In this powerful kickoff episode of Catalysts for Change, host Adam Lister sits down with Randy Boyd — entrepreneur, education leader, and relentless change-maker — to unpack a career built on hustle, heart, and an unshakable mission to make things better.
From starting college at 16 and launching a multi-million dollar business from the back of a van, to reshaping Tennessee’s higher education landscape with bold, people-first initiatives like Tennessee Promise and the Drive to 55, Randy’s story is a masterclass in vision-driven leadership. He shares hard-earned lessons on perseverance, the art of navigating challenges with grace, and why clear, candid conversations are the real catalyst for lasting impact.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why no one can make you quit — and how Randy internalized that truth
- How entrepreneurial grit translated into groundbreaking public service
- The behind-the-scenes story of turning a big, audacious education reform dream into reality
- How clarity, candor, and community-building fuel lasting leadership
- What Randy believes could make this the greatest decade in the University of Tennessee’s history
If you’re looking for real-world inspiration on building a life of impact, staying true to your values, and leading with purpose — this conversation will light the fire.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Hi everyone, and welcome to Catalysts for Change,
the show where we explore thestories, strategies, and turning
points of leaders drivingmeaningful impact in their
communities and across thecountry.
I'm Adam Lister and I'm so gladyou're here.
Today's guest is someone whosestory truly captures what
(00:21):
Catalysts for Change is allabout.
Randy Boyd has been anentrepreneur and a public
servant and now leads one of themost influential education
systems in the country.
From building a global productempire to reimagining college
across Tennessee, Randy hasshaped policy, created jobs and
impacted lives at every level.
I've had the privilege to knowRandy and work with him on a few
(00:43):
projects for more than a decade.
And what most people will say isthat they respect Randy's
tenacity and hustle.
While that's second to none,what I've come to respect most
about him is his commitment tohis mission and his ability to
navigate challenges with clarityand class.
In today's episode, we'll talkabout his journey, what drove
his entrepreneurial spark, andhow it influenced his public
(01:05):
service and lessons he's learnedalong the way.
So let's dive in.
Randy, thank you for being heretoday.
It's good to see you.
SPEAKER_00 (01:14):
And it was always great to see you.
And now you win the award forthe best introduction I've ever
had.
I'm not sure how much of it wastrue, but I appreciate it.
It is.
It is all true.
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
I'll leave it to you as to how deep we dive into what
formed those opinions.
But it's all true.
And I'm happy to follow youaround and make that
introduction for you anywhereyou go.
You are are known as arelentlessly hard worker.
And anytime I hear somebodyintroduce you, I'll get a new
(01:43):
anecdote that proves that.
But what many people don't knowis that you started college at
16 and graduated at 19 andworked nights to pay your way
through school.
I'm curious, as just a generalidea, what was it about that
experience and those earlyexperiences that shaped your
(02:05):
work ethic and yourentrepreneurial mindset?
SPEAKER_00 (02:08):
I'll say I had the great privilege good fortune of
having a father who's anentrepreneur and two parents
that both worked extremely hard.
So I came to this naturally.
And I will probably confess thatI do work long hours and try to
work productive hours, not justlong, but productive.
But at eight years old, my dadwould drag me out of bed and
say, it's time to go to work,son.
(02:29):
He started a factory when I waseight years old, 1968.
And for the first summer Iworked, I got paid a dollar an
hour, putting things in boxes,sweeping floor.
And I thought I was the luckiestkid in the neighborhood.
I had a job, you know, at eightyears old and had like$200 at
the end of the summer to go buya go-kart.
Throughout, you know, at 11years old, Dad said, son, you're
(02:50):
old enough to buy your ownclothes.
So from now on, you had to buyyour own clothes, which sounds
draconian.
But if you're an 11-year-oldboy, I had a white football
jersey and a home footballjersey and a pair of jeans.
That's all I really needed.
And so it wasn't that big of adeal.
But Dad instilled in me and bothmy parents instilled in me a
work ethic.
When it became time to go tocollege, neither of my parents,
(03:10):
anybody in my family, for thatmatter, had ever been to
college.
And Dad said, look, if you wantto go to college, that's fine,
but I'm not going to pay for youto go to college, but I'll give
you a job so you can pay yourway through.
And I thought, wow, I'm theluckiest kid ever.
How many kids get a job thatthey can pay their own way
through?
So I ran injection moldingmachines, the Saturday night
shift from 7 p.m.
(03:30):
to 7 a.m.
Sunday morning, and then Sundayfrom 7 p.m.
to 7 a.m.
Monday morning.
Monday morning classes werehard.
But the thing I always sharewhen somebody is impressed by
graduating early– It wasn'tbecause I was smart.
It was just because I was cheap.
I did graduate from high schoolin three years at age 16.
And that was just because I'dmanaged to get all the courses
(03:52):
done.
I wanted to play professionalfootball, basketball, and
baseball, but I wasn't goodenough to do any of that, not
even play at college level.
So I realized the only reasonI'd hang around for my senior
year was just to play sports.
And that seemed kind of like awaste of time.
So I decided to go on tocollege.
I remember signing up at UT atKnoxville for my first semester
(04:12):
right back at that time.
It on a quarter system.
And I remember the lady, Ialways remember this moment,
this lady says, well, it's$172 aquarter, and you have to take a
minimum of 14 hours to befull-time.
I said, well, that's fine.
And what's the maximum number ofhours you can take?
Well, you can take as many as22.
And it's the same price.
I can get 22 hours for the sameprice.
Then give me 22 hours.
(04:34):
So if you just do that overthree years, you graduate early.
So that's how that happened.
But I think a lot of the workethic came from my parents.
And they set a great example forme and instilled it in at a very
early age.
SPEAKER_01 (04:47):
You took a huge leap when you graduated and got into
the workforce in your career instarting radio systems.
What was the original idea andwhat gave you the convictions to
risk it all to start thatcompany?
SPEAKER_00 (05:02):
Well, it was a series of things.
So maybe kind of lead throughthe sequence.
So when I first got out ofcollege, I went to work for my
father, worked for him for aboutfour years, learned a tremendous
amount in that experience.
If I were recommending to anyyoung person going into the
workforce, the first jobshouldn't be about money.
It should be about continuingyour education.
And I learned a ton working formy dad in those first four
years.
But at age 23, I realized whatmost young men learn at some
(05:23):
point in time.
My dad wasn't really that smartand he was underpaying me.
So I decided to start my ownbusiness.
Within six six months it fell,and I noticed you were smiling
at him because you know thepunchline.
After about six months, Irealized my dad was a lot
smarter than I gave him creditfor, but I was too proud to go
back.
So I started a second business,which was very glamorous.
I had a Dodge Maxi van with noair conditioning and no radio.
I would load it full of electricfencing supplies for cattle and
(05:46):
horses and sell them to littlefeed and farm stores all over
Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
A typical rack job of the kindof guy that you see that walks
into a store with a clipboard,takes inventory, writes down my
order, goes out to the truck,brings the stuff, puts it on the
shelf, and They'd usually let meuse their price gun.
They trusted me.
I'd price the product for them,take my order pad back into the
back and ask them for a check,which was usually either...
(06:09):
You know, the average order isabout$100.
And then I get my little van,drive 30 miles down a country
road to the next door, do that10 times.
And until the end of the day, Istay at the best hotel you could
possibly find for under$18 anight.
They're still out there.
Pass by those.
Sometimes there's a hotel that'son the road to the current
baseball stadium, our oldbaseball stadium.
(06:32):
And it's called the SunbeamHotel with eight rooms, cinder
block, gravel parking lot.
And you think, like, who staysin a place like that?
Well, your friend sells them.
in places like that.
When you're starting yourbusiness, you do everything you
can to save money.
But I mentioned I didn't haveair conditioning.
That was also, this is a theme,being cheap.
I heard that air conditioningused up gas and I didn't want to
(06:52):
waste any extra gas just to keepme comfortable.
But I didn't have a radio onpurpose because I wanted to make
sure I was listening to mycustomers.
I didn't want anything todistract my thoughts.
And if you listen to yourcustomers long enough, they'll
tell you what you want to hear.
And after about six years, mycustomers started asking me for
this product called theInvisible Fence.
They said the kind of thing thatevery salesman likes to hear.
Doesn't matter how much itcosts, we'll buy as many as you
(07:13):
can get.
Well, that sounds interesting.
So this will be a much longerstory, so I'll just cut to the
punchline.
Bet everything I owned, whichwasn't very much, on designing
my own version of an invisiblefence.
The company that had thatoriginal brand had a patent that
was getting ready to expire.
We introduced the product in1991, and it took off.
Eight years later, we wereselling 10 times more than the
(07:35):
original invisible fence companywere able to go back and buy
that company.
SPEAKER_01 (07:39):
It is is hard to put into words the amount of or the
size of the pit that exists infolks' stomachs, particularly
entrepreneurs that are thinkingabout starting a business.
And there are moments along theway when I think you naturally
question, was this a good idea?
Was it a bad idea?
Were there moments along yourjourney where it was close to
(08:03):
not working, where you thoughtthis thing's going to fail?
And how did you push throughthose moments?
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
Yeah, so let me tell you two stories.
I'll tell you my story, but I'llalso tell you my dad's story.
So my dad also, back to hisexample, when I left his
company, I actually kind of madeit a much more interesting and
funny story about just what Isaid earlier about I felt like I
was being underpaid and my dadwasn't that smart.
The truth was he was in aChapter 11 at the time.
(08:30):
They were in a really toughtime.
And I remember going to him oneday with the vice president of
sales.
And both of us go up to him andsay, you know, Dad, we're such a
big hole.
It would be easier just to closeup the business and start again
than try to dig yourself out ofthis hole.
And I always remember himlooking at me and say, son, you
can never quit.
I have a responsibility to mystockholders.
(08:52):
I have a responsibility to mycustomers.
I have a responsibility to myemployees.
I have a responsibility to mycustomers.
All of them are counting on me.
I can't quit.
And as bad as things were, hemanaged to turn it around.
And he was always attesting tome that nobody can make you
quit.
Quitting is just a decision ofwill.
At some point, you just decide Ican't take it anymore and quit.
(09:12):
But nobody actually makes youquit other than yourself.
And so he set a great example.
I had some really difficulttimes in those first five years.
The fun story is, in 1991, wehad a goal of selling 100 of our
PetSafe pet containment systemsa month.
We sold 3,000 in the firstmonth,$1 million in the first
six months,$5 million the nextyear, then$9 million, then$16
(09:32):
million, and so on.
The truth is, those first fiveyears were really, really
challenging.
We didn't think we were going tomake it.
I think the things that keep yougoing are at least twofold.
One, there's the obligation,like my dad described, to the
people that counted on you.
A lot of people believe in you,and you don't want to let them
down.
(09:52):
The second is still that dreamof what can be, and you know
what the possibilities andopportunities are.
Between the responsibility andthe dream, those things I think
help keep you, keep you going.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
It's really valuable lesson.
And I, when I hear you say noone can make you quit, you have
to be the one that quits.
I hear it also on the inversethat no one can create that
spark for you.
