00:00
Hi, welcome to Power of the Network. I'm your host, Tim Locker, Vice President of Broadband here at CBM. We got a special guest this week, Mr. Kyle Goldwater. So he is relatively new to the industry. He is a Territory Sales Manager here in Missouri and Kansas for Duraline. We've recently been responsible for the communication market here in Missouri and Kansas as well. And we work with Kyle. He covers all markets, but...
00:25
Really, we wanted to introduce him to the customers out there in Missouri and Kansas and get to know him a little bit better today. So welcome, Kyle.
00:37
Kyle, thanks for joining us today. It's great to have you here in studio. My whole goal today is really, you're pretty fresh uh in the industry and uh you've been working with us now for what about five months. And so, I just kind of want to get your name and face out there and introduce you to the customers here in Missouri and Kansas and kind of go from there. So welcome. Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me and I appreciate the opportunity. I was surprised to get the invite.
01:07
just being how fresh I am. uh Only four or five months into the industry started on the end of June. So I was shocked. I even tried to defer it off to somebody. But insisted on being on here. I appreciate it. five months in, what's your first impression of uh the industry? uh There's a lot of great people is what I'll say. Just right off the bat is uh the great people. I've always got to work around great people as well. uh That's kind of what I... uh
01:37
have just come from is working with great people. My past, I've always had to work with great people and you know that you're in a good spot just when you know it. uh It's just kind of, you have to take things each day at a time uh and learn as much as you can. So between the learning and the great people, you know, we have, I'll just talk about some of the things that... uh
02:02
I've referred to a lot and that's going to my manager, David Johnson. I you've had him on the podcast before. then Journal Line Academy. think those two have been like my best friends, just kind of being into it. I've learned a lot about the industry on that. Last week I took a light brigade class and that was a lot for a pipe salesman. I'll tell you what, that was a good class? It was the operations class, fiber to the axis. That one was titled. I know they have multiple, but like I said, that one.
02:30
That's probably enough for me for a while. eh No, it's good. It's good to understand. Obviously, you need to understand your product and the duct, you also need to, that's just a piece of it. So you've got fiber and all the other things that go with it. Well, yeah, it definitely just helps when you can just have a conversation about, what's going to go into the duct? What's everything else that we're going to need to go along with it? And a lot of people are understanding with me coming into it, being only four or five months into it.
02:59
Maybe there's a lot of young folks in it and they just understand. Well, you'll find that's, you talked about the people and you see that in our industry. A, uh it's pretty small. It's a pretty tight group of folks. People may change jobs or whatever, but they're still in the industry. They may just wear a different shirt from day to day or whatever. even our customers are very willing to help new people out.
03:28
whether it's a regional like you or whether it's one of our own guys, as we hire new people, they're eager to help you learn. so it's really nice to have that kind of help when you're entering something new. Yeah. And there's so many resources and it's just to be able, a lot of times you get lost in navigating your way through all your resources you have too. So just trying to stay organized and say, okay, I can go back on this.
03:58
And sometimes you just have to take a step back and realize the big picture of it. And it's OK to slow down and smell the roses every once in a while. Yeah, for sure. And I can tell with you, your drive to know and learn, it's a lot for you right now, isn't it? It is. I hold myself to a very high standard. I think we all do. A lot of us don't like to say that we do, but we all do.
04:28
I want to learn the industry, want to get to know the people, try to get uh as much hands-on as I can be. I know that might be annoying for some people at times, right? But I just like to be involved. just really, it's not trying to be that annoying salesman. It's just kind of, how can I help? that I'm going to be here for you when you do need help. And that's ultimately the right attitude. How can I help?
04:56
uh Sometimes you need to know how you can help and show that to them, but that's the right attitude. It's not about selling duck. It's about providing somebody the right solution for what they're trying to do. Absolutely. Yeah, I'm not in it to try to sell them the wrong product and bump my numbers up or anything like that. I want to get on the phone with you or my manager and make sure, hey, I've got this idea for these guys. uh
05:26
is this what I should be going towards? Is 1814 going to be right for this or something? So let's make sure that we get you the right product and make sure we get you taken care of. So talk a little bit about, so you're Kansas boy. I'm a Kansas boy through and through. I know the Missouri listeners aren't going to like that, I do come Yeah, but it's all good. I it's great because you're a great fit, uh part of the community.
