← Take Command: A Leadership Podcast
Take Command: A Leadership Podcast
Next-Gen Influence: PACSUN’s Strategy to Own the Future of Youth Culture
00:34:31
What does it really take to keep a legacy brand relevant to Gen Z and Gen Alpha? For Brieane Olson, CEO of Pacsun, it’s all about leading with purpose, embracing creativity, and truly listening to your customers. In this open and insightful conversation, Brieane shares how Pacsun has stayed grounded amid shifting trends and digital disruption by staying focused on a clear mission. She dives into how the brand builds lasting love with its community, the role vulnerability plays in her leadership, and how her team has stayed connected and strong for over 15 years. From collaborations with artists and athletes to bold moves like TikTok Shop and the Pacsun Collective, Brieane shows what it means to co-create culture—not just chase trends. At the heart of her leadership style is a simple but powerful approach: “pausing with purpose,” staying curious, and always remembering the bigger “why.”
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- [00:00]
Brianne Olson
We are all a work in progress. And that way you're continuing to evolve yourself, evolve your leadership style, and you never really get to a finite point, but you're putting an investment against it. And I think that's really important. For me, leadership is the ability to inspire purpose, and purpose is so core to our happiness, both personally and professionally, and also gives definition. And I think leadership really gives competitive advantage when you look at how you lead and build a brand in the marketplace.
- [00:43]
Joe Hart
Welcome to Take Command, a Dale Carnegie podcast. I'm Joe Hart, CEO of Dale Carnegie and before we dive in, don't forget to follow Take Command, where every episode gives you the tools to lead with confidence. Today's guest brings bold innovation to the intersection of fashion, technology and leadership. She shares how staying close to culture and leading with a digital first mindset has helped her shape one of the most culturally influential youth brands. A seasoned executive with nearly two decades of experience, she stepped into the CEO role in 2023 and has since driven the company forward through high profile collaborations with icons like Kylie and Kendall Jenner at the forefront of innovation. She also champions the company's AI and Metaverse strategies and serves on influential boards including Women in Retail, Leadership and Shop Talk. Please welcome the CEO of PacSun, Brianne Olson. Brianne, welcome to the Dale Carnegie Take a Man podcast.
- [01:48]
Brianne Olson
Thank you, Joe, so much for having me today.
- [01:51]
Joe Hart
I'm excited to have you and you are the CEO of PacSun. And interestingly, and I know I had mentioned to you I have four Gen Z daughters and I mentioned to them that I would be interviewing you on this podcast and they were just out of their minds. They all love the PacSun brand. Your brand is really one of the most prominent ones certainly in the United States and abroad I believe as well, but hasn't always been that way. You've really taken a number of steps. It was always a strong brand. But of course you're in a business that can be very, very difficult, really at the cutting edge of fashion and consumer tastes. And so much of what is impressive about what you've done in your leadership is really to help position this brand for growth, primarily Gen Z, but multiple audiences and really to do it in a way that understands and listens to the audience. I'm excited to talk to you about your insights around innovation and listening and really how to connect with your audience. Tell us a little bit about you, Brianne. How did you get started in this industry?
- [02:50]
Brianne Olson
Yeah, thanks so much and we appreciate your daughters. Our customer support means everything to us and every Decision we make is based off of the customer. So I love hearing stories like that. Thank you very much. I've always loved the retail and fashion industry. It's been a part of creative expression and a part of me since I was a child. At age 15, I got my first job on the. Not the sales floor, the stock room of Banana Republic in San Diego where I was born and raised. And I kind of fought my way to the sales floor and loved the whole concept, kind of the 360 degree view of what fashion and retail can mean as it relates to creative expression and how it makes people feel. And so from that moment forward, I worked in retail stores all the way through high school, all the way through college. I interned with J. Crew in New York. And then after graduating from Berkeley, I moved to Italy and I really got a firsthand view of what high end luxury fashion looks like. And so much of it is the art and the history behind the storytelling. And I really loved that connection. So I spent many years living in Italy and working for different brands such as Valentino and Gianfranco Ferre, and ultimately a small brand called Hollywood that we ended up incubating. And then I decided that I wanted to really be in touch with the younger consumer and that that was the market that was most interesting to me. And so I move from Italy to Ohio. I worked for Abercrombie for a bit, and then I landed at PacSun. And I have been at PacSun for the last 18 years. So I've seen the evolution of the brand and really love what the organization and the brand stand for today.