You've got to find a way and amotivation and something to, to
drive you forward because thisis not easy work and it would be
(10:25):
easier to just step back and,uh, Yeah.
(10:50):
an organization that has, frommy perspective, just continued
to grow and serves more and morestudents year over year.
But before you had any officialrole in government, I'm curious
what drove you to make thatinitial pivot, both in how you
spent your time and then as youthought about your philanthropy.
SPEAKER_00 (11:09):
Yeah.
So I think pivot would be thewrong word because it wasn't
like a moment in time when Iimmediately changed.
It was gradual and it wasserendipitous and unintended.
But I was at a pet conference,as you would imagine, with my
pet business in which at theconference, it was a charitable
event.
And at the conference, theperson stood up and talked about
how we're making the world abetter place for dogs and animal
(11:33):
welfare all across the country.
However, there are places in thecountry that are still
backwaters, like Louisiana,Arkansas, and you guessed it,
Tennessee.
And I don't know if this wastrue, but it kind of felt like
every other CEO in the room justturned and looked at me like,
how dare you?
So with that motivation, wentback and I like to think in big,
hairy, audacious goal terms.
(11:53):
I stole that term from JimCollins.
So what would be our BHAG?
And our BHAG was, let's makeKnoxville the most pet-friendly
city in America.
Let's just make it a littlebetter.
Let's make it the mostpet-friendly city in America.
How would we do that?
Created a team, created a wholeseries of initiatives, one of
which was to make Knoxville thecity that had most dog parks.
We want to make it a friendlyenvironment.
Met with our county mayor,offered some things for him in
(12:16):
return for his help withcreating these dog parks.
And like every good politician,he said, yes, but I need you to
help me with my dream.
And his dream was to make sureevery kid in Knox County could
go to technical school orcommunity college free of
tuition and fees.
So we created this program thatstarted off being called Knox
Achieves, then morphed intoTennessee Achieves.
(12:37):
Within five years, we weresending 5,000 students a year to
technical and community college,all provided free of charge by
private donors in 26 countiesall across the state.
It's incredible.
SPEAKER_01 (12:49):
Talent and ingenuity is hard to keep hidden,
particularly for you when a lotof these conversations are
happening in a community whereyou've got so many connections
with folks that are invested inthe same thing.
But you were soon tapped byformer Governor Bill Haslam to
champion college access andcompletion work and were the
(13:12):
driving force behind programslike Tennessee Promise and Drive
to 55.
I'm curious, what was it liketranslating your entrepreneurial
mindset into state-level reformconversations?
SPEAKER_00 (13:26):
Yeah, well, first of all, I'll say that I was tricked
into the public service.
It wasn't ever my intention.
But the backstory, GovernorHaslam was the city mayor of
Knoxville when we started KnoxAchieves, and he was on my
board.
Then he became governor, saidthis was a really good idea.
Why don't you roll it out acrossthe state?
So that's kind of how we becamestatewide.
In case I don't get a chance tosay this later, fast forward to
(13:46):
the end, Last year, wecelebrated sending 133,000
students to college.
They've performed over 5 millioncommunity service hours and
being mentored by over 90,000volunteers over the 17 years
we've had the program.
It's been a tremendous success,all due to the leadership and
the team that we have there, notme.
Anyway, because of that, thegovernor asked me, and I
(14:09):
remember it was the RepublicanConvention 2012, and he pulls me
aside and said, hey, I'd likefor you to come work for me in
state government in highereducation.
I got a petition.
position.
I'm not going to mention theposition because then you'd know
who I was going to be replacing.
But when he mentioned it to me,I said, no way.
I'm not going to work ingovernment.
I'm a business guy.
Government's too slow.
It's too bureaucratic.
(14:30):
I could never do that.
But he was persistent.
I said, okay, I'll lead a taskforce for three months.
We'll look into higher educationinitiatives, see what big ideas
we can come up with.
After three months, we had somebig ideas, but they were just
ideas on paper.
Somebody needed to help get themlaunched.
So then I made a big leap andvolunteered to spend a year as I
(14:53):
get to make up a title, SpecialAdvisor on Higher Education.
It was amazing, by the way, foryour listeners out there, this
is some probably not very usefulprofessional advice, but it's
amazing the kind of jobs you canget when you're willing to work
for free.
So people ask me, how does a dogfence salesman become Special
Advisor on Higher Education?
You work for free.
But anyway, he offered me, weagreed on this, to do it a year.
(15:15):
And I learned two things, one ofwhich I already knew at the end
of the year.
Government is very slow and verybureaucratic.
But if you want to make animpact in the world, it's the
best place to do it.
At the end of the year, we'reable to have created something
called the Drive to 55, anoverarching vision for our state
to go from 32% post-secondaryattainment to 55% by the year
(15:38):
2035 or 2025.
It was a A business person, as aphilanthropist, to be able to
create a vision that can rallyyour entire state is virtually
impossible.
But at the state level andpublic service, you could do
that.
And the second thing was we wereable to create something.
We did a lot of initiatives, butI'll pick just one.
(15:59):
We were able to take that littleprogram we had called Tennessee
Achieves that was dependentday-to-day on me raising money
for its sustainability projects.
to incorporate it within thestate in a new program that the
governor was able to announcecalled Tennessee Promise in the
state of the state in 2014.
And at that state of the state,one of those memorable moments
I'll have with me forever.
(16:22):
So at the end of his state ofthe state address, in
conclusion, he stands up andsays, I now propose to you the
Tennessee Promise.
The Tennessee Promise will makeit possible for every student in
the state of Tennessee to go totechnical college, and community
college free of charge forever,and it won't cost the taxpayers
a penny.
And of course, the crowd goeswild.
(16:43):
Everybody stands up andapplauds.
They're all looking at eachother like, how is he going to
do that?
But we had a plan, and itworked.
And again, we've had a lot ofsuccess.
But that was the hook, that oneopportunity.
I realized that if I was in aposition in my life where I
realized everything that I wasgoing to do in the future was to
give back, to give back to allthe people that have given so
(17:03):
much to me.
And so if you're going to dothat, You want to put your
efforts around the places inwhich you can make the biggest
difference.
And public service is the waythat I could do the most good
for the most people.
SPEAKER_01 (17:13):
I remember that moment.
I was sitting in the galleryduring that speech.
And it was one of those momentswhere we had to kind of temper
our enthusiasm.
I was working for the NashvilleArea Chamber of Commerce at the
time.
And deeply concerned aboutworkforce pathways and just the
ability to fill the jobs thatare coming.
(17:37):
And then after the initialenthusiasm, it was kind of the
same thing.
It's like, well, how hard isthis going to be to get over the
finish line?
I also remember as you'retalking about that task force
meeting, I was reminded ofsitting in those meetings around
these really long tables at anondescript state building.
(17:57):
And what struck me about thosemeetings as I'm thinking about
it now is just how differentthey were from every other
meeting I'd had with any otherelected official, government
official, legislator,bureaucrat, because they seemed
to have running through themthis really strong vein of
(18:18):
ideation and anything'spossible.
And for folks that don't oftenengage in government in any form
or fashion.
That generally isn't howmeetings are led.
There tends to be a, this isgoing to be hard because mindset
in a lot of conversations.
And that wasn't present there.
And I, until you were talkingabout it, I hadn't really
(18:39):
reflected on how unique thosetask force meetings were
compared to literally everyother meeting I'd ever been in.
I
SPEAKER_00 (18:46):
think, you know, I'll just say coming from a
family of entrepreneurs, beingan entrepreneur, I've approached
working at the University ofTennessee, working in state
government as an entrepreneurwould.
And I think when you do that,it's about, you know, how are we
going to get things done?
And then what things do we needto change to get there?
I always remember when I wascommissioner of BCD, my team
would often say, well, you know,but commissioner, that's the
law.
(19:06):
Well, okay, we can change thelaw.
I mean, I see these guys everyday.
They're making laws right andleft.
Some of them are not even thatgood.
We can change laws if we needto.
We're not going to break laws,but we can change laws.
So there's nothing that we can'tovercome.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
Right.
You're talking about a ofentrepreneurs, you being an
entrepreneur, and we'rerecording this in the
Entrepreneur Center, you feel,I'm guessing, at home in that
space.
Going into a role in governmentprobably wasn't, I'm assuming,
natural to you.
How did you get comfortable inthat environment while also
(19:43):
building trust with the peoplearound you in order to get these
big, hairy, audacious goalsaccomplished?
SPEAKER_00 (19:49):
One of the things that you had to in public
service in state government andin higher education as well, is
that you have to have morestakeholders come along beside
you to have ownership in theidea before you can get
something off the ground.
So I like to say, in myexperience, from being an
entrepreneur, running abusiness, to public service, to
(20:11):
now higher education, there'sdifferent levels of persuasion
that you have to have.
If it was on a scale of one to10, if it's a business, I'd say
it's a level three.
Because you can't just, as abusiness leader, you can't just
say, autocratically say we'regoing in a particular direction
without having buy-in.
You've got to get your team tosupport your idea.
They need to embrace it.
They need to be enthusiasticabout it.
(20:32):
So there's a level of persuasionand buy-in, even if you're the
owner.
But if one of your employees,Adam, you're one of our
employees, and you say, youknow, Randy, that's a kind of a
cute vision, nice strategy, butI'm not really into that.
I don't want to do that.
And I say, well, Adam, this isprobably not the best place for
you.
You need to move along to findsome place that's better fit.
And state government's a littledifferent.
But you only have to get 51% ofthe people to support the idea.
(20:54):
So you need to get buy-in, butif you can get 51%, you can get
something passed.
The downside is if somebodydisagrees, you can't say, well,
maybe Kentucky's a better statefor you.
We're kind of stuck together.
But if you can get the majorityof the people to support, you
can get something done.
Higher education, I would put itabout an eight or a nine.
My current role as a universitypresident, because you have to
(21:14):
have student buy-in.
You have to have the parents whoare usually paying their tuition
to buy in.
Alumni have a big say.
Faculty have a really big say.
If you Don't believe me, askthem.
But they have a very big say.
And then, of course, as a publicuniversity, we belong to the
state of Tennessee.
So all the people of the stateof Tennessee and their elected
officials also have a say.
So it just takes a while to getthe support that you need.
(21:37):
So as a sales guy, you just gotto work harder and longer to get
that support.
But in the end, you can get somebig things done if you do.
But that's probably the biggestchallenge.
difference in being anentrepreneur in the public
sector to
SPEAKER_01 (21:55):
being an entrepreneur in the higher
education sector.
(22:17):
that you were free to have adifferent perspective than the
organization we were employed byon a particular project at a
different organization.
We all kind of understood theassignment.
You have said before that thiscould be the greatest decade in
the history of the University ofTennessee.
This will be.
This will be, excuse me, thegreatest decade in the history
(22:41):
of the University of Tennessee.
What does that vision look likein real
SPEAKER_00 (22:46):
terms?
Well, it's multiple things, butif you think about our land
grant mission and the three keybuckets, the first of which is
around education, and we have togrow.
We started off the decade at42,000 students.
We're now at 62,000 students.
Our goal is to get to 71,000 bythe end of the decade.
