WEBVTT - Why a Billionaire Founder Encouraged Office Pranks

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<v Speaker 1>And we continue with our American stories and with a

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<v Speaker 1>story about a unique company culture. Tom Golisano is the

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<v Speaker 1>founder of Paychecks, which helped six hundred and eighty thousand

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<v Speaker 1>businesses manage their payroll, HR and benefits. And it's also

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<v Speaker 1>a place that enjoys a good prank every now and then.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, we've done a bunch of stories on

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<v Speaker 1>pranksters and epic pranks. Here's Tom on a few of

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<v Speaker 1>their pranks, starting with one from his late best friend

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<v Speaker 1>Jean Paulsini.

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<v Speaker 2>We got two little kids at home. It's a Saturday morning.

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<v Speaker 2>The phone rings, and it was just when people who

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<v Speaker 2>are starting to use tape recorders. So I pick up

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<v Speaker 2>the phone. There's this guy on the bather end recording.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the Monroe County Water Authority. We're shutting off

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<v Speaker 2>your water for forty eight hours. Make other preparations.

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<v Speaker 1>What suck?

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<v Speaker 2>I think you can't do that. I call out the

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<v Speaker 2>water at thirty This is Saturday, where nobody's working today. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I get a recording. What the hell do you do?

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<v Speaker 2>Said Glory. Find every pan you can in the house

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<v Speaker 2>and fill it with water. We did that. Now two

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<v Speaker 2>hours later, Jean comes over comes in the house and

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<v Speaker 2>he looks around. He sees all these pants full of water,

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<v Speaker 2>and I can see his slipping and how your lip

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<v Speaker 2>curls when you're trying not to laugh. I said, you sup,

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<v Speaker 2>it was him. He could disguise his voice. So one day,

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<v Speaker 2>Jean's working at paychecks. He was a senior VP, very

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<v Speaker 2>important job. And uh, we're building an addition to our building.

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<v Speaker 2>And there's this huge crane on the grounds. And I

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<v Speaker 2>know the contractor is a good friend of mine, so

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<v Speaker 2>I said, Waite, what's that all about. He says, well,

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to start moving steel in next week and

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<v Speaker 2>that's what we put the steel in place with that crane.

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<v Speaker 2>Can you build a little one platform for a car?

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<v Speaker 2>He says, I got a friend. It's Jane. He drives

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<v Speaker 2>a Mercedes Roadster in the winter time. Now nobody drives

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<v Speaker 2>a roadster in the winter time in Rochester, New York.

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<v Speaker 2>He gott me a little nuts, he says, yeah, I

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<v Speaker 2>could do it. He does it. I get a second

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<v Speaker 2>set of keys from his wife. We send Jeane out

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<v Speaker 2>to lunch with some other guys. He comes back. His

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<v Speaker 2>car is hanging five stories up in the air, swinging

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<v Speaker 2>in the wind. Jeane, you're the employee of the month.

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<v Speaker 2>To show you the attitude of this guy. Though he

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<v Speaker 2>gets out of the car, he looks up, he sees

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<v Speaker 2>his car up there. I'm thinking it could be a

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<v Speaker 2>seventy five thousand dollars joke if it falls off that platform.

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<v Speaker 2>And he says, I wish I thought of that, because

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<v Speaker 2>he would have done it to me. But that's what

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<v Speaker 2>our life was like. I used to have this thing

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<v Speaker 2>with a training department. We had quite a training program.

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<v Speaker 2>We brought all new employees and that was, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>like three four thousand a year to Rochester for one

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<v Speaker 2>week to four weeks of training, depending on the job.

