1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with shop Talk number thirteen. Alex, 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:13,160 Speaker 1: It's thirteen, an unlucky number to you. Hopefully you don't 3 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: believe in lucky and unlucky numbers. Well, I know we're 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: not supposed to, but I can't help it. Thirteen's weird. 5 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 1: So I'm going to off set shop Talk number thirteen 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: with a really great story of a great guy. There's 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: no way talking about Sparky weird and shop Talk number 8 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: thirteen could be unlucky. So we're going to talk about 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: the dean of students at Old Miss when I was 10 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: in college and what he taught me in shop Talk 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,480 Speaker 1: number thirteen. We'll be right back after these brief messages 12 00:00:49,720 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: from our general sponsors. Okay, everybody, Shop Talk number thirteen. 13 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: Sparky Rearding. So the first time I ever met Sparky, 14 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: I was a student at Ole Miss, a freshman, and 15 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: I was in freshman orientation and every freshman piled into 16 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: this large auditorium and this guy, I would say he 17 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: was about five foot ten, maybe two hundred and fifty pounds. 18 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: He was a robust fellow rolls up to the podium 19 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,759 Speaker 1: and he has on khakis and a green sports jacket, 20 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: and I mean like green. For purposes of this conversation, 21 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: you need to know that the Grove at ole Miss 22 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: is a ten to fifteen acre plot of ground right 23 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: in the middle of campus that is tree lined in 24 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: beautiful and grass, and it's basically a park in the 25 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: Citl Center campus. It's absolutely gorgeous. So when Sparky takes 26 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 1: the podium, he says my name, and he's got on 27 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: this green jacket. He said, my name is Sparky Reard 28 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: and I'm the DINA students here, and no, I am 29 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: not the growth. He was big and green. He was 30 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: this interesting guy. And when you when you show up 31 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:25,919 Speaker 1: as a freshman, you think DINA students, you know that's 32 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: the one guy you don't want to mess with. Just 33 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: leave the If you never meet the DNA students in college, 34 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 1: you're probably in good shape. Sparky was different. He went 35 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: on to welcome us to school. I started my freshman 36 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: year never really paid Sparky reared In any any much 37 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: attention until my junior year. And I was walking to 38 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: class across campus like everybody else, and I noticed, here 39 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: comes Dean Reardon and as I passed by him, he 40 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: looks at me and he says good morning, Bill and 41 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: just walks by, and I'm like, how does this guy 42 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: know my name? And then my senior year, I signed 43 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: up for a leadership class and he was actually a professor, 44 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: and I got to know Sparky so much of what 45 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: I know and learn and still carry with me today 46 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:29,919 Speaker 1: about how to coach, how to mentor how to run 47 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: a business, how to be a father and a husband, 48 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: the basics of that was imprinted into me in that 49 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: leadership class that Sparky taught me. What I found out 50 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: was Sparky was from Clarksville or Clark's del Macy's, from 51 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: the Delta Mississippian. He too had gone Old missus A 52 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: as a freshman, and he started writing a column for 53 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: the Daily Mississippian. It was called sparks Plug. Fell in 54 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: love with school, went off and taught high school for 55 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: a little bit, was brought back, took a job in 56 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: administration at Ole Miss, and one thing led to another, 57 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 1: and he became the dean of students at Ole Miss. 58 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: Sparky was the dean of students at Old Miss when 59 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,600 Speaker 1: the football team still or the band at the football 60 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: games and the basketball games still played Dixie and when 61 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: everybody in the stands raved the Confederate flag at the games. 62 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: And Sparky was was one of those guys that could 63 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: transcend difficult moments and reach you. And I'm going to 64 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: tell you what his secret sauce was. He knew those 65 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: he served. He literally sought out to look, this is 66 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: a university. Now. This guy literally sought out to learn 67 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: the names of the people that went to school at 68 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: ole Miss, all the students. And I'm not saying he 69 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: knew every name of every student, but he knew a 70 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: ton of them. He would look at composites and try 71 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,279 Speaker 1: to remember faces a name so that when he walked 72 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: by it would just simply call you by your name 73 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: and make you feel included and make you feel like 74 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: you mattered. His version of leadership was to serve his 75 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: community and to know his community. In his community were kids. 76 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: Here's where Sparky really mattered to me. When Chucky Mullins, 77 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: who was a football player at All Miss that broke 78 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:59,239 Speaker 1: his neck, fell on the football field and a group 79 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: of us and my fraternity decided to try to start 80 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: a philanthropic event which was going to be a full 81 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: patted football game to play and honor of Chucky Mullins 82 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 1: for another kid in Mississippi who'd hurt himself on a 83 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: football field. We needed the field, we needed equipment, we 84 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:19,799 Speaker 1: needed publicity, we needed all kinds of things to start 85 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 1: this fledgling idea. And I went to the dean students. 