And some people might ask, well,so why are you growing?
(23:06):
Or is it for ego or forrankings?
I don't care about rankings.
It's because we are the landgrant university here to serve
the people of the state ofTennessee.
And the best Two ways we canserve around education is
providing more opportunity formore students.
One of the biggest challenges inmy job is having to tell parents
that their son or daughterdidn't get in because we didn't
have enough space.
(23:27):
So making sure that we providemore opportunity for more
students in the state ofTennessee to get a great
education from any of ourcampuses across the state.
So that's one side of thedemand.
school districts for ourteachers, hospitals for our
nurses.
So we've got a range ofshortfalls all across our state
(23:51):
that we have been sometimesuniquely can fill.
Been doing a lot of work withthe folks that are trying to
help Tennessee lead in thenuclear space.
University of TennesseeKnoxville is the national leader
in PhDs in nuclear engineering.
The only ones that can do someof this work.
So we have an obligation to meetthose needs.
(24:11):
So being the greatest decademeans growing our enrollment,
and we're doing that to meet thedemand of our students and our
employers.
And then the second part isgrowing our research.
Now, research today is at$482million a year.
We like to get it to a billiondollars by the end of the
decade.
And one of the things we weretrying to do a better job of is
(24:31):
telling the stories aroundresearch.
It's not just about dollars.
It's about the impact that wemake.
So it was a good example of asmall project that probably we
spent less than$2$200,000developing was an N95 mask that
was invented at UT.
And this mask saved millions oflives during the pandemic.
So research isn't just somethingthat academics track just on a
(24:56):
scorecard.
It's actually really making animpact in the lives of
Tennesseans.
And the third is actuallyengaging with the community and
actually having a direct impacttoday.
Hundreds of examples.
I'll just pick one.
The UT Health Science Centerprovides 70% of the dentists for
the state of Tennessee We haveone of the fewest dentists per
(25:17):
capita in the country, in thestate of Tennessee.
We have many counties that don'thave a single dentist.
Bad dental care leads to alltypes of bad outcomes for people
from bad health, bad jobprospects.
And so providing dental care isreally, really important.
So our UT Health Science Centerhad the idea of creating free
dental clinics across the statein which the students can
(25:39):
actually train.
So we've got three now.
We're opening another three, onein Union City.
We've got one in Kingsport.
We've got one in Knoxville.
But students will go there androtate for four weeks and
provide free dental care toindigent, low-income people that
need the care.
So we're making direct impact inthe health of Tennesseans.
And that's another way in whichwe measure our success in the
(26:01):
greatest decade is solving thegrand challenges of the state of
Tennessee.
It's really...
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
Fascinating.
I did not know that, thestatistic about dentists or the
masks.
And if you'll forgive the justreally bad pun and dad joke, but
there's a lot of wisdom in thatapproach to dental care.
You talked a little bit aboutenrollment, but under your
leadership, enrollment hasincreased.
(26:26):
UT Promise was launched.
The system has grown in itsscope, as you were talking about
in the research.
But I think what's alsointeresting in all of those
things is you have found a wayand you will tell folks often
that the costs are beingcontrolled, that tuition is
still affordable.
What have been the toughestcalls or the biggest wins in
(26:50):
that work over the last severalyears in order to make that
possible?
SPEAKER_00 (26:56):
So around how do we make the costs possible?
keeping the cost down
SPEAKER_01 (27:02):
well and i'm curious in particular uh you could
reduce costs or you could growthe scope and the enrollment
you've managed to do bothsystem-wide and that that
doesn't feel a accidental or beeasy and i'm curious how you how
you navigated that in a way thatallows the university to
(27:25):
continue to thrive?
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
First off, let's just go back over the numbers
because there is a myth outthere and it's constantly
perpetuated that the cost ofcollege is skyrocketing.
Tuition is skyrocketing.
One of my favorite newscasters,Tom Keene on Bloomberg, just
last week I heard him mentionyet again about tuition
skyrocketing.
It's not skyrocketing.
At the University of Tennessee,over the last five years, our
(27:48):
average tuition has increased by0.8% per year.
The inflation rate I haven't gota check on it in the last three
months, but six months ago, itwas increasing by, on average,
5.2% during the same period oftime.
So relative terms, the cost of aUT degree is less expensive now
than it was just five years ago.
So we are keeping costs low.
We're also trying to make itmore affordable for more
(28:10):
Tennesseans.
You mentioned the UT promise,and not to be a one-trick pony,
but we had the Tennessee promiseand thought, well, this is
great, but it's only for acommunity college.
What could we do with theUniversity of Tennessee?
So we did some research back in2019 and found out that we could
do a last-ditch scholarship aswell.
We introduced it in 2019.
We've enhanced it since today.
If you have a family income ofunder$75,000 in your Tennessean,
(28:33):
you can go to any one of ourcampuses completely free of
tuition and fees.
That's two-thirds of allTennesseans make less than
$75,000.
So two-thirds of all Tennesseanscan now go to University of
Tennessee free of tuition andfees.
So those are some of the ways inwhich we're trying to make sure
that we're continuing to beaffordable to more Tennesseans.
We had to have accessibility.
We had to make sure that morecan enter, but we also have to
(28:55):
make sure that they can affordto come.
And two-thirds can go free oftuition and fees.
I think from how we manage ourcosts...
We're taking a businessapproach.
We're constantly finding ways tobe more efficient, more
effective at the work that wedo.
At the same time, like anybusiness, if you're growing
revenue faster than your costs,then it can help you offset any
(29:16):
increases in the price.
And the fact is that we've beengrowing at a very rapid rate.
Knoxville last year grew at6.6%.
Chattanooga grew at 4%.
UT Southern at 7.6%.
Martin at 8%.
So all of our campuses aregrowing.
And when you're growing, thatgenerates enough additional
revenue to cover whateveradditional expenses that you
have.
I
SPEAKER_01 (29:36):
think tactically, it makes sense.
I think your ability to tie allof that together in a really
clear vision and get peopleinvested goes back to the point
we were talking about earlier,that you've got a lot of
constituencies that are investedin various ways.
And the fact that This hashappened over the last few
(29:58):
years, I think, is nothing shortof remarkable.
And as a citizen of the stateand the parent of a child who
has decided that that's wherethey're going to go next.
already still several years off.
It's exciting to see the ways inwhich the university is
continuing to think and beforward-looking.
SPEAKER_00 (30:20):
Can I interrupt?
Of course.
I'm just having a moment ofanxiety and worrying that maybe
we might not be able to– peoplewill finish this interview and
give me too much of the credit.
So I'm the person that talksabout all the great work that
we're doing at the University ofTennessee, but I don't actually–
do any of the great work that wedo at the University of
Tennessee.
It's our team.
We've got a tremendous team,starting with the leaders of our
(30:42):
campuses.
So one of the things that I'mtasked with, and probably the
most important thing I do, ishiring great leaders.
And I've been fortunate to hirethree great leaders at UT
Knoxville, at UT Martin, and atthe UT Health Science Center.
We're now in the process ofgetting two new ones at UT
Chattanooga and UT Southern.
But that's where it starts,hiring great people to lead.
And so I'm very proud of thework that the team has done, but
(31:05):
it's the team and the leadershipThose campuses, they get all the
credit.
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
But they understand the uniquenesses of the areas
that they serve and theconstituencies that they serve.
And from my view, are able tofind ways to have that vision,
continue to show up, fill themission, and also be authentic
and represent the communities inwhich they're engaged.
And I think that that says a lotabout the values and the ways in
(31:50):
which leadership is organizedaround the entire system, that
you've got high performers in alot of different corners of the
system.
all moving in a shared directionand are aligned around a course
of common values.
And I think there are a lot oflessons there that we could
extend this into the third andfourth hour of the podcast.
(32:13):
But we're not going to do thattoday.
SPEAKER_00 (32:15):
I'll say, since I am in the process of hiring two new
chancellors now, and I hadinterviews with three of them
yesterday, I'll share with youand your listeners what I shared
with them as I reflect on yourcomments about this great team
that we have now.
Three things that I'm lookingfor more than just three, but
these would be three big things.
One, they have to buy into themission.
And our mission as a land-grantuniversity is to serve the
(32:37):
people of Tennessee.
We're about service, and they'vegot to understand that.
You know, there's someuniversities, maybe they're an
elite private university thatmaybe has its own separate
mission to educate people.
elite students from all aroundthe world and send them off to
do great things in the world.
And that's great.
And we do a bit of that.
But our mission is to serve thepeople of Tennessee.
(32:57):
So they have to come in with aservice mindset and understand
that we're here as a public goodto make it make a difference and
fully embrace that mission.
The second thing is I want tohire innovative, even disruptive
leaders.
I think you mentioned maybe it'ssomething that you can't train.
You've got to Sometimes it'sinnate, but you got to look for
(33:19):
those people that are willingto, to, uh, Be bold and be
innovative and not take no foran answer and try to find ways
to solve problems.
And so we hire for that.
And the third thing that wehaven't talked about that's
really important is aboutteamwork.
We talk about one UT.
We're going to work together.
We do panels with all thechancellors and myself from time
to time.
(33:39):
We did the last two State of theUniversity addresses.
Rather than me just getting upand giving a lecture or speech,
we decided, let's just have allthe chancellors and I on a panel
and we'll just talk about keytopics.
And we joked at the end of thefirst one that we did that we
could all finish each other'ssentences.
But we can because we're workingtogether so closely.
We have monthly meetings.
We're constantly on the phoneworking together to solve
(34:01):
whatever new issue might beconfronting us.
And so building that team andwhen we hire them in, they go to
understand you're part of ateam.
You're not just the chancellorof UT Chattanooga.
You're part of the one UT teamand we're going to be working
together to solve things andseek opportunities.
SPEAKER_01 (34:20):
Yeah, that's great.
Your philanthropy, I'd love tokind of shift a little bit to
the work that you do from acharity and investing
communities a little bit.
It has spanned everything frommental health to education to
dog parks and baseball.
(34:40):
Connect all of that for me.
What's the through line for youthat connects all of those
seemingly diverse communities?
areas of philanthropicinvestment.
SPEAKER_00 (34:51):
Sure.
First, maybe just a personalbackground on giving back.
So I was a Boy Scout growing upand then Boy Scout master for 17
years.
In Boy Scouts, you have themotto, be prepared, and the
slogan, do a good turn daily,all of those things.
But there's one that peopledon't reference as often, and
that's the code of the outdoors.
But as I would teach the boys,the code of the outdoors is that
(35:12):
there's actually a longerversion, or the short version is
leave every trail better thanyou found it.
And as I would share with them.
It is literal.
If we're on a hike, if we're ata campsite, if there's a gum
wrapper, if there's something,you're going to pick it up.
We're going to leave it betterthan we found it.
But it's also a metaphor forlife.
We want to leave every placewe've been And so that's been my
(35:35):
quest.
And I also found that you canonly affect so many things.
So find the things that you'remost passionate about.
For me, education has alwaysbeen my greatest passion.
I feel like education is theinflection point of everything.
