WEBVTT - Larry Miller: From Prison to the Nike Boardroom 0:00:15.436 --> 0:00:22.916 Pushkin. It was a senseless act on my part. It 0:00:23.036 --> 0:00:25.796 definitely made no sense, and it was something that if 0:00:25.836 --> 0:00:28.756 I could go back and undo it, I absolutely would. 0:00:28.836 --> 0:00:31.676 Every day I think about and hope that I could 0:00:31.676 --> 0:00:36.516 and wish that I could go back and undo that. Hey, 0:00:36.596 --> 0:00:40.116 everyone I started recording started from the bottom to find 0:00:40.156 --> 0:00:44.156 and document unconventional success stories and to have them be 0:00:44.236 --> 0:00:48.596 told firsthand. But I didn't expect to ever speak with 0:00:48.676 --> 0:00:53.436 anyone like Larry Miller. In some ways, Larry's career is 0:00:53.476 --> 0:00:58.396 super conventional. A bachelor's an accounting, an NBA, working his 0:00:58.516 --> 0:01:01.356 way up at an iconic American brand like Campbell's Soup. 0:01:02.156 --> 0:01:05.156 Then there's his time helping to build Jordan brand with 0:01:05.516 --> 0:01:10.516 Michael Jordan himself. But what underlies his tire story the 0:01:10.596 --> 0:01:14.676 degrees his early career, His work with MJ is an 0:01:14.676 --> 0:01:20.636 extraordinary story of redemption and second chances. Miller was born 0:01:20.676 --> 0:01:25.076 in Philadelphia, PA. Westphilly, you know, made famous by The 0:01:25.116 --> 0:01:29.156 Fresh Prince. That show may have been a comedy, but Westphilly, 0:01:29.276 --> 0:01:34.516 like other hoods, is deadly serious. Miller himself had an attentive, 0:01:34.596 --> 0:01:37.276 loving family, but that didn't make growing up at his 0:01:37.276 --> 0:01:41.316 neighborhood any easier, and ultimately he wound up succumbing to 0:01:41.356 --> 0:01:46.116 the pressure of the streets in heartbreaking fashion. In this 0:01:46.116 --> 0:01:48.476 episode of Started from the Bottom, I talked to Miller 0:01:48.516 --> 0:01:51.436 about his career, how he navigated moving up the ladder 0:01:51.436 --> 0:01:55.236 at Campbell's Soup, his switched to sports apparel, moving from 0:01:55.276 --> 0:01:58.316 being an accountant to a businessman to building a brand 0:01:58.396 --> 0:02:00.956 out of one of the most famous faces and names 0:02:00.996 --> 0:02:04.436 in the entire world. But no matter how impressed will 0:02:04.476 --> 0:02:07.236 be by his career moves, when Miller tells me about 0:02:07.276 --> 0:02:10.676 his secret who's harboring for all his career, You'll be 0:02:10.836 --> 0:02:15.516 all the more astonished. This is started from the bottom, 0:02:15.756 --> 0:02:21.356 hard earned success stories from people like us. To start 0:02:21.356 --> 0:02:24.556 a conversation, Larry tells me about a formative moment in 0:02:24.636 --> 0:02:27.036 his life when he was trying to find his first 0:02:27.116 --> 0:02:30.596 job out of college. The way it was set up 0:02:30.596 --> 0:02:32.916 back then is there was what was called the Big 0:02:32.956 --> 0:02:37.796 eight accounting firms, right and everybody with an accounting degree, 0:02:37.916 --> 0:02:40.076 your goal was to get hired by one of the 0:02:40.076 --> 0:02:43.116 Big eight. And I felt the same way. And the 0:02:43.196 --> 0:02:45.796 one that I was really interested in was Arthur Anderson. 0:02:45.836 --> 0:02:47.316 At the time, they were one of the Big Eight. 0:02:47.716 --> 0:02:49.996 I went to the office and spent the whole day. 0:02:50.036 --> 0:02:53.716 They're interviewing with a bunch of different people, and all 0:02:53.796 --> 0:02:55.716 day I'm thinking in the back of my mind, should 0:02:55.716 --> 0:02:58.716 I share my story with these folks? Should I say something? 