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<v Speaker 2>We believe it was very important because once when you're

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<v Speaker 2>a branch network like we are, people never get a

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<v Speaker 2>feel for what the company's like. They only see their

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<v Speaker 2>local branch. So we'd like to bringing people in so

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<v Speaker 2>they get to meet some of the officers and see

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<v Speaker 2>the general atmosphere. Gives us a chance to brag a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit about the company and so forth. Well, I

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<v Speaker 2>used to have to stand at the training department. I

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<v Speaker 2>used to like to play jokes on them, and they

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<v Speaker 2>like to play them on me. So one day I

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<v Speaker 2>was running for governor and my secretary was transferring to

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<v Speaker 2>Arizona because of her husband's new job. So I said,

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<v Speaker 2>we got to find a new secretary. I said, interview

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<v Speaker 2>several people. Get it down to two, and I'll interview

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<v Speaker 2>them on Friday when I come back to Rochester. I

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<v Speaker 2>come into Rochester on Friday. They send this woman in

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<v Speaker 2>for the interview. Now she's got obviously bleached bond hair.

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<v Speaker 2>She's got her hand wrapped up in a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>of a sling short skirt and a really short skirt,

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<v Speaker 2>tight open up blouse. So I start talking to her

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<v Speaker 2>about her skill set. She doesn't have any. So I'm

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<v Speaker 2>saying to myself, what's happened to our standard here? So

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sitting there thinking, and all of a sudden, the

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<v Speaker 2>cootie she lights up a cigarette. Yeah, we're no smoking building.

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<v Speaker 2>She lights up a cigarette. I looked at it. I said, man,

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<v Speaker 2>would you please put that out and leave? So she

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<v Speaker 2>gets up and she leaves like very normally. I look

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<v Speaker 2>out and there's half the training department standing outside my window.

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<v Speaker 2>They're laughing there at and they recorded the thing. They

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<v Speaker 2>had a microphone and a plant next to my desk,

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<v Speaker 2>So okay, and I walked by the training department and

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<v Speaker 2>there there's a classroom of middle managers and they're there

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<v Speaker 2>for a one week management training course. And I look

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<v Speaker 2>at them. They looked bored as hell. I said, So

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<v Speaker 2>I just happened to go out that night. I go

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<v Speaker 2>to a bar and the local pub, and I ran

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<v Speaker 2>into maybe ten of them, and you know, so I

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<v Speaker 2>had a great conversation with him. We had a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of fun, and I didn't talk much about the class

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<v Speaker 2>but I did grab one of them. I said, you

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<v Speaker 2>want to have some fun tomorrow? He said sure. I said, okay,

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<v Speaker 2>you just follow my lead. I want you to ask

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<v Speaker 2>me about local income taxes, and I want you to

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<v Speaker 2>be not happy with my answers. He says, okay. So

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<v Speaker 2>we normally have a launch and then we do Q

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<v Speaker 2>and A. So now we're doing the Q and A

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<v Speaker 2>and he asked the question. He says, Tom, we're not

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<v Speaker 2>very happy in the state of Ohio with how he

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<v Speaker 2>processed local income taxes. What's being done about it? So

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<v Speaker 2>I gave him sort of a pat answer. While where

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<v Speaker 2>software is working on the development of it, it's going

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<v Speaker 2>to be some time and it'll be bye bah. He says, oh,

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<v Speaker 2>a couple of people ask questions. He comes back again,

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<v Speaker 2>and he asked the same question. He says, I wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>happy with your answer, could you expound on it? So

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<v Speaker 2>the two managers in a training course, the teachers are

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<v Speaker 2>to see. I was getting peeved, so was he. So

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<v Speaker 2>I noticed he put his hand on it on one

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<v Speaker 2>of his legs, settled down, and she gave the other.

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<v Speaker 2>She gave one of the guys to take an easy

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<v Speaker 2>look at the guy that was making this comments. Sonny,

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<v Speaker 2>I gave a same answer, and he got even you know,

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<v Speaker 2>a little peeved himself. Sure enough, he waited a few

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<v Speaker 2>more questions. He came back with the same question. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>not happy with your answer. Mister gallis out. So I

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<v Speaker 2>look at him. I said, you know, if you're not

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<v Speaker 2>happy with the answer, the door's right there, why don't

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<v Speaker 2>you use it? Okay, picked up and he walked out.

