00:00
Welcome to Power of the Network. I'm your host, Tim Locker, Vice President of Broadband here at CBM. Hopefully you've had the opportunity to see our last episode, uh first part of our discussion with Mr. Dan LaVag from PLP. This week we're going to follow up with part two. uh If you haven't seen the first one, go back and look at it. You're going to want to see it. But please join us for this conversation.
00:25
So every couple of years PLP gets together and they have their national sales meeting and we had an opportunity to be there this summer which was great down in Rogers, Arkansas near the plant there. And your part or uh spin on the whole meeting was interesting. We did a session of... uh
00:52
communication between the generations. And you'd mentioned, you you use generational as a term, you know, quite often. uh One of the things that I took away from that, specifically what speaks towards the character of PLP, some of those types of things and exercises would typically be to internal folks. But
01:21
PLP did that with all of their reps, which says a lot about how they feel about reps in general, and that they're part of that family and that they uh respect and want that feedback from them. uh So A, I wanted to say thank you and we appreciate that, that feeling of being so deeply involved in the family.
01:47
But B, I wanted you to just kind of spread your message on that subject as well, you know, while we've got you. Well, I appreciate that. I've actually been working on that uh with a gentleman out of Florida and with another outside company. I'd gone to another company first to develop the program. Basically, I envisioned a class that would talk about generational communications, right? So communicating between the generations.
02:15
And it's because of things I had noticed in the industry as long as I have been. Like every industry basically has almost up to five generations working at the same time. Right? So what I've witnessed though is that a lot of people don't know how to talk to each other. In our business, it's communications. And yet we don't know how to talk to each other. So what I did was some investigatory work and then working with those outside people, the first firm
02:45
would not let me record uh our sessions or utilize the sessions without paying for them. I said, well, wait a minute, I'm bringing you these ideas. I want access. me out here. I want access. So that's why we ended up with a second firm. And it worked out to our advantage because now I can use this anywhere and go after this. But what I did at the sales meeting is I wanted to make it relevant not only to the participants from a personal point of view, I wanted to make it
03:14
relevant from a product point of view at PLP. So you'll notice that when I put up the Baby Boomers page, I had Guy Grip dead ends and I had a lot of products that PLP was founded on. And then the next generation, which was the Gen Xers, I put in the stainless steel splice case, right? The armadillo stainless. And then for the millennials, I put in the coyote closures and then for the Gen Zs,
03:43
I put in the pedestals and the STP Pro Series. So that was to give them a comfort level of their generation as I related it to a product. A timeline. A timeline. So another tagline that I've heard of is STP. Sell the package. Sell the package. So what I was trying to get across to everybody is that everybody has a comfort level in their own generation and their own timeline.
04:11
and their own understanding of what they were brought up on. I was brought up on all of it. So that's why it's inherently easy for me to say, STP baby, sell the package. Because if all you're doing is focusing on what you know, how do you grow? You can't grow. You can't grow. So you've got to open up your mind and open up your communication skills to understand what's involved. m
04:39
Another tagline that I've always used out there in the industry is take me where they hate me. What does that mean? means you're going to tackle your enemies and make them foes. Or friends. Well, it's not just that. The whole take me where they hate me, if all you're doing is going to customers that you're already selling to, again, you're not going to expand your opportunities. So if you take me where they hate me, even if I only get a 10 % turn,
05:09
That's 10 % I didn't have. Yeah, that's a great point. as a rep, ah we use that STP all the time internally too, because we have uh slew of lines that complement each other. we have to do that as well. We've got somebody that's just brilliant with PLP but doesn't want to sell another product. That's OK with me. Just to be We know that. Yeah, I figured that. ah But it's not OK with us.
05:37
Understood. Yeah, so we have to do the same thing too, not just with the breadth of PLP, but with all of our lines. Where I'm going with this in that generational discussion too though, is that as a person that's been around for a long time, and I don't know if I talked about this in the last session, but in the first podcast we did, but it was about perspective. So my perspective when I started 45 years ago was very narrow.
