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Living The Red Life

How an HR Executive Built a People-First Empire

06 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 3.696 Ray Gutierrez

Talk about how a lot of HR is babysitting?

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3.877 - 18.478 Tracy Jackson

For me, I kind of feel like it's the opposite of what HR stands for. It stands for human resources. Correct. But I consider it to be resources for humans. Well, if you're protecting the company, you're going to do what's best for the humans that work there because the company is the humans who work there.

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18.458 - 38.334 Tracy Jackson

Tracy Jackson is a visionary HR executive, entrepreneur, and the founder of My HR Confident and HREZ. Through her work, she helps organizations build stronger cultures, develop exceptional leaders, and create people-first workplaces where both businesses and employees can thrive. You have to love people more than you love rules. Not everybody's going to fall into every single rule.

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Chapter 2: How does Tracy Jackson redefine the role of HR?

38.474 - 49.292 Tracy Jackson

And defiance is one thing and a mistake is another. And I think that mistakes should be opportunities to learn. And I think we have to give people more opportunities to say, I made a mistake.

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49.357 - 64.378 Rudy Mawer

My name's Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life podcast, and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week. If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill, take the red pill, join me in Wonderland and change your life.

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64.358 - 82.602 Ray Gutierrez

episode of the living your legacy podcast the red life edition uh today joining me is a woman in power we just we're about to actually film our episode of moments from now her name is tracy jackson she is actually an uh the founder of hr confidant and hr easy Is that correct, ma'am?

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82.762 - 86.026 Tracy Jackson

That's correct. Except for it's called My HR Confidant.

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86.046 - 90.271 Ray Gutierrez

I love it. My HR Confidant. Thank you for correcting me. Welcome to the show.

90.431 - 91.092 Tracy Jackson

Thank you.

91.292 - 95.697 Ray Gutierrez

I'm so excited to have someone on HR. What an interesting topic.

96.738 - 106.429 Tracy Jackson

Yes, it is. I totally agree. It's something that I've kind of fell into and I've loved it. So I've had a pretty long career in HR, 28 years.

106.529 - 106.99 Ray Gutierrez

Wow.

Chapter 3: What leadership principles does Tracy emphasize for HR?

139.881 - 149.373 Tracy Jackson

Correct. But I consider it to be resources for humans. And so, I mean, I have an approach that is a little bit more personable than that.

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149.793 - 163.925 Tracy Jackson

You know, I really want to make sure people feel like they're treated like a human being and that we really support them with their uniqueness and things of the sort and provide them resources to, you know, remove the distractions from life so that they can do a good job.

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163.945 - 172.513 Tracy Jackson

And so I don't know if I think of myself that way, but I do know that there is a perception that that is something that people think of with HR. It's just not my style.

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172.493 - 184.68 Ray Gutierrez

I was just going to say that's beautifully phrased. A lot of folks think of HR and they're there to protect the company, not really the people that work for the company. Talk about some of the superstitions or some of the things that are incorrect when it comes to HR.

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184.863 - 190.334 Tracy Jackson

Well, if you're protecting the company, you're going to do what's best for the humans that work there because the company is the humans who work there.

190.514 - 194.162 Ray Gutierrez

That you would think that's how it is across all companies. Continue, please. Exactly.

194.182 - 203.901 Tracy Jackson

And, you know, when you think about the operational expenses that go into your organization and the biggest risk that you have in your organization, it's all related to the people and the people that work there.

203.881 - 215.241 Tracy Jackson

And so bringing in good people, making sure the culture is healthy and stays healthy, and that you're treating people with respect and dignity, whether they're coming or going, I think that's the way you treat people.

215.762 - 219.308 Ray Gutierrez

How does HR find you, or how do you find HR? How does one start a career?

Chapter 4: How can mistakes be viewed as learning opportunities in HR?

294.128 - 314.833 Tracy Jackson

This is a woman who went to the same church as I went to. And And so she said, I got your letter. And so she started asking me a few questions to see if I qualified for their internship at State Farm, which was one of the major employers in the town where I live. And I said, oh, OK. And so she went through all the qualifications and I met them. for their summer employment.

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315.274 - 333.356 Tracy Jackson

And she said, okay, well, she made all these arrangements for me down in San Diego, because most people had to do this in Northern California if they were really gonna actually work in that location, interview up there. But she did and arranged all these different things for me down in San Diego. And I just really felt like she changed my life.

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333.516 - 352.571 Tracy Jackson

And I really still feel like that to this day from something that maybe is just part of what she does every day that she did for me. And I just remember thinking how I felt and I wanted to be able to make other people feel like that. And so. I realized at that moment that I wanted to work in HR.