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<v Speaker 2>The heads of the training department out in the hall,

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<v Speaker 2>plus the rest of the trainees see this. They know

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<v Speaker 2>the whole company's going to know about it in fifteen minutes.

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<v Speaker 2>So I didn't say a word. I just sat there.

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<v Speaker 2>About ten minutes went by. He comes back in the

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<v Speaker 2>room and he's up. We're all laughing now, and they all, oh,

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<v Speaker 2>did we get him? Good? Marty Mucy, he wasn't CEO

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<v Speaker 2>at the time, but he was head of all branch operations,

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<v Speaker 2>and we had a little thing on the fourth floor

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<v Speaker 2>of the executive floor of our building where when it

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<v Speaker 2>was somebody's birthday, on their first birthday, we'd have cake

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<v Speaker 2>and ice cream. And then one a little somebody got

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<v Speaker 2>one of these little halloween ants with the you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the triangle and it looks with a little rubber band

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<v Speaker 2>and you're supposed to wear it if it's your first

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<v Speaker 2>birthday at the corporate office. So we're all in the

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<v Speaker 2>corporate office. Marty comes in and I think it was

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<v Speaker 2>Jean says Marty putting on the hat. And Marty said,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not putting that hat on, and somebody else time did,

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<v Speaker 2>but you got to put the hat on. I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>say a word. He didn't put the hat on. Finally

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<v Speaker 2>he said, oh, all right, he does this, and he

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<v Speaker 2>does that. There I took out. I put out a hat.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, he's really irritated. He's a little irritated too.

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't say a word. Well, within a couple of

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<v Speaker 2>weeks We had a officers meeting, which was a monthly thing,

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<v Speaker 2>and we had a rule one person talks at the

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<v Speaker 2>time all the time. That was the number one rule,

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<v Speaker 2>One person at the time, So everybody gets hurt. So

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<v Speaker 2>I made sure Marty was the last one to come

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<v Speaker 2>in the room. I think I had a secretary tell

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<v Speaker 2>him something or something. So he comes in the room,

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<v Speaker 2>he sits down, and I bring up a topic. I said,

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<v Speaker 2>I want to talk about it that's been bothering me.

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<v Speaker 2>I want to talk about the color of our payroll checks.

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<v Speaker 2>Marty looks at me. What the hell he's so talking about.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, we're doing millions of checks. They've all been great,

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<v Speaker 2>the same color. So I made a small presentation on

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<v Speaker 2>us and Marty says, Tom, He says, I don't see it.

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<v Speaker 2>He starts talking, and everybody starts talking to their neighbor

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<v Speaker 2>and ignores him. So he kind of looked around the room.

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<v Speaker 2>I went back to the conversation. He came in again

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<v Speaker 2>said something. Nobody paid attention to him, and I can

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<v Speaker 2>tell you he's getting a little unnerved. The third time

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<v Speaker 2>was the cood. He ta, what the heck is going

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<v Speaker 2>on in here? So we settled down and I said, Marty,

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<v Speaker 2>next time, we're the damn hat and then he knew.

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<v Speaker 1>And you've been listening to Tom Galisano. And by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>corporate cultures, well they drive in the end employee satisfaction

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<v Speaker 1>and output. And if you're not having some fun at work,

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<v Speaker 1>what are you doing? And this is a message to

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<v Speaker 1>every boss in America. Have some fun. It's allowed, it's permitted,

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<v Speaker 1>and Tom Glisano is saying it's required, it's required. And

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, you can learn so much more from

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<v Speaker 1>this great American voice by picking up Tom's book, Built

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<v Speaker 1>Not Born, a self made Billionaire's no nonsense guide for entrepreneurs,

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<v Speaker 1>and that includes a little nonsense. Pick it up at

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<v Speaker 1>your local bookstore. Tom Glisano's story here on our American

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<v Speaker 1>Story