Steve Nail: From Corporate Executive to Leading the Next Generation | EP 41

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Well, thank you all for tuning
in to the Carolina Business

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Leaders Podcast where we share
the stories of local business

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leaders and impact makers who
are community focused and deeply

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rooted in the Carolinas.
Today's guest is Steve Nail,

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Dean of the College of Business
at Anderson University, the

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previous VP at both Michelin and
Hubble Lighting, and most

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recently a candidate for South
Carolina House of

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Representatives in District 21.
Steve, thank you so much for

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joining.
Heath, it is my pleasure.

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Thank you for having me on the
show.

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So you have a very extensive
experience working with Michelin

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Hubble, working up to that VP
level and then now as the the

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Dean of the College of Business.
I guess what kind of triggered

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that transition from corporate,
corporate world to academia?

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Well, it was.
And actually I was in government

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before I went.
It was in corporate.

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I worked for the government for
seven years and.

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What was that role?
I worked for the National aid

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relations board.
It was actually a Co-op job that

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I did while I was in college
initially.

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I'm a I'm a double major in
finance and economics.

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I wanted to be an investment
banker, but when I came out of

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college.
Where'd you go to school?

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I went to Western Carolina
undergrad and like I said, had a

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double major and a minor in real
estate.

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And then when I came out, the
economy was, I mean, it was

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horrendous.
I mean, in my lifetime, it's

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worse than 2008.
It's worse than anything.

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It was a terrible economy.
What year was this going to ask?

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That was a long time ago,
19801980.

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The economy was that bad.
Then it was absolutely terrible.

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Interest rates were, I know when
I bought my first house which

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was 1981 I believe.
I mean, the interest rates were

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somewhere between 14 and 17.
Percent. 14 to 17% you have

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stagflation.
I mean, really was.

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It was a terrible economy.
Like 6 right now is terrible.

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Gas prices were for for back
then, if you when I first

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started driving, I think gas
prices were about 30 some cents

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a gallon.
There's a.

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Yeah, times have changed so.
Much I remember going to pump

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and.
The fact that you bought a house

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a year after you're graduating,
Yeah, times have changed.

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Which is very much different.
And that that house actually was

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a brand new townhouse, probably
2000 square feet.

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And I think it cost, I think I
paid 66, nine for that house and

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it was a 2000 square foot home.
So it just shows you, you know,

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you can't buy, I mean, you
couldn't buy a car.

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I mean, you can't buy a car
hardly for that kind of price

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today.
So inflation has grown greatly

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over that period of time.
But it was a terrible economy.

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And so I did have the
opportunity to go to work for a

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bank called Wachovia, which is
now Wells Fargo.

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Oh, nice.
So I did have that and I turned

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it down, you know, for probably
the craziest reason ever, but.

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When?
When I was going to be in the

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operations, they were going to
hire me for operations

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management and everything was
going well.

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I went down and of course when I
went to went to Business School,

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just to show you how things have
changed, they told me I could

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wear any color of shirt that I
wanted as long as it was white.

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I got.
Some white on it.

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No, it's all white.
That's what they meant.

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And and they said I could wear
any and I could wear any length

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of sleeve I wanted as long as
you could see 1/4 inch coming

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out from the jacket, from the
suit jacket I had on.

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So it was a very, you know, it
was, it was a very kind of

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different time than the casual.
I wish we'd go back to that to

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be fair coming from me that I
can wear like sweatpants and a

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hoodie to work.
Well I know I'm just pretty

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casual today, but I do in my
current job still.

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Where?
Represent your your campaign so.

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Well, it's but, but it's
interesting because I went down,

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never forget this.
And I know it sounds really

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probably crazy.
And when I think about it, maybe

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it is crazy.
But I went down for the last

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interview.
And of course, if you've been

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trained in your Business School
to look, really look your best,

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be sharp and you remember this a
banking industry.

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And, and I remember that last
interview, the guy put his shoes

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up on the desk and they were all
scuffed up, cheap looking shoes.

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And I said this just isn't the
image that I prefer.

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And so I turned it down instead,
took the job that the government

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offered me up in Baltimore and
Washington with the National Aid

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Relations Board.
I knew what the salary was going

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to be the same as the bank
salary, and I knew how much each

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increase and how, when you would
progress through levels if there

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was, if your performance was
good.

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So I took that job, went away.
It's the first time I'd ever

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moved away.
I went to Baltimore, which at

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that point was the 8th largest
city in the country.

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It had the most serious crime
rate in the company which

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country, which is murders and
rapes and, and, and then it was

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the 3rd poorest city in the in
the in the country.

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And so when I go up there, what
I figure out is I'm really truly

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a minority in every way.
Yeah, I was a racial minority.

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I was a religious minority.
I was a Southerner, a true

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Southerner.
Yeah, at that point.

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Baltimore, they can tell when
you're not from there.

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I went up there probably a
couple years ago, was just

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sitting outside the Chick-fil-A
eating lunch, just eating my

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lunch.
And some guy walks by.

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He's like, you're not from here,
are you?

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Like, what do you mean?
He's like, 'cause it's like 1:00

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and you're just sit and eating
your lunch.

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Like no one does that here.
It was a.

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It was.
It was a really, it was a great

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experience for a young guy right
out of college.

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It it, it really helped me see
the world in a different way

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than just the South where I came
from.

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And I had to deal with a lot of
different, I had to deal with a

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lot of different issues up
there.

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It was, you know, I think
working for the government at

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that time in my career,
actually, I think look, you

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know, and I know there's a
business podcast, but I'm a

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person of faith and to me, and I
think for me, I can look back

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over every single thing in my
life and see God's hand in it.

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So when I went there, you know,
you don't know, but it all kind

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of comes together.
And so I knew I didn't really

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want to work for the government
long term.

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I mean, it wasn't my thing
philosophically.

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I wasn't aligned with it.
And the other thing about

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working in the government, and
I'll never forget being called

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in by the union Rep I, I refused
to join the union when I was

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there, which is interesting when
you're dealing with the national

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aid relations work, which is
responsible for union and

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company relations and the law
that that overseas that that

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area, the statue.
But I remember being called in

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and told that I was working too
hard and I need to back off

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because I was making everybody
else look bad.

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And you'll never get that in a
privately owned.

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Company and it was at that point
I said, you know, this place

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isn't for me now The thing is I
really wanted to you know, I

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wanted to get an MBA.
I know you're getting your MBA

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from a verifying school.
I was accepting in the wait

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forest, but back then you didn't
have, you didn't have online

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programs.
You were all seated.

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That was a big thing for me.
I knew that I was like, I have

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to find an online school.
Right.

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And that's a, that's a great
benefit for today's, you know,

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any, any anybody today looking
for any kind of degree,

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undergraduate, graduate,
whatever.

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But for me, you had to be
seated.

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And so I'm in Baltimore.
You can't be seated at Wake

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Forest.
And I'd made that.

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And you have to take that time
off of work if you're going to

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do it in person.
Yeah, Whereas I don't have to.

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So that.
Yeah.

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And so I still wanted to do it
and but then I realized and of

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course, I was newly married with
my wife.

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I, we, we, you know, I moved up.
It makes.

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It even tougher to go in person.
I, I moved up to Baltimore

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without being married and then
we got married about three

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months after I was up there.
It was August 31st.

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And so I decided really on a
whim, and after I found out, and

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I hate, I hate to say that
because it doesn't show that I

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gave it great thought, which I
didn't, but I decided I would.

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I'm still not the marriage part.
The school.

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Yeah, the marriage part I
thought about a long time, but

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the, but the, and she's a great
lady and we've been together a

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long time now.
But I said I'm going to get an

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MBA.
But then I figured out that the

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government wouldn't pay as much
for an MBA as they would a law

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degree.
And so I decided, OK, I'll go to

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law school.
That's the whim.

