The Quarterback DadCast
Fatherhood, Leadership, and Embracing Vulnerability: A Conversation with COO Justin Priest
Fatherhood isn't just about teaching our kids how to ride a bike; it's about leading by example, both at home and in all aspects of life.
Joining us this week is Justin Priest, COO of ConsultNet and a man who knows a thing or two about wearing multiple hats. Together, we explore the parallels between nurturing a family and steering a company—shedding light on how the lessons of patience, communication, and empathy are interwoven in both realms. With humor reminiscent of a late-night talk show, our conversation veers from the unexpected blessings of the pandemic for family life to the personal impact of sports and the enduring wisdom we pick up from our parents.
There's a raw honesty in discussing the softer side of masculinity, a topic that our dialogue tackles head-on. As men, fathers, and professionals, we're unmasking the cultural shift that now celebrates vulnerability as a strength. The chapter we dedicate to navigating growth and vulnerability touches on the importance of candid communication and the revolutionary effect it can have within organizations. You'll hear stories of our own trials and triumphs, from athletic pursuits to the journey of self-realization. It's a candid reflection on the moments that shape us and how our parental role models have laid the groundwork for resilience.
This episode packs a punch of heart and humor, ending with a lightning round that'll leave you chuckling and ready to tackle fatherhood with renewed vigor. We wrap up with insights into the fleeting nature of family time and the importance of savoring every precious moment. So, whether you're a new father finding your footing or a seasoned pro at the dad game, this episode is a must-listen, filled with laughter, learning, and a dash of inspiration for the journey ahead.
Please don't forget to leave us a review wherever you consume your podcasts! Please help us get more dads to listen weekly and become the ultimate leader of their homes!
Fatherhood isn't just about teaching our kids how to ride a bike; it's about leading by example, both at home and in all aspects of life.
Joining us this week is Justin Priest, COO of ConsultNet and a man who knows a thing or two about wearing multiple hats. Together, we explore the parallels between nurturing a family and steering a company—shedding light on how the lessons of patience, communication, and empathy are interwoven in both realms. With humor reminiscent of a late-night talk show, our conversation veers from the unexpected blessings of the pandemic for family life to the personal impact of sports and the enduring wisdom we pick up from our parents.
There's a raw honesty in discussing the softer side of masculinity, a topic that our dialogue tackles head-on. As men, fathers, and professionals, we're unmasking the cultural shift that now celebrates vulnerability as a strength. The chapter we dedicate to navigating growth and vulnerability touches on the importance of candid communication and the revolutionary effect it can have within organizations. You'll hear stories of our own trials and triumphs, from athletic pursuits to the journey of self-realization. It's a candid reflection on the moments that shape us and how our parental role models have laid the groundwork for resilience.
This episode packs a punch of heart and humor, ending with a lightning round that'll leave you chuckling and ready to tackle fatherhood with renewed vigor. We wrap up with insights into the fleeting nature of family time and the importance of savoring every precious moment. So, whether you're a new father finding your footing or a seasoned pro at the dad game, this episode is a must-listen, filled with laughter, learning, and a dash of inspiration for the journey ahead.
Please don't forget to leave us a review wherever you consume your podcasts! Please help us get more dads to listen weekly and become the ultimate leader of their homes!
Hi, I'm Riley and I'm Ryder and this is my dad show. Hey everybody, it's Casey Jaycox with the quarterback dad cast and, as I promised, we do finally have a new and exciting sponsor that's going to be joining us over the next 13 weeks or so, and they it is called the authentic edge podcast, which is going to be launching very, very soon. It is a podcast that is led by the fantastic and successful Jason DeLuca and executive sales and people leader at Dexian, as well as with a Paul DeFrancenzo, who is a global sales leader at indeedcom. This podcast, authentic edge, as I mentioned, is, is launching in the next month and it's really about a journey into the heart and genuine relationships into the workplace. So they're going to talk about uncovering the profound impact that authenticity has on establishing instant trust, fostering long-term partnerships, as well as creating serendipitous connections that evolve into endearing business and personal relationships, which is exactly how I would describe my relationship with Jason and Paul. So, without further ado, let's get right to the next episode, and I hope that you check out the authentic edge wherever you consume your podcasts.
Speaker 2:Hey, everybody, it is Casey Jaycox with the quarterback podcast. We're in season five and this next gentleman you mean God. He's just tough to get. I mean, I had to go through three agents and then booking agents and then media agents. And what the good news is, we finally found him. His name is Justin Priest and I met him at actually through, I think, some some multiple connections Guys like Joel Legge, guys like Chris Martin, through through our friends at Bullhorn Engage and maybe some Chris Mater and then. But he is, he's a former Viking. He spent 16 years at the Ronsod Companies. He's now the COO of ConsultNet, a family of companies which I actually used to compete against back in the early 2000s. But, more importantly, we're going to have Justin on today to talk about Justin the dad and how he's working hard to become the ultimate quarterback or leader of his household. So, without further ado, mr Priest, welcome to the Quarterback Dadcast.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks for having me on, Casey. It's great to be here. I've enjoyed our relationship. We've known each other, I think for about a year now. I think the official intro came maybe through Erin Brawley. Okay, there we go. Sorry, EB, yeah, we got to give Erin a shout out for sure she's the best. But yeah, I've really enjoyed getting to know you, your passion for the industry, the business leadership. It's been great building a friendship with you and looking forward to chatting today.
Speaker 2:Well, it is going to be fun. And two things. One, Aaron, we also should say she's one hell of a trumpet player. I don't know if you knew that I did not. Should say she's one hell of a trumpet player. I don't know if you knew that I did not. She's like the Louis Armstrong of staffing, I mean, she can silver, gold, no matter what, and she's going to love that. I'm saying this right now and I'm already probably in trouble because I forgot to give her love. So, aaron, I apologize deeply. I'm not going to rerecord the intro, because then you can give me something to make fun of me. But how often do you get love about the Cleveland State Vikings?
Speaker 3:Cleveland State Vikings not very often. Typically they get love when they make it to the March Madness tournament. Outside of that, I mean, they have a decent soccer team from time to time, but there's not a lot of Cleveland State love out there Well that's why I said it.
Speaker 2:I got to give love to the Vikings.
Speaker 3:Much appreciated.
Speaker 2:Deep research here at the quarterback. Okay, we always start each episode gratitude, so tell me, what are you most grateful for as a dad today?
Speaker 3:Yeah, uh, it's a, it's a great question. I mean, it's it's waking up every single day, uh, having the opportunity to be, you know, a father to provide for my family, to watch my kids grow up, to. You know, not forget to treasure every single minute and moment that you have, when sometimes, in the just grand scheme of life, you know, time flies, but it's like those special moments that you get right and having that opportunity to be, you know, the best that you can be for your family every single day.
Speaker 2:It's great man, it's such a good mindset to have. On. On slowing down, um, I do gratitude work every morning and a lot of it starts with God. Thanks for waking me up today. Uh, thanks for my health. I get the chance to work out today. You get the chance to talk to some amazing people today. Just like getting my mind right and like, uh, I think too many people in life we just we let life fly by but we don't slow down to like, stay present in each moment and, um, I feel like when I'm doing that, life is awesome. Um, and so, when this episode comes out, um, my, my son will most likely have will have graduated high school.
