Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Hello, everyone. My name is Todd Wall, and welcome to Communication Makeover, where we believe that intentional communication will lead to the breakthrough that you're looking for, both in your business and in your life.
So today's makeover that we need to talk about is a situation that happens to every single one of us because we are always in a process of reinvention. And that's not a bad thing. It's actually a normal thing. And so today I'm looking forward to sharing this interview with Deirdre of this process of reinvention. And I'll let her introduce this exciting guest.
[00:01:01] Speaker C: Hello. Hi, Ray. Welcome to the show.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Hi, Deirdre. Thanks for inviting me.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: Well, it's a pleasure to have you. And just so everybody knows, Ray is a vice president, or was a vice president for quite a long time of technical operations. And Ray, has that been most of your career?
[00:01:22] Speaker A: Yes, for 35 years, until September of 2023.
[00:01:28] Speaker C: Okay, so that, that's a good stretch. And as Todd was saying in the introduction, a new pair of clothes. How did that make you feel when he was talking about change and reinvention? Do you feel it's time for reinvention?
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Yes, I can definitely agree with Todd with the portly self. I needed new, definitely need a new set of clothes.
[00:01:50] Speaker C: Okay, well, it's really good that when we know that reinvention is a part of the path. So let's go on a little exploration together. How do you feel about that going on this journey?
[00:02:04] Speaker A: Awesome. Can't wait.
[00:02:05] Speaker C: Okay, so if anything strikes you as we're talking, if, if you find that something excites you, let me know and we can dive into it a little bit more. So maybe just share when you were working, what you were doing before. So everybody knows a little bit about you.
[00:02:26] Speaker A: Sure. So I was working in the retirement industry for 35 years from mutual of America Financial Group. And I always saw three areas, the retirements, benefit, estimate and plan D conversion departments. We dealt with participants, clients, regional offices, all the internal departments, actuarial finance, in addition to government agencies like the pbgc, irs. And we dealt with millions of dollars each and every day. So I did that for 35 years. And then the company had a new record keeping system and we worked on that. We, we bridged that over to the new record keeping system. And then In September of 2023, I decided to retire from Mutual America. But knowing that a new, a new journey would be, or a new door would be opening, just taking a little bit longer than I, I thought it Would.
[00:03:33] Speaker C: Okay. And sometimes journeys take a while because things unfold and you're learning and you're exploring. Now, you had said something about LinkedIn and how as you're embarking on this new journey, kind of looking at your profile and saying that was the ray from before and it's a good part of your career in history. And, and I wonder how you're feeling about the ray moving forward. Do you think about what excites you or what, what that moving forward looks like?
[00:04:14] Speaker A: Yeah. So currently my LinkedIn profile is what I, what I did previously, and I don't want to continue in that industry. I would like to change myself, reinvent myself.
I was thinking actually in the higher education area, maybe some of the local colleges and universities in the local New Jersey area would use my, use my expertise in the business world.
[00:04:43] Speaker C: Excellent. And how do you feel about LinkedIn? Just let's kind of.
[00:04:48] Speaker A: Oh, I think it's great.
[00:04:49] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's great on a lot of different levels either. Well, mostly, as we all know, a business level, but also a personal level. People do share personal items. And I have a, you know, I think a pretty good, good group of connections over the years. I think it's 500 plus, so I think that's a good number.
[00:05:13] Speaker C: And, and how often do you participate?
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Well, I go on daily whether or not I post. That's, that's. I don't, I don't post daily, but that would probably be something that I'm hoping to start doing.
[00:05:28] Speaker C: Okay. And are you looking at other people and what they're doing? Is there anything that makes you curious about the folks around you? And sometimes LinkedIn even recommends people for you to connect with. Have you ever taken a look to say, oh, this person looks interesting or this content is interesting?
[00:05:49] Speaker A: Oh, yes. Yeah, sure. Either friends or people in my prior industry and, you know, everybody's posting their various accomplishments and it's nice to see people, especially people that used to report to me and see how their career projection is in life and being part of that.