05:55
And I think that's important in this industry too, that you're local, you're right there, you know what's going on. So that's important. Yes, sir. Yep. Kansas, through and through, grew up on 190 acres outside of Wilson, Kansas, real small town. Yep. 17 kids in my graduating class. and I was, I don't think I was even the top third in that. And I think we had like four kids, four or five kids with straight A's throughout the entire.
06:24
school. we were all tight in that class. You just grow up and everybody knows you. It's maybe kind of like what this industry is. It's a small town feel. Sometimes when you get home, your mom already knows what you did that day before you walk in the door. That's great way to put it, really. That's a really good analogy. uh Small town feel. um It really is. um Heck, even just the match show, it's like...
06:52
I've only been on for five months and I know a heck of a lot of the people here. it's pretty sweet. But you're right. I talked to people that have just changed positions in the short five months that I've been on, but you're right. They stay in and nobody leaves. you talk about what you did before here. So you were with the of Engineers? Yes, sir. Yep. Talk about what you did there and what your responsibilities were a little bit. Yeah. So it was a little background.
07:22
That is a that's kind of like what for me to be who I am today I gave eight hard years to the US Army Corps of Engineers as a park ranger for about five of those years and then I had taken a promotional position in downtown Kansas City at the uh Richard Boylan Federal Building uh as a natural resource management specialist I was overseeing a The recreation budget that went to all of the the lakes within the Kansas City District uh So the title was
07:51
resource management specialist and also a recreation business line manager. Kind of dependent on what day it was and what title you were doing. Maybe dependent by the hour of what you were doing. uh And then this year, between the months of March and April, I had done a two-month deployment down to uh Southern California to the Palisades area with a wildfire cleanup. that was just kind of an eye-opener to me of
08:21
kind of getting far away from things that I love to do. And that's to be boots on the ground, talking to people, getting stuff done. And I like, I'm going to go try something different. And then reached out to Durnaline. They coincidentally had a position open in Kansas, Missouri still. And uh luckily David was enough to like me. However, you asked me about what I did in that position. I tell people uh I did the fighting crime and saving lives for a while as a park ranger.
08:50
And I can't go without saying Mr. Greenjeans. Mr. Greenjeans. I've been called a lot worse than that, so I'll take that. You know, and nothing meant by this, but like when I think of uh that type of person, that type of personality, ah I would say usually very straight, very black and white, right versus wrong. By the book. ah Is that you?
09:17
Sometimes, you know, people would always make the joke that I'd write a ticket to my own mom, you know, but I never did go that Would you? No. No, I'd probably let her off the hook. So if she does listen to this, mom, you would be off. But those aren't necessarily bad qualities. Right. You know, I think what it does say is honesty and integrity are extremely important to you. Oh, absolutely. Like I said, that was the...
09:46
motto, I guess, for US Army Corps. I felt like I was in a government position and I put on a uniform every day and I held myself to a high standard. It's like whenever I get dressed in the morning, I'm going to represent Duraline in the same way. Whatever I do, I'm to put 110 % into it. But I loved working for that US Army Corps. I had so many great people mold me into who I am today. I've always said,
10:16
You know who you hear the saying of you are like who you hang out with the most. Maybe your mom said that growing up. If you hang out with them, you're going to turn out just like those guys. But I always kind look at it as you are the five people that you look up to the most. And if you kind of pick out what you like best out of those people and you strive to, OK, this person does this really, really well, ah you can take that little piece and put that into yourself and strive to be like that and do that for the next four.
10:46
uh I had recently went through a leadership development program through the US Army Corps, which was, uh I was in it for about a year and a half. uh And it was like taking, I never did do a master level college class, but it was like, I feel like it was probably close to that. How much time and effort. I had just had a big, uh our middle child. uh So we had two kids at home. uh So I was writing papers and reading books.