06:06
All I concerned myself with was being the best I could possibly be. Right? So it's very narrow focused and I'm laser focused on it. And so if you do the best you can absolutely do in that little focus, then there's a good chance you'll be recognized and you'll be promoted. So each promotion steps you back and opens up your line of perspective. And so back it up 40 plus years, mine's pretty wide right now. What am I missing?
06:36
I'm missing the perspective that I had when I started. That's what made me start thinking about the generational gaps. I need the person that's doing my job that I did then. Now, I need that person's perspective. So, whether it's a man or a woman, there's generational differences that happened. There's technological advances and differences that have happened. So, I need that person more than they need me.
07:05
to get a better insight and understanding of how it is today. So think of it as a reverse pyramid. Everybody that stands in front of me, it's peak of the snowball. Every person that's ahead of me is blocking my view to what I once did. So now each one of them is as important to me as I am to them. Right? How do I reach that person? Do I expect them to come to me? I can't.
07:34
This is where you have to be humble and you have to understand your limitations and you have to reach out to all of those people ahead of you and say, I need your help. Because if you go to someone, Tim, and say, I need your help, it's amazing how they're going to want to participate. Unless if you come to them and say, hey, come here, let's talk. Checked out. Checked out. if you ask them for help.
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and let them understand why you're asking for their help. Because they provide something that you can't. People get a better feeling. They get a warm and fuzzy, I want to participate and want to be part of it. So that's where that whole nemesis or thought process behind this class came from. We worked on it for about eight months. I tried to get rid of buzzwords, I tried to get rid of trigger words, I just wanted to make it so that we need to talk.
08:29
I put in a lot of stuff in there and we did, the group, in regards to communication styles. Right? So I'm the old fashioned, I would rather talk to you in person. Some people want to do emails, some people want to do texts, some people want to do Snapchats or whatever. A lot of it's beyond me. But I think now if we do the reach out part and we try to incorporate the conversations with people and explain why we need them.
09:00
They're more inclined to participate. And one thing I noticed about that class that we had in the sales meeting, there was 50 people in that room. 50, right? We had five groups in that room. I went around and listened to every single group. I was in a unique position that I didn't participate, but I was participating. And the one thing that I realized...
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is that I heard every single person find out something new about every single person that was in their group. So the communication was happening. Yeah, absolutely. So if you put people in the proper frame of mind and you foster that ability to be yourself, open up, share, it's amazing what you can get out of it. Yeah. What do you think, you know, because people tend to...
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it seems like more more more introverted, you you get on an elevator and everybody looks down or you're on the bus and everybody, you know, how do we spread that outside of just PLP and our local uh network? like, does the world change? That's great. And it's really cool. I did something recently, and this was one of my first slides in that presentation. I did something recently I shouldn't have done.
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And you guys might have to edit this out because I'll probably get fired. But you know how they say when you get an email, don't click any links that are from an outside source. I click the link. Sometimes you just have to. They're good. You just have to. Sometimes they trick you. The link it brought me to was a link about a young lady called Margaret Mead. A lot of people didn't know who Margaret Mead was when I brought it up. She's an anthropologist. She was born in 1901. Very smart lady.
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ah Her studies brought her to the point where she was teaching and she did a lot of stuff and she was giving a lecture at a prestigious university and she got to the question and answer period of her lecture and one of the students asked her when did she realize that civilization began? And everybody expected her to respond it was a tool or it was a fish hook made of bone.
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or pottery or something to that effect. And what blew everybody's mind is she said it was a healed femur bone.
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healed femur bone. What does that have to do with civilization? Glad you asked. Great question, Tim. Thank you. The thing that it reminds us of is that in the wild, if an animal breaks a leg, they're dead. They can't fend for themselves. They can't find food. They can't get nourishment. They can't hide from the weather. They are where they are. They're going to die.
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A healed femur bone shows that someone had the compassion to stay behind, help that person, feed that person, protect that person until they healed. So I thought about it. The word on it was compassion. So the first time that I used that slide, I asked the group of individuals, and it was at Youngstown State. And I asked that group of individuals, thinking, hey.
12:25
I know how to play on words. This is going to be cool. I said, what's the root word of compassion? The first response I got, I was not ready for. Which was what? Compass. What would you have thought? ah I would have probably said passion. Good. Stay with that thought just for a second. I had to think quick. How do I use compass and not tell that individual that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard?