[00:06:08] Speaker C: Right. Do you feel like LinkedIn is more of the one big networking event, cocktail party, or are you going steps beyond? So what kind of activities, when it comes to connection.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: I think I could definitely start to utilize it a little bit more. So I think that's something that I need to focus and learn. I do know it's, you know, a very big tool to use, and I don't, I think I'm using just the tip of it, to be honest. The tip of the iceberg so even.
[00:06:41] Speaker C: If you're using the tip of the iceberg, maybe you could define tip of the iceberg because that's interesting that you said that.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: I think it's just in the general sense, just to see what people are doing. It's just I am seeing people post their activity, their daily activity, what they're doing at their company or how their professional career is. I don't think I utilize it enough for myself. I don't think I've ever really utilize the tool to, you know, show people what I, what I did and what I could do.
[00:07:22] Speaker C: What you did and what you could do. Is there anything that stops you. Any kind of resistance around that or maybe you haven't had the time? Would you consider that?
[00:07:34] Speaker A: No. No, I, I don't think so. I think if actually I probably took a class or sat down with somebody that was very.
Knew the ins and outs, I would be more than willing to learn. I, I'm, as you know, I'm. I like information, I like to learn, and I'm up for anything.
[00:07:54] Speaker C: So Open, curious. If you had the opportunity to go and share and create impact, what do you think that would look like?
[00:08:10] Speaker A: I think I would like to show people. I. I did a very nice job of mentoring people. So what I'm hoping to do in my next chapter is to show people the various avenues that I've gone down previously and in the future where I would like to. To show people where we could go. I'm a member, active member of the Knights of Columbus, so that may be something that I can start utilizing LinkedIn to post the various functions that we do, like the toy drive for the police department in town. And I'm also a lead volunteer for the food pantry at St. Peter the Apostle in River Action, New Jersey. And that might be something as well, where I can start showing people what we do and what I do.
[00:09:06] Speaker C: Yes. And you're involved. Sounds like you're involved in the community and you enjoy giving back.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: Yes, I always believe in paying it forward.
[00:09:16] Speaker C: Right. So when you're thinking about involvement in the community or going online and being a part of a community, would you say that you're the same person who offline online?
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Absolutely. Change.
[00:09:34] Speaker C: Right. Okay. Well, that's good.
[00:09:36] Speaker A: And that's. Yeah. And that's one of the reasons why the, the people that used to report to me, my staff was very loyal and they stayed with me my, My tenure and because I always was honest with them and took care of them and what you see is what you get.
[00:09:53] Speaker C: And that's great because you don't want to change who you are in one place.
Your brand shows up wherever you go.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: Agreed.
[00:10:04] Speaker C: That's good. You want that consistency with your brand. So it sounds like that LinkedIn could be a part of this transformation. And would you say it could be a place to explore?
[00:10:18] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:10:20] Speaker C: Okay. Does it pique your curiosity when you see certain people and information that they're sharing? Does it give you ideas?
[00:10:30] Speaker A: Oh, yes. I mean, I'm just going to say just yourself alone.
The various items that you post, I find very intriguing. Intriguing. And I, you know, you'll, you'll do various things and I'll, I'll sign up or I'll review. And again, I, I, I think it's a great way of, great tool and a great resource for people to use.
[00:10:55] Speaker C: And thank you. Thank you for signing up and thank you for sharing. And you are, you're already an active part of the community, so here you are. It's a parallel universe in a way. And I think on this note, I'm just going to ask you to hold your thoughts, Ray, and we're going to go to a quick break and we're going to dive back in in a little bit.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: I love what's taking place right now. What, what Deirdre is doing. You know, when we're in a process of reinvention and discovery, it feels like our eyes are blocked and we're in a completely dark room. What you see Deirdre doing here is she's beginning to open up one window after another to where, to where the entire environment is, is, is more visible. When we see what's around us, our steps moving forward are much clearer. So she's checking. You see her checking in. Are you this type of person? Okay. Are you this type of person? Okay. Do you want to be this type of person? Okay. It's like she's opening up the windows and bringing more light and more awareness into the room. So stick with us. After this break. We're going to move into discovery and we're going to begin exploring even more what is possible. Stick with us. We'll be right back.
