November 17, 2022 • 43 mins
Prudential Financial CMO Susan Somersille Johnson chats with John Hope Bryant about the different ways Prudential is helping people build, along with sharing a few personal stories about herself, explaining why she is where she is today.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Building the Good Life with John Hope Bryant is brought
to you by Prudential Financial. You know, small business of
the fabric of this country and uh, and that's what
grows our country. So it's very very important to us
to help black businesses grow and thrive. This is John
Hope Bryant, and this is Building the Good Life today.
(00:20):
My guest, my friend, my partner and change is Susan
Somersial Johnson, the chief marketing officer Prudential. And as we say,
where I come from, she's a bad system. Uh. And
and then and when my neverorbody will be s I
s T a system, but in proper context s I
S E are or better yet Here executive c suite leader,
(00:42):
change agents, someone who cares deeply about community, brand ambassador,
someone who's focused on systemic change at scale through the
power of marketing, and one of the most powerful financial
service corporations in the world. We're gonna unpack all of
this as we go deep into how you build. We're
(01:02):
gonna talk. We're gonna cover some really fascinating and important topics. Ladies,
this podcast is for you. This is about all the
stuff of being unseen and unheard or feeling that way
and wondering in a world that does not seem fair,
how do you succeed against those odds. You have a
living example here, a living, breathing example of Dr King's
dream Susan summer Still Johnson, Hey, my friends, John, it
(01:27):
is great to be here. I love listening to your podcast.
It just you get to the core of who people
are and what drives them. So I'm really looking forward
to this or it's my pleasure. You know, we're not
I believe, uh, Susan, We're not human beings having a
spiritual experience. I believe we're spiritual beings having a human experience.
I think energy really matters. You've got good energy. You're
(01:52):
for as long as I've known you. Then defined by
your authenticity. Yes, your intellect, Yes you're island. Yes you're
clear strength in marketing, in branding at the highest level
with some of the biggest companies in the world. But
she is your It is your authenticity, um that I
(02:16):
trust the most. When I talk to you, I know
it's real. I know you're real. I don't have to
edit around you. We we talk very easily, and I
think that that is communicates inside the corporate suite. I
think it communicates externally to community, to stakeholders, and I
frankly think that's how you've been so successful. I think
(02:37):
also you aren't concerned about who gets the credit. Almost
had to drag this lady on this podcast. Everybody give
her a virtual round of applause from where you are
right now. Don't do it while you're driving and put
all the side of the road and do that. But
but let her know you appreciate her, because how to
drag her in it is without without her and pretentially
wouldn't be a podcast. She wants to give somebody else
attention to some other person she knows she wanted them
(02:59):
on the the show. Literally, she's in twenty minutes talking
about some guy who's in a football player or something.
She wasn't one the show. No, no no, I want you
dr King's brilliance as a genius. But without Creta Scott King,
where would he be as a legacy today? Kredi Scott
King behind every successful man is an exhausted woman. Kredi
(03:19):
Scott King. What people don't know? She was this great orator,
She was a great singer. She was an incredible uh
performer and she would perform and raise money for the
civil rights movement. Didn't know that, and she gave her
life even after Dr King died to sustain his legacy.
Never remarried, never did anything but dedicate her life to
that mission and movement. We know Dr King today because
(03:43):
of Creti Scott King. Susan Johnson is one of these
iconic strengths that that just sits in the back and
and lets everybody else take the credit for the work.
We're not allowed that today. Today we're gonna set the
record straight because a company like Prudential is run by
people and that human capital is the real capital. So
(04:07):
let's unpack this story a little, Susan, Let's take the
audience back, if you will, to your your childhood, to
your background. Um, we know you worked at Apple and
you you, you know, had all these incredible corporations, Truist
before this and Nokia, and we're gonna get into some
of this, but tell us about growing up. Mom and dad.
(04:28):
You mentioned that I'm driven by a deep desire to
help build communities and help people lead better lives. Um,
and that's really core to who I am, and it
came from my parents and my family so my um,
my mother grew up in Jamaica and my dad, Yeah,
and they met here, and my mother told me, it's
(04:53):
an incredible story, coming to this country with almost nothing
and a thin and a thin coat, no winter coat.
I've never seen a wintertime and didn't have a winter coach.
She worked so many jobs from Jamaica. She worked so
many jobs. Um, and then she got into college at Fordham,
and then she had to stop her career because she
(05:14):
had to raise money to bring her brother and her
sisters to this country, so she put it on pause. Um.
And then ultimately she ended up graduating the first African
American woman from Fordham Law School. Well we'll back up, slowdown,
So did you just say African American? Wait? Did I
mention that Susan Johnson is black? So anybody watching this,
(05:39):
listening to this, ladies, gentlemen, particularly ladies, she's not only
female in this role. She's African American in this role,
or let's say of African descent, because she's she's her
mothers from the islands. So so so let's again unpacking
the story. I want people to see the latter the
(06:00):
ladder building here, So no silver spoon in your mouth.
Nothing came easy, right, Yeah, I mean I was fortunate
to have two parents who care a lot about me,
but it was hard work. And then ultimately they moved
out of the bronx and my father built us a
home with his hands and his brothers and his uncle's
(06:20):
and he built us a home so he could have
his family together. So I learned the importance of just
really being focus and driven to get to get where
you want to go. I am, but I wanted to
share a story because I think a little point in
my career was, um, when I was a young engineered
apple and I learned something really powerful, and I learned
(06:45):
it from a man called Mr Duprix. His name is
Mr Duprix at the East Palo Alto Senior Center in California.
Have never been to East p Alto. Absolutely, I on
the board now next door there and in the valley.
But yeah, I spent Okay, So I'm a young engineer, right,
I don't know anything, and um, I'm volunteering. And every
(07:06):
day that I went to the center, Mr dupre would
be standing outside or sitting outside and he would say,
good morning, sunshine, so happy to see you. It's on
volunteering there, and after a while they asked me to
start to help with the marketing and the promotions and
the messaging. And because they need help, they need renovations,
they needed attitude, they needed a lot of help. So
(07:28):
so John, I didn't know anything about market I was
an engineer. I knew nothing about a marketing I guess
because I was. So I asked some colleagues and we
started putting together materials and doing pitches and we started
convincing people to care about men like Mr Dupre. He
was like se five, maybe ninety five years old. But
(07:51):
people started to care and they started to donate, and
we started to renovate, and I realized the power marketing.
This is from an engineer, right, So I was an
engineer there and I realized the power to change. And
that's what where you started the hour and were. What
I'm doing now, prudential is I'm using I'm using what
I learned way back then from Mr Dupre. Ambassador Andrew Young,
(08:13):
who is both your and my hero, who was on
that balcony with Dr King when he was assassinated in night.
Dr King's right arm. Andrew Young would say, coincidence is
God's way of remaining anonymous. And I think it's an
interesting coincidence that you worked for a company called Apple
(08:34):
that time, founded by in part by a guy named
Steve Jobs, who is known to be an engineer, but
really wasn't He was really a marketing expert. He understood brand,
he understood texture and look and feel, and uh, he
was the first to take technology and give it an emotion.
(08:55):
I mean, this iPhone that I use is sort of cool.
It was the first technology. We call it an iPhone. Now,
back then there was an iPad, and I uh, what
was the thing before the iPad and the the the
the iPod and it was the uh yeah, just an
audio recording listening device. And of course now it's it's
(09:15):
it's becoming its own lovel a group of of related products.
But before that, it was a guy selling it and
selling the dream and giving a texture in that. And
that plus the engineering partner he had, Uh, wasn't it
that made the whole thing go? And it's interesting that
you worked there as an engineer, but then by being
(09:37):
involved in community, you learn the power of marketing. And
I think half a success is marketing. Um. Dr King
was yes, a brilliant pastor, no doubt about it. But
he wouldn't do a press conference. He wouldn't march before
ten or after three, because he had he needed the
media to come there, recorded, get it on film, and
(09:57):
get it to New York City in time to be
processed for six o'clock news, because back then news was
six and eleven. So he knew the power of marketing.
You learned the power of marketing in community. So he
used community to attract marketing or to frame marketing so
you could get media attention so they could have a movement.
And you use your technology to allow you to get
(10:18):
into community. It didn't allow you to learn marketing, which
is now you're now having an impact Hello on community.