If you can improve education,that's usually the foundation of
so many other problems, fromcrime to health to economic
(35:56):
development.
If we can fix education, you canimprove all those things.
So that's been my personalpassion.
A few years back, we created afoundation.
And so you mentioned some of theother aspects of our foundation,
the work we do.
When we created the foundation,my family is on the board, and
they all have a say.
So my wife, my two sons, mydaughter-in-law, and they also
(36:18):
have their passions.
So three out of the five of us,my wife in particular, is a
musician and is passionate aboutthe arts and about music.
And so...
That's become part of ourpillar.
My daughter-in-law has been verypassionate about mental health.
We all are to a degree on all ofthese, but there's a lead in the
(36:39):
family that's usuallychampioning a particular issue.
I think that spectrum, there'sfour areas, mental health,
animal welfare, education, andthe arts.
Those are our four pillars.
We try to stay focused on that.
Anybody that has a foundation oranybody that's a philanthropist
will tell you that you reallyhave to have some type of
discipline because Everything'scoming over the transom and
(36:59):
you've got to have some way tofilter.
Otherwise, you really don't knowthat you're having an impact.
So try to find a few areas thatyou're passionate about and
focus on those that you can havethe maximum amount of impact.
SPEAKER_01 (37:10):
Yeah, the leave it better than you found it is so
applicable in so many ways.
And I love your point aboutbeing literal.
Also, as a Boy Scout, EagleScout and Middle Tennessee
Council, those were– They werevery simple ways to institute
(37:31):
just an ethos in your life thatit's easy to pick up the gum
wrapper or to make one littlething better.
What do you think– as you thinkabout philanthropy, you talked a
little bit about having somediscipline and some strategic
approaches there.
But what do you think ismisunderstood about
(37:53):
philanthropy?
Philanthropy, the way that itsupports communities, especially
from someone who is a builder oran operator as they're making
that transition to engage inphilanthropic work.
SPEAKER_00 (38:06):
Interesting question.
First three things that come tomind.
First is transparency.
One shouldn't duplicatesomething that's already out
there.
One of the things I think toomany new nonprofits make the
mistake of doing is they have anidea because there's a need that
they see.
And before they actually do theresearch, they start a new
enterprise in which there'salready 10 other people doing
the same thing or somethingsimilar.
(38:27):
So before you launch somethingnew, make sure that you do the
research and see if you can justpartner with or support
something that's already outthere.
I think a second thing that wesee a lot, especially sitting
across the table as the fundersto a lot of people with ideas.
So a lot of people have a lot ofpassion for areas in which
(38:48):
there's tremendous need withoutany business plan.
And in the end, a nonprofit,you're doing it because you
care, because you're trying tomake a difference, but it's a
business.
You're going to have to havefunding sources and you've got
to have an operating expenseplan and you're going to have to
measure your impact.
And I think that's somethingthat too often people just, they
(39:10):
want to do good, which is great,but they do need to have a
business plan.
And that's, I think that'ssomething that's often
overlooked.
And then I think just beingcollaborative with the others in
your community.
I was a big proponent of UnitedWay.
And one of the things thatUnited Way is good at doing
because they fund so many peopleis that they were able to in a
(39:33):
way force differentorganizations to work together
and just like I mentioned UT areworking together as one UT same
is true with non-profits there'ssynergy and greater impact when
you can work together andpartner because most of the
problems we're trying to solveare broader than the one thing
you're doing if you're bigbrothers big sisters I mean
(39:54):
you're mentoring a young boy oryoung girl they probably have
food insecurity issues there maybe mental health issues there
may be substance abuse issuesall in that family.
And you need to find otherpartners to help work together
to solve these endemic problemsthat we have in society.
It's not just one solution.
SPEAKER_01 (40:13):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
It I keep coming back to thestrategy and the discipline even
early on in your in yourprofessional experience.
One of the things that Imentioned at the beginning of
the show was your ability tohandle and navigate things with
clarity.
I have misquoted you or yourexperiences on a couple of
(40:35):
occasions and I.
Is it a goal to run on everycontinent?
Yes.
Okay.
Is it a goal to run on everycontinent?
SPEAKER_00 (40:42):
Yeah, that part is true.
I have four and I've added afifth.
So five big running goals.
I've completed two.
I've got two or three more togo.
What are the other two?
So one goal was to run 50 fullmarathons.
Another was to do the sixmajors, which is London, New
York, Boston, Berlin, and I'msorry, Tokyo, and Chicago.
Chicago.
(41:03):
So I've done that.
So when I did London two yearsago, that was my 50th and my
sixth of the six majors.
The other two goals are to do amarathon on every continent.
I've done Antarctica, get thehard one out of the way, second.
I've done five.
I'm doing Brazil in a month.
So that'll make six.
I'll do Australia next year.
And then the fourth goal is todo 100 half marathons.
I did number 95 this pastSunday.
(41:24):
So five more to go there.
So I'm getting close to the end.
My wife doesn't believe me,actually.
I just made this up like four orfive years ago.
So she said, yeah, Yeah, you'llhave another goal after that.
But I'll say, you know, running,I had two knee surgeries in 2023
and had to go almost a yearwithout running.
And for me, running is for myphysical health, but it's also
(41:46):
for my mental health.
That's why I talked aboutclarity.
That's my time to...
to think, to collect mythoughts, to organize, to dream.
And I really need that time inthe morning.
I usually run early in themorning.
So it's more than just physicalhealth.
It's also my mental healthstrategy as well.
SPEAKER_01 (42:05):
Well, I was going to ask, how do you stay energized?
But what I'm hearing is almostthat that's the thing that
energizes, that having that timeis what helps add the energy for
you.
Yeah.
So I have known you for over adecade, and there's a moment
that I'll never forget thatsticks with me where we had a
(42:29):
fundamentally differentperspective on an issue.
And otherwise, I think we'vegenerally been aligned on a lot
of things.
And you disagreed with theapproach that I had or that I
was taking.
And rather than avoid theconversation or avoid that kind
of just Hey, we've got adifferent vision on on this on
(42:50):
this project.
You leaned in.
You heard my perspective.
It wasn't a compellingperspective.
You continue.
You disagreed with my myperspective, but you told me
pretty directly and clearlywhere you thought I was wrong.
But we moved on.
That moment really changed how Ithought about a lot of the folks
(43:15):
that I engage with on a regularbasis and leadership in
particular, and youspecifically, not just as
someone who is a driven leader,but someone who, as I mentioned
earlier, leads with clarity andcandor and reminded me of
lessons from Clear as Kind,Radical Candor, that I'm curious
(43:39):
about.
the experiences that you've hadthroughout your career, what led
you to develop those traits orbeliefs?
(43:59):
Is that a thing that you dointentionally, or is it just a
product of the experiencesyou've had over
SPEAKER_00 (44:06):
your career?
I guess I would have to say it'sa product of the experience I've
had over my career, but it's aninteresting question, which I
haven't thought about whatspecific experiences led me to
this belief, but I would sayI've learned that being clear
and direct about a disagreementaround maybe an idea or a policy
(44:28):
can be constructive.
You can take courses on this,but it's not about conflict
avoidance.
It's about conflict management.
Conflict is natural.
In fact, I would say if you havea low conflict environment where
nobody is disagreeing, you'renot talking.
And that's how organizations getin big trouble when people
aren't pushing back andchallenging each other.
(44:48):
So conflict is natural.
You shouldn't avoid conflict.
It's how you manage it.
Being direct, being clear, beinghonest.
And you can disagree about ideasand not disagree with the
person.
It's the idea that you might notlike.
It's not the person that youdon't like.
So don't personalize it.
Also, I remember as a salesmanages ago, I remember hearing
someone, I can't remember, whoshared this one anecdote with me
(45:12):
that's always stuck As asalesman, the best answer is a
yes.
The second best answer is a no.
The absolute worst answer is amaybe.
Just tell me so I can move on.
If it's a no, I can go ahead andbuild another plan, but maybe
you just kind of linger.
I try to make sure that I kindof share that with others.
If I've got a doubt about yourplan or your idea, I need to be
(45:36):
honest with you up front so thatyou can course correct.
Sometimes I'll have aninterview, as I mentioned, and
I'll tell a candidate as they'releaving.
One of the things that peopleare going to be talking about
when you leave this room is thisparticular issue.
If somebody brings up thisissue, how should I defend you?
(45:57):
How would you defend yourself onthis?
But being upfront and askingpeople usually is the best way
to get clarity and come to asolution.
SPEAKER_01 (46:06):
Yeah, that's great.
I remember the first time youand I sat down in kind of a
one-on-one meeting.
The first question was, Out ofthe gate wasn't how are you
doing?
Where are you from?
It's what's your vision for thiswork?
And I think it's a good exampleof we know enough about why
(46:28):
we're here.
I need to get that clarity.
And I think hearing you talkabout providing it for others.
There's also value in makingsure that you are prepared for
those conversations to be ableto also provide that sort of
clarity.
There have been a number oftimes where I've seen people ask
versions of the questions thatyou're talking about, and folks
(46:52):
are unprepared to give thoseanswers, which is an
uncomfortable moment.
I'm curious, you got your start.
pretty early, 16 out of highschool, college at 19.
If you could go back to thatpoint in time, what advice would
you give to yourself that mighthave made your path easier or
(47:16):
more efficient as you'reprogressing through the various
steps in your career?
SPEAKER_00 (47:21):
Yeah, so I don't go back and try to second guess and
wish I had done somethingdifferent because everything in
your life leads you to whereyou're at now.
Even the smallest decision thatyou might have made differently
could have led you to acompletely different place.
And I'm perfectly happy whereI'm at and the place I'm at, the
work I get to do with my wifeand my granddaughters.
Any one small decision I madedifferently may have led to a
(47:43):
different place.
So I wouldn't take anythingback.
I think the only thing I wouldsay would be to be maybe more
comforted in my failures earlyon because I share this now at
commencements.
It's been kind of a fun thing todo over the last year.
But I'll to all the students.
I'm going to give you someadvice that probably you don't
(48:04):
normally get at a commencementand maybe I'm the only one doing
this this year at anycommencement anywhere in the
country.
But I want you to go forth andfail.
Because here's three reasonswhy.
One, you learn more from yourmistakes than you do from your
successes.
So you're always going to learnmore from your failures.
Two, you lose everything you'vegot, you're not going to lose
(48:24):
that much because you probablyaren't starting off with much
anyway.
And third, you're really young.
And so you get the rest of yourlife to benefit from those
mistakes.
So thinking back, there was aseries of mistakes.
The first business that Istarted was a mistake.
But I learned a lot of greatlessons.
And even the second business,the distributing business, was a
learning experience.
But through all those, I'vebenefited.
(48:46):
So I think maybe I would have,really it's not practical to
say, I know I'm making amistake.
I'm going to enjoy this mistakeand know that it's going to
benefit me.
You're not thinking that way atthe time.
But it is good to put yourselfout there and try.
And again, you earn more fromyour failures than you do from
your successes.
And so it's okay to get outthere and try and make a few
(49:07):
mistakes early on.
SPEAKER_01 (49:09):
Yeah, that's so good.
Thank you.
