A (3:15)

Wow, I like that analogy. Removing the hay. Obviously a needle in the haystack. That is, that's amazing. But I like that you created this riskability factor, that 20 point evaluation or checklist, and that kind of takes some of the, as I call it, the hay or the BS out of it all. And you get right down to foundational leadership principles that you can help big environments, especially those high stake environments. So I appreciate that. Tom, you've held leadership roles at companies like Facebook, Walmart and Palm. What were some of the key lessons you took from these fast paced, high.

B (3:49)

Impact environments to go in with an open mind to adapt to the environment. As you can imagine, when I went to Facebook, I interviewed with Mark Zuckerberg when he was 19. And when I showed up for that interview, everyone that was there was young enough to be my child. And as I started working at Facebook, because I ultimately went there after being really intrigued with the product and the willingness to share information, everyone that worked with me and on my team was fresh out of school, deferring law school, business school from the top universities. And I could have gone in and been very much about my corporate experience or the things I'd learned at startups, but instead I was willing to learn from them as we started building, building the customer operations of Facebook. Very similarly going into Walmart, I was fortunately@walmart.com, which was a very different environment than Walmart, but I spent about 70% of my time in Bentonville, Arkansas. Two worlds that could have collided. And once again I realized we're all people. And bridging that and being willing to learn and teach and share was what brought the success. And at Palm, I was responsible for global service operations, traveling around the world and working in other countries as we worked on our service offering and through the trio. If any one of your viewers remembers that at that time, and even the challenge there of other Cultures and how you respect them and look at them and have an open mind that your culture may not be the only or the best and to respect what you see and what you're working on. So I bring it all back down to people respecting others ideas, being able to share yours and an awareness of an open mind and being willing to learn.

A (5:33)

That's awesome. Thank you so much. Just love to hear people's stories. Going into these environments with an open mind is what I heard. And I really particularly love the story about you interviewing with Mark Zuckerberg when he was starting out there. Appreciate that learning from others, even younger generations. I took away a couple things is respect what you see. The cultures, the environment, learning, teach and share. At the end of it, people are the heart of everything that we do in this world. Tom, the last question of the day I have for you. You often speak on purpose driven leadership. In your view, how can today's leaders reconnect with their purpose amidst relentless change and noise?

B (6:12)

You know, I'll give you a great example of somebody I'm working with. And the CEO came to me and was sharing with me how he has done everything in his organization to build an open environment where people could talk to each and then shared with me that. But no one ever comes to see me in my office. And the more we talk, the more I learned. I looked at him and I said, you know, this is very, very simple. Have you ever thought about getting out of your office? You're the CEO, you have a title, it's very intimidating to people. You're creating an environment, but you're not participating in it. So I think that I use that example to share with you how important is for us to remember in the fast driven pace today and all the things that are going on in our world, that people still identify with people. And being human and meeting people where they are is how you can build and grow and make people respect you and understand what your leadership is about. And then you add into that a little listening. The important part of listening is listening for what's being said and not for what's going on in your head about how you might respond. The person listening to you knows you're not listening to them fully and you're missing out on some important information. So I think this idea of not only being visible, interacting, being human, but being willing to listen to others.

A (7:38)

Awesome. Thank you. And I highlight a few things. I like the story about the CEO really trying to, you know, make it in an open environment, make it where it's approachable. Maybe he left his door open, but until he as you said, get out of your office and start meeting with folks, people aren't just going to come to you. You've got to meet them at least halfway. People still need people in that connection and listening. Of course, as you probably heard this throughout life is God gave us two ears and one mouth. And I totally agree with the listening factor as you make human connections. So thank you so much, Tom. It was such a pleasure having you on today and I look forward to speaking with you real soon.

B (8:13)

Thank you, Brian. I enjoy being here and I appreciate you having me.

A (8:18)

Bye for now.