Community absolutely and meant yeah, I think you have that
exactly right. Um, it's a combination of the power of
marketing that come and technology. I'll never forget you mentioned
Ambassador Younger earlier. I'll never forget what he told me
(10:42):
one day. Um, that change is messy. Movements are messy.
They're unpredictable. You don't know which way they're gonna go,
You don't know what's coming in, so you just keep
making it up as you go along. To you to
you do what he ultimately did with Dr king Um.
And that's what I had to learn. I had to
learn that through the power marketing and communications. And now
(11:03):
I am I consider myself I live at that intersection
on one hand, marketing and technology, sorry, marketing and creativity.
On the other hand, you have the science of technology.
And then the intersection to me is where the power
is and and and that's my that's my goal to
be able to use that for positive change and and
(11:26):
rainbow is only follow storms. You've heard me say this before, Susan.
You cannot have a rainbow without a storm. First. People
look at you today listen to this podcast and think, well,
she's a chief marketing officer for Prudential. It's one of
the biggest and most prominent financial companies in the world.
What things is she have to worry about? They don't
realize the stuff that you deal with now and the
(11:48):
stuff that you dealt with coming up. Let's go back
to that childhood experience though for a minute, and then
when I come forward, pivot forward. I think all this
is part of the same narrative. How do we come
up from nothing? My last book, how do We build Um?
The Good life for everyone matter, no matter what station
they come from, over the round it, through it, We're
(12:08):
gonna get to it. So your mother from the Islands,
your dad, I believe you said. I believe you said,
from the Bronx, and and they you built a life together.
Were you in those early ages and stages? Yes, you
had mom and dad. You know. Were you troubled by anything?
Did your self esteem? Did you question yourself as a
(12:30):
young girl about whether you could succeed or what you
can do? But people discount you because you were uh
a lady, a woman? Uh? Did you find men being chauvinistic?
I mean, what was the what is it like? Get
us into the into the head space. There a little
bit coming up, trying to make me cry, John, I
know it. I know it. Well, you're all You're all
(12:52):
heart masquerading is all head? We know that? Yeah, No,
of course right we all we all have have struggled.
So for me, I think the challenge and this is why, um,
I strive to be the most inclusive leader now possible.
I want to make sure that everybody's voice is heard.
And the reason is that is that that's all I
(13:13):
wanted as a kid. I wanted to be heard. I
wanted my voice to be heard. I was extremely shy,
UM I had. I had a lisp, so I couldn't
I couldn't say an ask. And so imagine you can
imagine what kids do you when you have four s
is in your name and you can't you can't pronounce
an ass. So I think that's probably why I leaned
(13:37):
towards math and science. And I am I was going
to say, cause I was a mathlete in high school.
I love that an athlete on math, a mathlete, that's great.
But I just I just wanted to be included. I
could not have dreamed of ever, you know. And now
I've talked in front of thousands of thousands of people,
you know, broadcast here on this podcast, for millions of people.
(13:59):
I would have never were imagined that I would ever
be able to do anything. But I've had some great
mentors and tutors and guidance through the years. UM and
I found my voice, and UM, I found my voice,
and now I also understand that my voice is very
important for all people, especially through my global works. I
(14:19):
worked across the globe, UM, and especially for black women
because UM, that's a unique experience that I have that, um,
and if I can help anybody, that's what I want
to do. That's beautiful rainbows after storms over mess, not
in it. Learning to take no for vitamins, which was susan.
(14:43):
No just means not yet. You. It builds resiliency. If
it doesn't break you down, it builds you up. Those
kind of challenges, that's fascinating. You had a lisp and
couldn't really even say your own name without my teasing you. Yeah.
I had to go to quite a quite a quite
a lot of therapy. Um. But funny story, So do
(15:08):
you ever play as a child? You ever? I don't know,
just play kick ball or baseball? Basketball? Right? So the
kids would always kick the ball into the bushes because uh,
and then asked me where the ball was to get
its Wow, they wanted to hear you speak. Yeah, they
wanted to hear me speak. So I tell you, I
(15:30):
go out of my way to make sure people are heard.
And now I've been in situations where so my first
global experience was leading um a group of leaders across
fifty countries, so Brazil, Germany, Turkey, everywhere, and and at
first we really clashed. Not only was I the only
African American woman in the room. Typically I was only
(15:51):
the only American in the room. Typically I was the
only person with English as the first language is in
the room. So we really clashed. And I'm thinking to myself,
I don't know how I'm gonna do this, because we
need to improve results. And and uh, I started to
find the common ground. And that's been a theme now
throughout my career. You know, we found the common ground,
(16:12):
came together. Although all our cultures are different, we have
a lot of similarities. And and then we produced results.
But but I think that thread goes all the way
back to my childhood. So I'm glad you raised that.
And and so the thing that calls you in the
most pain, which was the inability to articulate. Now you're
(16:33):
one of the most articulate people I've ever met. It
reminds me of the comedian when people said, oh you
so are you speak so well? You're like, what do
you expect to come out of my mouth? But sometimes
sometimes these challenges caused us to become an even better people,
I mean every better, even better person. I find that
that you had a problem with communication. Now your specialty
(16:57):
is communications, so you made correct me if I'm wrong.
You made your weakness your strength. Absolutely, absolutely, and it
was very intentional because I knew that I started get
a glimpse I told you at the East Palatal Senior Center.
I started to get a glimpse of how you can
change the world. You can really drive positive change, um
(17:18):
and I knew that I couldn't do that if I
couldn't communicate. I mean, at that time, I was still
I was extremely shy at that time still, but I
got a glimpse of what I needed to build. So
I went to classes, I got mentors, I practiced and
and now one track teams. I was in very good
shape bend swimming team, so I was I mean, I
(17:42):
didn't have to worry about physical fitness, but I was
running too fast and I decided I needed to push
myself to the top of the mountain. Well, it was
a beautiful day and I was in good condition, but
by the time I got to the top of the mountain,
I almost couldn't breathe. I might have even blacked out
for a little while. But when I got together and
(18:05):
my breath leveled offense. So what I want this audience
to hear, if you're listening to this and you're struggling,
and you're you're questioning yourself. I want you to understand
that resiliency is the most important assets you've got inside
of you, that self belief, that self love that translates
externally as resiliency. Even I have low self esteem, you
(18:26):
can have high confidence until your self esteem comes up.
Resiliency never ever, ever give up. Love is work. Non
love is laziness. Anti love is evil. Evil exists, but
it's very rare. Most people are just lazy, mentally lazy,
specially lazy financially lazy. They just don't want to do
the work. Susan did the work. You can do the
work to turn a negative into a positive. So now
(18:50):
you're pivoting Susan from this engineering career at Apple. Now
you're seeing the power of marketing. And okay, so guide
us through the next couple of step. And I want to.
I didn't want to talk about what Prudential is doing
and and and how you ended up, you know, sponsoring
this show, like what's it have to do with financial services?
And I had my own, uh theory on where we
(19:12):
are right now. But I want to I want to
get there together. I want you and I to we
never you know, listening to audience. We didn't talk about this,
so well will end up where where God wants us
are the universe? Plance is so Susan, What was that
next step? The I would say, Um, I started, I
had to learn. I had a lot to learn, and
(19:34):
I was I gotta tell you, I was terrified of marketing.
I didn't know anything about mark so so it was
a leap, make no mistake, was a leap. And I
tell I often tell young women when people see something
and you listen to them. So one of the leaders
that Apple said to me, would you consider a career
(19:54):
in marketing? And I was like, are you kidding me?
I have no aptitude. I could barely communicate, and I
don't have the skills. But he saw it, and so
now I really searched to find the skills and capabilities
and people and encourage them. But anyway, I'm just an
example to say, listen when people, when people tell you
(20:17):
that you've got a skill, even even if you don't
believe it yourself, so somebody else can see in you
that what you don't at that moment seeing yourself. Yeah,
no question, no question. And then I am so unfortunately
I lost both my parents early. So um that um
(20:38):
I think really galvanized my purpose for me because they
were both advocates for positive change and strong advocates and
heavily involved in the community in their communities. So um
so I see it as a responsibility, almost a duty
of responsibility to carry that on because of the because
(21:00):
of what they have given me. That you know, I
want to I want to see that. I want to
be able to have the most impact I can through
this combination of marketing technology that that I can bring
well again, once again, lost creates leaders, once again stepping
through that storm to find the rainbow on the other side,
(21:21):
once again over mass not in it. She she she
found the purpose even in the pain, Even in the
midst of her pain, she found a reason for the season.