0:02:59.076 --> 0:03:00.956 And I kept, you know, kind of thinking, and finally 0:03:00.956 --> 0:03:03.116 I get to the last person at the end of 0:03:03.116 --> 0:03:06.956 the day was a hiring manager. So I decided, you 0:03:06.956 --> 0:03:09.036 know what, I'm going to share my story with this guy. 0:03:09.116 --> 0:03:11.596 So I sit down with him and I said, hey, 0:03:11.956 --> 0:03:13.356 you know, there's something I want to talk to you 0:03:13.396 --> 0:03:16.236 about that didn't come through and the other interviews that 0:03:16.316 --> 0:03:19.756 didn't come through on the application. And then I went 0:03:19.796 --> 0:03:22.436 in and started to tell him about my past, that 0:03:22.516 --> 0:03:25.636 I had started my education while I was incarcerated, blah 0:03:25.636 --> 0:03:27.996 blah blah. And I could see as I'm talking to him, 0:03:28.076 --> 0:03:31.316 I could see his face changing. And finally, when I 0:03:31.356 --> 0:03:35.516 got done, he said, wow, that's an amazing story. And 0:03:35.596 --> 0:03:37.396 he reached in his pocket and he pulled out an 0:03:37.476 --> 0:03:40.156 envelope and he said, uh. He said, I have an 0:03:40.236 --> 0:03:42.516 offer letter here that I was all ready to give you, 0:03:42.556 --> 0:03:44.836 but I can't give it to you now. He said, 0:03:44.876 --> 0:03:48.036 I can't take the chance on hiring you and something 0:03:48.356 --> 0:03:50.956 happened down the line, So I wish you the best, 0:03:50.996 --> 0:03:53.436 but I can't hire you. And at that point I 0:03:53.516 --> 0:03:56.716 decided I wasn't going to share my background anymore. If 0:03:56.716 --> 0:03:58.796 it came up, I wasn't going to deny it, or 0:03:59.196 --> 0:04:02.956 if somebody asked directly, I wasn't gonna be dishonest, but 0:04:03.036 --> 0:04:05.676 I wasn't going to volunteer the information, and I never 0:04:05.716 --> 0:04:08.036 did it to that point. Was that a pretty immediate 0:04:08.036 --> 0:04:10.236 instinct after that or was it did that come out 0:04:10.236 --> 0:04:12.476 of maybe even just a period of after that feeling 0:04:12.516 --> 0:04:15.556 like well, I think it was pretty immediate, because as 0:04:15.596 --> 0:04:17.556 I'm he's telling me this, I was like, man, I 0:04:17.556 --> 0:04:20.236 should have never said anything. But the reality is I'm 0:04:20.236 --> 0:04:24.076 glad I did because I think in an environment like that, 0:04:24.156 --> 0:04:27.196 with public accounting and all the regulations and all, something 0:04:27.236 --> 0:04:30.356 would have probably come up at some point. And once 0:04:30.436 --> 0:04:33.876 the Campbell's opportunity came up, I figured it was probably 0:04:33.956 --> 0:04:37.916 better not to go public accounting. The chances of my 0:04:37.996 --> 0:04:41.716 background getting exposed or coming up in public accounting were 0:04:41.756 --> 0:04:44.116 a lot greater than if I was working for a 0:04:44.156 --> 0:04:47.116 company like Campbell. So I decided to take the job 0:04:47.156 --> 0:04:50.596 at Campbell. Super when you got there and your degrees 0:04:50.596 --> 0:04:53.756 in accounting, what did you learn even some of the 0:04:53.836 --> 0:04:56.196 soft skills, maybe even beyond just accounting, Like, what did 0:04:56.196 --> 0:04:58.076 you learn with that being your first you know? One 0:04:58.116 --> 0:05:00.836 of the things that I realized early on was that 0:05:01.396 --> 0:05:04.596 I was going to have to take some control of 0:05:04.636 --> 0:05:08.716 my career. And so I remember one point, this guy 0:05:08.796 --> 0:05:11.996 who's started in the training program with me. He had 0:05:12.036 --> 0:05:14.836 gone to work for a company called Missus Paul's. They 0:05:14.836 --> 0:05:17.276 were a division of Campbell's Soup at the time. They 0:05:17.316 --> 0:05:20.436 make fish sticks, fish products. But he had gone to 0:05:20.476 --> 0:05:23.156 work for Missus Paul's and he and I were pretty close, 0:05:23.196 --> 0:05:26.276 and so he called me up one day. He said, man, 0:05:26.396 --> 0:05:28.956 I was surprised that you weren't interested in the job 0:05:28.996 --> 0:05:30.756 we had for you over here. I said, what are 0:05:30.796 --> 0:05:33.236 you talking about? He said, well, we you know, we 0:05:33.396 --> 0:05:36.036 reached out about a job for you over here and 0:05:36.076 --> 0:05:38.316 we were told that you weren't interested. I was like, 0:05:38.916 --> 0:05:41.556 no one said anything to me about that, So that 0:05:41.716 --> 0:05:44.276 kind of got my you know, got my standard up 0:05:44.316 --> 0:05:46.316 a little bit, and I was like, you know, this 0:05:46.396 --> 0:05:48.796 is not right. At least someone should have said something 0:05:48.836 --> 0:05:51.196 to me and given me the opportunity to say yes. 0:05:51.316 --> 0:05:55.636 Or no. So I actually set up a meeting with 0:05:55.676 --> 0:05:58.556 the guys who ran the department, and I stepped to 0:05:58.596 --> 0:06:00.556 him about it. I was like, listen, you know, I 0:06:00.676 --> 0:06:03.516 understand that Missus Paul's reached out about a job that 0:06:03.716 --> 0:06:06.276 they were interested in me for and they were told 0:06:06.276 --> 0:06:08.916 that I wasn't interested without me even knowing about it. 0:06:09.116 --> 0:06:11.036 And we're like, well, we thought this was what's best 0:06:11.076 --> 0:06:13.196 for your career. I said, you know what, I appreciate that, 0:06:13.316 --> 0:06:15.796 but I think I should be involved in deciding what's 0:06:15.796 --> 0:06:18.476 best for my career. And okay. So I ended up 0:06:19.036 --> 0:06:21.516 going over and interviewing for that job at Missus Pauls 0:06:21.556 --> 0:06:24.356 and moving over and taking that job at Missus Paul's. 0:06:24.436 --> 0:06:27.916 But if my friend hadn't called me and told me 0:06:27.956 --> 0:06:29.956 about it, I would have never known. I would have 0:06:30.036 --> 0:06:32.916 never gotten to at least give it a shot to 0:06:32.916 --> 0:06:35.196 see if it was something I wanted to do. So 0:06:35.556 --> 0:06:38.716 my last role at Campbell's was actually working in the 0:06:38.756 --> 0:06:42.436 soup plant, which was an amazing experience for me. One 0:06:42.436 --> 0:06:45.156 of the differences in a situation like that is that 0:06:45.676 --> 0:06:48.516 every day you have a new goal, and you know 0:06:48.556 --> 0:06:50.516 whether you hit your goal or not. Every day. It's 0:06:50.556 --> 0:06:52.836 like Hey, we need to produce X number of Kansas 0:06:52.916 --> 0:06:56.396 tomato soup. Did we hit that number? If we did? Cool, 0:06:56.436 --> 0:06:58.516 then if we did it, then we got to talk 0:06:58.516 --> 0:07:01.236 about what went wrong, why we didn't hit it, and 0:07:01.236 --> 0:07:03.516 what we're going to do to make it up. Every day, 0:07:03.516 --> 0:07:06.476 the plant manager would, you know, every morning, all the 0:07:06.516 --> 0:07:09.756 managers would get together and talk about what had happened 0:07:09.796 --> 0:07:11.876 the day before. And one of the things that I 0:07:11.996 --> 0:07:14.116 learned from these guys is that they would go at 0:07:14.156 --> 0:07:16.676 each other. I mean like going at each other hard 0:07:16.716 --> 0:07:18.636 because hey, you messed up. I'm gonna let you know 0:07:18.676 --> 0:07:21.516 you messed up. They'd argue and curse, and then at 0:07:21.516 --> 0:07:23.116 the end of the meeting like, yo, man, let's go 0:07:23.156 --> 0:07:25.556 get a couple of coffee. Yeah, you're coming over this weekend. Yeah. 0:07:25.596 --> 0:07:28.356 It was like nobody took it personal. It's like, I'm 0:07:28.356 --> 0:07:31.196 gonna tell you that you screwed up, and you know, 0:07:31.236 --> 0:07:33.556 I'm gonna call you out and tell you exactly what 0:07:33.716 --> 0:07:36.276 was wrong. But it's not personal. I'm not you know, 0:07:36.356 --> 0:07:40.276 we're still good whatever. But I and that was that 0:07:40.396 --> 0:07:42.756 was something that I learned in that experience. It's like, 0:07:42.916 --> 0:07:46.196 try not to take it personal when somebody's giving you 0:07:46.516 --> 0:07:49.236 feedback on something that you you know you should have 0:07:49.276 --> 0:07:50.756 done a better job at you know what I mean. 0:07:51.236 --> 0:07:54.196 And that's something that's not always easy to do because 0:07:54.756 --> 0:07:57.476 it's easier to take it personal when somebody's telling you 0:07:57.516 --> 0:08:00.396 that you screwed up. And these guys taught me that 0:08:00.436 --> 0:08:02.876 you got to figure out how to take that feedback. 