- [04:35]
Joe Hart
Pretty incredible too, because, I mean, you really worked your way up at pacsun. I think there's a story there too about just, you know, how to grow an organization. But to go back for a second, because I think a lot of people who are at different stages of their career and someone could look at your career and say, wow, you know, she started here, went all the way. But you made choices along the way that might have been courageous, or you might have had fears and so forth. I think about, you know, going and studying abroad, really relocating all over the place. I mean, was that difficult? Where did you find the courage, so to speak, to go and to face these different challenges?
- [05:08]
Brianne Olson
You know, it's a great question and I like to view those as very grateful opportunities. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have been able to study abroad. And yes, it was very difficult. And I actually didn't speak Italian when I moved there to do my master's degree and I had to teach myself Italian over the summer, knowing Spanish to be able and ready. It was really hard. The first two or three years living in Italy, I wasn't accepted. I don't think they were thrilled to have an American in this small factory town of Valdano. But over time, you know, slowly building trust and leaning in, I was able to have a really amazing outcome and story. And I think a lot of growth comes from being uncomfortable, although it might feel uncomfortable to take that step or take that risk. I really encourage people, when they can, to take those thoughtful opportunities and really take advantage of what's out there. In particular, as it relates to education and as it relates to. To career opportunities that aren't necessarily the norm.
- [06:13]
Joe Hart
Were these difficult decisions, though? And let me just ask you. I mean, I know, for example, I can think of somebody I know who is facing a career decision and was afraid, was basically said, what if this doesn't work out? This is a completely different area for me. My point of view is really, this is so much about how we define failure. If we define failure as I tried it and it didn't work well, then we're going to be setting ourselves up for failure because lots of things that we're going to do that won't work. But if we try something and we learn, it's a different way to look at different mindsets. What was your experience around that? What advice would you have for people who are maybe at those pivot points?
- [06:46]
Brianne Olson
Brianne I don't operate under a lens of fear. I like to look at it as opportunity. And failure is definitely something that you have to expect along the journey. And you've got to reframe what it means when things don't work out, not as failure, but as learnings to, you know, advance you in the future. But I think, you know, I am rooted in optimism. So instead of asking the question, what's the worst thing that could happen? I try to always think what's the best outcome in this particular situation is try to stay grounded in the best things that can happen. And that helps you re pivot. Maybe you don't get to where you wanted or expected to be, but it helps you to kind of lead with some optimism to guide yourself through what could be more difficult times.
- [07:37]
Joe Hart
Yeah, it's interesting because so much of this is how we see it. This is something Dale Carnegie talked about, right? Two people in the exact same situation. One person sees opportunity, the other person just sees crisis. Part of what I hear you saying is it's really that encouragement, it's like, where's the opportunity here? Right? I mean, instead of saying, what could go wrong? Let's say, hey, what could go right?
- [07:56]
Brianne Olson
Right. Absolutely. And I think staying very grounded in a mindset of gratitude allows you to it as an opportunity versus a challenge.
- [08:06]
Joe Hart
That's awesome. Where did that come from in you? Was that something that you've just always had, or is it something someone in your life had mentored you or taught you?
- [08:13]
Brianne Olson
I think both my mother and father instilled those values in both my sister and I very early on and wanted us to really embrace the world with a positive mindset in terms of you can do anything you really set your heart to and you're passionate about and. And be open to a more open or fluid roadmap on how to get there. And just really being rooted in mindset around gratitude, I think that that changes everything, irregardless of what challenge you're facing. To be grateful for even the small things in challenging times.