11:15
I know it was hard on my wife. Shout out to my wife. She holds it down to four whenever I'm gone. uh But it was just a really good eye opener and it was a great opportunity to uh make me a better leader. You kind of got to take the step back and realize the person that you are kind of from above, I would say. just, all right, who do I want to be and how can I make myself a better leader? Where I was going with that is I had a mentor. uh
11:44
Major Brownhill, I remember him saying this to me, uh I picked him as a mentor throughout the year. He uh told me in our speed dating that we had for when you could pick your mentor, that uh you have to make time for being a husband and a father, and then there's this big gap with work. And like, if I got a major in the army telling me that he can do that, I can do that too. Like, there's, you have to make time for.
12:14
husband and father, and then there's this big gap where it comes next. So, keep it in that order and things will just fall into play. Yeah. Have you been able to do that so far? em I feel like I have a really good balance. I prioritize my family. That is my number one. So, I've got three kids at home, and uh like I mentioned, my wife. So, they're always first and then the dirt line, right?
12:42
But you also have to take time for yourself as well. Yeah. It becomes a challenge. mean, let's face it, covering a territory and being on the road, there's a lot of nights in a hotel where your wife may think it's just a party every day because you're out entertaining customers. But it's not a party every day. And you'd much rather be home. So it is a sacrifice. absolutely. Yeah. Like, prime example was last night,
13:12
10 o'clock by the time I got back to the hotel and I mean we were with people. We were talking about work and discussing work. If it wasn't for this awesome group that we worked with, I wouldn't be in that situation of being out till 10 o'clock or staying in uh hotel rooms. But uh it is great. uh Take advantage of it. I'm a Hilton plus member oh or a Hilton Diamond member. So it adds up and we can take advantage of it as a family too.
13:40
You know, people do say it's like, how do you do that with a family? But like I had mentioned, I was gone for two months uh consistently. And that was kind of an eye opener of I could be gone for two or three, maybe four nights out of the week or something like that. My wife would be perfectly fine. And she was open to it and very, very supportive of me trying something new. she kind of had dipped her toe in the water a little bit and realized that maybe you could
14:10
manage the balance, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And it's awesome. It's a family industry, too. Like, I'm trying to plan something to go down to Mountain Grove and take my kids to the plant, go show them how ducks made, you know. My six-year-old would find that so cool right now. So, I want to make that happen. Yeah. Oh, that's great. I'm glad you're able to find that balance. still, all these years into it, still struggle. Yeah. You know, today's my daughter's 14th birthday, so happy birthday. Oh, But, you know,
14:40
You do, unfortunately, have to miss some things from time to time. It's a challenge. Absolutely, man. So one thing I didn't touch on is when I was a park ranger for five years, I worked weekends. I was working holidays and I was going in two hours early to go do vessel checks on people, making sure that they're safe going out before 4th July weekend on their boats. It was more of the, I'm here to make sure you guys are safe.
15:09
And that's maybe that does carry over into this new position of I'm here to make sure that you guys are supported and I'm going to stand behind the other way. So, just kind of making that transition over. What kind of similarities do you think there are in the roles or is there something that you know that you learned through the core that really helps you now in this role? Yeah, just be a human being, know, like even when you do put on that.
15:39
put on the uniform every day, it's like you are still a person. I like to have fun on my days off too. But there's just some rules that go along with that. And we made the joke about writing a ticket to my own mom. I was more times lenient, I feel like, with a lot of situations where I could be writing a ticket here, but hey, if you do me a favor and just run to the boat ramp and go get you a life jacket, then... uh
16:10
we'll forget that this ever happened. Or go get you a Type 4 throwable, you have to have that on board. uh So how that maybe transitions over is just being a good down to earth person and realizing people do make mistakes. And uh we're all people. I'm sure as much as you hate to admit it, you still make a mistake. I'll be the first to admit it. make a bunches of mistakes. just being a good person. Yeah, that's good. That's a good way to look at it.
16:42
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17:10
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17:40
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18:08
What's been the biggest surprise to you so far, transitioning into this? Man, that's a tough one, Tim. My biggest surprise? uh Just uh the amount of support that I've had, not just through, uh you know, Duraline, but also through CBM. You guys have been there to help me and help me get better, not only as a Duraline uh support, but also as
18:37
just a person, you know. I feel like you guys have a team of people that are looking out for me uh and want to see me succeed and do great things. I just think, I know we've talked about the people a lot already, but I just think that's been a huge thing that people that are actually really supportive of you. you know, you mentioned earlier about being in Kansas. I think that's been a huge thing too, is just being local and having the support.
