1 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: Dogs and carriages, dogs and baby stroller like carriages. If 2 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: there's not a problem with the dog, if the dog 3 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,159 Speaker 1: doesn't have an issue, if the dog isn't elderly, if 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: the dog isn't missing a limb, if the dog can 5 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: walk and doesn't have medical issues. What is that? Is 6 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: that a person having issues with the fact that they 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: don't have a child and they make this their baby 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 1: and they put it in a baby like what, I 9 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: just want to actually understand if you're a baby carriage, dogholder, 10 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: explain it to me. I want to understand. And that's 11 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: a cousin of the issue that I have with people 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: who abuse the therapy dog rule and just go get 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,200 Speaker 1: that certifications so they get to travel with their dog. 14 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 1: Like that's a selfish person to me, I mean you are, 15 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: that's an entitled person who just you know, they just 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: are not following rules, you know, not allowed to have 17 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: a dog in a plane. Guess what I'm pretending my 18 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: dog is a therapy dog or what do you call it, 19 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: like an emotional support dog and any of my dog. 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: I think that's one of those things. Those are the 21 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 1: people that get canceled. The type of person who gets 22 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 1: a dog and in a scam or finagle gets an 23 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: emotional support certification just because they're the ass that needs 24 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: to have their dog travel with them. Is the type 25 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: of person that gets canceled. It's just that type. Like 26 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: I would love to just swaltz Biggie and Smalls onto 27 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: the Delta Airlines flight and recline with them, but that's 28 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: not allowed, so they would have to be in two 29 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: separate bags. Smalls is terrified of flying. It gets very dehydrated, 30 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: his tongue. He's very small, if you know, some people 31 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: find him unfortunate looking. I think he's beautiful and gorgeous 32 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: and he's my baby. But his little red tongue like 33 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,559 Speaker 1: drags down to the floor when he's flying, so he's 34 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: not interested in flying. But if he could, we'd have 35 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: to be have to be in a regular dog bag 36 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: unless we were, you know, flying private and then his 37 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: tongue still directs to the bottom. But I just don't 38 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: like the douche that like brings a dog into a 39 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: restaurant because it's a quote unquote bullshit emotional support dog. 40 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 1: So I'm not for that. Let me know what you 41 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: think about that as well. Thank you. My guest today 42 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: is Matt Strouss the chairman direct a Consumer and International 43 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,519 Speaker 1: of NBC Universal. He's responsible for all aspects of Peacock, 44 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 1: NBC streaming service, fan Dango, and international networks. He was 45 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: previously the executive vice president of ex Affinity for Comcast. 46 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: Today we talked about having the entrepreneurial spirit, taking personal responsibility, 47 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: and finding your north star. He's a great guy with 48 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: a ton of business insight, and I think you're gonna 49 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: like this one if you're a person who wonders about 50 00:02:54,840 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: the road less traveled, should you be in the corporate landscape, 51 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:06,679 Speaker 1: take the corporate route or uh, the more entrepreneurial, nontraditional route. Well, 52 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: Matt is in a very very corporate environment and has 53 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: been for his entire career, but thinks of himself as 54 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur and he's one of these people that functions 55 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: as an entrepreneur within a corporate framework. So I find 56 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: that to be very interesting because many people don't know 57 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: exactly who they are and you can be both and 58 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: you can sort of have parallel paths of being a 59 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: maverick and being within the corporate framework. Nice to meet 60 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: you do You probably do not do a lot of podcasts, 61 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 1: and interviews like this, is that correct? I do not. 62 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: Actually this may be the first. Really Okay, Um, we're 63 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: you surprised that we reached out. I was a little 64 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: surprised that you reached out. But I also was looking 65 00:03:57,760 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: forward to speaking to you. You know, I like putting 66 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: my outside my comfort zone every once in a while, 67 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: so very open to it. Well, that's good. And when 68 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: I was thinking about you, because there's not as much 69 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: information on you on the internet as other people, and 70 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: most people won't even know who you are that are listening. 71 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,600 Speaker 1: But when I was thinking about you, I was thinking 72 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,920 Speaker 1: about working within a corporate structure. And we'll get there 73 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 1: and getting to how people who are listening, who aren't 74 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: just entrepreneurs and want to invent something and beyond shark tech, 75 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: how you stand out, how you rise up the corporate ladder, 76 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: how you maintain individuality within a corporate structure, how you 77 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: get noticed, how you decide whether that's who you are 78 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: or if your person should be on your own, what 79 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: teamwork means, that sort of thing. So first, I just 80 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: want to understand how you grew up, like who you are, 81 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: what your family was like, what your financial circumstances were like, 82 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: what your childhood was like. Well, I grew up actually 83 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: as a as a latch key kid in the nineteen seventies. 84 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: Both of my parents worked, and my mother, you know, 85 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: we love we lived in Long Eye Island and she 86 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: was a nurse in New York City and you know, 87 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: starting out, she worked the overnight shift. So unfortunately a 88 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: lot of my childhood, you know, our timing did an overlap. 89 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: Where I was going to bed, it she was getting 90 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: ready to go to work. Um, so I spent a 91 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: lot of time by myself. And you know, I wasn't 92 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: a kid who it was necessarily the smartest in the class. 93 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,120 Speaker 1: I I wasn't the one who was the most athletic. 94 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 1: I I had a really strong work ethic like I. 95 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: You know, I was a hustler. I like I was 96 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,159 Speaker 1: the kid who was like shoveling snow in the winter 97 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,359 Speaker 1: for money or raking the leaves for the neighbors in 98 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: the fall. And you know, that level of independence, in 99 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: some ways I think was because as a kid, I 100 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,479 Speaker 1: had to take care of myself the only child. I 101 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: was not an only child. I was one of actually four. 102 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: But you have four and I have four, so it's 103 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: kind of you know it's um I I it's a 104 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: little bit of me really having a new appreciation for 105 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: my parents and how hard must have been for them 106 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: to raise four kids and do it in a way 107 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: where they both had to work. But it's it's interesting 108 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: because a lot of times I do think back to 109 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:11,840 Speaker 1: a lot of my passion, a lot of my ambition, 110 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: even the things that I'm doing now in my career. 111 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: It wasn't intuitive to me, you know, but I when 112 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 1: I reflected on I realized a lot of it came 113 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: back to my childhood. Like the dots were all there. 