Speaker 3:Wow and uh, it's like a terrifying thing to think about. You know it's exciting, but also like there's a bit of gut wrench heart. You know it's exciting, but also like there's a bit of gut wrench heart you know, holy cow, we made it here.
Speaker 2:It's uh, so we are in early May now, and so when this I was folding laundry the other day, like actually this week, and I went upstairs and hung something in his, his, um, closet and uh, I I didn't know his cap, I knew his cap and gown had arrived, I hadn't seen it, and so seeing it hung in his closet just damn near freaking, brought me to tears.
Speaker 2:I was like what is happening? And so, yeah, he'll be off to college in the fall and I mean he and I watched every marion game together. So I'm grateful for him. I'm grateful for his, his mindset, his hard work, his, his grit, um, he's, he was not one of these like high school golfers that was like, given all the talent in the world, he's, he was gifted definitely some talent, but he's just worked his ass off and grinded. And kind of reminds me a lot about, like my journey playing division two football, where I was an okay athlete through high school and then it just had great mentors in my life that showed me what visualization was and hard work coach osborne, for example and just like doing those things.
Speaker 3:I'm so grateful that one for my experiences, but also he's experiencing that for himself, which is really, really fun yeah, and getting to watch that journey right kind of through his eyes, but also like reflecting on your moments and being there to support him and have conversations and encourage I mean it's, it's really cool. Yeah, you talk about the little moments walking in and seeing the graduation cap and gown. My, my oldest son turned 13 on Saturday. Um, and our youngest nine-year-old had come out of his room Friday night like with tears coming down his face and my wife and Natalie and I were like what's going on, Are you okay?
Speaker 3:And he's like I'm just so sad that Jack's getting older and it was like one of those things where it's like, oh my gosh, you're crying because your brother's getting older, like he's like I just don't want him to grow up, and it's like that's how you feel as a parent too. It's like those type things I think you will remember forever, right. Cause it's just you're a close-knit group and it's pretty amazing um, I'm also grateful.
Speaker 2:This is so random, but I'm gonna say I look to my left and I see a dude walking on the side of my house with a bee suit on knocking down bees. So that was actually kind of a fun. So I'm grateful for him not me not getting stung by 75 bees today. He's gonna go do it for me. He's taking taking one for the team. Oh, that was so random, okay. So, uh, you briefly talked about Natalie, briefly talked about your boys, but let's go into a little bit more depth. Talk about who's in the priest huddle and let me know lethire Technologies as an account manager.
Speaker 3:It was really my first true sales job and it was the end of 2007. Getting into 2008, the housing market had crashed and I mean the economy was tough. So being in any kind of a sales role was tough, but specifically one where companies hire was tougher. I was having success getting meetings, but no one in our office really was doing a lot with networking groups. So I said, what the heck, I'm going to go check out a few networking groups and see if I can build a network of clients that way. I went to a help desk Institute HDI networking event as my first event and was meeting a lot of client contacts and I bumped into a rep from a competing company in the industry, modus and we talked for two minutes. I was just like hey, I'm here to meet clients, great to meet you, good luck.
Speaker 3:I was back at the office the next day and I get a phone call from this rep and he's like hey, I'm so-and-so from Modus. I was just reaching out because there's somebody in my office that I think you should meet and I was kind of like it's a really weird thing for another guy to be doing. Like that's nice of you to go out there. We don't know each other well. I'd be open to you know, connecting, like, could you send a picture of her? Could we, like you know, get to know each other a little better? So he sent a picture, I sent a picture, we set up a date, went on a first date shortly thereafter and it was you know, we, I think, just clicked, connected. It's really interesting because I think on her company side and my company side, there was a lot of like are you guys together talking about work and what customers you work with? It's like we never talked about work. It was like getting to know each other and connecting and going through that process. So, you know, we, I think at the time she was, you know, a couple years older than I was. I was 27, 28. It's like at the age where people are starting to settle down more and look at relationships seriously, and it's just like all those elements of, I think, when you build a checklist of what the person you're looking for existed there and she's just a really cool, beautiful woman. So we clicked and have um, yeah, I've been together ever since. It's been, uh, together for over 16 years. Uh, married, uh in 2010. So 14 years, uh, actually 15 years is coming up in seven days. So, uh, good job, glad we didn't miss that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, actually, 14 years is coming up in seven days. Got, good job, glad we didn't miss that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, actually, 14 years is coming up in seven days. Got to make sure we stay on that. Um, but yeah, it's been cool.
Speaker 3:And then, from like the entire kind of family picture, we uh had our first son, jack, in 2011. And actually that was an interesting time for us because I was in sales in Cleveland, ohio, and was approached with the opportunity to move to Chicago literally three months after we got married and we got pregnant pretty quick thereafter and, you know, one of the things that was important to her was like being able to spend time and raise the family, as opposed to having to balance career and, you know, raising kids, and so it gave us kind of a look into more stability in terms of a role as opposed to being pure play sales, and so we made the decision to move to Chicago in 2010, had our son Jack very shortly thereafter and then had our next son, max, who is nine, in 2014. And, you know, lived out there, which was a great, I think, growth experience for a family. Because when most families have kids, if you're really connected to your kind of parents, grandparents, cousins, all that, you get that support system.
Speaker 3:But I was working 55, 60 hours a week. I would commute from Naperville, illinois, down to Chicago, which was an hour and a half commute down to the office and then an hour and a half commute back. So from Monday to Friday I would leave at 5. In the morning I wasn't getting home until 637. She was like here's the kids I'd spend time with when we do dinner and then do it all over again.
Speaker 3:So I mean, we really were on an island and like tested as parents to you know, start a family, raise a family, support each other. But it was a really solid growth experience, not only for me because you know, as a juvenile I was a wild child, you know, and not always able to commit and follow through on things. But if there's one thing like balancing a managing other people's careers and developing people and them looking to you to ensure that they're successful, but also a family like, I think, walking away from that. So we moved back to Cleveland in 2015. So it did five years just on an island. And when you walk back into that, your group is so well connected and you just have a really good family circle for sure.
Speaker 2:What brought you back to Cleveland? Was it another job? It was.
Speaker 3:I think I had been in Chicago for the five years. When I went there the market was really struggling. Actually, the company Ronstadt I was at previously it was like one of the bottom two offices in the entire organization. We had grown it. It was a top 10 office in the company. It had high performers, people that could step in and run the market and for us it was Chicago's probably not the long-term home.
Speaker 3:Right, we came out here, we checked it out, we love it. I love going back to Chicago. I just think, having the opportunity, hopefully you can find me a role. They did right. It required some travel but I could be based out of Cleveland and work remote and that really started like the you know senior leadership path for me, cause at that point I took on a regional leadership role and ran Minnesota and Iowa for the organization. Um, but it was actually really cool.