- [08:48]
Joe Hart
Yeah. Isn't it true? I mean, number one, it's hard to be grateful and unhappy at the same time. But the other thing I think about, the things that have been bad in my life that I turned out to be grateful for later on a job that didn't work out or something that didn't go the way that I wanted, but ultimately being grateful for it because it would have been probably the wrong thing.
- [09:04]
Brianne Olson
Yeah, absolutely. And I think you have to trust your instincts. You have to be willing to take educated, thoughtful risks and really be confident in your ability to navigate through uncertainty.
- [09:16]
Joe Hart
So, Brian, when you started at PacSun, at what level did you start? Because we know you really worked your way up, and I think it's a great story about how you did that. What led you to PacSun? For people who aren't familiar with the brand, if you could tell us a little bit about the company and maybe what was the company focused on or how is it different at that time versus today?
- [09:33]
Brianne Olson
You know, 18 years ago, when I joined Pacsun, I was excited about the possibility of reinventing a legacy heritage brand. And so I was brought in in a fairly hybrid role, which was a product line manager between merchandising and design. So trying to align areas of the business necessarily in sync. And it was my second week on the job, and I was pulled out of my day job into this project called Mavericks with the intention of really reinventing the future of PacSun. And we were going through a more challenging time. We had expanded to over 900 stores we had some additional new brand concepts we had opened, including a footwear concept and more streetwear concept.
- [10:22]
Joe Hart
And.
- [10:22]
Brianne Olson
And it was a time of tremendous turbulence for the organization. There were a lot of leadership changes. And so being a part of this group called Mavericks really allowed me to feel empowered to have a vision outside of what Pacson had been known for, which was about 70% male. And now we're 50, 50 split from a gender perspective. And it was really rooted in surf and skate industry, which we're very proud of that heritage. But that overall industry had evolved significantly and the brands that we were carrying as well as our own brand had not evolved in sync with that. I would also say PacSun at that time was not known as a brand itself. It was known as a quote unquote, house of brands. Nothing that we carried within the store at that time carried the PacSun brand. And now over 50% of our product is PacSun branded. And that's what our customers really love and know us for. So it was just a remarkable time to join the company and be able to have a voice at the table for seeing a vision. And it definitely opened up some additional opportunities for me to have more of a say in terms of carving out the future path. Although I was in a much more junior role.
- [11:37]
Joe Hart
And how did you do that? Often people who are in junior roles will say, this is something I hear a lot, hey, look, I don't have the title or so and so is in charge of this or I'm not the CEO. You know, for somebody who doesn't have a title, what were some of the things that you did to lead with influence, to influence decisions, or to really communicate your ideas effectively?
- [11:56]
Brianne Olson
The first thing that I think that was done well is building trust amongst your peer set and amongst the leadership group. And so having an open mind, listening well to others, embracing new ideas, and then understanding that even in a smaller subset you can still run with an idea. So we knew that our customer was evolving, but we didn't have the research or the data to make the changes within our product and design mix. So one of the things that I was able to incubate and start with our team right away was something called a style leader group, where we were bringing in and identifying people who had great style and who were kind of tastemakers at that time and bring them in to our office on a weekly or monthly basis to show them product, have them bring product in. And that was a very beginning step, even though the rest of the organization wasn't ready to fully Transform to, to start to put the customer at the center and the heart of the decision making. And I feel like by being able to make some initial steps forward to help change or guide the way that we viewed the customer differently in our product mix was also a step in terms of being able to gain the confidence of the leadership team at the time about, hey, this person is actually very focused on the consumer. They're very focused on the future state of the brand and then slowly taking on additional responsibility thereafter.
- [13:18]
Joe Hart
It's one of the things that I always say to my kids is trust is a very difficult thing to gain and a very easy thing to lose. And what I'm hearing you saying is part of what you did is you step by step gain that trust so that people then were more receptive to the other ideas that you had to share.
- [13:32]
Brianne Olson
Absolutely, yeah.