0:08:03.556 --> 0:08:05.556 Take it in, but then you gotta let it go. No, 0:08:05.716 --> 0:08:08.116 you can't take it personal, right, Take it in, make 0:08:08.116 --> 0:08:11.836 the tweak, ye, and then let it. But by the 0:08:11.836 --> 0:08:15.036 time you leave Campbells, you were there five years, five years, 0:08:15.316 --> 0:08:17.916 five years. You got a little late start for college, 0:08:17.916 --> 0:08:21.356 so you're thirty five. Somewhere in that about thirty five. 0:08:22.356 --> 0:08:24.236 Where are you at in terms of thinking about your career. 0:08:24.316 --> 0:08:26.596 Are you thinking I'm okay to stay here as long 0:08:26.636 --> 0:08:28.876 as I can keep moving up, or you realizing maybe 0:08:28.876 --> 0:08:32.676 this isn't the exact right fit, or well, you know, Um, 0:08:33.636 --> 0:08:38.516 It's funny because I never thought about like, Okay, I'm 0:08:38.516 --> 0:08:40.316 gonna do this and then this is the next job. 0:08:40.716 --> 0:08:43.756 My focus was always if I always felt like, if 0:08:43.796 --> 0:08:46.636 I kill this job that I'm in, what's next will 0:08:46.716 --> 0:08:50.036 materialize for me. I'll be able to you know, because 0:08:50.036 --> 0:08:52.076 one of the things I realized is that if you 0:08:52.116 --> 0:08:55.756 have a good reputation in terms of your work ethic 0:08:55.876 --> 0:08:58.836 and doing things that the way you're supposed to, people 0:08:58.876 --> 0:09:01.036 want you on their team. Yeah, you know what I mean. 0:09:01.116 --> 0:09:05.116 And so I never was like focused on, well, I'm 0:09:05.116 --> 0:09:06.996 gonna do this, and then the next move is this 0:09:06.996 --> 0:09:09.516 one and next. I was always focused on I'm gonna 0:09:09.556 --> 0:09:11.796 I'm gonna do my very best at the job that 0:09:11.876 --> 0:09:15.076 I'm in, and then we'll see what materialized. And unfortunately 0:09:15.076 --> 0:09:17.676 for me, you know, things kind of worked out with 0:09:17.796 --> 0:09:19.916 that process, But but that that was the way I 0:09:19.916 --> 0:09:21.956 always approached it. This like I'm gonna kill the job 0:09:21.996 --> 0:09:25.356 I'm in and focus on that, and then what's next 0:09:25.396 --> 0:09:28.236 to materialized for me? And I think we'll see as 0:09:28.276 --> 0:09:31.276 we kind of progressed through here, is that that tactically 0:09:31.316 --> 0:09:33.516 worked for you? It did, The thing seemed to just 0:09:33.516 --> 0:09:36.476 follow in your lap at that point. It did. But 0:09:36.676 --> 0:09:40.156 I think I know, beyond shadow of doubt that I'm blessed, 0:09:40.476 --> 0:09:43.476 way beyond my wildest streams. But I think it was 0:09:43.516 --> 0:09:47.676 also putting in the work and being willing to step 0:09:47.756 --> 0:09:50.796 up and speak up when I felt like the need 0:09:50.956 --> 0:09:55.836 was there for me to protect my own career, right right, So, 0:09:57.076 --> 0:10:00.396 just moving ahead a little bit, you eventually make your 0:10:00.396 --> 0:10:04.716 way to a company called Jansen, which is a company 0:10:04.756 --> 0:10:11.116 I guess what would you call it an apparel sports company? Swimwear. Yeah, 0:10:11.316 --> 0:10:15.236 so Jansen basically start out as a swimwear company, making, 0:10:16.076 --> 0:10:19.276 you know, swimwear, cruise ships, beach in swimwear, and then 0:10:19.676 --> 0:10:24.716 branched out into other sportswear categories, but mainly is known 0:10:24.756 --> 0:10:28.156 for a swimwear But moving over from more the food 0:10:28.716 --> 0:10:33.276 industry to apparel, did that feel like a challenge to 0:10:33.316 --> 0:10:35.316 you or did it for like a whole new sort 0:10:35.356 --> 0:10:37.756 of world to learn or did it feel I think 0:10:37.876 --> 0:10:42.956 the fundamentals of business you can apply regardless of what 0:10:42.996 --> 0:10:46.036 the industry is. I think when you change industries, you 0:10:46.156 --> 0:10:49.516 still are going to apply your same leadership style, your 0:10:49.636 --> 0:10:54.636 same basic business principles. It's just then learning the new industry. 