Speaker 3:My my boss had told me at the time when I was like I don't know if I want to travel, like traveling has never been something I've really thought about. It might be hard, and he's like well, the beautiful thing about travel is you can kind of like work around it If you just need to go out for a day. You can go for a day and come back, right, but it gives you more flexibility, kind of in how every day he's like this is going to be your work from your house. If you have to go on the road, you go on the road, but you can be more focused on how you want to spend your time, when you need to spend your time, and I think that was a turning point even just in life for me in terms of being closer to my family. That and COVID I mean COVID was the true we're in who were in these four walls together all day, every day and a true test of grit of families.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's funny, my wife and I talked about COVID recently. As much as it sucked going through that, we actually loved it. We actually went to Eastern Washington for four months and we have a place over there and it was like everybody's outside we had. I mean, it was just like like we could be, like it was not normal because you didn't see anybody, but it was like it was. We weren't like crammed up in rainy seattle, we were in eastern washington, which tends to be a little bit more sunny and like. We still talk about god. That's the family game nights, the watching jeopardy, the. I mean that's where my son like turned a corner on golf my daughter. They had these like crazy one-on-one nights. And my son turned a corner on golf my daughter. They had these crazy one-on-one nights, my son and my daughter.
Speaker 3:There was no distractions really from your family outside of what was happening, but when you were all just going through that life moment together, it was pretty cool. We did something similar too. We think it was the most brilliant thing ever. It sounds like you did. We're creative people. And we think it was the most brilliant thing ever. And it sounds like you did. We're creative people, so we come up with solutions when there's challenges.
Speaker 3:We went down to Hilton Head, South Carolina, at the mid part of March and it's like I was working remote, so I was like we can go work from Hilton Head. Because the tourist industry had completely dried up. People weren't flying or traveling. We rented a Vrbo and actually stayed for a week, liked it so much, just bounced to another Vrbo, spent a couple of weeks in Hilton Head, just like it's nice here. It's better than it is in Cleveland, Ohio. So let's just enjoy it. And that was one of those cool things that we're like. We're so glad we did that. We were just like let's get out, let's go leave the house, spend time with our clique. And yeah, it was really fun.
Speaker 2:That's money, All right. And then the boys real quick. What activities are they into?
Speaker 3:So it's interesting because I grew up and played every sport every year from the time I could pretty much take steps, ended playing golf in high school but played soccer religiously up until my sophomore year of high school. Both of my boys have not been very interested in sports at all until more recently and that's challenging when you're getting into seventh and eighth grade, trying to get into sports when the kids have been playing for five, six years, right. So Jack, my 13-year-old, this is his first year playing baseball and he has been dedicating all of his time and energy into getting developed like going to a personal trainer. We're blessed. My stepdad was an ex-professional baseball player, so he's willing to spend time with him and teach him different fundamentals and things like that. It's actually talking about being a dad been a really a really interesting learning experience for me and growth opportunity for me, because he's been going to practice now for a couple weeks and he leaves practice and he's really, really frustrated because he doesn't match the level of skill that the other players have on his team and I think there's moments where he feels like kids are making fun of him or, you know, giving him a hard time, but they're not doing it to his face. He just hears kind of chatter behind the scenes.
Speaker 3:But I've been just kind of reiterating this message of it's get better every practice. It's get better every session. We work together. This is what you have to focus on. If you've done something better at this practice than you did at the last practice, that's growth, and that's all we're here to do, jack, we're not here to be the best baseball player on the field. That would be insane. If you do, you're a generational talent and we got something we're going to make some money off of, but I think for you, it's the experience of falling in love with baseball. You found something that you connected with in it, and let's just really get you to a point where you feel better about your growth. And we left his practice yesterday and he actually, on the way home, was not upset. He actually I feel like I had a good practice, I feel like I performed well, I was better at some of the things I've struggled with, you know, and um, that's that's been really cool. It's tough, though, when your kid's crying on the way home from sports, saying I want to quit, and you're like we're not quitting, we're sticking through this and like we're going to find a way to connect, and maybe, you know and I'm like, all right, like I get it, it's tough, you know. Um, so he's in baseball. His big sport, though, has been swimming, and he's been swimming since, you know, he could be in a pool the house we have in Cleveland as a pool, so they're always in the water. And, uh, I think if there's one sport that he's going to be all in on and has potential to, you know, do big things in through high school, would be swimming.
Speaker 3:And then Max is a wild card. I mean, he is just the wild child. He's my personality, but kind of like wrapped up in my wife in terms of, like you know, he's trying to figure out what he wants to do exactly with with sports. Like she did cheerleading and softball, and you know volleyball and track and cross country, so he's gonna start swimming this year. He's tried, and I've coached soccer for him before, and, like he's the first kid to walk up to me and be like I'm tired, can I come off the field? I'm like, no, max, you can't come off the field, you got to keep going bud, you know.
Speaker 3:So we're kind of figuring it out, but, like you know it's interesting as a parent managing that dynamic, because when you played every single sport and it was almost like I'd wake up in the morning and couldn't wait to go challenge myself with whatever practice game I had, you know ahead of me and kind of see, you know, am I getting better, am I playing well? And then having kids who are kind of like I don't know it's, it's a different dynamic, for sure. But there's something I think that you know. I've talked to a lot of other parents that have gone through it and their feedback to me is when they're ready, they'll be ready. And like Jack, that's a perfect example of this past year. He's like I want to play baseball. I was like dude, eighth grade, you want to jump into baseball. Like we're going to have to go and as long as you're willing to put in the time, like I will support you and we will go through this together. So yeah, it's, it's cool.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Well, if it like you're, you guys are telling handling it the right way there's. We have done a lot of episodes on on um youth sports and parenting, and one of my biggest mentors that I uh I I'm sure people have heard about it before give them love again. His name is coach bruce brown, lives in a place called camino island, um niches north of seattle, and he wrote an article that went viral. He spoke about on stages, he his you might've heard of these people John Wooden, dick Vermeule.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Kind of you know, no, no biggies, right, and but he's, he's been on stages with them. But the art, the ride, the car ride home article talks about getting in the car and the easy thing for parents to do is just to pounce. And what the F is wrong. What are you doing? Dude Versus man? I love watching you play and like keeping their cause. Our job is to build confidence and you know, and I, I.
Speaker 2:The joke is like when we have a bad day in work or staffing or consulting or sales, whatever we're doing, our kids aren't getting in the car. Let's say hey, dad, man, you're, you're. You usually type like 40 words a minute. You're down like 38. What the F is wrong with you? Yeah, you're right. And you did not handle that objection, that voicemail you left at 10.15, god, that sucked. You were not good bud, yeah. So we don't want that, and so I love how you guys are just doing it and focusing on growth and there's a great.
Speaker 2:I always mess this said cause I remember hearing on a podcast one day he asked him. He said do you want to be? Let me ask you a question? He goes do you want to be your best or do you want to be the best and you know, a lot of times people say I want to be the best and he's like, well, you can't be the best, all you can be is your best. And, um, I think that lesson you're teaching, I love it, I think it's great. Hopefully, parents, if you wrote taking notes like I am, if not rewind it, listen to just what he said again, because that's, that's all you got, man, and you can't take back time and say, well, we showed it, you didn't, you chose baseball.
