Full Transcript for 424: Bert Bean & Sam Kaufman - Rebuilding A Culture, Taking Risks, & The Next Step...

about a remarkable leader who helped Insight Global commit 37 00:02:18.539 --> 00:02:21.939 to living their shared values. And at the beginning of 38 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:26.930 this conversation, we make a big announcement about the future 39 00:02:27.210 --> 00:02:30.949 of my work. Now, this is a huge career move 40 00:02:31.129 --> 00:02:34.750 for me, and I want to take a moment to 41 00:02:35.129 --> 00:02:40.270 thank you for continuing to support me and this show 42 00:02:40.810 --> 00:02:44.490 and spreading the Learning Leader message far and wide and 43 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:47.669 telling your friends to listen. And because of you, an 44 00:02:48.810 --> 00:02:52.520 incredible opportunity has come my way, and I'm going for it. 45 00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:56.129 And I have to say thank you so much. So 46 00:02:56.150 --> 00:03:00.400 without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Burt Bean 47 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:05.639 and Sam Kaufman. Welcome to the Learning Leader Show. It's 48 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:06.699 great to have you guys here. 49 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:09.900 Thank you very much, Ryan. Happy to be here. Fired up. 50 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:10.759 All right, man. 51 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:14.099 So let's not bury the lead. The whole purpose of 52 00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:19.069 this episode, this conversation is to share some really big 53 00:03:19.150 --> 00:03:25.400 news about our partnership. And that's Insight Global and the 54 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:30.280 Learning Leader Show, which is me, are formally working together 55 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:35.879 as of now. And I'm just super pumped about it. 56 00:03:35.969 --> 00:03:39.150 And so during our time together, I think we're going 57 00:03:39.169 --> 00:03:43.370 to discuss why we're doing this, the backstory about how 58 00:03:43.430 --> 00:03:47.810 it all came together, some of the cool inside details 59 00:03:47.870 --> 00:03:51.400 about how these things come together. what Insight Global is 60 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:53.969 all about, why this is something that you guys wanted 61 00:03:53.990 --> 00:03:57.289 to do. And obviously, I want to share both of 62 00:03:57.349 --> 00:03:59.469 your stories as well, because I think there's a lot 63 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:02.090 for people to learn from about both you guys. So 64 00:04:02.150 --> 00:04:06.180 to start, though, Sam, I'd like for you to share 65 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:12.400 about our first interactions and how you and I first 66 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:13.479 got connected. 67 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.350 Yeah, well, it was actually, so Bert here had told 68 00:04:17.389 --> 00:04:20.129 me that I'm doing a horrible job connecting with the 69 00:04:20.250 --> 00:04:23.470 outside world. And as part of my role, I needed 70 00:04:23.490 --> 00:04:25.910 to do more of that. And so I spoke to 71 00:04:25.949 --> 00:04:28.129 a couple of members on our board and I was like, 72 00:04:28.310 --> 00:04:30.639 would you have anybody that you could connect me to 73 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.160 that could be like a coach or someone that could 74 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:37.720 give me some outside perspective? And Lou Androsi on our 75 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:40.180 board was like, I think I know someone. He came 76 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:42.600 from Relax. He's actually a sales guy like you. You'll 77 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.769 probably get along, so. So, you know, I got your name, 78 00:04:47.110 --> 00:04:49.790 and it's instant and Lou like just, you know, it 79 00:04:49.850 --> 00:04:53.009 was email it just said Ryan Hawk, and I had 80 00:04:53.029 --> 00:04:56.079 been listening to the learning leader podcast for about a 81 00:04:56.139 --> 00:04:58.420 year at that point. And so when he sent that 82 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:00.680 to me I was like it couldn't possibly be the 83 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:03.959 same person. And then I responded back to Lou and 84 00:05:04.500 --> 00:05:06.459 his response was something like, I think he does a 85 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:09.459 podcast or something like that. And so that's when I 86 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:12.060 was like, oh, I think this really is that Ryan Hawk. 87 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:14.660 So that got me very excited. And then you're going 88 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:15.860 to be mentored by a celebrity. 89 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:16.439 I know. 90 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:18.399 I was like, this is the guy who's been mentoring 91 00:05:18.449 --> 00:05:20.569 me without knowing it for a year. And now I 92 00:05:20.629 --> 00:05:23.209 might actually talk directly with him. And so in our 93 00:05:23.250 --> 00:05:26.529 first conversation, Ryan, you just you embodied exactly what I 94 00:05:26.589 --> 00:05:30.420 expected of you, which was just as such a curious person. 95 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:35.519 You ask so many intelligent, intellectual questions. You just naturally 96 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:37.959 want to learn. That's why the learning leader brand for 97 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.610 you just makes so much sense. And I was like, 98 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:43.829 oh man, this guy is going to really, you ask 99 00:05:43.850 --> 00:05:44.790 a lot of good questions. 100 00:05:44.889 --> 00:05:45.490 And so it. 101 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:48.810 Makes me really, you know, think introspectively. And it's, you know, 102 00:05:48.930 --> 00:05:51.709 our first conversation really, really showed me that. 103 00:05:52.490 --> 00:05:54.769 Sam, I remember that I actually called my dad, which 104 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:57.180 I don't do after like a random thing. One, because 105 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:00.279 of Lou, because him and Lou are friends. And not surprised. 106 00:06:00.579 --> 00:06:01.279 I love Lou. 107 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:04.680 He's like a close family friend now. but that he 108 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.430 doesn't fully know about my podcast. So maybe he'll listen 109

00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:10.110 to this one. If so, Lou, I'm glad you're listening finally. 110 00:06:10.689 --> 00:06:14.810 But no, I remember calling him saying, these one-on-one type 111 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:17.970 deals for me, I don't actually like to do a 112 00:06:18.009 --> 00:06:20.829 lot of them. They're kind of hard because you get 113 00:06:20.910 --> 00:06:24.370 really invested. It's time intensive because there's a lot of 114 00:06:24.410 --> 00:06:26.750 work that goes on in between. And so I don't 115 00:06:26.790 --> 00:06:29.300 always like to say yes to them for that reason, 116 00:06:29.310 --> 00:06:31.439 because I'd like to create a lot of creative space 117 00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:34.750 for me to think to prepare for these types of shows, 118 00:06:34.810 --> 00:06:37.209 to go give speeches, do things like that. So when 119 00:06:37.250 --> 00:06:40.209 I do them, it's got to be worth it. And 120 00:06:40.250 --> 00:06:42.589 it's got to be with somebody that I really actually 121 00:06:42.670 --> 00:06:45.879 want to become friends with because that inevitably happens. It's 122 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:49.319 happened 100% of the time when I've worked one-on-one with somebody. 123 00:06:49.339 --> 00:06:50.980 And I remember talking to my dad saying, I actually 124 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:55.180 think this dude, Sam, who's a president at this, this 125 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:58.790 really cool company called Insight Global, as I'm learning more about, 126 00:06:58.810 --> 00:07:01.319 I think I actually want to do this one. And 127 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:04.300 it's just crazy though. That was, I believe January or February. 128 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:06.920 And then all of a sudden the world gets flipped 129 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:10.220 upside down. And, and our, and so our first year together, 130 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:15.069 it's like every other day, we're trying to figure out like, 131 00:07:15.410 --> 00:07:17.410 are we going to survive both of us? And I 132 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:19.850 think that, that part of it was in a way 133 00:07:19.910 --> 00:07:21.449 brought us closer together, you know? 134 00:07:21.750 --> 00:07:23.370 Well, it was, it was, I mean, if you remember 135 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:26.459 our first week working together, We were supposed to have 136 00:07:26.579 --> 00:07:28.439 dinner in Atlanta together. 137 00:07:28.459 --> 00:07:28.959 Yeah. 138 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:30.100 And it was Tuesday. 139 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:32.220 We were having dinner on Thursday. And I texted you. 140 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.319 I said, are you still planning on coming? And I 141 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:36.579 was like, he must be crazy if he's still coming. 142 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:39.060 And you responded, yes. And I was like, God, this 143 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:42.410 is my kind of guy. And then on Wednesday, you 144 00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:44.370 texted me back and said, I don't think it's a 145 00:07:44.389 --> 00:07:44.850 good idea. 146 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:46.790 And I was like, I think I fully agree with that. 147 00:07:47.009 --> 00:07:48.290 Yeah, it was crazy. 148 00:07:48.410 --> 00:07:52.029 It was crazy. Yeah, we did everything remotely for, I think, 149 00:07:52.029 --> 00:07:52.829 13 months. 150 00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:56.610 Yeah, it's wild. But no, I felt like I said, 151 00:07:56.629 --> 00:07:58.430 I felt the same about you. And now, Bert, I 152 00:07:58.470 --> 00:08:01.420 think I first got to know you because as part 153 00:08:01.459 --> 00:08:04.800 of the work I was doing to help Sam was 154 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:08.360 I like to do these 360 reviews. So interview people 155 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:12.180 who are peers of Sam, as well as people who 156 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:14.879 are above him, which in this case, there's really only one. 157 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:17.310 And that's you, the CEO of the company, and then 158 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:20.680 also people who work for Sam. And it was one of, 159 00:08:21.050 --> 00:08:23.769 I would say, probably the most fun project I did. 160 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:25.939 in the work with Sam last year, because I got 161 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:29.899 to know so many people that I thought this, the 162 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:32.690 people who work at this company are amazing. I mean, 163 00:08:32.850 --> 00:08:35.490 every person that I talked to and not all of 164 00:08:35.509 --> 00:08:38.070 them said like, Sam is perfect. Now, most of them 165 00:08:38.129 --> 00:08:40.730 did say like glowing things for the, for the most 166 00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:45.279 part with a few minor little things that you had 167 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:46.860 to work on, which is part of why we do 168 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:49.340 the 360. But then I remember I talked to you, Bert, 169 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:51.659 this is the type of a CEO that I'd want 170 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:53.899 to work with. And I never thought this would actually 171 00:08:53.940 --> 00:08:55.500 ever happen, but I thought this is the type of 172 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:58.200 guys and, and, and, and what Sam had been telling 173 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:00.779 me about you matched up. And so I was curious, 174 00:09:00.820 --> 00:09:04.259 I'm curious about your first thoughts on our first interaction, 175 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:07.259 which was really primarily focused on Sam, but you and 176 00:09:07.370 --> 00:09:09.110 I felt like got to know each other really well 177 00:09:09.169 --> 00:09:13.029 through the questions and answers for each other. Yeah. 178 00:09:13.110 --> 00:09:16.610 I mean, so I was, I was really excited to 179 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:18.070 talk to you, Ryan. I don't know if you want 180 00:09:18.090 --> 00:09:20.450 me to share this story now or later, but it's 181 00:09:20.490 --> 00:09:24.429 because of episode two 42, right? Um, So, you know, 182 00:09:24.750 --> 00:09:29.549 I'm

CEO of Insight Global. We're a $ 3. 3 billion staffing company. 183 00:09:29.590 --> 00:09:32.919 We started 20 years ago in our founder's basement, and 184 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:35.879 all of our growth has been organic. I got promoted, 185 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:38.139 and by the way, I started off as a recruiter. 186 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:40.659 Sam also started as a recruiter. We're sort of psychotic 187 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:44.149 in that almost everybody here, unless you're, you know, within 188 00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:49.090 our IT groups or whether you're in finance, accounting, legal, 189 00:09:49.750 --> 00:09:53.080 Almost everybody, I would say 90% of the organization starts 190 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:56.159 off as a recruiter. And then we only promote for them. 191 00:09:57.730 --> 00:10:02.379 So I get promoted in January of 2021. 2018, to CEO. 192 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:06.139 And at that point in time, we, I mean, this 193 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.639 is probably too aggressive, but it's sort of how I felt, 194 00:10:08.659 --> 00:10:11.500 I felt that we weren't a really good company. We 195 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:14.779 were just turnover was was at an all time high. 196 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:17.879 We had really lost our way in a bunch of areas. 197 00:10:18.370 --> 00:10:21.450 And I'm a firm believer that every organization has a 198 00:10:21.470 --> 00:10:24.070 real inner voice to it. And the inner voice of 199 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:27.529 our company was saying, I don't like you and I 200 00:10:27.549 --> 00:10:29.929 don't want to be here, is what I was feeling. 201 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.860 And we as leaders get the opportunity to deal with 202 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:35.259 that inner voice and listen to it if we want 203 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:38.659 to or not. And, uh, so here I am, I'm 204 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:41.480 like two months into my role and we're owned by 205 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:43.990 private equity, which by the way, if you're sort of 206 00:10:44.029 --> 00:10:45.909 not growing all that well, and you're losing a lot 207 00:10:45.929 --> 00:10:47.990 of people and you're owned by private equity, that's also 208 00:10:48.009 --> 00:10:50.389 a fun thing to sort of figure out and navigate 209 00:10:50.409 --> 00:10:53.350 as a new CEO. And so, um, but we had 210 00:10:53.370 --> 00:10:54.889 a really good, we had a really good private equity 211 00:10:54.970 --> 00:10:57.360 owner at that time named Aries. And I was, I 212 00:10:57.379 --> 00:11:01.559 was at Aries, uh, investor conference. And, um, And I 213 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:06.059 met a gentleman who was a banker from a great, uh, 214 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:09.100 Midwestern bank called William Blair. And he, this guy comes 215 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:12.000 from out of nowhere, just across the room. And he 216 00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:13.679 sort of seeks me out. Cause we're, we're one of 217 00:11:13.750 --> 00:11:17.110 area's portfolio companies. And he says, Hey, you're the new 218 00:11:17.149 --> 00:11:18.289 CEO with insight global, right? 219 00:11:18.309 --> 00:11:18.710 And I'm like, yeah. 220 00:11:18.730 --> 00:11:20.870 And he said, um, man, you guys have a great culture. 221 00:11:20.889 --> 00:11:22.590 And we had been known for having a good culture 222 00:11:22.610 --> 00:11:24.149 at that time, but he didn't know what I knew that. 223 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:27.269 We had lost our way a bit. And I was like, yeah, yeah. 224 00:11:27.289 --> 00:11:27.669 Yeah. 225 00:11:27.710 --> 00:11:28.629 It's awesome culture. 226 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:32.289 And, and, uh, And there was just a company that's 227 00:11:32.309 --> 00:11:35.009 a really good and a great security firm called Convergys. 228 00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:36.429 And they do have a good culture and they had 229 00:11:36.470 --> 00:11:38.730 just presented. And he's like, man, those guys have a 230 00:11:38.750 --> 00:11:40.370 great culture too. I'm sure you guys are a lot alike. 231 00:11:40.409 --> 00:11:42.590 And I remember at the time being a bit jealous 232 00:11:42.629 --> 00:11:45.590 of Convergys. And he said, well, I tell you what, man, 233 00:11:45.629 --> 00:11:48.009 if you're into culture, you should really, I don't know 234 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:49.690 if you're a big podcast guy, but there's this guy 235 00:11:49.710 --> 00:11:51.649 named Ryan Hawk with a show called The Learning Leader. 236 00:11:52.070 --> 00:11:55.070 Episode 242 is where he interviews this guy named Daniel Coyle, 237 00:11:55.129 --> 00:11:56.450 who's the author of The Culture Code. 238 00:11:57.230 --> 00:11:58.389 You should really give that a listen. 239 00:11:59.049 --> 00:12:01.200 And like, Then he walked away. And that was about 240 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:03.940 that was the extent of our conversation. And so I 241 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:05.500 was like, all right, well, maybe I'll listen to that. 242 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:09.440 And that podcast, the podcast you did with Dan Coyle 243 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:12.659 changed everything for us. I mean, I just it was 244 00:12:12.700 --> 00:12:15.179 something about that book and how simple it was and 245 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:17.759 how it's really all about the best cultures out there. 246 00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:20.000 What do they do? They build safety, they share vulnerability 247 00:12:20.019 --> 00:12:21.059 and they establish purpose. 248 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:24.879 And so I listened to it and was like, I mean, 249 00:12:25.110 --> 00:12:26.639 every light bulb in the world went off for me 250 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:27.330 as a leader. 251 00:12:27.350 --> 00:12:28.350 I had my whole team read it. 252 00:12:29.139 --> 00:12:31.120 Uh, and from there, we just enacted a whole bunch 253 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:32.419 of stuff in the company that we're able to sort 254 00:12:32.470 --> 00:12:34.970 of turn things around to, to stem the turnover tide

