May 8, 2023 • 36 mins
Nelson details his distinct career journey from Payne Weber as an investment banker, Viacom and other media companies and how that has led him to his current career in the travel industry. During that career journey he shares the impact mentors had on his career and how a few hours with Quincy Jones had a profound impact on how he viewed his approach to mastering a career. He relates his own journey and how he has grown to appreciate the value and importance of understanding and valuing the people you work with and the customers you serve; the importance of authenticity and agility in leadership and how critical having and communicating a clear vision and values are to both personal and team success.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dorothy Dowling (00:02):
Greetings.
I am Dorothy Dowling, aprincipal of D E I advisors.
We are a nonprofit organizationdedicated to personal
empowerment.
I am delighted to welcome NelsonBoyce, managing director of
travel to our d e I show.
Nelson, welcome to our show.
It is such an honor to have youwith us today,
Nelson Boyce (00:19):
Dorothy.
I'm honored to be here and on apersonal note, it's such an
absolute pleasure to see you, myfriend.
Dorothy Dowling (00:24):
Thank you.
Right back at you.
So Nelson, we'd like to startwith your career because it
truly has been amazing.
Yes.
You have worked at so manyinnovative and significant media
brands and now with Google.
And obviously you're leading thetravel vertical, but I'm
wondering if you would mindsharing your career history with
us and how each of yourpositions enhance your journey
(00:46):
to becoming such a strategic andvalued media SEC media executive
in the travel category.
Yes.
Thank you.
And certainly.
I'll spare you all of the minutedetails of my of my history cuz
it's been a relatively long one.
And certainly travel was notnecessarily a destination, no
pun that I had in my mind.
Along the journey.
(01:07):
But I'm happy to talk to you alittle bit about how I made the
decisions and why I madedecisions at certain parts of
that journey.
So I've been at Google now foralmost eight years.
Most recently co-leading the UStravel advertising partnerships
that we have at Google.
Prior to that while still atGoogle, I managed the
relationship that Google haswith Publius Group in the us.
Prior to coming to Google, Ispent about 12 and a half years
(01:30):
with Viacom.
So all of the, what used toformally be called M t V
Networks once upon a time withbig brands like M T v,
Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
But most recently I'd been eastCoast SVP of sales for them at B
e t And then before that, spentthe vast majority of that time
with Nickelodeon in variouscapacities.
(01:50):
Most recently having beenleading the ad sales strategy
and business development groupwithin ad sales at Nick.
And then varied other positionsinclusive of managing the
digital ad sales forNickelodeon's portfolio managing
the ad sales both.
Digital and linear for Tnic,which was the teen targeted
property, fits nicely in betweenNickelodeon and M T V and then
(02:10):
before that running their newbusiness endeavors.
And then prior to my kind ofrealm in the cable television
space spent the vast majority ora good amount of my time in the
magazine business, somethingthat very few of us still
remember what those things are.
But it was really where I cut myteeth in the business.
And did some stints with bothheart honey and Heart and Soul
(02:32):
Magazines as well as as well asblaze Magazine and Vibe before
that.
And so been a long kind ofcareer in those places.
And then investment bankingbefore that was, which is really
the foundation for understandinghow businesses work.
I was in mergers andacquisitions.
At Payne Weber, which is nowrecognized broadly as ubs.
(02:53):
And that's really where I, I.
Foundationally both understoodthe mechanisms of how companies
are kind of work, being able tobe in a position of both, either
building up companies for saleor breaking down companies for
divestiture.
That's been the careertrajectory.
I think in all of those things,there's some level of sales and
(03:13):
marketing that comes into play.
Even if you're in finance you'retrying to figure out how you
make these numbers mostattractive for potential
investors.
If you're in direct to consumerin the magazine business, you're
trying to figure out how manydifferent ways can I say 50%
off, two for one, whatever thatmay be.
But there are all thesedifferent mechanisms of selling
that are involved in that.
And outside of things likeconstruction, I think in the
(03:35):
space of selling, it's one ofthe very few jobs where you can
see the fruits of your labormanifest themselves in media
that ultimately gets placedacross.
Solutions and platforms that youcan take a lot of ownership in,
right?
There's an incrementality to thenotion of, had it not been for
me, being involved with thatpartner, that campaign, that ad
or whatever may not have foundfound its home in, on one of
(03:57):
our, on one of our properties.
And so I take a lot of pride in,in, in being able to do that.
And certainly with travel I takea lot of pride in having a small
part.
And trying to help and createunbelievable memories that
people will carry around for forthe entirety of their lives.
So it's been a, it's been a nicejourney a along the way.
And as a client on the otherside of the table, Nelson, in
(04:21):
terms of someone that has suchgreat respect for people that
are in the profession of salesand creating those mutual values
in terms of allowing people totell their story through
stories.
Through media properties.
It truly is where you have tobring a lot of strategic
thinking.
You have to have a deepknowledge of the brand Yes.
And try to understand theiraudiences and really help them
(04:44):
connect the dots in terms of howto really leverage the
properties that you bring tomarket.
Your career is truly amazingbecause I'm a fan of a lot of
those media properties that yourepresented over the years and
quite honestly, they were partof our media buy.
And it was always because theybrought such strong audience
value to us, and then it isability to really use that media
(05:04):
in terms of the narrative thatyou wanna bring to those
audiences.
Yes.
So thank you.
I know that you've had amazingmentors and allies throughout
your career.
Yes, Nelson.
And I'm wondering if there's anyparticular stories that you
might be able to share that weretransformational on your career
journey.
Oh my goodness.
There, there are two points intime that I think Were extremely
(05:26):
helpful in helping to craft mymindset in, in, in my approach.
All with a foundation of havingluckily and gratefully two, two
parents who were north stars forfor those things as well.
But I will say there are twokind of moments that I had that
I can remember very clearly.
One was when I first got intomanagement.
(05:47):
And Dorothy, admittedly, I waslike the Alec Baldwin character
and Glen Gary, Glen Ross, whovery much came in with a fire
and brimstone, one size fits alltype of attitude.
And I was all, always about we,we've gotta hit the numbers and
treated my, the entirety rightof my direct reports.
With kind of a broad brush,right?
(06:08):
And really didn't pay attentionto the nuance of each
individual, to the notion of ofhaving to respect people and
meet them where they are so thatyou can really nurture them and
find out those levers, right?
That you can push or pull inorder to try to get the right
outcomes while having peoplefeel valued.
(06:28):
While having them feel seen andwhile having them feel heard.
Now as a, as I've alreadyarticulated, you clearly
understand I did not have anunderstanding of this and it was
my mentor.
At the time, my boss, my salesmanager, a guy named Lynn
Burnett who said, Nelson, lemmetell you something.
You you've got the potential tobe a great manager.
You clearly were a greatsalesperson.
(06:50):
And we believe in you in termsof the things that you're
capable of.
What you're not gonna see isthose people that you are
addressing believe in you.
Because you are trying to brushthem with a broad brush, right?
And you're painting them with abroad brush rather in, in terms
of your approach, right?
You are going to have peoplejumping off the cliff because of
you and not for, not in supportof you.
(07:13):
And until you figure out how tochange that dynamic, that
approach and really think abouthow to.
Create more of a be bespokeengagement with the people that
are going to be, to help youachieve the business goals and
objectives and their ownpersonal development
professional, goals andobjectives.
You're gonna have some, you'regonna have some trouble.
(07:34):
So that was a, a inflectionpoint for me in terms of whoa.
Okay.
That was just some straightfeedback.