Welcome back, everyone. My name is Todd Wahl. Welcome to Communication Makeover, where, where we believe that intentional communication will lead to the breakthrough that you're looking for both in your business and in your life. Today we're talking about this process of reinvention, of I've come into a new season. Do these clothes fit? Does this personality fit? What direction do I want to go in this next stage? Who do I want to show up as, as and how do I want to show up? It often feels just like you're in a dark, dark room and you just feel lost. You feel just almost kind of anxious about what the future might hold, as you would expect someone to feel in a dark room. Am I going to. Am I going to hit my knee on something? Am I going to trip over something?
What's right in front of me? I can't feel like I can see, see it. And so that you saw Deirdre walk through the process of awareness to open up the windows to be able to see the environment clearer. Now we step into discovery of what might be possible. Let's check it out. Here we go.
[00:13:52] Speaker C: Okay, Ray, thank you for sticking around. And as Todd said, we've opened some windows and we've made a parallel. You're a giving person, you give back to the community. You're on LinkedIn and maybe there's an opportunity. What are, what are some areas that you might want to explore? So let's put ourselves ahead. Maybe it's five years down the road and you've been on LinkedIn and you're meeting people left and right. Do you think those people would be perhaps technical operations people? Would they be people in education? Would they be people in a completely different area? If you could do anything, I'm going.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: To say right where I would like to go in the future, Ray, would be definitely in the higher education.
My degree is in computer science, so I do have that technical aspect. But I think I could bring a lot from my 35 years in corporate America to higher education, internally and even externally, dealing with various families that you may meet and the students I like.
I will say with my son and my daughter going through the college process, I thought I did a very good job of breaking things down and asking questions and meeting the various people at the universities that they both attend.
[00:15:26] Speaker C: Excellent. So would future Ray, who's interested in higher education be connecting with professors, with students who. And what you do with your kids who are students? Or actually, I think one is. One is graduated and one is in college. What you do with them could always be repeated. Any. Anything that you do in real life can come into your other community. So what do you think you would be doing with people in higher education? How would you share?
[00:16:07] Speaker A: I think what it takes to sustain in this business environment 35 years. You know, it's a lot of times it's, it's the human element. It's how you associate and deal with the various People along the way, either above. Above you or. Or the staff that's reporting to you.
You have to be human about it. And, you know, they're not. They're not computers, they're not robots, and. And putting people in the right position to succeed.
I always was very good with that. And when people would maybe think about going to a different department, I was always. I would always say to them, absolutely, but before you switch over, let's sit down, let's talk. Let's see if that's a good career path for you. Actually, I just had somebody that used to work for me is looking to do that, and we were talking about it yesterday on the phone. So that aspect of helping people and mentoring, I think I do a very good job of that, and I think I could definitely bring that to higher education or really anywhere.
[00:17:23] Speaker C: That's right. If you're a mentor, you can take that anywhere. So here you are.
Would you say you've been mentoring your whole career? Is that something that you've always done?
[00:17:37] Speaker A: Not in the beginning, because in the beginning you're figuring out for yourself. I would say when I became manager, and I always say when I managed the department, I always wanted to treat people how I wanted to be treated. And when I had that opportunity to manage and then move up the ranks, that was something that I definitely. It just came easy to me, actually. I just had somebody I had lunch with just recently, and he's a director at MetLife, and he had a present, and he actually talked about me in his presentation. That blew me away. And he was like, ray, you were the best boss I ever had. And I have to be honest, that just really, it made my day, I'll put it that way.
[00:18:21] Speaker C: Oh, I bet. No such a. That's such a compliment to be recognized.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:18:26] Speaker C: Excellent. Okay, so definitely a mentor, a boss who cares, a future Ray who wants to give back.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:18:38] Speaker C: Let's just try to open it up and dig into the sharing aspect of being in a community.