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It's kind of like a whim, which
I didn't had no clue what I was

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getting myself into because
you're going to night school at

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that point, so you're working
all day.

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Law school while you were.
Working, I went full, I worked

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full time job.
I had to travel in that job and

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I had to go and, and then I went
to law school and the law school

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classes at night are the very
same as they are in a day.

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So it's not, it's not like an
easier program and it's it's how

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many?
Years did it take.

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It took me, I took the summers
off, but I wouldn't, you know,

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it would only have been, it took
me 4 years.

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And I've told people and that
and I've, you know, been through

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a lot of things in my life.
Not as much as some, but that's

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the closest thing to hell I can
imagine.

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I mean, it was, it was, it was,
it was absolutely.

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You think about it, you go into
a law school and 50% of the

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people did not graduate that
came in.

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There were all kinds of.
Divorces and everything else

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full time like an evening.
Program, it was just so

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gruelling.
It's absolutely gruelling.

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And then when you graduate the
bar exam in Maryland at that

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time and I think still today has
a 50% pass rate.

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So you cut 50% that can't make
it through law school and then

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50% that that don't pass the bar
exam.

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So it's a very high pressure
situation and very competitive.

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But I'm so thankful again that I
did it.

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And had I, had I not made that
decision on a whim, I would not

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be sitting here talking to you
today about my career and how it

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how it developed.
Because that law degree has

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opened so many doors and helped
me in so many ways that I

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wouldn't have that an MBA just
wouldn't have actually

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particularly you look at my
career.

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Yeah.
How did the law degree, what

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kind?
What were some of those doors

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that it opened?
Well, I wouldn't be sitting here

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as Dean of the College of
Business at Anderson University

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if I did not have a law degree.
That's a terminal degree.

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It's the equivalent of a pH D
and so you have a doctor, so you

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can't.
Be a Dean with just a masters.

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No, I mean no.
I think Clemson's Dean is a

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masters degree person, but I
know that at Anderson you would

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have to you the president wanted
a terminally degreed person so.

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All of our, I was in the School
of Engineering and all of our

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professors, the Dean, especially
of PhDs.

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I mean, unless you're at the
very lowest levels, like the

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maybe some of the freshman
classes, maybe not a PhD, but as

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far as I can remember, every
single professor was a PhD

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through our program.
So yeah.

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Very interesting.
And I was hired at Anderson not

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because I was a great academic.
I always tell people, I said,

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you know, what do I know about
academics?

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I went to school.
I went to school seven years and

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I put two kids through five
degrees so far.

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That's what I know about.
So it's like.

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Was it on your radar or did they
approach?

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You, they approached me.
And so I knew actually, I mean,

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corporate life, for those of you
know, anybody that's out there,

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particularly at an executive
level, is a very stressful,

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demanding life.
I was looking and thinking

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about, hey, what's the next
phase of my life going to be?

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And I actually thought, OK,
teaching at the college level

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would be a nice thing.
And then by just by chance, a

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fellow that I'd known that did
development work at North

228
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,080
Greenville went to Anderson.
He'd gone to Anderson and he.

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00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:19,480
We had just a a lunch schedule,
you know, we've scheduled to eat

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00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,160
together, you know, have break
some bread every six months

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00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,920
maybe.
And I happened, I got in his car

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to go to lunch and I said, I
asked him one simple question.

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I said, how are things going at
Anderson?

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And he said, oh, great.
We just built a new student

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center and our Dean of the
College of Business is retiring.

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00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:36,480
And I think you'd make a great
Dean.

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And that's how it started.
And so, and so now over nine

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years later, I'm in my tent.
And when I finish this year,

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00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,320
it'll be 10 years.
So 10 years in the in the in the

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00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,000
Dean's position.
That's incredible.

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00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,760
I would love to unpack too.
When you started your career

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00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,880
trying to figure out what you
were doing and then you made it

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00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:55,840
to that C-Suite position, which
is kind of the dream for most

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00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:57,440
people.
What was kind of like the

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00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,360
day-to-day life when you first
started out versus in the

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00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,280
executive position?
Well, one thing that, and I

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00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:06,760
don't know how many of the young
listeners will want to hear

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00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:12,200
this, because I am an old school
guy and I always tell people

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that are that are interviewing.
Listen, you may do just real.

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00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,960
You're fine in your early part
of your career now with all your

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but someday you're going to run
across a person like me and we

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have certain expectations and
and honestly, I can't tell.

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00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:29,520
And and I'm not saying it's a
good thing.

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00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:33,200
I'm not saying it's a good
thing, but the work ethic that

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you have to have to do what I
did or what people like me did

256
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:45,200
or do even today, you have the
work ethic and the sacrifices

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00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,520
you have to make and the things
you have to decide.

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00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:52,840
I mean, I have made sacrifices
that I truly regret in my career

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00:13:53,280 --> 00:14:01,360
and, and because of my ambition,
you know, my desire to achieve,

260
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I'm an achievement oriented
person.

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00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,160
That's not everybody in life.
But if you're going to achieve

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00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:11,400
at the highest levels and be
most successful, most people are

263
00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,360
going to have to make make
sacrifices.

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00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:20,600
And so, for example, I mean,
just early on, I mean, I know

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00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,360
this sounds maybe a little nuts,
but it was like, OK, what, what

266
00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:25,240
are the hours you're going to
be?

267
00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:26,720
And when does the other people
show up?

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00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,640
Well, they, they show up at 8.
OK, I'm going to be there at

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00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,080
8:00 at 7:45.
What time, what time do they

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00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,160
leave?
They leave at 5-5 or 515.

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00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:36,880
OK, I'm going to leave at 5:30
or 6.

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00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:39,760
You know, I'm going to, I'm
going to, you know, I'm going to

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00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:44,480
if, if, if I've got a client at
Michelin, for example, when I

274
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,760
was in the legal department, if
that person, I would always ask

275
00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,880
those, the people that came to
me with a, a problem, the

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00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:53,440
situation, something they
needed.

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00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:58,400
I would say when do you need
this by when do you need my, you

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00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,800
know, my recommendations, my,
you know, whatever you're

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00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,600
looking for.
And if they told me Friday, I

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00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,760
would have it to them on
Wednesday and I would have it on

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00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:09,280
Wednesday and I'll have more
than they actually asked for.

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00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:11,680
It would be deeper and more
thorough the.

283
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,880
Competition is so stiff.
I mean with other customers,

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00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,120
would they have other people
getting different quotes from

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00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,520
other people and what not?
Is it fair to say that it's a

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00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,880
misconception?
Maybe not just my generation,

287
00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,200
but for just majority of people,
I think they think that

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00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,760
leadership doesn't work as hard.
Like, you get to that position

289
00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,400
and you can kick your feet up
and just tell people what to do.

290
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,560
But in reality, the leaders are
typically working more hours.

291
00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:35,760
Yes.
You don't see a lot of it.

292
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,120
Sometimes you don't.
People don't understand.

293
00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:40,160
They're definitely under more
stress.

294
00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:44,960
What they see is they see the
they see the good side of it.

295
00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,440
They've got a nice office, they
drive a nice car.

296
00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:50,440
They view them as making more
money.

297
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:55,000
All those things may be true,
but they're also the

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00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,640
responsibility that you have.
And also I'll tell you your,

299
00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,360
your, your listener is something
else.

300
00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,680
As you go higher in the
organization, you become more

301
00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:08,640
vulnerable.
And also when you're in a

302
00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,440
position like mine, I can't be
close to you.

303
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,200
I can only be have a certain
relationship.

304
00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:20,560
We can't have a buddy, a super
buddy buddy relationship.