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352.992 - 367.386 Tracy Jackson

And so when I got there and did this internship, which was phenomenal internship, and she really actually helped me score like the premier internship of all the interns for the summer. I realized that's what I wanted to do is I wanted to make people feel like that.

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367.366 - 384.038 Ray Gutierrez

It's beautiful how you mentioned church. Are you a leader that leads with faith? Talk about your connection to faith, the divine, and how you're actually walking a path that was set in front of you. Because you go to the home base of the Source Church.

384.599 - 405.442 Tracy Jackson

I do. And, you know, growing up, the church was really part of the foundation of me growing up. And it's still a part of our everyday life. We're definitely a family of faith. And it's something that has led me. And, you know, I've taken leaps of faith at times, which may look strange to other people why I did something or why I didn't do something.

406.042 - 423.158 Tracy Jackson

And it's only because I was truly led and given the grace and the comfort and the peace when I was... able to make those decisions. And so, yeah, that has really been like, my faith has really grounded me and it helps me to give others grace in the way that I want to receive it.

423.323 - 429.851 Ray Gutierrez

Amazing. Yeah, I can definitely feel it when you walk into my room, into my room, my podcast studio, into Red Life. My angels were saying hi to your angels.

430.672 - 431.212 Tracy Jackson

I love it.

Chapter 5: What is the importance of faith and resilience in leadership?

490.743 - 497.873 Tracy Jackson

But I treat those uniquenesses in the same way that I want to be treated as a unique individual. Right on. Yeah.

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498.173 - 498.534 Ray Gutierrez

I don't know.

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498.554 - 499.536 Tracy Jackson

Did I answer your question?

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499.596 - 519.615 Ray Gutierrez

You definitely did. You answered a part of my question. Actually, it's going to push me to the next question. I don't get into a lot of trouble, but I get a lot of feedback from one of my mentors that happens to be the head of HR for More Capital, for Insight Success. Okay. A lot of great feedback from Jen. Hi, Jen. I like to lead with...

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520.405 - 537.431 Ray Gutierrez

I wouldn't say fire, but there is a hint to my voice that there is intensity, that there is action. It's actionable, always movement. A lot of folks don't operate that way, and they'll hear that little tone in my voice, and they're like, well, is Ray upset? Is something going on? How does one manage their intensity?

538.633 - 541.297 Tracy Jackson

You know, I think that's... Within a corporate world.

541.658 - 547.527 Ray Gutierrez

I'm not asking as you were a shrink. I'm asking as a professional, how do I stay professional?

548.047 - 566.961 Tracy Jackson

You know, I just think that you just got to actually just recognize and acknowledge that there are some things about you that are a little unique. Ask for grace, but also cause yourself to remember that these are things that I have to prepare myself for. I even know as an HR professional, I have some biases.

567.182 - 585.327 Tracy Jackson

And I think everybody has biases and being able to admit and understand your own biases will help you approach a situation much better. And so for you, you might have to come up with a strategy and go, you know, these are the times that I know that I'm really triggered and my passion maybe shows a little differently than I want it to show.

Chapter 6: How does Tracy Jackson build trust and accountability in organizations?

700.615 - 702.137 Ray Gutierrez

What is your superstitions?

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702.517 - 703.439 Tracy Jackson

I'm grouchy in the morning.

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703.599 - 705.381 Ray Gutierrez

You're grouchy? I am. I love it.

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705.621 - 716.507 Tracy Jackson

My husband is an angel. He knows when I wake up in the morning, I do this. That's about all you get from me. But we've gotten to the point where I have to at least say hey.

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717.849 - 718.71 Ray Gutierrez

Good morning.

719.471 - 740.543 Tracy Jackson

And then once I go and take my shower and everything, unfortunately, I can't drink coffee because I'm allergic to coffee. I know it's hard to believe. I'd hate to find out how you found out. Yes, it's horrible how he found out. Oh, gosh. Yeah, we've decided to try it one more time. Like, it's been 20 years. So, yeah, that was, he found out.

740.523 - 748.609 Ray Gutierrez

Okay, cool. Oh my God. That's definitely another podcast. The no caffeine podcast. So no caffeine, you're grumpy in the morning. So what gets you to go boop?

749.095 - 768.895 Tracy Jackson

you know, it's showtime. I think it's just like anybody else who knows it's time, it's game time. But to me, it's kind of like playing my favorite game. You know, people will play Candy Crush or, you know, Call of Duty or whatever. But for me, it's like, okay, I get to go do this. And so I'm a little bit of a variety junkie.

Chapter 7: What innovative solutions has Tracy created for small businesses?