19:07
from people, oh, sweet, this guy's out of Kansas, Missouri, or Kansas, Missouri area. I can be there within, uh heck, within a few hours. mean, I'm kind of centrally located for the area. uh I can really be on either side of my territory, east or west, uh within about a six hour drive, which, you know, if you have something that ever comes up at home, you can make that drive back home if you really have to, if something came up. Gives you a little flexibility. Yeah, being placed in your territory.
19:37
Correctly is a big advantage. Yeah a big advantage because then you you know if you're on one far end And it's 12 hours away a lot more nights on the road. Yeah, you know so right I also so maybe more specific to the question now I've had some more time to think about it is just all the moving parts is very interesting You know you got to have fiber you got to have Doug you got to have couplers and you got to have the right people to in to install the fiber you got to have
20:05
lubricant if you need that. There's just so many things that you got to think about when you're building or if you're upgrading that you got to take into perspective like that. it's just cool to be a part of uh and I've learned a lot along the way, Yeah, you certainly have a short amount of time. And that's one thing I admire that your eagerness to learn. Without that, you can't be successful. not.
20:35
As a salesperson, think you need to know you've to be an expert, right? And everybody should strive for that. So if you don't know your products, it's pretty tough to sell, right? Yeah, for sure. That's just step one. ah What do you think is the biggest challenge, just in terms of the sales process itself?
21:01
Yeah, just the whole process of selling. uh Was there anything that you did uh prior that was similar to sales? So the only sales experience that I had is we sold American the Beautiful Passes. So it's not even comparable to what this is. But sales has been so fun. What's weird is that it kind ran in my family, like my grandpa was a salesman. uh
21:28
And then even did it after he retired. remember going to coin shows and stuff with him. he carried over. I had a coin collection when I was a kid and always trying to turn over coins and make a little bit of a profit to go buy more. my dad's always been a ball card collector and buying ball cards and buying them and selling them. I don't want to say like random my blood or anything, but it definitely feels a lot more natural than what I ever thought it would. it's been it's been so cool being a salesman. uh
21:58
I can never go be like a used car salesman, I feel like, or something like that. And the poor used car salesman, I feel bad for them because they get that, that term's thrown around in the stereotype of that. oh But when you think of that, mean, explain to me what you mean by that. What I mean by that is I'm not going to be hitting you up by email and calling you and saying, got the best deal on this. uh
22:27
I'm going to be there to support you. And I don't feel like you get, as soon as you drive that car off the lot, you might be forgotten about, or you're just kind of that next person to, you're just a number. And maybe that's the difference that I'm going to have is be with you the whole step of the way. it's a good way to put it. It's not about the sales, not about the number. It's about the value that you can bring. And it's a long-term relationship. Yeah, the long-term relationship. Maybe that's been.
22:56
a huge surprise to me too is, you know, that's, you know, we talked about the work ethic or uh my ability to learn, that's what you said, or just being eager to learn. And those long-term relationships is something out of my control right now, because I've only been in five months. you're exactly right, it takes time. And that's just something I have a hard time wrapping my head around, know, but it just takes time.
23:24
You have to give yourself a little grace and let, know. oh The thing that, the advantage that I have is I've been in the industry a long time and consistency I think is really important. Yeah, I can see that. You know, there are folks that maybe move around from company to company every few years or whatever and they'll have a different reputation, you know, than someone that's stuck it out for 10, 15, 20 years at a place. So, and you know.
23:52
For whatever, there's personal reasons why somebody may need to change careers or whatever, but that consistency really pays off in the long run. And, you know, somebody doesn't know you. Do you answer every phone call that comes in that doesn't have a name to it? Right now I do, right? But, yeah, that'll slow down over time, right? I don't know who this is. This could be a robocall or whatever. So that's just human behavior that takes time to develop.
24:22
We tell our people it's really two to three years to really lean into your territory. And it's probably closer to three most of them. Yeah. And other than time, that's not something that you can control. But I feel like things that you can't control, that's where you need to capitalize on and try to do a good job in. So that time factor is, you know, one of my interview questions I remember was how long are going to stick around a while?