So much, Randy, for coming intoday and sharing a little bit
more about your incrediblejourney.
That is it for this episode ofCatalysts for Change.
Again, huge thank you to RandyBoyd for sharing his story of
scaling and starting and failingand starting again, shaping the
(49:30):
future of higher education inTennessee.
And in my view, and hopefully inyours as well, his story is
proof that one person driven byboth vision, clarity, and values
can leave in a Thank you againfor listening.
And until next time, I'm Adam.
(49:57):
I'll see you soon.
Hi everyone, and welcome to Catalysts for Change,
the show where we explore thestories, strategies, and turning
points of leaders drivingmeaningful impact in their
communities and across thecountry.
I'm Adam Lister and I'm so gladyou're here.
Today's guest is someone whosestory truly captures what
(00:21):
Catalysts for Change is allabout.
Randy Boyd has been anentrepreneur and a public
servant and now leads one of themost influential education
systems in the country.
From building a global productempire to reimagining college
across Tennessee, Randy hasshaped policy, created jobs and
impacted lives at every level.
I've had the privilege to knowRandy and work with him on a few
(00:43):
projects for more than a decade.
And what most people will say isthat they respect Randy's
tenacity and hustle.
While that's second to none,what I've come to respect most
about him is his commitment tohis mission and his ability to
navigate challenges with clarityand class.
In today's episode, we'll talkabout his journey, what drove
his entrepreneurial spark, andhow it influenced his public
(01:05):
service and lessons he's learnedalong the way.
So let's dive in.
Randy, thank you for being heretoday.
It's good to see you.
SPEAKER_00 (01:14):
And it was always great to see you.
And now you win the award forthe best introduction I've ever
had.
I'm not sure how much of it wastrue, but I appreciate it.
It is.
It is all true.
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
I'll leave it to you as to how deep we dive into what
formed those opinions.
But it's all true.
And I'm happy to follow youaround and make that
introduction for you anywhereyou go.
You are are known as arelentlessly hard worker.
And anytime I hear somebodyintroduce you, I'll get a new
(01:43):
anecdote that proves that.
But what many people don't knowis that you started college at
16 and graduated at 19 andworked nights to pay your way
through school.
I'm curious, as just a generalidea, what was it about that
experience and those earlyexperiences that shaped your
(02:05):
work ethic and yourentrepreneurial mindset?
SPEAKER_00 (02:08):
I'll say I had the great privilege good fortune of
having a father who's anentrepreneur and two parents
that both worked extremely hard.
So I came to this naturally.
And I will probably confess thatI do work long hours and try to
work productive hours, not justlong, but productive.
But at eight years old, my dadwould drag me out of bed and
say, it's time to go to work,son.
(02:29):
He started a factory when I waseight years old, 1968.
And for the first summer Iworked, I got paid a dollar an
hour, putting things in boxes,sweeping floor.
And I thought I was the luckiestkid in the neighborhood.
I had a job, you know, at eightyears old and had like$200 at
the end of the summer to go buya go-kart.
Throughout, you know, at 11years old, Dad said, son, you're
(02:50):
old enough to buy your ownclothes.
So from now on, you had to buyyour own clothes, which sounds
draconian.
But if you're an 11-year-oldboy, I had a white football
jersey and a home footballjersey and a pair of jeans.
That's all I really needed.
And so it wasn't that big of adeal.
But Dad instilled in me and bothmy parents instilled in me a
work ethic.
When it became time to go tocollege, neither of my parents,
(03:10):
anybody in my family, for thatmatter, had ever been to
college.
And Dad said, look, if you wantto go to college, that's fine,
but I'm not going to pay for youto go to college, but I'll give
you a job so you can pay yourway through.
And I thought, wow, I'm theluckiest kid ever.
How many kids get a job thatthey can pay their own way
through?
So I ran injection moldingmachines, the Saturday night
shift from 7 p.m.
(03:30):
to 7 a.m.
Sunday morning, and then Sundayfrom 7 p.m.
to 7 a.m.
Monday morning.
Monday morning classes werehard.
But the thing I always sharewhen somebody is impressed by
graduating early– It wasn'tbecause I was smart.
It was just because I was cheap.
I did graduate from high schoolin three years at age 16.
And that was just because I'dmanaged to get all the courses
(03:52):
done.
I wanted to play professionalfootball, basketball, and
baseball, but I wasn't goodenough to do any of that, not
even play at college level.
So I realized the only reasonI'd hang around for my senior
year was just to play sports.
And that seemed kind of like awaste of time.
So I decided to go on tocollege.
I remember signing up at UT atKnoxville for my first semester
(04:12):
right back at that time.
It on a quarter system.
And I remember the lady, Ialways remember this moment,
this lady says, well, it's$172 aquarter, and you have to take a
minimum of 14 hours to befull-time.
I said, well, that's fine.
And what's the maximum number ofhours you can take?
Well, you can take as many as22.
And it's the same price.
I can get 22 hours for the sameprice.
Then give me 22 hours.
(04:34):
So if you just do that overthree years, you graduate early.
So that's how that happened.
But I think a lot of the workethic came from my parents.
And they set a great example forme and instilled it in at a very
early age.
SPEAKER_01 (04:47):
You took a huge leap when you graduated and got into
the workforce in your career instarting radio systems.
What was the original idea andwhat gave you the convictions to
risk it all to start thatcompany?
SPEAKER_00 (05:02):
Well, it was a series of things.
So maybe kind of lead throughthe sequence.
So when I first got out ofcollege, I went to work for my
father, worked for him for aboutfour years, learned a tremendous
amount in that experience.
If I were recommending to anyyoung person going into the
workforce, the first jobshouldn't be about money.
It should be about continuingyour education.
And I learned a ton working formy dad in those first four
years.
But at age 23, I realized whatmost young men learn at some
(05:23):
point in time.
My dad wasn't really that smartand he was underpaying me.
So I decided to start my ownbusiness.
Within six six months it fell,and I noticed you were smiling
at him because you know thepunchline.
After about six months, Irealized my dad was a lot
smarter than I gave him creditfor, but I was too proud to go
back.
So I started a second business,which was very glamorous.
I had a Dodge Maxi van with noair conditioning and no radio.
I would load it full of electricfencing supplies for cattle and
(05:46):
horses and sell them to littlefeed and farm stores all over
Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
A typical rack job of the kindof guy that you see that walks
into a store with a clipboard,takes inventory, writes down my
order, goes out to the truck,brings the stuff, puts it on the
shelf, and They'd usually let meuse their price gun.
They trusted me.
I'd price the product for them,take my order pad back into the
back and ask them for a check,which was usually either...
(06:09):
You know, the average order isabout$100.
And then I get my little van,drive 30 miles down a country
road to the next door, do that10 times.
And until the end of the day, Istay at the best hotel you could
possibly find for under$18 anight.
They're still out there.
Pass by those.
Sometimes there's a hotel that'son the road to the current
baseball stadium, our oldbaseball stadium.
(06:32):
And it's called the SunbeamHotel with eight rooms, cinder
block, gravel parking lot.
And you think, like, who staysin a place like that?
Well, your friend sells them.
in places like that.
When you're starting yourbusiness, you do everything you
can to save money.
But I mentioned I didn't haveair conditioning.
That was also, this is a theme,being cheap.
I heard that air conditioningused up gas and I didn't want to
(06:52):
waste any extra gas just to keepme comfortable.
But I didn't have a radio onpurpose because I wanted to make
sure I was listening to mycustomers.
I didn't want anything todistract my thoughts.
And if you listen to yourcustomers long enough, they'll
tell you what you want to hear.
And after about six years, mycustomers started asking me for
this product called theInvisible Fence.
They said the kind of thing thatevery salesman likes to hear.
Doesn't matter how much itcosts, we'll buy as many as you
(07:13):
can get.
Well, that sounds interesting.
So this will be a much longerstory, so I'll just cut to the
punchline.
Bet everything I owned, whichwasn't very much, on designing
my own version of an invisiblefence.
The company that had thatoriginal brand had a patent that
was getting ready to expire.
We introduced the product in1991, and it took off.
Eight years later, we wereselling 10 times more than the
(07:35):
original invisible fence companywere able to go back and buy
that company.
SPEAKER_01 (07:39):
It is is hard to put into words the amount of or the
size of the pit that exists infolks' stomachs, particularly
entrepreneurs that are thinkingabout starting a business.
And there are moments along theway when I think you naturally
question, was this a good idea?
Was it a bad idea?
Were there moments along yourjourney where it was close to
(08:03):
not working, where you thoughtthis thing's going to fail?
And how did you push throughthose moments?
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
Yeah, so let me tell you two stories.
I'll tell you my story, but I'llalso tell you my dad's story.
So my dad also, back to hisexample, when I left his
company, I actually kind of madeit a much more interesting and
funny story about just what Isaid earlier about I felt like I
was being underpaid and my dadwasn't that smart.
The truth was he was in aChapter 11 at the time.
(08:30):
They were in a really toughtime.
And I remember going to him oneday with the vice president of
sales.
And both of us go up to him andsay, you know, Dad, we're such a
big hole.
It would be easier just to closeup the business and start again
than try to dig yourself out ofthis hole.
And I always remember himlooking at me and say, son, you
can never quit.
I have a responsibility to mystockholders.
(08:52):
I have a responsibility to mycustomers.
I have a responsibility to myemployees.
I have a responsibility to mycustomers.
All of them are counting on me.
I can't quit.
And as bad as things were, hemanaged to turn it around.
And he was always attesting tome that nobody can make you
quit.
Quitting is just a decision ofwill.
At some point, you just decide Ican't take it anymore and quit.
(09:12):
But nobody actually makes youquit other than yourself.
And so he set a great example.
I had some really difficulttimes in those first five years.
The fun story is, in 1991, wehad a goal of selling 100 of our
PetSafe pet containment systemsa month.
We sold 3,000 in the firstmonth,$1 million in the first
six months,$5 million the nextyear, then$9 million, then$16
(09:32):
million, and so on.
The truth is, those first fiveyears were really, really
challenging.
We didn't think we were going tomake it.
I think the things that keep yougoing are at least twofold.
One, there's the obligation,like my dad described, to the
people that counted on you.
A lot of people believe in you,and you don't want to let them
down.
(09:52):
The second is still that dreamof what can be, and you know
what the possibilities andopportunities are.
Between the responsibility andthe dream, those things I think
help keep you, keep you going.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
It's really valuable lesson.
And I, when I hear you say noone can make you quit, you have
to be the one that quits.
I hear it also on the inversethat no one can create that
spark for you.
You've got to find a way and amotivation and something to, to
drive you forward because thisis not easy work and it would be
(10:25):
easier to just step back and,uh, Yeah.
(10:50):
an organization that has, frommy perspective, just continued
to grow and serves more and morestudents year over year.
But before you had any officialrole in government, I'm curious
what drove you to make thatinitial pivot, both in how you
spent your time and then as youthought about your philanthropy.
SPEAKER_00 (11:09):
Yeah.
So I think pivot would be thewrong word because it wasn't
like a moment in time when Iimmediately changed.