Speaker 3:freaking 13 bro yeah, but this is gonna be tough. Yeah, we're gonna get through it and we're gonna support you and, um, it's, it's been uh, yeah. Again, there's lessons in it for me too, right, totally Like coming out of it because I just want him to know that he's fully supported. But we're going to stick through this, no matter what, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how bummed out he is. We're going to continue to work and get better. And that focus on getting better every single day is really like my mentality in life, because I'm fortunate to have had the professional journey that I've had. I really shouldn't have had it. You know what I mean. Again, you talk to anybody that knew me when I was in my teens and early twenties. They'd say that guy probably should be in jail.
Speaker 3:You know, living in a van down by the river or a van by the river traveling the country, you know as a vagabond, but like I really kind of locked into that, like it's okay that I'm where I'm at, but I just got to focus on getting better. And I still apply that to everything in my life today and it truly is like that mindset of growth and like getting better and not beating yourself up too bad if you don't do something right, you know. So I think it makes it easier to then slow down with your kids when you see them in that moment and be like okay, let's take a step back, let's not criticize, let's like focus on what can we do differently to move forward and like learn from this experience, because it's it's all about learning and development and growth yeah, power of grace, um, and a great transition.
Speaker 2:so instead of me asking where that came from, I'm hoping it comes out. The next question I'm asking you is like I'd like to rewind the tape and learn about life grown up for you and if you can talk about the impact your parents had on you now that you're a dad.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. So my parents met in high school in a city called Brecksville Ohio. Met in high school in a city called Brecksville Ohio. They married in the early 20s, had me 25, had my one real blood brother at 28. Actually, both of my parents are salespeople by trade business development.
Speaker 3:I'm fortunate my dad and on my dad's side of the family, paternal side, there's a family business. It's a wholesale flower business where they import flowers from South America, california and Canada and bring them into. I think it's like 11 or 12 wholesale shops kind of across the Midwest and eastern part of the country and then they distribute them to retail florists and grocery stores, right. So it's like 11 or 12 wholesale shops kind of across the Midwest and Eastern part of the country and then they distribute them to retail florists and grocery stores, right. So it's basically like Costco for flowers kind of thing you know, and that that business has been in operation since 1913. So it's like a generational family business and at a very young age I mean I would say I was probably 11 or 12. Like I would go to work at the shop they had in Cleveland, ohio, which was downtown, and sweep the floors and like he'd pay me 10 bucks a day for being there for eight hours sweeping the floors, moving some boxes around, whatever Right. So, uh, putting a work ethic in me, I think, really came from having that opportunity, because a lot, a lot of 10 year olds can't really work. It's like go pick up some sticks or acorns in the yard. You know we'll give you a quarter, but I was sitting around people that were working and you know, performing a job to earn income to support their families and their lives. And he always had a really, really solid work ethic, like I.
Speaker 3:My parents got divorced when I was seven years old, both remarried. I have phenomenal step parents. I have great relationships with both of them and have been fortunate to learn awesome lessons from them in my life. But because of that divorce and remarrying, the one full-blooded brother became seven brothers in total step and half. You know, and getting in that dynamic of I mean you bring boys together, it's always competitive, you know. And, um, getting in that dynamic of I mean you bring boys together, it's always competitive, you know. So we grew up in an extremely competitive house and and things were really challenging.
Speaker 3:But for my dad, when he remarried he had three additional kids, so we had five kids, and putting five kids through school, whether you're a small business owner or not, is no small feat, you know. So from the time my my next closest brother, who was my blood brother, started school until the youngest graduated, which was about six years ago, he did a paper route in addition to running his company every single day. So he would wake up at two in the morning they might even have one in the morning go do the paper route, maybe sleep for an hour, go to the office, work, go to bed at eight, back up at eight. I mean, he did that every day, paper route seven days a week. You know when you're doing that to make additional money to help pay for room and board and all the things that go along with college. So he is a grinder.
Speaker 3:My mom is a salesperson Like that is what she does and in I remember as like a kid she would come home and like be like look at this money I have and like, show us. Like this money she got from a bonus because she sold some huge deal, or we'd be talking about these like big, complex deals. She did a lot of sales in. First it was like telecom, then it was voice over IP sales, so a lot of like the super early kind of technology, before computer stuff, no-transcript clearly for my parents to be, you know, in a consultative, problem solving, revenue generating type, role and function. And so, yeah, those are my parents and, as I said, my stepdad is phenomenal. He uh, you know, uh, has been like a second dad to me, helped you know with with sports and lessons.
Speaker 3:Again, as being a punk kid, you know you're getting parenting from both sides and, you know, held me accountable. But also it was understanding through certain things too right, like it's hard growing up and there's a lot of things that you go through mentally. And the same thing with my stepmom, I mean, always empathetic, always understanding, always supporting, always showed love. So I've been really blessed to have. You know, with a breakup of parents it can be really tough. Sometimes you're only, you know, close to one or the other, but having kind of this like well put together, dynamic, and I give my mom and dad a lot of credit because I think they were intentional with that, like when they split up they said this is not going to affect our kids, like we are going to make sure that they still have parents that can communicate, even if it's hard for us to communicate, that can manage the challenges of having kids together right and collaborate and just make sure that you know our kids can be the best they can possibly be.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, it's so good. And I think, if there's parents out there going through a divorce right now, what great wisdom Justin's parents did without even knowing how wise it was. Because I think sometimes when parents go through divorce, I've seen the good and the bad that ego gets in the way and want to be liked and want to be the best and then all of a sudden your competitive genes get in the way. Or I got Johnny a teddy bear. I got Johnny a teddy bear. Why? I got I got Sally a Range Rover. I got Bobby a new bike, versus you know, doing it together and I think that's um, uh, I think it's awesome, um, and, as all, all of our parents still with us, all parents still with us, yep.
Speaker 2:Very cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, very blessed in that way.
Speaker 2:And his mom. Like mom, the beast of a salesperson, she's still grinding.
Speaker 3:She. So she, they're getting to the age where they're like retiring. You know, I mean I think my dad's probably. I mean he says five years every year for the past 10 years. So I mean, um, but my mom's retired, she's hung up her cleats, you know. She's done with uh, with any and everything. She really is focused on being a grandma. I mean she spends a couple days a week with the grandkids. They come over either after school or some of the younger ones that aren't in school go over there. My stepdad still works. He's a general manager for a uniform and textile services company, but he and I were talking a couple of weeks ago and he's like I'm like, you know, getting up on a year or two years and I think I'm going to shut it down, right, so they're all kind of getting to that. That point that I think we all work really hard to get to is like all right, what's the next phase of our journey? And figuring that out.
Speaker 2:But yeah, it's a couple of working couple not nice From a business perspective. How much do you lean on your parents now that your dad probably going through what they've gone through at stages of life?
Speaker 3:That's a good question. I and this is probably a great area for growth and reflecting on it Oftentimes internalize things a lot more than I do reach out to folks and ask for help or bounce ideas off of people or a challenge. It's almost like the people that know me best can see it on my face a lot more than maybe I realize, and so they'll start to ask some questions and I open up. But more often than not, if I'm kind of in a position where I do need a sounding board or someone that I can bounce ideas off of, it's like extracted from me by sitting there with my mom and she's like are you good? And I'm like, yeah, I'm good. She's like, no, you're not. What's going on?