By the way, feedback is a gift.
And it was so meaningful to mebecause it really put me on the
right trajectory.
The second moment, which wasincredible which is around the
same time quite honestly, is Ihad the opportunity to shadow
Quincy Jones, the incredibleprolific Quincy Jones.
(07:58):
At a concert that we threw atVibe Magazine.
So I had this opportunity topretty much be his gopher for
about three to four hours, and Ijumped on the opportunity.
And so when given thatopportunity, I was, I just I
said, Hey man, we've got thistime together.
I hope you don't mind if I askyou a couple questions.
Yeah, man, in, in Quincy voice.
Yeah, man.
Go ahead.
And so I said, Quincy, how doyou become Quincy Jones?
Like, how does that happen?
(08:20):
And he said, young brother.
He said, all I wanted to do wasto be the best jazz trumpet
player possible.
That's it.
That's all I wanted to do.
And I was like, man, Mo, knowingwhat he has accomplished, that
seemed like a very narrow kindof answer for what he gave.
But then he elaborated, he wenton, he said, when I did that,
(08:40):
then the next thing you know,this guy Frank Sinatra comes
along, and now I'm composing forhis big band.
I'm leading his big band.
And then those things led to memeeting this young guy, Michael
Jackson, who ultimately I wenton to, produce a few of his
albums, some of which arearguably the best albums on the
face of the planet of all time.
And then I met this guy namedSteven and this woman named
(09:01):
Oprah.
And we created this movie calledThe Color Purple.
And I met this guy from SouthPhilly, who was probably a
better actor than he was arapper, and we created The Fresh
Prince.
But he said all of that to say,That sometimes it's important
for you to not get so far overyour skis in terms of thinking
about what that thing is thatyou want down the road versus
(09:24):
being able to be present in themoment to master and to excel at
the thing that you are doingright now in being the best at
that thing.
And he says when you do that, Itunlocks all of these
opportunities, some of which youdidn't even plan on, things that
(09:44):
you weren't even expecting tostart coming your way, because
there is a consistency ofpassion, of respect of the
business, of attention todetail, of mastering a craft.
These are kind of aspects andattributes that are
transferrable regardless of whatline of business you find
(10:08):
yourself in.
That are general, kind offoundational moments that you
just have to have in order to beprepared for when those
opportunities do come to takeyourself to the next level.
And I, so for me, those are twomoments, both in thinking about
how to lead with humility,vulnerability, trans,
(10:31):
transparency.
And And nuance to the secondpart of really just being in the
moment.
Don't think about the end title.
Don't think about the end game.
If you play the game right inthe middle, a lot of these
things ultimately revealthemselves to you over time.
Nelson, I don't know if I'm morein envy of you having a mentor
(10:55):
like Leo Burnett, who of courseis of the most spoken about
icons in the advertising space.
Nolin Lynn Burnett, not Leo.
Sorry.
That would be a whole different,ok.
But Lynn is a, in his own, is anicon in his own right.
Thank you.
But I do, I love that storyabout people being with you or
jumping off the cliff because ofyou, because I do think that
(11:17):
speaks to a lot of leadershipchallenges today that the person
that you work for is so criticalin terms critical of your
engagement and commitment toyour work.
I love that analogy.
And then also just the masteryof your craft in the present.
And making sure that you arereally bringing the best that
you can every day to your work,I think, are amazing lessons
(11:40):
because I do think sometimes wedo get ahead of ourselves and do
get over our skis in a wayinstead of really focusing on
the present and doingAbsolutely.
And bring our best every day.
So thank you.
And speaking of that lesson Iknow it, it leads into, because
I've had the privilege obviouslyof working with Google for many
years and Yes.
You have built remarkable teamsthroughout your career, but I
(12:04):
just know how your teammates theregard they have for you and oh
goodness how much they feel itis a privilege to be on your
team.
So I'm wondering if you canshare beyond this story that you
shared about what your secretsare.
To being such a strong peopleleader.
Yeah.
I use some of the adjectives inregard to the engagement that I
(12:25):
had, around getting the feedbackfrom Lynn Burnett.
But I, and I will tell you thatI do think there is there's a
couple things in that recipe,right?
So when I think about theattributes that good leaders
that they show up with.
By the way, it's always a workin progress, right?
No one's perfect.
These are things that you cclearly have to think about and
work at.
But I, I think of the wordauthenticity.
(12:47):
I think of the word agility,right?
Because and listen, you and Ihave been in, in an area of the
business that we know you'vegotta be able to pivot and,
you've gotta be able to makemoves.
In order to, in some cases, juststraight out survive, right?
Authenticity agility,transparency, vulnerability.
(13:08):
I think many people think,vulnerability is a weakness.
I find it to be precisely theopposite.
I think when people can.
Feel the true empathy that youhave in many cases for their
circumstances and your abilityto then articulate similar
circumstances, I think bringscreates a certain amount of
(13:29):
trust and loyalty.
That is hard to.
And, and if you're doing it withauthenticity, I think that
really organically creates a avery strong type of
relationship.
And being consistent, the notionof communication communicating
as often and as early aspossible.
Largely Dorothy aroundexplaining the why.
(13:51):
Why it is that we show up, whyit is that we're doing what
we're doing, why it's important.
And so that brings me to thesecond parts beyond some of the
DEF definitions, which is why Ithink it's so massively
important to help people explainthat the why through having a
very clear vision, a very clearmission, and a very clear set of
(14:13):
values.
The vision is the desiredoutcome, the desired instate,
right?
Making it up.
If we're looking at December31st, 2023, what things would
then need to be true, right?
Or what?
What do we wanna be able to sayabout ourselves at that point in
time?
That's the desired outcome.
The desired state, right?
The how is the mission?
(14:34):
What are the things that we'regoing to employ?
In terms of making sure that weare on track or, how we go about
our business to get to thatdesired instate.
And then the values are what arethe things we believe in, right?
How do we treat one another?
Is there respect involved?
Do we have psychological safety?
Does everybody feel as thoughthat their voice is being, heard
(14:55):
and are they being seen?
And a, look, fun is a big partof it as well.
The reality of work is that weprobably spend at least one
third of our lives in theworkplace.
The other third, you should besleeping and the and the other
third is your business, right?
But you're spending a lot oftime with folks and in the
(15:15):
workplace.
And it's, it is important to beable to be excited about coming
to a place day in and day outand showing up with people that
you like and enjoy.
And then I think at the end ofit, at the end of it all just
being in the trenches.
As a leader is important aswell, right?
I think there, there's thisbalance of being in the weeds
(15:40):
and have, somewhat tactical orbeing tactical enough to feel
good about, inspecting what youexpect.
But then being able to also playor fly at a higher altitude and
really help to thinkstrategically about the business
and ultimately where you need togo.
And I think those things aremassively Im important around
(16:00):
building teams that, that reallyshow up and want to get after it
with you.
I have to say Nelson, just thevulnerability and the leadership
qualities that you bring to yourteam, I clearly understand.
But I do think thatunderstanding of the micro and
how it ties back to the macro isimportant for leaders because I
(16:22):
think that's often where thatspace of innovation.
Really occurs is when youunderstand the application of
how it actually transforms Yes.
Business and people.
So speaking of that I alsowanted to talk about your
customer leadership and you havejust added so much value to the
travel category and your timewith the business.
And I will re, I will state toyou that through Covid, your
(16:46):
team was incredible.
Incredibly meaningful to mebecause they were the ones that
reached out very early andwithout any commercial interest
whatsoever.