305
00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:23,200
We can do things.
We could go out and play golf or

306
00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,520
something, but there's there's a
distance this there.

307
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,680
And I've seen people that I've
mentored over the years that

308
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:32,440
rise up and they struggle
because they realize that when

309
00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,200
they were in these lower level
positions, they really had great

310
00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,360
relationships with their Co
workers and things like that.

311
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,320
But now that they've risen to
the top position, they can't

312
00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,800
have those relationships anymore
in a professional set.

313
00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:45,720
They just.
Why is that?

314
00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:51,760
Because there's confidentiality,
there's, I mean, you just can't

315
00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,600
talk about things.
You can't be the buddy buddy

316
00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,640
because you know something, if,
if I'm the head of HR, which

317
00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:02,320
I've been, you know, in a couple
of companies, I may have to fire

318
00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,200
you, OK, I may have to take
action against you, you know,

319
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,319
and, and, and I've had to do
that.

320
00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:14,079
I've had, I've had to fire and,
you know, terminate as we call

321
00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:15,920
it.
My peer group people,

322
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:16,680
Definitely.
Probably.

323
00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,359
The hardest part of the job?
And it's or, or take other

324
00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:23,040
action, give them bad news.
You have to be able to give, you

325
00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,839
know, it's not when you're at a
lower level position, you don't

326
00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:29,200
have those things to do.
And, and if you do any of the,

327
00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:32,360
the, The Dirty work, so to
speak, it's because somebody

328
00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,880
else has told you basically
you're going to do it or made

329
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:37,480
that decision in a sense for
you.

330
00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,320
When you're at the top, you owe
your, you know, you owe

331
00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,440
fiduciary responsibility to the
business.

332
00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,720
You have to do what's right for
the business and and for that

333
00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,360
reason, you know, the
relationships just are not the

334
00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,440
same.
So it's I tell people it's

335
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,480
lonely at the top.
It truly is lonely and.

336
00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,440
You have so much stress and
responsibility too, because

337
00:17:57,440 --> 00:17:59,360
you're truly having to bring in
the revenue.

338
00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,480
Because if the revenue stops,
like decisions have to be made,

339
00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,560
budgets need to be made, people
might need to be cut.

340
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,920
You're aware of these things
with the people at the bottom

341
00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:10,760
might not necessarily be aware
of where we are revenue wise and

342
00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,760
decisions that we've made and
kind of the stress that someone

343
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,400
might be feeling.
So I'm just one of the things

344
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,640
I've learned as I've started
this podcast and as I've started

345
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,160
my MBA is just like the reality
And some of these things like

346
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,840
you are responsible for bringing
in revenue and if that cuts, if

347
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,880
that decreases, like you got to
money's got to be coming in.

348
00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:32,040
Correct.
And the other thing that, that,

349
00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,080
that one of the things that I've
really, I try to teach people

350
00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,840
again, I, I think I've, I've
mentored a lot of people in

351
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,600
their career and I, and I'm a
certified business coach,

352
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:46,920
something you probably don't
know, but I'm, I'm a certified

353
00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,480
business coach and I have been
for over 15 years.

354
00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:51,840
And you have your own business.
And I own my own business and

355
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,320
part of that business is to
provide if, if needed, if we

356
00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:59,160
wanted coaching for executives
or others, you know, I coach

357
00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,760
them.
But what I try to instill in

358
00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:08,160
people, which is not everybody
can do this or or think in this

359
00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:10,080
way.
But it's like when somebody

360
00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,720
comes to me and wants and asks,
you know, says, hey, I got this

361
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:18,240
great idea, let's go do X or Y
or Z, OK?

362
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:20,920
Well, my mind is not necessarily
thing.

363
00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,520
OK, Yeah, that may be a great
idea, but what's the long term

364
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,200
consequence?
What is this sustainable if

365
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:29,320
things go bad?
Because if you're doing

366
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,320
something and you're taking
something, have to take

367
00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,800
something away or reverse a
decision, that's a real negative

368
00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:36,800
in the workplace.
That's, you know, it's just a

369
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:42,880
it's, it's a cultural issue.
So you have to look at things as

370
00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:49,160
what is going to last through a
bad time as well as a good time

371
00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,360
and is this in our best
interest?

372
00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:53,840
And then when you're talking
about things like that, it's

373
00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:57,560
being able to communicate well
and have communicate

374
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,480
communication modes that
actually work in your work

375
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:03,640
workplace.
What advice would you give to

376
00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,840
young professionals that are
looking to find purpose in their

377
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,040
in their careers, looking to
find something that they can.

378
00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,440
I mean, most people, especially
at a younger age, they don't

379
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:13,920
love their jobs.
You know, let's be honest,

380
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:14,920
there's a lot of young
listeners.

381
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,680
What advice would you give the
people that are looking for

382
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:17,320
something like that?
Let.

383
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:23,880
Me ask you if you've ever heard
this response and that is don't

384
00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:30,720
lie to yourself.
Most people lie to themselves.

385
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:38,160
And when I say that, what I mean
is they do what society says

386
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:40,920
they should do or what they
think society would think is an

387
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:45,760
appropriate or, or cool thing to
do or, or, or what their parents

388
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,160
have told.
You know, if you go into

389
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,760
college, why do you major in
what you major in?

390
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:54,080
Is it, is it really where you
have a passion and, and, and

391
00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,040
more and just as important in my
opinion, an aptitude or is it

392
00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:02,040
where dad or mom thinks you
should go?

393
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:06,000
Your parents, your friends, are
you doing it because of that?

394
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:11,120
Are you really truly being true
to yourself and saying, this is

395
00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,240
where I have an aptitude.
This is what I like to do and

396
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,480
this is, this is the direction
I'll go in.

397
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,080
And then once you get into it,
another big mistake and

398
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,920
something that I have I, I do,
I've learned a lot of these

399
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:28,120
through my own experiences is
make your job.

400
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,680
You know, if if somebody comes
to me and says, and if I ask

401
00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,800
somebody to do something or
whatever they say that's not my

402
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,960
job description, they're getting
fired.

403
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,400
I mean, you know, I don't know
what my job description is at

404
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,800
the university.
You know, why I make my job, I

405
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,320
do 1 is OK.
What things do I really, really

406
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,040
like to do?
I'm going to head in that

407
00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:53,640
direction and what can, what can
I do to, you know what, what was

408
00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,200
going to help my employer?
And, and so I'm going to make my

409
00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,080
yeah, I'm going to make my job
and make it something that I

410
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,240
enjoy.
It's like every single job I've

411
00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,760
had, you know, there's obviously
good things and bad things.

412
00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,960
There's no perfect job.
There's no perfect person.

413
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,480
There's no perfect situation.
There really is no perfect job

414
00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:13,880
like you might get I just want
to be ex.

415
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:15,560
And you finally get there and
you're like, oh wow, this is

416
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:21,160
really hard.
So you, but I've enjoyed and and

417
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,960
appreciated every position I've
ever had, even though some of

418
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:30,240
them, you know, I've had some,
you know, really pretty bad

419
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,200
bosses that would run most
everybody off and didn't have

420
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,760
very good philosophies.
But even through it, it's like,

421
00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:40,040
why am I here and what am I
doing?

422
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,360
Because it's not always about me
necessarily.

423
00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:45,320
It's.
About what are we?

424
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:47,240
How are we impacting this
organization?

425
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:48,880
How are we impacting other
people?

426
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:53,840
So I found purpose, fortunately,
in everything I've ever done.

427
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:55,600
Nice.
And I think too, it comes down

428
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,240
to having pride in your work.
I don't know if you're familiar

429
00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,320
Patrick Bet David, he's a
business podcaster, pretty

430
00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:04,760
popular guy.
And he he's, when people ask you

431
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:06,720
what you do, what you do, it's
like someone like a janitor.