24:51
And I know that's needed for this territory. So, yeah, you're going to have me for a while, Tim. Sorry to tell you that. No, that's good. And like you said, we do want you to succeed. If you succeed, we succeed. It's a partnership. We do it together. no, we're vested in helping you along the way, too. Right, right. oh So, wife and three kids? Wife and three kids. Ages? I have a...
25:21
Six-year-old boy. We just got done with soccer this year. We are going to flag football playoffs. not to brag or anything. I helped coach that. We're going to playoffs first year, right? So, anyway, I've got also have a two-year-old that's at least going on five. He's got to do everything older brother's doing all over the place. hate to say, just uh if you think if you say middle child, he's definitely the middle child. So,
25:50
It's so fun watching them though together. uh Those two wrestling, know, my wrestling or my living room is like a wrestling room. It's also a football field. uh Sometimes we gather there as a family uh and just chill and read books or something like that. But that doesn't happen very often. Maybe in the morning when the kids are there. And then, uh or when the kids are first waking up. And then I've also got a almost nine month old little girl tomorrow.
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tomorrow. So um yeah, so she's already got me wrapped around her finger. It doesn't take long. No, man. Even my wife has mentioned to me that I favor her on some things like Callan, my two year old was stacking up some books uh the other day and she has just started crawling and she thought it'd be pretty cool to go knock over those books that were he had stacked over on the uh floor. I'm like, man, you put them there.
26:48
What do expect? She's moving. So there's Dad already taking her side. yeah. And I firmly believe it's okay to have a favorite. And it's usually the little girl. Yeah. Is it? oh Okay. Try not to play favorites, right? Like we mentioned black and white, but ah I think you just naturally do, right? It's just something maybe you can't control. Hobbies? What do you do for fun? eh
27:17
be involved with my kids of sports now. uh I used to love to hunt and fish. I was a huge duck hunter, goose hunter for a while. I did grow up turkey and deer hunting as well. I mentioned to you I grew up on 190 acres. So, had about as much hunting and as much as I wanted, really. And then grew up going to the Cheyenne Bottoms with my grandpa uh when I was...
27:44
when I was a kid and I don't know, like to tell people, I started duck hunting before it was cool. There was so many, not very many people out at the Cheyenne bottoms. I think we could go out there and have the whole dang place to ourselves and we'd just be trying to shoot at the geese and make them fly higher. now it just seems like maybe it's the product and piles that people are after and I never grew up doing that, you It's just, if you shoot it, you eat it too.
28:13
I look at that, you my son just loves waterfowl hunting and he's so good at it. That's awesome. You know, me and my buddies were never good at it. We didn't have anybody to teach us. We just went out and did dumb stuff and never got anything. And now you've got YouTube and everything else and you can, you know, he's taught himself how to call and, you know, spend the time scouting and putting all the work in and just the...
28:40
difference of how much better he is than I was is amazing. There's that. You said scouting and it's like going on almost two or three hunts prior to the actual hunt. And that's something that is a huge time suck when you're waterfowl hunting. Waterfowl hunting, if you want to be successful, I mean, it just, you got to put in that work and then you can go execute and have a good hunt. So you have to does that translate into sales?
29:07
I think, yeah, I thought maybe that was coming over. to do the scouting, You got to do the scouting. You got to do your homework and I hope you be successful really in the long run, right? Yeah. Maybe that's never really put those two together, you know? So that was good for you to catch that. There's also so much work that goes into waterfowl hunting. I'm sure you're like, I always said I hated moving because like when I was with the US Army Corps, I had moved several times.
29:36
to move up the ranks. I just, I had to do it, but maybe I love to do it because whenever you go duck hunting, it feels like moving. Because of much stuff you need. So, maybe that's what it was. I have, I catch an invite with my son once or twice a year for a good waterfowl hunt. Nice. But, you know, it's usually he and his buddies, so I don't make the cut most of the time. So I spend most of the fall in a tree stand.
30:06
Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. I've had some awesome encounters, some of the things that I think about uh quite often, just with a, and I had a bow in my hand. And just during the rut and you're out there in your tree stand, there's really nothing like it. Some of the close encounters that you can get. uh Whether you're with somebody or not, uh just some of the things that it does for you and be outside. I mentioned earlier, stop and smell the roses.