Wanted to understand how theycould help in whatever way that
might be.
Yes.
And that followership thatyou've created with your team
(17:06):
translates to the followershipthat you have developed with
your customers, and that is partof what.
I know you led with that team,but yes, I'm just wondering if
there are other components ofyour customer leadership that
you could share with ouraudience, because I am sure
there's a wealth of wisdom thatyou could bring to the table.
Yes, and a couple things come tomind first, right?
(17:28):
Look, we all work at companies.
We are all like, leaned in onthe business.
But when you strip the businessaside, just for a moment, you
gotta understand and recognize.
Every business, everything thatwe do is anchored in people.
(17:48):
It's in people and knowing thatI think really sets the stage to
allow for I think a couplethings that are really
important, the first of which isone, having empathy to someone
else's situation, right?
The empathy in many ways.
Leads to curiosity.
(18:08):
And I think curiosity is also animportant thing to have,
particularly as it relates tocustomers.
One on, Hey, help me tounderstand what things are you
on the hook to deliver?
How are you evaluated in theroles that you are, that you're
in?
And having a genuine interest inunderstanding the machinations
(18:29):
of that individual's.
Position in relative right, andrelative and relativity to, to
the environment of thecorporation that they're in.
Secondarily, it is a true andgenuine interest in
understanding the businessobjectives and the marketing
objectives of your client.
(18:50):
It's almost can you imaginebeing a doctor who just only
threw out prescriptions to folkswithout taking the time to
properly Evaluate, diagnose, andthen prescribe.
I think one of the things thatwe really try to impress in, in
our organization is to make sureyou're doing the proper due
(19:11):
diligence in, in order to reallyunderstand what are the
motivations, both of theindividual and both of the
organization, so that thosethings can most properly.
Tie to solutions that may helpthem to achieve, to amplify, to
accelerate against setobjectives.
(19:31):
And I think that's really, andthose things in my mind, if done
properly, are the things thatearn you the right, cuz a lot of
folks will show up in just whatwe, we're in a position we
should just be able to do what,whatever.
You gotta earn the right.
To be seen as a trusted partner.
And, I am probably ruthlesslyprioritized around the goals and
(19:55):
objectives of our partners suchthat my mindset is, will be in
generally always will be.
And this is not just at mycurrent place of employment.
If you do what's right by thepartner, you do what's right for
the business.
And that's been my mindset as asales professional the entire
time it's been that way as asales manager.
(20:15):
And my guess is that it'llprobably be one thing I don't I
don't back away from in, in thefuture.
I do think that mutual valuecreation of really understanding
individuals and their company interms of their business needs,
because you're right, Google isthe dominant player in the
space.
You represent a big chunk ofeveryone's media budgets, but
(20:37):
that depth of understanding thebusiness and the actual company
that you're supporting in thatbusiness environment has really
distinguished you and your teamin amazing ways.
Nelson, I know I speak fromgratitude because Google always
brought us amazing ways for usto outperform in the marketplace
and establish against a lot ofthe goals that we had.
(20:59):
So thank you.
If I may, I wanna talk a littlebit about negotiation because
you were with a lot of startups,big risk kind of media brands
that had tremendous exposure andvisibility in the industry and.
Negotiation in terms of bringingsome of those products to market
and really establishing theright kind of business outcomes
(21:19):
for your employer weresignificant parts of your career
journey.
Yes.
I'm just wondering if you cantalk a little bit about how you
prepared to go into thosesituations, how you were able to
ultimately prevail and reallybring the right kind of
negotiated solution to bothparties.
Yeah, I'll tell you, it's nottoo dissimilar to what I just
talked about.
Doing, doing the due diligence Ithink is massively important,
(21:44):
right?
The more you are in tune withthe other person on the other
side of the table, their, theirvision, their mission, what they
stand for, and how they'retrying to get there ultimately
allows for.
A better application.
If I've got an entire toolbox,I'm, I probably don't need all
the tools that are in thattoolbox, but there are probably
(22:05):
some key tools that I would wantto use in an effective manner
to, to try to get across thefinish line and doing some of
those things.
But I have to have a very goodunderstanding of the blueprint
in what the plan is in order toapply the right tools to, to the
right build.
And so the notion of duediligence is really important.
And in any great partnership, Ithink there is some level of a
(22:27):
symbiotic relationship and alevel of sacrifice that is
important on, on, on both sa, onboth ends, so that you create
ownership, you createaccountability, right?
And and it creates a notion ofskin in the game for all those
Involved, it becomes lesstransactional and more about how
(22:50):
are we helping each other tobuild something special.
And I think once you get it outof the frame of a mindset or
vernacular of a vendor versus apartner and move from a
transaction to a partnership.
(23:12):
Then that's where I think itbecomes a lot more interesting
and a lot more impactful.
And I think one of the thingsthat made me successful in that
is that I never necessarily sawmy role being the negotiator at
the table as being one that wasonly solely interested in the
media relationship.
(23:32):
That was an important aspect ofa lot of the negotiations in,
in, in my past, but it alwayswas.
I, I think where I found a lotof success was trying to figure
out where were the opportunitiesto try to expand to other
aspects of the company that Iwas part of in order to bring or
try to figure out what were allthe things that we could try to
(23:53):
bring to bear that would makethis more of a holistic and
symbiotic relationship than justthe reliance upon a media
relationship.
I appreciate the way you havereally framed up.
Professionalism of sales becauseI do think in today's
environment they say, thecustomer's 80% informed before
(24:14):
they come to any kind ofbusiness discussion because of
just the proliferation and theaccessibility of information
today.
When I hear you talk about thattrusted relationship is becoming
a business partner, and thenit's also that consulting value
that you're bringing in terms ofreally establishing how to solve
the customer's needs in apowerful way.
(24:35):
And that is why I have so muchPersonal admiration for really
great sales professionals,because I do think that is what
really distinguishes them isthat they do put the time into
due diligence.
They really understand thecompany, they understand the
category, they understand whatis happening in the broader
economy.
Yes.
And they really try to preparein terms of sharing ways that
(24:59):
business outcomes can really beachieved.
So yeah, it is that state ofpreparation.
Yes, your use of the worst the,your use of the word cons
consultant or consultative?
I think is spot on, right?
That to me is like the, the peakof what you strive for as
someone who's in the sellingbusiness, right?
(25:19):
If there are 10 desks at companyA and nine are occupied, I wanna
be in the 10th desk.
And not necessarily because I'm,I am trying to sell you
something.
It's because I am trying to bepart of the conversation, right?
I want to be the first call thatsomebody makes when they're
(25:39):
noodling on something.
I don't wanna be the recipientof an rfp.
I want to help craft the rfp.
And it's really that kind of, Ithink, change in the mindset
around really trying to Offer alevel of value that that helps
to change that dynamic.
For sure.
For sure.
Nelson, I'm just wondering if wecould move on to career
(26:01):
achievements.
Sure.
You've shared a few with us aswe've been talking, but I'm
wondering if there is anyparticular moment in your career
that you are particularly proudof and if you'd be willing to
share it.
Oh, goodness.
Yes.
I'll tell you, Dorothy it was,and you talked a little bit
about this before, but for me itwas how we showed up for
(26:24):
partners during the pandemic.
And how we showed up for eachother during the pandemic.
And by that more of a of kind ofan internal piece, right?
There's both the, there's theexternal piece and then there's
the internal piece.
And here, here, the brass taxes,as a leader of a business that
was exponentially impacted bythe pandemic.
