J.J. Levenske

Okay, so here's the caveat. And again, maybe this just comes from experience and age. It's one thing for us as CEO or whatever C-suite to want to finally get over that hump of you're not a control freak anymore and you're willing to hire someone smarter than you in the room.

Okay, so here's the caveat. And again, maybe this just comes from experience and age. It's one thing for us as CEO or whatever C-suite to want to finally get over that hump of you're not a control freak anymore and you're willing to hire someone smarter than you in the room.

Okay, this is where the secret sauce to me, though, is the greatest companies two to three years from now will be the ones that can take that attitude down to three levels.

Okay, this is where the secret sauce to me, though, is the greatest companies two to three years from now will be the ones that can take that attitude down to three levels.

So when your VP can have that same attitude as you, where they're looking at whatever, you know, I think of a project manager or whatever, in your case, maybe a sales manager, and where they can just get excited about, hey, look at Susie. She is so talented. Susie, get in here. I want to talk to you. Do you have any aspirations of taking my seat? Because I'm going to help you get there.

So when your VP can have that same attitude as you, where they're looking at whatever, you know, I think of a project manager or whatever, in your case, maybe a sales manager, and where they can just get excited about, hey, look at Susie. She is so talented. Susie, get in here. I want to talk to you. Do you have any aspirations of taking my seat? Because I'm going to help you get there.

Now, that person, they don't realize by doing that, you're making the company better and you're creating not an empath, but an environment and a culture where that just becomes almost intoxicating in a good way, right? Because you've proven it. All the stuff that you share on all your different media channels, when you get that right, the numbers take care of themselves.

Now, that person, they don't realize by doing that, you're making the company better and you're creating not an empath, but an environment and a culture where that just becomes almost intoxicating in a good way, right? Because you've proven it. All the stuff that you share on all your different media channels, when you get that right, the numbers take care of themselves.

And then everything else we've talked about, It's just attracted. It's attracted. It's attracted. But until you get that nucleus right. But again, it's really hit me over the last few months, Tommy, that you have to have that attitude just not in the C-suite.

And then everything else we've talked about, It's just attracted. It's attracted. It's attracted. But until you get that nucleus right. But again, it's really hit me over the last few months, Tommy, that you have to have that attitude just not in the C-suite.

It's got to come down at other levels where they cannot be afraid to promote within or without or from outside and have people come in that are smarter than them and explain to them. Use your own stories and testimonies to say, listen, I'm still working here. Because just like AI, okay? AI is not going to replace me. It's going to augment me. It's going to make me better.

It's got to come down at other levels where they cannot be afraid to promote within or without or from outside and have people come in that are smarter than them and explain to them. Use your own stories and testimonies to say, listen, I'm still working here. Because just like AI, okay? AI is not going to replace me. It's going to augment me. It's going to make me better.

But I then can clear a path for someone else and they can come in and do an even better job than me. Right.

But I then can clear a path for someone else and they can come in and do an even better job than me. Right.

How do you feel about cognitive versus behavioral type things?

How do you feel about cognitive versus behavioral type things?

Great question. We're probably where you were, you know, I don't know, two or three stages ago. So I'll answer it. Like I said, a couple of years ago, I got to CFO. Then in the last six months, I stepped down as CEO, got a CEO to come in that has been through all this for growth, acquisition, all that kind of stuff. And watching the demeanor of him back again to the EQ is very high. Okay.

Great question. We're probably where you were, you know, I don't know, two or three stages ago. So I'll answer it. Like I said, a couple of years ago, I got to CFO. Then in the last six months, I stepped down as CEO, got a CEO to come in that has been through all this for growth, acquisition, all that kind of stuff. And watching the demeanor of him back again to the EQ is very high. Okay.

And that was important to me because I couldn't replace me with just a, It was important that someone has done this before that was smarter than me in that capacity, right? But for me, the linchpin was that EQ part you talked about. So we're kind of building that out. We're looking... We've done a fractional CHRO right now.

And that was important to me because I couldn't replace me with just a, It was important that someone has done this before that was smarter than me in that capacity, right? But for me, the linchpin was that EQ part you talked about. So we're kind of building that out. We're looking... We've done a fractional CHRO right now.