114 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: I decided to connect it. Well. That happens a lot 115 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: too with people who learn things or have certain jobs 116 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: and at the time they think, what the hell am 117 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: I learning this for? What do I need to know 118 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: this for? Why am I doing this dumb job? And 119 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: I always say, don't do it. If you think it's 120 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: beneath you, don't be that person. It doesn't matter. I 121 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: used to be a p a on Saved by the Bell, 122 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: making copies and delivering coffee. But I was the best 123 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: in it because you just never know what you're going 124 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: to learn along the way or who you're going to 125 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 1: run into. If it's Mario Lopez, you know, or Tiffany 126 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: Theason years later. So, um, it's interesting that you're saying 127 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: that the way that you grow up, your finding that 128 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: even now in business, certain things apply. Well. I mean, certainly, 129 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: when I grew up, I was always fascinated with television. Um, 130 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 1: you know, I grew up kind of as as cable 131 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: was also starting to come more into focus, and like 132 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: I remember very clearly, like when MTV launched, I remember 133 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: begging my parents to get cable. And you know, I 134 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: was also like somebody who like loved cartoons. So like 135 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: I remember very clearly as a kid, like if you 136 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: want to watch cartoons, you watch them on Saturday. Like 137 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: that was the only day of the week that you 138 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: were able to watch cartoons. And I that bothered me, 139 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: Like I would say, why is it just Saturday? Why 140 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: can't I decide when I want to watch cartoons? And 141 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: of course, like my parents would just dismissed me and like, well, 142 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: that's just how TV works. And I was like, well, 143 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: why does it have to work that way? So it's 144 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: it's it's interesting, like you take these little things with 145 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: you along the way, and you know the fact that 146 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: my career has been really built on in many ways 147 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,320 Speaker 1: trying to figure out how to make video better, um, 148 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: how to make it better for my family and my 149 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: kids in a way, which has actually also been important 150 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: to me, Like a lot of that came back from 151 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: the questions and the curiosity and the experiences that I 152 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: had as a kid. Well that's interesting to me. But 153 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: things that we just think that bother us and that 154 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: nag us, even if there's so much more complicated and 155 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,679 Speaker 1: bigger than us, usually means something. And timing is huge 156 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: too though so many I've heard of amazing ideas that 157 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: are just too early and the someone else comes in later. 158 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: It's like surfing. You have to be able. You have 159 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: to know when to get out there and then when 160 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: to ride the wave, you know. And so well, I 161 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,319 Speaker 1: want to get into that the timing in your business, 162 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: because we will. But first, like, what do you mind 163 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: if I ask you who old? You are? Just turned fifty? Okay, 164 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:50,359 Speaker 1: so we're the same age, So, um, you just turned fifty, 165 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,559 Speaker 1: And what do you do for a living? For people 166 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: that don't know who you are? What? Who are you? 167 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:56,719 Speaker 1: What do you do for a living? If you're out 168 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: and someone said, you know, what's your story. What would 169 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: you what would you say? So, I'm currently the chairman 170 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 1: of Peacock and also I oversee the directed consumer division 171 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: of NBCUniversal, so which includes Fandango and Voodoo and Rotten 172 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:17,119 Speaker 1: Tomatoes as well. As you know, NBC distributes their networks 173 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: all over the world. Of course we know it here 174 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: in the United States, are programming is available in over 175 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty countries. So I managed the international 176 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: part of our business as well. But a big chunk 177 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: of my focus, especially over the last year, has been 178 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: launching Peacock and running the business and the strategy and 179 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 1: really continuing to chart the future of Peacock over the 180 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 1: next couple of years. Okay, so the chairman of Peacock. 181 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: That's pretty major for everybody that doesn't know what that is. 182 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: It's like the NBC streamer, isn't it? Effectively? How I 183 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:53,079 Speaker 1: would say, we um peacocks available on every platform. You 184 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 1: can get it on any device. It's an AD supported 185 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: streaming service. We actually just celebrated our one year anniversary. 186 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: So that's a whole other kind of challenge of not 187 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: only building a business, but doing it during a pandemic. 188 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: Has certainly been like a new muscle that a lot 189 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: of us have had to learn. We have over fifty 190 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:12,600 Speaker 1: four million people who signed up for Peacock, which was 191 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: a huge milestone for us. You know, we weren't expecting 192 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: to see that level of growth so early on. So 193 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: it's been exciting, excited. And I've actually been a Comcast 194 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: for seventeen years, so I've I've had a lot of 195 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: different roles along the way that ultimately led me to Peacock. 196 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,320 Speaker 1: And so would you say that you're also the head 197 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: of direct to consumer? Going to people what that means? 198 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:36,559 Speaker 1: What are you doing for direct to consumer? They don't 199 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: know what that yes, So so directed consumer is really 200 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: overseeing any part of our business where we are interacting directly, 201 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: where consumers could either access our content through an application, 202 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: purchase our programming, you know, both domestically and internationally. You know, 203 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 1: every media company is going through a pretty major transition 204 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: as more and more consumer is you know, want to 205 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,199 Speaker 1: get access to Internet, but then decide whether they want 206 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: to get you know, sign up for a streaming service 207 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: or multiple streaming services. And NBC is going through that 208 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: same transition and our group is leading it. You know, 209 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,360 Speaker 1: we are really charting the course for how we continue 210 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: to want to build out how we deliver video in 211 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 1: the future and how consumers can access it, and being 212 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: more flexible about providing different models and ways for people 213 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: to enjoy and experience video, which is perfect for me. 214 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: I mean because again, my my whole career in many 215 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: ways has been building up to this moment. So I 216 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,200 Speaker 1: feel like I'm really lucky to be alive at this 217 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 1: moment in time. I think there's like so much going 218 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,360 Speaker 1: on in the industry where it's exciting, you know, if 219 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: you if you like being part of that disruption. I mean, 220 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 1: our industry is obviously going through a tremendous amount of disruption, 221 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: but I I gravitate towards that. To me, that's opportunity. 222 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 1: That's that's where I like to focus my time. And 223 00:11:57,240 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 1: I feel fortunate that I'm gonna roll that I can 224 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: do that. I can't wait until I call you at night, Like, Hi, 225 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:03,960 Speaker 1: I don't know how to get into the show. I 226 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: don't have to tarn on my phone. It's hard on 227 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:08,679 Speaker 1: my computer. I don't know which passed forward calling my assistance. 228 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 1: I find that it's all gotten very, very complicated. So 229 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: if you can help simplify and that's part of my 230 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: other tech idea. Okay, so how did you come up 231 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: the rex? What's been your whole career trajectory. I went 232 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: to n y U and I thought at the time 233 00:12:23,559 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: that I was gonna like go work on Wall Street, 234 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,840 Speaker 1: you know. I went to Stern and I majored in 235 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: finance and marketing, and I very much saw myself as 236 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: wanting to be an investment banker. And then went on 237 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: your family was able to pay for m yu? Are 238 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:39,559 Speaker 1: you I paid for it? No, I took out loans. 239 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: I I actually took out the loans. Yeah, I paid 240 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,880 Speaker 1: for it. I got scholarships. Um, but I also took 241 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,719 Speaker 1: out loans. And you know, I worked. I mean, as 242 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: I mentioned, I worked as a kid delivering everything from 243 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,720 Speaker 1: newspapers to working in grocery stores, and I saved almost 244 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,440 Speaker 1: all the money I made for college. That's a good 245 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:01,600 Speaker 1: person to in your company, people who someone who was 246 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: very frugal by the way, you want someone very frugal 247 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: running your company. Did you care? So you are always 248 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 1: very diligent and you were working hard, which is why 249 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: you got into Stern, which is huge. Did you care 250 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: about money? Yeah, very much. I mean I cared about money, 251 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 1: but I cared about it more in this stage of 252 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: my life around just saving it. Like I I didn't 253 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: need a lot as a kid, Like I was always 254 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,559 Speaker 1: the kid who was fine with less. Um I tried 255 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:28,959 Speaker 1: to you know, maybe that was just the circumstances that 256 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: I grew up in, but I was very conscious of 257 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,320 Speaker 1: like I needed to like a path to improve myself 258 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,280 Speaker 1: and and college was that path. So everything I did 259 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: at a very early age was really always around like 260 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: how is this going to help me pay for college? 