It was gradual and it wasserendipitous and unintended.
But I was at a pet conference,as you would imagine, with my
pet business in which at theconference, it was a charitable
event.
And at the conference, theperson stood up and talked about
how we're making the world abetter place for dogs and animal
(11:33):
welfare all across the country.
However, there are places in thecountry that are still
backwaters, like Louisiana,Arkansas, and you guessed it,
Tennessee.
And I don't know if this wastrue, but it kind of felt like
every other CEO in the room justturned and looked at me like,
how dare you?
So with that motivation, wentback and I like to think in big,
hairy, audacious goal terms.
(11:53):
I stole that term from JimCollins.
So what would be our BHAG?
And our BHAG was, let's makeKnoxville the most pet-friendly
city in America.
Let's just make it a littlebetter.
Let's make it the mostpet-friendly city in America.
How would we do that?
Created a team, created a wholeseries of initiatives, one of
which was to make Knoxville thecity that had most dog parks.
We want to make it a friendlyenvironment.
Met with our county mayor,offered some things for him in
(12:16):
return for his help withcreating these dog parks.
And like every good politician,he said, yes, but I need you to
help me with my dream.
And his dream was to make sureevery kid in Knox County could
go to technical school orcommunity college free of
tuition and fees.
So we created this program thatstarted off being called Knox
Achieves, then morphed intoTennessee Achieves.
(12:37):
Within five years, we weresending 5,000 students a year to
technical and community college,all provided free of charge by
private donors in 26 countiesall across the state.
It's incredible.
SPEAKER_01 (12:49):
Talent and ingenuity is hard to keep hidden,
particularly for you when a lotof these conversations are
happening in a community whereyou've got so many connections
with folks that are invested inthe same thing.
But you were soon tapped byformer Governor Bill Haslam to
champion college access andcompletion work and were the
(13:12):
driving force behind programslike Tennessee Promise and Drive
to 55.
I'm curious, what was it liketranslating your entrepreneurial
mindset into state-level reformconversations?
SPEAKER_00 (13:26):
Yeah, well, first of all, I'll say that I was tricked
into the public service.
It wasn't ever my intention.
But the backstory, GovernorHaslam was the city mayor of
Knoxville when we started KnoxAchieves, and he was on my
board.
Then he became governor, saidthis was a really good idea.
Why don't you roll it out acrossthe state?
So that's kind of how we becamestatewide.
In case I don't get a chance tosay this later, fast forward to
(13:46):
the end, Last year, wecelebrated sending 133,000
students to college.
They've performed over 5 millioncommunity service hours and
being mentored by over 90,000volunteers over the 17 years
we've had the program.
It's been a tremendous success,all due to the leadership and
the team that we have there, notme.
Anyway, because of that, thegovernor asked me, and I
(14:09):
remember it was the RepublicanConvention 2012, and he pulls me
aside and said, hey, I'd likefor you to come work for me in
state government in highereducation.
I got a petition.
position.
I'm not going to mention theposition because then you'd know
who I was going to be replacing.
But when he mentioned it to me,I said, no way.
I'm not going to work ingovernment.
I'm a business guy.
Government's too slow.
It's too bureaucratic.
(14:30):
I could never do that.
But he was persistent.
I said, okay, I'll lead a taskforce for three months.
We'll look into higher educationinitiatives, see what big ideas
we can come up with.
After three months, we had somebig ideas, but they were just
ideas on paper.
Somebody needed to help get themlaunched.
So then I made a big leap andvolunteered to spend a year as I
(14:53):
get to make up a title, SpecialAdvisor on Higher Education.
It was amazing, by the way, foryour listeners out there, this
is some probably not very usefulprofessional advice, but it's
amazing the kind of jobs you canget when you're willing to work
for free.
So people ask me, how does a dogfence salesman become Special
Advisor on Higher Education?
You work for free.
But anyway, he offered me, weagreed on this, to do it a year.
(15:15):
And I learned two things, one ofwhich I already knew at the end
of the year.
Government is very slow and verybureaucratic.
But if you want to make animpact in the world, it's the
best place to do it.
At the end of the year, we'reable to have created something
called the Drive to 55, anoverarching vision for our state
to go from 32% post-secondaryattainment to 55% by the year
(15:38):
2035 or 2025.
It was a A business person, as aphilanthropist, to be able to
create a vision that can rallyyour entire state is virtually
impossible.
But at the state level andpublic service, you could do
that.
And the second thing was we wereable to create something.
We did a lot of initiatives, butI'll pick just one.
(15:59):
We were able to take that littleprogram we had called Tennessee
Achieves that was dependentday-to-day on me raising money
for its sustainability projects.
to incorporate it within thestate in a new program that the
governor was able to announcecalled Tennessee Promise in the
state of the state in 2014.
And at that state of the state,one of those memorable moments
I'll have with me forever.
(16:22):
So at the end of his state ofthe state address, in
conclusion, he stands up andsays, I now propose to you the
Tennessee Promise.
The Tennessee Promise will makeit possible for every student in
the state of Tennessee to go totechnical college, and community
college free of charge forever,and it won't cost the taxpayers
a penny.
And of course, the crowd goeswild.
(16:43):
Everybody stands up andapplauds.
They're all looking at eachother like, how is he going to
do that?
But we had a plan, and itworked.
And again, we've had a lot ofsuccess.
But that was the hook, that oneopportunity.
I realized that if I was in aposition in my life where I
realized everything that I wasgoing to do in the future was to
give back, to give back to allthe people that have given so
(17:03):
much to me.
And so if you're going to dothat, You want to put your
efforts around the places inwhich you can make the biggest
difference.
And public service is the waythat I could do the most good
for the most people.
SPEAKER_01 (17:13):
I remember that moment.
I was sitting in the galleryduring that speech.
And it was one of those momentswhere we had to kind of temper
our enthusiasm.
I was working for the NashvilleArea Chamber of Commerce at the
time.
And deeply concerned aboutworkforce pathways and just the
ability to fill the jobs thatare coming.
(17:37):
And then after the initialenthusiasm, it was kind of the
same thing.
It's like, well, how hard isthis going to be to get over the
finish line?
I also remember as you'retalking about that task force
meeting, I was reminded ofsitting in those meetings around
these really long tables at anondescript state building.
(17:57):
And what struck me about thosemeetings as I'm thinking about
it now is just how differentthey were from every other
meeting I'd had with any otherelected official, government
official, legislator,bureaucrat, because they seemed
to have running through themthis really strong vein of
(18:18):
ideation and anything'spossible.
And for folks that don't oftenengage in government in any form
or fashion.
That generally isn't howmeetings are led.
There tends to be a, this isgoing to be hard because mindset
in a lot of conversations.
And that wasn't present there.
And I, until you were talkingabout it, I hadn't really
(18:39):
reflected on how unique thosetask force meetings were
compared to literally everyother meeting I'd ever been in.
I
SPEAKER_00 (18:46):
think, you know, I'll just say coming from a
family of entrepreneurs, beingan entrepreneur, I've approached
working at the University ofTennessee, working in state
government as an entrepreneurwould.
And I think when you do that,it's about, you know, how are we
going to get things done?
And then what things do we needto change to get there?
I always remember when I wascommissioner of BCD, my team
would often say, well, you know,but commissioner, that's the
law.
(19:06):
Well, okay, we can change thelaw.
I mean, I see these guys everyday.
They're making laws right andleft.
Some of them are not even thatgood.
We can change laws if we needto.
We're not going to break laws,but we can change laws.
So there's nothing that we can'tovercome.
SPEAKER_01 (19:20):
Right.
You're talking about a ofentrepreneurs, you being an
entrepreneur, and we'rerecording this in the
Entrepreneur Center, you feel,I'm guessing, at home in that
space.
Going into a role in governmentprobably wasn't, I'm assuming,
natural to you.
How did you get comfortable inthat environment while also
(19:43):
building trust with the peoplearound you in order to get these
big, hairy, audacious goalsaccomplished?
SPEAKER_00 (19:49):
One of the things that you had to in public
service in state government andin higher education as well, is
that you have to have morestakeholders come along beside
you to have ownership in theidea before you can get
something off the ground.
So I like to say, in myexperience, from being an
entrepreneur, running abusiness, to public service, to
(20:11):
now higher education, there'sdifferent levels of persuasion
that you have to have.
If it was on a scale of one to10, if it's a business, I'd say
it's a level three.
Because you can't just, as abusiness leader, you can't just
say, autocratically say we'regoing in a particular direction
without having buy-in.
You've got to get your team tosupport your idea.
They need to embrace it.
They need to be enthusiasticabout it.
(20:32):
So there's a level of persuasionand buy-in, even if you're the
owner.
But if one of your employees,Adam, you're one of our
employees, and you say, youknow, Randy, that's a kind of a
cute vision, nice strategy, butI'm not really into that.
I don't want to do that.
And I say, well, Adam, this isprobably not the best place for
you.
You need to move along to findsome place that's better fit.
And state government's a littledifferent.
But you only have to get 51% ofthe people to support the idea.
(20:54):
So you need to get buy-in, butif you can get 51%, you can get
something passed.
The downside is if somebodydisagrees, you can't say, well,
maybe Kentucky's a better statefor you.
We're kind of stuck together.
But if you can get the majorityof the people to support, you
can get something done.
Higher education, I would put itabout an eight or a nine.
My current role as a universitypresident, because you have to
(21:14):
have student buy-in.
You have to have the parents whoare usually paying their tuition
to buy in.
Alumni have a big say.
Faculty have a really big say.
If you Don't believe me, askthem.
But they have a very big say.
And then, of course, as a publicuniversity, we belong to the
state of Tennessee.
So all the people of the stateof Tennessee and their elected
officials also have a say.
So it just takes a while to getthe support that you need.
(21:37):
So as a sales guy, you just gotto work harder and longer to get
that support.
But in the end, you can get somebig things done if you do.
But that's probably the biggestchallenge.
difference in being anentrepreneur in the public
sector to
SPEAKER_01 (21:55):
being an entrepreneur in the higher
education sector.
(22:17):
that you were free to have adifferent perspective than the
organization we were employed byon a particular project at a
different organization.
We all kind of understood theassignment.
You have said before that thiscould be the greatest decade in
the history of the University ofTennessee.
This will be.
This will be, excuse me, thegreatest decade in the history
(22:41):
of the University of Tennessee.
What does that vision look likein real
SPEAKER_00 (22:46):
terms?
Well, it's multiple things, butif you think about our land
grant mission and the three keybuckets, the first of which is
around education, and we have togrow.
We started off the decade at42,000 students.
We're now at 62,000 students.
Our goal is to get to 71,000 bythe end of the decade.
And some people might ask, well,so why are you growing?
(23:06):
Or is it for ego or forrankings?
I don't care about rankings.
It's because we are the landgrant university here to serve
the people of the state ofTennessee.
And the best Two ways we canserve around education is
providing more opportunity formore students.
One of the biggest challenges inmy job is having to tell parents
that their son or daughterdidn't get in because we didn't
have enough space.
(23:27):
So making sure that we providemore opportunity for more
students in the state ofTennessee to get a great
education from any of ourcampuses across the state.