0:10:55.036 --> 0:10:57.996 Then people were willing to teach me the industry to 0:10:58.036 --> 0:11:01.036 share with me. I remember in swimwear they have what 0:11:01.076 --> 0:11:05.476 they call market weeks, and as the finance guy there 0:11:05.556 --> 0:11:08.196 was that's not something that I would typically have been 0:11:08.276 --> 0:11:12.156 involved in, but I requested to go to those market 0:11:12.236 --> 0:11:16.036 meetings and sitting on the meetings when the sales guys 0:11:16.036 --> 0:11:19.476 are pitching the customers, sitting on the meetings where there 0:11:19.476 --> 0:11:23.436 were discussions between sales and customers and feedback on product. 0:11:23.796 --> 0:11:25.956 Because I wanted to learn as much as I possibly 0:11:25.996 --> 0:11:28.796 could about not just the finance part of the business, 0:11:28.796 --> 0:11:30.636 but the rest of the business as well. You were 0:11:30.676 --> 0:11:34.636 asking to do that as a controller. Yeah, wow, Yeah. 0:11:34.676 --> 0:11:38.036 And then eventually the guy who was running the women's 0:11:38.076 --> 0:11:42.036 swimwear division, he approached me one day and he's like, man, 0:11:42.996 --> 0:11:45.236 you should come and work with me, you and I 0:11:45.396 --> 0:11:48.436 together kind of running the swimwear it. He had more 0:11:48.436 --> 0:11:51.516 of the creative side of like what the products should 0:11:51.556 --> 0:11:54.316 look like. He was more focused on, you know, this 0:11:54.356 --> 0:11:56.396 is the product we should have, this is where we 0:11:56.396 --> 0:11:59.596 should sell it. And when we tied the conversation about it, 0:11:59.636 --> 0:12:01.516 he said, you know, man, you know I want you 0:12:01.556 --> 0:12:03.956 to come over and help me out with all the 0:12:04.076 --> 0:12:07.036 numbers and the business stuff. And I said, fine, I'm 0:12:07.036 --> 0:12:08.876 willing to do that as long as you teach me 0:12:09.556 --> 0:12:11.836 the other side of the business that you're good at. 0:12:11.876 --> 0:12:14.836 And so we had a great working relationship and we 0:12:15.116 --> 0:12:18.036 had the business on fire. This really starts a new 0:12:18.076 --> 0:12:20.156 chapter in your career, right, because it kind of moved 0:12:20.156 --> 0:12:22.596 me out of finance. That was the first time I 0:12:22.596 --> 0:12:25.716 actually moved out of the finance department and my job there. 0:12:26.436 --> 0:12:30.036 My title there was director of business Development for the 0:12:30.076 --> 0:12:33.396 swimwear division, and that, like I said, was the first 0:12:33.436 --> 0:12:40.356 like outside of actually finance. At this point, you're out 0:12:40.396 --> 0:12:45.476 of finance, You're running your first company. Were you Were 0:12:45.476 --> 0:12:50.876 you terrified? No? Actually, the thing that I was most 0:12:50.916 --> 0:12:55.836 concerned about throughout all of this was my story coming out, 0:12:56.276 --> 0:13:01.036 like somebody finding out about my past, and that coming 0:13:01.036 --> 0:13:04.756 out and that hindering what I was trying to do 0:13:04.836 --> 0:13:07.156 and hindering the progress that I had been making. That 0:13:07.276 --> 0:13:11.356 was the thing that worried me the most. Im everything 0:13:11.356 --> 0:13:14.516 else just felt kind of easy, maybe not necessarily easy, 0:13:14.556 --> 0:13:16.436 but I looked at it like, hey, if somebody else 0:13:16.436 --> 0:13:18.036 can do it, then I could probably do it. Now 0:13:18.556 --> 0:13:21.716 that I can't do brain surgery right just because somebody 0:13:21.756 --> 0:13:23.996 else could do it. But in the business world, in 0:13:24.036 --> 0:13:27.356 the corporate world, the way I looked at it's like, Okay, 0:13:27.476 --> 0:13:30.076 you know, I'm gonna figure out. I'm gonna figure this out. 0:13:31.836 --> 0:13:34.916 After the break, Larry gets a little more revealing about 0:13:34.996 --> 0:13:37.476 what he really went through to get to the top. 0:13:45.116 --> 0:13:48.796 We're back with my conversation with Larry Miller. We're about 0:13:48.796 --> 0:13:51.876 to get into his upbringing in West Philly, a neighborhood 0:13:51.956 --> 0:13:55.556 that shaped him, but not before it broke him. Maybe 0:13:55.556 --> 0:13:57.356 you want to talk a little bit about the neighborhood. So, 0:13:57.556 --> 0:14:01.476 you know, growing up, I had a strong family. You know, 0:14:01.516 --> 0:14:04.116 there were eight kids in the family, my mom and dad. 0:14:04.596 --> 0:14:07.516 My dad worked every day in the factory and made 0:14:07.516 --> 0:14:10.276 sure that we, you know, had what we needed. My 0:14:10.316 --> 0:14:12.876 mom took care and raised eight kids. So you know, 0:14:12.876 --> 0:14:15.916 I had a good childhood. It's not like I can't 0:14:15.956 --> 0:14:19.636 blame anybody else for what I did. These were choices 0:14:19.676 --> 0:14:23.116 that I made, and I think at a certain age, 0:14:23.316 --> 0:14:26.636 just the allure of the street really started to pull me, 0:14:26.676 --> 0:14:29.036 and I started to want to be one of the 0:14:29.076 --> 0:14:31.956 cool guys in the street because you know, to me, 0:14:32.236 --> 0:14:35.156 you were seeing it exactly. That's how you get noticed, 0:14:35.196 --> 0:14:38.236 that's how you you know, build, that's how you be 0:14:38.436 --> 0:14:42.076 to your point be seen. And so I first time 0:14:42.156 --> 0:14:44.836 I was ever arrested, I was twelve years old. Friend 0:14:44.836 --> 0:14:48.596 of mine and I stole a bike and we got caught. 0:14:48.836 --> 0:14:53.436 I ended up with probation and then a little bit 0:14:53.476 --> 0:14:56.316 around the time I decided to join the gang, joined 0:14:56.356 --> 0:14:58.956 the gang. And you know, I'm the kind of person. 0:14:58.996 --> 0:15:01.396 Once I kind of decided to do something, then I'm 0:15:01.436 --> 0:15:04.036 all in. And when I joined the gang, I was. 0:15:04.196 --> 0:15:07.076 I was all in. And what what game I was from? 0:15:07.316 --> 0:15:09.036 My gang was called the Cedar in the game fifty 0:15:09.116 --> 0:15:13.676 six and Seedar Avenue. And when I was sixteen years old, 0:15:13.836 --> 0:15:17.156 I uh, I shot another kid and killed him. And 0:15:17.996 --> 0:15:20.956 he wasn't someone that was in a gang. He just 0:15:20.996 --> 0:15:23.236 happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 0:15:23.716 --> 0:15:26.276 And it was a senseless act on my part. It 0:15:26.436 --> 0:15:29.196 definitely made no sense and it was something that if 0:15:29.196 --> 0:15:32.476 I could go back and undo it, I absolutely would. 0:15:32.556 --> 0:15:35.236 Every day I think about uh and hope that I 0:15:35.276 --> 0:15:37.556 could and wish that I could go back and undo that, 0:15:37.636 --> 0:15:42.556 but but I can't. And you know, fortunately for me, 0:15:42.596 --> 0:15:46.276 I've been able to connect with his family and they 0:15:46.676 --> 0:15:49.956 they have forgiven me. It was it was amazing. We 0:15:50.076 --> 0:15:52.756 met my daughter and I met with them, and um, 0:15:52.876 --> 0:15:57.076 they you know, expressed their feelings and you know the 0:15:57.356 --> 0:15:59.476 pain that this had caused them. But at the end 0:15:59.516 --> 0:16:02.516 they all said, hey, but but but we forgive you. 0:16:02.876 --> 0:16:05.276 And so that that's been If nothing else comes out 0:16:05.276 --> 0:16:08.436 of this whole process, the fact that of having that 0:16:08.556 --> 0:16:12.156 forgiveness from them has been has been amazing for me. 0:16:12.276 --> 0:16:14.876 But