261 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 1: Because I knew that it was gonna be on me, 262 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: that I was going to be the one that was 263 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: gonna have to If I was going to go to college, 264 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: I was gonna have to find a way to pay 265 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,120 Speaker 1: for it. That's early. That was early. I didn't know 266 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 1: what I was doing until I was late. And I 267 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: still feel like I sometimes sometimes don't do you believe 268 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:01,960 Speaker 1: you four kids? Do you believe that all four of 269 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:03,679 Speaker 1: them should go to college? Or it might be right 270 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: for two of the how all your kids? Well, my 271 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: oldest is nineteen and my youngest twelve. I have four boys, Okay, 272 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: I really do well, Look, I I'm I try to 273 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 1: be supportive and open minded and um, and I want 274 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: my kids to experience, you know, their lives and make 275 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: their decisions. But I I definitely believe college helps. And 276 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 1: I that's that is the expectation that I would have 277 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: for them, that they would go to college. But but 278 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: you know, we'll guess, we'll cross that bridge when we 279 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: get to My oldest is in college right now. So 280 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: I and I think it's important. You know, if that's 281 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: really what they want to do, then then obviously it's 282 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: important for them, and I think it helps. I think 283 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: it will help them in their in their lives if 284 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: they have that degree. Well, no, coming from a person 285 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: who went through the financial aid and paying back loans 286 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,120 Speaker 1: is who I want to hear from, not someone who 287 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: just was given college, because then they don't really understand 288 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: what the deal is, what you're trading off. So so 289 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: I get that. Um and interesting too that it sounds 290 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: like you care about money as a currency to live 291 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: and as a vehicle to do what you wanted to do. 292 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: But many people on here, I'm surprised that are very 293 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: successful and very wealthy. Uh, money was not really the 294 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 1: goal and I it's I'm believing it too. It's not 295 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 1: like just a line I mean for some people they 296 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: say it was and they wanted to be something and 297 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: make something, but money has not been really the goal 298 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: for most people that have been successful, which is interesting. 299 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: Um the practical solution has the dream, the vision, the 300 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: goal money money, well money, money for me actually was 301 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 1: not the goal either. Like my I don't define my 302 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: decisions based on money. I always didn't believe if you 303 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: are good at what you do, you'll get compensated for it, 304 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: and I certainly subscribe to that. For me, it was 305 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: more the utility of it, like I needed money to 306 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: get to this next phase, and that was really important. 307 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: There was a tool, it was a vehicle. I get it. 308 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: So do you think of your help as a corporate 309 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: person or an entrepreneur? Entrepreneur? I never never thought of 310 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,480 Speaker 1: myself as a corporate person, even though my entire career 311 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: has been working in big companies. But I really think 312 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: it's a mindset. Like when I worked at Comcast, I 313 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: think they forgot they hired me. I literally showed up 314 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: for work and the person who hired me was on vacation. 315 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: They didn't have an office, they didn't have a phone, 316 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: they had no computer. What was your job and how 317 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: many this is eighteen years ago. This was seventeen or 318 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: eighteen years ago. I mean I already had a couple 319 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: of other jobs before this one. But I it's interesting 320 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: even if I go back one step further, like when 321 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: I my first job out of school was at ABC 322 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: when it was Cap Cities ABC before Disney acquired it. 323 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: And I applied to about a hundred jobs out of 324 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: college and I got rejected to all of them out 325 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: of n Y You stern business school, that's something we 326 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 1: should discuss based on what's going on now. Yes, that's crazy. 327 00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: It was crazy. I mean at that time it was 328 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: a reset shin. There was a lot of companies that 329 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 1: weren't hiring. I also made the decision that I thought 330 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: I was going to go work on Wall Street, and 331 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,439 Speaker 1: then all my friends went to go work on Wall Street. 332 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 1: And I said, that's not really what I want to do. 333 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 1: And I was conscious of the fact of, like where 334 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,439 Speaker 1: you start actually matters, because it's harder if you go 335 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: down the path that really isn't what you believe is 336 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: your future or your passion. And I really if you 337 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: are like you and diligent, that's a great point because 338 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 1: here so I was different I was all over the place, 339 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: but I didn't really have a clear path like you. 340 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:35,119 Speaker 1: All of the weird and different paths and jobs I 341 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,679 Speaker 1: took ended up helping me and this, but what I 342 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: ended up doing didn't really even exist. So you had 343 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: a clearer path obviously, being a doctor, being um a lawyer, 344 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 1: certain type of law is a very clear path. And 345 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,639 Speaker 1: you you somehow always re gravitating towards television, so you 346 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: didn't want to get into down the wrong road. And 347 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,800 Speaker 1: I do agree with that. So people listening, think about 348 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: who you are. And you don't have to know now 349 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: if you're twenty four years old, twenty one years old, 350 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: But it's good to just be thinking about the map 351 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:06,920 Speaker 1: and where the road is going to go. You may 352 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: change your journey. You may take a left, mate, take 353 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:11,680 Speaker 1: a right. You may you know, run out of gas, 354 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: but it's good to understand where you think you're going. Yeah, 355 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,560 Speaker 1: I look, that is like such good advice. I mean, 356 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:20,879 Speaker 1: I I feel out of all the things in my career, 357 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: the thing I'm one of the most fortunate about is 358 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: I always did know what I wanted to do. And 359 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: a lot of people will come to me and they'll 360 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: ask me for career advice and they'll say, what do 361 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: you think I should do? And I'm like, that's the 362 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: wrong question. I can't tell you what to do. You 363 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: have to have a point of view on where you 364 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: want to go. And for me, I made that decision. 365 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,160 Speaker 1: But it also meant, you know, for six months after 366 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: I graduated, I didn't have a job. I was painting houses, 367 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: you know, to try to afford having an apartment. But 368 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: I knew I wanted to work at ABC, like I 369 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: was laser focused on that, and I would walk to 370 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: sixty six in Columbus every week because when they would 371 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,679 Speaker 1: put out their job postings, and it took six months 372 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: where I think they were just sick of me because 373 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,160 Speaker 1: I just kept showing up. And I ended up getting 374 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,160 Speaker 1: a job as a junior financial analyst in the news division, 375 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: which I have no idea what that meant, but I 376 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: said I'll take it. And even though that was not 377 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,479 Speaker 1: my passion, even though I didn't want to really do 378 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: a career in finance, my philosophy was I'm going to 379 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: be the best junior financial analyst that the company has 380 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: ever seen. Lay the bricks one by one and lay 381 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:35,440 Speaker 1: the foundation and the groundworks and everything you do and 382 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: do it properly from the beginning. I always say that 383 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: because otherwise one card is wrong at the whole house 384 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: falls right. And within a large corporation, when you talk 385 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:45,120 Speaker 1: about how do you stand out, how do you start 386 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,159 Speaker 1: to build your brand as an individual, you know, a 387 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: lot of it starts with how well does this person 388 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: do the job that they have, let alone their ambition 389 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 1: of where they want to go. I was very clear 390 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: when I got there what my ambition was. I I said, 391 00:19:57,960 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 1: my ambition is I don't want to be the controller. 