I want listeners to get this because you're gonna be
tempted to give up, to give in, to throw in
(21:44):
the towel. And I want you to remember what Susan
summer Still Johnson did when she felt down. What did
you do, Susan? What was it? What was the one
thing you can tell a young person who's coming up
right now, Somebody in there twin need some my thirties
trying to make what's that one thing, particularly a woman,
(22:04):
a tool, a trait to build that you can give
them to not give up. What's that one thing? What's
that one gift you can give them right now? Nugget
one thing you are going to make me pick one thing. Um.
The one thing I would say is it's going to
get better, period, full stop. It's gonna get better because
we've all been through those times when you can't see
(22:25):
the light at the end of the tunnel. So first,
I think, first you have to believe that, and then
second you have to rely on your friends and your family.
You got to reach out even when you don't if
you don't have the self esteem or or um the
desire to reach out. We can't do it alone. None
of us does it alone. Yes, it's going to get better. Translation,
(22:47):
this too shall pass. Don't get overwhelmed by this moment
thinking this is the end all be all. I feel
so bad for people who take themselves out of this
world because that that moment, you know, that moment just
too over whelming. They can't handle it, think it's all
over and they will never get any better. And you
just hold on God willing to creep, don't rise that
you would say in the south, the sun will come
(23:10):
up in the morning and you have a new chance
to succeed or fail. All failure is an outcome to
experiment all over again. And you found the sun rose
along with opportunity. Because now you went from that that
job to I don't know, I don't know if there
was another job between that and Truest? Is that right? Yeah, yep, yep.
(23:31):
And then now m with Prudential and with Prudential and
I met her when she was at the Truest. That's
what we build relationships. So everybody listen to this. Now,
life's about a relationship capital. Please get this. It's not
about networking. It's not about what you get, it's about
what you give. It's a It's about building mutually beneficial relationships.
(23:52):
Not just are you competent? That's important, but but but
do people trust you? Do they respect you? Do they
admire you? Do they like you? You make them laugh?
I can't guarantee that being positive it's gonna make you
a successful I guarantee you if you're failt if you're negative,
it's gonna make you fail. Okay, Susan was positive in
the day I met her, and I would like to
(24:13):
think I was a positive influence in her life too,
And we we sort of bonded common ground, common understandings,
common belief systems, and I try to give her more value.
Then they invested in whatever it is I was doing
at Operation Hope, where we have a shared vision of
financial literacy and economic empowerment for all, and pivoting now
(24:33):
to this moment. Then she's now fine, she's at Prudential,
and we reconnect it and and I'm thinking about this
in a historical sense, Susan. It we're sitting right now
in a moment in history that history doesn't does not
feel historic when you're sitting in it just was like
another day. But that doesn't mean the moment's not historic.
And I think Dr King would be proud to see
(24:54):
you as chief Marketing Officer at Prudential. I'd like to
think he would. I think that I'm doing some work
to advance and continue his last work of the Poor
People's Campaign, which was about all people coming up, not
is poor more poor whites sumer today than poor anybody else.
And And I see, uh, you know, Melody Hobson is
(25:15):
a friend of both of ours as chair, a woman
of Starbucks, another black woman who succeeded she. She has
said she likes math because it doesn't have an opinion.
And in a world where people are arguing over black
and white race, red and blue politics, one thing we
all understand is green economics, money, and how do we
(25:36):
get more economic prosperity for all? How do we lift
people up so when you know better, you can do better.
When you do better, you are better. And I think
that the last movement Susan was in the streets civil
rights nineteen sixties. This new movements in the business suites,
silver rights today. Uh. And what you're doing a prudential
(26:01):
is history making. It's transformational. So no different than Dr
King couldn't survive without marketing in the nineteen sixties. I
don't think the movement that I'm trying to cultivate and
survive and thrive without marketing in the twenty one century.
What do you say? Well, yes, and if I can
carry on any part of Dr King's legacy, I will
(26:24):
be I'm thrilled. I um my, you know, my personal
goals in life aligned really well with prudentials and and some.
I mean, I'm proud of the impact that we're having
as a company. So some prudential what you're doing, So
Prudentials a purpose of the company. We make lives better
by solving financial challenges and UM and that's so cool
(26:47):
in the comp So the company was started UM in Newark,
New Jersey, which we still are today helping to continue
to that that helping that city to continue to thrive
and grow. In New York, we started to offer financial
services to people who didn't have access they couldn't get at.
That was a whole purpose for the company with Burial
Insurance and the Barrel Insurance. Yeah, so we have a
(27:12):
really strong vision to expand access to investing insurance and
retirement security. And I gotta put that in perspective for
you because it's it was a little difficult for me
to understand. Ntil I understand the numbers and UM the
issues around the world. So that's all those our businesses
investing insurance and retirement security. And if you look about
(27:36):
the need in the world, three point nine billion people
don't have enough life insurance and in the US that's
twelve killion dollars alone of a gap. And so that
it sounds like a big number, but people may think, well,
what does that mean? That means what that leads to
his multi generational poverty. So you could work your whole life,
(27:57):
you can work to three jobs at a time, and
then anything happens to you or or any of the
other people in your house, and then the families plunged
into poverty, multi generational cycles and the The other the
other issue that's so at the forefront for us is
of people around the globe worldwide live in fear that
(28:21):
they don't have enough money to retire. But let's go back, Susan,
before you go to that one, Let's go back to
this burial insurance peace for a moment, because this is
so powerful. I hadn't really focused on it until you
just mentioned this. But if you are a low wealth,
if you've got too much month at the end of
your money, if you don't believe that you can save,
everybody can save a little bit ten dollars, five dollars,
(28:41):
two dollars something. But if you don't believe you can save,
at the fairy least, you say, well, I don't want
to be a burden to my children or my family.
Let me get a UH, life insurance policy. Well, not
only does that make sure that you're not a burden
and you're buried with dignity, but that life insurance policy
just might be the only shot at generational wealth create
that that family has UH, and it's affordable. There's products
(29:06):
at Prudential that are affordable for almost everybody. And this
is a way for every family to both ensure dignity
when people they love pass and reassure that there will
be a second chance at creating wealth for generations to come,
so that successive generations can buy a home, start a business,
(29:28):
go to college. And I am I have I got
this right, Susan, Yeah, Dad, you got it. UM for
affordable policies are very important to us because I just
talked about our vision expanding access so that people have
access to this as you call it, a second chance,
because it's it's very important. It's important for burial insurance,
no question right, so that people can be buried with dignity.
(29:49):
It's also important so that your family can go on
so that they can have a chance to buy a car,
to go to work, to get a job, to go
to school, or if you are fortunate enough to be
able to save for the down payment for a home, UM,
so that that family could stay in that home rather
than home Right now, you guys have I didn't know
(30:09):
you're in the burial insurance business. That's where I guess
you guys started. And by the way, I guess you're
the largest UH employers also in Newark, is my guest.
My my my brother Corey Booker was mayor there. Um
to this day, you're probably a huge employer there, maybe
the largest UH. I would like to tell you right now.
I mean, I'm a pretty sophisticated financial service guide. People
(30:30):
say that I've created finicial literacy in this country at
the federal level, of the policy level, and on the
ground of communities. I don't actually I'm thinking about this now,
Susan being my family don't have an actual burial policy.
We have a life we have life insurance policies and
keeping on policies that operation I'm committing today. I'm gonna
buy a policy from you myself, from my friend. Yeah, well,
(30:54):
thank you, John. It's important for for you, for your family,
UM and and we just want to get the message
out because we see what happens when people aren't covered
in their families. Aren't aren't protected now here? All these
these not just poor people struggling. You hear these entertainers
they passed on and you gotta they gotta do a
go fund me campaign or some some crazy thing in
(31:15):
order to raise money to bury them. That's not I
mean about you know, famous folks. This is a problem
for everybody. Okay, I'm getting all excited. You're you're pivoting,
But and and and I think our roots are important.
Here you mentioned new work, So we've we've contributed over
a billion dollars to help new work New Work grow
(31:36):
and thrive. So that community, along with all the communities,
are very important to us. But but that was the
very beginning. Even even during the the last pandemic in
nineteen eighteen, there were lines out the door in New
Work for people cashing in the post. So we have
to be there for people so that they could get
paid right away, so that their families could continue. And
(31:57):
so it's really core to who we are. Yeah, and
and uh so now we've got a new clients right
right here, me and my family. Okay, now right, yeah,
so let's be so now you're saying about the cut
you off in the world. Yeah, I just I want
to focus on what drives us because a lot of
people don't think deeply about what does it mean to
(32:19):
be a purpose driven company. So another thing that drives
us is that of the people around the world live
in fear daily that they won't have enough money to retire.