255 00:12:35.009 --> 00:12:36.649 and to build a stronger culture. And, but it really 256 00:12:36.690 --> 00:12:39.669 kind of came from, uh, from the podcast that you 257 00:12:39.690 --> 00:12:41.350 do with Dan Coyle. So sorry, you didn't have equity 258 00:12:41.370 --> 00:12:43.070 in the business. Then that probably would have, I feel 259 00:12:43.090 --> 00:12:46.289 like I owe you something there, but, uh, but that's 260 00:12:46.330 --> 00:12:48.009 why I was excited to talk to you about Sam's 261 00:12:48.029 --> 00:12:49.919 thing was, was, was to, to kind of share some 262 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:52.220 of that with you and, uh, and to get your 263 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:54.600 perspective on it. And that's why I'm excited about this partnership, 264 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:57.899 Brian is because I mean, you've done well over 400 265 00:12:57.899 --> 00:12:59.519 of these things. I think coming up on 500 where 266 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:03.659 you've talked to just just unbelievable leaders of big and 267 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:04.700 small organizations. 268 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:06.379 And I think there's just a lot that we can 269 00:13:06.419 --> 00:13:07.019 learn from you there. 270 00:13:07.820 --> 00:13:12.139 Well, it means a lot. It's also hearing a story 271 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:15.019 like that, Bert, is is is just the juice, man. 272 00:13:15.100 --> 00:13:19.850 It is it is the fuel for me to. Um, 273 00:13:20.250 --> 00:13:24.759 be overly prepared for every single conversation that I record 274 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.299 for this show, because it's, it's an old adage, but 275 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:31.299 it's true. Just, you just never know. Like you never know. 276 00:13:31.340 --> 00:13:33.360 And I said, this is Sam. After I first heard 277 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:36.019 that story, what if I wouldn't have read the culture 278 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:38.710 code and just tried to skate by because I ran 279 00:13:38.730 --> 00:13:41.559 out of time. And I didn't do a good job 280 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:44.379 with Dan and dance. It's so funny that he's the 281 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:47.720 guy because he's become now a mentor of mine. Cause 282 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:49.659 he works with the Cleveland Indians. He's here in Ohio 283 00:13:49.710 --> 00:13:53.629 for a bulk of the year. I've spent time with them, um, 284 00:13:53.769 --> 00:13:56.389 having many meals where I just am able to ask 285 00:13:56.429 --> 00:13:58.669 him any and every question about being a writer and 286 00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:02.769 a speaker and culture. And, um, it just wild how 287 00:14:02.809 --> 00:14:04.889 the world works, man. And I think that's a good 288 00:14:04.929 --> 00:14:09.210 message for anybody is whatever, like we all have moments 289 00:14:09.509 --> 00:14:11.779 and we all have opportunities and it's, and it's like, 290 00:14:11.820 --> 00:14:15.700 let's make sure that we make the most of those moments. 291 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:19.220 And you might, you might not even realize it because 292 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:24.019 I didn't know that story until years after the fact. And, uh, 293 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:27.330 that that's exciting to me. And it's, it's just another 294 00:14:27.389 --> 00:14:31.090 reminder to, to never, um, take this for granted as 295 00:14:31.169 --> 00:14:34.509 well as to be prepared for big opportunities. But I am, 296 00:14:34.830 --> 00:14:40.990 I am curious, um, When someone gets tabbed as the CEO, 297 00:14:41.950 --> 00:14:44.029 one of the questions I like to ask them is, 298 00:14:44.250 --> 00:14:46.350 why did they pick you? And I'd love you to 299 00:14:46.409 --> 00:14:48.750 be as honest as possible, even if you have to 300 00:14:48.809 --> 00:14:51.440 brag a bit. But I'm curious, why do you think 301 00:14:51.940 --> 00:14:54.679 you got tabbed to be the CEO of Insight Global? 302 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:59.000 I'm really good at playing politics. No, I'm kidding. Yeah. 303 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.620 Uh, no, I, you know, yeah, that is a super 304 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:04.809 awkward question to ask, but I, you know, I think, um, 305 00:15:05.129 --> 00:15:07.070 I've always in any role I've ever had, I've tried 306 00:15:07.090 --> 00:15:10.990 to be the absolute best at that current role. And I've, I've, um, 307 00:15:11.649 --> 00:15:14.629 I've never tried to look too far beyond that role. 308 00:15:14.669 --> 00:15:16.789 I mean, sure. It's important to have long-term. 309 00:15:16.409 --> 00:15:19.450 Goals, but I've just always wanted to be the guy 310 00:15:19.490 --> 00:15:22.470 that says, well, let me just let my work, you know, 311 00:15:22.889 --> 00:15:26.409 speak for itself. Um, but, but I did, you know, once, 312 00:15:26.610 --> 00:15:31.230 once I got into, into positions at my company where 313 00:15:31.330 --> 00:15:34.169 I had more influence, I made sure to let my 314 00:15:34.289 --> 00:15:38.049 voice be heard. And I really made sure to speak 315 00:15:38.110 --> 00:15:39.909 my mind and to say what was on my mind, 316 00:15:40.789 --> 00:15:47.049 regardless of the consequences or regardless of, am. 317 00:15:46.230 --> 00:15:51.169 I going to offend somebody? I was almost. 318 00:15:50.950 --> 00:15:53.429 An idiot in the way I would say things that 319 00:15:53.470 --> 00:15:55.269 I just really believed to be true and right. 320 00:15:55.889 --> 00:15:57.970 That we need to think about. And I didn't do 321 00:15:57.990 --> 00:15:58.769 it in an offensive way. 322 00:15:58.789 --> 00:16:01.330 I wasn't trying to make anybody feel bad, but, but, um, 323 00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:05.049 you know, I, I realized the influence that I had 324 00:16:05.350 --> 00:16:07.870 and I realized the impact of, of some of our 325 00:16:07.909 --> 00:16:10.710 decisions once I got to a high enough level. And 326 00:16:10.750 --> 00:16:12.409 I think, you know, my former boss was able to 327

00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:14.009 see that and say, okay, you know, here's a guy that, 328 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:17.720 that is comfortable being his own guy. And, uh, and 329 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:20.940 I really, really appreciate our former CEO and founder. His 330 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.759 name's Glenn Johnson for giving me that space and letting, 331 00:16:23.940 --> 00:16:27.129 letting me do that because, uh, I think as leaders, 332 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.179 it's a hard thing to do. You want to bring 333 00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:31.860 people up and you want to mentor them, but we 334 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:34.659 really also want to just have them sometimes do things 335 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:37.120 the way that we just did it because that's most 336 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:40.970 familiar to us. I think it's figuring out how to 337 00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:43.909 bring people up and develop them, but also helping them 338 00:16:44.210 --> 00:16:47.929 become their most authentic self and helping them run with, yeah, 339 00:16:47.950 --> 00:16:50.549 if that's how you feel, okay, why don't you run 340 00:16:50.570 --> 00:16:54.940 with that? Giving them the space to make decisions and 341 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:58.039 to get into stressful situations and to see how they 342 00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:00.019 do in those things. And so I guess I was 343 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:01.740 just able to kind of put myself in more of 344 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:04.740 those situations, the closer I kind of got to got. 345 00:17:04.609 --> 00:17:05.029 To that level. 346 00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:08.789 I'll say the things I won't say, Ryan, because he 347 00:17:08.890 --> 00:17:09.910 won't brag about himself. 348 00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:11.529 That's what I was gonna say, Sam, I want to 349 00:17:11.549 --> 00:17:13.730 make you guys awkward a little bit and make and 350 00:17:13.890 --> 00:17:18.230 ask Sam and Bert, both of you to share the 351 00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:21.559 the actual greatness of each other, the great qualities. So 352 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:23.460 we can have a love fest for a second here, but, 353 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:25.349 but I love it. Sam, you're already about to do it. 354 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:26.740 So I'll let you go. I was going to have 355 00:17:26.819 --> 00:17:28.029 Bert go, but you got to go next. 356 00:17:28.289 --> 00:17:28.720 Go ahead. 357 00:17:28.789 --> 00:17:29.019 No, no. 358 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:30.910 I just, I just think it's important to know like 359 00:17:30.930 --> 00:17:34.670 what Bert hasn't said is he, he gives everything to 360 00:17:34.730 --> 00:17:38.829 his people in his charge. I mean, everything, every day, 361 00:17:38.849 --> 00:17:42.089 the guy gets up at 4. He writes letters to 362 00:17:42.150 --> 00:17:45.410 thousands of people across our organization. He speaks to them 363 00:17:45.509 --> 00:17:49.000 weekly on calls. He makes personal phone calls to people 364 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.339 across our business all the time. 365 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:53.539 Day, night, weekends, doesn't matter. 366 00:17:53.619 --> 00:17:57.039 He is always thinking about the betterment of our business 367 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:00.849 and people. And Glenn recognized that, you know, Glenn saw like, 368 00:18:00.910 --> 00:18:03.089 there's no better selection than this man. 369 00:18:03.109 --> 00:18:04.670 You're doing it all the way, all the way along. 370 00:18:04.710 --> 00:18:07.109 Like this didn't start when you became CEO, you were doing, 371 00:18:07.190 --> 00:18:08.769 I've seen you write the letters. I've seen all of 372 00:18:08.789 --> 00:18:10.670 this stuff. So this is, this is just a part 373 00:18:10.710 --> 00:18:11.470 of how you've always been. 374 00:18:11.490 --> 00:18:11.710 Yeah. 375 00:18:11.809 --> 00:18:13.769 I think, I think it's not over. 376 00:18:13.829 --> 00:18:16.509 I mean, any leader that cares about, I mean, we're, we, 377 00:18:16.930 --> 00:18:19.369 We care about developing people here. And so you just 378 00:18:20.029 --> 00:18:23.650 you know, that's that's that's all throughout the organization. And so, yeah, 379 00:18:23.690 --> 00:18:25.990 we tried to kind of live by that, you know, 380 00:18:26.230 --> 00:18:28.750 all along the different parts of our leadership journeys. 381 00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:29.910 And Sam is no different. 382 00:18:30.730 --> 00:18:33.509 So, Bert, go ahead. Talk to me about I have 383 00:18:33.529 --> 00:18:35.410 some feelings on him, too, because we've got to know 384 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:37.470 each other really well over the past year plus. But 385 00:18:37.769 --> 00:18:42.170 what is it? Because Sam also recently promoted. chief revenue officer, officer, 386 00:18:42.210 --> 00:18:46.430 now a massive responsibility, a huge, huge job, thousands of 387 00:18:46.470 --> 00:18:50.509 people reporting up through you responsible for billions of dollars. 388 00:18:50.549 --> 00:18:52.750 I mean, it's, it's a lot. What, what is it 389 00:18:52.789 --> 00:18:55.089 about Sam that made you say, yeah, that's the guy to, to, 390 00:18:55.130 --> 00:18:57.710 to run the show, to be our CRO too, that 391 00:18:57.890 --> 00:19:00.589 I trust to be in charge of, of, of, of 392 00:19:00.650 --> 00:19:03.150 basically our business. Yeah. 393 00:19:03.210 --> 00:19:08.910 So, um, I mean, Sam is super driven as I mean, super, super, 394 00:19:09.069 --> 00:19:12.089 super driven, incredible hard worker, but that that's all, all 395 00:19:12.109 --> 00:19:13.950 that kind of stuff is I think table stakes. You've 396 00:19:13.970 --> 00:19:16.339 got to have those things once you get to this level. 397 00:19:16.390 --> 00:19:20.259 So something that I also just really appreciate about him 398 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:23.059 that I think any leader should be when they're evaluating 399 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:25.980 their leaders for, for big moments or for big roles 400