12:54
I would take it because I think everybody has a moral compass. Bang on Tim, that's why I like you. You're halfway intelligent. Thank you. You're amazing. So that's exactly what I said. I said, let's look at it from a moral compass standpoint. So a moral compass, think of it from the weak link perspective. So if that person is a weak link, we have two choices. If it was a horse, we'd put it down.
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The other option is to make that weak link stronger. Because if we make a weak link stronger, the entire team is elevated. Right? Yep. If we get rid of the weak link, human nature will allow us to create what? Another weak link. Yeah. Nobody wins. Nobody wins. So have some compassion for the people that you work with. Yeah. Elevate them. Don't chastise them. Don't criticize them without having
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Valid input that will make them stronger and better. Yeah, right. So the other aspect I took Right was I followed up on the passion part of it. Sure, and I said with passion You're able to show people the importance of what you do If you're passionate about what you do And that says a lot. Yeah, because if I'm not passionate
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How can I expect you to be passionate about what I'm doing or selling? Nobody cares. They don't care. If you don't care, they don't care. Have some passion for what you're doing. To have passion, you have to have a few things. You have to have understanding. You have to have ability. And you have to have a need.
14:39
And if you got those three things, you can't lose. Explain the need part of that. We all need to make a living. We all need to be able to support ourselves and possibly someone else. So there's a need there. So understanding that what you do, if you make it about selfishness, I think you're going to have a hard time. But if you make it about a need to support or a need to provide, changes the whole outlook.
15:09
That makes sense. uh On that topic, that's one thing that I've realized too, because everybody, even with any organization, everybody in our firm is there for a different reason. And so that's what you mean by Why are they there? What drives them to It's a driving force, right? So the need aspect of it is the driving force. And it's kind of like I volunteer for a lot of different organizations and a lot of different committees.
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And I did a podcast for a group of cable TV guys out of Indianapolis in Michigan. Those guys, they did a great podcast. And they asked me, said, Dan, they said, you volunteer for a lot of stuff. said, you're pulled in like seven different directions all the time, but yet you manage to get it done. How do you do that? And I said, well, first of all, if you're pulled in seven different directions, that means you don't want to be there. You're not being pulled if you want to participate.
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So I always relate to everybody. We as individuals in this world, and it's bar none, everybody, 100 % of every single man, woman, and child on this earth has something that nobody else has. It's your time, your own time. And it's up to you to decide how to use it. Right? Yeah, and if you let someone else...
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Determine it that's frankly a choice to absolutely have to absolutely yes or no now if you're like I look I've like I've been blessed my company PLP I always say it PLP is the place to be they've always fostered that it's how do we help you? Be that guy. Yeah, right. How do we help you be that person and And they fostered it. They've always let us grow. They've always let us be who we're meant to be to the point that PLP
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does matching contributions for our donations, for our charitable donations. It's an amazing place. Yeah, that's cool. It's an amazing place. And that makes me want to do more. That makes me, now they can't match my donation of time, which in some instances is more valuable than money. And realize that. I have not met one person that doesn't have 10 minutes a week to donate to someone. Yeah. And your time
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is way more valuable than you give it credit for. Yeah, that makes sense.
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What's different about CBM? First and foremost, it's our ESOP. Employee owners have more control and more ability to make decisions that are right for our customers and right for our company and right for our manufacturers. We've got the flexibility to put people where they need to be and use our experts wisely. If you need help with a project or need representation from an excellent sales force here in the Midwest, look no further than CBM. m
18:04
dot com.
18:09
So since you were here last, ah some people may know, some people may not, but you did have a little uh medical, more than a scare, I guess. ah I don't know what you'd like to say oh in terms of maybe what you went through and what you've learned from your experience. I appreciate the opportunity. Yeah, I think it's a cool thing. uh
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I did have a medical issue uh back in, I can give you the date, it was March 4th of 2024. uh I was on the road. I was at a hotel across from our office and I had a couple of brain bleeds and to the point where they thought I should not be here. I should have expired. And as I recall, it hit me out of the blue. For some reason, I usually get up quite early and I...