- [13:34]
Joe Hart
I think the seeds of your current strategy. It sounds like we're even formed back then because, I mean, so much of what has made you successful right now is that really deep connection to the customer, bringing influencers into the brand. And I'd love to have you talk, I mean, just for our audience, because this is so different. The things that you've done in the Metaverse, I mean, really kind of getting the brand in Roblox and video games, the things that you've done partnering with influencers and people who are really at the heart of kind of current culture. These are things that really you've done, but all of which have been around understanding what the customer wants and part of what we teach in Dale Carnegie. How do I really try to understand, to see things from their point of view and so forth. So talk a little bit about that, about just lessons, you might say, for helping people understand our customer.
- [14:23]
Brianne Olson
Yeah, I think there's so many very important generational shifts that we've been able to acknowledge and recognize. And it's fluid and it's constantly changing and it's something that our teams now are hyper focused on. But it has led us to incredible paths of reinvention for PacSun and then kind of a constant Runway of evolution for the brand in terms of who we work with, how we choose to work with them. So I think I like to coin it the power of co creation because traditionally brands try to think about pushing a particular view of their brand outwards towards their customer. And the way that we're thinking about it and the way we started thinking about it almost 15 years ago was really trying to think about, like, how do we bring the customer into the conversation so not only are you meeting them where they are, which for example, in what you were saying about roblox is why we chose to go on that platform is like, hey, there's so many kids spending so much time here. How can we show up in an authentic and genuine way? But I think really pulling it forward and saying, how can we create the brand PacSun together with our community? And that was when over the last three years we've really started to focus on being purpose led. And our purpose at PacSun is to inspire the next generation of youth and create community at the intersection of sports, at the intersection of fashion, art and culture. And so I think in doing so, we've created this very rich narrative that has a lot of opportunity go forward that the team can tap into to make sure that our storytelling is incredibly relevant and make sure that not only is the customer the focus of our decision making, but they're at the heart of the community that we've created both in our stores as community hubs or through our digital touch points, on TikTok, on YouTube, on all of the social commerce and social media channels to make sure that those conversations and that community creation is really being created from within.
- [16:28]
Joe Hart
How do you continue to do that and to keep that fresh? Because when you talk about the consumer needs, wants, tastes change so quickly and especially in an area like fashion, where something is very popular today and no longer your brand has been popular for a long time, how do you stay close to the customer on a moving forward basis to ensure that you're continuing to meet their needs?
- [16:50]
Brianne Olson
I think the most important thing is the talent of the team and I'm incredibly grateful to have a very well established leadership team. The majority of our leadership team has been together working in sync for over 15 years. So that is a true advantage and we know how to pivot and change. We've been through really challenging times together and then we've been able to celebrate a lot of wins together. So it starts with the phenomenal team and then the talent pipeline. But I think the most important thing is to have a very clearly defined purpose and that purpose doesn't waver. So inspiring the next generation of youth, but what changes are the surrounding factors? So we've had a lot of success with our collaborations with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is in our art lens. We've had also equally a lot of success with our Formula one partnership or our UFC partnership or the phenomenal partnership. We're on year seven with the Los Angeles Ramsay and I think the ability to Be able to evolve the business model and not just rely on fashion and trend, but to have these three other pillars that help tell the story. This very rich story about the California lifestyle and how that can relate and also express itself globally is just incredibly powerful. And so clarity of what we stand for, I think helps us stay more relevant as the consumer shifts and then ensuring that as the consumer is evolving, we're evolving with them because they're at the center of our conversations, because they are co creating with us. We have this amazing program called PacSun Collective which amplifies the voices of diverse artists and communities and musicians. And so it's through those different initiatives that we also keep our pulse on how quickly things are changing with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
- [18:42]
Joe Hart
And certainly no easy task, right? Because things change so quickly. I just want to take a second. This connection to the customer is such a big thing. When I sent the message to my daughters, I have four daughters, what I'm getting back is something that's an emotional connection, right? I mean, so many times there are things that we shop for, we go to. I'm getting PacSun's a great store. I love it. I think their style is very modern. They keep up with the times, they appeal to current generation. It's diverse streetwear, but I'm seeing like words like love multiple times. My daughters love your brand, so the ability to create that kind of connection, I mean, it's a really special thing. Certainly something we aspire to do in Dale Carnegie as well with our customers. Is there any additional single piece of advice you'd give to our listeners who want to create that connection with their customers? If you look back and you were to give yourself some advice about something you've learned in this journey, what might that advice look like?