30:34
And that's one of those times that you can actually do that. Yeah. For me, it's clarity. We did an early season hunt this year, uh right at beginning of the archery season. And just to spend five days outside in a tree by yourself, you have time to clear your head. Think about what your priorities are. ah It's just, to me, it's therapy. Yeah. It really does feel that way. I grew up playing sports.
31:04
uh I didn't play golf, which I wish I would have, you know, being in this industry. But so I've always been a little competitive too. So like I mentioned to you, I coached uh flag football this year. uh You can imagine being from a small school, you were kind of pushed to do all the sports. remember my freshman with 17 kids in a class, you're on every team. Yeah, that's right. And you were playing offense and defense. You have any talent at all you're playing. Yep. Yep. So when you say you started when you were a freshman, doesn't...
31:32
When you only have 17 kids in your class, doesn't mean that much anymore if you say that. uh But it really makes you know a lot. And that ability to learn maybe carries over from that. Maybe I haven't known any better, It's just uh you always have to be able to have your head on a swivel and do a 180 when you need to. Well, you mentioned being competitive. And I know this about myself. I'm extremely competitive. But I think that's critical for the role that you're in.
32:02
Oh yeah. I mean, you have to be, you have to want to win. And I think that's number one, you know. Yes. And there's also things that go along with that as well. Don't just take your losses as loss. Learn from it. And how am I going to do this next time? Because there will be another opportunity. Right? So you don't want to make the same mistake twice or even three times. Did you know it takes like the human brain?
32:31
seven times for you, like if you have to read something or hear something, maybe five to seven times before it actually sticks with you. Yeah. So I've heard that. I don't know. It just, it blows my mind, you know, and it, you have to remind people of that and they're not going to remember it the very first time that you tell them that. Maybe they have to hear it from somebody else or read it or uh have it displayed up on a screen for them or something. But well, and so many things that
33:00
I look at that from a leadership perspective and it's like...
33:06
For that seventh one to stick, like you've got to have the attention. how do you get people's attention sooner so that you have to, obviously you have to repeat all the time what's important and pass along the right messaging. But getting that attention, at some point something changed to where that stuck. And I think a lot of times we just go through without thinking about it or...
33:36
You're talking and I'm daydreaming about this or whatever. right? Sitting in that tree stand right here. Yeah. So, how do you, figuring out how to make that stick, get someone to pay attention as a whole mother? Well, sometimes it matters on who it's coming from too. And we talked about already how long you've been in the industry maybe. People might...
33:58
bring up that wall whenever I'm talking, if I'm talking fiber or something, but then you start talking about it and it's like, okay, Tim's talking about it. He knows what he's talking about, right? So you have to be able to take in everybody's perspective. everybody's got a little bit different way of looking at things. uh comparing what you do now to what you did for the Corps of Engineers, oh totally different roles.
34:25
but also similar in the aspect of working with government money and government funding. Do you see any similarities between the two roles from that aspect? Maybe on just how money is supposed to be spent. One thing you have to uh do when you were working with a tight budget, especially with the US Army Corps, not only US Army Corps of Engineers, but
34:54
just recreation side of things, that budget never really grew to keep up with inflation. you know, maybe that has a little bit of similarity to this, you know, costs of things are going up all the time. uh But is that money that everybody has, is that increasing too? You know, you have to try to stay uh consistent and be able to provide a good service, quality product, uh maybe. uh
35:24
a better understanding of what our customers are dealing with from their budget side of things? Yeah, I like to think so. think that helps me. I know what it's like to work with a tight budget and stay on budget and stay on schedule and hit deadlines uh and put things into a data spreadsheet. It feels like you've got a never-ending timeframe of work that you have to get done. I've seen that side of the house of things.
35:53
So maybe being behind a computer I spent too much time on, but I know what it's like from the, maybe that operations standpoint, because I was on the off side of things when I did that. But also when you're in that role, I think what is important is being a leader. know, we have, maybe that's a little off subject, but there's so many opportunities to be a leader and you don't have to be in a supervisory position to be a leader. You really don't.
36:23
I wasn't a supervisor and I had taken that leadership development course. But knowing as a leader what's going to be best for your people and then what's best for your company as well. that's, you know, I don't look at it just as a Duraline side of things, if I was running whatever company we're talking with, how would I do it too?