Speaker 3:And you talking through like something that's got you all wrapped up or whatever it is in business or parenting or life Right, but but absolutely I think you know, having the opportunity to bounce ideas off of someone who's been through experiences, who you know in some way shape or form has the same linear thinking that you do, because you know you come from the same bloodstream is is really beneficial. But yeah, I think there's a lot of opportunity for growth. I mean, if you ask Natalie, my wife, like, hey, what's one thing Justin can get better at? It's like just expressing himself when he's all wound up with whatever's in his mind.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's hard. I think, generationally, us dudes I'd say 40s, 50s, 60s talking about our feelings being vulnerable, was like you wuss, what are you doing? Yeah, yeah, like. And I used to get people used to poke fun at me at K4, sometimes like shout out, mary Jo, sorry, but I remember she used to always say why are you saying the word vulnerable? And to me it just. I mean I was talking about vulnerability like I don't know where I heard it, but I was like cause, I, as you like, how do I want to say this?
Speaker 2:I think, as someone who was a top performer where I worked if I was still asking for help, showing that I didn't know everything, to me that inspired others to show open up there Once I saw that happen, like wait a minute, this dude's doing this, but he's still wanting to get help, and I was like, well, I like that feeling of creating these moments of growth mindset around me. But I think, as dads, it's like that's kind of. One of the reasons I did this is podcast almost nearly five years ago, which is hard to believe is realizing that we all know how to figure it out and whether you're a bus driver, a janitor, fricking play by play for the managers, the Mariners or Kenny Lofton. We all got gaps. That's the one thing we, as dads have in common we're all flawed. I've yet to meet the perfect dad, and if we can learn bits and pieces from others and then try to put our own spin on it to be our authentic self, then we're making this world a better spot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, and you actually feel better when you just get it out there right and have conversations and communication. I mean, yeah, I'm working through some things in my my role today where the challenge has been for the the area of the organization that I'm partnering with that there just hasn't been a lot of executive communication and people and workers and the people that ultimately make the company successful feel like they have no idea what's going on, what's happening there in the dark. And um, yeah, I ran an all hands call with that team and like the feedback was like it was so great to hear from somebody and have this conversation and then did individual business unit Q and A's on you know what people are thinking about and what's happening and just like that having a conversation for them it's like they wanted to talk but there was no one to talk to no-transcript.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, and so like I don't, I don't want to say that because Justin's too busy no, when when someone, we call somebody and ask for help, it makes them feel better.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when when someone, we call somebody and ask for help, it makes them feel better. Yeah, oh, it totally does. I always appreciate if somebody's like hey, I'm going through this, you know, can we chat about it? And it's like you are happy that you know they trust you enough to have that conversation.
Speaker 2:Totally, yeah, exactly Now. I know that no one's going to call me and ask for help about like doing a side project or building a house or fixing something, because that thing's going to fall down with a two mile an hour windstorm. I know my role. So you talked about the boys growth mindset. You are growth mindset. You're a successful athlete in high school. Tell me, where do you think that growth mindset came from of this like continuous growth?
Speaker 3:I haven't really thought, like where it came from exactly and if I had to like pinpoint it, it was getting into a sales job and I think before that there was never in sports. There was always like the competitive right you want to be the best that you can be, you want to be the best player on the field, you want your team to win, you want to, you know, win championships and all those things. But I would say, as I got out of high school and realized I wasn't going to be the college athlete because I wasn't good enough to, you know, play on any college teams it was starting to think about life and like what's your career and what is your family? And I think, because sports had taken up so much of my like youth and what I focused on and what I was doing, and then school, I hadn't really thought about life above and beyond that Right. So as you're going through college and you're starting to work part-time and do those things, it's kind of like I don't know what I want to be or what I want to do.
Speaker 3:Um, and so I tried some different things. I actually did time in the family business and thought maybe this could be my path. But it was just a family company is. There's a lot of politics and things like that and it almost felt like it was sacrificing family relationships more than it was helping it. So it's like maybe this isn't the best place for me and maybe I wasn't ready for it at that point in my life either in terms of commitment and focus. Professionally, I did more service-based jobs and was working through those, but when I landed in a sales job, it was like the competitiveness of sports existed. Right, you're being stack ranked against people that you sit next to.
Speaker 3:You have a team dynamic, especially in a staffing business where recruiters and sales partner and collaborate together right, and so I think I just found that thing that sparked me again and I tell people, you to do this for 10 plus years have to be a little bit crazy, you know, and some of that craziness may come from like a sports and competitive background, because there are so many ups and downs. It is extremely challenging to learn how to stay steady through all of that but also continue to drive and push yourself forward right and be like look, I'm learning from this. I understand there was a, this happened. I'm learning from it. Growth as a person, growth professionally in this business, right, and you work with people. It's like I found that thing that really kind of made me click and said my life isn't to figure out what I want to do, it's this Now go take this and be great at it. Right, and just push yourself to be better every day.
Speaker 3:And I think the leadership opportunity that I was presented with to go to Chicago I wasn't looking to become a leader, I was all in on just run my desk, be the best I could be, make a ton of money. I was young. Then they approached me and said hey, we think you should move to Chicago. So I took a step back and I was like deal with other people. I don't know, that doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, but by the end of my first year I figured out that my passion was like helping people reach their potential. I like that even more than getting deals myself. Watching someone else close their first deal or their 50th deal was way more exciting for me than closing my first deal or my 50th deal. And I was like this is like my calling. And so I think because of that it was like now I've found this passion in helping people and helping people reach their potential and be better. So it's like I found my calling in the industry that I truly love, that I've been successful in, that challenges me and has driven my competitive spirit. And then I found, you know, kind of just my life calling of like helping people and like seeing people reach their potential.
Speaker 3:And I think if you lock uh, talk to a lot of people and said you know what's one thing you would say about Justin is that he's always looking at the positive, like constantly focused on I know it's tough right now, but what do we need to do to face the toughness and move towards, you know, a positive outcome? And that's really like how I approach everything, cause I feel like. Sometimes it's manifesting we're going to get out of this. It's hard right now. Let's just face it. We can't ignore the fact that we're in a tough spot. But if we start to do these things, we're going to see positive momentum, and with momentum comes a lot of great things.
Speaker 1:Hello everybody. My name is Craig Coe and I'm the Senior Vice President of Relationship Management for Beeline. For more than 20 years, we've been helping Fortune 1000 companies drive a competitive advantage with their external workforce. In fact, Beeline's history of first-to-market innovations has become today's industry standards. I get asked all the time what did Casey do for your organization? And I say this it's simple. The guy flat out gets it. Relationships matter. His down-to-earth presentation, his real-world experience apply to every area of our business. In fact, his book Win the Relationship and Not the Deal has become required reading for all new members of the global relationship management team. If you'd like to know more about me or about Beeline, please reach out to me on LinkedIn. And if you don't know Casey Jaycox, go to CaseyJaycoxcom and learn more about how he can help your organization. Now let's get back to today's episode.