00:19:26.700 --> 00:19:28.299 is how fearless Sam is. 401 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:30.079 I got to say that. Can I, can I say that? 402 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:32.039 I want to say the thing about Linus. Sure. Go ahead. 403 00:19:33.609 --> 00:19:35.950 So, so I just whispered to him don't say the 404 00:19:35.990 --> 00:19:38.859 thing and he just said back. So Sam had this 405 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:41.819 so Sam had this role we came up together sort 406 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:46.009 of in the company but but but Sam, at one 407 00:19:46.069 --> 00:19:48.089 point was running our DC market, and it was a 408 00:19:48.369 --> 00:19:51.259 really big job. Um, it was one of our largest 409 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:53.420 offices in the company, if not our largest at DC 410 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:57.079 has always been like top three. And, um, and Sam 411 00:19:57.740 --> 00:20:01.099 very much believed that we needed to kind of develop 412 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:03.880 our own vertical that was different than anything we'd had 413 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.609 before focused on government services. And the thought before, um, 414 00:20:09.450 --> 00:20:11.769 had been a little too narrow-minded on, well, doesn't that 415 00:20:11.789 --> 00:20:13.730 just all happen out of DC? And why do we 416 00:20:13.750 --> 00:20:16.539 need this whole extra vertical? It's just what you guys 417 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:18.519 do in the DC office. It's really not like that 418 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:21.259 way anywhere else. And Sam said, no, no, no, that's totally, 419 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:24.480 that's not accurate. There's so much spin that goes on 420 00:20:24.519 --> 00:20:27.019 in government services outside of DC, not to mention state, local, 421 00:20:27.059 --> 00:20:30.720 and education. And Sam was so passionate about it that 422 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:33.910 he took himself out of this job, super high profile, 423 00:20:33.950 --> 00:20:36.450 super important job, put him in this newer job. 424 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:40.200 It was, at best, a lateral move. At best. 425 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:42.680 I mean, I kind of think it was a bit 426 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:44.960 of a step down to do it again. I like 427 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:47.640 to think of it as a promotion with no peck. 428 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:51.890 I don't think it was that. But he can say that. 429 00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:54.049 But he was so passionate. He believed in taking on 430 00:20:54.069 --> 00:20:57.769 this other role for the company. And he stood it up. 431 00:20:57.829 --> 00:20:58.339 And he did it. 432 00:20:58.650 --> 00:21:00.369 And he chopped a bunch of wood, him and a 433 00:21:00.430 --> 00:21:02.730 lot of other leaders around him, that he hand-selected and 434 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:05.369 brought into it. um, Matt Edenbaum being one of them, 435 00:21:05.410 --> 00:21:08.769 who's amazing. And now that division is, uh, they're going 436 00:21:08.789 --> 00:21:11.130 to do over 500 million this year, right. 437 00:21:11.410 --> 00:21:14.420 And revenue. And this was four or five years ago, um, 438 00:21:15.380 --> 00:21:16.240 that you guys started it. 439 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:19.200 And so why I say same as fearless is that's 440 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:22.720 really what I value a tremendous amount is somebody that's 441 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.700 so convicted that isn't afraid to say, I don't care, 442 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:27.079 fire me for all you want. 443 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:29.039 This is what I believe is the right thing to do. 444 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:30.829 I'm going to step into it. I'm going to do it. 445 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.700 And I'm going to will this thing to be successful. And, um, 446 00:21:34.390 --> 00:21:37.140 I mean, Sam is there is nobody better in the 447 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:38.599 company than him at that. 448 00:21:38.980 --> 00:21:42.980 I think the takeaway for for anybody here is you 449 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:45.720 see now the jobs you guys have as CEO and 450 00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:49.890 chief revenue officer, these these big C-suite jobs. You don't 451 00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:54.450 get them without working insanely hard as the table stakes, 452 00:21:54.529 --> 00:21:59.089 but also taking risk. And this was a big swing 453 00:21:59.190 --> 00:22:01.589 that could have backfired. And if so, I mean, I 454 00:22:01.630 --> 00:22:03.170 guess you could have, you could have hung on, but 455 00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:05.390 you also would have probably had this kind of a 456 00:22:05.450 --> 00:22:07.789 stain on you and your career within the company is 457 00:22:08.269 --> 00:22:10.170 he said that this is the way it would go 458 00:22:10.210 --> 00:22:12.420 and it would be awesome. He went out and we'd 459 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:13.980 let him do it. You know, we, we said, okay, 460 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:15.900 go for it. And then he fell on his face, 461 00:22:16.539 --> 00:22:18.759 which it sounds like there was very, that was a 462 00:22:18.819 --> 00:22:20.259 very real possibility. 463 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:22.359 Not only that, but I'll say this, there was a 464 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:23.339 lot of opposition. 465 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:26.609 I mean, there was, opposition in the company at the 466 00:22:26.650 --> 00:22:28.930 highest levels to say, you shouldn't do this. There's, this 467 00:22:28.990 --> 00:22:33.380 is a dead idea. You shouldn't chase this. And that's the, 468 00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:36.299 that's the more impressive thing. It's not like, okay, well, 469 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:38.980 we're all supporting you. And if you fail, don't worry, 470 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:41.740 here's a safety net. It's not only like, I don't 471 00:22:41.769 --> 00:22:42.990 know how this is going to go. It's like, I 472 00:22:43.009 --> 00:22:46.809 think it's a bad idea. And look, sometimes as leaders, you, you, 473 00:22:47.130 -->

00:22:49.210 you have decisions like that, that you have to make. 474 00:22:49.289 --> 00:22:51.670 It's just, I wish there were a better way. I 475 00:22:51.710 --> 00:22:53.430 wish we could tell the future, but we just can't. 476 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:56.650 And so You have to be close enough to the 477 00:22:56.690 --> 00:22:59.049 customer or to the action or to knowing exactly what's 478 00:22:59.089 --> 00:23:02.490 going on the ground to get convicted enough to make 479 00:23:02.529 --> 00:23:03.230 those decisions. 480 00:23:03.730 --> 00:23:06.130 Sam, what was it at that time, if you can 481 00:23:06.170 --> 00:23:09.819 take us back, that led you to be so convicted? 482 00:23:09.859 --> 00:23:12.359 Was it just the belief in yourself and your willingness 483 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:14.819 to work? I know from what you told me, you're 484 00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:16.900 on airplanes a lot during that time when you're trying 485 00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:19.640 to build it. What was it that said, you know, 486 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:21.369 I want to take this swing. I want to do this. 487 00:23:22.349 --> 00:23:25.529 Yeah, well, Bert mentioned a gentleman named Matt Edenbaum, and 488 00:23:25.690 --> 00:23:28.930 he was on my sales team in Washington, D.C. 489 00:23:28.950 --> 00:23:29.450 At the time. 490 00:23:29.730 --> 00:23:33.029 And Matt was really teaching us how to sell our 491 00:23:33.089 --> 00:23:36.890 services differently in that market. And we were doing amazing 492 00:23:37.049 --> 00:23:39.869 because of it. And so it was so clear to 493 00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:43.170 us that this was the way forward. And we were 494 00:23:43.269 --> 00:23:45.910 only doing it in Washington, D.C. So number one, it 495 00:23:45.950 --> 00:23:49.220 was it was my partner, Matt, who had this vision 496 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:53.690 to take this further. my conviction was just knowing how 497 00:23:53.769 --> 00:23:55.589 much extra market was out there. 498 00:23:55.829 --> 00:23:57.509 So anybody could have told us this is. 499 00:23:57.470 --> 00:23:59.450 A bad idea and I would have laughed at them 500 00:23:59.529 --> 00:24:03.460 too and gone and done it because it had to 501 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:05.339 be done and we knew that it was the right 502 00:24:05.380 --> 00:24:05.859 thing to do. 503 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:09.720 And I also, I mean, we've talked about this a lot. 504 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:12.000 I think sales is the most noble thing you can 505 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:16.579 do and putting yourself in a challenging position is the 506 00:24:16.619 --> 00:24:19.880 most wonderful thing you can do for your career. Because, 507 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.900 you know, if you want a special career, do hard 508 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:24.180 things with people you love. 509 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:26.079 That's the definition of it for me. 510 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:28.700 And so when Matt and I were like, you want 511 00:24:28.809 --> 00:24:31.789 to get together and just like build something from scratch 512 00:24:31.809 --> 00:24:34.769 that nobody else is willing to do? I was like, 513 00:24:35.069 --> 00:24:37.150 let's go, man. This is going to be the best 514 00:24:37.190 --> 00:24:40.650 few years of our lives. And it was incredible. And 515 00:24:40.690 --> 00:24:42.869 now we have a whole organization of people that have 516 00:24:43.630 --> 00:24:46.410 perpetuated that division and have grown it to new heights 517 00:24:46.569 --> 00:24:49.250 and are doing more unbelievable things than ever. And they're 518 00:24:49.390 --> 00:24:52.890 way better than me and Matt were. And it's just 519 00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:55.549 really cool to see all the opportunity that's created. And 520 00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:58.500 especially since we promote from within, we just keep seeing 521 00:24:58.539 --> 00:25:01.019 more and more people grow and do special things in 522 00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:01.740 government services. 523 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:02.619 So it's really rewarding. 524 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.400 I love it. We mentioned promote from within a number 525 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:09.140 of times. And Sam, during our very first call, I 526 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:12.380 remember this was a topic of, we basically only promote 527 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:15.869 from within, within Insight Global. And that's why Bert's going 528 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:17.589 to get a coach. I'm getting a coach. And I 529 00:25:17.630 --> 00:25:19.609 believe Tim Stutz was going to get a coach. There 530 00:25:19.630 --> 00:25:22.849 may be others as well. Um, the, the, the senior, 531 00:25:23.009 --> 00:25:25.710 senior people, we're going to get coaches, um, talk, can 532 00:25:25.730 --> 00:25:28.109 you share a little bit more about, um, Bert, you 533 00:25:28.130 --> 00:25:33.009 can start here with the mindset that, and the philosophy 534 00:25:33.109 --> 00:25:36.440 of that you, you basically only promote from within. So 535 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:39.299 everyone that is at a senior level now at some 536 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:41.099 point was, was an entry level person. 537 00:25:41.859 --> 00:25:43.319 Yeah. Yeah, no, it's awesome. 538 00:25:43.700 --> 00:25:46.759 It's really a, uh, a freeing thing to latch onto 539 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:49.619 and to kind of open your, open your mind up 540 00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:53.640 to the possibility of it. Just because it's like the 541 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:56.410 ultimate growth mindset move. I mean, we just, what we 542 00:25:56.490 --> 00:25:59.950 fundamentally believe here is that people can learn things, you know, 543 00:26:00.369 --> 00:26:03.029 and really I think anybody can learn anything. Now that 544 00:26:03.170 --> 00:26:05.549 the caveat is that it's really hard work. I mean, 545 00:26:05.569 --> 00:26:07.680 you're going to really have to work hard. You're going 546 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:08.960 to have to get in

early. You're going to have 547 00:26:08.980 --> 00:26:10.819 to stay late. You're going to really, really have to 548 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:14.049 care a lot about that. but look, I mean, we're 549 00:26:14.069 --> 00:26:17.109 in staffing, so it's not like we're putting people on 550 00:26:17.130 --> 00:26:19.130 the moon here, you know, and I really think a 551 00:26:19.170 --> 00:26:23.230 lot of companies, while they're noble professions, like I believe 552 00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:25.230 ours is, they're not putting people on the moon, and 553 00:26:25.250 --> 00:26:27.130 they're not doing brain surgery, so I think a lot 554 00:26:27.150 --> 00:26:32.640 of people can learn stuff, and, you know, we run 555 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:35.779 very hard here, and we've been able to experience a 556 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:38.059 lot of growth, and like I said, it's been organic, 557 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:40.160 and we've been able to do it off of a 558 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:43.589 bunch of you know, people that were hired as recruiters 559 00:26:43.630 --> 00:26:46.029 that didn't know anything. And so it's because they just 560 00:26:46.049 --> 00:26:49.400 came in with a real conviction and a real hunger 561 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:50.140 to learn things. 562 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:53.000 And so now that's great. 563 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:55.299 But what companies have to do well and where I 564 00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.940 think a lot of companies messed up this, I know 565 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:01.480 because we messed up ourselves, is in not investing enough 566 00:27:01.539 --> 00:27:03.549 in training and development. And to think, oh, that's somebody 567 00:27:03.589 --> 00:27:06.869 else's job. Or we'll just barely commit to it. And 568 00:27:07.009 --> 00:27:08.470 we were that way for a lot of years as 569 00:27:08.509 --> 00:27:10.880 we were really scaling companies. And it wasn't until 2018 570 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:13.220 when we really took a hard look at that and 571 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:16.509 built out what is now Encyclopedia University and Leadership Academy 572 00:27:16.549 --> 00:27:18.529 and all these things that we have now. And we, 573 00:27:19.269 --> 00:27:21.630 we love spending money on that stuff. And in fact, 574 00:27:21.650 --> 00:27:24.869 as we pull people out of the field to become trainers, 575 00:27:24.910 --> 00:27:27.509 we have this saying, we say it needs to hurt, right? 576 00:27:27.529 --> 00:27:30.029 Like you need to be like, if we're talking about 577 00:27:30.390 --> 00:27:33.029 a new trainer for a new class, we should, it 578 00:27:33.049 --> 00:27:33.750 should be painful. 579 00:27:33.829 --> 00:27:34.390 It should sting. 580 00:27:34.410 --> 00:27:36.089 It should be like, well, we can't get that person 581 00:27:36.130 --> 00:27:38.190 up because they're too good. That's the person that you 582 00:27:38.230 --> 00:27:41.970 need to add. Um, And yeah, if you lead with 583 00:27:41.990 -->

00:27:44.980 that type of a mindset, you can really train people 584 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:47.960 to do anything here. That said, we still look for, 585 00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:51.500 in our technical departments, like within IT, we still look 586 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:55.130 to go out and hire the best and the brightest 587 00:27:55.170 --> 00:27:57.990 for those skill sets that we can't exactly teach or 588 00:27:58.009 --> 00:28:01.029 it would take too long to teach. And then the 589 00:28:01.089 --> 00:28:02.849 other thing is, and Sam already alluded to it with 590 00:28:02.869 --> 00:28:05.339 getting a coach, is that if you are going to 591 00:28:05.410 --> 00:28:08.150 build that culture of promote from within, you better know 592 00:28:08.170 --> 00:28:10.529 that while that's good, that does make you very insulated. 593 00:28:10.730 --> 00:28:14.470 And so you've got to really put yourselves in positions 594 00:28:14.509 --> 00:28:16.390 to bring in a ton of diversity of thought as 595 00:28:16.450 --> 00:28:18.190 much as you can so that you don't just become 596 00:28:18.269 --> 00:28:19.109 one big echo chamber. 597 00:28:20.069 --> 00:28:25.559 And speaking of the investment in Insight Global University and 598 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:29.619 Leadership Academy, I know I'm one of those investments and 599 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:34.160 partnering with The Learning Leader Show brand and us coming 600 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:37.579 together is part of that. In addition to now at 601 00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:40.180 the beginning of every episode and in the artwork and 602 00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:41.559 things that we're going to do together. By the way, 603 00:28:41.579 --> 00:28:46.029 I had an incredible call earlier today with the culture 604 00:28:46.089 --> 00:28:49.369 and development and the marketing team. I mean, those people, 605 00:28:49.390 --> 00:28:51.309 Sam blew me away. Sam was on the call earlier, 606 00:28:51.369 --> 00:28:53.670 but I just thought I've never seen anything like this 607 00:28:53.750 --> 00:28:59.369 with the professional touch and care and thought they've put 608 00:28:59.450 --> 00:29:02.730 into this announcement. And what we're going to do is 609 00:29:02.750 --> 00:29:05.410 just super exciting for me. But, you know, I know. 610 00:29:05.470 --> 00:29:07.130 Lots of Ryan Hawk fans in the company. 611 00:29:07.509 --> 00:29:10.599 Well, I mean, by the way, just to note, Sam 612 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:12.319 sent out a note, I know, to a number of 613 00:29:12.759 --> 00:29:16.960 people within the company and said some really nice things. 614 00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:19.740 And all of a sudden, my phone has never been 615 00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:22.140 more active in the last... Since Sam has sent that 616 00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:25.450 because people have been so, so kind. And for those 617 00:29:25.470 --> 00:29:30.650 who are listening, I'm so grateful for them. And it really... 618 00:29:31.029 --> 00:29:34.119 is such a fulfilling and great feeling when people not 619 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:36.160 only say like, Hey, I'm pumped to have you, but they're, 620 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:39.029 they're really specific in their praise. And that's a big 621 00:29:39.069 --> 00:29:41.980 deal to me. Like they're, they, they mentioned episodes, they 622 00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:45.359 mentioned why they're so excited about this. And that just, that, that's, 623 00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:47.660 that's an awesome, awesome feeling, but I want to get 624 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:51.220 to actually like, like getting inside, uh, putting this together. 625 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:54.839 So I'll, I'll lay the groundwork. And then, then I 626 00:29:54.859 --> 00:29:56.619 want you guys to talk about it because the, the, 627 00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:00.160 one of the cool things about this for me was 628 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:05.460 the speed. Because to me, speed equals trust. I had 629 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:08.609 one of the cubbies on who wrote The Speed of Trust. 630 00:30:10.109 --> 00:30:14.190 And trust decreases transaction costs, as General McChrystal told me 631 00:30:14.289 --> 00:30:18.029 on this podcast. And that is evident in this story. 632 00:30:18.069 --> 00:30:19.529 So I want to set the stage and then have 633 00:30:19.549 --> 00:30:24.069 you guys share too. So I'll tell the whole thing, Sam, 634 00:30:24.109 --> 00:30:26.509 if you guys are comfortable. I'm not going to name 635 00:30:26.529 --> 00:30:31.819 some of the names involved, but but a pretty, I 636 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:36.519 would say a pretty good CEO of a Silicon Valley-based 637 00:30:36.579 --> 00:30:41.299 company reached out to me with the thought of potentially 638 00:30:41.420 --> 00:30:45.029 him and I and his company working together and partnering. 639 00:30:46.170 --> 00:30:49.849 And I never really thought of that. And I thought, well, 640 00:30:49.869 --> 00:30:52.250 this is interesting. And what he laid out was pretty cool. 641 00:30:52.890 --> 00:30:58.130 And I remember Sam has become now one of my friends, mentors. 642 00:30:58.190 --> 00:31:00.490 I know I technically played the role of a coach 643 00:31:00.509 --> 00:31:02.730 for him, but I learned just as much or more 644 00:31:02.789 --> 00:31:05.509 from him than he learns from me. And so I 645 00:31:05.549 --> 00:31:07.769 thought I need to, there's, there's only like a few 646 00:31:07.809 --> 00:31:10.150 people I want to reach out to, to ask about like, what, 647 00:31:10.170 --> 00:31:12.599 what do they think about this? And it was purely why, 648 00:31:12.700 --> 00:31:14.380 so I called Sam, I remember I'm like, Hey man, 649 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:19.640 you are a forward-thinking person. You're a fresh set of ears. 650 00:31:19.859 --> 00:31:21.279 What do you think of this? And I kind of 651 00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:24.829 laid out the future of companies and media and the 652 00:31:24.869 -->