And so again, you know it's a big number, was
it mean? It means that a lot of those people
will never be able to retire and they will have
to continue working when their bodies can't do it anymore.
(32:42):
So this planet for retirement, I know you and your
organization has done so much towards this is really is
really key and one of the things that drive us.
So yes, and thank and thank you guys. By the way,
Prudential for backing Operation Hopes one million Black Business initiative,
which I heart is also a big partner. They've committed
ten thousand to create ten thousand black business with us.
(33:05):
By you guys have also backed uh that work through
Operation Hope and what I call this third reconstruction between
now and twenty and this civil rights movement. And so
thank you in the company for supporting that philanthropic effort
to do well and do good at scale because it's
important to us, you know, small business of the fabric
(33:26):
of this of this country and uh, and that's what
what grows grows our country. So it's very excuse me,
very important to us to help black businesses grow and thrive.
And if you had to think about two or three things,
Susan that Prudential is doing under your leadership in the
(33:49):
company's broader mandate, what's the things you think are game changers?
One of those things that you think, Okay, we're doing this,
this could literally change generation. No one knows about it,
and not enough people know about it. Uh, let's put
that word out right here there. What are two or
three things you think are really super important. One of
the things that I think is super important is expanding
(34:13):
access to insurance. We mentioned a little bit earlier, so
um um expanding our products and increasing affordable products so
that everybody has access to insurance to cover their families.
That's one priority. This planning, helping people plan for retirement. Uh,
(34:33):
it sounds to be something else that you guys are
involved with. Social justice. Uh is something you're doing that
I'm aware of that you guys involved with. Maybe you
can talk a little bit about that real quickly. I
will have another very powerful question for you before we
wrap up up. Just enjoyed this so much. We run
a run out of time before we run out of topics.
There's so much John, So Yes, we've made nine racial
(34:55):
equity commitments, UM, everything from internally to externally with partners
and and and customers. UM. We have UM, we are
about to launch the Blueprints to Black Wealth Initiative and
and so helping you develop one million black businesses is
(35:16):
part of that. But we have a real, a real
focused effort to help build black wealth, which you'll be
hearing more about in the coming in the in the
coming months. UM. And then UM. You talk a lot.
You talk often about too much, too much your money,
Thank you, too much mother of the end of your money.
(35:36):
Sometimes there's too much life at the end of your money, right,
So we have retirement products that we help you balance
the risk. We call it longevity risk. We help you
balance the risk so that you can space it out
and have protected income over your lifetime, which makes sure
that you and your family are taking care of UM
(35:57):
as long as possible. So many things, but all focused
on helping expand access to these products with people for people,
that don't have access to it today and before we
are as we're wrapping up, and I want you to
think about this question of of advice you have for women, women,
minority women, underserved women, women who are underserved areas of
(36:20):
this country who may think again they're invisible. Think about
that little girl, uh Susan that you were trying to
come up from nothing. I want you think about advice.
Drop the mic advice you have for them as an adult,
if you could give your younger you advice that the
more mature you now has for these listeners who are
in their cars, who are sitting at home, who are
(36:41):
who are at work on a break, They're they're trying
to reimagine their future, trying to have some hope, trying
to find a reason to believe. I want you to
think about what you have to say to them that
that they can help to use as advice to build
on the way there. Here's what I have to say.
If listeners are listening to this and going, why my
listening about a financial service company? What do I care
(37:03):
about prudential and so and so forth? You don't get it.
Your whole life is financial. For the time you get
up in the morning to the time you go to
bed at night, you're you're in the midst of a
financial transaction. Let me go one step further. When you
go to sleep, the government didn't give you those sheets.
You bought those the government. And give you that mattress
(37:25):
you bought that the government. And give you the alarm
clock you bought that. The government didn't give you the
switch you flipped off of the lights. You pay for
that even at night in your sleep. You're having a
financial transaction. And every step of the day, you're driving
a car right now, you're paying for that. You get
got gas, you're paying for that. You went to the hospital,
(37:45):
you're paying for that. Whatever is going on, it's a
financial transaction. Money flows under everything we do. And the
number one calls a divorce is money. Number one calls
domestic abuse is money. If it's it's around everything, it's
behind everything. But we don't understand it. We don't want
(38:07):
to take the time to unpack it. But if you
want to build wealth, you better understand it. And this
has been a powerful segment of what is there but
often unsaid, what is needed but often undone. If you've
got nothing out of this today, go home, check your will,
(38:28):
make sure you have a plan, get yourself and get
yourself a burial policy and a life insurance policy in
your cost and affordability ban uh and and and finally
figure out how you can come up from from nothing,
just like Susan Johnson did. Drop the mic. Susan, what
is that advice, that counsel, that words of wisdom that
(38:52):
the mature you has for the eight year old you,
eighteen year old you, twenty eight year you listening to
this program. Oh my my advice, john My advice to women,
young women. UM, relationship capital is real capital. And take
(39:12):
this advice from someone who really didn't want to build it.
And you said, you don't call it networking. I don't.
I don't either. But when I was a young woman,
I had no interest in meeting new people, reaching out
building relationship capital. But it is real, It is real.
And I had a mentor who forced me to do it.
She said, pick your head up out of your laptop
(39:34):
and meet some people. And she put me on a
calendar and said, every time I talked to you, better
met some more people. And I started to reach out.
And for a lot of people out there, they may
be like me who it's really painful and don't want
to do it. So pick people you admire, pick people
who inspire you, pick people you like and and just
(39:55):
call them up, reach out, and that's a great way
to build your relationship cap So what I hear Susan
saying is if you don't have financial capital, you have
relationship capital. You don't have credit capital, access to credit,
you've got relationship capital. If you don't have wealth as capital,
(40:16):
you've got relationship capital. Everyone has the ability to smile.
Do you know what? It takes seven muscles to smile
and thirty five muscles to frown. It takes energy to
be a miserable person. So don't join it. One thing,
that's one thing that said. Go to Predential's website. Check
out Susan Johnson. What will you see a smile? You
(40:36):
always see her with a smile. Nobody wants to be
about it around a miserable, negative person. Lift your head
up and smile and reach your hand out to somebody
you don't know and build a relationship. This is John
Hope Bryant, and this is building the good life. This
is the master class which Susan Johnson, she says, don't
(40:59):
let your this sit you down and limit your potential.
She had a list growing up, and everybody teased her
about it, and she couldn't say an s. But unfortunately
there are two s is in ornet, which means she
was saying s is all the time. Folks wanted to
tease her and wanted to maligne her, and wanted to
sit her down and humiliate her. But God don't make dirt,
and you can't fall from the floor, and sometimes you
(41:21):
gotta make your negative you're positive. Just like Stevie wonder Let,
being blind made it possible that all his other senses
exploded with creativity and opportunities one and now one of
the greatest artists in the world, and now one of
the people who had a list is now one of
the most articulate people I've ever met. Because she worked
hard on it to compensate for that thing that somebody
wanted to not compliment her on. She she became her
(41:44):
own sense of self confidence. She became her own complimentor
she decided that she was reasonably comfortable in her own skin,
which is the greatest gif anybody can give themselves. You
need self confidence. Yes, confidence comes from competence, but you
really need self esteem. She got that gift of self
esteem from her mother from the Islands and her dad
(42:05):
from the Bronx. But now she gives that gift of
esteem to others through her job marketing one of the
most prestigious companies in the world at Prudential. She's done
that directly through her initiatives and her budget allocations and
this the strategies and by the way, who they hire
and who they empower right there and one of the
biggest employers in New Ork, New Jersey, Prudential. But she
(42:25):
also does it through this show because they're the sponsor
and all the other things that they're involved with, like
One Me and Black Business Initiative and their social justice
and is a Do you think that this happens naturally?
It happens because a person like Susan Johnson is present
in the c suites from the humble beginnings of her community,
from the streets to the suites, and now she's influencing
the CEO, the CFO and the other executives. They are
(42:48):
gonna be different because Susan Johnson once had a list
where she didn't let it limit her, she let it
lift her. What are you going to lift today. Let's
start with lifting yourself. Search for Susan Summer Sale job
Hinson and be inspired and follow Prudential and be empowered.
