Podcast Summary: Corporate Gossip

Episode: S2 Finale & Costco: Kings of Kirkland

Date: May 12, 2023
Hosts: Becca Platsky (CPA scorned) & Adam Platsky (data analytics playboy)
Producer/Voice: Mike (occasional Andy Cohen voice)
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Overview

In this energetic and laughter-filled season finale, the hosts of "Corporate Gossip" look back on the highlights of Season 2, answer listener questions, crown their favorite "corporate cuties," and finally deliver their much-requested, positive deep dive into Costco—a rare example of a big business doing (mostly) right by its workers, customers, and shareholders. Get ready for uplifting stories, quirky facts, and surprisingly heartwarming leadership tales.

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Season 2 Reflections & Announcements

[00:00–05:38]

• Shout-out to listener supporters and coffees bought by Jeremy, P. Ann R., Sheila in TC, and Meredith.
• Hosts reflect on their whirlwind season, including brushes with John Flannery (ex-GE CEO, alive and well—contrary to a passing joke rumor— [02:05]), and Andy Cohen (Bravo legend, not a listener but still fabulous—[03:25]).
• Discussion on the sheer amount of work involved in podcast production (40 hours prep per episode), balancing with their day jobs, and excitement for future research—including stories about PG&E, Carlos Ghosn, and McKinsey.
• Tease for a future “for the girls” focus: more stories about women in business and “women’s wrongs” (e.g., Charlie Javis' fraud against Jamie Dimon).

Notable Quote:

“Sometimes being in this space... can get you down and make you feel like, ‘Oh my God, how could I possibly consume in this world when every single company is terrible?’ But I think Costco is a great example of conscious consuming.” – Becca [01:34]

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Listener Q&A Highlights

[06:15–15:28]

Format: Mike reads listener questions in an Andy Cohen style (drinking secret word = “CEO”).

• Companies they hope never to expose:

  • Becca: “I never trust any of them...I’m always kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
  • Adam: “That would be Trader Joe’s...or Aldi...or Wegmans.” [07:22]

• Companies they dread covering:

  • Becca: “CVS. The CEO of CVS makes a stupid amount of money, and I just love CVS. I love couponing at CVS. It's a very good experience for me.” [07:42]
  • Adam: “Nike…not that important to my life, but I would like to do it well.” [08:05]

• Favorite episode done:

  • Both: Under Armour (“We love talking about executives going to strip clubs.” [08:44])

• Sibling work dynamic:

  • Adam: “Rebecca and I have worked on several failed ventures together... But yeah, it’s good.”
  • Becca: “The hard part...you don’t feel any guilt around being professional. I don’t mind texting you and being like, ‘Hey, I don’t really feel like doing it’.... But overall... I think you’re one of the people who can call me out on my bullshit.” [09:06–10:26]
  • Adam (joking): “Women should always be filtered.” [10:25–10:26]

• Scared of retaliation?:

  • Becca: “I am not scared of retaliation because everything we talk about comes from another news source...If a CEO or company has a problem...we’d just point them to the original source.” [10:41–11:58]
  • Adam: “I’m not scared of anything.”
  • Both discuss trolls and the “CEO bootlickers” on TikTok. Becca: “There is nothing you must do in order to earn the right to be critical of their behavior.” [12:33–13:15]

• Worst for workers/capitalism right now:

  • Becca: “PayPal Mafia—Peter Thiel, Elon [Musk]...very worried about what’s happening with JP Morgan scooping up all these regional banks... also hustle culture.” [13:26–14:22]
  • Both: "It's dangerous [when] one bank is now scooping up several smaller regional banks."
  • Hustle culture as “dangerous messaging”—“Right now, the people who work hardest in this country make the least amount of money.”

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Corporate Cutie (Hero) Awards: Season 2

[15:28–17:31]
Nominees from Enron, GE, Southwest, and Boeing episodes:

• Enron: Margaret Saccony (whistleblower at the Mia Luna tapas bar), Sharon Watkins (Congress testifier, Whistleblower News Network), Bethany McLean (Fortune reporter who question Enron’s model)
• GE: John Flannery (ex-CEO, fan of the podcast!)
• Southwest: Herb Kelleher (chain-smoking founder/CEO, employee and customer champion), Southwest Pilots Union
• Boeing: Gary Eastman (early whistleblower, arrested for “stealing company property”), Ed Pearson (blew the whistle on 737 production issues)