432
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:08,520
You could say, Oh, I clean
buildings.

433
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:11,680
Or you could say, hey, I, I make
this place spotless for people

434
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,600
to come in and enjoy their day.
So they come in and have a fresh

435
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:16,520
mind first thing in the morning.
Don't have to worry about any

436
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,000
other distractions.
Like for me, I could say, oh, I,

437
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,080
I write code all day, 40 hours a
week.

438
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,320
Or I could say, Hey, I solve
some of the most difficult

439
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,720
problems for the US government
in the cyber realm, like take

440
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:27,480
pride in that.
And that's helped me with my

441
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,040
perspective with, with my job
and my career set.

442
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,000
So I think that is it's not
about it's always about you.

443
00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:34,960
You know, you can, you can have
a good perspective with all

444
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,320
that, but I would like to dive
some into your campaign too

445
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,200
before we because we haven't
touched on that yet.

446
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,600
What made you decide to
transition now and start running

447
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,720
a a campaign from getting
involved in the political world?

448
00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,720
Yeah, so it's an interesting.
Well, one is I've thought, I've

449
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:55,760
literally thought about running
for many years and I've had, you

450
00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,360
know, people that know me
because they know I like

451
00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:02,960
politics and I followed it and I
always have an opinion.

452
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,760
And.
So, so, and they've always said,

453
00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:08,840
you know, I'm really surprised
you're not in politics or you'll

454
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:10,560
bitch somebody, you'll go into
politics.

455
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,480
This is an open seat that I'm
running for in the State House

456
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,880
in District 21.
And so I thought, I know I'm a,

457
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:24,560
I'm a numbers guy, you know, and
like data.

458
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,160
And I know that if you've got an
open seat, you've got a much

459
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,920
better chance of of winning than
if you've if you're fighting an

460
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,960
incumbent, because an incumbent,
if you've got an incumbent and

461
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,000
obviously you can overcome that.
You know, people do it A.

462
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:40,840
Lot.
But but most of the time,

463
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,600
there's really an 85% chance
you're going to lose. 85.

464
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,760
Percent, 85% if you're if
there's an incumbent in place.

465
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,000
So having an open seat is an
opportunity.

466
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:55,320
So when this seat became open
with the resignation of Bobby

467
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,960
Cox to pursue a Senate seat that
became open because of a health

468
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,960
issue, I decided, OK, it's now
or never.

469
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:03,680
I'm going to jump in and give it
a shot.

470
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:08,640
And it's been, it's been, I
would say fun and in a learning

471
00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,840
experience.
For me, the difficulty is

472
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:16,080
obviously financing these things
because they are expensive if

473
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,640
you do them right and because
it's a compressed time frame,

474
00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,400
you've you don't have as much,
there's not as much runway or

475
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:26,560
you don't have as many months to
prepare.

476
00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,960
If this was next year, which is
the normal cycle, then you could

477
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,880
be planning now if you think
you're going to run and try.

478
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,400
To be.
Right.

479
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,040
This shit came open this this is
in September.

480
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:42,960
This came open in in August,
August the 11th that came open.

481
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,760
So it's like now or never.
Let's go do it.

482
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,440
So it's everything's compressed.
So it means you've got to work

483
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:53,920
really, really hard and you've
got to try to, to get as much

484
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,400
financial help.
You know, people donating $10.25

485
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,360
dollars, $1000, whatever it is,
so you can go forward with the

486
00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:04,640
campaign and the way you want to
do it or either you have to

487
00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:06,600
expend your own funds.
Absolutely.

488
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,640
What's been the biggest surprise
on the campaign trail so far?

489
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:17,640
I would say, I would actually
say the biggest surprise has

490
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:22,600
been just the, the, the, the
funding requirements to do, to

491
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,320
do something right.
I mean, if you really want to do

492
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:30,080
it the right way without, you
know, without penny pinching or

493
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:34,840
just being out there, just truly
just trying to knock on doors

494
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,440
and shake hands or something.
I mean, because mailers and

495
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,240
things like that cost a lot of
money to be putting out.

496
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,040
So that's, that's kind of a shot
because most people would not

497
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:49,240
believe how much even a State
House, this State House position

498
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,480
represents 27,000 voters, 19,000
homes.

499
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,720
So 19,000 doors you could knock
on you.

500
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,800
Could knock on 19 you.
Can knock on all 19,000.

501
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:04,840
No, that's why I use statistics
and, and records and things like

502
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:10,600
that to, to actually know which
houses you should knock on doors

503
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,560
because we only have in a
general election about a 13%

504
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:16,680
turn out.
So in a special election it's

505
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:19,320
going to be even less.
So you have to really focus on

506
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:24,320
what who are The Who are the
probable or likely voters based

507
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,680
upon their past history?
What's been your favorite part

508
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,280
of the campaign trail so far?
You know, it's, it's been, it's,

509
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:34,520
it's actually been, I think to
see people that you wouldn't

510
00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:38,000
otherwise expect to kind of
rally around and say, hey, I

511
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,400
want, we want to help you.
We want to volunteer.

512
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,200
I mean, that's heartwarming to
me that people would come out

513
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:46,240
and want to support me and, and,
and help me.

514
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,640
I mean, I didn't expect as many
people to help as have helped.

515
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,840
And I didn't expect some of them
because, OK, it's not that

516
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,280
we're, I mean, I had, I put
stuff out on LinkedIn.

517
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,320
You know, I don't have much of A
Facebook presence, which like a

518
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,120
lot of candidates have.
It's it's interesting to see how

519
00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:05,480
different candidates might have
a huge social media following

520
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,720
and others not so much.
And you can win a seat without

521
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:10,080
it.
And but it I'm sure it doesn't

522
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,640
hurt to have it.
Yeah, I think most, I think, I

523
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:16,480
think around South Carolina,
most people would probably and

524
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:20,120
in this race, I think they would
rely on Facebook more.

525
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,840
But I don't really have a
Facebook presence.

526
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:24,800
And if you look at the
demographic, people that are

527
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,480
voting the Facebook would
probably fit that demographic.

528
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,720
Better.
Yes, because those are the more

529
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,000
likely voters for something like
this than the young.

530
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,320
But what's what's never been
done before And what I'm really

531
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:43,120
interested in seeing, actually,
I have a pretty significant

532
00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:47,560
LinkedIn following and many of
that LinkedIn following, I mean,

533
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,800
I'm very active.
I've published articles, written

534
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:52,960
articles and put them out there
and.

535
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:54,320
I'm some of them preparing for
this.

536
00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,480
And I'm out there every every
week on, I mean, I'm on LinkedIn

537
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,400
multiple times a day doing
things.

538
00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:06,960
And I've got over 5000 followers
on LinkedIn.

539
00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:08,600
A lot of them are in District
21.

540
00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:13,240
So what we're, what we're going
to see and what I'm really

541
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:20,120
interested to see is how does
that translate into votes?

542
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:24,360
And, and we're working at
basically LinkedIn, Instagram,

543
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:28,200
Facebook, and of course there's
a website that was set up, but

544
00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,120
the Facebook and Instagram are
really new sites.

545
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:32,840
So it's not like you've got a
lot of following.

546
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:37,080
So, you know, we're, we're going
a little, we're going high tech

547
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,440
and low tech because you're
going to knock on doors and

548
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,080
you're going to.
You got to meet people, you got

549
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:43,880
to have conversations.
That's right, you got to you.

550
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,400
You make phone calls and you got
to knock on doors.

551
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:48,560
How is the door knocking process
going?

552
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,680
Are people being receptive or is
is anyone rude?