Building the good Life with John Hope Bryant is brought
to you by Prudential Financial h
Building the Good Life with John Hope Bryant is brought
to you by Prudential Financial. You know, small business of
the fabric of this country and uh, and that's what
grows our country. So it's very very important to us
to help black businesses grow and thrive. This is John
Hope Bryant, and this is Building the Good Life today.
(00:20):
My guest, my friend, my partner and change is Susan
Somersial Johnson, the chief marketing officer Prudential. And as we say,
where I come from, she's a bad system. Uh. And
and then and when my neverorbody will be s I
s T a system, but in proper context s I
S E are or better yet Here executive c suite leader,
(00:42):
change agents, someone who cares deeply about community, brand ambassador,
someone who's focused on systemic change at scale through the
power of marketing, and one of the most powerful financial
service corporations in the world. We're gonna unpack all of
this as we go deep into how you build. We're
(01:02):
gonna talk. We're gonna cover some really fascinating and important topics. Ladies,
this podcast is for you. This is about all the
stuff of being unseen and unheard or feeling that way
and wondering in a world that does not seem fair,
how do you succeed against those odds. You have a
living example here, a living, breathing example of Dr King's
dream Susan summer Still Johnson, Hey, my friends, John, it
(01:27):
is great to be here. I love listening to your podcast.
It just you get to the core of who people
are and what drives them. So I'm really looking forward
to this or it's my pleasure. You know, we're not
I believe, uh, Susan, We're not human beings having a
spiritual experience. I believe we're spiritual beings having a human experience.
I think energy really matters. You've got good energy. You're
(01:52):
for as long as I've known you. Then defined by
your authenticity. Yes, your intellect, Yes you're island. Yes you're
clear strength in marketing, in branding at the highest level
with some of the biggest companies in the world. But
she is your It is your authenticity, um that I
(02:16):
trust the most. When I talk to you, I know
it's real. I know you're real. I don't have to
edit around you. We we talk very easily, and I
think that that is communicates inside the corporate suite. I
think it communicates externally to community, to stakeholders, and I
frankly think that's how you've been so successful. I think
(02:37):
also you aren't concerned about who gets the credit. Almost
had to drag this lady on this podcast. Everybody give
her a virtual round of applause from where you are
right now. Don't do it while you're driving and put
all the side of the road and do that. But
but let her know you appreciate her, because how to
drag her in it is without without her and pretentially
wouldn't be a podcast. She wants to give somebody else
attention to some other person she knows she wanted them
(02:59):
on the the show. Literally, she's in twenty minutes talking
about some guy who's in a football player or something.
She wasn't one the show. No, no no, I want you
dr King's brilliance as a genius. But without Creta Scott King,
where would he be as a legacy today? Kredi Scott
King behind every successful man is an exhausted woman. Kredi
(03:19):
Scott King. What people don't know? She was this great orator,
She was a great singer. She was an incredible uh
performer and she would perform and raise money for the
civil rights movement. Didn't know that, and she gave her
life even after Dr King died to sustain his legacy.
Never remarried, never did anything but dedicate her life to
that mission and movement. We know Dr King today because
(03:43):
of Creti Scott King. Susan Johnson is one of these
iconic strengths that that just sits in the back and
and lets everybody else take the credit for the work.
We're not allowed that today. Today we're gonna set the
record straight because a company like Prudential is run by
people and that human capital is the real capital. So
(04:07):
let's unpack this story a little, Susan, Let's take the
audience back, if you will, to your your childhood, to
your background. Um, we know you worked at Apple and
you you, you know, had all these incredible corporations, Truist
before this and Nokia, and we're gonna get into some
of this, but tell us about growing up. Mom and dad.
(04:28):
You mentioned that I'm driven by a deep desire to
help build communities and help people lead better lives. Um,
and that's really core to who I am, and it
came from my parents and my family so my um,
my mother grew up in Jamaica and my dad, Yeah,
and they met here, and my mother told me, it's
(04:53):
an incredible story, coming to this country with almost nothing
and a thin and a thin coat, no winter coat.
I've never seen a wintertime and didn't have a winter coach.
She worked so many jobs from Jamaica. She worked so
many jobs. Um, and then she got into college at Fordham,
and then she had to stop her career because she
(05:14):
had to raise money to bring her brother and her
sisters to this country, so she put it on pause. Um.
And then ultimately she ended up graduating the first African
American woman from Fordham Law School. Well we'll back up, slowdown,
So did you just say African American? Wait? Did I
mention that Susan Johnson is black? So anybody watching this,
(05:39):
listening to this, ladies, gentlemen, particularly ladies, she's not only
female in this role. She's African American in this role,
or let's say of African descent, because she's she's her
mothers from the islands. So so so let's again unpacking
the story. I want people to see the latter the
(06:00):
ladder building here, So no silver spoon in your mouth.
Nothing came easy, right, Yeah, I mean I was fortunate
to have two parents who care a lot about me,
but it was hard work. And then ultimately they moved
out of the bronx and my father built us a
home with his hands and his brothers and his uncle's
(06:20):
and he built us a home so he could have
his family together. So I learned the importance of just
really being focus and driven to get to get where
you want to go. I am, but I wanted to
share a story because I think a little point in
my career was, um, when I was a young engineered
apple and I learned something really powerful, and I learned
(06:45):
it from a man called Mr Duprix. His name is
Mr Duprix at the East Palo Alto Senior Center in California.
Have never been to East p Alto. Absolutely, I on
the board now next door there and in the valley.
But yeah, I spent Okay, So I'm a young engineer, right,
I don't know anything, and um, I'm volunteering. And every
(07:06):
day that I went to the center, Mr dupre would
be standing outside or sitting outside and he would say,
good morning, sunshine, so happy to see you. It's on
volunteering there, and after a while they asked me to
start to help with the marketing and the promotions and
the messaging. And because they need help, they need renovations,
they needed attitude, they needed a lot of help. So
(07:28):
so John, I didn't know anything about market I was
an engineer. I knew nothing about a marketing I guess
because I was. So I asked some colleagues and we
started putting together materials and doing pitches and we started
convincing people to care about men like Mr Dupre. He
was like se five, maybe ninety five years old. But
(07:51):
people started to care and they started to donate, and
we started to renovate, and I realized the power marketing.
This is from an engineer, right, So I was an
engineer there and I realized the power to change. And
that's what where you started the hour and were. What
I'm doing now, prudential is I'm using I'm using what
I learned way back then from Mr Dupre. Ambassador Andrew Young,
(08:13):
who is both your and my hero, who was on
that balcony with Dr King when he was assassinated in night.
Dr King's right arm. Andrew Young would say, coincidence is
God's way of remaining anonymous. And I think it's an
interesting coincidence that you worked for a company called Apple
(08:34):
that time, founded by in part by a guy named
Steve Jobs, who is known to be an engineer, but
really wasn't He was really a marketing expert. He understood brand,
he understood texture and look and feel, and uh, he
was the first to take technology and give it an emotion.
(08:55):
I mean, this iPhone that I use is sort of cool.
It was the first technology. We call it an iPhone. Now,
back then there was an iPad, and I uh, what
was the thing before the iPad and the the the
the iPod and it was the uh yeah, just an
audio recording listening device. And of course now it's it's
(09:15):
it's becoming its own lovel a group of of related products.
But before that, it was a guy selling it and
selling the dream and giving a texture in that. And
that plus the engineering partner he had, Uh, wasn't it
that made the whole thing go? And it's interesting that
you worked there as an engineer, but then by being
(09:37):
involved in community, you learn the power of marketing. And
I think half a success is marketing. Um. Dr King
was yes, a brilliant pastor, no doubt about it. But
he wouldn't do a press conference. He wouldn't march before
ten or after three, because he had he needed the
media to come there, recorded, get it on film, and
(09:57):
get it to New York City in time to be
processed for six o'clock news, because back then news was
six and eleven. So he knew the power of marketing.
You learned the power of marketing in community. So he
used community to attract marketing or to frame marketing so
you could get media attention so they could have a movement.
And you use your technology to allow you to get
(10:18):
into community. It didn't allow you to learn marketing, which
is now you're now having an impact Hello on community.
Community absolutely and meant yeah, I think you have that
exactly right. Um, it's a combination of the power of
marketing that come and technology. I'll never forget you mentioned
Ambassador Younger earlier. I'll never forget what he told me
(10:42):
one day. Um, that change is messy. Movements are messy.