00:31:26.869 fact that they're going to want to partner with content 653 00:31:26.930 --> 00:31:29.490 creators and people who have built really good platforms. And 654 00:31:29.529 --> 00:31:32.589 so this company is going to hire writers and some 655 00:31:32.609 --> 00:31:36.069 podcasters in the next 12 to 18 months. And so 656 00:31:36.109 --> 00:31:38.309 I asked Sam, and I remember you said, well, oh, 657 00:31:38.329 --> 00:31:41.920 that's really cool. Congrats, you've earned it, man. That's really awesome. 658 00:31:41.940 --> 00:31:44.180 But maybe you should open it up and look to 659 00:31:44.259 --> 00:31:47.920 companies like Accenture and Bain and McKinsey. Maybe you should 660 00:31:48.380 --> 00:31:50.680 You should bring them into the mix because they could 661 00:31:50.980 --> 00:31:53.359 potentially maybe be a better fit from this other company. 662 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:55.539 And I'm like, oh, that's a good point. And I 663 00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:57.579 think it was a Thursday or Friday, Sam, I believe 664 00:31:57.619 --> 00:32:00.480 I called. So we have our calls on Monday morning. 665 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:03.809 I remember I'm getting ready for the call and the 666 00:32:03.869 --> 00:32:06.410 set agenda that we're going to go through and the 667 00:32:06.470 --> 00:32:08.890 work that we had to do. And I remember we 668 00:32:08.950 --> 00:32:12.140 connected on Zoom and you go, hey, man, hold on. 669 00:32:13.190 --> 00:32:14.880 I have something on my mind that I just have 670 00:32:14.930 --> 00:32:17.579 not been able to stop thinking about over the entire weekend. 671 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:20.700 And I remember thinking just like, is he going to 672 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:25.839 fire me? Like what, what happened here? Cause, cause you know, 673 00:32:25.859 --> 00:32:28.400 I'm always wondering about the value I bring. Like it's 674 00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:31.779 just the, the, the productive paranoia is very strong. And 675 00:32:31.859 --> 00:32:34.319 so I'm thinking, what, what is he about to say? 676 00:32:34.339 --> 00:32:36.339 I think we even had kind of a dramatic pause. 677 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:38.880 And then you said, I know I told you on 678 00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:44.619 Friday to look at Accenture or Bain or these other places, uh, 679 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:46.759 F all that you need to come work with us. 680 00:32:48.309 --> 00:32:49.750 I think I, I think I said that was, that 681 00:32:49.769 --> 00:32:51.789 was a stupid thought. I have a better idea. 682 00:32:52.910 --> 00:32:55.089 You said, I don't like, what do you, what do 683 00:32:55.109 --> 00:32:56.730 you even mean? I'm like, what do you mean? He's like, 684 00:32:56.750 --> 00:33:01.089 why don't you do that here? And I thought, uh, well, 685 00:33:01.210 --> 00:33:02.799 and then we kind of wanted to how that could 686 00:33:02.819 --> 00:33:04.900 potentially work out and what that would even look like. 687 00:33:04.960 -->

00:33:06.740 And this was, this was just a couple of days 688 00:33:06.859 --> 00:33:10.259 after the initial phone call. And then, it was a 689 00:33:10.299 --> 00:33:13.329 Tuesday Bert, because I know my daughter has practices on 690 00:33:13.509 --> 00:33:17.750 soccer practice on Tuesday night, a matter of practice. And, um, 691 00:33:18.410 --> 00:33:19.849 after practice, I looked at it and I see, I 692 00:33:19.890 --> 00:33:22.190 have a voicemail and I see that it's from you 693 00:33:22.349 --> 00:33:24.589 as I had your, your, your number, my phone from 694 00:33:24.690 --> 00:33:27.349 our conversation about Sam. And if you guys want, I'm 695 00:33:27.369 --> 00:33:29.730 going to play the, actually the voicemail that you, you 696 00:33:29.779 --> 00:33:30.450 left for me. Right. 697 00:33:30.470 --> 00:33:30.670 Okay. 698 00:33:31.579 --> 00:33:34.079 Uh, I'll have to edit this out if it doesn't 699 00:33:34.220 --> 00:33:35.740 play well here, which is fine. 700 00:33:35.819 --> 00:33:36.000 Okay. 701 00:33:36.019 --> 00:33:37.180 Let me find it. Here we go. Okay. 702 00:33:39.380 --> 00:33:41.930 Hey, Ryan, this is Bert Bean at Insight Global. Hope 703 00:33:41.950 --> 00:33:44.529 you're doing well. Hey, man, I know Sam spoke to 704 00:33:44.549 --> 00:33:47.250 you earlier this week about a possible opportunity with us 705 00:33:47.509 --> 00:33:50.299 and just would love to talk to you about it 706 00:33:50.339 --> 00:33:52.279 if you have any questions and kind of want to 707 00:33:52.299 --> 00:33:54.759 hear sort of how we're thinking about it and kind. 708 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:56.319 Of what my vision was on it. 709 00:33:56.539 --> 00:34:00.059 Super, super excited when Sam kind of mentioned this could 710 00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:05.849 maybe be an opportunity or a possibility between us. So I'm... 711 00:34:07.109 --> 00:34:09.500 Just so you know, I'm pretty motivated to make this 712 00:34:09.539 --> 00:34:12.199 thing work. And we'd just love to kind of pick 713 00:34:12.219 --> 00:34:15.260 your brain on it and talk about what's possible. So 714 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:16.780 no rush. 715 00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:17.960 This is not urgent. 716 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:20.159 But feel free to give me a call back whenever 717 00:34:20.179 --> 00:34:20.599 you want. 718 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:22.699 And we can catch up then. I'll talk to you later. 719 00:34:22.860 --> 00:34:23.090 Bye. 720 00:34:23.929 --> 00:34:25.670 No rush. I was like, it sounds kind of rushed. 721 00:34:26.369 --> 00:34:30.309 That's what we call bad negotiating skills right there. 722 00:34:31.510 --> 00:34:35.429 Yeah, I'm pretty motivated. And I remember thinking, huh. wow, 723 00:34:35.530 --> 00:34:38.309 this is cool. And I did after practice, I remember 724 00:34:38.349 --> 00:34:40.929 I called you later that night, and we had a 725 00:34:40.949 --> 00:34:46.050 really good talk. And, and the reason I share kind 726 00:34:46.090 --> 00:34:50.260 of the how that story came together is because it 727 00:34:50.429 --> 00:34:54.380 all started coming together in like four days, and includes 728 00:34:54.420 --> 00:34:57.239 a weekend where we're all with our families, right. And 729 00:34:57.300 --> 00:35:00.940 I think, That, that to me is really, is a 730 00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:03.500 really cool part about how these types of things can 731 00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:05.659 come together is certainly Sam and I have built a 732 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:07.880 relationship and Bert, you and I have built one too 733 00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:11.139 on a different level. Um, cause we don't talk as 734 00:35:11.179 --> 00:35:13.139 much as Sam and I have, but I, I just 735 00:35:13.179 --> 00:35:15.349 love to hear from both your perspectives and maybe Bert, 736 00:35:15.369 --> 00:35:17.309 you can go first since it was your voicemail and 737 00:35:17.329 --> 00:35:19.969 then Sam, you can talk more about your thinking from 738 00:35:20.010 --> 00:35:23.869 the beginning of the idea or me, uh, in your case, Bert, 739 00:35:23.909 --> 00:35:27.329 Sam coming to you with the idea and then of 740 00:35:28.190 --> 00:35:30.710 how and why you wanted this to come together so quickly? 741 00:35:31.809 --> 00:35:35.190 Yeah, well, for me, I mean, we just love aligning 742 00:35:35.230 --> 00:35:38.489 ourselves with people that really get after it, with grinders, 743 00:35:38.530 --> 00:35:41.260 kind of like yourself. So that's first and foremost, like 744 00:35:41.389 --> 00:35:43.659 that's cool. Like maybe this idea isn't all the way 745 00:35:43.699 --> 00:35:46.059 baked yet, but I mean, Ryan Hawk is going to 746 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:47.699 figure that out and we're going to figure it out. 747 00:35:47.739 --> 00:35:49.800 We both work really hard, so that's a safe bet. 748 00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:51.840 But also I just, I mean, I said it earlier, 749 00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:54.280 but I just, I loved being able to tap into 750 00:35:55.230 --> 00:35:59.349 And to your perspective, Ryan, you've talked to almost 500, 751 00:35:59.349 --> 00:36:03.650 probably more than 500 leaders. And you just have, I think, 752 00:36:04.170 --> 00:36:07.130 a lot of wonderful perspective and wisdom that you could 753 00:36:07.150 --> 00:36:10.849 bring our organization. And also help us be a bit 754 00:36:10.889 --> 00:36:13.110 more known. I mean, you've got a heck of a following. 755 00:36:13.130 --> 00:36:17.230 And I think that certainly helps. And yeah, I guess 756 00:36:17.269 --> 00:36:19.230 why that voicemail sounded a bit rushed is. 757 00:36:19.150 --> 00:36:22.250 I love being a bad negotiator. Like, I love that. 758 00:36:22.730 --> 00:36:25.679 I love not caring about that kind of stuff. Because 759 00:36:25.739 --> 00:36:29.480 if there's, I mean, my trust in Sam is marrow deep, okay? 760 00:36:29.639 --> 00:36:33.119 And so I didn't know you as well, but I 761 00:36:33.179 --> 00:36:36.889

trust Sam. And yeah, you can see how this could 762 00:36:36.909 --> 00:36:39.710 probably work. It's not that hard of a leap. Really 763 00:36:39.730 --> 00:36:43.849 good guy out here that has really good access into 764 00:36:43.869 --> 00:36:45.840 a lot of strong leaders, also is a strong leader himself. 765 00:36:45.889 --> 00:36:48.059 There's a lot that we can learn from him. So 766 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:50.300 let's make this happen right away and let's not get 767 00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:53.280 caught up in the details. And let's just come right 768 00:36:53.320 --> 00:36:56.090 out and say what we really mean here. and let's 769 00:36:56.110 --> 00:36:58.429 get it done. So that's, that's kind of how I 770 00:36:58.469 --> 00:37:00.630 love approaching situations kind of like that. 771 00:37:01.329 --> 00:37:01.949 What about you, Sam? 772 00:37:03.429 --> 00:37:05.340 I mean, Bert said it perfectly with the grinder. 773 00:37:05.619 --> 00:37:07.860 I would have said like, I just, from the second 774 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:09.880 we worked together, Ryan, I could see that you were 775 00:37:09.980 --> 00:37:14.480 hungry to grow and hungry to learn. That's the predication 776 00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:18.190 of your entire being is you're, you're hungry to learn 777 00:37:18.230 --> 00:37:20.070 leadership and bring it to the greater world. 778 00:37:20.389 --> 00:37:23.869 And that's exactly what we are. That's exactly what we are. 779 00:37:23.889 --> 00:37:26.889 I mean, we have, thousands of people in our business. 780 00:37:27.050 --> 00:37:30.840 We only promote from within. We have desperately got to 781 00:37:30.889 --> 00:37:34.320 learn how to develop leaders and be hungry to learn 782 00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:37.500 as leaders and humble ourselves to know that we have 783 00:37:37.539 --> 00:37:40.500 so much work to do in leadership. And so, you know, 784 00:37:41.300 --> 00:37:42.940 when I hung up the phone with you that fateful 785 00:37:42.980 --> 00:37:45.239 Thursday where I told you to go look elsewhere, I 786 00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:48.199 just thought of that all weekend. 787 00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:50.480 I just kept thinking, he's. 788 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:52.800 So hungry to learn and so are we. And like, 789 00:37:54.360 --> 00:37:57.659 This is just this makes too much sense. Why would 790 00:37:57.699 --> 00:38:01.010 we not bring our brands together and bring our minds 791 00:38:01.070 --> 00:38:04.489 together and find a way to partner? And so, you know, 792 00:38:04.630 --> 00:38:08.510 I just respect you for being someone who is humble 793 00:38:08.889 --> 00:38:11.750 and knows that there's so much to learn and you're 794 00:38:11.789 --> 00:38:14.409 hungry to learn. And I love that you want to 795 00:38:14.889 --> 00:38:17.030 you want to create these moments to bring it to 796 00:38:17.070 --> 00:38:19.170 the world. Like all I want to do in our 797 00:38:19.190 --> 00:38:23.119 business is create those moments for our people. And so, 798 00:38:23.300 --> 00:38:25.239 you know, anything we can do to create those moments 799 00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:27.739 for our people is, you know, like you said, that's 800 00:38:27.800 --> 00:38:30.099 the juice. That's where that's where the things happen that 801 00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:32.550 are the most special. And the fact that you want 802 00:38:32.570 --> 00:38:34.150 to bring that to the world and we do as 803 00:38:34.210 --> 00:38:35.369 well is just. 804 00:38:35.269 --> 00:38:36.789 Like we have to do this together. 805 00:38:36.809 --> 00:38:39.949 So, you know, welcome to Insight Global and four days 806 00:38:40.070 --> 00:38:41.170 after idea. 807 00:38:41.550 --> 00:38:45.190 Well, the next meeting, I believe the three of us 808 00:38:45.210 --> 00:38:47.389 are going to connect on video to kind of talk 809 00:38:47.409 --> 00:38:50.539 through like, OK, we're kind of we kind of want 810 00:38:50.579 --> 00:38:52.389 to do this. what does this look like? I remember 811 00:38:52.409 --> 00:38:55.650 we connected and you guys are, as the video came on, Bert, 812 00:38:55.690 --> 00:38:58.380 you're wearing an Atlanta Braves hat. You're chilling, Sam, you 813 00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:01.320 guys were laughing, joking, which is very normal for when 814 00:39:01.360 --> 00:39:04.719 we connect, which I love. And I think it was 815 00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:06.320 at one point in the middle of the last part, 816 00:39:06.360 --> 00:39:08.949 I'm like, well, So how does this all work? I 817 00:39:08.989 --> 00:39:12.449 don't know the details. And Bert, you go, I don't know, dude. 818 00:39:12.469 --> 00:39:15.300 When's the last time I did a deal with a podcaster? 819 00:39:15.320 --> 00:39:16.780 We'll figure it out. 820 00:39:16.820 --> 00:39:20.639 You go, we'll figure it out. And then we briefly 821 00:39:20.679 --> 00:39:22.400 talked about money and those things. And I was like, 822 00:39:22.559 --> 00:39:25.050 that sounds good. You're like, okay, good. And then that 823 00:39:25.070 --> 00:39:26.829 was that. And then we just kind of, wait, wait, 824 00:39:27.329 --> 00:39:29.349 who do you report to? How do we do this? Oh, 825 00:39:29.389 --> 00:39:31.139 we'll figure that out. I just like the kind of 826 00:39:31.780 --> 00:39:34.139 the fact of like, we don't, we just want to 827 00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:37.840 work together and we will get all that other stuff 828 00:39:38.449 --> 00:39:43.389 figured out. It's about us bringing what we have together 829 00:39:43.530 --> 00:39:46.110 to try to help one another and how cool that 830 00:39:46.170 --> 00:39:49.250 could be. And I think that aspect of it To me, 831 00:39:49.550 --> 00:39:54.349 because I think you guys take your work extremely seriously 832 00:39:54.449 --> 00:39:58.909 and you take, uh, you take caring about people you care. 833 00:39:59.030 --> 00:40:00.869 It seems to me that that is number one on 834 00:40:00.909 -->