Speaker 2:Love it. All right, I'm going to back the truck up even more. Put it in reverse. Think about values that you were taught by all your parents, that were like the non-negotiables that shaped your optimism, that shaped your work ethic, that shaped yourables. That that shaped your optimism, that shaped your work ethic, that shaped your competitive mind, that shaped, um, the feeling of empathy, helping people. Think, talk, talk to me about if you can remember back then, like during you know all your, all your parents, yeah, um we, uh, we came from a family of like very vocal and touchy, feely with love.
Speaker 3:You, you know a lot of hugs, you know, and, and I think to this day it drives my kids crazy, cause I'd be like give me a hug, you know, and they're like seriously again, you know, so, so, so definitely that and I think that creates kind of empathy too for the people around you. You know. So there was a lot of love and empathy, I mean absolutely. You know hard work, um, and seeing both of my parents, you know, especially after they split, where they're having to support their own households, and you know, being on their own and kind of getting to see that firsthand and going to work with my dad when I was young, and you know, stopping in his office and seeing him on calls or going through some of the business functions that he was doing.
Speaker 3:Or, you know my mom, you know, I think you know family was another big part of both of the things that I've learned from them and my step parents, like having your family circle and people that you know you trust, and spending time with I mean we're with either my dad or my mom, you know, multiple times, and spending time with.
Speaker 3:I mean we're with either my dad or my mom, you know, multiple times a month with the kids and just hanging out with cousins and things like that and having that group, you know, has been really impactful. And I think, being humble because you know, I don't know that I view either of my parents as having like huge egos they're both very even keeled, they're not flashy, they're always there to help anybody that needs help at any given time, and so I think, trying to stay humble along the way of right, they've both been really successful, but certainly not flashy type people, and so I think those things definitely have applied. I mean, right, there are things that you learn lessons from your parents to like, hey, maybe I don't want to do that and I publicly don't want to say some of the things that maybe I learned. But there's things too that you learn like, hey, that's not a great thing that I've seen and maybe I want to do something a little bit different in how I operate my life.
Speaker 2:And I think all of us do that through interactions with parents and people and you know everyone we come across yeah, I, I love, I love that empathy was um, uh, and love, and I think showing affection is something that some families don't do based on how they were raised. But I think that love that you guys are doing that because I had a shout out to a former guest buddy, mike Betts, who Aaron actually Aaron knows well too, and he used to give his kids kids kiss and lips until high school, I mean.
Speaker 3:I would. If they that they were like, no, you're gross.
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, right, I think it's when that can be normal and like we always say I love each other, my, my son. He gets home from you, know where he was going. He comes in, he gives me knuckles and I say I love you buddy, and yeah, or he'll go um, he'll hug, hug my wife, hug his mom, and like I just that shouldn't be, that's totally normal and the fact that sometimes it's not normal is, is really sad, because being loved is like one of the best gifts we can give anybody, right, yeah, can you think back?
Speaker 2:So, like when I asked this question, um, I for me, I'm, I, I know how to answer it because I've been through it and I I've talked to so many dads before. But like, uh, I think sometimes growth, growth, mindset, people develop that through adversity and dealing so like, as you mentioned, staffing business it's, I mean highs of highs, of lows, lows. I mean I'm sure you've got these phone calls. I remember I had one where, hey, we gotta lay off 70 people today, go get them. You know, dealing with that. But, like, because I went through a massive injury in high school that prepared me for this, I reflect back on that date on set when I was 17 years old and how I went through it, like I'm 48. I still remember that. But, like, for you, can you think about whether it's through swimming or golf or any life that we had adversity kind of helped shape you?
Speaker 3:It. You know I've danced around it, talked about it. I mean when I was a senior in high school around it, talked about it. I mean when I was a senior in high school I made some bad decisions in terms of things that I was doing extracurricularly outside of sports and school and things like that. That had some pretty impactful like results for me negatively right consequences that I had to ultimately deal with and kind of like determine am I going to grow from it? And at that point my decision really wasn't grow from this.
Speaker 3:It was like this is who I am, this is who I'm going to be, and kind of follow that path and I think, going through that journey from like 18 years old and really like living my life thinking about am I going to get in trouble today? Am I going to do something wrong today? How do I not get in trouble today? Very shortly before I really got into this business and industry saying I want to be better in life, this isn't who I am. Up until that point of my senior year of high school, I think I was the kid that people would be like he's such a good guy, he's a nice kid and everything like that and it's just like a few bad decisions. All of a sudden you find yourself going down this path. That really isn't who you ever were, who you were meant to be, but it just seems like I think at that point in your life, maybe this is what it is and this is how I'm going to wake up every day.
Speaker 3:And at 18 years old, my parents did kick me out of the house, so I was living on my own in apartment, counting quarters to pay my rent, very often at the end of the month, like having to haggle with the building manager, saying, hey, like I'm going to be a little bit late, than like eating ramen noodles or sometimes not eating, you know, to just get by on my own. But all of that was driven by things that I had done. It was no one else's fault that I was there, and I think I've talked to other parents that are having challenges with their kids in that, like late teens, early twenties, and I'm like it's so hard and I got to get my mom and dad to agree that we're just going to. My mom sat me down and she's like, hey, we are going to go somewhere and we put a security deposit and a first month's rent down for you but you're going to live there now. We can't have you here because of the things that you've been doing and that at the time I didn't talk to him for like six months.
Speaker 3:But for me, the growth through that process and like realization of, like holy cow, this is who I am and I probably had another three or four years where I was not there but like something clicked where I was like this isn't who I am. I've never been this. This isn't where I want to go with my life. And I have to, you know, really focus on kind of getting back on track to what I had been building up until that point when things started to spiral and go another direction. So, if that, maybe, if there's one pivotal point, it was probably like being on your own. But I was also at 18 years old, like I had my own place, so people were coming over hanging out my place, telling their parents they're going to another friend's house. So there was like some fun to it it too. But certainly, you know, in the moments when I was sitting in that place all by myself and no friends were around, at like 18, 19 years old, it was a lot of like man. This is like what my life is now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, man, what? What strength your parents showed. I mean, that is like the hardest thing of a parent seeing your child struggle, yeah, knowing that they did their best, right, and this is your path. But you said it and I'm my curious, mind's taken over. I love, like malcolm gladwell's book, tipping point. Have you read that? So, like, if you think about your tipping point, something someone click, whether it called spiritual, call it a friend, called an experience. Do you think?
Speaker 3:can you remember back when you said f this, I ain't going out like this if I had to kind of pinpoint it again, I think think it was, and I try not to think about like that time in my life because it's I mean, it's embarrassing.
Speaker 3:It was truly something that helped me in my life, right, learn lessons from and say this is not what I want to be.
Speaker 3:I know what things can send you down that path, right, and stay as far away from them as you possibly can, what things can send you down that path, right, and stay as far away from them as you possibly can. But I really think it was just the fear of like this is, you know, and as you go down that path, you associate with people that are going down a similar path and some are 20 years older than you and you're reflecting on okay, in 20 years, this is going to be me, versus you're interacting with other people throughout your life, that they're 20 years down the road and have had family success, career success, right, and just genuinely seem happy. I think it was like that moment at like 23, 24, 22 of like that's not that I don't want to aspire to be that like there's something better out there for me, but it starts with holding myself to a different level of accountability right and like not allowing myself to make choices and decisions that would send me down a path of going that way.