392 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,239 Speaker 1: I I don't want to be the CFO, you know, 393 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,360 Speaker 1: I want to be in programming. I want to I 394 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: was very interested at the time, and they were calling 395 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: it multimedia because there really wasn't a name for for 396 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 1: streaming or directed consumer back then. So I was very 397 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:17,920 Speaker 1: clear about my ambition. But I also was very focused 398 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: on I'm going to do the job. I have to 399 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: do it to the best of my ability. And it 400 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 1: actually helped. I mean, in some ways it was the 401 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: best place for me to start because I realized later 402 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,400 Speaker 1: on that almost every decision and business comes back to money, 403 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: and most executives it's shocking they can't read a p 404 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: m L. They can't read a balance sheet, they don't understand, 405 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: you know, some of the basics around economics. And in 406 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: many ways I learned that in my first job as 407 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 1: a financial analyst. And it sounds like, you don't ask 408 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,639 Speaker 1: anybody beneath you in the corporate structure to do anything 409 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: that you haven't done. You've come up a clear path 410 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:57,880 Speaker 1: and you understand what those jobs are. I mean, I 411 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: I was. I've been an assistant to a celebrity, as 412 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: to ornery, famous, perfectionist people. So I never asked anybody 413 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,960 Speaker 1: to do anything that I haven't done. And again maybe 414 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 1: that's part of my upbringing. I tend to approach things 415 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: through the lens of humility, like I I am a sponge, 416 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: I will I just want to learn, I observe. I 417 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: try to do things the best of my ability, but 418 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: there's nothing that's beneath me. Like even today as as 419 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 1: the chairman of Peacock. You know, I run on our 420 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:29,119 Speaker 1: Facebook page, you know personally I I so there's just 421 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,879 Speaker 1: to me, it's it's whatever has to be done. And 422 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: it comes back to also this belief around the importance 423 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 1: of collaboration and teamwork and and surrounding yourself with people 424 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: that that buy into a common vision has also been 425 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 1: a big part of of my future in how I 426 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 1: built my career. And I think when I was at ABC, 427 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: one of the things that was so helpful was I 428 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: had a lot of mentors. And this is another lesson 429 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: that I learned along the way, and that to me 430 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,400 Speaker 1: was like in my formative years, there was a lot 431 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: of people who didn't know me, but I knew them, 432 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: Like Bob Iger was the president of the network when 433 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,119 Speaker 1: I was there. Um Steve Burke was the head of 434 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: the station group when I was there. His father, Dan 435 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: Burke was, you know, the I think the vice chairman 436 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: of cap Cities. And I would observe these executives and 437 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,880 Speaker 1: how they interacted. You know, Dan Burke would sit There 438 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: was an executive cafeteria and then there was the cafeteria 439 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:30,000 Speaker 1: for like us humans, and I remember like seeing him 440 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: sitting by himself in the cafeteria with all the employees 441 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: while all the other executives were in the executive dining room, 442 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:41,199 Speaker 1: And that stuck with me, Like I observed that, and 443 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: I'm like, there's something about wanting to aspire to be 444 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: like other people that you admire and you take some 445 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: of the traits along with you. And that's what I 446 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: mean when I say being mentoring, Like it doesn't have 447 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,359 Speaker 1: to be formal. It could just be being aware of 448 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: things that you can learn from around you, and that's 449 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 1: been very important and helpful to me. I agree with you. 450 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:06,400 Speaker 1: It's sort of a cousin of what you're saying. For me. 451 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 1: It's sometimes crowdsourcing, sometimes asking a bunch of different people. 452 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: You know, you're deciding whether using basil or rogala cilanto, 453 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:16,439 Speaker 1: and you end up deciding what you're going to do. 454 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:20,399 Speaker 1: But you're sort of just like crowdsource, and sometimes you 455 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 1: go to someone who is an expert in that area, 456 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: Like I have people that I will call for entertainment 457 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 1: industry saga bullshit like machinations where one wrong turn I 458 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,920 Speaker 1: make I'm messing up ten things, like it's a serious 459 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,200 Speaker 1: big girl poker table. I go to Kevin Uva and 460 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 1: it's c I A. I'll just be like, this is 461 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,439 Speaker 1: going on, the ship's gonna go down. I need to 462 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: know what to do because my lawyers he sometimes gonna 463 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,120 Speaker 1: be scared. My business managers are working with my partners, 464 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: and everyone has, like, you know, something to gain from 465 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,120 Speaker 1: the deals. He has no skin and so I'll call him. 466 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: But then if it's like a tech investing idea, I 467 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: would call Mark Cuban. So sometimes you go to different 468 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: people in different areas, and it doesn't have to be 469 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: the head of CIA or Mark Cuban. It could be anybody. 470 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: You know. It could be your your your wife, your daughter, 471 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 1: and your boyfriend whatever. So I agree with what you're saying. 472 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: You're like watching different people in the in their habitat 473 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,639 Speaker 1: and how they operate in business. And it's it's a 474 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,640 Speaker 1: great way to learn. It's a freeway to learn. It's 475 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,760 Speaker 1: a free way to learn it. You know, anybody could 476 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,639 Speaker 1: do it. And look, I think it's always important to 477 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: also have people that you you do feel like you 478 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: can reach out to and have that connection and get guidance. 479 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,159 Speaker 1: And that's also been I have not met anybody in 480 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: business that has aspired to a certain level that that 481 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,360 Speaker 1: has not had mentors along the way. And and and 482 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: even you know, sometimes they you can get so close 483 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: to things in your career that you sometimes like see 484 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,280 Speaker 1: the tree, you don't see the forest. Like I remember 485 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,680 Speaker 1: this one time, I was actually progressing pretty rapidly within 486 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 1: the finance division, even though that wasn't really what I 487 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: wanted to do. And I applied for this manager role 488 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 1: that I really felt I should have gotten, and I 489 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,159 Speaker 1: didn't get the role, and I was so upset that 490 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: I did what felt like a natural thing. I went 491 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: to my boss's boss's office, who didn't even know me, really, 492 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:16,120 Speaker 1: and I quit. And fortunately this was somebody who took 493 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:19,359 Speaker 1: the time and said, Okay, why are you quitting? What's 494 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 1: going on? This was still when I was at ABC, 495 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,360 Speaker 1: I was still young, and this was a really important 496 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,680 Speaker 1: lesson for me. I I mean, this was like the 497 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: stupidest thing I could have ever done, was go in 498 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:33,600 Speaker 1: and just quit um, but I did. It's like an 499 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: ultimatum which I say, never to give ultimate right and 500 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:43,480 Speaker 1: everyone ultimately is replaceable. And I did it. But this 501 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,960 Speaker 1: is where I got lucky. It was a guy named 502 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: Steve Summer. He was the assistant controller, and he actually 503 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,120 Speaker 1: said to me, do you want to be a manager 504 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: of accounts payable? You've been saying nothing except you want 505 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:58,719 Speaker 1: to be in programming. You've been telling you everybody that 506 