- [19:33]
Brianne Olson
I think brand love is something we talk a lot about and it's not easy to achieve and it requires diligence every day because there's decisions that might give you a better outcome in the short term that could compromise brand love. And so keeping your North Star and keeping your focus on the long term relationship with your consumer, I think is incredibly key. I think we've had a lot of learnings and reflections about being very, very thoughtful in terms of who we collaborate with. We have been known for collaborations ranging from our collaboration that was 10 years long with Kendall and Kylie Jenner, to our amazing partnership with A$AP Rocky as our artistic creative director, to Emma Chamberlain and others. But I think you recognize that also by leaning in and having them be a part of Your community, you're also choosing them to represent your brand, and so making those choices with intention. Each one of those creators that I just mentioned have a real affinity and love for pacsun, either today or before, from a nostalgic standpoint of, I used to love that brand. It's my brand at the mall. And, you know, now I want to bring my essence or ethos in conjunction with pacsin, to the consumer. So I think intentionality and focus, and then knowing that that conversation with your consumer is ongoing, and more important, when you get the negative feedback of something that they don't appreciate or they didn't care for, you have to really listen, acknowledge, and have that direct conversation back. And I think that's the power of vulnerability, both in leadership but also as a brand to, you know, really be willing to lean into those tough conversations.
- [21:20]
Joe Hart
Well, this is a perfect kind of segue because I want to talk a little bit about your authentic leadership. You've described yourself in different interviews as a work in progress. You have been open about different things. You're trying to work on yourself. And you and I both know as CEOs, there might be an expectation that the CEO is a certain way and so forth, and it can be difficult to be vulnerable. And I mean, clearly we don't have all the answers, and I know that, but sometimes people have that expectation. Talk about the way that you lead, talk about what it's like and why it's so important as a leader to be vulnerable in your experience.
- [21:52]
Brianne Olson
Absolutely. You captured it well. We are all a work in progress. And that way, you're continuing to evolve yourself and evolve your leadership style, and you never really get to a finite point, but you're putting an investment against it. And I think that's really important. For me, leadership is the ability to inspire purpose. And purpose is so core to our happiness, both personally and professionally, and also gives definition and I think really gives competitive advantage when you look at how you lead and build a brand in the marketplace. And I think the other quality of leadership that I seek to embody is to empower others and drive meaningful change. So you want to ensure that you're also addressing social issues. We have a partnership with Selena Gomez's Rare Denim edit, and it gives back to, you know, all of the initiatives she's doing around mental health and the youth. And these types of initiatives not only are really powerful to our community and our consumers, but also make us all feel so much better about what we're doing here. As leaders, as brand advocates, we're Proud to work for a brand that's rooted in purpose. And so I think having the authenticity and courage and a service mindset is really crucial to leading at any brand or company today.
- [23:20]
Joe Hart
That's so true. I mean, so much of what our job is as leaders, really leaders at whatever level, particularly at a higher level, is to inspire people. And your audience is often Gen Z, certainly from a consumer standpoint, but probably all of us really want to have do something that gives us purpose and it gives us meaning. I mean, life is too short to do something that is not just kind of driving us every day. So what are some of the ways that you highlight that purpose? I mean, within your team, within your leadership team, are there strategies or things that you do inside, even on a one on one basis with your team or people that you're engaging from a leadership standpoint?
