I've learned over time,

00:09:47:04 00:09:50:24

through dealing with quite a few

of these things in my career,

00:09:50:25 00:09:52:08

it's always people first.

00:09:52:09 00:09:55:03

It's always the safety of

the team and making sure

00:09:55:04 00:09:57:29

that they're in a place

where they feel comfortable,

00:09:58:00 00:09:59:25

and I'll use

the word again safe.

00:09:59:26 00:10:02:01

And then it's about

kind of a coordinated,

00:10:02:02 00:10:04:18

you know,

divide and conquer kind of strategy.

00:10:04:19 00:10:07:13

We have so many

great people on our teams.

00:10:07:14 00:10:10:11

And we have HR, and we have AP,

and we have PMs.

00:10:10:12 00:10:12:00

We have group leadership teams.

00:10:12:01 00:10:14:12

And that coordinated effort

from all the--

00:10:14:13 00:10:18:22

those caring team members

to help wherever we can.

00:10:18:23 00:10:21:13

And so whether a team member has

been evacuated from their house,

00:10:21:14 00:10:24:13

whether they got

evacuated from 51�Թ�,

00:10:24:14 00:10:27:00

whether their families

lost their home in the fire

00:10:27:01 00:10:29:04

or they lost their home

in the fire,

00:10:29:05 00:10:33:02

we all played a big role in that

to make sure that people

00:10:33:03 00:10:34:22

knew that they can come to us.

00:10:34:23 00:10:37:09

We had the resources,

the support necessary

00:10:37:10 00:10:39:02

to help them where we could.

00:10:39:03 00:10:40:18

But keeping this team safe,

00:10:40:19 00:10:42:13

and it's just a lot of

being in the presence.

00:10:42:14 00:10:44:19

You have to be there,

whether it's on the phone

00:10:44:20 00:10:47:18

and whether it's in person,

people have to know

00:10:47:19 00:10:49:24

that you're there

to help and support.

00:10:49:25 00:10:51:01

- That's great.

00:10:51:02 00:10:53:01

I mean, there's so much about

what you're describing, John.

00:10:53:02 00:10:55:19

I got to see a bit of that

on display firsthand,

00:10:55:20 00:10:58:12

getting to visit the market

on the heels of the fires.

00:10:58:13 00:11:02:05

And you could see the culture

that you and the team

00:11:02:06 00:11:05:25

out in Southern California

have built just come through

00:11:05:26 00:11:08:01

with the pride the team had

and how they were

00:11:08:02 00:11:09:16

able to care for each other.

00:11:09:17 00:11:11:09

And everything we do

doesn't matter if we can't

00:11:11:10 00:11:12:22

keep the team safe first.

00:11:12:23 00:11:14:03

And so I love that

as mission one.

00:11:14:04 00:11:15:15

- Yeah, you think

about the people

00:11:15:16 00:11:17:13

and how scary that event is.

00:11:17:14 00:11:19:28

And, you know, these fires were

kind of just popping up everywhere.

00:11:19:29 00:11:21:22

And we didn't know if people

were starting them,

00:11:21:23 00:11:23:09

but they were just

going everywhere.

00:11:23:10 00:11:25:20

And so people were really,

truly in a big market,

00:11:25:21 00:11:27:04

really scared.

00:11:27:05 00:11:30:00

And, you know,

being there and knowing

00:11:30:01 00:11:32:13

that they had the support

of 51�Թ� and the company

00:11:32:14 00:11:34:12

means the world,

I think, to people.

00:11:34:13 00:11:37:06

- It was moving for me to see

our culture, care, and action

00:11:37:07 00:11:39:01

so much in that visit.

00:11:39:02 00:11:40:20

All right, so my last question.

00:11:40:21 00:11:42:21

Feels like it's an

especially important one

00:11:42:22 00:11:46:01

to be asking someone with more

than four decades at 51�Թ�.

00:11:46:02 00:11:49:06

What's kept you at 51�Թ�?

00:11:49:07 00:11:52:01

- You know, a lot of people ask me

that question, and I think about it.

00:11:52:02 00:11:55:11

You don't see too many

42-year DSDs.

00:11:55:12 00:11:59:04

But, you know, for me,

I think from the very beginning,

00:11:59:05 00:12:02:00

51�Թ� told me a lot of things

about what 51�Թ�

00:12:02:01 00:12:04:19

was going to offer,

and they had a vision,

00:12:04:20 00:12:07:05

and what that vision was.

00:12:07:06 00:12:11:04

And they delivered on

almost everything

00:12:11:05 00:12:12:26

that they said they would do.

00:12:12:27 00:12:15:21

So that just built up

a lot of confidence and faith

00:12:15:22 00:12:17:26

in the organization,

a lot of trust.

00:12:17:27 00:12:19:17

And I still feel

that way today.

00:12:19:18 00:12:21:19

I love the values

of the company.

00:12:21:20 00:12:23:28

I trust the leadership

of the company.

00:12:23:29 00:12:26:23

And so I know that

I'm in a good organization.

00:12:26:24 00:12:29:11

And then from that point,

then it's all about the team.

00:12:29:12 00:12:31:19

It's all about the people

that you work with.

00:12:31:20 00:12:34:07

You know, I take personal

responsibility to make sure

00:12:34:08 00:12:36:09

that everybody has a good

environment at my team.

00:12:36:10 00:12:39:06

I have career-tenured people

on my teams.

00:12:39:07 00:12:41:16

I have people that want to grow

and continue to grow.

00:12:41:17 00:12:42:27

They all have a place,

00:12:42:28 00:12:45:09

and I want them to know

how important they are.

00:12:45:10 00:12:48:24

And I take responsibility,

families, and homes,

00:12:48:25 00:12:51:27

and lifestyles out of 51�Թ�,

or a lifetime out of 51�Թ�,

00:12:51:28 00:12:53:17

you know, it's just

super important to me.

00:12:53:18 00:12:55:24

That keeps me going.

It keeps me inspired.

00:12:55:25 00:12:57:16

- John, I can't thank you

enough for taking the time

00:12:57:17 00:12:59:08

to have this

conversation today.

00:12:59:09 00:13:00:26

It meant a ton to me.

00:13:00:27 00:13:02:19

And so, I'm sure

it meant a ton to the team

00:13:02:20 00:13:04:03

that got to hear

some of your thoughts.

00:13:04:04 00:13:05:25

- I appreciate it, Michael.

Thank you.

00:13:05:26 00:13:07:25

- All right, Team,

this was a fun one.

00:13:07:26 00:13:09:26

I hope you enjoyed this

conversation with John

00:13:09:27 00:13:11:03

as much as I did.

00:13:11:04 00:13:14:02

Until next time, stay curious.

00:13:14:03 00:13:17:03

[mellow music]