They're unpredictable. You don't know which way they're gonna go,
You don't know what's coming in, so you just keep
making it up as you go along. To you to
you do what he ultimately did with Dr king Um.
And that's what I had to learn. I had to
learn that through the power marketing and communications. And now
(11:03):
I am I consider myself I live at that intersection
on one hand, marketing and technology, sorry, marketing and creativity.
On the other hand, you have the science of technology.
And then the intersection to me is where the power
is and and and that's my that's my goal to
be able to use that for positive change and and
(11:26):
rainbow is only follow storms. You've heard me say this before, Susan.
You cannot have a rainbow without a storm. First. People
look at you today listen to this podcast and think, well,
she's a chief marketing officer for Prudential. It's one of
the biggest and most prominent financial companies in the world.
What things is she have to worry about? They don't
realize the stuff that you deal with now and the
(11:48):
stuff that you dealt with coming up. Let's go back
to that childhood experience though for a minute, and then
when I come forward, pivot forward. I think all this
is part of the same narrative. How do we come
up from nothing? My last book, how do We build Um?
The Good life for everyone matter, no matter what station
they come from, over the round it, through it, We're
(12:08):
gonna get to it. So your mother from the Islands,
your dad, I believe you said. I believe you said,
from the Bronx, and and they you built a life together.
Were you in those early ages and stages? Yes, you
had mom and dad. You know. Were you troubled by anything?
Did your self esteem? Did you question yourself as a
(12:30):
young girl about whether you could succeed or what you
can do? But people discount you because you were uh
a lady, a woman? Uh? Did you find men being chauvinistic?
I mean, what was the what is it like? Get
us into the into the head space. There a little
bit coming up, trying to make me cry, John, I
know it. I know it. Well, you're all You're all
(12:52):
heart masquerading is all head? We know that? Yeah, No,
of course right we all we all have have struggled.
So for me, I think the challenge and this is why, um,
I strive to be the most inclusive leader now possible.
I want to make sure that everybody's voice is heard.
And the reason is that is that that's all I
(13:13):
wanted as a kid. I wanted to be heard. I
wanted my voice to be heard. I was extremely shy,
UM I had. I had a lisp, so I couldn't
I couldn't say an ask. And so imagine you can
imagine what kids do you when you have four s
is in your name and you can't you can't pronounce
an ass. So I think that's probably why I leaned
(13:37):
towards math and science. And I am I was going
to say, cause I was a mathlete in high school.
I love that an athlete on math, a mathlete, that's great.
But I just I just wanted to be included. I
could not have dreamed of ever, you know. And now
I've talked in front of thousands of thousands of people,
you know, broadcast here on this podcast, for millions of people.
(13:59):
I would have never were imagined that I would ever
be able to do anything. But I've had some great
mentors and tutors and guidance through the years. UM and
I found my voice, and UM, I found my voice,
and now I also understand that my voice is very
important for all people, especially through my global works. I
(14:19):
worked across the globe, UM, and especially for black women
because UM, that's a unique experience that I have that, um,
and if I can help anybody, that's what I want
to do. That's beautiful rainbows after storms over mess, not
in it. Learning to take no for vitamins, which was susan.
(14:43):
No just means not yet. You. It builds resiliency. If
it doesn't break you down, it builds you up. Those
kind of challenges, that's fascinating. You had a lisp and
couldn't really even say your own name without my teasing you. Yeah.
I had to go to quite a quite a quite
a lot of therapy. Um. But funny story, So do
(15:08):
you ever play as a child? You ever? I don't know,
just play kick ball or baseball? Basketball? Right? So the
kids would always kick the ball into the bushes because uh,
and then asked me where the ball was to get
its Wow, they wanted to hear you speak. Yeah, they
wanted to hear me speak. So I tell you, I
(15:30):
go out of my way to make sure people are heard.
And now I've been in situations where so my first
global experience was leading um a group of leaders across
fifty countries, so Brazil, Germany, Turkey, everywhere, and and at
first we really clashed. Not only was I the only
African American woman in the room. Typically I was only
(15:51):
the only American in the room. Typically I was the
only person with English as the first language is in
the room. So we really clashed. And I'm thinking to myself,
I don't know how I'm gonna do this, because we
need to improve results. And and uh, I started to
find the common ground. And that's been a theme now
throughout my career. You know, we found the common ground,
(16:12):
came together. Although all our cultures are different, we have
a lot of similarities. And and then we produced results.
But but I think that thread goes all the way
back to my childhood. So I'm glad you raised that.
And and so the thing that calls you in the
most pain, which was the inability to articulate. Now you're
(16:33):
one of the most articulate people I've ever met. It
reminds me of the comedian when people said, oh you
so are you speak so well? You're like, what do
you expect to come out of my mouth? But sometimes
sometimes these challenges caused us to become an even better people,
I mean every better, even better person. I find that
that you had a problem with communication. Now your specialty
(16:57):
is communications, so you made correct me if I'm wrong.
You made your weakness your strength. Absolutely, absolutely, and it
was very intentional because I knew that I started get
a glimpse I told you at the East Palatal Senior Center.
I started to get a glimpse of how you can
change the world. You can really drive positive change, um
(17:18):
and I knew that I couldn't do that if I
couldn't communicate. I mean, at that time, I was still
I was extremely shy at that time still, but I
got a glimpse of what I needed to build. So
I went to classes, I got mentors, I practiced and
and now one track teams. I was in very good
shape bend swimming team, so I was I mean, I
(17:42):
didn't have to worry about physical fitness, but I was
running too fast and I decided I needed to push
myself to the top of the mountain. Well, it was
a beautiful day and I was in good condition, but
by the time I got to the top of the mountain,
I almost couldn't breathe. I might have even blacked out
for a little while. But when I got together and
(18:05):
my breath leveled offense. So what I want this audience
to hear, if you're listening to this and you're struggling,
and you're you're questioning yourself. I want you to understand
that resiliency is the most important assets you've got inside
of you, that self belief, that self love that translates
externally as resiliency. Even I have low self esteem, you
(18:26):
can have high confidence until your self esteem comes up.
Resiliency never ever, ever give up. Love is work. Non
love is laziness. Anti love is evil. Evil exists, but
it's very rare. Most people are just lazy, mentally lazy,
specially lazy financially lazy. They just don't want to do
the work. Susan did the work. You can do the
work to turn a negative into a positive. So now
(18:50):
you're pivoting Susan from this engineering career at Apple. Now
you're seeing the power of marketing. And okay, so guide
us through the next couple of step. And I want to.
I didn't want to talk about what Prudential is doing
and and and how you ended up, you know, sponsoring
this show, like what's it have to do with financial services?
And I had my own, uh theory on where we
(19:12):
are right now. But I want to I want to
get there together. I want you and I to we
never you know, listening to audience. We didn't talk about this,
so well will end up where where God wants us
are the universe? Plance is so Susan, What was that
next step? The I would say, Um, I started, I
had to learn. I had a lot to learn, and
(19:34):
I was I gotta tell you, I was terrified of marketing.
I didn't know anything about mark so so it was
a leap, make no mistake, was a leap. And I
tell I often tell young women when people see something
and you listen to them. So one of the leaders
that Apple said to me, would you consider a career
(19:54):
in marketing? And I was like, are you kidding me?
I have no aptitude. I could barely communicate, and I
don't have the skills. But he saw it, and so
now I really searched to find the skills and capabilities
and people and encourage them. But anyway, I'm just an
example to say, listen when people, when people tell you
(20:17):
that you've got a skill, even even if you don't
believe it yourself, so somebody else can see in you
that what you don't at that moment seeing yourself. Yeah,
no question, no question. And then I am so unfortunately
I lost both my parents early. So um that um
(20:38):
I think really galvanized my purpose for me because they
were both advocates for positive change and strong advocates and
heavily involved in the community in their communities. So um
so I see it as a responsibility, almost a duty
of responsibility to carry that on because of the because
(21:00):
of what they have given me. That you know, I
want to I want to see that. I want to
be able to have the most impact I can through
this combination of marketing technology that that I can bring
well again, once again, lost creates leaders, once again stepping
through that storm to find the rainbow on the other side,
(21:21):
once again over mass not in it. She she she
found the purpose even in the pain, Even in the
midst of her pain, she found a reason for the season.