- [23:53]
Brianne Olson
Yeah. So from a leadership standpoint, we have an amazing coach that we work with, and I'm a big advocate of personal and professional development. And so our leadership team and then the next 75 leaders within our organization all meet with and do workshops with this coach four times a year. And I think that has been very powerful in driving shared vision, a real uniting front around purpose. And also for my leadership team and the next subset, I've encouraged everyone to read the book the True north by Bill George. There's a great workbook that goes along with the book. And that was really a game changer for me in 2019, reading that book and then leading through the pandemic. And it has given such clarity for not only myself, but my leadership team in terms of what is their real purpose and how do we all work together now that we have shared awareness around our purpose. And by sharing that, it requires a lot of vulnerability. And so we've been able to tap in in more depth to what that means, how we leverage it. And I think it's an incredibly powerful tool and I would recommend it to any leader and any group of teams. And you can do it without a facilitator. We've done it without a facilitator, We've done it with a facilitator. Both work equally well, but it really does allow you to dive deeper into, into what is your true meaning.
- [25:20]
Joe Hart
Getting that true meaning is so important because ultimately, if our why is strong enough, we can get through a lot of the difficulty, the challenges or things that we don't want to do if we have a strong enough why. So having that true north is clearly important. Certainly it's something that we Focus on Extensively and Dale Carnegie and others do as well. What are you most excited about as you look forward into the future, Brianne? What really kind of gives you purpose and drives you forward?
- [25:46]
Brianne Olson
You know, we sit here today in a great deal of uncertainty and there's a few things that really help ground me and drive me forward. First is the values of leading with purpose, committing to win, and being very scrappy and very appreciative of my teams. And so I think even with headwinds, even with challenges, we have been able to navigate and carve out new roadmaps together to unlock and find growth for the brand and the organization. I'm very excited to continue to build on our pacsun community, both here, domestically and abroad. And that's very important because the community of pacsun is the reason that you describe brand love. Right. And so that is at the forefront of what we're excited about. Secondly, social commerce is just starting to take off. And so this, this concept of video selling and we've seen a tremendous amount of momentum in our own businesses of how this model is potentially changing and what that will mean to traditional E commerce and where that is in the future, I think is incredibly exciting.
- [26:54]
Joe Hart
Absolutely.
- [26:55]
Brianne Olson
You said social selling, video selling. So, for example, we sold 200,000 pairs of jeans on TikTok shop in the last 12 months. So it's not insignificant. But what excites me more is this open creator platform that allows for there to be the creator economy. And I think it's really important for our community to feel empowered to be able to harness this opportunity and take advantage of that and also have it financially benefit them. And so it's one of the reasons that we're so bullish on the platform and we've seen the virality happen in ways we've never seen before and there's this halo effect trickling down to stores. So I think social commerce selling is something really exciting and something I'm watching closely into the future. And the last thing is really international expansion. I'm thrilled to be taking PacSun into a global stage. And we're in our infancy right now, but we'll be opening our first global stores in the Middle East. And I think it's really nice to be able, having been at the brand for 18 years and this has been a strong aspiration and we've just dabbled in it so far to have a really clear strategy and plan for how that will play out for us.
- [28:09]
Joe Hart
Well, it's exciting to see what you're doing and certainly it'll be fun, you know, looking a year or two or five ahead and kind of with the success which I'm sure will occur is like, let me ask about you a little bit because certainly as a CEO, we have to take care of ourselves, all of us, whether we're a CEO or anyone. And so, you know, how do we really invest in ourselves, make sure that we are focused on our mental health, our physical health and so forth. What do you do to help stay energetic and healthy?