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:00,440 Speaker 1: you want to You know, you don't want to be 507 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: in finance. You don't want to be in accounting. He goes, 508 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,679 Speaker 1: if you got that job, it's gonna be harder for 509 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: you to then make a change in your career. He goes, 510 00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: I just did you a favor by not giving you 511 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,119 Speaker 1: that job. And then it's snapped back into focus with 512 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,360 Speaker 1: you like, wait, he's right. I that wasn't my north star. 513 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:20,000 Speaker 1: That's not what I wanted to do. And that actually 514 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:21,879 Speaker 1: two things came from that. One is he actually became 515 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: one of my mentors and somebody that I was able 516 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,320 Speaker 1: to confide in career wise. But then I also then 517 00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: realized I needed to make a change, Like at that 518 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,639 Speaker 1: point I needed to make the next step. You're on 519 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: the road, you're making some money, You've got your four 520 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: one kay and your insurance. How do you know when 521 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: to make the change? And this may be different than 522 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,159 Speaker 1: what other people that have been told. I actually make 523 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: the change when I get too comfortable, when I'm in 524 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,480 Speaker 1: a point in my career where I feel like I've 525 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,200 Speaker 1: mastered the job. I know how to do it really well. Um, 526 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 1: I'm not really being challenged. There's a lot of people 527 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,800 Speaker 1: who they like that it's very comforting and they like 528 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,640 Speaker 1: the stability. That's when like the little light in my 529 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,639 Speaker 1: brain goes off as ays you need to make a change. 530 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: Sometimes I've been asked to do something that might be 531 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,640 Speaker 1: a different role, a different job, and almost every time 532 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: it makes me uncomfortable. And if it makes me uncomfortable, 533 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: then I do it, like I actually agree towards it, 534 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:21,040 Speaker 1: you know, and I try to actually push myself like 535 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,479 Speaker 1: because I do tend to be more introverted. I you know, 536 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: I do tend to be more reserved. So when something 537 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:32,160 Speaker 1: forces me outside of that comfort zone, I really think 538 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: hard about. My instinct is to say no, and then 539 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:36,879 Speaker 1: what usually comes out of my mouth is yes, And 540 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 1: I just I forced myself to do it. That's interesting 541 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 1: because that's when you jump, you fly. I always say 542 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,200 Speaker 1: that that's that's that feeling when people have something nagging 543 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,640 Speaker 1: but they're just afraid. And usually when you jump, you fly, 544 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:51,119 Speaker 1: it's some sort of direction about what's going to happen. 545 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: So how do you within the framework of a corporate structure, 546 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 1: you're jelly being in a jar? How do you move? 547 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,840 Speaker 1: But job we've get raises be an innovator, being an entrepreneur, 548 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 1: you know, how do you do that? You know? When 549 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 1: I ultimately got from ABC and I spent some time 550 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: at another company called Cable Vision, which is now a 551 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:19,040 Speaker 1: faulty ALTI UM. They also owned a what was called 552 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:23,880 Speaker 1: at the time Rainbow Media, which am C. They owned Bravo, 553 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: they owned a they owned several cable networks, and I 554 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,200 Speaker 1: had worked there for some time. But you know, this 555 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:33,400 Speaker 1: is right around two thousand and this is over twenty 556 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: years ago, and the technology was just starting to emerge 557 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: around building out on demand. And this is again when 558 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,959 Speaker 1: I talk about connecting dots like it then immediately came 559 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,680 Speaker 1: into focus. I actually wrote a business plan for an 560 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: on demand network. And this was at a time before 561 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: YouTube or Netflix. I don't even know if Netflix existed. 562 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 1: If they existed, they were just delivering DVDs. And I 563 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 1: wrote a business plan, again using my financial experience that 564 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: I had, and really charting out what I thought was 565 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 1: the next opportunity, which was an on demand service. And 566 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: I presented it to Chuck Dolan, who was the chairman 567 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: of Cable Vision, and he liked it and actually said 568 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 1: you should run it. Now, I was not qualified to 569 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 1: run it. I wasn't trying to run it. I was 570 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: just trying to put forward an idea. But when that happened. 571 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,000 Speaker 1: I wasn't going to back down from that operation. What 572 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: year was that? This was in two thousand, This was 573 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: over twenty years ago. How well, how old? About thirty 574 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: years old? And I wanted a baller at that point 575 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: on some level to your friends, do you have a 576 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: real job? What are you? At that point, I was 577 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: like a vice president of strategy. It was a thing, 578 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,640 Speaker 1: So you were a big deal. I I kind of 579 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: worked my way into a position where I had at 580 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,800 Speaker 1: least the ability to like connect with some senior executives 581 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,120 Speaker 1: and yeah, you're in the viewer in the game at 582 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: the vice the vice president title. I was the vice 583 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: president at that thirty I I worked my way into 584 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,320 Speaker 1: that role that But before that, for people listening that 585 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 1: are you know, how do you how did you get 586 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,560 Speaker 1: to be a vice president? Well? What happened was when 587 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:23,240 Speaker 1: I left ABC, I actually got two job offers. One 588 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: job offer was to work at NBC and one job 589 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: offer was to go work at this small cable company 590 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: in Long Island. UM. I decided based on like again, 591 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: at this point in my career, I was doing a 592 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: lot of strategy work. I was looking at trends in 593 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 1: the industry. It was very clear to me that the 594 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:44,760 Speaker 1: future was going to be cable, and I chose to 595 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: go to Cable Vision big fish, small pond um, medium fish. 596 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,040 Speaker 1: You know, I was I was definitely I was taking 597 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 1: on a bigger role, but I think at this point 598 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:56,080 Speaker 1: I was it was like a director level role. But 599 00:30:56,120 --> 00:31:00,040 Speaker 1: I remember so clearly. The recruiter from NBC said, I 600 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,719 Speaker 1: could not believe I was turning down the job at 601 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: NBC to go to a small cable company. And they said, 602 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 1: this is the worst decision you're ever going to make. 603 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,160 Speaker 1: You're going to regret it. And it was probably the 604 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: best decision I ever made. And again it was following 605 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:17,120 Speaker 1: my instincts around where I'd be challenged at the time 606 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: when I went there. I you know, it's kind of 607 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:21,719 Speaker 1: I took the advice I said earlier, which was I 608 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: was a director of strategy. Was kind of an ambiguous role. 609 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:28,720 Speaker 1: I never really thought about being part of a big 610 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:30,880 Speaker 1: company or a small company. I just focused, like I 611 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 1: put my blinders on, like what do I want to do? 612 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,320 Speaker 1: How do I get this done? And you know, the 613 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 1: better I was able to perform at my job, the 614 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 1: more responsibility I got. And that's kind of how I 615 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:42,480 Speaker 1: find it works. It's like, if you want to get 616 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: more and get ahead, it always starts with be really 617 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,080 Speaker 1: good at the job you have. I love it. Okay, 618 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: that's the overall lesson. First of I'll never assume anyone 619 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 1: smarter than you, because someone could tell you what your 620 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: road is supposed to be, and they don't know. They're 621 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: just most of us don't know anything about what's going on. 622 00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:59,160 Speaker 1: We don't. We're just doing the best we can and 623 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: using our gut and honing that skill. And your best 624 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,800 Speaker 1: decision of your career was put your head down, be 625 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 1: good at this. Now you've had an idea about direct 626 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: on demand. Now you're you're a vice president at thirty, 627 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: and he likes it, and he said, I want you 628 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: to run it, and he made me at that point 629 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:23,200 Speaker 1: an executive vice president, and I jumped