Winners

• Adam: Herb Kelleher (“He put the customer and his employee first, which we rarely see. He has character...just very lovable.” [17:32])
• Becca: Margaret Saccony (“She probably should be as famous as Sharon Watkins but for some reason isn’t. ...She just went up to these guys at the top of this restaurant. ...She’s a badass.” [17:57])

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Main Segment: Costco – Kings of Kirkland

“Let this episode wash over you. It’s going to feature a lot of really good things: workers being paid a fair wage, CEOs being realistic about what they’re bringing to the company and paying themselves accordingly, ...funny interchanges between the outgoing founder and the incoming CEO...” – Becca [17:57]

1. What is Costco?

[18:00–23:13]

• 5th largest retailer in the world
• Club/warehouse model (concrete floors, bulk buying, no-frills)
• Membership required ($95/year)
• Leads the world in sales of prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine
• 850 stores globally, mostly US but also in Canada, Mexico, Japan, UK, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Spain
• Food court: hosts share their visit (hot dog, soda, pizza for $3.50—“the pizza was extremely hot!” [20:44]).
• Cult following; “People make their careers around Costco that don’t work for Costco.” [21:05]
  • Favorite products: Adam—Costco pesto (“It’s divine.”), Becca—potato salad (via their dad), Mike—kimchi selection [21:46]

Fun Game:

• Which item is not sold at Costco: sauna, hot dog casket, pool table, 240-serving bucket of mac and cheese, 3-bedroom house, wedding package, 93” teddy bear.
  • Trick answer: you can’t buy a house from Costco, but the wedding package is real! [22:54–23:10]

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2. Costco’s Roots & Culture

[23:13–28:49]

• Inspired by Sol Price’s “Fedmart” in 1950s San Diego—a discount store with pro-labor, pro-union values
• Sol Price: Liberal Jewish attorney, “embraced organized labor”; at one point, invited the Teamsters to unionize his employees (“Can you imagine a CEO...being like, ‘You guys need somebody to represent you’?!” [24:28])
• Price Club + Costco merged in 1993.
• Culture: The company prioritizes value, fair labor, and keeping prices low.
• CEO origin stories: both Jim Sinegal (founder) and current CEO Craig Jelinek worked their way up from retail.

Iconic Moment (Hot Dog lore):

• The famous $1.50 hot dog + soda combo never increased in price since 1985 (“If price kept up with inflation, it’d be $4.13.” [25:51])
• Built their own hot dog factory to control costs.
• At a 2018 luncheon:
  • “If you raise the price of this hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.” – Jim Sinegal to incoming CEO Craig Jelinek [28:28]

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3. Costco Leadership: Sinegal and Jelinek

[28:49–39:54]

• Jim Sinegal (founder/CEO 1983–2011):

  • Humble roots: grew up in poverty, orphanage, worked as a grocery bagger.
  • “The reason why [turnover] is so low is...his management is rooted in the belief that employees who are treated well will treat and serve customers well.” [30:17]
  • Out-of-pocket checks to reimburse employees after the company shorted healthcare by 2%. Added stock to 401(k). [30:17]
  • Famous quote (on CEO pay):

    “If you’re going to run an organization that’s very cost conscious, then you can’t have those disparities. Having an individual who’s making 100 or 200 or 300 times more than the average person working on the floor is wrong.” [41:36]

• Craig Jelinek (CEO 2011–present):

  • “I say, we’re not going to change it.” (on employee pay and benefits) [37:57]
  • “You still have to make a profit. Of course you do. You may not make as much during the tough times. ...I’d rather have a stock drop for three or four years than be out of business in three or four years.” [38:09]
  • “This isn’t Harvard grad stuff...we sell quality stuff at the best possible price. You treat consumers with respect, you treat employees well; things are going to happen to you.” [39:07]
  • Eats his food court hot dog with no toppings (!) [39:54]

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4. Worker Treatment & Company Philosophy

[30:17–35:49]

• Lowest turnover in retail; compensation above norms ($17–$25/hr starting wage; managers ~$114K; many rise from hourly ranks)
• 90% qualify for employer-sponsored health insurance (vs 60% retail avg.)
• Paid time and a half on Sunday, 7 paid holidays, free turkey at Thanksgiving, annual bonuses.
• Professional growth: 70% of managers started as hourly workers.
• “Believe it or not, you can pay employees well and provide shareholder value.” [34:47]
  • Stock increased 5,000% during Sinegal’s tenure.
  • $10K in Costco stock in 2003 = ~$200K in 2023.