I want listeners to get this because you're gonna be
tempted to give up, to give in, to throw in
(21:44):
the towel. And I want you to remember what Susan
summer Still Johnson did when she felt down. What did
you do, Susan? What was it? What was the one
thing you can tell a young person who's coming up
right now, Somebody in there twin need some my thirties
trying to make what's that one thing, particularly a woman,
(22:04):
a tool, a trait to build that you can give
them to not give up. What's that one thing? What's
that one gift you can give them right now? Nugget
one thing you are going to make me pick one thing. Um.
The one thing I would say is it's going to
get better, period, full stop. It's gonna get better because
we've all been through those times when you can't see
(22:25):
the light at the end of the tunnel. So first,
I think, first you have to believe that, and then
second you have to rely on your friends and your family.
You got to reach out even when you don't if
you don't have the self esteem or or um the
desire to reach out. We can't do it alone. None
of us does it alone. Yes, it's going to get better. Translation,
(22:47):
this too shall pass. Don't get overwhelmed by this moment
thinking this is the end all be all. I feel
so bad for people who take themselves out of this
world because that that moment, you know, that moment just
too over whelming. They can't handle it, think it's all
over and they will never get any better. And you
just hold on God willing to creep, don't rise that
you would say in the south, the sun will come
(23:10):
up in the morning and you have a new chance
to succeed or fail. All failure is an outcome to
experiment all over again. And you found the sun rose
along with opportunity. Because now you went from that that
job to I don't know, I don't know if there
was another job between that and Truest? Is that right? Yeah, yep, yep.
(23:31):
And then now m with Prudential and with Prudential and
I met her when she was at the Truest. That's
what we build relationships. So everybody listen to this. Now,
life's about a relationship capital. Please get this. It's not
about networking. It's not about what you get, it's about
what you give. It's a It's about building mutually beneficial relationships.
(23:52):
Not just are you competent? That's important, but but but
do people trust you? Do they respect you? Do they
admire you? Do they like you? You make them laugh?
I can't guarantee that being positive it's gonna make you
a successful I guarantee you if you're failt if you're negative,
it's gonna make you fail. Okay, Susan was positive in
the day I met her, and I would like to
(24:13):
think I was a positive influence in her life too,
And we we sort of bonded common ground, common understandings,
common belief systems, and I try to give her more value.
Then they invested in whatever it is I was doing
at Operation Hope, where we have a shared vision of
financial literacy and economic empowerment for all, and pivoting now
(24:33):
to this moment. Then she's now fine, she's at Prudential,
and we reconnect it and and I'm thinking about this
in a historical sense, Susan. It we're sitting right now
in a moment in history that history doesn't does not
feel historic when you're sitting in it just was like
another day. But that doesn't mean the moment's not historic.
And I think Dr King would be proud to see
(24:54):
you as chief Marketing Officer at Prudential. I'd like to
think he would. I think that I'm doing some work
to advance and continue his last work of the Poor
People's Campaign, which was about all people coming up, not
is poor more poor whites sumer today than poor anybody else.
And And I see, uh, you know, Melody Hobson is
(25:15):
a friend of both of ours as chair, a woman
of Starbucks, another black woman who succeeded she. She has
said she likes math because it doesn't have an opinion.
And in a world where people are arguing over black
and white race, red and blue politics, one thing we
all understand is green economics, money, and how do we
(25:36):
get more economic prosperity for all? How do we lift
people up so when you know better, you can do better.
When you do better, you are better. And I think
that the last movement Susan was in the streets civil
rights nineteen sixties. This new movements in the business suites,
silver rights today. Uh. And what you're doing a prudential
(26:01):
is history making. It's transformational. So no different than Dr
King couldn't survive without marketing in the nineteen sixties. I
don't think the movement that I'm trying to cultivate and
survive and thrive without marketing in the twenty one century.
What do you say? Well, yes, and if I can
carry on any part of Dr King's legacy, I will
(26:24):
be I'm thrilled. I um my, you know, my personal
goals in life aligned really well with prudentials and and some.
I mean, I'm proud of the impact that we're having
as a company. So some prudential what you're doing, So
Prudentials a purpose of the company. We make lives better
by solving financial challenges and UM and that's so cool
(26:47):
in the comp So the company was started UM in Newark,
New Jersey, which we still are today helping to continue
to that that helping that city to continue to thrive
and grow. In New York, we started to offer financial
services to people who didn't have access they couldn't get at.
That was a whole purpose for the company with Burial
Insurance and the Barrel Insurance. Yeah, so we have a
(27:12):
really strong vision to expand access to investing insurance and
retirement security. And I gotta put that in perspective for
you because it's it was a little difficult for me
to understand. Ntil I understand the numbers and UM the
issues around the world. So that's all those our businesses
investing insurance and retirement security. And if you look about
(27:36):
the need in the world, three point nine billion people
don't have enough life insurance and in the US that's
twelve killion dollars alone of a gap. And so that
it sounds like a big number, but people may think, well,
what does that mean? That means what that leads to
his multi generational poverty. So you could work your whole life,
(27:57):
you can work to three jobs at a time, and
then anything happens to you or or any of the
other people in your house, and then the families plunged
into poverty, multi generational cycles and the The other the
other issue that's so at the forefront for us is
of people around the globe worldwide live in fear that
(28:21):
they don't have enough money to retire. But let's go back, Susan,
before you go to that one, Let's go back to
this burial insurance peace for a moment, because this is
so powerful. I hadn't really focused on it until you
just mentioned this. But if you are a low wealth,
if you've got too much month at the end of
your money, if you don't believe that you can save,
everybody can save a little bit ten dollars, five dollars,
(28:41):
two dollars something. But if you don't believe you can save,
at the fairy least, you say, well, I don't want
to be a burden to my children or my family.
Let me get a UH, life insurance policy. Well, not
only does that make sure that you're not a burden
and you're buried with dignity, but that life insurance policy
just might be the only shot at generational wealth create
that that family has UH, and it's affordable. There's products
(29:06):
at Prudential that are affordable for almost everybody. And this
is a way for every family to both ensure dignity
when people they love pass and reassure that there will
be a second chance at creating wealth for generations to come,
so that successive generations can buy a home, start a business,
(29:28):
go to college. And I am I have I got
this right, Susan, Yeah, Dad, you got it. UM for
affordable policies are very important to us because I just
talked about our vision expanding access so that people have
access to this as you call it, a second chance,
because it's it's very important. It's important for burial insurance,
no question right, so that people can be buried with dignity.
(29:49):
It's also important so that your family can go on
so that they can have a chance to buy a car,
to go to work, to get a job, to go
to school, or if you are fortunate enough to be
able to save for the down payment for a home, UM,
so that that family could stay in that home rather
than home Right now, you guys have I didn't know
(30:09):
you're in the burial insurance business. That's where I guess
you guys started. And by the way, I guess you're
the largest UH employers also in Newark, is my guest.
My my my brother Corey Booker was mayor there. Um
to this day, you're probably a huge employer there, maybe
the largest UH. I would like to tell you right now.
I mean, I'm a pretty sophisticated financial service guide. People
(30:30):
say that I've created finicial literacy in this country at
the federal level, of the policy level, and on the
ground of communities. I don't actually I'm thinking about this now,
Susan being my family don't have an actual burial policy.
We have a life we have life insurance policies and
keeping on policies that operation I'm committing today. I'm gonna
buy a policy from you myself, from my friend. Yeah, well,
(30:54):
thank you, John. It's important for for you, for your family,
UM and and we just want to get the message
out because we see what happens when people aren't covered
in their families. Aren't aren't protected now here? All these
these not just poor people struggling. You hear these entertainers
they passed on and you gotta they gotta do a
go fund me campaign or some some crazy thing in
(31:15):
order to raise money to bury them. That's not I
mean about you know, famous folks. This is a problem
for everybody. Okay, I'm getting all excited. You're you're pivoting,
But and and and I think our roots are important.
Here you mentioned new work, So we've we've contributed over
a billion dollars to help new work New Work grow
(31:36):
and thrive. So that community, along with all the communities,
are very important to us. But but that was the
very beginning. Even even during the the last pandemic in
nineteen eighteen, there were lines out the door in New
Work for people cashing in the post. So we have
to be there for people so that they could get
paid right away, so that their families could continue. And
(31:57):
so it's really core to who we are. Yeah, and
and uh so now we've got a new clients right
right here, me and my family. Okay, now right, yeah,
so let's be so now you're saying about the cut
you off in the world. Yeah, I just I want
to focus on what drives us because a lot of
people don't think deeply about what does it mean to
(32:19):
be a purpose driven company. So another thing that drives
us is that of the people around the world live
in fear daily that they won't have enough money to retire.