a couple of levels, 630 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: and I was now responsible for building a business. You 631 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: created value and doing something he probably didn't even understand 632 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 1: how to did, and you really didn't either, but you 633 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:34,960 Speaker 1: were going to figure it out. Yeah, I again, I 634 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 1: to me, this was the hustle of like figuring out that. 635 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,560 Speaker 1: I love that. I love the three dimensional chess game 636 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,960 Speaker 1: of trying to think about how all the pieces could 637 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: fit together. Um, you know, learning it again. I don't 638 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: pretend to be the smartest person in the room. I'm 639 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: not always the smartest person in the room. Most of 640 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,800 Speaker 1: the time, I surround myself with people and that are 641 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: really smart, and I try to bring in that collab 642 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 1: ration aspect of it. And that's what I did. You know, 643 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,800 Speaker 1: when we launched this business, it was called mag Rack, 644 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:09,479 Speaker 1: which was short for magazine Rack, and the idea was 645 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 1: to build out an on demand service nationally that would 646 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: produce original programming that people could watch through a menu 647 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: on their TV uneatable way ahead of your time, way 648 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:23,479 Speaker 1: ahead of your time. But that's the entrepreneurial aspect of 649 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:25,800 Speaker 1: being within a corporate structure. So you answered that question 650 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,560 Speaker 1: as well. So you're saying that if people find innovative 651 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:32,640 Speaker 1: ways to stand out and problems to solve, that they 652 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: can absolutely be an entrepreneur within a public company, a 653 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:40,320 Speaker 1: corporate structure. That is very consoling. I like that. Well, 654 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 1: you gotta you gotta remember that in most big companies, 655 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,240 Speaker 1: innovation doesn't come top down. It comes bottoms up. It 656 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:51,400 Speaker 1: comes from the employees. It comes from people who have 657 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 1: ideas and aspirations and you've got to seek that out. 658 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: I get asked all the time, how can you be 659 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: entrepreneurial in a company that has like over two hundred 660 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,280 Speaker 1: thou employees? And the answers I never I don't think 661 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:06,840 Speaker 1: about that for a second. I never think about two 662 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:10,200 Speaker 1: thousand employees. I just think about what can I do 663 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:13,319 Speaker 1: and how am I going to do it? And I 664 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:16,480 Speaker 1: think that everybody has that ability. Everybody again, it has 665 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,479 Speaker 1: the ability to kind of approach it in a way 666 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,760 Speaker 1: that you know that they could chart the course and 667 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:25,040 Speaker 1: chart the future of big companies as well. You know, 668 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:28,239 Speaker 1: no matter where you are within the organization, I want 669 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 1: to know your personal coming up the ranks, your personal 670 00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:36,160 Speaker 1: experience in how men and women have been treated differently. 671 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 1: And then I want to know if you you're a chairman, 672 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:42,440 Speaker 1: you must be tough quote unquote, And do you notice 673 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,840 Speaker 1: because Cheryl Sandberg said there is absolutely a difference, she believes, 674 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,080 Speaker 1: she believes I have never thought about men and women. 675 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,400 Speaker 1: I have just gone through. It's something that as the 676 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:53,759 Speaker 1: conversation in society happens, I'm thinking about it more and 677 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,040 Speaker 1: noticing things that I didn't even that didn't even occur 678 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,719 Speaker 1: to me. But she says that if a woman's tough, 679 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,080 Speaker 1: she's a bit and if a anne is tough, it's okay, 680 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:04,920 Speaker 1: it's like celebrated. And so what do you what has 681 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: when your honest experience coming up the ranks from men 682 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,279 Speaker 1: and women? You know, I, this may not be the 683 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:14,520 Speaker 1: answer you're expecting. I I gotta be honest coming up 684 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: the ranks. I to me, I never thought of it 685 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,839 Speaker 1: as men or women. I literally always just thought about 686 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: it as we're in this as a team. Like I 687 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,400 Speaker 1: have had bosses that I've reported to that are women 688 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,839 Speaker 1: as well as men. Um One of the things that 689 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,560 Speaker 1: was instilled to me very early was that the secret 690 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:36,480 Speaker 1: to my success was just pulling people in close that 691 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:39,640 Speaker 1: kind of had a shared ambition and passion that I did. 692 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:41,640 Speaker 1: And whether that was a man or a woman like 693 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:43,759 Speaker 1: I never thought about that at all. But now that 694 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:48,440 Speaker 1: my current role, you know, I think a lot about diversity, 695 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:53,520 Speaker 1: about a quality, about ensuring that we got the right 696 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,360 Speaker 1: voices in the room, and as and as a leader, 697 00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,400 Speaker 1: you know, how do I build the right organization that 698 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:01,600 Speaker 1: that kind of allows for that kind of a growth. 699 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:04,120 Speaker 1: And I would say even now more than ever, because 700 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,920 Speaker 1: there's a lot of people within Peacock that are younger generations, 701 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:10,799 Speaker 1: Um they looked at their company, they look to who 702 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,279 Speaker 1: they work for many ways as a manifestation of like 703 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,960 Speaker 1: their beliefs and how they want to be seen and 704 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:20,680 Speaker 1: and I think even more that's putting pressure on companies 705 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,960 Speaker 1: to really take another look at at diversity and equality 706 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:26,880 Speaker 1: in the workforce. And I don't think we're any different. 707 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 1: And to me, this is easy, Like it's easy because 708 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:32,239 Speaker 1: I it's just it's just the right thing to do. 709 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:36,200 Speaker 1: And I try to approach everything I do like like 710 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:39,480 Speaker 1: I want to win. I am as competitive, if not 711 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,160 Speaker 1: more than anybody, but I also want to win the 712 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,480 Speaker 1: right way, and for me, the right way is like 713 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,520 Speaker 1: with integrity, with you know, through like we all went 714 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:50,800 Speaker 1: together and to do that, I think it also comes 715 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:55,120 Speaker 1: down to ensuring that we're creating a workforce that's representative 716 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:58,520 Speaker 1: of our society and that we all have equal opportunities. 717 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:01,239 Speaker 1: So we spend a lot of time working on it, 718 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:03,239 Speaker 1: and I we got a lot, we have a lot 719 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:05,359 Speaker 1: more work to do, but it's something that's a very 720 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:08,040 Speaker 1: big part now of our culture that we're trying to 721 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 1: build within Peacock. I find that managing people, finding good 722 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:26,840 Speaker 1: talent and executing and staying out of the weeds is 723 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:29,000 Speaker 1: the most challenging part of business. That's what I find 724 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,319 Speaker 1: to be the most challenging. Do you agree? Do you 725 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:33,880 Speaker 1: what is your process and what do you find to 726 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,160 Speaker 1: be the most challenging part of being a business person, 727 00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:40,400 Speaker 1: running a business and the culture for all of it. Yeah, well, 728 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:42,520 Speaker 1: I think that you know what you just said. I 729 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,000 Speaker 1: think when you're especially when you're trying to start a business, 730 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:48,680 Speaker 1: whether you're doing it as an entrepreneur, like as a 731 00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:51,960 Speaker 1: traditional startup, or whether you're doing it within a big corporation, 732 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:55,040 Speaker 1: you know, it's hard to not get into the weeds, 733 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:57,799 Speaker 1: to not get into the details, because you want to 734 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,000 Speaker 1: be successful and you want the business to be successed 735 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,560 Speaker 1: full and and I think that I definitely am guilty 736 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,080 Speaker 1: of that, you know, like I am probably in almost 737 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:10,640 Speaker 1: every major decision, and that's not good. So I try 738 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:14,160 Speaker 1: to both hire people but empower people. Like I tell 739 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,719 Speaker 1: people all the time, like, if you're here, whatever your 740 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,879 Speaker 1: job is, you're here because there's a role that you're 741 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:25,480 Speaker 1: being hired to do, and you're part of our success. 