(26:48):
It became, IM important to thinkabout how.
We make sure that we're managingto the business in the state
that the business was, andinternally that meant thinking
about how we, we resourceagainst the current time.
And, being able to try tomaintain morale during those,
(27:10):
times like that or being able tosee that and sometimes the
absence to your point of thecommercial side of a
relationship, that there arestill many opportunities to
continue to take things at onepoint in time, may have been on
the back burner, but try to movethem to the front burner.
What are the things, thefoundational pieces that we
could be trying to put in pplace over the course of this
(27:32):
time that will ultimatelyposition us?
For recovery, which we know atsome point will come, but not
only the recovery, but be ableto accelerate through that
recovery.
And that's really more of theexternal side in terms of
understanding that the marketingdepartments in many cases of our
partners had been completely,devastated.
(27:55):
Yeah.
How can we continue to bepresent?
How can we continue to addvalue?
How can we continue to help ourpartners think about what things
would need to be true as theythink about the route to
readiness?
Coming back into an ecosystemwhich we all, I believed, felt,
(28:15):
although it was hard at the timewould recover at some point over
time.
And so being present for myteam, And being present for my
partners to me is probably oneof the things I'm most proud
about in my career.
(28:36):
Because when I think, and I, ifI fast forward down the road, I
don't want to be, I.
Remembered as a person who, oh,Nelson was a, he drove this
amount of revenue, or he, he wasvery s you know, successful at
driving said outcome.
The things I believe I would be,I will I will be most proud of.
(28:59):
And I think as I think aboutwhat does it mean ultimately to
have the notion of a legacy willbe that Nelson cared about his
people.
He provided pathways of growthand opportunity for them, but he
also cared about his partners inthe same exact way, and he was
just a good person to to engageand to work with.
(29:22):
And if that is, is what peoplethink about or somehow those are
the types of feelings that are.
Created when they do think aboutme and I'm long gone, then I've
done exactly everything that Iwas supposed to do.
That's so unbelievably Trump'sany kind of title or, normal
course of, of career accoladethat I could ever receive.
(29:44):
And yeah, that's, that, that'swhat matters.
I just wanna offer to you,Google was the first call that I
took.
The day after we had to lay off70% of our team, and the first
call was just about checking in.
And the next calls were reallyabout how can we help you
prepare for the recovery whenthe time comes.
(30:05):
So yeah, you led your teamexceptionally well through that
period.
Nelson and I for one, and I knowI was only one of the many
clients at your team outreachto, but it certainly represented
all of those values that, that Ithink reflect on you as an
individual that reflectedextraordinarily well on Google
and certainly I think offered somuch leadership value to your
(30:26):
team.
So I just would like to saythank you for that.
Greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I'm wondering if I can move onbecause I know for you you're a
type A personality.
I know I'm a type A personality.
You've had to balance a reallydemanding career, but I know
that your son is extraordinarilyimportant to you.
(30:47):
Yes.
And I'd like to understand howdid you balance some of your
work and the life demands andcarve out time to be an
important parent for your son?
Yeah.
Oh wow.
Goodness.
Now I'm gonna try not to getemotional because he is such an
unbelievably Just genuinelysweet and kind young man.
(31:11):
So let me just start by sayingthat he's myself and all credit
to his mother as well.
I think we, we've done a greatjob in, in, in trying to help
him find his own pathway in, inwhat he's doing now.
So that aside but I think it's alot of things and I, you have
remember, the term.
You when you're on the plane andthey're you're getting ready.
And they say, if something wereto happen, you've gotta put on
(31:32):
your mask before you can put onthe mask of someone adjacent to
you.
And that's because you won't bearound if you're not breathing
yourself to be able to do anygood for anybody else.
And so I, I bring that up tosay, I think there's a certain
amount and a notion.
Of having to be extremelycentered in your own self care
(31:53):
and the awareness of that selfcare before you can be of
assistance and give to othersin, in, in the ways that you
would like.
And so for me, being able to bea, an effective father or
present for my son means I gottamake sure I'm taking care of
myself and.
And that's everything from, Itry to work out four or five
(32:13):
times a week and some of thesearen't significant.
10 minutes is better thannothing, right?
But it helps to clear the mind.
It helps to clear the conscienceand really gives you energy for
us, for us to carry on and whatwe, are all extremely busy
lives, right?
I try to meditate often, right?
Or just get quiet time to myselfjust to think and to be, and to
(32:36):
pause, if you will.
I see a therapist every coupleweeks.
I, I'm a proponent for everyoneto have a therapist, someone
who's not in your day-to-day, bythe way, someone who doesn't
necessarily have the solutions,but pros, you.
With the right types ofquestions for you to be on a
journey of answering thosequestions on your own.
And then what I, it would besomething that I call Al, albeit
(32:58):
for me, they can sometimes getblurred a bit just because of
the nature of the business.
And sometimes you can't alwayskeep things the way you want'em,
but try to create boundaries.
Hey, maybe you don't answeremails after nine o'clock,
right?
Or you when just boundaries,right?
Of when you're available, whenyou're not available, when that
(33:20):
is your private personal time.
Clearly there are exceptions toall of those things, right?
That, that come up.
But if you try to.
Create those things andcommunicate those things with
the people that you work with.
And there's generally a respectfor trying to maintain those
lines.
And then, I come back to thisnotion of fun.
What is the thing that, that itis that you do in order to make
(33:42):
the moments that you do havewith loved ones, all the more
special and as it relates to myson, he's a big basketball fan.
I'm a big basketball fan and wego to, so we're, Atlanta Hawks.
I'm in Atlanta.
We try to go to as many games aswe can.
I'm a season ticket holder.
But I will tell you, those arethe moments that I relish,
(34:04):
right?
That I just, I'm that I justsimply love because it's our
time.
Together around a subject,around a topic around an event
that we enjoy fully with oneanother.
It brings us joy.
It gives us something to talkabout and it gives us something
to to to bond on.
It's that and music actually,for us, it ironically we
(34:27):
purposefully shared the sameplaylist.
On on, on our music, the musicplatform that we use, largely
because I want to know what he'slistening to, but I also want
him to be acknow to acknowledgeand respect, and he doesn't have
to listen to it there, what isthis stuff dad used to listen
to?
And as a developing he's reallyinto music production.
(34:48):
I think that relationship hasalso opened up his aperture.
To think about how he can usedifferent styles of music and
different things in his ownmusic.
And I think those sharedexperiences just allow us to
open the aperture, but it startswith taking care of yourself
because I would be no good to myson unless I did that first.
You packed a lot of wisdom intothat response, Nelson.
(35:10):
I appreciate that because I dothink as senior executives, that
element of taking care ofyourself is critically important
to absolutely your wellbeing andyour team's wellbeing, but
connecting the dots in terms ofhow.
It also is valuable to yourfamily and your son because you
were a role model for him as hestarts to observe and learn just
(35:31):
by watching.
Yeah.
But I do I'm just so incrediblygrateful to have had this
opportunity to speak with youtoday.
Nelson, you have been someoneI've always.
Admired you're just so eloquentand you bring so much thought
leadership to everything you do.
So it has been a joy for me tohave you as a business partner.
It's been an honor to interviewyou today.
(35:54):
And I just would also like toencourage our listeners and our
viewers that thinking of d e iadvisors tagline, empowering
personal success.
If you enjoyed this interviewtoday with Nelson, I hope you'll
go to our website.
Because there are other leaderslike Nelson, that bring so much
wisdom to all of us in terms ofhow we continue to grow in our
(36:16):
careers and our lives.