00:40:02.769 your list, you know, starting with your families, but then 835 00:40:02.869 --> 00:40:05.710 right there is, is the people that, that you serve 836 00:40:05.750 --> 00:40:08.789 at insight global, but you also, you don't take yourselves 837 00:40:08.829 --> 00:40:11.010 that seriously. And those are my favorite kind of people 838 00:40:11.050 --> 00:40:14.469 where they can make fun of themselves. Sam is constantly 839 00:40:14.489 --> 00:40:16.690 hard on himself on every time that we talk, he's 840 00:40:16.869 --> 00:40:20.800 always criticizing himself about how he messed something up about 841 00:40:20.860 --> 00:40:22.340 what he needs to do better. And I know Bert, 842 00:40:22.380 --> 00:40:25.900 you're the same way, but, but then you work so hard. 843 00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:28.539 And when you talk to other people who interact with you, 844 00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:31.239 that all they talk about is how much you care 845 00:40:31.280 --> 00:40:33.480 and how hard you work and how it's all about 846 00:40:33.559 --> 00:40:36.530 serving people. And that to me was like, this seems 847 00:40:36.590 --> 00:40:39.829 like a really good match here because this is what 848 00:40:39.909 --> 00:40:41.869 I'm all about when it comes to leadership. 849 00:40:42.869 --> 00:40:46.530 Yeah, and we're just, you know, I think people psych 850 00:40:46.550 --> 00:40:49.340 themselves out way more than they need to, especially leaders, 851 00:40:49.420 --> 00:40:52.199 especially new leaders. I know because I was one and 852 00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:55.460 I used to do it to myself. But once you 853 00:40:55.480 --> 00:40:59.460 can get comfortable with the fact that, you know, commit 854 00:40:59.500 --> 00:41:01.739 to your values and our values are all around developing 855 00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:05.889 our people as strong as we can to grow personally, 856 00:41:05.909 --> 00:41:07.969 professionally and financially so they can be the light to 857 00:41:07.989 --> 00:41:10.730 the world around them. Okay, if that's where we are, 858 00:41:11.190 --> 00:41:13.389 That's our purpose, right? And we've got our shared values 859 00:41:13.409 --> 00:41:16.630 that we're obsessive about. If there's decisions like bringing you 860 00:41:16.670 --> 00:41:18.469 on board that really fit in nicely with that, because 861 00:41:18.489 --> 00:41:19.820 you're going to help us develop our people. 862 00:41:19.840 --> 00:41:20.659 If you help. 863 00:41:20.579 --> 00:41:23.719 Us fulfill that purpose, then don't get so caught up 864 00:41:23.780 --> 00:41:26.960 in the minutia of all the, it's okay to build 865 00:41:27.039 --> 00:41:29.460 the airplane as you're learning how to fly it, I think. 866 00:41:29.719 --> 00:41:33.110 And that really lets people, I think, move a lot faster. 867 00:41:33.130 --> 00:41:35.570 I would also, sorry Ryan. 868 00:41:35.590 --> 00:41:39.710 I would also just add like our mentality is, in 869 00:41:39.809 --> 00:41:43.860

everything is, is, is it's first who, then what, you know, that's, 870 00:41:44.380 --> 00:41:49.840 that's really like, I think a lot of companies, most companies, um, you, 871 00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:52.880 you want to find someone that has the experience you're 872 00:41:52.900 --> 00:41:57.219 looking for the right experience, um, because of our mentality 873 00:41:57.260 --> 00:42:01.179 and the, the, the, the, the forced, uh, promote from 874 00:42:01.239 --> 00:42:05.380 within model, we don't have that luxury. So we just 875 00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:09.559 look for potential. you know, and that's like our biggest 876 00:42:09.639 --> 00:42:14.780 characteristic that we look for is hunger, eager potential. And 877 00:42:14.820 --> 00:42:17.420 that's like, when I, you know, when I think about 878 00:42:17.460 --> 00:42:20.820 what you're doing, you know, that's, that's everything that your, 879 00:42:21.059 --> 00:42:24.659 your work embodies. And so it's just another representation, I 880 00:42:24.699 --> 00:42:27.039 think of, of how we run our business, which is, 881 00:42:27.539 --> 00:42:30.159 you know, it's, it's eager over experienced. 882 00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:32.750 And I think one of the things I, I really 883 00:42:32.809 --> 00:42:36.510 appreciate in addition to that, Sam is, Both you guys 884 00:42:36.530 --> 00:42:42.059 have been effusive in the comments about me keeping a 885 00:42:42.300 --> 00:42:45.900 sort of independence and being out in the marketplace in 886 00:42:45.960 --> 00:42:52.429 order to continue learning, recording podcasts, giving keynote speeches, facilitating 887 00:42:52.489 --> 00:42:58.170 leadership circles. So none of that changes. because you value 888 00:42:58.289 --> 00:43:00.929 that aspect. And that meant a lot to me to say, yes, hey, 889 00:43:00.969 --> 00:43:06.070 you have complete creative control over your podcast because that's 890 00:43:06.110 --> 00:43:09.340 what you've built. And we love that. And then you 891 00:43:09.409 --> 00:43:12.260 bring what you're learning into our company, but you do 892 00:43:12.340 --> 00:43:16.000 still need to be out there in the marketplace, out 893 00:43:16.280 --> 00:43:18.639 learning so that you could bring it to us. Maybe 894 00:43:18.659 --> 00:43:20.920 you could speak on that, Burr, because that part was 895 00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:23.719 really important to me. And the fact that you, I think, 896 00:43:23.780 --> 00:43:26.260 said it before I did, that you wanted that. And 897 00:43:26.539 --> 00:43:28.809 I felt, I felt really good about that aspect of it. 898 00:43:29.219 --> 00:43:29.400 Yeah. 899 00:43:29.460 --> 00:43:32.800 I mean, I, I value, I always value fresh eyes, 900 00:43:33.079 --> 00:43:37.340 you know, in, in fresh perspective. And so that could 901 00:43:37.400 --> 00:43:41.159 be detrimental if you spent too much time thinking. 902 00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:42.340 Just like we do. And now you're just one of us. 903 00:43:42.360

--> 00:43:46.719 You're one of us idiots. Don't become one of us. Like, 904 00:43:47.010 --> 00:43:50.369 so no, you know, you stay, you stay unique and special. 905 00:43:51.070 --> 00:43:53.570 So, yeah, so I think it's important to, that, that, that, 906 00:43:53.730 --> 00:43:58.699 that you are able to to stay frosty, if you will, 907 00:43:59.300 --> 00:44:02.139 and to maintain all those relationships that you have and 908 00:44:02.219 --> 00:44:05.139 to stay in the outside world. And then, yeah, we can, 909 00:44:05.159 --> 00:44:08.119 you know, we'll find the ways to pull that insight 910 00:44:08.159 --> 00:44:08.920 into our company. 911 00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:10.780 But that's so valuable. 912 00:44:10.820 --> 00:44:12.679 And I mean, we're always thinking about how do we 913 00:44:12.739 --> 00:44:15.199 look at our business with fresh eyes? How do we 914 00:44:15.219 --> 00:44:18.409 look at our business from a different way? I think 915 00:44:18.469 --> 00:44:20.590 Adam Grant just wrote a book. His newest book is 916 00:44:20.610 --> 00:44:22.750 called Rethink. I want to read it because I think 917 00:44:22.789 --> 00:44:24.250 it talks about that. But that is like such a 918 00:44:24.329 --> 00:44:26.539 valuable skill. I think if you can develop a way 919 00:44:26.599 --> 00:44:30.460 to constantly look at and obsess over your business with 920 00:44:30.559 --> 00:44:31.960 fresh perspective and fresh eyes. 921 00:44:32.800 --> 00:44:37.159 Yeah. Well, I certainly appreciate that part of it. And 922 00:44:37.179 --> 00:44:39.300 I think one of the things I wanted to mention, Bert, 923 00:44:39.340 --> 00:44:42.409 because as you took over, I know I'd have to 924 00:44:42.429 --> 00:44:46.380 say this because you wouldn't, but The dramatic change that 925 00:44:46.400 --> 00:44:51.280 the company has made since you've become CEO, I believe 926 00:44:51.380 --> 00:44:55.469 I read that your turnover rate was 40%. It might 927 00:44:55.489 --> 00:44:58.710 have been even higher, was 40%. And then just two 928 00:44:58.849 --> 00:45:02.489 or three years after you becoming CEO, it was down 929 00:45:02.590 --> 00:45:09.780 to 16% if those numbers are accurate. And that's really 930 00:45:09.800 --> 00:45:14.170 an insane number of drop. And it's really fast. this 931 00:45:14.289 --> 00:45:17.250 answer is part of the why insight global question to me, 932 00:45:17.329 --> 00:45:19.530 because when you see those stats, those are, those are 933 00:45:19.550 --> 00:45:24.659 the facts. My question is how and why, what, what, 934 00:45:24.699 --> 00:45:26.860 what did they do in order to change that number? 935 00:45:26.920 --> 00:45:30.300 What was it about the turnover being so high and 936 00:45:30.380 --> 00:45:34.500 now to being a much more manageable number and just 937 00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:37.579 a dramatic improvement from when you, when you became CEO? 938 00:45:38.139 --> 00:45:40.510 Yeah. So we, you know I'll try to be somewhat 939 00:45:40.530 --> 00:45:41.289 tight with this answer. 940 00:45:41.309 --> 00:45:44.000 Cause it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, big answer, but, um, 941 00:45:44.539 --> 00:45:46.440 you know, we were no different from a lot of 942 00:45:46.460 --> 00:45:50.159 sales organizations and that we were a command and control 943 00:45:50.260 --> 00:45:54.360 and we believed in metrics and, uh, uh, you know, 944 00:45:54.420 --> 00:45:58.079 all sorts of monitoring systems. And we, we worked really 945 00:45:58.119 --> 00:46:02.099 hard and drove people even harder and turnovers, 40%, no 946 00:46:02.139 --> 00:46:04.599 big deal. Those people couldn't cut it and they don't, 947 00:46:04.739 --> 00:46:08.469 you know, they can't handle it. But, um, we just, 948 00:46:08.610 --> 00:46:11.650 I think we, well, we, we, when I became CEO, um, 949 00:46:13.389 --> 00:46:16.190 the weight of that, um, started to really wear on 950 00:46:16.230 --> 00:46:18.010 me and I, I didn't like it. I did not 951 00:46:18.050 --> 00:46:19.570 like it at all. I, I, I didn't want to 952 00:46:19.630 --> 00:46:22.719 have that. And, um, I just, I just wanted to 953 00:46:22.760 --> 00:46:25.400 be a place where everybody could actually stay and do well. 954 00:46:25.679 --> 00:46:27.860 And I think that was really who I wanted to be. Um, 955 00:46:29.320 --> 00:46:31.800 and so, but you know, in order to kind of 956 00:46:32.260 --> 00:46:33.920 solve this and figure out like, how, how do we 957 00:46:33.960 --> 00:46:36.219 even drop this? How do we, how do we become, 958 00:46:36.239 --> 00:46:38.349 I guess, a kinder company or a company that, that 959 00:46:38.389 --> 00:46:41.449 values development more and values keeping people here more. Um, 960 00:46:42.239 --> 00:46:44.199 you know, I asked my executive coach, I was like, 961 00:46:44.239 --> 00:46:46.139 I've got all this turnover. How do we change this? 962 00:46:46.239 --> 00:46:47.900 And this is like in my, this is like right 963 00:46:48.179 --> 00:46:50.340 after I listened to your podcast. And he was like, well, 964 00:46:50.360 --> 00:46:51.159 let me just ask you, bro. 965 00:46:51.179 --> 00:46:54.949 Like, what are your guys' values? And I was like, yeah, 966 00:46:54.989 --> 00:46:58.409 we don't, I mean, we don't really have those. Maybe 967 00:46:58.429 --> 00:47:01.510 I'll Google some. And, and we actually did it. 968 00:47:01.570 --> 00:47:04.530 We really didn't have values that were just on the 969 00:47:04.570 --> 00:47:07.550 forefront of everybody's brain. And so I felt this need 970 00:47:07.570 --> 00:47:10.130 to want to just push away from everything. and get 971 00:47:10.150 --> 00:47:12.369 somewhere with the top leaders in the companies, 28 of 972 00:47:12.429 --> 00:47:15.409 us actually all in total, and really figure some stuff 973 00:47:15.469 --> 00:47:17.309 out and really try to figure out who we were 974 00:47:17.429 --> 00:47:18.030 as a company. 975 00:47:18.900