742 00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:27,719 Speaker 1: You're going to be part of ultimately, how we're going 743 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:29,880 Speaker 1: to grow as a business. My job as a manager 744 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,120 Speaker 1: is to block and tackle for you, to make it 745 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,520 Speaker 1: easier for you to do your job. And I think 746 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 1: that's always difficult, you know, when when you're somebody who 747 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:40,520 Speaker 1: can get into the weeds, it's hard to pull yourself 748 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,880 Speaker 1: out of it. But but that is I think an 749 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:45,440 Speaker 1: important lesson that I've learned, which is you've got to 750 00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 1: scale yourself. You've got to be able to delegate. But 751 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 1: I can tell because we're the same age, and I 752 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:51,759 Speaker 1: can tell at the place in your career that you're at. 753 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:54,160 Speaker 1: It's a discipline for you. Like you go through it 754 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:56,400 Speaker 1: too with me. You you're in and then you're like, Okay, guys, 755 00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 1: I gotta get out of these weeds because I got 756 00:38:58,280 --> 00:38:59,440 Speaker 1: to do with the big picture. But I have to 757 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:01,680 Speaker 1: be aware. I call it look at the whole board, 758 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:04,239 Speaker 1: and it's it's such most challenging thing to be in 759 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:06,680 Speaker 1: it when you need to and then pull yourself out, 760 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:08,439 Speaker 1: you know, try to kill the weeds from the roots. 761 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:10,920 Speaker 1: There's another dimension to it, which is I think it 762 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,080 Speaker 1: motivates people. Like when you talk about what motivates people, 763 00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 1: I find there's like three things. And I know that 764 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:22,160 Speaker 1: I'm oversimplifying it. Like money motivates people, um, but not everybody. 765 00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:24,799 Speaker 1: Not everyone's motivated by money. But but and that's not 766 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:26,640 Speaker 1: a bad thing if it motivates you. I think there's 767 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,160 Speaker 1: a lot of people who have been very successful. The 768 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,799 Speaker 1: other thing that can motivate people is just showing gratitude. 769 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:36,240 Speaker 1: So I am huge in building cultures around acknowledging people 770 00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:39,440 Speaker 1: and saying thank you and recognizing people. And sometimes I 771 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,399 Speaker 1: find that can go even further. And then the third 772 00:39:42,719 --> 00:39:47,279 Speaker 1: is demonstrating to somebody how their role matters and why 773 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:50,279 Speaker 1: it matters. And I have found that most people are 774 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:52,560 Speaker 1: going to spend more time at their job then they're 775 00:39:52,560 --> 00:39:55,600 Speaker 1: going to spend with their family or at home. You 776 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:57,919 Speaker 1: want to make it feel like it, like what you're 777 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:01,960 Speaker 1: doing matters, and sometimes you need to tell people and 778 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:03,920 Speaker 1: show them why their role matters. But then you need 779 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,760 Speaker 1: to give them the freedom to do their job well. 780 00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:09,560 Speaker 1: And then when people could do their job really well, 781 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,920 Speaker 1: that could be incredibly motivating because then they feel vested 782 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:17,200 Speaker 1: in the success. And I think that's part of what 783 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:20,640 Speaker 1: I'm trying to do in my role is I can't 784 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:23,480 Speaker 1: always give people more money, but I can certainly take 785 00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,279 Speaker 1: time to say thank you and make sure people have 786 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,640 Speaker 1: what they need to be successful in their role. And 787 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:32,359 Speaker 1: when they're successful, we celebrate it. Right. And how many 788 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:34,600 Speaker 1: years have you been in this position. I've been in 789 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:36,480 Speaker 1: this role for about a year and a half, So 790 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:39,040 Speaker 1: you get this gig. What was your job before? What 791 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,480 Speaker 1: was your title? I I was the executive vice president 792 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:47,400 Speaker 1: at Comcast Cable. I was running Comcast Cable video business, 793 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:52,480 Speaker 1: internet business, phone business. So still a major job, right. Yeah. 794 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:56,560 Speaker 1: I had a fairly high responsibility role at Comcast. I 795 00:40:56,600 --> 00:41:02,120 Speaker 1: was running their residential business lines nationally. But this is 796 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:05,600 Speaker 1: again one of those examples where you know, sometimes you 797 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:08,440 Speaker 1: chart your course and sometimes you got to take advantage 798 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:09,840 Speaker 1: of the opportunity. I had no idea that you were 799 00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:11,520 Speaker 1: going to get this game, no idea. I got a 800 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:13,960 Speaker 1: call on a Thursday from Steve Burke, who at the 801 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:19,440 Speaker 1: time was the CEO of NBC Universal, and he essentially said, 802 00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:25,279 Speaker 1: would you be interested in in in running Peacock Um. 803 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:27,839 Speaker 1: I was seed out having dinner with my wife. She 804 00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:29,560 Speaker 1: could tell that I was, You know that my face 805 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:31,799 Speaker 1: kind of turned a little bit white because that was 806 00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:35,400 Speaker 1: I wasn't expecting that call, but I immediately knew I 807 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:38,200 Speaker 1: had to do this. Like for me, this was like 808 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:41,319 Speaker 1: like that was major, Like that was major. I mean 809 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 1: I literally Bethany went from Thursday, I'm at the dinner 810 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:49,960 Speaker 1: table in a job that I really enjoyed in Philadelphia, 811 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:54,359 Speaker 1: and that Monday, I was living in a hotel room 812 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:59,600 Speaker 1: showing up at NBC for this new job. And essentially 813 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:02,399 Speaker 1: we had only a couple of months to kind of 814 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:06,720 Speaker 1: build it, launch it, you know, and run it. That's exciting, 815 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:11,000 Speaker 1: it's perfect for an entrepreneur, it's perfect for you. All right. 816 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:14,120 Speaker 1: So you get a new job and now the pandemic hits, 817 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:19,160 Speaker 1: so you know, you could obviously forecasts that people be 818 00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:23,520 Speaker 1: watching more TV, watching more entertainment at home. You know. Uh, 819 00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:26,280 Speaker 1: but if you don't hustle and you're not like the best, 820 00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,160 Speaker 1: you're going to be behind the pack because you know that, 821 00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:32,280 Speaker 1: like it's getting more and more competitive. So what without 822 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:34,759 Speaker 1: going on forever? Like I talked to the head of 823 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:37,200 Speaker 1: Canara about this. I talked to Tommy Bahama about this, 824 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,040 Speaker 1: Like what was your move? You got Catalan, you got 825 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:42,400 Speaker 1: your team together, and what what the hell are you saying? Like, 826 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:44,400 Speaker 1: what do we what's the plan? Right? Well, look, it 827 00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:48,480 Speaker 1: was actually even it was actually even harder than that, 828 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:51,319 Speaker 1: because not only was it the pandemic, which meant you 829 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:54,040 Speaker 1: had a new team, new business, now a hundred percent 830 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:57,040 Speaker 1: of people working from home like the rest of the world, right, 831 00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:00,879 Speaker 1: But you know, the streaming environment is like a knife fight. 832 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,839 Speaker 1: I mean, you're talking about highly competitive environment, and we 833 00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:07,520 Speaker 1: are arguably late. I mean we were late to the 834 00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:09,960 Speaker 1: party and now we're going to be doing it from home. 835 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:14,520 Speaker 1: Our programming is delayed. The Olympics, which was obviously supposed 836 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:18,600 Speaker 1: to happen last summer, got delayed. Um. But this is 837 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:21,080 Speaker 1: also one of the things where like I one of 838 00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 1: my favorite movies is Rocky and I love being the underdog. 839 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:31,400 Speaker 1: I love that, so to me, when the pandemic happened, 840 00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:34,399 Speaker 1: we were actually given an opportunity if we if we 841 00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:36,560 Speaker 1: wanted to delay the launch, because we were supposed to 842 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:39,839 Speaker 1: launch July fift of last year. Steve Burke said, if 843 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:42,719 Speaker 1: you want to delay, I'm gonna let you make that decision, 844 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,879 Speaker 1: and I quickly got our team together to discuss it. 845 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:47,920 Speaker 1: By the way, there was never a chance we were 846 00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:49,719 Speaker 1: going to delay, Like in my mind, we were gonna 847 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,239 Speaker 1: we were gonna launch no matter what. But but I 848 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:56,000 Speaker 1: wanted to also hear from my team and we all 849 00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:58,359 Speaker 1: wanted to do it. We all felt like we had 850 00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:01,480 Speaker 1: to go for it. So it was easy at that point. 851 00:44:01,480 --> 00:44:04,239 Speaker 1: It was like, look, I mean relatively easy, but we 852 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:05,880 Speaker 1: But when you do it and you're doing it a 853 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:08,680 Speaker 1: line and you have your organizational line and everyone feels 854 00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:10,880 Speaker 1: like we want to go for it, the odds are 855 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:13,800 Speaker 1: stacked against us. But that's what also makes it exciting. 856 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,000 Speaker 1: There's an energy and that we went for it. You know, 857 00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:18,960 Speaker 1: we went for it and it turned out those are 858 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:21,839 Speaker 1: the people in the pandemic that thrid. It just sort 859 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:23,880 Speaker 1: of motivated you, and I think that should motivate people 860 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:26,480 Speaker 1: to just when it seems like it's a crisis and 861 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:29,560 Speaker 1: a disaster and things are moving in many different directions. 