- [28:37]
Brianne Olson
I would say three things that I'm focused on and probably I have three more that I'm trying to focus on and I'm not quite there. The first is, I think by keeping my mind healthy, I love to read. I am a very avid learner and I'm very curious. And so I enjoy reading. That is also a way for me to disconnect and also help helps me to think. So I'll read several books a week. You know, some people have television shows or movies that they watch. I really enjoy reading. So reading is on the top of my list. And I find that to be a very productive outlet. The second, which is probably also not seen as traditional, is I really focus on sleep. I think that getting solid sleep can have huge health benefits, and I see that in myself. And so I try to focus on sleep. And then the third is both eating healthy and then getting the right dose of activity. And that's where I absolutely have desires to exercise more. But getting out and walking once a day, walking with my kids or the dog, I think that activity and being outside, breathing in that fresh air. I love hiking, being in the mountains, being at the ocean, just making sure that I'm really in touch with nature. And then the last thing that is a quick reset is I have over the last five years taught myself meditation. And so the power of even a two or three or five minute meditation is an incredible reset and really helps you to pause. And so being able to focus on my breathing and focus on meditation, I think is something that everybody can teach themselves and even when they don't have a lot of time, because we're all pressed for time, it's a very, very small investment to a much better well being.
- [30:25]
Joe Hart
Yeah, sometimes we can think to ourselves. We need a big amount of time to do something. Right. I've done this before with running, like I like to run. And I'll say, well, if I don't have an hour to run, I won't run at all. That doesn't make any sense. It's like, go for Half an hour. And the same thing is true, what you're saying for meditation, we don't necessarily need to carve out 30 minutes, take five minutes. Right. The fact that you're doing this, I think is an example for everybody who says, hey, I don't have time. I mean, if you're reading multiple books a week, I mean, that's pretty impressive.
- [30:54]
Brianne Olson
And the last thing is, I do feel I really recharge with my family and so carving out and making that a priority is very important to me.
- [31:02]
Joe Hart
That's awesome. Well, the last question I'm going to ask you and it's interesting because from time to time I go to ChatGPT. Let me ask you a question before I get to the question. How are you using AI today? Either you personally or how's the business using AI? Is it something you are leveraging personally or from a business standpoint?
- [31:20]
Brianne Olson
I think across both lenses, AI is integrated into our daily life, both at work and at home. So we're using it actively. It's been integrated. We have an AI council that was established with an 18 month roadmap. And I would say it's integrated fairly consistently across all facets of our business. The one area where we have been a bit more cautious but are still beginning to explore is in the creative space, kind of protecting that in the short term and watching how that space evolves.
- [31:53]
Joe Hart
Yeah, I mean, it's moving so fast and it's amazing there's a place in the creative space for this already. This is moving so fast, we're all going to be surprised at what happens even over the next 12 to 24 months. So I went to ChatGPT in advance of our meeting and I said, I'm interviewing Brianne Olson, CEO of PacSun, and if there's only one thing that you could ask Brianne, what would that be? And the question is, if you could give one piece of advice about the mindset or habit that's made the biggest difference in your leadership, resilience and relationships, what would it be?
- [32:27]
Brianne Olson
I would say the power of pause. You know, I think we move so quickly and the pace is so fast and with technology it actually expedites that. And as a leader and in building relationships, the power to pause and be much more intentional about the conversation that you're having, about the strategy that you're building, I think is an incredibly overlooked tool that's in everyone's scope and toolkit. So really having the ability, whether it's a small decision or a big decision, to take a quick pause to do a check in to make sure that this meets your long term vision for your brand or for that relationship. And also the short term I think is incredibly powerful. And with that, I would say the power of vulnerability has been a second but interconnected piece of really being vulnerable with your teams. Being able to share that vulnerability builds much more powerful connections and I think those are two things that aren't necessarily usually connected in terms of great leadership.
- [33:36]
Joe Hart
Well, awesome, Brianne, thank you so much. Great advice for all of us and certainly enjoy and appreciate having you here with me today on the Dale Carnegie Take Man Podcast.
- [33:45]
Brianne Olson
Thanks so much Joe. It was great being here with you today.
- [33:54]
Joe Hart
I hope you enjoyed this edition of Take Command, a Dale Carnegie Podcast. Check out our resources at www.dalecarnegie.com for more research, insight and tools that will support your success and help you take command of your leadership potential. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider rating it and following us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For more exclusive content, subscribe to our Dale Carnegie YouTube channel and follow us on Social media Media. As always, thank you for listening and we're looking forward to you joining us for the next episode of Take Command, a Dale Carnegie Podcast.