553
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,800
I mean, I mean, you're knocking
on who knows how many doors.

554
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,800
You know, some people are rude,
but not that many.

555
00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,280
I would hope not that many.
Some are just like I I was out

556
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:08,600
knocking on doors last week.
And of course this is a very

557
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,840
red.
This is probably one of the this

558
00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,960
is I think the reddest area in
South Carolina is the Upstate

559
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:16,840
and.
The Upstate for.

560
00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:17,600
Sure.
And if you.

561
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,360
Maybe Myrtle Beach, too.
And maybe, but if you hit my

562
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,920
area, this district may actually
be the reddest.

563
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:30,320
And so I'm knocking on a door in
a very nice neighborhood and

564
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,720
the, you know, I open the door
and I've got my shirt on and

565
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,440
I've got my cards on.
Hello.

566
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,000
I'm Steve now and he's.
Are you a Trump supporter?

567
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:42,160
I said yes, we're done.
That was it.

568
00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,160
That was it.
So it's like you'll, you'll see

569
00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:45,720
things like that and that's.
Terrible.

570
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:46,800
You're going to get.
People like that.

571
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,040
I mean, that's OK.
I'm, I'm good with that.

572
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:51,000
I understand that.
But I mean, I'm going to yeah,

573
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:52,480
I'm going to support the
president.

574
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:56,760
I mean, yeah.
But it's, it's most of the

575
00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:02,000
people have been very receptive.
And I think I break the rules of

576
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,800
most campaigns because if you've
seen people that door knock, you

577
00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:08,240
know they're not, they don't
want to spend a whole lot of

578
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,480
time because.
You got to go, go, go.

579
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,240
But I might spend.
I mean, I've missed.

580
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:13,480
People have knocked on our
doors.

581
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,560
I come downstairs to answer.
They're already gone.

582
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:18,480
So yeah, that's the way a lot of
it is.

583
00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:23,480
But with me, I mean, I will sit
there and I'll, I'm going to

584
00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,320
always ask them a question.
And I've had people tell me that

585
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:28,080
they've never been asked this
question before.

586
00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,080
But anybody that's knocked on
their door, which I think is

587
00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,480
amazing, is like what's what is
the most important issue in this

588
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:35,600
state to you?
I mean, that seems like that's

589
00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,880
that's a that's a really
important question that anybody

590
00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:41,480
that represents you would want
to know.

591
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:44,320
And yet they're telling me, wow,
you're shocked me and nobody's

592
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,400
ever asked me that.
Let me think, OK, so and then

593
00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:51,040
we'll I've talked to people for
30 minutes at their house.

594
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,960
So that's not being efficient
and effective, but OK, I'm

595
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,160
trying to.
I'm having an open dialogue,

596
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,000
conversations, like, that's all
good stuff.

597
00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,680
Yeah, so and you also have to do
balance.

598
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:04,840
I'm sure you got to hit a bunch
of doors.

599
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,720
I mean, it's a quick campaign.
Quick, like I said, short runway

600
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,800
per SE, right But yeah, that's
cool that you've been having so

601
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:13,200
much fun.
I guess with the door knocking

602
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,080
it's kind of like cold calling.
Have you ever, I mean, I guess

603
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,440
have you ever taught classes at
Anderson or is it specific?

604
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,040
I.
Taught five classes.

605
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,720
Have you ever taught concepts on
cold calling or sales?

606
00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:24,960
No, that's the sales class in
the morning.

607
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:26,440
Got you.
But I do.

608
00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:31,920
I've always, I'm an advocate and
as a, I'm a trained advocate as,

609
00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:36,000
as far as being a lawyer, I
mean, I was in law school, I was

610
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,240
on the moot court team.
So the whole, the whole moot

611
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:42,040
court process is advocacy and
being able to argue points and,

612
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,840
and, and, and being able to flip
and understand both sides of a,

613
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:47,520
of an issue and a problem.
So.

614
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:50,040
I'm going to pause on that.
Being able to understand

615
00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:53,160
different perspectives, that's
very lacked skill nowadays.

616
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,280
That is very and we see it in
our society and all the time

617
00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:00,800
that I mean, it used to be you
could have a civil conversation

618
00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:02,760
with somebody.
Just get to know each other's

619
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,080
perspective, each other's
backgrounds.

620
00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:06,320
And now it's like, you don't
agree with me.

621
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:08,520
Yeah, that's right.
We all know what's been going on

622
00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,840
lately, but that's crazy.
It is, and it's a very sad thing

623
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:17,600
because that's what I mean,
That's what college should be

624
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:19,040
teaching.
People.

625
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:22,400
And that's what we teach.
I mean, I, I specifically, I

626
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,320
teach basically business law,
labor and employment law.

627
00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:30,280
Also teach some or taught some
like early career, you know, how

628
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:32,720
to get a job, how to keep a job
kind of thing.

629
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:35,960
But I want people, I tell them I
said I'm going to give you

630
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,880
sometimes I'll give you my
opinions on things and you don't

631
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:43,560
have to agree with my opinion,
But if you disagree, I want it

632
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:46,320
to be something besides an you
have to tell me.

633
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,960
I want you to process through
why you think that and I'm good

634
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,240
with it.
I don't it's OK with me that you

635
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:56,440
disagree with me as long as you
can defend and have a have a you

636
00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:59,280
know can tell me why if.
You can't.

637
00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:01,840
Maybe that should say something.
Yeah, I mean, it's not just an

638
00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:04,200
emotional.
Yeah, which the media makes

639
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,200
everything so emotional.
Social media makes everything so

640
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:07,120
emotional.
I mean, they're, they're

641
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,920
literally creating algorithms to
feed that on, feed on that

642
00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:12,960
emotion, but.
Again, sad because it's it's

643
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:18,080
very divisive in the society and
then you end up with acts of

644
00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:24,679
violence, people being really
obnoxious and rude and and

645
00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,600
uncivil to one another.
And we really do need civility.

646
00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:29,400
Absolutely couldn't agree with
that more.

647
00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,239
If elected, what would be your
top priority in the State House?

648
00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,880
Well, there's let me tell you
what the voters say.

649
00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:37,679
Yeah.
OK.

650
00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,719
And that's coming from the
people, not just from the.

651
00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:43,639
And that's right, not to give
away.

652
00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:46,560
There's lots of things that I
could I would work on and talk

653
00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:48,520
about.
I was on the Charlie James show

654
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,400
yesterday and talked about a few
things that most people aren't

655
00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,159
thinking about are the other
candidates are not thinking

656
00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:57,480
about, in my opinion.
But what the voters will tell

657
00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:01,920
you, I mean, when I ask them,
there's three areas that they're

658
00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:05,520
most concerned with.
And one is, you know, the state

659
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:09,120
has been talking about, you
know, eliminating the income

660
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:12,160
tax, which I think there's
probably no one out in the

661
00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:16,040
world, and this in the world of
South Carolina anyway, that

662
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,520
would say, hey, we're opposed.
Well, you'd probably find

663
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,680
something, I'm sure.
But most people would say, hey,

664
00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:21,760
we're good with that.
We won't.

665
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:23,280
We want an income tax.
OK, great.

666
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:24,800
But then where do you tax else?
Yeah.

667
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,000
Well, the thing about, and if
you, you, you didn't hear the

668
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:32,600
interview, but I actually went
through with, I mean, my, my

669
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:36,520
issue was like last year, they
kind of, so they took a step

670
00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,360
towards that.
And really what they, and really

671
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,720
what happened in my opinion, and
if you actually read the

672
00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:47,560
legislation is they actually
kind of shifted tax burdens.

673
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:52,200
So it was eliminating, in my
opinion, eliminating taxes for

674
00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:55,600
higher income tax people and
shifting it to lower income tax

675
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:59,320
people, which is not necessarily
what I think you want to do.