And so again, you know it's a big number, was
it mean? It means that a lot of those people
will never be able to retire and they will have
to continue working when their bodies can't do it anymore.
(32:42):
So this planet for retirement, I know you and your
organization has done so much towards this is really is
really key and one of the things that drive us.
So yes, and thank and thank you guys. By the way,
Prudential for backing Operation Hopes one million Black Business initiative,
which I heart is also a big partner. They've committed
ten thousand to create ten thousand black business with us.
(33:05):
By you guys have also backed uh that work through
Operation Hope and what I call this third reconstruction between
now and twenty and this civil rights movement. And so
thank you in the company for supporting that philanthropic effort
to do well and do good at scale because it's
important to us, you know, small business of the fabric
(33:26):
of this of this country and uh, and that's what
what grows grows our country. So it's very excuse me,
very important to us to help black businesses grow and thrive.
And if you had to think about two or three things,
Susan that Prudential is doing under your leadership in the
(33:49):
company's broader mandate, what's the things you think are game changers?
One of those things that you think, Okay, we're doing this,
this could literally change generation. No one knows about it,
and not enough people know about it. Uh, let's put
that word out right here there. What are two or
three things you think are really super important. One of
the things that I think is super important is expanding
(34:13):
access to insurance. We mentioned a little bit earlier, so
um um expanding our products and increasing affordable products so
that everybody has access to insurance to cover their families.
That's one priority. This planning, helping people plan for retirement. Uh,
(34:33):
it sounds to be something else that you guys are
involved with. Social justice. Uh is something you're doing that
I'm aware of that you guys involved with. Maybe you
can talk a little bit about that real quickly. I
will have another very powerful question for you before we
wrap up up. Just enjoyed this so much. We run
a run out of time before we run out of topics.
There's so much John, So Yes, we've made nine racial
(34:55):
equity commitments, UM, everything from internally to externally with partners
and and and customers. UM. We have UM, we are
about to launch the Blueprints to Black Wealth Initiative and
and so helping you develop one million black businesses is
(35:16):
part of that. But we have a real, a real
focused effort to help build black wealth, which you'll be
hearing more about in the coming in the in the
coming months. UM. And then UM. You talk a lot.
You talk often about too much, too much your money,
Thank you, too much mother of the end of your money.
(35:36):
Sometimes there's too much life at the end of your money, right,
So we have retirement products that we help you balance
the risk. We call it longevity risk. We help you
balance the risk so that you can space it out
and have protected income over your lifetime, which makes sure
that you and your family are taking care of UM
(35:57):
as long as possible. So many things, but all focused
on helping expand access to these products with people for people,
that don't have access to it today and before we
are as we're wrapping up, and I want you to
think about this question of of advice you have for women, women,
minority women, underserved women, women who are underserved areas of
(36:20):
this country who may think again they're invisible. Think about
that little girl, uh Susan that you were trying to
come up from nothing. I want you think about advice.
Drop the mic advice you have for them as an adult,
if you could give your younger you advice that the
more mature you now has for these listeners who are
in their cars, who are sitting at home, who are
(36:41):
who are at work on a break, They're they're trying
to reimagine their future, trying to have some hope, trying
to find a reason to believe. I want you to
think about what you have to say to them that
that they can help to use as advice to build
on the way there. Here's what I have to say.
If listeners are listening to this and going, why my
listening about a financial service company? What do I care
(37:03):
about prudential and so and so forth? You don't get it.
Your whole life is financial. For the time you get
up in the morning to the time you go to
bed at night, you're you're in the midst of a
financial transaction. Let me go one step further. When you
go to sleep, the government didn't give you those sheets.
You bought those the government. And give you that mattress
(37:25):
you bought that the government. And give you the alarm
clock you bought that. The government didn't give you the
switch you flipped off of the lights. You pay for
that even at night in your sleep. You're having a
financial transaction. And every step of the day, you're driving
a car right now, you're paying for that. You get
got gas, you're paying for that. You went to the hospital,
(37:45):
you're paying for that. Whatever is going on, it's a
financial transaction. Money flows under everything we do. And the
number one calls a divorce is money. Number one calls
domestic abuse is money. If it's it's around everything, it's
behind everything. But we don't understand it. We don't want
(38:07):
to take the time to unpack it. But if you
want to build wealth, you better understand it. And this
has been a powerful segment of what is there but
often unsaid, what is needed but often undone. If you've
got nothing out of this today, go home, check your will,
(38:28):
make sure you have a plan, get yourself and get
yourself a burial policy and a life insurance policy in
your cost and affordability ban uh and and and finally
figure out how you can come up from from nothing,
just like Susan Johnson did. Drop the mic. Susan, what
is that advice, that counsel, that words of wisdom that
(38:52):
the mature you has for the eight year old you,
eighteen year old you, twenty eight year you listening to
this program. Oh my my advice, john My advice to women,
young women. UM, relationship capital is real capital. And take
(39:12):
this advice from someone who really didn't want to build it.
And you said, you don't call it networking. I don't.
I don't either. But when I was a young woman,
I had no interest in meeting new people, reaching out
building relationship capital. But it is real, It is real.
And I had a mentor who forced me to do it.
She said, pick your head up out of your laptop
(39:34):
and meet some people. And she put me on a
calendar and said, every time I talked to you, better
met some more people. And I started to reach out.
And for a lot of people out there, they may
be like me who it's really painful and don't want
to do it. So pick people you admire, pick people
who inspire you, pick people you like and and just
(39:55):
call them up, reach out, and that's a great way
to build your relationship cap So what I hear Susan
saying is if you don't have financial capital, you have
relationship capital. You don't have credit capital, access to credit,
you've got relationship capital. If you don't have wealth as capital,
(40:16):
you've got relationship capital. Everyone has the ability to smile.
Do you know what? It takes seven muscles to smile
and thirty five muscles to frown. It takes energy to
be a miserable person. So don't join it. One thing,
that's one thing that said. Go to Predential's website. Check
out Susan Johnson. What will you see a smile? You
(40:36):
always see her with a smile. Nobody wants to be
about it around a miserable, negative person. Lift your head
up and smile and reach your hand out to somebody
you don't know and build a relationship. This is John
Hope Bryant, and this is building the good life. This
is the master class which Susan Johnson, she says, don't
(40:59):
let your this sit you down and limit your potential.
She had a list growing up, and everybody teased her
about it, and she couldn't say an s. But unfortunately
there are two s is in ornet, which means she
was saying s is all the time. Folks wanted to
tease her and wanted to maligne her, and wanted to
sit her down and humiliate her. But God don't make dirt,
and you can't fall from the floor, and sometimes you
(41:21):
gotta make your negative you're positive. Just like Stevie wonder Let,
being blind made it possible that all his other senses
exploded with creativity and opportunities one and now one of
the greatest artists in the world, and now one of
the people who had a list is now one of
the most articulate people I've ever met. Because she worked
hard on it to compensate for that thing that somebody
wanted to not compliment her on. She she became her
(41:44):
own sense of self confidence. She became her own complimentor
she decided that she was reasonably comfortable in her own skin,
which is the greatest gif anybody can give themselves. You
need self confidence. Yes, confidence comes from competence, but you
really need self esteem. She got that gift of self
esteem from her mother from the Islands and her dad
(42:05):
from the Bronx. But now she gives that gift of
esteem to others through her job marketing one of the
most prestigious companies in the world at Prudential. She's done
that directly through her initiatives and her budget allocations and
this the strategies and by the way, who they hire
and who they empower right there and one of the
biggest employers in New Ork, New Jersey, Prudential. But she
(42:25):
also does it through this show because they're the sponsor
and all the other things that they're involved with, like
One Me and Black Business Initiative and their social justice
and is a Do you think that this happens naturally?
It happens because a person like Susan Johnson is present
in the c suites from the humble beginnings of her community,
from the streets to the suites, and now she's influencing
the CEO, the CFO and the other executives. They are
(42:48):
gonna be different because Susan Johnson once had a list
where she didn't let it limit her, she let it
lift her. What are you going to lift today. Let's
start with lifting yourself. Search for Susan Summer Sale job
Hinson and be inspired and follow Prudential and be empowered.
Building the good Life with John Hope Bryant is brought
to you by Prudential Financial h
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.