So you pretty much, in real life, you're sharing a lot and you're helping the community. And you said that whether it's toy drives or working, being a part of Knights of Columbus, what does it look like in higher education?
Is it mentoring and maybe talking to people in private messages? Do you think you would share content? Who would you want your content or the sharing to reach?
[00:19:19] Speaker A: That's an excellent question. I would think definitely families and students, again, being in the business world, and then also my two children who went through the. The college process and Finding that university or college that was a match for them. My daughter selected one university when she was a senior in high school and it didn't work out and she ended up transferring to a new university in Pennsylvania. And I assisted her in that process and it was great.
[00:19:56] Speaker C: That's wonderful.
[00:19:58] Speaker A: Yeah. We went on a couple tours and we took in all the information and we both said the one that she's currently at, I said to her, I really like it here. And she said, me too. And I, when I came home, I said to my wife, Lisa, I said, I think that's the one.
[00:20:14] Speaker C: Sounds like an aha moment for both of you.
[00:20:17] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:20:19] Speaker C: That's right. Well, there's lots of ways to have fine bonding, community, and giving back what you did with your daughters, really, it is special. And whether it's a father daughter moment, it's a mentoring moment with somebody else.
There's lots to be said about community on LinkedIn. It's huge.
Do you ever go on LinkedIn and just look around and maybe look at people who are interesting and did you ever say, oh, I might want to meet or connect with that person or I like their content?
[00:21:02] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I think that's why my connections are over 500, because there are some people I've never met, but you know, they're interesting and you throw it out there and you see if it's a match and then you start seeing their content and it really opens up your eyes and you see what's out there.
[00:21:20] Speaker C: And do you ever try to once you connect? So think of the cocktail party. You go to a big cocktail party for your office and you walk around and you meet people and you shake hands and you have a little chit chat here and there. And then there's always people who stand out and you want to have that next connection. You either want to go to lunch or maybe you're emailing back and forth.
[00:21:48] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:21:48] Speaker C: Have you taken those steps on LinkedIn?
[00:21:55] Speaker A: Not really. And I think that's one of the things that, one of the avenues that I need to focus on and, you know, really push, push myself.
This next chapter, I have to be honest, isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. When I decided to retire, I said to Lisa, my wife, I said, oh, a couple months, we ended up doing our kitchen over and I figured, oh, you know, after that's all done, I'll jump right in, I'll get a job. And at this time, it's not as easy and I'm being a little bit more Selective. In my approach, I want this next phase, this next chapter to be exactly what I want.
[00:22:40] Speaker C: Exactly. Well, selective is good. And may. Maybe you could define what would selective look like on LinkedIn, because it's huge and there are a ton of people that you could connect with.
[00:22:54] Speaker A: Yeah, that's an excellent question, Deirdre.
I'm going to say I probably should start looking at people within the industry I want to be in. So I have a very good friend that's a dean at Fordham University, and I love the way he handles himself and the way he presents himself. And I probably should start really looking at his LinkedIn page a little bit more and seeing the content that he puts out there.
[00:23:20] Speaker C: Right. And sometimes with friends, you can look at your friends on LinkedIn and see who they're connected to, because just like when you're at the party in real life, you could say, hey, Joe, can you introduce me to Stephen over there? And. And that would happen. You can do the same.
[00:23:41] Speaker A: That's a great idea, because it's so funny. I tell that to my son, but I don't do it. I don't know why. But I'll say to him, you should look at. He went to Fordham University. So I say to him, you should look at what.
What. What are these people looking at? What's driving them? How you start making your connections through the university. And they do have a very big network, but I'm not doing that, and I don't know why.
[00:24:12] Speaker C: Well, I. I think we're getting somewhere, and I'm just going to ask you to hold on for a second. Are going to take another break, and then we're going to do some moves to get you farther down this pathway. So hang on. We'll be right back.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Hello, everyone. My name is Todd Wahl. Welcome to Communication Makeover, where we believe that intentional communication will lead to the breakthrough that you're looking for, both in your business and in your life. I'm loving this process of reinvention that we're walking through today because oftentimes it feels just like you're in a dark room. I think I know where I'm going. I know exactly where I'm going. But you've got that anxiety of, will I hit my shin on something? Will I slip on something?