676
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:00,680
And you don't want to shift
things.

677
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:01,800
You want to actually eliminate
it.

678
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,560
So how can you eliminate it?
And actually I said, look,

679
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:11,040
you've got a $40 billion budget,
about 6 billion of it is income

680
00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,680
tax now, Now, so how much you
know and.

681
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,480
About a billion got uncovered
last year.

682
00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:19,800
And you've got, well, you've got
one point according to what I've

683
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:24,640
seen, 1.8 billion surplus.
So if you, if you think about

684
00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:28,320
what is happening in business
right now, you know, in the

685
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:31,640
effect of AI, which I talk about
a lot, I've talked about it a

686
00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:34,360
lot for the last two years.
I think we're actually seeing

687
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:38,720
what I would call another
industrial revolution or

688
00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,960
something that's just as
significant as the Industrial

689
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:46,240
Revolution in reverse almost.
And by reverse in the Industrial

690
00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:49,320
Revolution, you were creating
many, many jobs because you were

691
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:51,280
industrializing.
You were bringing people off the

692
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:53,800
farm.
The farm in the farm might have

693
00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:55,920
been paying like my great
grandfather, I think he told me

694
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:59,400
he made $0.10 a day on the farm.
And that was back.

695
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:02,840
He was born in 1892, my great
grandfather and then my

696
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:08,440
grandfather who came so in his
in his daughter was my great

697
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:14,600
grandfather's daughter came when
they came up.

698
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:16,160
They were part of the industrial
revolution.

699
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:22,280
So OK, there may be making, you
know, you know, a dollar a day.

700
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,600
OK, so you're improving your
economy.

701
00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:28,640
What happens with AI and what
we're going to see and what I

702
00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:30,320
really fear.
I'm already seeing it.

703
00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:33,760
You are and, and you're seeing
government start to concentrate

704
00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:36,880
a little bit on this, but I
think the general public is

705
00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:41,160
oblivious more or less to it.
But what's happening is AI is

706
00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:45,720
quickly reducing the number,
particularly of entry level

707
00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:48,760
jobs, because you see an, you
see an unemployment rate for

708
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:55,880
college students of 6.6% of non
of of of of the regular rest of

709
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,440
the world is about a four point
one or two, maybe 3 now it's

710
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:03,640
inked up, but it was 4.1 when it
was 6.6.

711
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,840
So what that's telling me and
everything that we're

712
00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:11,040
researching is telling us is
that there is going to be a

713
00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:15,240
tremendous number of all sorts
of job and we think there's

714
00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:18,880
going to be a 37% and that's a
pretty accurate, I mean that's a

715
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:23,640
pretty specific number, but a
37% reduction in accounting

716
00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:25,800
jobs.
So think about that.

717
00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:28,120
That's one of the more popular
and more secure.

718
00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:36,560
You know, we saw 100,000 jobs in
2024 in the data analytics side

719
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:41,400
or or high tech be eliminated
last year because of AI.

720
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,680
You're going to see a lot of
graphic art jobs and marketing

721
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:48,560
jobs go away because of AI.
So what happens is OK, you have

722
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:53,600
to find other jobs.
And just like what happened when

723
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:58,000
you started having automation in
factories, I believe will occur

724
00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:02,520
and that is you had automation
in the 70s and 80s.

725
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,760
Now that's not really AI, but
it's kind of like AI because

726
00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:10,520
it's, it can replace humans.
And so you had high paying, say

727
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:14,960
auto industry jobs, high, high,
high paying manufacturing.

728
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,440
And now you have, you need less.
So what happened?

729
00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:22,520
They shifted to service industry
jobs and what what in a result

730
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:27,320
of that, you actually had an
effective overall reduction and

731
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:30,800
the hourly wage rates paid
across the board.

732
00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,840
So if you look back to 1980, the
year I graduated from college,

733
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:38,680
as much as I hate to say it's a
long time ago, 1980, the

734
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:44,440
effective hourly wage rate, when
you take into account inflation

735
00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:47,280
is less than it is or is more
than it is today.

736
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,720
So you know what I'm saying?
So and it's because you've had a

737
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:58,880
basically a change, a shift away
from the high paying you either

738
00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:01,680
eliminated jobs or you've
diminished those jobs.

739
00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:04,360
And that will be the, I think
that's the situation that we're

740
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,600
entering into right now and it's
going to be a big focus area.

741
00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:09,960
So.
I work with AI daily so I'm

742
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:11,760
doing research on this.
I'm helping our customer

743
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,160
implement AI solutions so I'm
staying in the news with AI as

744
00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:17,800
much as I can.
And I unfortunately agree with

745
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:20,320
you that it is wiping away some
entry level jobs.

746
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:25,280
And you can always hope and pray
like, hey, but whenever AI comes

747
00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,560
in and wipes away some jobs is
to create other jobs.

748
00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,960
Well, we have to help create
those other jobs.

749
00:40:31,240 --> 00:40:33,360
It will.
I mean, I hear that argument

750
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:38,600
even by very well educated
professors, but I can tell you

751
00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:44,440
that my common sense OK is that
that's not the way it works.

752
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:48,800
You know you will create some.
Jobs they will.

753
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:53,600
Not be a one to one race shock.
I guarantee you that is there,

754
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:56,920
you know, for every 10 jobs
eliminated, maybe a job is

755
00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:00,160
created or something, but it's
not going to be a one for one.

756
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:04,280
And that really concerns me
because you know, what do you do

757
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:07,080
with a lot of unemployed people?
And if you look at South

758
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:12,800
Carolina, you know we only have
a 57.2 or three.

759
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:15,640
I think it's somewhere in there
workforce participation rate

760
00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:17,480
right now. 57%.
That's right.

761
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:21,000
Yes, it's very low when the
average in the in the country is

762
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,760
62 point something in the
country.

763
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:26,440
So we're below the national
average and these are people

764
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:29,520
that are of working age capable.
Not counting kids.

765
00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:31,360
No, no, these are these are
working age people.

766
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:35,560
And you know, the interesting
thing is that what do you think

767
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:41,320
the highest number, I mean the
greatest concentration of those

768
00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:45,240
that aren't participating are?
I mean, I would think in lower

769
00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:48,000
income areas.
Age wise.

770
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:52,400
Age wise I would think the the
oldest or the maybe the

771
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:54,120
youngest.
The tail ends the oldest and the

772
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:55,760
youngest.
It's interesting because I would

773
00:41:56,080 --> 00:42:04,440
you would think that's true, but
it's really 24 to or 25 to 34

774
00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:06,760
year old men.
What?

775
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:11,320
What y'all doing out there I.
Mean I've asked that question

776
00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:16,200
even to William Floyd, who's the
head of do and and he's and he

777
00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:17,440
told me we've been friends for
years.

778
00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:19,720
I haven't talked to him.
I think I'll talk to him in the

779
00:42:19,720 --> 00:42:22,880
next week again.
But the last time I asked him

780
00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:26,880
that and I ask his researchers,
it's like we don't know we don't

781
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:30,560
know what is going to ask him.
Is this the gig economy?

782
00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:33,800
Is there something, because
think about it when I grew up,

783
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:38,120
it's like, that's your prime age
to what?

784
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:41,400
Yeah, I think it could be a lot
of like wannabe tick tokers out

785
00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:43,400
there.
I mean, I've seen that a ton and

786
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:45,800
keep people, my generation
trying to make it on social

787
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:48,920
media as a full time gig.
So might be a lot of that out

788
00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:51,200
there.
There's something I don't know,

789
00:42:51,240 --> 00:42:54,960
I don't know what it is, but
it's obviously something.