86 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: I went sparky, but I went sparky after talking to athletics, 87 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: talking to the athletic department, talking to the administration, and 88 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: everybody's like, y'all are stupid, y'all are crazy, We're not 89 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: doing this and everything, and I went sparking. I told 90 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: him my idea, and Sparky thought it was great. Sparky 91 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: walked us through it. Today, that little football game is 92 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: now the largest Greek philanthropy project in the entire United States. 93 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 1: And it only happened because we had a leader in 94 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: Adidas students at the University of Mississippi at Ole Miss 95 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: named Sparky Reardon, who saw the passion and some students 96 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: to do something good and worked alongside them to make 97 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: it happen. At Old Miss. The fraternity of the Greek 98 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: system is also is very very large, very ingrained in 99 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: the fabric and the culture of the school. Sparky became 100 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:34,239 Speaker 1: the leading one of the leading voices in the nation 101 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: across the country for the anti hazing movement, and I 102 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:47,559 Speaker 1: remember him telling us that the culture that you wanted 103 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: to create, a brotherhood and friendship and sisterhood and all 104 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: of that, that hazing had no place in it. And 105 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: back in those days, hazing was kind of a ritual 106 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: on a right of passage, while certainly today hazing is 107 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: rightly so viewed as something that is subservient and wrong. 108 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: It took a man like Sparky to change culture. But 109 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: he didn't do it with a heavy hand. He did 110 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: it by serving and explaining and walking alongside young impressiable 111 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: minds and helping them to see the right things and 112 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: to see the way to do things. Sparky Reardon was 113 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: the model of a servant leader. And here's what he did. 114 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 1: He sought to know your name. He sought to call 115 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: you by your name. He sought to see you as 116 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: a human being. He sought to find out what made 117 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,000 Speaker 1: you tick. He sought to find out what your dreams 118 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: and goals and inhibitions were, and he sought to all 119 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: those inhibitions and help those goals come to fruition. And 120 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: then he sought to make sure that you were engaging 121 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: in things that were healthy and good for you and 122 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 1: good for your learning. But he never did it with 123 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: a heavy hand, by pushing down on you. He did 124 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: it by walking that and serving alongside. So what does 125 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: leadership look like today? What does servant look leadership look 126 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:36,559 Speaker 1: like today? And I look across the spectrum of our politics, 127 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 1: and I look across the spectrum of many of our businesses. 128 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,359 Speaker 1: I look across the spectrum of some of our families, 129 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: and I see this think like me, do like me, 130 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: or you're my enemy mentality. And I see this believe 131 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: like me and think like me, or I can't even 132 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: be in the same room as you. And I just 133 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 1: wonder what what if we had more sparky reardons, someone 134 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: who's willing to see who you are for who you are, 135 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: meet you are, where you are, and serve you and 136 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: in doing so, leads you. And so I go back 137 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:18,680 Speaker 1: to that leadership class I took from Sparky, and I 138 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,079 Speaker 1: understand that yeah we had textbooks, and yes we had 139 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: reading materials, and yes it was a classroom, but it 140 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: wasn't the materials and the classroom and the text that 141 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 1: I was learning from. It was the man himself, Sparky Reardon, 142 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: a servant leader who without his example, I'm not really 143 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: sure if I'd have done a lot of things out 144 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: have done. So Shop Talk number thirteen, guys, is being 145 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: a servant leader, and the greatest illustration of that is 146 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: Sparky Reardon. We got to start meeting people where they are. 147 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: We got to spart talking about the proper ways to 148 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: conduct ourselves. We've got to start helping those in and 149 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: around us to reach their goals in dreams by serving 150 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: them and walking alongside them. We got to start understanding 151 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: that just because you don't look like me, think like me, 152 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: or come from where I come from, or even have 153 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:26,240 Speaker 1: the same viewpoints and perspectives that I do, that we 154 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: can still have conversations and serve one another, and then 155 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: serve one another we can lead. So if you talk 156 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: about an army and normal folks, and you talk about 157 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: servant leadership, we need to talk about being like Sparky. 158 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: So shop Talk number thirteen, instead of being sparks Plug 159 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: is plug and spark. I hope you'll think about it. 160 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: I'm Bill Courtney. I'll see you next week.