Nelson, thank you so much forspending time with us today,
Dorothy, and I hope thank you.
And again, you are a North starfor me.
Thank you.
I am honored by the opportunityto spend time with you.
Thank you so much, Nelson.
Greetings.
I am Dorothy Dowling, aprincipal of D E I advisors.
We are a nonprofit organizationdedicated to personal
empowerment.
I am delighted to welcome NelsonBoyce, managing director of
travel to our d e I show.
Nelson, welcome to our show.
It is such an honor to have youwith us today,
Nelson Boyce (00:19):
Dorothy.
I'm honored to be here and on apersonal note, it's such an
absolute pleasure to see you, myfriend.
Dorothy Dowling (00:24):
Thank you.
Right back at you.
So Nelson, we'd like to startwith your career because it
truly has been amazing.
Yes.
You have worked at so manyinnovative and significant media
brands and now with Google.
And obviously you're leading thetravel vertical, but I'm
wondering if you would mindsharing your career history with
us and how each of yourpositions enhance your journey
(00:46):
to becoming such a strategic andvalued media SEC media executive
in the travel category.
Yes.
Thank you.
And certainly.
I'll spare you all of the minutedetails of my of my history cuz
it's been a relatively long one.
And certainly travel was notnecessarily a destination, no
pun that I had in my mind.
Along the journey.
(01:07):
But I'm happy to talk to you alittle bit about how I made the
decisions and why I madedecisions at certain parts of
that journey.
So I've been at Google now foralmost eight years.
Most recently co-leading the UStravel advertising partnerships
that we have at Google.
Prior to that while still atGoogle, I managed the
relationship that Google haswith Publius Group in the us.
Prior to coming to Google, Ispent about 12 and a half years
(01:30):
with Viacom.
So all of the, what used toformally be called M t V
Networks once upon a time withbig brands like M T v,
Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
But most recently I'd been eastCoast SVP of sales for them at B
e t And then before that, spentthe vast majority of that time
with Nickelodeon in variouscapacities.
(01:50):
Most recently having beenleading the ad sales strategy
and business development groupwithin ad sales at Nick.
And then varied other positionsinclusive of managing the
digital ad sales forNickelodeon's portfolio managing
the ad sales both.
Digital and linear for Tnic,which was the teen targeted
property, fits nicely in betweenNickelodeon and M T V and then
(02:10):
before that running their newbusiness endeavors.
And then prior to my kind ofrealm in the cable television
space spent the vast majority ora good amount of my time in the
magazine business, somethingthat very few of us still
remember what those things are.
But it was really where I cut myteeth in the business.
And did some stints with bothheart honey and Heart and Soul
(02:32):
Magazines as well as as well asblaze Magazine and Vibe before
that.
And so been a long kind ofcareer in those places.
And then investment bankingbefore that was, which is really
the foundation for understandinghow businesses work.
I was in mergers andacquisitions.
At Payne Weber, which is nowrecognized broadly as ubs.
(02:53):
And that's really where I, I.
Foundationally both understoodthe mechanisms of how companies
are kind of work, being able tobe in a position of both, either
building up companies for saleor breaking down companies for
divestiture.
That's been the careertrajectory.
I think in all of those things,there's some level of sales and
(03:13):
marketing that comes into play.
Even if you're in finance you'retrying to figure out how you
make these numbers mostattractive for potential
investors.
If you're in direct to consumerin the magazine business, you're
trying to figure out how manydifferent ways can I say 50%
off, two for one, whatever thatmay be.
But there are all thesedifferent mechanisms of selling
that are involved in that.
And outside of things likeconstruction, I think in the
(03:35):
space of selling, it's one ofthe very few jobs where you can
see the fruits of your labormanifest themselves in media
that ultimately gets placedacross.
Solutions and platforms that youcan take a lot of ownership in,
right?
There's an incrementality to thenotion of, had it not been for
me, being involved with thatpartner, that campaign, that ad
or whatever may not have foundfound its home in, on one of
(03:57):
our, on one of our properties.
And so I take a lot of pride in,in, in being able to do that.
And certainly with travel I takea lot of pride in having a small
part.
And trying to help and createunbelievable memories that
people will carry around for forthe entirety of their lives.
So it's been a, it's been a nicejourney a along the way.
And as a client on the otherside of the table, Nelson, in
(04:21):
terms of someone that has suchgreat respect for people that
are in the profession of salesand creating those mutual values
in terms of allowing people totell their story through
stories.
Through media properties.
It truly is where you have tobring a lot of strategic
thinking.
You have to have a deepknowledge of the brand Yes.
And try to understand theiraudiences and really help them
(04:44):
connect the dots in terms of howto really leverage the
properties that you bring tomarket.
Your career is truly amazingbecause I'm a fan of a lot of
those media properties that yourepresented over the years and
quite honestly, they were partof our media buy.
And it was always because theybrought such strong audience
value to us, and then it isability to really use that media
(05:04):
in terms of the narrative thatyou wanna bring to those
audiences.
Yes.
So thank you.
I know that you've had amazingmentors and allies throughout
your career.
Yes, Nelson.
And I'm wondering if there's anyparticular stories that you
might be able to share that weretransformational on your career
journey.
Oh my goodness.
There, there are two points intime that I think Were extremely
(05:26):
helpful in helping to craft mymindset in, in, in my approach.
All with a foundation of havingluckily and gratefully two, two
parents who were north stars forfor those things as well.
But I will say there are twokind of moments that I had that
I can remember very clearly.
One was when I first got intomanagement.
(05:47):
And Dorothy, admittedly, I waslike the Alec Baldwin character
and Glen Gary, Glen Ross, whovery much came in with a fire
and brimstone, one size fits alltype of attitude.
And I was all, always about we,we've gotta hit the numbers and
treated my, the entirety rightof my direct reports.
With kind of a broad brush,right?
(06:08):
And really didn't pay attentionto the nuance of each
individual, to the notion of ofhaving to respect people and
meet them where they are so thatyou can really nurture them and
find out those levers, right?
That you can push or pull inorder to try to get the right
outcomes while having peoplefeel valued.
(06:28):
While having them feel seen andwhile having them feel heard.
Now as a, as I've alreadyarticulated, you clearly
understand I did not have anunderstanding of this and it was
my mentor.
At the time, my boss, my salesmanager, a guy named Lynn
Burnett who said, Nelson, lemmetell you something.
You you've got the potential tobe a great manager.
You clearly were a greatsalesperson.
(06:50):
And we believe in you in termsof the things that you're
capable of.
What you're not gonna see isthose people that you are
addressing believe in you.
Because you are trying to brushthem with a broad brush, right?
And you're painting them with abroad brush rather in, in terms
of your approach, right?
You are going to have peoplejumping off the cliff because of
you and not for, not in supportof you.
(07:13):
And until you figure out how tochange that dynamic, that
approach and really think abouthow to.
Create more of a be bespokeengagement with the people that
are going to be, to help youachieve the business goals and
objectives and their ownpersonal development
professional, goals andobjectives.
You're gonna have some, you'regonna have some trouble.
(07:34):
So that was a, a inflectionpoint for me in terms of whoa.
Okay.
That was just some straightfeedback.
By the way, feedback is a gift.
And it was so meaningful to mebecause it really put me on the
right trajectory.
The second moment, which wasincredible which is around the
same time quite honestly, is Ihad the opportunity to shadow
Quincy Jones, the incredibleprolific Quincy Jones.