--> 00:47:20.000 And so I found a house. 976 00:47:19.820 --> 00:47:21.860 In the middle of nowhere in Utah, because I love 977 00:47:21.880 --> 00:47:25.579 the American West. And we called this three days, we 978 00:47:25.599 --> 00:47:28.260 called it Compass. And it was a chance for us 979 00:47:28.340 --> 00:47:32.090 to really do some serious, deep rooted company planning as 980 00:47:32.130 --> 00:47:33.530 to what is our purpose? 981 00:47:33.570 --> 00:47:34.250 What are our values? 982 00:47:34.289 --> 00:47:36.389 What do we stand for? and that sort of thing. 983 00:47:36.469 --> 00:47:38.289 So gave everybody a signed reading. They had to read 984 00:47:38.309 --> 00:47:40.309 the Jim Collins book, Great Black Choice, which was awesome. 985 00:47:41.570 --> 00:47:43.690 And everybody had to come up with their own smack recipe. 986 00:47:43.750 --> 00:47:46.329 What should we be specific, methodical and consistent about and 987 00:47:46.349 --> 00:47:49.099 all that kind of stuff. But before we got into that, 988 00:47:49.300 --> 00:47:52.719 I wanted us to get in a big circle and 989 00:47:52.760 --> 00:47:54.619 I wanted everybody to go around the room and to 990 00:47:54.679 --> 00:47:55.800 share their lowest moment in. 991 00:47:55.760 --> 00:47:57.900 Their career and their proudest moment in their career. 992 00:47:58.900 --> 00:48:03.130 And the way these things typically go is everybody goes 993 00:48:03.170 --> 00:48:06.730 into these you can call it a vulnerability exercise that 994 00:48:06.769 --> 00:48:09.070 they go into them with like a PG 13 rated 995 00:48:09.110 --> 00:48:10.110 version of what they're going to say. 996 00:48:10.130 --> 00:48:12.110 And, but also like a rated R version. 997 00:48:12.250 --> 00:48:13.670 And like, you're not going to say the rated R version, 998 00:48:13.690 --> 00:48:16.130 but you know what that is, but it's there, but 999 00:48:16.170 --> 00:48:19.969 you got the safe PG 13 thing. And, and whoever, 1000 00:48:20.070 --> 00:48:22.329 whichever version you go with is dependent on who goes first, 1001 00:48:22.349 --> 00:48:24.130 which has to be the leader. So I went first, 1002 00:48:24.289 --> 00:48:26.429 I shared the rated R version of my lowest moment 1003 00:48:26.449 --> 00:48:30.349 in my career. And then everybody else went in this 1004 00:48:30.650 --> 00:48:31.309 funny thing happened. 1005 00:48:31.349 --> 00:48:35.789 Like everybody cried. multiple multiple multiple times and i. 1006 00:48:35.719 --> 00:48:37.500 Mean we started at like i don't know 2 p.m 1007 00:48:37.519 --> 00:48:41.079 and we went to like 3 a.m and uh and 1008 00:48:41.119 --> 00:48:43.579 it was just wild it was insane and i mean 1009 00:48:43.659 --> 00:48:46.239 you heard people share things that they had never shared 1010 00:48:46.280 --> 00:48:49.130 before struggles that they had and then from across the 1011 00:48:49.190 --> 00:48:51.630 room you would hear somebody share or say you know 1012

00:48:51.650 --> 00:48:53.449 i've struggled with that same thing and i got your 1013 00:48:53.469 --> 00:48:55.250 back and you never have to walk that lonely walk 1014 00:48:55.289 --> 00:48:57.730 again and it was just it was it was really 1015 00:48:57.769 --> 00:49:00.739 unbelievable so um as you might imagine that the next 1016 00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:03.489 day we were so centered and knew exactly who we 1017 00:49:03.510 --> 00:49:05.829 wanted to be. And we cranked out our shared values 1018 00:49:06.369 --> 00:49:08.630 in like 30 minutes. It was the, it was super 1019 00:49:08.670 --> 00:49:10.210 easy because we knew exactly who we were and what 1020 00:49:10.230 --> 00:49:12.750 that was all about. And so we left there and 1021 00:49:13.269 --> 00:49:15.929 you know, we had all these ideas swirling and we 1022 00:49:16.510 --> 00:49:18.889 created like the very beginnings of what maybe inside global 1023 00:49:18.929 --> 00:49:20.500 university could be and all this stuff. 1024 00:49:20.539 --> 00:49:22.059 And so we didn't know what to do with it. 1025 00:49:22.119 --> 00:49:24.380 So we just said, okay, every leader that was there, 1026 00:49:24.559 --> 00:49:26.599 you need to do a compass with your people and 1027 00:49:26.619 --> 00:49:29.199 then have those leaders do compasses with their people. And 1028 00:49:29.219 --> 00:49:32.010 so now the whole company has been through a compass. 1029 00:49:32.469 --> 00:49:34.329 You know, COVID messed us up a little bit, but 1030 00:49:34.369 --> 00:49:36.269 at least one, if not two, we try to do 1031 00:49:36.449 --> 00:49:36.889 one a year. 1032 00:49:37.840 --> 00:49:38.860 And it was just been. 1033 00:49:38.760 --> 00:49:42.280 A really great way to to to become more known 1034 00:49:42.320 --> 00:49:45.179 to one another and to work on tough problems together. 1035 00:49:45.949 --> 00:49:48.389 And one of our shared values is everyone matters. Another 1036 00:49:48.409 --> 00:49:50.329 one is we take care of each other. And I 1037 00:49:50.349 --> 00:49:54.829 think both of those embody what we want to be about. 1038 00:49:54.909 --> 00:49:58.309 And turnover just doesn't really it's hard to be all 1039 00:49:58.329 --> 00:50:00.349 about everyone matters and we take care of each other. 1040 00:50:00.369 --> 00:50:02.550 If we're just cool with 40 percent turnover like that 1041 00:50:02.590 --> 00:50:04.889 just doesn't fit. And so we're like, OK, well, yeah, 1042 00:50:04.929 --> 00:50:07.579 let's just let's just. let's just change the model. And 1043 00:50:07.599 --> 00:50:11.989 I tell you what, Angela Duckworth's book, Grit, highly recommend it. She, 1044 00:50:12.690 --> 00:50:14.170 it's so funny how you can read books and there's 1045 00:50:14.190 --> 00:50:15.889 a lot, there'll be like a line and some of 1046 00:50:15.909 --> 00:50:17.849 that just changes everything. And for hers, it was, she 1047 00:50:17.889 --> 00:50:23.449 was talking about West Point. She studied West Point, got 1048 00:50:23.469 --> 00:50:27.750 this new superintendent, General Westmoreland, and their, their dropout rate 1049 00:50:28.070 --> 00:50:30.929 for first year cadets was like super high. And they 1050 00:50:30.969 --> 00:50:32.590 also sort of were like, well, it is what it is. 1051 00:50:32.650 --> 00:50:34.510 You know, this is West Point after all, right? Well, 1052 00:50:34.940 --> 00:50:38.280 Westmoreland was like, actually, what if we just move to 1053 00:50:38.340 --> 00:50:41.679 more of a developmental model? And if somebody isn't picking 1054 00:50:41.719 --> 00:50:43.860 it up, let's just give them more training and development 1055 00:50:44.039 --> 00:50:45.780 and let's just make them better and keep them here. 1056 00:50:47.320 --> 00:50:49.500 And so we were like, yeah, let's just do that. 1057 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:51.989 And that just gave us a ton of gas in 1058 00:50:52.010 --> 00:50:54.969 the tank to just change our mindset away from things 1059 00:50:55.010 --> 00:50:57.710 like performance plans or growth plans, which we don't use. 1060 00:50:58.010 --> 00:51:01.219 And say, if somebody's underperforming, well, let's just Let's just 1061 00:51:01.260 --> 00:51:03.079 train them harder. Let's just let's just invest more in 1062 00:51:03.099 --> 00:51:05.099 training and development and let's train and train and train. 1063 00:51:05.139 --> 00:51:07.429 And so long as they embody or share values. And 1064 00:51:07.449 --> 00:51:09.469 by the way, one of those is high character and 1065 00:51:09.489 --> 00:51:11.650 hard work above all else. Well, so long as they 1066 00:51:11.670 --> 00:51:14.289 have that and as long as they're willing to train, 1067 00:51:14.309 --> 00:51:16.159 let's just keep doing this because, again, we're not putting 1068 00:51:16.179 --> 00:51:16.940 people on the moon here. 1069 00:51:16.960 --> 00:51:17.440 OK. 1070 00:51:18.119 --> 00:51:20.579 And and so, yeah, that's that's how we've been able 1071 00:51:20.599 --> 00:51:24.159 to lower turnover to it's actually it's under 14 percent today. 1072 00:51:25.090 --> 00:51:28.929 but still keep our salespeople and our recruiters super productive. 1073 00:51:29.130 --> 00:51:32.769 Cause you've also grown a, where were you like revenue 1074 00:51:32.809 --> 00:51:34.650 growth wise since then? 1075 00:51:34.670 --> 00:51:38.329 Yeah, we were 1.9 billion and 17. 1076 00:51:38.309 --> 00:51:41.190 And this year we'll do just north of 3.3 billion. 1077 00:51:42.309 --> 00:51:45.849 Not bad. Sam, what about you? You've talked about this, 1078 00:51:46.190 --> 00:51:50.110 this offsite and we've talked about it multiple times. It was, 1079 00:51:50.929 --> 00:51:52.849 Sounds like one for the ages. I wish it was 1080 00:51:52.909 --> 00:51:55.289 recorded or there was a video camera, but maybe it 1081 00:51:55.309 --> 00:51:57.309 wouldn't have been a special if it was, but can 1082 00:51:57.349 --> 00:52:00.829 you share about

that moment? And from your perspective, because 1083 00:52:01.130 --> 00:52:03.769 another risky thing that, that Bert did, it could have 1084 00:52:03.789 --> 00:52:06.329 been a flop and people are going to laugh. He 1085 00:52:06.349 --> 00:52:08.389 was like, what is this guy doing? Is he weird? 1086 00:52:08.550 --> 00:52:10.949 It could have easily happened. 1087 00:52:10.969 --> 00:52:15.739 I remember when he invited me, us, I came into 1088 00:52:15.780 --> 00:52:18.940 his office. I was like, what? are we doing? What 1089 00:52:19.079 --> 00:52:22.119 is this? Why are we going? It like was so 1090 00:52:22.179 --> 00:52:25.260 anything like this before we'd never done anything like this. 1091 00:52:25.579 --> 00:52:27.119 In fact, it was like, you know, we had a 1092 00:52:27.159 --> 00:52:30.050 culture of a time versus B time. Like you don't 1093 00:52:30.090 --> 00:52:33.489 do anything in a time besides, you know, deliver for 1094 00:52:33.510 --> 00:52:36.010 your clients. I mean, eight to five, we got to sell. 1095 00:52:36.070 --> 00:52:37.469 And Bert was like, we're going to go to Utah 1096 00:52:37.489 --> 00:52:40.510 for three days. And I was like, mind blown over 1097 00:52:40.570 --> 00:52:45.059 this idea. Um, but it was, it was, it was powerful. Um, 1098 00:52:45.360 --> 00:52:47.980 you know, uh, a gentleman who was one of our 1099 00:52:48.019 --> 00:52:52.480 vice presidents here, his name's Kirby Stile, he passed away. 1100 00:52:52.500 --> 00:52:57.739 He came and it was our last time really spending 1101 00:52:57.780 --> 00:53:00.280 time with him, but it meant so much to him 1102 00:53:00.380 --> 00:53:01.159 to come. 1103 00:53:03.139 --> 00:53:03.679 Because I. 1104 00:53:05.179 --> 00:53:08.750 Think he knew that it was getting bad, real bad. 1105 00:53:09.510 --> 00:53:15.239 And he wanted us to hear from him specifically that 1106 00:53:15.340 --> 00:53:18.679 we were gonna do great things together. And it chokes 1107 00:53:18.719 --> 00:53:21.440 me up right now just thinking about it, but he 1108 00:53:21.480 --> 00:53:24.260 had a broken neck, he could barely hold his head up, 1109 00:53:24.599 --> 00:53:28.179 his cancer had eaten his body, but he found the 1110 00:53:28.239 --> 00:53:31.840 strength to come to our event to tell us that 1111 00:53:32.139 --> 00:53:33.780 we had each other and that's all we needed in 1112 00:53:33.840 --> 00:53:37.840 this world. And for our executive team, that's a moment 1113 00:53:37.980 --> 00:53:40.099 where you're just not gonna. 1114 00:53:39.900 --> 00:53:40.559 Forget that one. 1115 00:53:40.760 --> 00:53:43.679 And you're not gonna look him in the eye After 1116 00:53:43.880 --> 00:53:46.039 he did what he did and say, yeah, I probably 1117 00:53:46.059 --> 00:53:48.219 just won't work hard for the next few years. I mean, 1118 00:53:48.460 --> 00:53:51.019 we all came out of that, you know, saying we 1119 00:53:51.059 --> 00:53:53.579 will do everything that we've always promised you we will 1120 00:53:53.599 --> 00:53:54.260 do and more. 1121 00:53:54.860 --> 00:53:56.639 And that's why our company believes in grit. 1122 00:53:56.920 --> 00:53:58.599 And that's why we think that grit is one of 1123 00:53:58.619 --> 00:54:00.300 the most important parts of our culture. 1124 00:54:00.960 --> 00:54:02.519 And we believe in a sales culture. 1125 00:54:02.780 --> 00:54:05.440 You know, if you're a person that can get up 1126 00:54:05.500 --> 00:54:09.519 off the mat every single time, you are unstoppable. and 1127 00:54:09.679 --> 00:54:11.940 we celebrate grit and we cherish it as part of 1128 00:54:12.019 --> 00:54:14.119 our culture. That's why one of our values is high 1129 00:54:14.159 --> 00:54:18.300 character and hard work above all else. And, um, you know, 1130 00:54:18.340 --> 00:54:21.079 it's an important part of, of our entire organization and 1131 00:54:21.119 --> 00:54:24.239 it came straight from, from Kirby's blood. Um, and so, 1132 00:54:24.719 --> 00:54:27.159 you know, we're really just proud of that. And, and we, 1133 00:54:27.360 --> 00:54:30.750 we know that we're, we're representing him every day of 1134 00:54:30.829 --> 00:54:32.010 our lives as we work. 1135 00:54:32.329 --> 00:54:34.650 And, uh, you know, it's really important to us. 1136 00:54:35.110 --> 00:54:38.010 I love it, man. Um, what a leader I, uh, 1137 00:54:38.940 --> 00:54:41.300 The other aspect of the company I've found as I've 1138 00:54:41.340 --> 00:54:44.760 talked to more people is that you are your social 1139 00:54:44.780 --> 00:54:49.369 lives and professional lives are very intertwined. You're friends with 1140 00:54:49.409 --> 00:54:51.409 a lot of your coworkers. I think you and Tim 1141 00:54:51.530 --> 00:54:53.969 Stutz live near each other. When he called me to 1142 00:54:54.650 --> 00:54:57.469 tell me how excited he was about this, about me 1143 00:54:57.610 --> 00:55:01.210 coming with you guys, which Tim was awesome, by the way. 1144 00:55:01.230 --> 00:55:02.989 I mean, so many people were he was great. He's like, oh, yeah, 1145 00:55:03.050 --> 00:55:05.070 Sam's daughter is swimming with my daughter in my pool 1146 00:55:05.110 --> 00:55:07.210 right now. Like it just it just like a very 1147 00:55:07.309 --> 00:55:10.380 normal thing. Can you share more about that aspect of 1148 00:55:10.400 --> 00:55:13.460 it that that that seems to be because some people 1149 00:55:13.480 --> 00:55:14.980 are like, I don't know, we should do that. But 1150 00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:15.500 it doesn't. 1151 00:55:15.539 --> 00:55:16.320 That's yeah. 1152 00:55:16.539 --> 00:55:20.920 Talk about an unintended consequence of promotions from within. OK, 1153 00:55:20.940 --> 00:55:24.199 we're a 20 year old business. Us all that started 1154 00:55:24.219 --> 00:55:27.480 this business and built it together. We do life together. 1155 00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:30.179 That's the coolest part of this whole thing. And