36:47
Maybe we have a better idea if we can come up and say, hey, you might save a few cents here if you would think about this or uh something like that. So we're just going to be on the same team. I know what it's like to work with a tough budget, man. uh One thing too I mentioned is uh never forget where you came from too. And uh I grew up, like I said, small town, Wilson, Kansas. I said 190 acres. uh Maybe people think, man, this guy's got to come from.
37:16
a little bit of money, but it's, we, I never did, I guess. So we spent a lot of time fishing. Land back then wasn't worth what it is now. Oh man, it's not. uh And it was family that they got it for us too. And it was just handed down. So uh I don't have that. That's my grandparents is right. But it's just, uh like I said, never forget where you came from and appreciate everything that you got. Yeah. No, that's great. So
37:45
Back to the leadership, you're in a perfect position, like you said, you don't have to be in a supervisory role, but where you're at, we take direction from you. I even though you're new and we're trying to help you progress, but you've got all of us working for you as well. just because it's not in the title doesn't mean you don't set an example. That's why it's super important for me to be that listener and not just try to...
38:15
I'm not going to show you guys out. I mean, if you have an idea, like, okay, I might not jump to it right then and there, but I'm going to take it back and I'm going to chew on it for a while. Say, all right, Tim was right. I'm not going to tell him that. I'm not going to tell him that. he was right again. I guess we'll go that direction. Well, I can't thank you enough for joining us. And like I said, it's great for us to get your name and face out there in front of the customers,
38:44
Missouri and Kansas. Anything for me, anything you want to get off your chest or? Yeah, sure. I got a question if you don't mind, if we got time. Sure. All right. So we've talked about leadership quite a bit and listening from you and maybe some other podcasts, you didn't come from a leadership role, uh did you? No. Previously? Okay. So how have you been able to make a good transition over into being vice I don't know that I have. em Of course,
39:13
I'm probably the most critical of myself, ah but ah it's been a process. ah know, oh the best way to uh ruin a good salesman is make him a sales manager, right? uh But uh I think it's taken me some time. ah You I have to think about things differently now. uh For me, the hard part was giving up.
39:44
and not doing the things I normally would be doing and letting ah our folks do it. That's been probably my biggest struggle. ah Realizing now what's going to make us better is making our people better. So my ah strategy now is not what can I do, but what can I do to make our people better. That's kind of where my focus is at.
40:13
making them the experts, bringing them confidence, supporting them where you need to, letting them fail where you need to, but really invest in the people. And then I you just have to care. I think it's important to really care about why they're here, what's going on in their lives. Everybody's working for different reasons. ah
40:41
We've all got different priorities and what we want to do and what we want to achieve. And maybe they want to achieve something that's not here, but we still have to help them get that in some way. Yeah, absolutely. That's kind of been my thought process anyways is A, stop doing everything and B, know. Delegate, delegate, delegate, right? Not just because I don't want to do it, but.
41:08
the more they can do, the better they'll be. Well, yeah, that's not what I was getting at of taking the load off you, right? But you have to rely on that person, and that shows that you have the faith in them to take care of it. It might not be the way that you do it or that I would do it, but everybody's a little bit different. So I 100 % understand what you're saying on that. No, I appreciate that question. That's all the question.
41:37
It was a good one, so I want to make sure I didn't lose it. I appreciate it. if there's anything about me you'll find is I'm an open book, probably sometimes too much, but you'll get my straight thoughts. But like I said, we're grateful to have you. We're eager to work
42:03
more with you and we do, you we want you to be successful and hopefully you're around a long time. So, yeah, I hope so. It's been awesome so far. Met some great people. Yeah, looking forward to keep trucking along, man. It's been awesome. uh Let's go do it. All right. great things. I appreciate it. Thanks. Yeah, thank you.
42:24
Thanks again, Kyle, for joining us. It's been great. I enjoyed our conversation. It's great to get to know you a little bit better. You know, we look forward to a long future working with you and it's great to have you as part of our team. So thank you. And remember, if you need help with a project or looking for representation here in the Midwest, look no further than CBM. You can find us right here at cbmrep.com. ah If you would take some time, like, comment, subscribe, let us know what you'd like to see on future episodes.
42:54
And thanks again for joining Power of the Network. Until next time, we'll see you next time.