Notable Quote:

“Don’t come at me with profit maximization as the only way to increase your stock price. ...You have your employees, your customers, your communities... It’s insane.” – Becca [35:49]

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5. Corporate Gossip: Succession & HQ Style

[35:51–43:45]

• Sinegal retires, no scandal or drama: “He understands this business backwards and forwards. ...All the things you want in a manager.” [36:00]
• Sinegal, “can’t let go,” visits boardroom monthly (“They’ll turn my badge off!”)
• Jelinek: “It’s kind of like your dad is still your dad, no matter how old he is.” [36:14]
• HQ in Issaquah, WA: “Looks like a high school.” Faded blue carpets, Walmart-style office culture, no PR staff, thriftiness everywhere. [41:10]
• Executive photos are badly staged, Jelinek’s head taped onto old group pictures instead of reshooting (“Print a picture of me out, pop it on the frame. That’s good enough.” [46:45])

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6. CEO Compensation & Profit Sharing

[41:36–46:45]

• Sinegal paid himself $350K/year (1985–2011)
• Jelinek makes $8.5M/year (2020)—lowest among peers for similar revenue (Walmart CEO: much more).
• Where does the money go? “No stock buybacks, not HQ upgrades—the money goes to employees.” [43:53]
• During pandemic: kept hazard pay, quietly spent $14M/week from pandemic profits compensating workers (“Brookings didn’t even know—an employee had to call and tell them!” [44:00])
• Chart referenced: Amazon & Walmart kept most windfall, little went to workers. Costco: “pretty much 1:1—for every extra $1, $1 to employees.” [46:45]

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7. Costco’s Flaws and Challenges

[46:46–52:26]

• Issues with board independence: many “entrenched,” long-serving directors (2015)
• Discrimination settlement: $8M to settle promotion discrimination for 700 female employees
• Supply chain critiques:
  • Prison labor surfaced in at least one segment
  • “Monkey labor” for coconut milk (monkeys chained to harvest coconuts)
  • Lawsuit with Tiffany (selling rings labeled as “Tiffany” that weren’t)
  • Toilet paper: comes from Canada’s boreal forest; environmental concerns
  • Pharmacy fines: filling incomplete prescriptions, weak controls; $127M invested in new pharmacy management

Notable Quote:

“It is kind of crazy that the one company that we could find that’s not the worst is still...endeavoring in a couple of unsavory practices.” – Becca [51:46]

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8. Big Picture & Season Wrap

[52:34–end]

• Costco isn’t perfect, but stands out in a sea of “clusterf–k” companies.
• Key insight: “The fish rots from the head down.” When leaders are egomaniacs, the company becomes exploitative or fraudulent. When leaders are empathetic, worker-centric, and humble, better practices follow.
• Adam: “Both Jelinek and Sinegal worked from the bottom rungs.... They know the jobs very well in and out.” [53:48]
• Becca: “By keeping CEO pay low, you enable leaders to act like human beings and not to make themselves feel like they are better than or buy themselves out of the human condition.” [54:14]
• Both explore the effect of high executive pay on empathy, B reaches for therapy as a possible CEO remedy.

Closing Gratitude:

• Thanks listeners, John Flannery for reaching out, and producer Mike.
• Tease for possible bonus episodes covering breaking business news before season 3 drops.

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “John is not dead. He’s thriving...We really appreciate fans that have been CEOs of multinational corporations.” – Becca [03:04]
• “If you raise the price of this hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.” – Sinegal (via Jelinek retelling) [28:28]
• “You may not make as much [profit] during the tough times...I’d rather have a stock drop for three or four years than be out of business in three or four years.” – Jelinek [38:09]
• “Don’t come at me with profit maximization as the only way to increase your stock price!” – Becca [35:49]
• “Having an individual who’s making 100 or 200 or 300 times more than the average person working on the floor is wrong.” – Sinegal [41:36]
• “It is kind of crazy that the one company that we could find that’s not the worst is still...endeavoring in a couple of unsavory practices.” – Becca [51:46]

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Key Takeaways

• Costco demonstrates you can pay workers well, treat customers fairly, and provide shareholder value.
• Humility and empathy in leadership make a tangible difference; CEO pay discipline and “bottom-to-top” internal promotions help reinforce this.
• Even the best companies have supply chain flaws in a global system, but proactive (if imperfect) remedies are vital.
• A steady, “boring” CEO who resists quick wins and prioritizes company longevity is sometimes exactly what both employees and investors actually want.

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If you skipped the season, this episode is a crash course in why corporate leadership style, conscious labor practices, and business model simplicity all matter—plus a healthy dose of hot dog-related scandal to taste.