790
00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:58,240
But it's really concerning
because those, I mean, that's

791
00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:01,120
prime.
Like I said, that's prime years

792
00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:02,680
for for.
I mean, that's setting the

793
00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:05,160
foundation for your career.
I mean, if you, I mean it's,

794
00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:07,600
it's, I don't know.
It's very difficult to find a

795
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:10,480
job as a 35 year old when you
don't have a resume, right?

796
00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:12,560
It's more understanding when
you're 22.

797
00:43:13,560 --> 00:43:15,000
Right.
And you know, look at, look at,

798
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:17,440
you know, when you talk, when
you talk started out kind of

799
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:19,880
talking about the economy and we
it's, it's been woven in here.

800
00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:22,160
I'm, I love economics, I love
numbers.

801
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:27,720
But if you, I mean the average
age, which is really sad to me,

802
00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:31,400
the average age for home
ownership or buying your first

803
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:35,000
house.
I mean, I think it's like 3739

804
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:38,240
years old.
I mean, wow, that's sad.

805
00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:39,080
That's so sad.
So.

806
00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:41,800
You're obviously aware of all
these issues, which is great

807
00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:44,160
that you're bringing these to
the State House and be able to

808
00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:45,640
hold some of those conversations
so.

809
00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:49,080
I do think to talk about the
income tax, I think the bottom

810
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:52,440
line is I think if we did it
right and and that's how I

811
00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:56,800
started going off in the AI
trail is that companies are

812
00:43:56,800 --> 00:44:02,360
doing this.
We've got 61,000 state employees

813
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:07,320
and a lot of that work, it
actually can be done by AI and

814
00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:09,200
but we don't think in terms of
that that.

815
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:11,400
Could save the government budget
and then that could help with.

816
00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:16,880
Your, if you think about making,
if you cut the waste out, if you

817
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,160
cut the people out that you
really don't need and you and

818
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:24,800
you and you did things like
bonus your executives based upon

819
00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:29,000
not coming in under budget.
For example, you could cut 10%

820
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,640
out of the budget, 10% out of
the budget, making it more

821
00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:33,480
efficient.
I mean, 10% could be easy.

822
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:35,440
There's your income tax right
there.

823
00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:36,240
Almost.
There you go.

824
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:38,520
Sounds like a great mind to have
in the budget conversations

825
00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:40,760
right there.
So we'll close it out here soon.

826
00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:43,240
But before we do, what's your
pitch for coming to Business

827
00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:46,000
School at Anderson University?
Thank you.

828
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,600
Yeah, Anderson.
Anderson actually has a great

829
00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:52,160
Business School.
You know, we have 9 majors, 13

830
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:55,800
minors.
So majors, not concentrations.

831
00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:57,440
I changed that once I got in
there.

832
00:44:57,440 --> 00:44:59,800
Nice.
We were the first school to have

833
00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:04,680
a true data analytics program in
the state that was a major.

834
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:07,600
So we've had that.
I put that in because I knew

835
00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:10,800
that that was going to be the
future for a lot.

836
00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:13,840
So I put we put that in probably
two years after I got there, had

837
00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:17,000
it developed and put in.
We have the number one

838
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:21,560
accounting program in the state.
And the reason we know that is

839
00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:25,600
because our pass rates on the
CPA exam are the highest in the

840
00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:29,600
state of any school and the
average score is the highest of

841
00:45:29,600 --> 00:45:31,920
any school in the state.
So that says a lot.

842
00:45:31,920 --> 00:45:36,520
So it's a very high quality
education with faith integrated

843
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,040
into the courses.
You know, we're obviously a

844
00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:41,280
Christian School.
The other thing that I would say

845
00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:45,960
from a pitch perspective, and
it's really the reason, it's the

846
00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:49,080
value that I actually bring to
the.

847
00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:52,960
I mean, I look at if you were a
student and if I was talking to

848
00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:56,560
you as a student, I would say I
consider you a customer.

849
00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:59,520
Unfortunately, the customer's
not always right in this case,

850
00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:03,040
but you're a customer and you're
a product.

851
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:06,400
And what I want to do and what
we will do if you come to this

852
00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:10,400
school is we're going to, we, we
want to produce a product that

853
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:14,440
exceeds the expectations of the
ultimate customer, which is your

854
00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:18,080
employer.
So we work very hard on that.

855
00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:22,480
We've got a, a, a really great
internship program that we

856
00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:23,880
changed.
We brought it completely in

857
00:46:23,880 --> 00:46:27,600
house.
I've got over 1000 business

858
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:30,960
contacts in the state.
We have raised our starting

859
00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:34,440
salary exactly 100% since I've
been there.

860
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:37,880
We are about 6.
We are not at, we are, we are

861
00:46:37,880 --> 00:46:42,200
$65,000 a year as an average
starting salary for a student

862
00:46:42,200 --> 00:46:44,280
coming out of Anderson
University.

863
00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:47,360
And then on top of that a couple
of years ago I was thinking, OK,

864
00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:50,280
we've got a, you always want to
differentiate your product.

865
00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:52,640
You want your product to be
differentiated and better than

866
00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:58,040
anybody else's.
So we have started and we pay

867
00:46:58,040 --> 00:46:59,720
for it internally.
It's not charged to the

868
00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:04,760
students.
We have a plethora of

869
00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:07,600
certifications that we build
into our program.

870
00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:10,560
So for example, every student
that comes through there is

871
00:47:10,560 --> 00:47:14,240
going to have the opportunity
and hopefully will pass a

872
00:47:14,240 --> 00:47:17,080
certification for Excel.
So that's just kind of, so when

873
00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:20,320
you come out, OK, you know your
Excel certified, if you come, if

874
00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:22,760
you go into our marketing
program, which marketing is

875
00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:27,720
generally the most popular major
in any Business School, right.

876
00:47:27,920 --> 00:47:32,040
So but we're going to, you're
going to be Shrum certified,

877
00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:34,240
which is like Webmaster Shrum,
Yeah.

878
00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:39,200
And HubSpot certified, Google
Analytics certified and Social

879
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:41,480
media certified.
You have all these tools in your

880
00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:43,840
tool.
All those tools in addition to a

881
00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:48,000
really good degree, if you're
going into say the management

882
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:52,240
product, you have project
management, yellow Belt, 6

883
00:47:52,240 --> 00:47:55,880
Sigma, yellow Belt
certification, you know, there's

884
00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:59,400
just in, in HR, for example.
They're getting a lot more than

885
00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:01,280
just a degree.
Absolutely a lot more and

886
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:06,400
they're getting really good
internship and give them every

887
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:07,880
opportunity.
There's there is there are

888
00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:12,400
advantages to go into a smaller
private school.

889
00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:15,920
The cause of that, I mean, you
do really do get to know your

890
00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:18,440
professors all are we're a
teaching institution too.

891
00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:20,800
So if you're a teaching
institution as opposed to a

892
00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:22,840
research institution, which is
Clemson.

893
00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:24,960
Second, on our research
institutions, if you go into

894
00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:28,760
their classes, you may have,
let's say you have Professor

895
00:48:28,760 --> 00:48:32,600
Smith, but you go in there and
it's Professor Smiths, you know,

896
00:48:32,720 --> 00:48:35,160
teaching age.
So and because why?

897
00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:38,960
Because Professor Smith's
primary job is research and at

898
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:41,400
our school is teaching.
So if you have Doctor Smith,

899
00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:43,800
then when you walk into that
class, unless Doctor Smith's

900
00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:46,120
been hit by a car, you're going
to have Doctor Smith.

901
00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:53,480
And, and every, almost, I would
say 90% of our faculty got their

902
00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:57,400
pH DS later in life and they've
come out of the corporate world.