And so ultimately, it causes you to freeze a little bit because the anxiety causes you to pause if you've been watching the segments before. One thing I really enjoyed as we walked through Awareness and Deirdre was opening up the windows, and then we walked into discovery. And she was saying it was almost a what if this, what if this, and what if that. Here's a moment that I picked up on. So. So you've got Ray, who's always been in operations, he's been in control. And he said, here's the direction I'm going. And he didn't say that necessarily that way, but he's like, he's got a picture in his mind, it's the direction it's going to be. But you see the question marks beginning to come up of what might actually be possible. He said, mentoring, and I can do that anywhere.
That was an exclamation point in my mind when I heard that. I'm interested to see with the direction that Deirdre and Ray go, you know, it could be finding that path into higher education. It could be, what does being a mentor look like across the board to go on the journey with people like he did with his daughter. You saw his face light up when he talked about that. I'm really curious to see which direction this conversation goes as he finds this new power of reinvention. Let's get right back to it. Here's Deirdre.
[00:26:55] Speaker C: Ray, thanks for sticking with us. And everybody, thanks for being here.
Let's go back in. Because you, you had said something in the last segment about how you have to do more of the connections on LinkedIn. You have to get better at it. And I want to remind you that I think you're pretty good at it because that's how we reconnected.
You reached out to me and I don't know the last time I had talked to you, and maybe you want to share a little bit about that.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Absolutely. So we were a connection in LinkedIn, but nothing more than that. We didn't really chat. We haven't seen each other since Leonia High School. Right. So you're talking about 40, I'm just going to say 40 years ago. And sorry. And somebody that worked for you as a summer intern was working at my former place, and I didn't know that you guys were connection. And I saw it on LinkedIn. So I went into the office and I said to Claire, I said, I didn't realize that you and Deirdre were a connection. I said, I'm going to tell Deirdre I'm retiring from Mutual of America. And I did. And then I was saying, like, let's do lunch. And you were like, yeah. And then we reconnected. And I have to be honest, I was a little nervous and I Did I told you this? I brought the yearbook and at least it had something to talk about. But we reconnected and it really became a natural process where we just started talking and about either personal or business, professional. And you were kind enough to say, hey, Ray, I got the segment. Would you like to be on? And I was like, absolutely. Thank you.
[00:28:41] Speaker C: Okay, so now you are somebody who mentors. You give back and you are a connector.
Do you see that?
[00:28:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:28:54] Speaker C: Yes. Because you've done it before. And even when you were talking about mentoring, sure, you can mentor your daughter, you could mentor people in higher education, but you can mentor anywhere. So that's an interesting path.
How are you feeling right now?
[00:29:16] Speaker A: Oh, great. Actually, I like Todd's intro to this segment because I do think I could mentor anywhere. I don't think it has to just be higher education or in the technical operations area either.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: Right. So when you think about I could mentor anywhere, what pops into mind? So are there areas, are there fields, are there types of professionals that you would want to mentor?
[00:29:46] Speaker A: I think that's, that's the part that I keep on hitting the stop sign, the roadblock.
I don't know the next path. I don't know where to take this and I don't know who's going to listen. I guess that's the other thing. And I was a little nervous, but I think I'm past that point. You know, it's, it's been more than a year and now I'm ready to jump in and see where it takes me.
[00:30:10] Speaker C: Right. So who's going to listen?
Let's stick with that. Because do you feel that that's just a LinkedIn type of feeling? Because when I hear you talk about mentoring your daughter and you light up, she's listening. And when you talk about the work that you do with charities and Knights of Columbus, you light up. And I bet there are connections and there's a give and take of listening and sharing.
What about on what happens on LinkedIn? Is that a, who's going to listen there?