So that's one side of thedemand.
school districts for ourteachers, hospitals for our
nurses.
So we've got a range ofshortfalls all across our state
(23:51):
that we have been sometimesuniquely can fill.
Been doing a lot of work withthe folks that are trying to
help Tennessee lead in thenuclear space.
University of TennesseeKnoxville is the national leader
in PhDs in nuclear engineering.
The only ones that can do someof this work.
So we have an obligation to meetthose needs.
(24:11):
So being the greatest decademeans growing our enrollment,
and we're doing that to meet thedemand of our students and our
employers.
And then the second part isgrowing our research.
Now, research today is at$482million a year.
We like to get it to a billiondollars by the end of the
decade.
And one of the things we weretrying to do a better job of is
(24:31):
telling the stories aroundresearch.
It's not just about dollars.
It's about the impact that wemake.
So it was a good example of asmall project that probably we
spent less than$2$200,000developing was an N95 mask that
was invented at UT.
And this mask saved millions oflives during the pandemic.
So research isn't just somethingthat academics track just on a
(24:56):
scorecard.
It's actually really making animpact in the lives of
Tennesseans.
And the third is actuallyengaging with the community and
actually having a direct impacttoday.
Hundreds of examples.
I'll just pick one.
The UT Health Science Centerprovides 70% of the dentists for
the state of Tennessee We haveone of the fewest dentists per
(25:17):
capita in the country, in thestate of Tennessee.
We have many counties that don'thave a single dentist.
Bad dental care leads to alltypes of bad outcomes for people
from bad health, bad jobprospects.
And so providing dental care isreally, really important.
So our UT Health Science Centerhad the idea of creating free
dental clinics across the statein which the students can
(25:39):
actually train.
So we've got three now.
We're opening another three, onein Union City.
We've got one in Kingsport.
We've got one in Knoxville.
But students will go there androtate for four weeks and
provide free dental care toindigent, low-income people that
need the care.
So we're making direct impact inthe health of Tennesseans.
And that's another way in whichwe measure our success in the
(26:01):
greatest decade is solving thegrand challenges of the state of
Tennessee.
It's really...
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
Fascinating.
I did not know that, thestatistic about dentists or the
masks.
And if you'll forgive the justreally bad pun and dad joke, but
there's a lot of wisdom in thatapproach to dental care.
You talked a little bit aboutenrollment, but under your
leadership, enrollment hasincreased.
(26:26):
UT Promise was launched.
The system has grown in itsscope, as you were talking about
in the research.
But I think what's alsointeresting in all of those
things is you have found a wayand you will tell folks often
that the costs are beingcontrolled, that tuition is
still affordable.
What have been the toughestcalls or the biggest wins in
(26:50):
that work over the last severalyears in order to make that
possible?
SPEAKER_00 (26:56):
So around how do we make the costs possible?
keeping the cost down
SPEAKER_01 (27:02):
well and i'm curious in particular uh you could
reduce costs or you could growthe scope and the enrollment
you've managed to do bothsystem-wide and that that
doesn't feel a accidental or beeasy and i'm curious how you how
you navigated that in a way thatallows the university to
(27:25):
continue to thrive?
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
First off, let's just go back over the numbers
because there is a myth outthere and it's constantly
perpetuated that the cost ofcollege is skyrocketing.
Tuition is skyrocketing.
One of my favorite newscasters,Tom Keene on Bloomberg, just
last week I heard him mentionyet again about tuition
skyrocketing.
It's not skyrocketing.
At the University of Tennessee,over the last five years, our
(27:48):
average tuition has increased by0.8% per year.
The inflation rate I haven't gota check on it in the last three
months, but six months ago, itwas increasing by, on average,
5.2% during the same period oftime.
So relative terms, the cost of aUT degree is less expensive now
than it was just five years ago.
So we are keeping costs low.
We're also trying to make itmore affordable for more
(28:10):
Tennesseans.
You mentioned the UT promise,and not to be a one-trick pony,
but we had the Tennessee promiseand thought, well, this is
great, but it's only for acommunity college.
What could we do with theUniversity of Tennessee?
So we did some research back in2019 and found out that we could
do a last-ditch scholarship aswell.
We introduced it in 2019.
We've enhanced it since today.
If you have a family income ofunder$75,000 in your Tennessean,
(28:33):
you can go to any one of ourcampuses completely free of
tuition and fees.
That's two-thirds of allTennesseans make less than
$75,000.
So two-thirds of all Tennesseanscan now go to University of
Tennessee free of tuition andfees.
So those are some of the ways inwhich we're trying to make sure
that we're continuing to beaffordable to more Tennesseans.
We had to have accessibility.
We had to make sure that morecan enter, but we also have to
(28:55):
make sure that they can affordto come.
And two-thirds can go free oftuition and fees.
I think from how we manage ourcosts...
We're taking a businessapproach.
We're constantly finding ways tobe more efficient, more
effective at the work that wedo.
At the same time, like anybusiness, if you're growing
revenue faster than your costs,then it can help you offset any
(29:16):
increases in the price.
And the fact is that we've beengrowing at a very rapid rate.
Knoxville last year grew at6.6%.
Chattanooga grew at 4%.
UT Southern at 7.6%.
Martin at 8%.
So all of our campuses aregrowing.
And when you're growing, thatgenerates enough additional
revenue to cover whateveradditional expenses that you
have.
I
SPEAKER_01 (29:36):
think tactically, it makes sense.
I think your ability to tie allof that together in a really
clear vision and get peopleinvested goes back to the point
we were talking about earlier,that you've got a lot of
constituencies that are investedin various ways.
And the fact that This hashappened over the last few
(29:58):
years, I think, is nothing shortof remarkable.
And as a citizen of the stateand the parent of a child who
has decided that that's wherethey're going to go next.
already still several years off.
It's exciting to see the ways inwhich the university is
continuing to think and beforward-looking.
SPEAKER_00 (30:20):
Can I interrupt?
Of course.
I'm just having a moment ofanxiety and worrying that maybe
we might not be able to– peoplewill finish this interview and
give me too much of the credit.
So I'm the person that talksabout all the great work that
we're doing at the University ofTennessee, but I don't actually–
do any of the great work that wedo at the University of
Tennessee.
It's our team.
We've got a tremendous team,starting with the leaders of our
(30:42):
campuses.
So one of the things that I'mtasked with, and probably the
most important thing I do, ishiring great leaders.
And I've been fortunate to hirethree great leaders at UT
Knoxville, at UT Martin, and atthe UT Health Science Center.
We're now in the process ofgetting two new ones at UT
Chattanooga and UT Southern.
But that's where it starts,hiring great people to lead.
And so I'm very proud of thework that the team has done, but
(31:05):
it's the team and the leadershipThose campuses, they get all the
credit.
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
But they understand the uniquenesses of the areas
that they serve and theconstituencies that they serve.
And from my view, are able tofind ways to have that vision,
continue to show up, fill themission, and also be authentic
and represent the communities inwhich they're engaged.
And I think that that says a lotabout the values and the ways in
(31:50):
which leadership is organizedaround the entire system, that
you've got high performers in alot of different corners of the
system.
all moving in a shared directionand are aligned around a course
of common values.
And I think there are a lot oflessons there that we could
extend this into the third andfourth hour of the podcast.
(32:13):
But we're not going to do thattoday.
SPEAKER_00 (32:15):
I'll say, since I am in the process of hiring two new
chancellors now, and I hadinterviews with three of them
yesterday, I'll share with youand your listeners what I shared
with them as I reflect on yourcomments about this great team
that we have now.
Three things that I'm lookingfor more than just three, but
these would be three big things.
One, they have to buy into themission.
And our mission as a land-grantuniversity is to serve the
(32:37):
people of Tennessee.
We're about service, and they'vegot to understand that.
You know, there's someuniversities, maybe they're an
elite private university thatmaybe has its own separate
mission to educate people.
elite students from all aroundthe world and send them off to
do great things in the world.
And that's great.
And we do a bit of that.
But our mission is to serve thepeople of Tennessee.
(32:57):
So they have to come in with aservice mindset and understand
that we're here as a public goodto make it make a difference and
fully embrace that mission.
The second thing is I want tohire innovative, even disruptive
leaders.
I think you mentioned maybe it'ssomething that you can't train.
You've got to Sometimes it'sinnate, but you got to look for
(33:19):
those people that are willingto, to, uh, Be bold and be
innovative and not take no foran answer and try to find ways
to solve problems.
And so we hire for that.
And the third thing that wehaven't talked about that's
really important is aboutteamwork.
We talk about one UT.
We're going to work together.
We do panels with all thechancellors and myself from time
to time.
(33:39):
We did the last two State of theUniversity addresses.
Rather than me just getting upand giving a lecture or speech,
we decided, let's just have allthe chancellors and I on a panel
and we'll just talk about keytopics.
And we joked at the end of thefirst one that we did that we
could all finish each other'ssentences.
But we can because we're workingtogether so closely.
We have monthly meetings.
We're constantly on the phoneworking together to solve
(34:01):
whatever new issue might beconfronting us.
And so building that team andwhen we hire them in, they go to
understand you're part of ateam.
You're not just the chancellorof UT Chattanooga.
You're part of the one UT teamand we're going to be working
together to solve things andseek opportunities.
SPEAKER_01 (34:20):
Yeah, that's great.
Your philanthropy, I'd love tokind of shift a little bit to
the work that you do from acharity and investing
communities a little bit.
It has spanned everything frommental health to education to
dog parks and baseball.
(34:40):
Connect all of that for me.
What's the through line for youthat connects all of those
seemingly diverse communities?
areas of philanthropicinvestment.
SPEAKER_00 (34:51):
Sure.
First, maybe just a personalbackground on giving back.
So I was a Boy Scout growing upand then Boy Scout master for 17
years.
In Boy Scouts, you have themotto, be prepared, and the
slogan, do a good turn daily,all of those things.
But there's one that peopledon't reference as often, and
that's the code of the outdoors.
But as I would teach the boys,the code of the outdoors is that
(35:12):
there's actually a longerversion, or the short version is
leave every trail better thanyou found it.
And as I would share with them.
It is literal.
If we're on a hike, if we're ata campsite, if there's a gum
wrapper, if there's something,you're going to pick it up.
We're going to leave it betterthan we found it.
But it's also a metaphor forlife.
We want to leave every placewe've been And so that's been my
(35:35):
quest.
And I also found that you canonly affect so many things.
So find the things that you'remost passionate about.
For me, education has alwaysbeen my greatest passion.
I feel like education is theinflection point of everything.
If you can improve education,that's usually the foundation of
so many other problems, fromcrime to health to economic
(35:56):
development.
If we can fix education, you canimprove all those things.
So that's been my personalpassion.
A few years back, we created afoundation.
And so you mentioned some of theother aspects of our foundation,
the work we do.
When we created the foundation,my family is on the board, and
they all have a say.
So my wife, my two sons, mydaughter-in-law, and they also
(36:18):
have their passions.
So three out of the five of us,my wife in particular, is a
musician and is passionate aboutthe arts and about music.
And so...