(07:58):
At a concert that we threw atVibe Magazine.
So I had this opportunity topretty much be his gopher for
about three to four hours, and Ijumped on the opportunity.
And so when given thatopportunity, I was, I just I
said, Hey man, we've got thistime together.
I hope you don't mind if I askyou a couple questions.
Yeah, man, in, in Quincy voice.
Yeah, man.
Go ahead.
And so I said, Quincy, how doyou become Quincy Jones?
Like, how does that happen?
(08:20):
And he said, young brother.
He said, all I wanted to do wasto be the best jazz trumpet
player possible.
That's it.
That's all I wanted to do.
And I was like, man, Mo, knowingwhat he has accomplished, that
seemed like a very narrow kindof answer for what he gave.
But then he elaborated, he wenton, he said, when I did that,
(08:40):
then the next thing you know,this guy Frank Sinatra comes
along, and now I'm composing forhis big band.
I'm leading his big band.
And then those things led to memeeting this young guy, Michael
Jackson, who ultimately I wenton to, produce a few of his
albums, some of which arearguably the best albums on the
face of the planet of all time.
And then I met this guy namedSteven and this woman named
(09:01):
Oprah.
And we created this movie calledThe Color Purple.
And I met this guy from SouthPhilly, who was probably a
better actor than he was arapper, and we created The Fresh
Prince.
But he said all of that to say,That sometimes it's important
for you to not get so far overyour skis in terms of thinking
about what that thing is thatyou want down the road versus
(09:24):
being able to be present in themoment to master and to excel at
the thing that you are doingright now in being the best at
that thing.
And he says when you do that, Itunlocks all of these
opportunities, some of which youdidn't even plan on, things that
(09:44):
you weren't even expecting tostart coming your way, because
there is a consistency ofpassion, of respect of the
business, of attention todetail, of mastering a craft.
These are kind of aspects andattributes that are
transferrable regardless of whatline of business you find
(10:08):
yourself in.
That are general, kind offoundational moments that you
just have to have in order to beprepared for when those
opportunities do come to takeyourself to the next level.
And I, so for me, those are twomoments, both in thinking about
how to lead with humility,vulnerability, trans,
(10:31):
transparency.
And And nuance to the secondpart of really just being in the
moment.
Don't think about the end title.
Don't think about the end game.
If you play the game right inthe middle, a lot of these
things ultimately revealthemselves to you over time.
Nelson, I don't know if I'm morein envy of you having a mentor
(10:55):
like Leo Burnett, who of courseis of the most spoken about
icons in the advertising space.
Nolin Lynn Burnett, not Leo.
Sorry.
That would be a whole different,ok.
But Lynn is a, in his own, is anicon in his own right.
Thank you.
But I do, I love that storyabout people being with you or
jumping off the cliff because ofyou, because I do think that
(11:17):
speaks to a lot of leadershipchallenges today that the person
that you work for is so criticalin terms critical of your
engagement and commitment toyour work.
I love that analogy.
And then also just the masteryof your craft in the present.
And making sure that you arereally bringing the best that
you can every day to your work,I think, are amazing lessons
(11:40):
because I do think sometimes wedo get ahead of ourselves and do
get over our skis in a wayinstead of really focusing on
the present and doingAbsolutely.
And bring our best every day.
So thank you.
And speaking of that lesson Iknow it, it leads into, because
I've had the privilege obviouslyof working with Google for many
years and Yes.
You have built remarkable teamsthroughout your career, but I
(12:04):
just know how your teammates theregard they have for you and oh
goodness how much they feel itis a privilege to be on your
team.
So I'm wondering if you canshare beyond this story that you
shared about what your secretsare.
To being such a strong peopleleader.
Yeah.
I use some of the adjectives inregard to the engagement that I
(12:25):
had, around getting the feedbackfrom Lynn Burnett.
But I, and I will tell you thatI do think there is there's a
couple things in that recipe,right?
So when I think about theattributes that good leaders
that they show up with.
By the way, it's always a workin progress, right?
No one's perfect.
These are things that you cclearly have to think about and
work at.
But I, I think of the wordauthenticity.
(12:47):
I think of the word agility,right?
Because and listen, you and Ihave been in, in an area of the
business that we know you'vegotta be able to pivot and,
you've gotta be able to makemoves.
In order to, in some cases, juststraight out survive, right?
Authenticity agility,transparency, vulnerability.
(13:08):
I think many people think,vulnerability is a weakness.
I find it to be precisely theopposite.
I think when people can.
Feel the true empathy that youhave in many cases for their
circumstances and your abilityto then articulate similar
circumstances, I think bringscreates a certain amount of
(13:29):
trust and loyalty.
That is hard to.
And, and if you're doing it withauthenticity, I think that
really organically creates a avery strong type of
relationship.
And being consistent, the notionof communication communicating
as often and as early aspossible.
Largely Dorothy aroundexplaining the why.
(13:51):
Why it is that we show up, whyit is that we're doing what
we're doing, why it's important.
And so that brings me to thesecond parts beyond some of the
DEF definitions, which is why Ithink it's so massively
important to help people explainthat the why through having a
very clear vision, a very clearmission, and a very clear set of
(14:13):
values.
The vision is the desiredoutcome, the desired instate,
right?
Making it up.
If we're looking at December31st, 2023, what things would
then need to be true, right?
Or what?
What do we wanna be able to sayabout ourselves at that point in
time?
That's the desired outcome.
The desired state, right?
The how is the mission?
(14:34):
What are the things that we'regoing to employ?
In terms of making sure that weare on track or, how we go about
our business to get to thatdesired instate.
And then the values are what arethe things we believe in, right?
How do we treat one another?
Is there respect involved?
Do we have psychological safety?
Does everybody feel as thoughthat their voice is being, heard
(14:55):
and are they being seen?
And a, look, fun is a big partof it as well.
The reality of work is that weprobably spend at least one
third of our lives in theworkplace.
The other third, you should besleeping and the and the other
third is your business, right?
But you're spending a lot oftime with folks and in the
(15:15):
workplace.
And it's, it is important to beable to be excited about coming
to a place day in and day outand showing up with people that
you like and enjoy.
And then I think at the end ofit, at the end of it all just
being in the trenches.
As a leader is important aswell, right?
I think there, there's thisbalance of being in the weeds
(15:40):
and have, somewhat tactical orbeing tactical enough to feel
good about, inspecting what youexpect.
But then being able to also playor fly at a higher altitude and
really help to thinkstrategically about the business
and ultimately where you need togo.
And I think those things aremassively Im important around
(16:00):
building teams that, that reallyshow up and want to get after it
with you.
I have to say Nelson, just thevulnerability and the leadership
qualities that you bring to yourteam, I clearly understand.
But I do think thatunderstanding of the micro and
how it ties back to the macro isimportant for leaders because I
(16:22):
think that's often where thatspace of innovation.
Really occurs is when youunderstand the application of
how it actually transforms Yes.
Business and people.
So speaking of that I alsowanted to talk about your
customer leadership and you havejust added so much value to the
travel category and your timewith the business.
And I will re, I will state toyou that through Covid, your
(16:46):
team was incredible.
Incredibly meaningful to mebecause they were the ones that
reached out very early andwithout any commercial interest
whatsoever.
Wanted to understand how theycould help in whatever way that
might be.
Yes.
And that followership thatyou've created with your team
(17:06):
translates to the followershipthat you have developed with
your customers, and that is partof what.