I was sent and says I was sixteen. I 0:16:14.956 --> 0:16:20.396 was charged as an adult. I pleaded guilty to second 0:16:20.436 --> 0:16:22.556 degree murder and was sentenced to four and a half 0:16:22.596 --> 0:16:26.396 to twenty years. Did the four and a half, got out, 0:16:26.956 --> 0:16:30.156 knocked around in and out of jail doing crazy stuff again, 0:16:30.276 --> 0:16:32.796 ended up going back to jail for a number of 0:16:32.876 --> 0:16:35.556 armed robberies, and this time I ended up with a 0:16:35.596 --> 0:16:38.436 sentence of four to ten and I had to do 0:16:38.556 --> 0:16:41.196 nine months of the backtime, so I ended up with 0:16:41.236 --> 0:16:43.436 four years and nine months. And this time when I 0:16:43.476 --> 0:16:49.076 was incarcerated, they had a program where you could take 0:16:49.116 --> 0:16:51.796 college classes inside the jail, and there were a number 0:16:51.796 --> 0:16:57.316 of colleges that were offering classes. Temple University, Cheney State, Villanova, 0:16:57.476 --> 0:17:01.356 Montgomery County Community College, Philadelphia Community all were offering classes 0:17:01.396 --> 0:17:04.916 inside the jail. And there was a program where you 0:17:04.956 --> 0:17:09.116 could qualify to move into these trailers that were outside 0:17:09.116 --> 0:17:12.596 side of the wall, so that the jail had a 0:17:12.716 --> 0:17:15.396 jail wall and the trailers were on the other side 0:17:15.396 --> 0:17:18.556 of the wall, and in this program, you could live 0:17:18.596 --> 0:17:21.556 in those trailers and then leave every day and go 0:17:21.636 --> 0:17:23.756 to school and just had to be back by eight 0:17:23.756 --> 0:17:26.476 o'clock in the evening. When I heard about that program, 0:17:26.516 --> 0:17:27.836 I was like, man, that's how I want to do 0:17:27.916 --> 0:17:30.356 my time. If if I gotta be here, I want 0:17:30.396 --> 0:17:32.276 to do it like that. So I started doing what 0:17:32.316 --> 0:17:34.916 I needed to do to qualify for that program, which 0:17:34.996 --> 0:17:39.236 was take classes inside, not getting into any trouble. You 0:17:39.276 --> 0:17:42.276 had to have half of your minimum sentences. So got 0:17:42.276 --> 0:17:44.236 to that point, I moved out to those trailers and 0:17:44.356 --> 0:17:48.436 started at Montgomery County Community College, got my associate's degree 0:17:48.476 --> 0:17:51.516 while I was in that program, transferred down to a 0:17:51.556 --> 0:17:55.156 halfway house in North Philly, started going to Temple. Yeah, 0:17:55.276 --> 0:17:57.836 you transferred over into Temple right transferred and I was 0:17:57.876 --> 0:18:00.956 able to transfer all of my credits. So I started 0:18:00.956 --> 0:18:04.316 that Temple as a junior. So I with my associalist 0:18:04.356 --> 0:18:09.516 degree and finished my bastelors in two years and started 0:18:09.516 --> 0:18:12.476 at Campbell suit But when I was graduating from from 0:18:12.596 --> 0:18:15.676 Temple and companies would come on campus, like I said, 0:18:15.676 --> 0:18:19.476 to interview. One of the things I did early on, 0:18:19.516 --> 0:18:22.036 I took interviews with companies that I knew I didn't 0:18:22.076 --> 0:18:24.236 want to work for for whatever reason, but I didn't 0:18:24.276 --> 0:18:27.236 know anything about interviewing and all that because I'm coming 0:18:27.276 --> 0:18:29.836 from the street. So I was like, you know what, 0:18:29.956 --> 0:18:33.156 I need some practice at this. So I took interviews 0:18:33.156 --> 0:18:34.876 with companies I knew I didn't want to work for 0:18:35.236 --> 0:18:37.236 to get the practice, so that by the time the 0:18:37.276 --> 0:18:40.076 companies came that I wasn't trusted in, I was killing 0:18:40.076 --> 0:18:43.876 it because I had figured out the right questions to 0:18:43.956 --> 0:18:47.276 ask the answers to that they wanted to hear. I 0:18:47.276 --> 0:18:49.636 mean I because I had taken all these interviews and 0:18:49.676 --> 0:18:52.356 