[00:30:52] Speaker A: Well, I think that's what I need to start doing. We had, you know, what we previously discussed, I think with the, especially with the Knights of Columbus. I think if I show that content out there, maybe there will be other connections out there that will, that will connect. People will say, hey, Ray, you're not the only one. I'm out here too. And yes, I, I, I'm a Knights, you know, active Knights of Columbus member and we're a food pantry. Actually somebody you know, Victor Eleonardo he's in the similar boat and he's doing the food pantry too. So it's. It's funny. Yeah, there's. There's people like us out there. You just don't realize it until you start talking.
[00:31:34] Speaker C: Well, I bet you there's a lot. And they're all on LinkedIn.
So what, what could you possibly take from your real life and maybe the. Even the last event that you went to, what could you share on LinkedIn? What. What would excite you? Would it be a photo? Would it be a video?
[00:31:56] Speaker A: Oh, talk to me about photo. The photo. And I had actually shared that with you. We had.
We did a toy drive with the River Edge and Paramus police departments, and we took a group shot with all of us in front of the police, the River Edge police department, and we posted in the local newspaper. And I did that for two reasons. I wanted people to know that the Knights of Columbus is giving back to the community. And more importantly, I wanted everybody to know about these two great police departments and what they're doing, the toy drives and giving it back to the local communities, to these, you know, these young people that are less fortunate than me. Than me. And I thought it was really a key, A key moment, and especially around during the holidays.
I think it was, it was, it was great. And I did get some texts from people that saw it in the local paper and we did get some positive feedback as well.
[00:32:59] Speaker C: That's great. Key moment. And that's fulfilling. It sounds like.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely right.
[00:33:05] Speaker C: So if you have these gratifying moments and you're fulfilled and you know that people appreciate and people also rally around stories and good things that happen in the community. That's a part of news, that's good news.
Sharing that will have people rally around the story in any community.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I never thought of that. And you had until you just mentioned it. I really never thought of that. So that's really something I have to zero in on.
[00:33:41] Speaker C: Well, it sounds like something is forming. And remember, we all have a personal brand and that's what we usually take when we show up. It's what we care about. So maybe just work with me here. If you could pick three words, just three words, what you care about that you could attach to your brand. So now you're. You have your LinkedIn profile and all you get in your profile is three words, and each one just has a period after it. What might those three words be?
[00:34:22] Speaker A: I'm going to say integrity, compassion and desire.
[00:34:29] Speaker C: Okay, and how might you show that or share that through stories and ways that people can connect with you in your LinkedIn community.
[00:34:44] Speaker A: Well, now you have me thinking, which is a good thing.
[00:34:47] Speaker C: So that's good.
[00:34:48] Speaker A: I think. I think if I reach out to some of the people that I am, the gentleman that I talked about, Ralph, who works at MetLife where he had present, and another gentleman, Greg, who's now looking for something.
I think if I reach out to them and say, hey, would you guys be willing to be part of this journey and maybe put some kind of content out there with them and then they can say, hey, you know, absolutely. And Ray, this is what, this is what, this is why. Ray meant something to me when I was starting my career. He looked out for me and this is why I am where I am today. And then their connections grow off of that.
[00:35:31] Speaker C: As we're spitballing here, I think this is really good spitballing. Ray, just hold your thoughts and we're going to be right back and take dive a little bit deeper and then wrap it up.
[00:35:44] Speaker B: I am loving this process. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. A couple things I want to point out really quickly. One, did you notice when Ray said, I just don't know who really wants to listen? Like you felt the weight of the anxiety of no one wants to hear what I have to say. But then on the flip side, as they started discovering more it, and he talked about the situation where he is in with sharing those environments and he goes, you saw him light up and he said the phrase, until you start talking.
I'm wondering if that's going to be a critical factor of action statement. Just the secret power of just starting talking, getting people in conversation. Then there's the three words that she laid out. There's a lot of power in that discovery. She laid out compassion, desire and integrity. And this is just the communication coach in me. I'm wondering if his mission going forward is a compassionate desire for integrity. I don't know. It could go in so many different directions. I'm just really curious and let's follow along. So stay. Stick with us. We'll be right back. And let's just see where this conversation goes because you can see the puzzle pieces beginning to take shape. We'll be right back.