I know you led with that team,but yes, I'm just wondering if
there are other components ofyour customer leadership that
you could share with ouraudience, because I am sure
there's a wealth of wisdom thatyou could bring to the table.
Yes, and a couple things come tomind first, right?
(17:28):
Look, we all work at companies.
We are all like, leaned in onthe business.
But when you strip the businessaside, just for a moment, you
gotta understand and recognize.
Every business, everything thatwe do is anchored in people.
(17:48):
It's in people and knowing thatI think really sets the stage to
allow for I think a couplethings that are really
important, the first of which isone, having empathy to someone
else's situation, right?
The empathy in many ways.
Leads to curiosity.
(18:08):
And I think curiosity is also animportant thing to have,
particularly as it relates tocustomers.
One on, Hey, help me tounderstand what things are you
on the hook to deliver?
How are you evaluated in theroles that you are, that you're
in?
And having a genuine interest inunderstanding the machinations
(18:29):
of that individual's.
Position in relative right, andrelative and relativity to, to
the environment of thecorporation that they're in.
Secondarily, it is a true andgenuine interest in
understanding the businessobjectives and the marketing
objectives of your client.
(18:50):
It's almost can you imaginebeing a doctor who just only
threw out prescriptions to folkswithout taking the time to
properly Evaluate, diagnose, andthen prescribe.
I think one of the things thatwe really try to impress in, in
our organization is to make sureyou're doing the proper due
(19:11):
diligence in, in order to reallyunderstand what are the
motivations, both of theindividual and both of the
organization, so that thosethings can most properly.
Tie to solutions that may helpthem to achieve, to amplify, to
accelerate against setobjectives.
(19:31):
And I think that's really, andthose things in my mind, if done
properly, are the things thatearn you the right, cuz a lot of
folks will show up in just whatwe, we're in a position we
should just be able to do what,whatever.
You gotta earn the right.
To be seen as a trusted partner.
And, I am probably ruthlesslyprioritized around the goals and
(19:55):
objectives of our partners suchthat my mindset is, will be in
generally always will be.
And this is not just at mycurrent place of employment.
If you do what's right by thepartner, you do what's right for
the business.
And that's been my mindset as asales professional the entire
time it's been that way as asales manager.
(20:15):
And my guess is that it'llprobably be one thing I don't I
don't back away from in, in thefuture.
I do think that mutual valuecreation of really understanding
individuals and their company interms of their business needs,
because you're right, Google isthe dominant player in the
space.
You represent a big chunk ofeveryone's media budgets, but
(20:37):
that depth of understanding thebusiness and the actual company
that you're supporting in thatbusiness environment has really
distinguished you and your teamin amazing ways.
Nelson, I know I speak fromgratitude because Google always
brought us amazing ways for usto outperform in the marketplace
and establish against a lot ofthe goals that we had.
(20:59):
So thank you.
If I may, I wanna talk a littlebit about negotiation because
you were with a lot of startups,big risk kind of media brands
that had tremendous exposure andvisibility in the industry and.
Negotiation in terms of bringingsome of those products to market
and really establishing theright kind of business outcomes
(21:19):
for your employer weresignificant parts of your career
journey.
Yes.
I'm just wondering if you cantalk a little bit about how you
prepared to go into thosesituations, how you were able to
ultimately prevail and reallybring the right kind of
negotiated solution to bothparties.
Yeah, I'll tell you, it's nottoo dissimilar to what I just
talked about.
Doing, doing the due diligence Ithink is massively important,
(21:44):
right?
The more you are in tune withthe other person on the other
side of the table, their, theirvision, their mission, what they
stand for, and how they'retrying to get there ultimately
allows for.
A better application.
If I've got an entire toolbox,I'm, I probably don't need all
the tools that are in thattoolbox, but there are probably
(22:05):
some key tools that I would wantto use in an effective manner
to, to try to get across thefinish line and doing some of
those things.
But I have to have a very goodunderstanding of the blueprint
in what the plan is in order toapply the right tools to, to the
right build.
And so the notion of duediligence is really important.
And in any great partnership, Ithink there is some level of a
(22:27):
symbiotic relationship and alevel of sacrifice that is
important on, on, on both sa, onboth ends, so that you create
ownership, you createaccountability, right?
And and it creates a notion ofskin in the game for all those
Involved, it becomes lesstransactional and more about how
(22:50):
are we helping each other tobuild something special.
And I think once you get it outof the frame of a mindset or
vernacular of a vendor versus apartner and move from a
transaction to a partnership.
(23:12):
Then that's where I think itbecomes a lot more interesting
and a lot more impactful.
And I think one of the thingsthat made me successful in that
is that I never necessarily sawmy role being the negotiator at
the table as being one that wasonly solely interested in the
media relationship.
(23:32):
That was an important aspect ofa lot of the negotiations in,
in, in my past, but it alwayswas.
I, I think where I found a lotof success was trying to figure
out where were the opportunitiesto try to expand to other
aspects of the company that Iwas part of in order to bring or
try to figure out what were allthe things that we could try to
(23:53):
bring to bear that would makethis more of a holistic and
symbiotic relationship than justthe reliance upon a media
relationship.
I appreciate the way you havereally framed up.
Professionalism of sales becauseI do think in today's
environment they say, thecustomer's 80% informed before
(24:14):
they come to any kind ofbusiness discussion because of
just the proliferation and theaccessibility of information
today.
When I hear you talk about thattrusted relationship is becoming
a business partner, and thenit's also that consulting value
that you're bringing in terms ofreally establishing how to solve
the customer's needs in apowerful way.
(24:35):
And that is why I have so muchPersonal admiration for really
great sales professionals,because I do think that is what
really distinguishes them isthat they do put the time into
due diligence.
They really understand thecompany, they understand the
category, they understand whatis happening in the broader
economy.
Yes.
And they really try to preparein terms of sharing ways that
(24:59):
business outcomes can really beachieved.
So yeah, it is that state ofpreparation.
Yes, your use of the worst the,your use of the word cons
consultant or consultative?
I think is spot on, right?
That to me is like the, the peakof what you strive for as
someone who's in the sellingbusiness, right?
(25:19):
If there are 10 desks at companyA and nine are occupied, I wanna
be in the 10th desk.
And not necessarily because I'm,I am trying to sell you
something.
It's because I am trying to bepart of the conversation, right?
I want to be the first call thatsomebody makes when they're
(25:39):
noodling on something.
I don't wanna be the recipientof an rfp.
I want to help craft the rfp.
And it's really that kind of, Ithink, change in the mindset
around really trying to Offer alevel of value that that helps
to change that dynamic.
For sure.
For sure.
Nelson, I'm just wondering if wecould move on to career
(26:01):
achievements.
Sure.
You've shared a few with us aswe've been talking, but I'm
wondering if there is anyparticular moment in your career
that you are particularly proudof and if you'd be willing to
share it.
Oh, goodness.
Yes.
I'll tell you, Dorothy it was,and you talked a little bit
about this before, but for me itwas how we showed up for
(26:24):
partners during the pandemic.
And how we showed up for eachother during the pandemic.
And by that more of a of kind ofan internal piece, right?
There's both the, there's theexternal piece and then there's
the internal piece.
And here, here, the brass taxes,as a leader of a business that
was exponentially impacted bythe pandemic.
(26:48):
It became, IM important to thinkabout how.
We make sure that we're managingto the business in the state
that the business was, andinternally that meant thinking
about how we, we resourceagainst the current time.