that's 1156 00:55:30.199 --> 00:55:31.920 why I said before, that's what I think makes it 1157 00:55:31.940 --> 00:55:35.539 so special is it's we do hard work together with 1158 00:55:35.579 --> 00:55:39.480 people we love. And when you spend 17 years together 1159 00:55:40.239 --> 00:55:43.489 and you grow up together, you spend your 20s together 1160 00:55:43.590 --> 00:55:46.150 and you get married together and you attend each other's 1161 00:55:46.230 --> 00:55:48.630 weddings and then you have babies together and you raise 1162 00:55:48.650 --> 00:55:49.429 your kids together. 1163 00:55:49.449 --> 00:55:51.929 It's awesome. 1164 00:55:52.090 --> 00:55:56.150 I mean, it's just, it's truly, we'd never, 17 years ago, 1165 00:55:56.190 --> 00:55:58.570 we would have never thought, let's do this promotion from 1166 00:55:58.769 --> 00:56:01.590 within model because we'll get to do life together. 1167 00:56:02.150 --> 00:56:04.929 But now that we're here, it's so cool. 1168 00:56:05.389 --> 00:56:09.889 And now we get to show a thousand more people 1169 00:56:10.010 --> 00:56:12.889 that are just starting their careers with us, that that's 1170 00:56:12.949 --> 00:56:14.849 a path that they can now follow. And I just 1171 00:56:14.869 --> 00:56:17.949 think that's the coolest thing to show people is like, 1172 00:56:18.349 --> 00:56:21.070 do life together with people you really love and want 1173 00:56:21.090 --> 00:56:24.110 to work hard with. Surround yourself with great people and 1174 00:56:24.230 --> 00:56:25.409 you're going to have a great life. 1175 00:56:25.909 --> 00:56:28.289 I want to, one thing I like to ask, especially 1176 00:56:28.349 --> 00:56:32.250 guys in your position, you guys are, you've been promoted 1177 00:56:32.309 --> 00:56:36.760 multiple times and you're also promoting others. You're making hiring decisions. 1178 00:56:37.500 --> 00:56:39.460 and I'm curious to get from both of your perspectives 1179 00:56:39.500 --> 00:56:42.619 and maybe Sam will start with you. What are some 1180 00:56:42.659 --> 00:56:47.559 of your must have leadership qualities in a person to 1181 00:56:48.059 --> 00:56:51.619 either get hired or in your case, promote somebody into 1182 00:56:51.679 --> 00:56:52.590 a leadership role? 1183 00:56:53.590 --> 00:56:55.610 Yes. I mean, we've probably talked about a lot of 1184 00:56:55.699 --> 00:56:57.030 it and you know, I use. 1185 00:56:56.929 --> 00:57:00.110 The mantra care character serve is a pretty easy one 1186 00:57:00.150 --> 00:57:00.929 for me. 1187 00:57:01.530 --> 00:57:03.530 I know it's intuitive to you now, but that's just 1188 00:57:03.570 --> 00:57:05.170 care character serve. 1189 00:57:05.489 --> 00:57:09.239 And, and, You know, what I really ask people when 1190 00:57:09.260 --> 00:57:11.489 we're going to promote someone is, you know, tell me 1191 00:57:11.530 --> 00:57:14.750 a story of how they care about others. You know, 1192 00:57:14.769 --> 00:57:17.789 I love to hear that someone invested their time in 1193 00:57:17.869 --> 00:57:22.090 someone that was love, love, love promoting people that do 1194 00:57:22.190 --> 00:57:25.010 work that is outside of their core responsibilities for the 1195 00:57:25.050 --> 00:57:25.929 development of others. 1196 00:57:26.510 --> 00:57:28.719 You tell me a story like that. I know you care. 1197 00:57:28.989 --> 00:57:31.079 Like, why would you ever have done that otherwise? So 1198 00:57:31.579 --> 00:57:34.920 look for care. Look for character. Are they a good person? 1199 00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:38.000 Do the people around them respect them? We usually say, 1200 00:57:38.019 --> 00:57:42.090 do they have the respect of their peers? I think 1201 00:57:42.110 --> 00:57:45.269 that shows a lot of character. And then serve is just, 1202 00:57:45.929 --> 00:57:50.250 are they a servant-based leader? Do they think about leadership? 1203 00:57:50.289 --> 00:57:54.030 Bad leadership promotions are ones where they see it as 1204 00:57:55.280 --> 00:57:59.050 a power. uh, good leadership, you know, promotions to me 1205 00:57:59.230 --> 00:58:02.489 are ones where they see it as burden and responsibility 1206 00:58:02.769 --> 00:58:06.449 and servant. And so if they have those things, I'm 1207 00:58:06.510 --> 00:58:08.300 pretty much guaranteed to be a two. 1208 00:58:08.199 --> 00:58:09.340 Thumbs up on that promotion. 1209 00:58:09.940 --> 00:58:11.320 Love it. Bert, you. 1210 00:58:11.340 --> 00:58:15.440 I mean, that's pretty perfect. Um, so yeah, I think 1211 00:58:15.480 --> 00:58:15.840 the same. 1212 00:58:15.900 --> 00:58:16.119 Yeah. 1213 00:58:16.139 --> 00:58:16.920 The echo chamber. 1214 00:58:17.099 --> 00:58:17.400 Yeah. 1215 00:58:17.820 --> 00:58:20.440 Uh, so I'll say it maybe slightly differently. This is 1216 00:58:20.699 --> 00:58:21.619 how I feel about it. 1217 00:58:21.619 --> 00:58:24.010 And this is kind of what, um, what i always 1218 00:58:24.030 --> 00:58:26.610 think about that i don't want to be and so 1219 00:58:26.630 --> 00:58:28.809 we want to make sure that we don't have these 1220 00:58:28.869 --> 00:58:31.369 leaders in the company and the simplest sorry part of 1221 00:58:31.409 --> 00:58:33.010 my language but the simplest way i can think to 1222 00:58:33.070 --> 00:58:35.150 say it is you just can't be a bullshit leader 1223 00:58:35.889 --> 00:58:39.369 um like you gotta really mean it when we say 1224 00:58:39.389 --> 00:58:41.309 okay now your job is to really take care of 1225 00:58:41.329 --> 00:58:43.320 those people that are in your charge and develop them 1226 00:58:43.449 --> 00:58:46.260 you've got to believe that with every fiber of your 1227 00:58:46.320 --> 00:58:50.750 being um you know you've got to be so real 1228 00:58:50.809 --> 00:58:52.610 when it comes to the way you work and how 1229 00:58:52.650 --> 00:58:54.849 you operate and how you pour into your craft and 1230 00:58:54.889 --> 00:58:58.670 into your people

um and you you just have got 1231 00:58:58.710 --> 00:59:01.070 to be so authentic and we just don't have any 1232 00:59:01.130 --> 00:59:03.590 time at all for for fakers for people that just 1233 00:59:03.679 --> 00:59:05.880 aren't that just as sam i just want to be 1234 00:59:05.920 --> 00:59:08.340 promoted because boy my linkedin status gets helped out by 1235 00:59:08.380 --> 00:59:11.159 that and that's fun and I get some power and 1236 00:59:11.340 --> 00:59:15.559 some influence and that's cool. You know, but through the 1237 00:59:15.619 --> 00:59:17.300 interview process, through getting to know this person, you got 1238 00:59:17.320 --> 00:59:19.090 to make sure that they are not a BS leader. 1239 00:59:21.690 --> 00:59:26.059 Well said. I really love it. The, the, You mentioned 1240 00:59:26.079 --> 00:59:29.030 shared values a few times. Could you guys go over 1241 00:59:29.489 --> 00:59:31.429 and how they came together real quick? I just want 1242 00:59:31.449 --> 00:59:34.050 to actually list them and share the importance of each 1243 00:59:34.150 --> 00:59:36.070 one if you guys would be comfortable. I'd love to 1244 00:59:36.110 --> 00:59:37.750 just to close with the shared values. 1245 00:59:38.210 --> 00:59:39.840 Yes, I'll do this kind of quickly. 1246 00:59:39.880 --> 00:59:42.820 So the first one was we wanted to be a 1247 00:59:42.860 --> 00:59:45.360 company where everyone matters. And where that comes from is 1248 00:59:45.539 --> 00:59:51.860 we're a staffing company that has mostly salespeople in it. 1249 00:59:52.289 --> 00:59:54.530 But over the years that had gotten to where we'd 1250 00:59:54.570 --> 00:59:58.219 become a little too sales and frontline obsessed. And we 1251 00:59:58.260 --> 01:00:01.480 had taken our eye off of the incredible importance of 1252 01:00:01.519 --> 01:00:05.179 our recruiting organization or our corporate operations folks that like 1253 01:00:05.400 --> 01:00:06.760 pay all of our contractors and stuff. 1254 01:00:06.960 --> 01:00:08.800 And we didn't like that. 1255 01:00:09.099 --> 01:00:13.320 And we wanted to make sure that number one, you know, 1256 01:00:13.480 --> 01:00:16.219 while people have different jobs and some jobs are harder 1257 01:00:16.239 --> 01:00:19.269 than others, we're going to take everybody into consideration as 1258 01:00:19.329 --> 01:00:20.849 we plan for the future and make decisions. 1259 01:00:20.869 --> 01:00:24.079 So that's everyone matters. we take care of each other 1260 01:00:24.820 --> 01:00:26.019 is my favorite shared value. 1261 01:00:26.199 --> 01:00:28.559 And it's, we just want it to be that company 1262 01:00:28.579 --> 01:00:31.429 that forget what you're supposed to do and precedent. 1263 01:00:31.449 --> 01:00:32.670 And I'm like, let's just. 1264 01:00:32.550 --> 01:00:34.650 Lean in to really take care of our people where 1265 01:00:34.690 --> 01:00:36.929 we ever, any step of the way. So we, we 1266 01:00:36.949 --> 01:00:40.210 didn't do layoffs last year because you'd have to fire me. 1267 01:00:40.289 --> 01:00:40.489 Right. 1268 01:00:40.530 --> 01:00:42.590 And, and, and they didn't want to fire me. So 1269 01:00:42.670 --> 01:00:44.889 we didn't do layoffs because we decided, well, let's just 1270 01:00:44.929 --> 01:00:46.039 lean in and take care of each other. 1271 01:00:46.599 --> 01:00:48.639 We were able to grow 8% because of that last year. 1272 01:00:48.659 --> 01:00:51.750 And as a staffing firm in a recession we, you know, 1273 01:00:51.769 --> 01:00:53.949 we were very proud of that. Um, but we, we 1274 01:00:53.989 --> 01:00:56.630 want our people to think of the company as, you know, 1275 01:00:56.650 --> 01:00:58.030 they may not, we may not be able to control 1276 01:00:58.050 --> 01:01:00.150 people's personal lives and what goes on there and help 1277 01:01:00.170 --> 01:01:02.530 them there. But if they are facing one of life's 1278 01:01:02.590 --> 01:01:04.489 personal storms, we want to be the place that they 1279 01:01:04.510 --> 01:01:07.079 can anchor to. Um, so that's, that's, we take care 1280 01:01:07.099 --> 01:01:09.719 of each other. Um, leadership is here to serve that 1281 01:01:09.739 --> 01:01:12.199 that's very simple for us because again, we promote from within. 1282 01:01:12.239 --> 01:01:13.539 And so we want to be a company full of 1283 01:01:13.579 --> 01:01:16.460 player coaches. We want to be, uh, have leaders that 1284 01:01:16.480 --> 01:01:18.219 are not afraid to get in the trenches and do 1285 01:01:18.239 --> 01:01:21.809 the hard work alongside our people. Um, Now high character 1286 01:01:21.849 --> 01:01:23.449 and hard work above all else. This is sort of 1287 01:01:23.469 --> 01:01:26.909 what we call the lynchpin of the shared values. It's 1288 01:01:26.949 --> 01:01:28.469 hard for everyone to matter. It's hard for us to 1289 01:01:28.510 --> 01:01:30.130 take care of each other. It's hard for leadership to 1290 01:01:30.170 --> 01:01:32.949 serve the people if the people don't have high character 1291 01:01:33.010 --> 01:01:36.280 and hard work above all else. And then the last one, 1292 01:01:36.300 --> 01:01:38.389 and this is super personal for a lot of us 1293 01:01:38.409 --> 01:01:41.960 that were at the first Compass, was this idea of 1294 01:01:42.119 --> 01:01:44.360 always know where you stand, which is the fifth shared value, 1295 01:01:44.420 --> 01:01:46.159 always know where you stand. As we thought about a 1296 01:01:46.179 --> 01:01:48.840 lot of our lowest moments in our careers, You know, 1297 01:01:48.920 --> 01:01:51.619 it was when, Ryan, we weren't maybe performing that well 1298 01:01:52.300 --> 01:01:53.900 and we sort of knew it, but nobody was really 1299 01:01:53.980 --> 01:01:56.639 leveling with us. And that's like an awful place to 1300 01:01:56.659 --> 01:01:59.130 be in because you sort of know, like, I know 1301 01:01:59.170 --> 01:02:01.449 this isn't going well, but I

nobody's telling me, am 1302 01:02:01.489 --> 01:02:02.769 I about to get demoted, fired? 1303 01:02:02.809 --> 01:02:03.510 What's happening here? 1304 01:02:04.250 --> 01:02:05.889 And we know that's a big check to write, but 1305 01:02:05.929 --> 01:02:07.650 we don't care. That's the kind of company we are. 1306 01:02:07.690 --> 01:02:10.219 We want our our people to know that at this company, 1307 01:02:10.500 --> 01:02:14.260 while it may be on their responsibility to initiate, you 1308 01:02:14.300 --> 01:02:15.199 will always know where you stand. 1309 01:02:17.719 --> 01:02:20.639 Love it. I think I want to close actually with 1310 01:02:20.900 --> 01:02:25.780 one piece that I've been doing recently. And I think 1311 01:02:25.820 --> 01:02:28.260 it plays well because a lot of the people that 1312 01:02:28.650 --> 01:02:33.269 are hired at Insight Global are fresh out of college 1313 01:02:33.409 --> 01:02:36.469 or close to that stage. And I read some stats 1314 01:02:37.230 --> 01:02:42.150 that Insight Global rated by Fortune as one of the 1315 01:02:42.190 --> 01:02:45.739 best places in the country to work for millennials and 1316 01:02:45.820 --> 01:02:49.000 for women. which is cool, as well as 70% of 1317 01:02:49.039 --> 01:02:54.989 leadership promotions in 2019 were for women. Increased total female 1318 01:02:55.050 --> 01:02:59.650 representation and leadership 60%. So really cool. And I know, Sam, 1319 01:03:00.170 --> 01:03:06.809 both you guys are heavily involved in, I think, the 1320 01:03:07.030 --> 01:03:11.309 promotion of diversity. And it's really important to the company, 1321 01:03:11.349 --> 01:03:13.489 as well as with young people. It's a good place 1322 01:03:13.510 --> 01:03:17.349 to work for millennials. Can you guys talk more? Maybe, Sam, 1323 01:03:17.369 --> 01:03:19.150 since you're leading this now, this could be something you 1324 01:03:19.170 --> 01:03:21.769 start with and share. Feel free to add on if 1325 01:03:21.789 --> 01:03:24.070 there's anything else you'd like in regards to this, because 1326 01:03:24.110 --> 01:03:27.480 I know this is a big time. It's very important 1327 01:03:27.500 --> 01:03:28.000 for you guys. 1328 01:03:29.000 --> 01:03:32.340 Yeah, well, I think, you know, diversity, equity and inclusion 1329 01:03:32.420 --> 01:03:35.219 is is I mean, we've talked about it actually throughout 1330 01:03:35.260 --> 01:03:40.110 this entire discussion when you talk about diversity. diversity of thought, 1331 01:03:40.369 --> 01:03:43.159 you know, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about culture, 1332 01:03:43.199 --> 01:03:46.300 you're talking about religion, you're talking about upbringing, you're talking 1333 01:03:46.360 --> 01:03:49.639 about where you came from, you're talking about your childhood, 1334 01:03:50.059 --> 01:03:53.960 where your perspectives are. Diversity of thought is something that 1335 01:03:53.980 --> 01:03:57.809 you've got to really cherish.