Speaker 2:Well, I appreciate you sharing dude, and we're not going to go into all the details, but I think, like these moments of like struggle and failure, like I like my mind where my mind's at now, the stage of life when I do struggle or fail thing I'm thinking I talk about is, yes, I can go tell my kids I sucked today. Yeah, just to kind of, because the more that I can get them to a mindset of we're not, we are all not perfect, we're all flawed. And I think to me once I start once and I love saying that often because it's freeing and it helped, it gives me grace that, as long as I'm being my best today as a dad, a husband, a coach, a podcaster, whatever I'm doing, doing my best, it's all I can do. But like staying without it's like it's freeing, it stays and I think I'm an optimist I could.
Speaker 2:It's funny when you read people like when I first met you, like you screamed humility, just how you carry yourself right. It's like your body, body language. You can see in people's body language, you can see it in their tone, how they ask questions, how they listen, um so um. It's cool, man. I love stories like these where people like, got to go through some growth and um, and I think hopefully this, these little stories, you can be able to share with the boys when they get a little bit older and it's.
Speaker 3:It definitely prepares you for what you need to look out for with your kids, right, and understanding with kids how easy it is to fall into traps that are out there that you just don't know, and when you're young you're not smart enough to to understand it. But yeah, I mean back to it, was hinting at it and, as you said, it's, it's really hard for parents to make that decision. But I think if I were faced with the same thing, it's like I know that the outcome can be so much greater, right? Um, assuming that it's not at a detrimental point, right?
Speaker 2:Which it wasn't.
Speaker 3:It was at a tipping point and they're like look, you need to go figure yourself out, like we can't help figure it out for you, cause we're trying and it's just not possible. You know. So, uh, you talk to. A lot of parents are at that point with their kids and for me it was. It was a very challenging time, but like one of the best opportunities that could have happened to me.
Speaker 2:Well, the gentleman I mentioned earlier, mike Betts, who is shout out to Mike. He was on an episode in season, I think one long time ago, but he told a very, very powerful story. His daughter, um, got into real, real bad stuff in high school, as you can imagine. They had to send her to like a like a full-on facility and she lived there for like six months or three months and they she thought the world was ending. It was like the hardest tearjerker moment for them and if you're, people are looking looking about Mike Betts in the previous episodes but best thing that ever happened, now that she's, she's fixed, she's back, she's like the girl that like and she's still as much as she hated them she's like.
Speaker 3:Thank you, you have no idea what you did for me. Yeah, and sometimes your parents know better than you do. Right, you think you know what you need, but that experience and just knowing kind of you and who you are inside and like this, isn't you like is is what's needed, all right, is is what's needed.
Speaker 2:All right. So, as we get ready to wrap up, this has been awesome, man. Um, if you were to like summarize all the things we talked about in the last 50 minutes or so, um, the dads can take from our episode maybe some, some nuggets of wisdom or some experiences that they can apply from our conversation to help them be kind of that, that ultimate quarterback or leader of their home. Tell me what comes to mind.
Speaker 3:It would be biggest thing is you just got to slow down, right, because time goes so stinking fast. I mean I have to do it, even in having conversations with my kids, having this conversation with you, with my spouse, natalie like sometimes you speed up so much and you're just trying to get through everything that you have to get through. But there are certain things where it's really great if you can slow down and just feel it and be a part of it and not lose out on it. I have a lot of close friends that I've known over the years and they have kids similar to you that have recently went to college or going to college and just reminding me to treasure all these moments that you have and all the things, even the tough times, because when it's gone, it's gone, you know, and even in you know, career and life and outside of family, it's like there's so many things that if you, it's like take a step back and smell the roses, you know, take time to smell the roses. Like getting to do that is such a great benefit of life, you know, and life is hard and it's challenging and it tests us, but there's a lot of really cool things that we get to experience in life. So that would be one.
Speaker 3:I think the other is right. Don't let yourself doubt yourself. You know there's so much challenge in the world that can make you say, hey, I don't know if I can do this, or I'm not good enough or I'm not tough enough. I think you know, back to my son with sports, or even me, like the path I was going down in my life, if you just take a step forward today, and it's one, half a step, you're further along than you were yesterday. You know, and that's all it takes sometimes to take a bigger step and a bigger step and jog and run. So you know, as as a dad, you know as a leader of your family, as a parent, we got to do that every single day. Right, if we're not moving forward, it's really hard to expect that our kids are going to move forward too. And so setting that example, I think is extremely important and you know, talked about with like family. But I think is extremely important. And you know we talked about with like family.
Speaker 3:But I think love, right. And if, if everyone was more loving in the world like you know, what would the impact of that be at a macro scale right. If, if people were willing to help people, if people gave others the benefit of the doubt, and I think if everybody came from a place of positivity, like the impact for for everybody, and you know just you turn on the news and it's like doom and gloom. And I think if everybody came from a place of positivity, like the impact for everybody, and you turn on the news and it's like doom and gloom and a lot of that is because there's just not a lot of love and positivity. So I'm trying to bring that into every interaction you have with people. It's not always easy. There's some super negative, not loving people, but sometimes you can kill them with kindness and all of a sudden they break. That's probably one of my favorite things to do, by the way, as a salesperson is give me the most tough, stone-faced customer that you've ever dealt with and let me see if I can break them.
Speaker 3:Just to smile and have a conversation. I want to try that because I feel like people can sense like okay, this is someone that's here to help, that's coming from a positive lens, that isn't trying to make me spend money, but like wants to connect with me. And you know that's like one of the best experiences ever with people in business and in life.
Speaker 2:That's how we are cut from the same cloth brother that you. That's like you're. I love that more than that same thing. Yeah, uh, I love my. My favorite one you said there was I talk about slowing down. That really hit me in the heart and hence people can't see this video, audio only podcast.
Speaker 2:Behind me everybody, there's a big believe sign. Um, I think the word believe. I learned the power of that from a guy named John Kaplan at age 40, 41. He said do you believe what you do matters? And I didn't have a lot of people ask me that and so now, like I use him, I give him credit all the time.
Speaker 2:But when I'm speaking on stages or I'm coaching people, I ask them do you believe in yourself, do you believe in what you do matters? And if you don't, you're, you're done for the day. Like, get your mind right as a dad, as a parent, as a business person. Like, if you don't believe in yourself, you know you're, it's, you're behind already. So it's like, um, I think, if we can inspire confidence as dads, inspire confidence as business leaders, or where you're managing a flower shop, believe that we have the best flowers possible, because when you believe, you have confidence and they can hear it in your voice and they can see you show up. So I love, love, love that you said that, dude. Okay, before we get into the lightning round, tell us about ConsultNet, consultnet yeah.