Welcome back, everyone. My name is Todd Wahl. Welcome to Communication Makeover, where we believe that intentional communication will lead to the breakthrough you're looking for both in your business and in your life. This is that process of reinvention that we are aiming at and it can feel scary, it can feel anxious. I don't want to waste any time getting to this next stage because we're so close to that aha.
[00:37:54] Speaker A: Moment.
[00:37:54] Speaker B: Moment of having the clear steps going forward. So let me bring, without any hesitation, let me bring back on Deirdre.
[00:38:04] Speaker C: Okay, Ray, you are making really good process progress in this journey. How are you feeling? Just checking in.
[00:38:12] Speaker A: A lot better, thank you.
[00:38:14] Speaker C: Okay, that's good. Now, I had asked you the three words, you said integrity, compassion, desire. And then you realize that having these parts of your Persona, your brand, that that's ways to open up conversations. And you even said, now you can start talking. And you mentioned reaching out to people and possibly getting some content with that said, with everything that we've sort of touched on. And it's been a journey because it went from who you were before we talked about higher education. You know, you want to give back the mentoring piece, what, what you stand for.
Where else do you think, or what else do you think you could do with some of these people who are good connections and who are either in real life, who are on LinkedIn, people you've connected with before, or new people?
How do you think you would want to talk to them?
[00:39:22] Speaker A: You know, that's a great question. So as we're sitting here, I'm thinking, like, you know, you're coaching me and I'm thinking, well, why couldn't I coach them? Why couldn't I? Why couldn't I help them down the rest of their journey? Because they're all a lot younger than I, so they still have some room to grow. And then I can say to them, hey, you know, let's talk about it, or what are you thinking? Like, this is your short term goal, but what about long term goal? Where do you see yourself? Where do you want to be the one gentleman who's intervening for this position? Yesterday I said to him, this sounds like a spot because it's a small place that you could eventually be a junior partner or a partner one day. I'm thinking, like, you have three kids, they're going to go to college. Like that's a great opportunity, you know, But I think we all just kind of pigeonhole ourselves and it's what we know. So for like myself, I was comfortable at my former place for 35 years. And I had my group of people, they jokingly called us the posse at lunch, but like seven of us that each and every day we had lunch together and we actually all left together too, which was nice. So within a year apart Everybody retired within the same period of time. But, yeah, I think that would be a really good, good way of going down the next chapter.
[00:40:46] Speaker C: I think there's something brewing here. I can feel it and I can see it in your face. You mentioned the word coach and that when you said it, you lightened up.
[00:41:02] Speaker A: I have no idea how to start. Oh, it feels great, but I have no idea where to start, how to do that.
And again, like Todd was saying, who's. I say to myself, who wants to listen to me? I don't even want to listen to me. I'm kidding. But, yeah, it's. It's figuring this process out. And this is why I was very eager and excited to be on today's show.
[00:41:24] Speaker C: Well, thank you. And I do think, Ray, that sometimes we have to step back and give ourselves a little credit. There's positive things that happen every day. You affect people you have been talking to, whether they were employees at your company or people of the Knights of Columbus, whomever. I think people are listening. And sometimes we forget that that's a natural part of what we do and who you are. So now that you have defined some words around your personal brand, you've mentioned the mentor and. Or coach because. Because you do want to help people to find their way. And maybe that is through just what Todd said, the compassion and integrity so people can find their desire.
Suddenly something you're searching for becomes what you can share with somebody else.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, that would be. I have to be honest. That would be fantastic. I think that's why I knew it was time. I knew it was time at my former place, that it was time to move on to the next chapter, but it's just taking me a little bit longer. And today's episode really has shined a new light, and I just need some guidance.
[00:42:50] Speaker C: Well, now let's take that LinkedIn profile. And I think I remember I don't have it up, so I'm not looking at it, but it has a picture of you and there are some words underneath. And it probably says vice president.
Maybe it says technical operations.
Maybe it says your former company. Let's take that away. It's not there anymore.