19:06
I go walk for three to five miles and I was doing all kinds of stuff and for some reason that morning I decided, eh, I just want to go into the office early, get the work I had to do and then start get back on the road. I had a baseball game with customers the night before and got into the office. Oh, actually, no, it wasn't baseball, it was basketball. I was watching the Cavaliers with customers. So at about five o'clock, I said, yeah, I'm not going to go out. I'm just going to...
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shower and go into the office early. And it hit me out of the blue. hit me, had like someone put a couple of M80s up inside my head and blew them up. That's how severe the pain was. It paralyzed me. And I was just holding on. I remember I was holding onto the sink and I looked down and I went to reach down to turn the water off and the water was not on. The water was just coming off my body. Kind of like it was in our first
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podcast recording here. Extremely, but not because of heat. It was more because of pain. Yeah, okay. So all I could think of is I got to make it to the bed and I just need to get to the bed and I'll be okay. And I don't know whether I fell asleep or whether I passed out. At nine o'clock, three hours later, I woke up still in excruciating pain. And I remember getting to my phone and the first thought would be to call 911.
20:33
That was not my first thought. Let's check the emails first. Make sure there's no real emergencies. And then I texted a few things and then I called Matt Becker. said, Matt, I'm not coming in. I'm in the office, but I got a really bad headache. Oh, okay. Take it easy. Okay. I called my wife who's in Columbus, two plus hours away. I said, come get me. She goes, call 911 and go to the hospital. I said, no. I said, I got to go home.
21:04
So she drove up with my daughter from Columbus, took me home and I couldn't sleep because she didn't, wasn't really confident on where to go and what, so I stayed with her and we got home and she goes, do you want me to go to the hospital? I said, no, I just want to go to bed. Got into bed and our oldest daughter from California called, said, mom, dad's never ever had a headache, let alone a migraine. Something's wrong. Get him in. Here's your sign.
21:33
Finally. almost. So I said, well, let's just go to the urgent care. Oh my gosh. there was like a 24-hour, it was like they had machines and stuff. They had some good test equipment. So I go into this emergency room and they looked at me and they didn't even make me sit down to fill out a form. They just brought me back. I had a CAT scan in about 10 minutes. Yeah. And the doctor came in shaking his head, holding it down and said, sir, I saw your CAT scan.
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said, you've got two very severe brain bleeds and there's nothing we can do for you. My wife fell apart and I was kind of the guy I am. Still there. Still there. And I said, you mean there's nothing you can do for me here? And says, yeah, that's what I mean. I said, you should use your words. They're important. So they moved me. He said, we've got to get you over to Riverside because that's the best neurological hospital in Ohio. I said, OK.
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He came back and said, well, we can't get you there, but we got you to go to this other hospital, which is a good hospital if you've been shot or shivved. I mean, it's a really good trauma center. So I get there and they looked at me and they said, well, we got to get a CAT scan and an MRI. And they did that and he came back and said, sir, you're way above my pay grade. But a friend of mine is the chief of surgery for neurology at Riverside. I'm going to call him. So next thing you know, I got a place.
22:59
And they said, well, we're going to chopper you over. said, I don't think so. Remember, I'm not supposed to be able to think. I'm not supposed to be able to move. You weren't supposed to be able to breathe. I was not supposed to be. Yeah. So I said, what do mean you're not going to? I said, number one, I'm not paying for it. And I said, number two, I could walk there quicker. guy said, well, let me see. So they got an ambulance. I was there in six minutes. Perfect. They say if you have a stroke or a bleed like that, they want to
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be able to treat you in about 90 minutes or less. I was 36 hours. Stubborn comes to mind. It's a good place to be. Yeah. But again, at this point, I still did not comprehend the severity. Yeah. Everybody around me did. But I didn't. You're still thinking, boy, this is crazy, but it's a headache. Bad headache. So I finally get to the surgery part of it, and they looked at me and they said,
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Yeah, this is not good. It's going to take a while. So I was awake for the first hour of the procedure. a couple of things, I'll cut to the quick of it.
24:15
I obviously was not supposed to be here, but God was looking over my shoulder and he said, you ain't done. And it was funny, I was supposed to be heading to Hawaii for the PCCA event and it was an annual event and they have a prayer breakfast on the Sunday. And by the time that Sunday rolled around, uh they had gotten there on either Tuesday or Wednesday and I was still in ICU at the time. And I recall my phone lighting up.