769.035 - 787.841 Tracy Jackson

And so I feel like, oh, what is my day going to bring me today? And what do I have to do to, you know, to stay on my toes for this day? So It's kind of like, you know, when I played sports and stuff, it's like you're doing the same thing over and over again, but what's going to happen in this game today? So I guess that's how I approach it.

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788.322 - 801.56 Ray Gutierrez

I actually approach it the same way we approach our guests here at Inside Success. Every single day. We may have our SOPs in our studios and our podcasts and photo shoots, but every cast here is absolutely different. It's a different energy, different vibe, different tribe.

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802.541 - 811.673 Ray Gutierrez

For folks that are watching and listening and they're on the verge of becoming resourceful individuals for humans, how does one know that they're good for the job?

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812.414 - 832.587 Tracy Jackson

You know, I think the first thing you have to do is love people. You have to love people more than you love rules. Right on. And because not everybody's going to fall into every single rule. And I think that there is times where you have to really figure out, is this a mistake or did they or was this defiance? Because there's a difference between the two.

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833.348 - 853.539 Tracy Jackson

And defiance is one thing and a mistake is another. And I think that mistakes should be opportunities to learn. And I think we have to give people more opportunities to say, I made a mistake. Unfortunately, I think there are times where we encourage people to lie and which should be contradictory to your values and your organization.

853.619 - 876.252 Tracy Jackson

And so, you know, I remember there was a situation when we had an employee who was a very good employee for us. And the manager called and said, this employee did this again after we had this discussion. And so he said to me when I asked him, he said. The manager said to the employee, didn't we already talk about this before? And the employee said, yes.

876.854 - 895.792 Tracy Jackson

And so the manager called me and said, so that means I have to fire him because he remembers this. And I said, well, I want you to rethink that because are you saying if he lied to you that he'd keep his job? And he said, OK, I didn't think about it that way. And I said, we can't encourage lying. The man acknowledged it.

895.832 - 912.06 Tracy Jackson

So let's do something short of termination and tell him that we didn't terminate him because he told the truth. Had he lied, we would have. That's the approach we need to take. And we knew this. I already knew this. He'd go back and tell all his friends. I told him the truth. And that's the only reason I kept my job.

912.04 - 923.293 Tracy Jackson

Because I think that's going to encourage people to do, even when they've done something wrong, to do the right thing, even in those moments. To not do another bad thing to cover up the bad thing.

Chapter 8: How does Tracy view cultural differences in HR practices across regions?

923.353 - 939.651 Tracy Jackson

Because I think when that happens, more bad things happen. And so, yeah. And the employee, he had been with us for like eight years, was a great employee straight and narrow from that point on. And so that's kind of like how I like to approach things. That's great. People over the rules and stuff.

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939.631 - 956.268 Ray Gutierrez

It's like a level of respect because there was some thought put into it behind it. Like the decision was actually, there was some thought, people talked about it and the decision was made. Good for you for doing that. It wasn't impulsive. It wasn't just erratic. Right. How much of that does it take to have that? What's the word I'm looking for?

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956.328 - 973.907 Ray Gutierrez

Not confidence, but I guess just having that ability to go to control yourself, to not, to stay within the confines of not being impulsive. Does being a good HR person, mean that you have to be less impulsive, less emotional, and more by the book?

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974.275 - 993.4 Tracy Jackson

You know, that's interesting because a lot of that is dictated by your leader in your leadership. You know, and I've worked in organizations where I realized I can't work here long because it's very much a place that doesn't respect that people are people and humans and things happen to humans.

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993.421 - 1016.138 Tracy Jackson

And so we've got to just make sure that we allow for human things to happen, but not things that are like, you know, defiance. Again, the situation that I dealt with, that was a defiant situation, but we had had him for so long. If it was a newer employee, I would have just said, let's cut this person loose. But we had enough history and experience with this person to know the difference.

1016.158 - 1024.313 Tracy Jackson

So I think you have to be a discerning person in order to be in a role like HR, is to have an amount of discernment. Yeah.

1024.293 - 1033.466 Ray Gutierrez

Right on. Very cool. What is your day-to-day business today? I know we mentioned a couple of hustles at the top of the podcast. What are you doing today? And talk about your brands. Yeah.

1033.786 - 1052.292 Tracy Jackson

So when I left corporate America, one of the reasons that I left, well, first off, one of my favorite companies I've ever worked for, Sleep Train, we had sold the company, and I knew that I loved that company and the culture we were able to create. I ran that HR department for over a dozen years. And so...

1052.272 - 1075.054 Tracy Jackson

being the top-down leadership and making sure that we can have the kind of culture we wanted. So thinking about that is I wanted to continue to have a brand of HR like that. And I tried working in a couple of other companies, but, you know, I felt like an imposter. Like I am now... being told to do something that I don't necessarily always feel like is in line with who I am.

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