Speaker 2:Tell us about the new role and how people can learn more about you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, really cool company. So ConsultNet is what I would call like a small big services company, right, not one of the top 10 firms out there, but have five operating companies within ConsultNet. So core ConsultNet is staff augmentation, contract contract to hire, and they do MSP I'm sorry, they do SOW services as well for customers. Then we have a focused executive recruiting and perm division called Techni, which basically are experts, best of the best in executive headhunting and search. We have a Salesforce management consulting group called SaltClick. We deliver near shore services.
Speaker 3:Actually, I had the opportunity to go to Guadalajara, mexico. By the way, if anyone ever gets the opportunity to go to Guadalajara, highly recommend it. One of the coolest places ever. The most welcoming community for US citizens want to make you have a great experience and appreciate the life in Guadalajara, and it was really safe, by the way. So we delivered near shore technical talent for resources and projects via our facility. And then we have a strategic consulting group called Omni Media which focuses on media and entertainment, so consulting with executive leaders in that vertical or industry and helping talk about what are the best things happening in that industry and how do they transform and transcend into the next generation of best in class media and entertainment.
Speaker 3:My role today is leading the sales and growth and strategies that we're implementing to do that and really leveraging the efficiencies of these five different companies.
Speaker 3:Because what you see in a lot of staffing companies is they just do staffing and if you're a salesperson calling a client, you're like, do you have any job openings? I mean there's not a lot of value in that right. And so when I looked at opportunities and companies that I wanted to work for, it was about having something that could truly solve clients' challenges and enable myself and my team to sell consultatively. And when you have all these different offerings and ways that you can help clients challenges, to me that is like a game changer, because you just feel more helpful and you can bring more value to your customers. So that's ConsultNet national presence across the US with their nearshore facility in Guadalajara, mexico, and really talented team of people within that organization too. So if you haven't heard of ConsultNet, I know you have. I remember when we were talking a couple of weeks ago you're like, yeah, I competed with them in Seattle in the day you will, because we're coming, love it.
Speaker 2:Let's go. I love it. Well, you guys got a lot of firepower, a lot of proven talent, and I can't wait to hear and see you guys. I'll be cheering for you from the sidelines. Okay, it's now time to go into lightning round. I don't have anything prepared. My job is to ask you. I'm going to show you the negative effects of too many hits not bong hits, but football hits in college. Uh, I'm going to try to ask you as quickly as I can. Your job is to answer them as quickly as you can, and my hope is to get a giggle out of you. Got it? I'm already giggling, cause this sounds fun, so let's go, okay. Um, true or false. You once beat matt biondi in a swimming race in high school, false, uh, true or false?
Speaker 3:you're wearing a speedo right now? True, I just want to see what you'd say. I got you both at the same time, yeah no, he said.
Speaker 2:He said true, he just stood up. Everybody. He has a speedo on it's sticking with it. It's leopard. Don't turn around because it might be floss.
Speaker 3:I don't want to see that you got to watch out for the priests and speedos. That's.
Speaker 2:That's troublesome, yeah that's well, that could be a good tattoo. Priest speedo, lower back there we go, there you go. Um, okay, if there was two, if I was to go into your phone right now, what would be the one song that, uh, the team, a consultant would be what my boss listened to, that song.
Speaker 3:Oh, it would be. If you just looked at my playlists on like Spotify or Pandora, it's a lot of like hip hop. You know I'm into Migos. I like machine gun Kelly. You know that's kind of the music that if I'm like I need to get a little bit hyped up, I'll put on. But my like typical just go to his is country. I got like country vibes and always smiling and makes you happy. But if I want to get like need to level up, like bring some energy, it's put on some kind of a hip hop song, not like Debbie Gibson or Tiffany.
Speaker 3:Not typically, you know. I mean I dabble in everything, it depends on the mood. But yeah, it's probably at the lower end, maybe like one play a year.
Speaker 2:I think we're alone now. Always gets me If I, if you were to go on a vacation right now.
Speaker 3:You and Natalie no kids tell me where you're going. It would be to Fiji, for sure. Never been. I mean here, it's amazing or anywhere that's like out in the Pacific, like that. That's just a commitment of a trip. Right, you need a couple of weeks, but if that could be arranged and find the time, that would be one of the bucket list places to go for sure.
Speaker 2:So good it's on the list too. Um, if I was to come to your house for dinner tonight, what would we have?
Speaker 3:Usually chicken wings is like a go-to. It's like the boy's obsession right now. Uh, could be. I mean it's any kind of chicken salad. You know, we're not big like red meat eaters for the most most part. Occasionally will do a steak, but you're probably having chicken. I'm grilling it up for you. Love it here?
Speaker 2:we go If there was to be a book written about your life.
Speaker 3:Tell me the title. If there was to be a book written about my life, it would be called Facing Adversity. Sometimes you just got to go for it. There we go. I can see it Facing Adversity, colon in italics adversity sometimes you just got to go for it.
Speaker 2:There we go. I can see it face first, in colon and italics. Sometimes you got to just go for it. Now I'm sure you've heard that this book is just crushing it. Number one Amazon lists. Everybody's buying it. Every airport from fricking Cleveland to Chattanooga to Seattle to Spokane, everybody's buying this thing. And now Hulu, uh uh, netflix and Apple TV, they're fighting for the script. Finally they got it. You're the casting director who's going to star you in this critically acclaimed, hit new movie.
Speaker 3:So I don't get a lot of like doppelgangers, but one of my old reps, who I was just catching up with, said, if I had one, to be Manu Ginobili, which I don't think is a compliment at all, but I'll take it, I think, so I could see that you can see a little left.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think so I could see that you could see a little money.
Speaker 3:A quick little left. Yeah, In the acting world I get, when I had hair Jimmy Fallon. Occasionally you got a Jimmy Fallon face and energy, so maybe that's it. He'd come back out of his talk show. Host and star in a critically acclaimed movie.
Speaker 2:There we go, Love it. And then last question tell me two words that describe Natalie.
Speaker 3:There we go, love it. And then last question Tell me two words that describe Natalie Hilarious and beautiful.
Speaker 2:Love it. Lighting rounds over. We both giggled, we both laughed. We'll call it a tie everybody. This has been fantastic.
Speaker 2:Justin, I love this gift that has been given to me, that I never thought I would have a podcast but I do and it's so fun talking to other dads. It grounds me. I get to learn, I get to practice my curiosity, I get to practice my listening skills, which I think makes me a better dad at home. Hopefully it makes me a better husband. Carrie, you can let me know if that's true or not, but I know this is not the last time we'll be speaking, brother, I hope everybody I know everybody got so much out of this conversation.
Speaker 2:You know I did have a full page of notes. If you have not taken time everybody to to go to iTunes or Spotify. Wherever you listen to a podcast, specifically mine, please leave us a review, Let us know how we're doing and if there's a dad out there that you think could benefit from this episode, just Lily, click those three dots and say share episode or copy link and send it to somebody or reshare it on your social platform so that we can help inspiring other dads become better leaders of their homes. It'd be the probably the best compliment you can you can give me, and just ways for us to continue to serve other dads out there. So, Justin man, thanks again. So much, brother, it's been a blast talking to you today.
Speaker 3:Thanks, casey, I had fun.