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Phone and emails. My wife would not give me the phone. And she would just read the texts to me from the people from the PCCA were praying for you. Your name was mentioned in the event, blah, blah, blah, just on and on. And before she told me that, I had a feeling, right? And it's so hard to explain. But it's why I know prayer works. Because it felt like a warm hug. And when I came out of the surgery, that's when it hit me.
25:12
When I came out of the first hour, then the four hours, that's when it hit me that God's there. And people pray and you feel it. The power of prayers is real. And miracles are real. Absolutely. Oh, it's a miracle I'm here. It truly is. But fast forward it again. The thing that happened that made it
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more apparent was the frustration, I shouldn't use the word frustration, but the reaction, I'll use that word instead, of the physical and occupational therapists that had to put me through a round of tests prior to me getting out of ICU. Yeah. And they came in kind of dejected after we had did everything we had to do. And the doctors, my wife's, oh no, what's wrong? said, nothing. Nothing. He's fine. Yeah. He's fine. uh
26:11
There's no restrictions. So I got out of ICU in four days, two surgeries, four days. I stayed in the hospital for one more day and I was home on the Saturday. And I went in on Tuesday. But again, it's like everybody said, you should be dead. My one surgeon called me a walking miracle.
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We're certainly glad you made it. I am too. uh I do have a deficiency though. I got a big patch of glue inside my head, inside my skull, holding my capillaries in place. Have you thought of a new nickname for that yet or there's got to be a phrase coming before that? We'll figure that out. But uh at this point in time, it's like I asked the doctor when I went back for my first visit, I said, what's the shelf life of the glue?
27:07
He did that too. He said, what do do for a living? And I told him, laughed. said, oh no, said, that glue will be around long after you're gone. I said, what are we talking? Two, three weeks? He said, no, no. said, you're good. You're good. And then I went back six months later, had another test where they went up inside my brain to check things out. And he just looked at me and he said, amazingly, you don't have to come back for just two years, come back to an MRI. You don't have to do this procedure anymore.
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And a couple of them said that usually it's six to nine months to recover uh in a home for therapy, et cetera. I had zero restrictions. That's incredible. The only thing I have now is I always joked around with people that I have to work three times as hard to be half as good as most. Now that's 10 times. Yeah. And it's a mental thing where I am very, everyone's well, I'll lose your word, right? um I'm very concerned.
28:05
about speaking properly. Whenever I articulate something, I want to make sure it comes out really good. I want to make sure that it comes out understandable and coherent and comprehensible. And sometimes I'll lose a word and I have to work real hard. And then I have to do double duty in listening to who I'm talking to as well as trying to find that word. It bothers me. It bothers me a lot to not know what that word is.
28:34
And sometimes it can take me a week or two and I won't let it go. I want to find it. Well, that's your personality. And you said it right there. I won't let it go. And that's one thing I definitely know about you. You do not let things go. uh Which is good. You do a very good job of holding people accountable to... But I try to hold people accountable with a certain amount of grace. And it's not about...
29:04
know, brow-beating people, it has to be about how do we learn from this? And people won't learn if all you are is a doer. If you don't pass the torch and let people do it their way, which is probably not going to be the way you do it. Definitely won't be the way you do it. But if you don't do that, they won't learn. And then they'll get complacent and they'll say, I don't have to do it because he's going to do it anyways, or she's going to do it anyways.
29:34
That's just the way human nature is. So there's a difference in my book between a manager and a leader, right? Oh yeah, yep. The managers are going to be there, but they'll probably do a lot of the work that you should be doing. Yeah. A leader is going to put you in a position to succeed at doing that work, but that comes with failures. Yeah.
29:59
That's how you learn. As long as you're learning something from the failures and you don't continuously repeat them, that's a win. So. You'd mentioned that, you know, God wasn't done with you. ah And there's a reason for that. Talk about what's next. I know you have a new chapter coming. You said you didn't need anything more on your resume, but it sounds like there might be something new coming. Yeah, I did. I thank PLP again.