And so diversity, equity, and inclusion, 1336 01:03:58.110 --> 01:04:03.059 you know, for us, is something that we didn't prioritize, um, 1337 01:04:03.360 --> 01:04:04.340 for a long time. 1338 01:04:04.800 --> 01:04:06.099 And, and Bert. 1339 01:04:05.840 --> 01:04:08.320 Really was like, this needs to be a huge priority. 1340 01:04:08.340 --> 01:04:11.210 And this was, this was actually a couple of years ago. 1341 01:04:11.230 --> 01:04:15.030 This was not a 2020 reactionary measure for Bert. This 1342 01:04:15.090 --> 01:04:18.130 was a, I care about this and I want this. And, 1343 01:04:18.250 --> 01:04:19.829 and we're going to, we're going to, we're going to 1344 01:04:19.909 --> 01:04:22.679 all care about this. And so I think that's the 1345 01:04:22.719 --> 01:04:25.619 number one thing that I would share is that we're 1346 01:04:25.639 --> 01:04:30.340 not doing it because of, um, you know, pressures from 1347 01:04:30.360 --> 01:04:34.889 the outside or, you know, shifts in our world. We're 1348 01:04:34.929 --> 01:04:37.750 doing it because it's the right thing to do for people. 1349 01:04:38.650 --> 01:04:40.710 Our purpose is to be the light to the world 1350 01:04:40.769 --> 01:04:43.730 around us. And this is just one of many ways 1351 01:04:43.769 --> 01:04:46.449 we get to do that. And so I'm proud to 1352 01:04:46.489 --> 01:04:48.530 be able to be a part of leading that forward 1353 01:04:48.570 --> 01:04:51.539 in our organization. We have plenty of work to do 1354 01:04:51.699 --> 01:04:54.159 to be at the place where we want to be. 1355 01:04:55.059 --> 01:04:58.039 But we are making significant progress every single month. And 1356 01:04:58.480 --> 01:05:00.280 the past couple of years. And I'm really proud of 1357 01:05:00.300 --> 01:05:00.880 the work we're doing. 1358 01:05:02.139 --> 01:05:02.340 Yeah. 1359 01:05:02.360 --> 01:05:04.929 And I think, you know, just your point on millennials, 1360 01:05:05.309 --> 01:05:09.389 I guess, I mean, I think I'm technically, I was 1361 01:05:09.409 --> 01:05:10.190 born in 82. 1362 01:05:10.190 --> 01:05:11.769 So I think I'm a millennial. I think I just 1363 01:05:11.809 --> 01:05:13.260 made the cutoff. I'll let you qualify. 1364 01:05:13.320 --> 01:05:13.929 I missed it. 1365 01:05:13.969 --> 01:05:14.340 Yeah. 1366 01:05:14.400 --> 01:05:16.900 Anyone in the eighties, which we're all, I think in there, right. 1367 01:05:16.940 --> 01:05:19.159 Where anyone born in the eighties is it qualifies. 1368 01:05:19.940 --> 01:05:23.139 So, but so why, why I think why millennials like 1369 01:05:23.179 --> 01:05:26.750 it is because we just fundamentally believe that you can hear. 1370 01:05:27.389 --> 01:05:29.619 I remember going through the interview process and being so 1371 01:05:31.199 --> 01:05:34.599 annoyed that I didn't have experience. And so I couldn't 1372 01:05:34.619 --> 01:05:37.079 get hired somewhere. And it's like, well, yeah, somebody's got 1373 01:05:37.099 -->

01:05:38.400 to hire me so I can get the experience so 1374 01:05:38.420 --> 01:05:39.119 I can get the job. 1375 01:05:39.139 --> 01:05:41.360 I don't have experience. I'm sorry. But I have this 1376 01:05:41.380 --> 01:05:43.489 thing called grit. I've got work ethic and I care. 1377 01:05:43.510 --> 01:05:47.030 And, you know, this was the only place I found 1378 01:05:47.070 --> 01:05:50.230 that seemed to really value those things. And so, yeah, 1379 01:05:50.269 --> 01:05:53.750 what we've seen is that, you know, millennials, I think 1380 01:05:53.769 --> 01:05:56.579 they get a bad rap. they just want the same 1381 01:05:56.619 --> 01:05:58.500 thing that I want, that they want an opportunity. And 1382 01:05:58.559 --> 01:06:00.880 so we say, yeah, look, if you have experience, we'll 1383 01:06:00.920 --> 01:06:03.550 take it. I mean, if you've got experience, that is nice. 1384 01:06:04.429 --> 01:06:07.010 But you don't absolutely have to have it. And so 1385 01:06:07.489 --> 01:06:11.030 what we care about is, are you passionate? Do you 1386 01:06:11.050 --> 01:06:13.449 have a great work ethic? Can you be coached? 1387 01:06:13.590 --> 01:06:14.889 Can you learn? Do you have grit? 1388 01:06:15.269 --> 01:06:17.809 And I got to tell you, I think a lot 1389 01:06:18.309 --> 01:06:20.269 of the different minority communities out there, they've got a 1390 01:06:20.289 --> 01:06:22.329 lot of grit. And they've got a lot of passion 1391 01:06:22.369 --> 01:06:24.250 and they've got a lot of enthusiasm and they need 1392 01:06:24.309 --> 01:06:27.389 somebody to just give them an opportunity. And so what 1393 01:06:27.449 --> 01:06:30.199 we say to the veteran or to the first generation 1394 01:06:30.239 --> 01:06:33.260 immigrant or to the person from an underserved community is, yeah, 1395 01:06:33.699 --> 01:06:36.119 bring that grit to Insight Global and let us show 1396 01:06:36.139 --> 01:06:37.360 you how to absolutely kill it here. 1397 01:06:38.360 --> 01:06:41.300 I love it. And I'm pumped to bring everything I 1398 01:06:41.320 --> 01:06:44.420 have to it as well. And that's all of everything 1399 01:06:44.440 --> 01:06:46.719 that you guys talked about. And I think now for 1400 01:06:46.739 --> 01:06:50.869 people who weren't aware of of you guys and Insight Global, 1401 01:06:50.989 --> 01:06:53.349 you get an understanding of why I wanted to do this. 1402 01:06:53.550 --> 01:06:56.329 Because of all of what you stand for, your shared values, 1403 01:06:56.369 --> 01:06:59.829 the way that it's not, they're not just words, that 1404 01:06:59.849 --> 01:07:03.250 they're actions and beliefs and behaviors, which is, that's really 1405 01:07:03.269 --> 01:07:06.849 what values are all about to me. The words are important, 1406 01:07:06.869 --> 01:07:09.989 but the actions are far more important. And that's what 1407 01:07:10.050 --> 01:07:12.230 you guys and the entire company embodies. I got to 1408 01:07:12.269 --> 01:07:14.349 come down to Atlanta and hang out at one of 1409 01:07:14.389 --> 01:07:17.210 Sam's happy hours after we hung out for a day. 1410 01:07:17.800 --> 01:07:20.159 And it's like every person, it's like one after another. 1411 01:07:20.179 --> 01:07:22.030 I'm like, these are the type of people I'd want 1412 01:07:22.050 --> 01:07:23.210 to hang out with. These are the type of people 1413 01:07:23.230 --> 01:07:26.289 I'd want to work really hard with. And so just 1414 01:07:26.309 --> 01:07:29.130 to both you guys, I'm really grateful for this opportunity 1415 01:07:29.789 --> 01:07:34.150 and excited about all the cool things that we can do. 1416 01:07:34.409 --> 01:07:36.960 And it's just the beginning. So it's really neat. And 1417 01:07:37.000 --> 01:07:38.639 I just want to say thank you so much. 1418 01:07:38.739 --> 01:07:40.159 We're fired up, Ryan. Thank you. 1419 01:07:40.179 --> 01:07:41.059 Absolutely. 1420 01:07:41.679 --> 01:07:41.940 All right. 1421 01:07:42.179 --> 01:07:43.639 Thanks, guys. Thank you. 1422 01:07:43.960 --> 01:07:44.199 All right. 1423 01:07:44.239 --> 01:07:44.659 Thanks, Ryan. 1424 01:07:47.840 --> 01:07:52.469 So that was pretty fun. I get this great sense 1425 01:07:52.530 --> 01:07:56.690 of gratitude after having a conversation like that with Bert 1426 01:07:56.750 --> 01:07:59.969 and Sam. They're such good guys who care so much 1427 01:08:00.070 --> 01:08:05.070 about people, and I am pumped to work with them 1428 01:08:05.159 --> 01:08:08.639 and to partner with them moving forward. But I also 1429 01:08:08.679 --> 01:08:14.539 get this great sense of gratitude for you, for listening 1430 01:08:14.559 --> 01:08:17.760 to And not only doing that, but then spreading the 1431 01:08:17.800 --> 01:08:21.569 message and telling friends and writing reviews and doing all 1432 01:08:21.609 --> 01:08:24.630 the things that help a show like mine grow from 1433 01:08:24.770 --> 01:08:28.390 zero listeners six and a half years ago to now 1434 01:08:28.470 --> 01:08:31.289 millions of people being impacted all over the world. And 1435 01:08:31.369 --> 01:08:34.970 that is just wild to think about. And I'm grateful 1436 01:08:35.029 --> 01:08:40.680 for you for doing that. And because this opportunity does 1437 01:08:40.739 --> 01:08:47.060 not happen without you. Listening and sharing. And I hope 1438 01:08:47.100 --> 01:08:50.520 you continue to do that. This partnership with Sam and 1439 01:08:50.560 --> 01:08:55.909 Bert will only strengthen this show. Nothing will change other 1440 01:08:55.930 --> 01:08:58.670 than the fact that I will just continually try to 1441 01:08:58.710 --> 01:09:01.789 get better and better. at it so that it adds 1442 01:09:01.890 --> 01:09:05.399 more value to your life. And so that it's so 1443 01:09:05.439 --> 01:09:08.000 good that you'll want to share it with other people 1444 01:09:08.020 --> 01:09:12.119 because that's how these things grow. And when I think 1445 01:09:12.180 -->

01:09:17.100 through some of the topics of conversation, I could literally 1446 01:09:17.119 --> 01:09:19.159 go through all of my notes, but I'll pull out 1447 01:09:19.199 --> 01:09:23.930 a few that really I think were pretty cool. I 1448 01:09:24.550 --> 01:09:29.229 just think Sam and Bert are driven by their shared values. 1449 01:09:30.390 --> 01:09:34.739 And the powerful story of Kirby, it's a leader that 1450 01:09:34.800 --> 01:09:36.460 Sam and I have talked about over the years where 1451 01:09:36.479 --> 01:09:39.460 he showed up at that first off-site to do his 1452 01:09:39.560 --> 01:09:43.319 best to impart his wisdom before he unfortunately passed away. 1453 01:09:43.340 --> 01:09:47.680 And I've witnessed... Sam and Bert lived these values through 1454 01:09:47.739 --> 01:09:50.579 one of the most challenging years in the company's history. 1455 01:09:52.300 --> 01:09:55.590 Going through the pandemic and sending everybody home. They're a 1456 01:09:55.649 --> 01:09:59.449 company that's big on having people together. Just built a 1457 01:09:59.529 --> 01:10:03.329 beautiful new office in Atlanta and then immediately had to 1458 01:10:03.390 --> 01:10:09.289 send everybody home. And they live their values. As Bert mentioned, 1459 01:10:09.310 --> 01:10:11.409 they didn't lay a single person off, even though they 1460 01:10:11.449 --> 01:10:14.960 faced great challenges and still happened to grow. And then 1461 01:10:15.180 --> 01:10:20.279 Sam's three must-haves in a leader, care, character, and serve. 1462 01:10:20.319 --> 01:10:23.039 And they don't see leadership as power, but as a 1463 01:10:23.159 --> 01:10:28.229 burden and a responsibility. So good. And then this to me, again, 1464 01:10:28.270 --> 01:10:32.810 is a great reminder that you can love your colleagues, 1465 01:10:33.630 --> 01:10:36.890 love the place you work, you can do life together, 1466 01:10:37.489 --> 01:10:40.869 you can have fun, you can love one another, and 1467 01:10:40.930 --> 01:10:45.649 still grow a great family. profitable business at the same time. 1468 01:10:45.689 --> 01:10:49.140 In fact, all of those reasons are why they've been 1469 01:10:49.180 --> 01:10:52.560 able to grow an awesome business and turn a profit 1470 01:10:52.600 --> 01:10:57.359 and keep their shareholders so happy. And to me, that's inspiring. 1471 01:10:57.460 --> 01:11:00.079 It is awesome to see a company like this do 1472 01:11:00.159 --> 01:11:04.659 what they've done with these fantastic leaders and great teammates 1473 01:11:05.119 --> 01:11:08.819 that they work with. And they're truly living proof that 1474 01:11:08.859 --> 01:11:12.039 this is possible. So I hope it inspires you as 1475 01:11:12.119 --> 01:11:14.939 much as it inspires me. Again, I'm so grateful for 1476 01:11:14.979 --> 01:11:17.399 you for continuing to spread the message and telling a 1477 01:11:17.439 --> 01:11:20.430 friend or two and writing reviews on Apple podcasts and 1478 01:11:20.510 --> 01:11:23.949 rating the show. All of that helps so much. And 1479 01:11:23.989 --> 01:11:26.930 because you do that, I'm continually getting to do what 1480 01:11:26.970 --> 01:11:29.949 I love on a daily basis. And for that, I 1481 01:11:29.989 --> 01:11:35.369 will forever be grateful. Thank you so, so much. Talk 1482 01:11:35.390 --> 01:11:36.090 to you soon. Can't wait.