862 00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:32,080 Speaker 1: That's how I do my belief work. Like it's a 863 00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:34,760 Speaker 1: clear path and you just put your head down and focus. 864 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:38,160 Speaker 1: So that's awesome. Yeah, there's always a silver lining. There's 865 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:41,239 Speaker 1: always a silver lining, you just sometimes you gotta look 866 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:44,680 Speaker 1: a little harder to find it. Dig But I spend 867 00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:49,279 Speaker 1: almost zero of my energy on negativity or observing the problems. 868 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:54,160 Speaker 1: I always try to focus on how do we move forward? 869 00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:56,120 Speaker 1: What do we need to do. I don't look in 870 00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:58,719 Speaker 1: the rear view mirror. I'm always trying to focus on 871 00:44:58,719 --> 00:45:02,680 Speaker 1: the road ahead. Zing Um, are you what percentage are 872 00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:06,800 Speaker 1: you lucky and what percentage do you smart? I would 873 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:10,040 Speaker 1: say I have been like fifty lucky. There have been 874 00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:12,600 Speaker 1: a lot of things that I look back at my 875 00:45:12,719 --> 00:45:16,880 Speaker 1: career that were opportunities that were presented to me. You know, 876 00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:20,759 Speaker 1: some of them, I certainly recognize that, you know, I 877 00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:23,560 Speaker 1: put myself in certain situations where I was at the 878 00:45:23,640 --> 00:45:26,719 Speaker 1: right place at the right time. But I feel like 879 00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:29,160 Speaker 1: I've been also given a lot of opportunities and breaks, 880 00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:31,600 Speaker 1: and I've tried to take advantage of them. But at 881 00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:34,640 Speaker 1: the end of the day, I'm a hustler at heart, 882 00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:39,080 Speaker 1: Like I am somebody who feels like my success has 883 00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:42,440 Speaker 1: come from not giving up. Like that's just not an option. 884 00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:46,520 Speaker 1: I don't. I do not give up. That's pals everybody 885 00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:49,480 Speaker 1: that's not from one, that's not tech, that's a hundred 886 00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:52,360 Speaker 1: years old, not giving up old school hard work. We 887 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:54,680 Speaker 1: keep coming back to that on this podcast, that everybody 888 00:45:54,719 --> 00:45:58,120 Speaker 1: that's successful is saying the same thing. So you gotta 889 00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:01,080 Speaker 1: listen to it, because I'm listening to it. Um, and 890 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:03,600 Speaker 1: then what has been not about your kids and family? 891 00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:06,360 Speaker 1: What has been the rose and the thorn of your career, 892 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:11,239 Speaker 1: your business career? Um? Well, look, the rose of my 893 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:15,879 Speaker 1: is that Comcast. I never ever thought I would work 894 00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:19,040 Speaker 1: at a company as long as I have been a Comcast. 895 00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:22,160 Speaker 1: But I believe in the management, I like the culture. 896 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:25,120 Speaker 1: I feel like I've had an opportunity to like put 897 00:46:25,239 --> 00:46:28,839 Speaker 1: my fingerprints on on the future. And so the rose 898 00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:31,520 Speaker 1: for for me is I found the right company to thrive. 899 00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:35,359 Speaker 1: I'm alive at the right time in this in this 900 00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:38,719 Speaker 1: industry to to participate in it, and I feel really 901 00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:41,719 Speaker 1: fortunate that I've been able to do it. I think 902 00:46:41,800 --> 00:46:45,080 Speaker 1: the I know this is gonna I don't. I don't 903 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:49,960 Speaker 1: know what the thor sometimes doesn't have a you know, 904 00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:52,920 Speaker 1: if there is a thord, I I don't think about. Look, 905 00:46:53,239 --> 00:46:57,360 Speaker 1: there's no question in my career it was not linear. Well, 906 00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:00,359 Speaker 1: I think there have been things that I've that had 907 00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:03,320 Speaker 1: not been successful, like that service I talked about magrac 908 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:07,080 Speaker 1: I spent probably a hundred million dollars building it out 909 00:47:07,239 --> 00:47:11,680 Speaker 1: and it didn't work, Like the timing wasn't right, the market, 910 00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:15,680 Speaker 1: the technology wasn't mature enough. I got laughed by the 911 00:47:15,719 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 1: Internet and YouTube and Hulu and all these other services, 912 00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:23,000 Speaker 1: and that was a real setback for me. I mean 913 00:47:23,040 --> 00:47:26,279 Speaker 1: that that was a really difficult thing for me to 914 00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:28,880 Speaker 1: kind of reconcile because I was there was a failure 915 00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:30,840 Speaker 1: in the middle of a corporate structure with people watching 916 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:33,480 Speaker 1: at and I believe, but I knew that it was 917 00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:36,640 Speaker 1: the right I knew that that was the future. I 918 00:47:36,800 --> 00:47:39,359 Speaker 1: just wasn't able to execute on it, and I had 919 00:47:39,400 --> 00:47:43,239 Speaker 1: to try again. And that that's why again, in many ways, 920 00:47:43,239 --> 00:47:46,640 Speaker 1: Peacock for me is like another shot. It's another chance 921 00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,680 Speaker 1: at what I've tried to do twenty years ago. But 922 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:51,719 Speaker 1: the market is obviously in a very different place, and 923 00:47:51,760 --> 00:47:54,920 Speaker 1: I'm in a very different place in my learning and 924 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:57,359 Speaker 1: everything I've been able to absorb over the past twenty years. 925 00:47:57,719 --> 00:47:59,440 Speaker 1: I always say there can only be one peacock in 926 00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:02,279 Speaker 1: a relationship. If um, and this is the last thing 927 00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:04,160 Speaker 1: I'm going longer than most people with you, is your 928 00:48:04,160 --> 00:48:06,600 Speaker 1: wife does she work? Is she a career person? My 929 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:10,680 Speaker 1: wife was a school teacher, she taught high school, UM, 930 00:48:11,120 --> 00:48:13,880 Speaker 1: and she gave up her teaching career to be with 931 00:48:13,880 --> 00:48:17,399 Speaker 1: the kids, and she has been incredibly supportive I mean 932 00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:20,000 Speaker 1: she's nimble with you, moving and getting these new gigs 933 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:23,520 Speaker 1: and moving everywhere and every I mean right even right now. 934 00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:25,880 Speaker 1: It's you know, my kids are are older where we 935 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,640 Speaker 1: can't easily move, so I'm back and forth in New 936 00:48:28,680 --> 00:48:31,239 Speaker 1: York City all the time, and she she's the one 937 00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:34,880 Speaker 1: that actually shoulders the biggest job, you know, is managing 938 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:38,960 Speaker 1: the family. Yeah, I agree. Um, well, you were wonderful. 939 00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:41,560 Speaker 1: I've not said this to anyone yet, so but I 940 00:48:41,600 --> 00:48:44,200 Speaker 1: think that I don't know your company. A lot of 941 00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:46,320 Speaker 1: the people that work lower your company probably don't know 942 00:48:46,360 --> 00:48:48,600 Speaker 1: that much about you, and there's nothing on the internet 943 00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:50,239 Speaker 1: about you. So you should maybe let them listen to 944 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:53,479 Speaker 1: this because you know, it's it's very rare that people 945 00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:56,480 Speaker 1: get to hear like what your journey was and who 946 00:48:56,520 --> 00:48:59,880 Speaker 1: you actually are. So I think it's interesting, uh info 947 00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:01,920 Speaker 1: for people to know who they're working for. Well, thank you, well, look, 948 00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:04,279 Speaker 1: thank you for saying that. Thank you for giving me 949 00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:06,719 Speaker 1: the opportunity to speech to you. I really enjoyed it, 950 00:49:06,760 --> 00:49:10,160 Speaker 1: and maybe this helps some people as well as they're 951 00:49:10,160 --> 00:49:13,040 Speaker 1: going to Well, I loved it. It was great. You know, 952 00:49:13,080 --> 00:49:15,239 Speaker 1: I never know because you had so little information. But 953 00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:17,359 Speaker 1: I'm always. It always is these ones that I never 954 00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:19,959 Speaker 1: know that are really great. I would never have gone 955 00:49:20,200 --> 00:49:23,400 Speaker 1: longer than an hour ever, so uh awesome to meet you, 956 00:49:23,400 --> 00:49:26,640 Speaker 1: a great conversation, and UM, love to your family and 957 00:49:26,680 --> 00:49:29,520 Speaker 1: good luck with everything. Thank you so much, methany, take care. 958 00:49:29,640 --> 00:49:38,560 Speaker 1: Thank you ye So Matt Strouss. Uh. Sometimes I put 959 00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:41,160 Speaker 1: people on here that you're probably like, who is that? 960 00:49:41,320 --> 00:49:44,480 Speaker 1: So keep in mind that I want you to experience 961 00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:50,160 Speaker 1: different types of entrepreneurs, people that work within a corporate framework, 962 00:49:50,239 --> 00:49:54,160 Speaker 1: people that are total you know, mavericks on their own. 963 00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:57,680 Speaker 1: I just I think it's important if you are trying 964 00:49:57,719 --> 00:50:03,120 Speaker 1: to further yourself in business, art of business, succeed in business, um, 965 00:50:03,200 --> 00:50:05,480 Speaker 1: or just take tools in your personal life. I think 966 00:50:05,480 --> 00:50:07,560 Speaker 1: it's important to experience different types of people. So Matt 967 00:50:07,680 --> 00:50:12,759 Speaker 1: Strouss was really one of those unexpected treasures. I talked 968 00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:16,480 Speaker 1: to him longer than almost anyone, and I had fewer 969 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:18,359 Speaker 1: questions for him because there was really nothing about him 970 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:21,480 Speaker 1: on the internet. So I hope you enjoyed that as well. UM, 971 00:50:21,640 --> 00:50:25,640 Speaker 1: remember to rate, review and subscribe, and I appreciate you listening. 972 00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:35,360 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Just Be is hosted and executive 973 00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:38,719 Speaker 1: produced by me Bethany Frankel Just Be as a production 974 00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:43,080 Speaker 1: of be Real Productions and I Heart Radio. Our Managing 975 00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:46,120 Speaker 1: Producer is Fiona Smith and our producer is Stephanie Sender. 976 00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:49,680 Speaker 1: Our EP is Morgan Levoy. To catch more moments from 977 00:50:49,680 --> 00:50:51,920 Speaker 1: the show, follow us on Instagram at just Be with 978 00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:52,400 Speaker 1: Bethany