903
00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:00,960
So we have, we have one vice
president of we had one

904
00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:03,200
president.
He went back in after about 8

905
00:49:03,200 --> 00:49:05,080
years, went back in and now
running the company again.

906
00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:09,040
We did have one president of a
company, but we have a newest

907
00:49:09,040 --> 00:49:13,720
vice presidents, directors.
We have one VP of finance, AVP

908
00:49:13,720 --> 00:49:17,880
of marketing, you know, the
directors of operation, director

909
00:49:17,880 --> 00:49:21,560
of quality.
So the VP of HR, you know, we

910
00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:25,600
have it's, it's, it's a really
great school.

911
00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:28,200
And, and I always tell people
and I tell the parents and I

912
00:49:28,200 --> 00:49:29,920
mean it, we're not going to let
you down.

913
00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:33,080
You know, when they come out of
here, if they do what we asked

914
00:49:33,080 --> 00:49:36,960
them to do and we walk, we
unlike a lot of schools, like if

915
00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,280
you came in and you, we were
going to have what we call a

916
00:49:39,280 --> 00:49:41,800
networking event, which a lot of
schools will call a job fair.

917
00:49:42,240 --> 00:49:45,840
What we've done is we've
prepared you if I don't like

918
00:49:45,880 --> 00:49:48,320
your way, your hair is cut.
If I don't like your facial

919
00:49:48,320 --> 00:49:51,240
hair, if I don't, I'm going to
tell you, I expect you to come

920
00:49:51,240 --> 00:49:54,120
in there with a, with a tie and
a jacket and look nice.

921
00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:56,040
I want you to have your resumes
ready.

922
00:49:56,200 --> 00:49:59,520
And not only that, I'm going to
match you with the companies

923
00:49:59,800 --> 00:50:02,480
that need somebody with your
qualifications and

924
00:50:02,480 --> 00:50:04,880
personalities.
So we actually act more or less

925
00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:08,160
like a, like a search firm and
match our students.

926
00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:10,680
So you're not just wandering
around talking to people.

927
00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:13,040
You're actually matched with
specific companies and the

928
00:50:13,040 --> 00:50:16,000
companies like it because they
can come in and in two hours

929
00:50:16,240 --> 00:50:20,200
they'll have a variety of of
good candidates for their open

930
00:50:20,200 --> 00:50:22,880
positions.
And consequently we have.

931
00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:26,680
Having worked at career fairs
like Jar of looking for people

932
00:50:26,680 --> 00:50:29,120
to hire, I can say that'd be
beneficial to have have that

933
00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:30,840
kind of like wedding through
some of that.

934
00:50:30,840 --> 00:50:34,680
But one final message or one
final thought, I should say.

935
00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:37,080
What message do you hope that
people get out of hearing your

936
00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:42,720
story?
I think there's a lot of ways to

937
00:50:42,720 --> 00:50:46,840
be successful and success looks
different to different people.

938
00:50:47,240 --> 00:50:53,240
Don't be afraid to take risk in
your life and in your career,

939
00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:57,080
You know, because, and it's like
a, the first boss ever had said

940
00:50:57,080 --> 00:50:58,840
nothing, ventured, nothing
gained.

941
00:50:59,400 --> 00:51:02,280
And so it's just like, you know,
some people say you've had an

942
00:51:02,280 --> 00:51:05,160
interesting career, you've
changed careers multiple times,

943
00:51:05,360 --> 00:51:07,920
which if you look at it, they
would think, yes, but then I say

944
00:51:08,200 --> 00:51:11,640
yes, but it's all building.
Each step is building on the

945
00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:14,080
next.
So yes, I've kind of gone from,

946
00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:21,200
you know, a lawyer to, you know,
an HR person to a senior

947
00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:26,000
executive to academia and a
business owner, you know, and,

948
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:28,000
and, and business, a business
owner.

949
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:31,280
But it's and now, you know, if I
win this, I guess I'll be in the

950
00:51:31,280 --> 00:51:35,280
political, but it's but but
every single thing has

951
00:51:35,520 --> 00:51:37,480
everything single thing I've
done.

952
00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:41,400
And when you look at it, if
you're in your career, think

953
00:51:41,400 --> 00:51:44,520
about what you're, how you're
benefiting yourself, and then

954
00:51:44,520 --> 00:51:47,960
use what you've done to take the
next step and then the next step

955
00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:49,960
after that.
And don't be afraid to pivot.

956
00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:52,680
You know, that was that's
something that I think a lot of

957
00:51:52,680 --> 00:51:54,200
people know.
I've got this career path and

958
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:55,320
this is the way it's going to
go.

959
00:51:55,720 --> 00:52:00,600
And what I teach my students.
And it's a very, it's probably

960
00:52:00,600 --> 00:52:02,520
the hardest exercise they ever
do.

961
00:52:03,400 --> 00:52:08,880
As I say, I want you first think
big enough.

962
00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:14,080
We limit ourselves by our own
inability to think big enough,

963
00:52:14,560 --> 00:52:15,880
OK?
We think too small.

964
00:52:16,160 --> 00:52:20,120
So I want you to go out your
assignment and you got two weeks

965
00:52:20,120 --> 00:52:23,520
to do it or whatever.
Go out.

966
00:52:23,720 --> 00:52:28,600
And I want you to tell me, you
know, dream big.

967
00:52:28,840 --> 00:52:32,720
Where do you want to be at the
end of your career?

968
00:52:33,400 --> 00:52:37,280
And then I want you to work your
way back and tell me how you're

969
00:52:37,280 --> 00:52:40,200
going to get there.
And then we'll talk about it

970
00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:43,760
because that's and I said, and
when you and when you have this

971
00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:47,840
document in your hand, you know
this is going to change.

972
00:52:48,720 --> 00:52:51,400
And this is a guy, this is where
you want to be today, but maybe

973
00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:53,920
you're going to pivot and change
it, but keep it, you know, keep

974
00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:58,120
looking at that kind of a plan
for what you want your life to

975
00:52:58,120 --> 00:53:02,520
be because you only get one life
and you want to live it well,

976
00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:06,160
live it well for, you know, in
your with your family and with

977
00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:08,720
God, with your family, with your
career.

978
00:53:09,200 --> 00:53:13,840
And, you know, at the end of it,
you know, you want to, you want

979
00:53:13,840 --> 00:53:20,240
people to say that person, you
know, they, they really did live

980
00:53:20,240 --> 00:53:22,720
life to the fullest and make the
most of what they were, what the

981
00:53:22,720 --> 00:53:25,360
gifts they were given.
You know, we waste our gifts

982
00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:30,000
many times.
So my always my prayers, you

983
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:33,480
know, help me to use every bit
of mind power I got.

984
00:53:33,480 --> 00:53:37,200
It's not that big and but they
help me maximize the utilization

985
00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:43,200
of it and give me wisdom that
surpassed my years and and help

986
00:53:43,200 --> 00:53:45,240
me to honor you and all I do.
I love it.

987
00:53:45,360 --> 00:53:49,200
That's truly inspiring.
So from someone that's eager to

988
00:53:49,200 --> 00:53:51,520
follow in your footsteps and
become kind of like, I don't

989
00:53:51,520 --> 00:53:53,360
know, I want to be successful.
And that's kind of the point of

990
00:53:53,360 --> 00:53:54,800
the podcast here in the
different avenues.

991
00:53:55,000 --> 00:53:57,120
And that was some of the best
advice we've heard on here.

992
00:53:57,120 --> 00:53:59,000
So, Steve, thank you so much for
joining us today.

993
00:53:59,200 --> 00:54:01,800
Thank you so much, I really
appreciate you helping me

994
00:54:13,240 --> 00:54:13,320
out.