Dr. Thom Mayer

First of all, you fly in and you think, my God, these are the gates of hell. I mean, you see the Pentagon of all things burning. You know, couldn't even see that there was any remnants of a plane and the southwest wall was completely on fire. But the gates of hell take you to some pretty interesting places. And so what I learned was that, first of all, it was a civilian operation.

First of all, you fly in and you think, my God, these are the gates of hell. I mean, you see the Pentagon of all things burning. You know, couldn't even see that there was any remnants of a plane and the southwest wall was completely on fire. But the gates of hell take you to some pretty interesting places. And so what I learned was that, first of all, it was a civilian operation.

I was the medical director of the local EMS agency and the chairman of the emergency department. But I had 32 generals standing behind me, facing the Pentagon, willing to help in any way. Good men, good women who were there to help me any way they could. But I realized I'm not going to get anywhere by sucking up to these generals.

I was the medical director of the local EMS agency and the chairman of the emergency department. But I had 32 generals standing behind me, facing the Pentagon, willing to help in any way. Good men, good women who were there to help me any way they could. But I realized I'm not going to get anywhere by sucking up to these generals.

I have to suck down to the people actually doing the work, to the structural engineers, to the Army Corps of Engineers, to the paramedics, to the firefighters, to the suppressant folks, to the FBI evidence recovery team, in order to secure that building so we could safely, they could safely get into the building.

I have to suck down to the people actually doing the work, to the structural engineers, to the Army Corps of Engineers, to the paramedics, to the firefighters, to the suppressant folks, to the FBI evidence recovery team, in order to secure that building so we could safely, they could safely get into the building.

To help rescue those who were in there or recover those who had not made it through the horrific crash. And I think that's true in all of our lives. We kind of suck up guests. I always say the boss is someone who thinks that he's the most important person in the room, whereas the leader.

To help rescue those who were in there or recover those who had not made it through the horrific crash. And I think that's true in all of our lives. We kind of suck up guests. I always say the boss is someone who thinks that he's the most important person in the room, whereas the leader.

knows that her job is to make sure that everyone else feels that they're the most important person in the room. No need to suck up. We need to suck down and discover the answers within us.

knows that her job is to make sure that everyone else feels that they're the most important person in the room. No need to suck up. We need to suck down and discover the answers within us.

Yeah, shortly after I first started my job, I had a very difficult issue with the NFL. And I laid the issue out. And I knew that I can't just say, hey, boss, solve this problem for me. I had to come in with solutions. So I had three solutions. And I laid out the solutions and said, here they are. One, two, three. I said, what do you want me to do? And he said, he thought for a second.

Yeah, shortly after I first started my job, I had a very difficult issue with the NFL. And I laid the issue out. And I knew that I can't just say, hey, boss, solve this problem for me. I had to come in with solutions. So I had three solutions. And I laid out the solutions and said, here they are. One, two, three. I said, what do you want me to do? And he said, he thought for a second.

And he looked at me and he said, just go be Tom Mayer. That's why you are Tom Mayer. That's why I hired Tom Mayer. I realized what he was saying is, I trust you, trust yourself to be able to make the right decision and I'll support you all the way. You know, the leader we're looking for, the leader you're looking for is you. You are the one.

And he looked at me and he said, just go be Tom Mayer. That's why you are Tom Mayer. That's why I hired Tom Mayer. I realized what he was saying is, I trust you, trust yourself to be able to make the right decision and I'll support you all the way. You know, the leader we're looking for, the leader you're looking for is you. You are the one.

Well, that's true. Definitely. You know, I always talk about innovation at the speed of not genius, intelligence, creativity, but of trust. Because if people don't trust you, they're not going to step outside the lines and try something that might fail. We have to make failure our fuel. We have to understand that if you're not failing, you're not innovating.

Well, that's true. Definitely. You know, I always talk about innovation at the speed of not genius, intelligence, creativity, but of trust. Because if people don't trust you, they're not going to step outside the lines and try something that might fail. We have to make failure our fuel. We have to understand that if you're not failing, you're not innovating.

You know, you're only adopting best practices, adopting what has already been identified maybe as the next phase, but it's something that's clearly there. You know, we want people to be able to think we're really completely outside the box. Most of the time when the boss says, think outside the box, they don't mean that. They mean think inside my box. Mm-hmm.

You know, you're only adopting best practices, adopting what has already been identified maybe as the next phase, but it's something that's clearly there. You know, we want people to be able to think we're really completely outside the box. Most of the time when the boss says, think outside the box, they don't mean that. They mean think inside my box. Mm-hmm.

The way I'm thinking, guess what I'm thinking. So, that's like sucking up. So, the answers are not in, you know, they're not in the C-suite, they're in the we-suite. The people who do the work, the team of people who do the work in the trenches on a daily basis. And that's where innovation should come from.

The way I'm thinking, guess what I'm thinking. So, that's like sucking up. So, the answers are not in, you know, they're not in the C-suite, they're in the we-suite. The people who do the work, the team of people who do the work in the trenches on a daily basis. And that's where innovation should come from.