gotten the feedback on it. By the time the companies 0:18:52.396 --> 0:18:54.956 came on campus that I wanted, I was interested and 0:18:55.436 --> 0:18:58.116 I was killing them. Wow. Like one of the questions, 0:18:58.116 --> 0:19:00.316 you know, it was always like her, so, so where 0:19:00.316 --> 0:19:03.876 do you see yourself in five years? Right? And I 0:19:03.996 --> 0:19:06.636 thought a lot about that question, you know, as a 0:19:06.676 --> 0:19:10.796 controller or CFO whatever, And I thought about it and 0:19:10.836 --> 0:19:13.196 I was like, it's a little bit deeper than that, 0:19:13.236 --> 0:19:14.676 I think to me, And the way I would answer 0:19:14.716 --> 0:19:17.316 that question is I would always tell them, you know, 0:19:17.396 --> 0:19:20.076 my goal is I want to be a decision maker. 0:19:20.676 --> 0:19:23.196 I want to be in a position where I'm helping, 0:19:23.596 --> 0:19:27.316 helping to make decisions that determine the direction of company 0:19:27.396 --> 0:19:29.716 is going to go in, and I'm willing to take 0:19:29.716 --> 0:19:33.036 the responsibility for those decisions. Like, if they work out, 0:19:33.116 --> 0:19:35.796 then great, If they don't, I'll take the responsibility. But 0:19:36.356 --> 0:19:38.876 my goal is I want to be a decision maker. 0:19:39.436 --> 0:19:42.716 Oh that's a very good answer. But but but but 0:19:42.796 --> 0:19:44.996 that was the reality for me, and I think that's 0:19:45.036 --> 0:19:46.956 the way I always looked at it. I didn't I 0:19:46.996 --> 0:19:49.716 didn't box myself into I want to be in finance. 0:19:49.836 --> 0:19:51.756 I want to be a controller. I want to be 0:19:51.996 --> 0:19:53.716 It was like, I want to be sitting at the 0:19:53.756 --> 0:19:56.476 table helping to make decisions. We really took that questions 0:19:56.516 --> 0:19:59.356 that face value. You really looked inside yourself and thought, well, 0:19:59.396 --> 0:20:01.956 what is it that I really want my career exactly? 0:20:01.996 --> 0:20:05.436 I want to be a decision I want to be 0:20:05.516 --> 0:20:10.596 somebody that's that's college shots right, right. We got to 0:20:10.596 --> 0:20:13.076 take a quick break, but when we come back, Larry 0:20:13.076 --> 0:20:25.716 Miller makes his mark at Nike. In January of twenty 0:20:25.756 --> 0:20:29.316 twenty two, Larry came out with his secret. The story 0:20:29.316 --> 0:20:32.836 of his murder conviction was in his book Jump, My Secret, 0:20:32.916 --> 0:20:35.236 Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom, which he co 0:20:35.396 --> 0:20:38.636 wrote with his daughter. But for four decades after getting 0:20:38.636 --> 0:20:42.396 out of prison, Larry kept his past his secret, fearful 0:20:42.396 --> 0:20:45.516 it would jeopardize his career. He told no one, even 0:20:45.556 --> 0:20:49.276 as he made impressive moves from prison to Campbell's to 0:20:49.476 --> 0:20:52.996 Jansen to Nike, where he was finally out of the 0:20:52.996 --> 0:20:56.756 finance game and ready to start building a legendary brand. 0:20:59.196 --> 0:21:02.196 Our first job at Nike was the head of apparel 0:21:02.836 --> 0:21:05.636 in the US, which was about a billion dollar business 0:21:05.716 --> 0:21:10.596 at the time. So jes see US apparel at that point. 0:21:10.676 --> 0:21:13.276 And what I didn't know when I started at Niki 0:21:13.316 --> 0:21:15.516 until after I got here. But at the time I 0:21:15.556 --> 0:21:17.636 was hired at Nike, I was the first black vice 0:21:17.676 --> 0:21:19.916 president in the history of the company. I did not 0:21:20.036 --> 0:21:22.036 know that until I got here. But that put a 0:21:22.076 --> 0:21:24.476 little bit. I added pressure on the fact that, you 0:21:24.476 --> 0:21:27.276 know what, I got to make sure that I did. 0:21:27.276 --> 0:21:30.476 I deliver on this. It must have put pressure both 0:21:30.516 --> 0:21:33.236 ways in terms of the feeling of like being one 0:21:33.276 --> 0:21:36.756