And, being able to try tomaintain morale during those,
(27:10):
times like that or being able tosee that and sometimes the
absence to your point of thecommercial side of a
relationship, that there arestill many opportunities to
continue to take things at onepoint in time, may have been on
the back burner, but try to movethem to the front burner.
What are the things, thefoundational pieces that we
could be trying to put in pplace over the course of this
(27:32):
time that will ultimatelyposition us?
For recovery, which we know atsome point will come, but not
only the recovery, but be ableto accelerate through that
recovery.
And that's really more of theexternal side in terms of
understanding that the marketingdepartments in many cases of our
partners had been completely,devastated.
(27:55):
Yeah.
How can we continue to bepresent?
How can we continue to addvalue?
How can we continue to help ourpartners think about what things
would need to be true as theythink about the route to
readiness?
Coming back into an ecosystemwhich we all, I believed, felt,
(28:15):
although it was hard at the timewould recover at some point over
time.
And so being present for myteam, And being present for my
partners to me is probably oneof the things I'm most proud
about in my career.
(28:36):
Because when I think, and I, ifI fast forward down the road, I
don't want to be, I.
Remembered as a person who, oh,Nelson was a, he drove this
amount of revenue, or he, he wasvery s you know, successful at
driving said outcome.
The things I believe I would be,I will I will be most proud of.
(28:59):
And I think as I think aboutwhat does it mean ultimately to
have the notion of a legacy willbe that Nelson cared about his
people.
He provided pathways of growthand opportunity for them, but he
also cared about his partners inthe same exact way, and he was
just a good person to to engageand to work with.
(29:22):
And if that is, is what peoplethink about or somehow those are
the types of feelings that are.
Created when they do think aboutme and I'm long gone, then I've
done exactly everything that Iwas supposed to do.
That's so unbelievably Trump'sany kind of title or, normal
course of, of career accoladethat I could ever receive.
(29:44):
And yeah, that's, that, that'swhat matters.
I just wanna offer to you,Google was the first call that I
took.
The day after we had to lay off70% of our team, and the first
call was just about checking in.
And the next calls were reallyabout how can we help you
prepare for the recovery whenthe time comes.
(30:05):
So yeah, you led your teamexceptionally well through that
period.
Nelson and I for one, and I knowI was only one of the many
clients at your team outreachto, but it certainly represented
all of those values that, that Ithink reflect on you as an
individual that reflectedextraordinarily well on Google
and certainly I think offered somuch leadership value to your
(30:26):
team.
So I just would like to saythank you for that.
Greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I'm wondering if I can move onbecause I know for you you're a
type A personality.
I know I'm a type A personality.
You've had to balance a reallydemanding career, but I know
that your son is extraordinarilyimportant to you.
(30:47):
Yes.
And I'd like to understand howdid you balance some of your
work and the life demands andcarve out time to be an
important parent for your son?
Yeah.
Oh wow.
Goodness.
Now I'm gonna try not to getemotional because he is such an
unbelievably Just genuinelysweet and kind young man.
(31:11):
So let me just start by sayingthat he's myself and all credit
to his mother as well.
I think we, we've done a greatjob in, in, in trying to help
him find his own pathway in, inwhat he's doing now.
So that aside but I think it's alot of things and I, you have
remember, the term.
You when you're on the plane andthey're you're getting ready.
And they say, if something wereto happen, you've gotta put on
(31:32):
your mask before you can put onthe mask of someone adjacent to
you.
And that's because you won't bearound if you're not breathing
yourself to be able to do anygood for anybody else.
And so I, I bring that up tosay, I think there's a certain
amount and a notion.
Of having to be extremelycentered in your own self care
(31:53):
and the awareness of that selfcare before you can be of
assistance and give to othersin, in, in the ways that you
would like.
And so for me, being able to bea, an effective father or
present for my son means I gottamake sure I'm taking care of
myself and.
And that's everything from, Itry to work out four or five
(32:13):
times a week and some of thesearen't significant.
10 minutes is better thannothing, right?
But it helps to clear the mind.
It helps to clear the conscienceand really gives you energy for
us, for us to carry on and whatwe, are all extremely busy
lives, right?
I try to meditate often, right?
Or just get quiet time to myselfjust to think and to be, and to
(32:36):
pause, if you will.
I see a therapist every coupleweeks.
I, I'm a proponent for everyoneto have a therapist, someone
who's not in your day-to-day, bythe way, someone who doesn't
necessarily have the solutions,but pros, you.
With the right types ofquestions for you to be on a
journey of answering thosequestions on your own.
And then what I, it would besomething that I call Al, albeit
(32:58):
for me, they can sometimes getblurred a bit just because of
the nature of the business.
And sometimes you can't alwayskeep things the way you want'em,
but try to create boundaries.
Hey, maybe you don't answeremails after nine o'clock,
right?
Or you when just boundaries,right?
Of when you're available, whenyou're not available, when that
(33:20):
is your private personal time.
Clearly there are exceptions toall of those things, right?
That, that come up.
But if you try to.
Create those things andcommunicate those things with
the people that you work with.
And there's generally a respectfor trying to maintain those
lines.
And then, I come back to thisnotion of fun.
What is the thing that, that itis that you do in order to make
(33:42):
the moments that you do havewith loved ones, all the more
special and as it relates to myson, he's a big basketball fan.
I'm a big basketball fan and wego to, so we're, Atlanta Hawks.
I'm in Atlanta.
We try to go to as many games aswe can.
I'm a season ticket holder.
But I will tell you, those arethe moments that I relish,
(34:04):
right?
That I just, I'm that I justsimply love because it's our
time.
Together around a subject,around a topic around an event
that we enjoy fully with oneanother.
It brings us joy.
It gives us something to talkabout and it gives us something
to to to bond on.
It's that and music actually,for us, it ironically we
(34:27):
purposefully shared the sameplaylist.
On on, on our music, the musicplatform that we use, largely
because I want to know what he'slistening to, but I also want
him to be acknow to acknowledgeand respect, and he doesn't have
to listen to it there, what isthis stuff dad used to listen
to?
And as a developing he's reallyinto music production.
(34:48):
I think that relationship hasalso opened up his aperture.
To think about how he can usedifferent styles of music and
different things in his ownmusic.
And I think those sharedexperiences just allow us to
open the aperture, but it startswith taking care of yourself
because I would be no good to myson unless I did that first.
You packed a lot of wisdom intothat response, Nelson.
(35:10):
I appreciate that because I dothink as senior executives, that
element of taking care ofyourself is critically important
to absolutely your wellbeing andyour team's wellbeing, but
connecting the dots in terms ofhow.
It also is valuable to yourfamily and your son because you
were a role model for him as hestarts to observe and learn just
(35:31):
by watching.
Yeah.
But I do I'm just so incrediblygrateful to have had this
opportunity to speak with youtoday.
Nelson, you have been someoneI've always.
Admired you're just so eloquentand you bring so much thought
leadership to everything you do.
So it has been a joy for me tohave you as a business partner.
It's been an honor to interviewyou today.
(35:54):
And I just would also like toencourage our listeners and our
viewers that thinking of d e iadvisors tagline, empowering
personal success.
If you enjoyed this interviewtoday with Nelson, I hope you'll
go to our website.
Because there are other leaderslike Nelson, that bring so much
wisdom to all of us in terms ofhow we continue to grow in our
(36:16):
careers and our lives.
Nelson, thank you so much forspending time with us today,
Dorothy, and I hope thank you.
And again, you are a North starfor me.
Thank you.
I am honored by the opportunityto spend time with you.
Thank you so much, Nelson.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.