Totally gone.
What words? And doesn't have to be perfect, but maybe what words would you like to see? See there? That sums up some of this curiosity, some of this.
Some of the ideas around mentoring or coaching.
[00:43:39] Speaker A: I'm going to say team building. That was one of the. When I.
When I was promoted to vice president, I took on a department that was failing. They were Just really not doing at the level that needed to be done. And when I first met everybody, I said it's all about team. And that's just how I'm driven. And I always, I would not, I would not do anything that I wouldn't expect anybody to do something that I wasn't willing to do. And I would get those kind of comments or compliments where I'd be out on the floor and maybe we had to move something and I would be out there. You know, other vice presidents, they were not doing that. They were kind of closing their doors and saying, yes, I'm a vice president, I'm not coming out on the floor. And that just wasn't me.
I came out to my staff each and every day and checked in with them. And it's not even just on the professional side, but also on the personal side because sometimes people have things going on in their lives and it's going to spill over to the work.
[00:44:45] Speaker C: Right. Team builder. That's one of the words that would be on your profile. And what about some of those other words that we talked about, some of the ways that got you excited that describe you? Would it be mentor?
[00:45:02] Speaker A: Would it be coach?
Yes, absolutely.
[00:45:07] Speaker C: Team builder, mentor, coach.
Anything else?
[00:45:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I think integrity, compassion, leadership. I'm not afraid to make a decision.
I think a lot of people, they have a tough time making decisions. That's, that's. I was never, maybe, maybe not everybody agree with my decision, but I had the basis behind it and that was where we were going to go.
[00:45:35] Speaker C: So decision maker, maybe problem solver.
[00:45:38] Speaker A: Absolutely. When we had the migration project, we, which was a big project that we had to move to the new record keeping system. I was one of the lead people and the giant Excel spreadsheet had, you know, all the people that were in charge of all this information and fortunately or unfortunately, my name was listed in a lot of spots.
[00:46:02] Speaker C: There you go. Get the challenging.
Absolutely.
[00:46:08] Speaker A: Working some nights in the weekends and that kind of thing, I bet.
[00:46:12] Speaker C: So the, the dedication is there, but I bet you another part of your profile would be passionate or compassionate. Community member.
[00:46:23] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:46:23] Speaker C: So what do you think, Ray? Do you see something that's developing? Do you see how it's your real life and it could be linked in too?
[00:46:33] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I'm looking forward to this next chapter and thank you for, you know, awakening me to this, this new possibility.
[00:46:44] Speaker C: Oh, you're welcome. It was such a pleasure to be on the journey with you. Thank you.
[00:46:49] Speaker A: Same here.
[00:46:51] Speaker C: And thanks everybody.
[00:46:53] Speaker B: That was powerful to see. I hope you saw that transformation that I witnessed. He said something very interesting even in this last segment. He said, you know, oftentimes we just seem to pigeonhole ourselves.
And yet what we saw at the very beginning, oh, it's definitely higher education. I need to go in a direction there. And that opened up to, by the way, behind the scenes, during commercial break, he apologized at the very beginning. He said, you know, I apologize. I'm just really stiff right now. I'm not my normal self. Did you see that? He was his normal self there at the end.
He was speaking at a different tone. The weight was off of his shoulders. There was direction in front of him.
I hope you saw what I saw. I saw an identity shift taking place from a man who had critical roles in a business to now a man who has critical experience to give back to other people.
A man who's been down the path and now a man who wants to share that path with other people. The people who can't see what's over that next hill. But guess what? He's been over that hill. And he can share that experience with them. And like that key word, he said compassionately, as they desire to get over that hill, he has the compassion to help them get over over that hill. But to do it in a way that has integrity, to build a team in a way that has compassion, desire, and integrity to get there. Because he's been there before. But now he sees this new path of coach, of mentor, of that person who can go on a journey with someone else. That was powerful to watch.
Join us next week. Stay intentional, stay courageous, and keep pursuing that direction. We are always in reinventing who we are. We'll see you next week.