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for allowing me the opportunity. I'm both honored and humbled to be promoted to the Director of Government Affairs for PLP. Thank you. um I will be doing primarily, I'll be advocating for PLP. But as stated earlier, it's more than that. It's about all the industries we serve and by extension, the people that are served by those industries. So I'll be advocating for uh PLP primarily will be my focal point.
30:57
But I will still continue to work with other organizations in the industries that we serve and maybe a couple more. um To expand our reach and our understanding and my goal um is to go beyond making PLP the place to be. It's to share the story with people to see. It's to share the story so that people understand the value of an American company that is global. And I want to make sure that I do my best.
31:27
to put PLP in a good light for everybody, both at a state and a federal level. Talk about how important, you don't necessarily have to tell the story of PLP, but talk about the importance of the stories and why companies need to be able to share that message. That's a really great question. The importance of any story, and this goes back to the generational talks and sharing stories with everybody.
31:54
You know the whole story, but oh, I walked 17 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways. Look, there are certain stories that don't resonate. And I believe that in order for our story to be told, we have to make it about us. We have to make it our narrative. I cannot expect one of my competitors to tell my story. No, they're not going to tell your story. They're going to tell a story.
32:23
and they're going to try to lump us in if it suits their needs. That's not how this works. I want people to understand who PLP is from the ground floor. I want them to understand the family that created it, the family that continues to be the major part of it, the families that are intertwined with it at this point. Because it's not just about me advocating for PLP. It's about advocating for the employees. It's about advocating for their families.
32:53
Right? this is by our family and your family. That's my point. It extends far beyond the individual will realize. So I want a place at the table. I want to be able to tell the story because I think it's one of the greatest stories ever told. Do you realize how many manufacturing companies fail after five years? After 10 years? PLP has been in it since 1947. There's like only 3 % of companies make it that long. And we're one of them.
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So isn't that an amazing story to tell? Why are we this way? Why have we lasted so long? And I'll say it, why are we this good? Right? Yeah. It's because of those stories. So you've got to tell the stories and understand that PLP as a company has many facets. We're in many different markets, but we have the unique ability to intertwine those markets with each other, to make them
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important, sustainable, and growable to be successful. And again, by extension, that goes to every man, woman working for PLP and their families, and by extension, our reps and our 1099 guys that are out there and their families. Talk a little bit about the family that started PLP. uh
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how that has not only established the culture, but is still within the culture of PLP because a lot of big corporations don't have the same culture and feel and it's because of that family that started it. Yeah, Thomas Peterson started the whole thing. um Smart man.
34:49
He ended up getting the first 31 patents for PLP, of which now as a company we have over 300 patents worldwide. um I have eight that I share at PLP and some pending. So it's because of the freedom that the family has provided us and also the family has always understood, I can't do this alone. I need quality people around me to be able to provide not just input, but to provide leadership.
35:19
provide knowledge, to provide passion, so that I don't have to do this alone. And so, by extension, the Rollman family, ah John and Barbara, and then Rob and Abby, and now Ryan and Tessa, by extension, it has been the same way since the beginning. I understand that I can't do this alone. I want to surround myself with people that have industry knowledge.
35:48
that have business practice, that have financial practice, that have taxation, that has government affairs, that has uh manufacturing, but passion. Because, and leadership, right? If you don't have leadership, you've got a rudderless ship. Not a good look. PLP has been the place to be since 1947. Well, that's awesome. We'll end on that.
36:17
Thank you so much, Dan. Thank you, Tim. Always a pleasure. Just absolutely love you to death. Thank you. I do, from my heart. And we're glad you're here. And thank you so much for coming and see us. Thank you.
36:32
Just wanted to say thanks again to Dan Levak for joining us. You know, our relationship with PLP has been long lasting over the years. uh You know, we've been in business now and we're celebrating 65 years and uh 63 of that has been shared with PLP and we cherish that relationship and thank you, Dan, so much for coming in. uh Remember, if you've got a project you need help with or if you're looking for representation for...
36:58
uh Your products from a great firm here in the Midwest look no further than CBM. You can find us here at CBM rep comm uh Like comment subscribe. Thank you so much for joining us and until next time. We'll see you next time