That's become part of ourpillar.
My daughter-in-law has been verypassionate about mental health.
We all are to a degree on all ofthese, but there's a lead in the
(36:39):
family that's usuallychampioning a particular issue.
I think that spectrum, there'sfour areas, mental health,
animal welfare, education, andthe arts.
Those are our four pillars.
We try to stay focused on that.
Anybody that has a foundation oranybody that's a philanthropist
will tell you that you reallyhave to have some type of
discipline because Everything'scoming over the transom and
(36:59):
you've got to have some way tofilter.
Otherwise, you really don't knowthat you're having an impact.
So try to find a few areas thatyou're passionate about and
focus on those that you can havethe maximum amount of impact.
SPEAKER_01 (37:10):
Yeah, the leave it better than you found it is so
applicable in so many ways.
And I love your point aboutbeing literal.
Also, as a Boy Scout, EagleScout and Middle Tennessee
Council, those were– They werevery simple ways to institute
(37:31):
just an ethos in your life thatit's easy to pick up the gum
wrapper or to make one littlething better.
What do you think– as you thinkabout philanthropy, you talked a
little bit about having somediscipline and some strategic
approaches there.
But what do you think ismisunderstood about
(37:53):
philanthropy?
Philanthropy, the way that itsupports communities, especially
from someone who is a builder oran operator as they're making
that transition to engage inphilanthropic work.
SPEAKER_00 (38:06):
Interesting question.
First three things that come tomind.
First is transparency.
One shouldn't duplicatesomething that's already out
there.
One of the things I think toomany new nonprofits make the
mistake of doing is they have anidea because there's a need that
they see.
And before they actually do theresearch, they start a new
enterprise in which there'salready 10 other people doing
the same thing or somethingsimilar.
(38:27):
So before you launch somethingnew, make sure that you do the
research and see if you can justpartner with or support
something that's already outthere.
I think a second thing that wesee a lot, especially sitting
across the table as the fundersto a lot of people with ideas.
So a lot of people have a lot ofpassion for areas in which
(38:48):
there's tremendous need withoutany business plan.
And in the end, a nonprofit,you're doing it because you
care, because you're trying tomake a difference, but it's a
business.
You're going to have to havefunding sources and you've got
to have an operating expenseplan and you're going to have to
measure your impact.
And I think that's somethingthat too often people just, they
(39:10):
want to do good, which is great,but they do need to have a
business plan.
And that's, I think that'ssomething that's often
overlooked.
And then I think just beingcollaborative with the others in
your community.
I was a big proponent of UnitedWay.
And one of the things thatUnited Way is good at doing
because they fund so many peopleis that they were able to in a
(39:33):
way force differentorganizations to work together
and just like I mentioned UT areworking together as one UT same
is true with non-profits there'ssynergy and greater impact when
you can work together andpartner because most of the
problems we're trying to solveare broader than the one thing
you're doing if you're bigbrothers big sisters I mean
(39:54):
you're mentoring a young boy oryoung girl they probably have
food insecurity issues there maybe mental health issues there
may be substance abuse issuesall in that family.
And you need to find otherpartners to help work together
to solve these endemic problemsthat we have in society.
It's not just one solution.
SPEAKER_01 (40:13):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
It I keep coming back to thestrategy and the discipline even
early on in your in yourprofessional experience.
One of the things that Imentioned at the beginning of
the show was your ability tohandle and navigate things with
clarity.
I have misquoted you or yourexperiences on a couple of
(40:35):
occasions and I.
Is it a goal to run on everycontinent?
Yes.
Okay.
Is it a goal to run on everycontinent?
SPEAKER_00 (40:42):
Yeah, that part is true.
I have four and I've added afifth.
So five big running goals.
I've completed two.
I've got two or three more togo.
What are the other two?
So one goal was to run 50 fullmarathons.
Another was to do the sixmajors, which is London, New
York, Boston, Berlin, and I'msorry, Tokyo, and Chicago.
Chicago.
(41:03):
So I've done that.
So when I did London two yearsago, that was my 50th and my
sixth of the six majors.
The other two goals are to do amarathon on every continent.
I've done Antarctica, get thehard one out of the way, second.
I've done five.
I'm doing Brazil in a month.
So that'll make six.
I'll do Australia next year.
And then the fourth goal is todo 100 half marathons.
I did number 95 this pastSunday.
(41:24):
So five more to go there.
So I'm getting close to the end.
My wife doesn't believe me,actually.
I just made this up like four orfive years ago.
So she said, yeah, Yeah, you'llhave another goal after that.
But I'll say, you know, running,I had two knee surgeries in 2023
and had to go almost a yearwithout running.
And for me, running is for myphysical health, but it's also
(41:46):
for my mental health.
That's why I talked aboutclarity.
That's my time to...
to think, to collect mythoughts, to organize, to dream.
And I really need that time inthe morning.
I usually run early in themorning.
So it's more than just physicalhealth.
It's also my mental healthstrategy as well.
SPEAKER_01 (42:05):
Well, I was going to ask, how do you stay energized?
But what I'm hearing is almostthat that's the thing that
energizes, that having that timeis what helps add the energy for
you.
Yeah.
So I have known you for over adecade, and there's a moment
that I'll never forget thatsticks with me where we had a
(42:29):
fundamentally differentperspective on an issue.
And otherwise, I think we'vegenerally been aligned on a lot
of things.
And you disagreed with theapproach that I had or that I
was taking.
And rather than avoid theconversation or avoid that kind
of just Hey, we've got adifferent vision on on this on
(42:50):
this project.
You leaned in.
You heard my perspective.
It wasn't a compellingperspective.
You continue.
You disagreed with my myperspective, but you told me
pretty directly and clearlywhere you thought I was wrong.
But we moved on.
That moment really changed how Ithought about a lot of the folks
(43:15):
that I engage with on a regularbasis and leadership in
particular, and youspecifically, not just as
someone who is a driven leader,but someone who, as I mentioned
earlier, leads with clarity andcandor and reminded me of
lessons from Clear as Kind,Radical Candor, that I'm curious
(43:39):
about.
the experiences that you've hadthroughout your career, what led
you to develop those traits orbeliefs?
(43:59):
Is that a thing that you dointentionally, or is it just a
product of the experiencesyou've had over
SPEAKER_00 (44:06):
your career?
I guess I would have to say it'sa product of the experience I've
had over my career, but it's aninteresting question, which I
haven't thought about whatspecific experiences led me to
this belief, but I would sayI've learned that being clear
and direct about a disagreementaround maybe an idea or a policy
(44:28):
can be constructive.
You can take courses on this,but it's not about conflict
avoidance.
It's about conflict management.
Conflict is natural.
In fact, I would say if you havea low conflict environment where
nobody is disagreeing, you'renot talking.
And that's how organizations getin big trouble when people
aren't pushing back andchallenging each other.
(44:48):
So conflict is natural.
You shouldn't avoid conflict.
It's how you manage it.
Being direct, being clear, beinghonest.
And you can disagree about ideasand not disagree with the
person.
It's the idea that you might notlike.
It's not the person that youdon't like.
So don't personalize it.
Also, I remember as a salesmanages ago, I remember hearing
someone, I can't remember, whoshared this one anecdote with me
(45:12):
that's always stuck As asalesman, the best answer is a
yes.
The second best answer is a no.
The absolute worst answer is amaybe.
Just tell me so I can move on.
If it's a no, I can go ahead andbuild another plan, but maybe
you just kind of linger.
I try to make sure that I kindof share that with others.
If I've got a doubt about yourplan or your idea, I need to be
(45:36):
honest with you up front so thatyou can course correct.
Sometimes I'll have aninterview, as I mentioned, and
I'll tell a candidate as they'releaving.
One of the things that peopleare going to be talking about
when you leave this room is thisparticular issue.
If somebody brings up thisissue, how should I defend you?
(45:57):
How would you defend yourself onthis?
But being upfront and askingpeople usually is the best way
to get clarity and come to asolution.
SPEAKER_01 (46:06):
Yeah, that's great.
I remember the first time youand I sat down in kind of a
one-on-one meeting.
The first question was, Out ofthe gate wasn't how are you
doing?
Where are you from?
It's what's your vision for thiswork?
And I think it's a good exampleof we know enough about why
(46:28):
we're here.
I need to get that clarity.
And I think hearing you talkabout providing it for others.
There's also value in makingsure that you are prepared for
those conversations to be ableto also provide that sort of
clarity.
There have been a number oftimes where I've seen people ask
versions of the questions thatyou're talking about, and folks
(46:52):
are unprepared to give thoseanswers, which is an
uncomfortable moment.
I'm curious, you got your start.
pretty early, 16 out of highschool, college at 19.
If you could go back to thatpoint in time, what advice would
you give to yourself that mighthave made your path easier or
(47:16):
more efficient as you'reprogressing through the various
steps in your career?
SPEAKER_00 (47:21):
Yeah, so I don't go back and try to second guess and
wish I had done somethingdifferent because everything in
your life leads you to whereyou're at now.
Even the smallest decision thatyou might have made differently
could have led you to acompletely different place.
And I'm perfectly happy whereI'm at and the place I'm at, the
work I get to do with my wifeand my granddaughters.
Any one small decision I madedifferently may have led to a
(47:43):
different place.
So I wouldn't take anythingback.
I think the only thing I wouldsay would be to be maybe more
comforted in my failures earlyon because I share this now at
commencements.
It's been kind of a fun thing todo over the last year.
But I'll to all the students.
I'm going to give you someadvice that probably you don't
(48:04):
normally get at a commencementand maybe I'm the only one doing
this this year at anycommencement anywhere in the
country.
But I want you to go forth andfail.
Because here's three reasonswhy.
One, you learn more from yourmistakes than you do from your
successes.
So you're always going to learnmore from your failures.
Two, you lose everything you'vegot, you're not going to lose
(48:24):
that much because you probablyaren't starting off with much
anyway.
And third, you're really young.
And so you get the rest of yourlife to benefit from those
mistakes.
So thinking back, there was aseries of mistakes.
The first business that Istarted was a mistake.
But I learned a lot of greatlessons.
And even the second business,the distributing business, was a
learning experience.
But through all those, I'vebenefited.
(48:46):
So I think maybe I would have,really it's not practical to
say, I know I'm making amistake.
I'm going to enjoy this mistakeand know that it's going to
benefit me.
You're not thinking that way atthe time.
But it is good to put yourselfout there and try.
And again, you earn more fromyour failures than you do from
your successes.
And so it's okay to get outthere and try and make a few
(49:07):
mistakes early on.
SPEAKER_01 (49:09):
Yeah, that's so good.
Thank you.
So much, Randy, for coming intoday and sharing a little bit
more about your incrediblejourney.
That is it for this episode ofCatalysts for Change.
Again, huge thank you to RandyBoyd for sharing his story of
scaling and starting and failingand starting again, shaping the
(49:30):
future of higher education inTennessee.
And in my view, and hopefully inyours as well, his story is
proof that one person driven byboth vision, clarity, and values
can leave in a Thank you againfor listening.
And until next time, I'm Adam.
(49:57):
I'll see you soon.
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