Bridging the Gap or Burning the Bridge? The Generational Divide at Work

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
This, my job says I'm doing this, I'monly doing this, or I only wanna work
this amount, or whatever the case may be.
Um, because I come from an oldermindset, an older generation.
You said you could understandbecause you've been on both sides.
Talk a little bit about it.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, I have been under on bothsides and I can't understand that.
I can't empathize with the youngergeneration because I think, I think

(00:22):
it's, it's, it's important to start here.
I think we have to give them grace, right?
I think we, we have toapproach this from a, uh.
An approach of understanding and empathy,uh, before we are quick to judge, right?
Because there's no fault to their,there's no fault of theirs, that they
have been thrust into this society thatis insanely reliant on technology and

(00:42):
this society that where informationis at their fingertips and there's are
ways to make money and make a livingin ways that there weren't before.
We'll discuss race and how it playsa factor and how we didn't even talk
about this topic 'cause we were afraid.
A black executive perspective.
Ooh, we're coming to you live fromthe new BEP studio for another thought

(01:05):
provoking episode from a black executiveperspective podcast, A safe space
where we discuss all matters relatedto race, culture, and those little
uncomfortable topics people tend to avoid.
I'm your host, Tony Tidbit.
So we're excited about today's episode.
Um, we got a fantastic guest.
But before we get started,we always wanna pay homage.

(01:26):
To our partners at Code M Magazine,code M Magazine, whose mission
is to save the black familyby first saving the black man.
So definitely check themout at Code M Magazine.
That is code m magazine.com.
Two m code m magazine.com.
So, you know, one of the thingsabout work today, especially with

(01:49):
technology, the future of work isevolving fast and adaptability.
Generational wisdom and creativeentrepre entrepreneurship are
essential for success today.
We're joined by Rodney Brown, co-founderof Barbara Jean Productions, and he's
coming to talk to us about build, bridgingthose generational gaps, navigating

(02:14):
career shifts, and turning creativepassions into a thriving business.
So let me tell you a little bitabout my brother, Rodney Brown, Jr.
Rodney Brown Jr.
Is a writer, producer, and directorbased in New York City, and co-founder
of Barbara Jean Productions.
His career BA began at Paramountand BET, but it was his passion

(02:38):
for filmmaking that set him apart.
With the background in managementconsulting for McKinsey and Company,
Rodney Blends creativity withanalytical problem solving to help
drive Barbara Jean's production success.
His short film, the Fruit It Bears thatcame out in 2022 earned four major awards.

(03:00):
It captivated audiences at the Pan-AfricanFilm Festival and caught the attention
of BET and Revolt Media, which we'regonna ask him about that later on.
Rodney's journey from a reluctanthigh school actor to an award-winning,
winning filmmaker embodies his dedicationto storytelling and innovation.

(03:23):
Rodney Brown, Jr.
Welcome to a Black ExecutivePerspective Podcast, my brother.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I truly honored to be here and that'sa heck of a, uh, bio, an intro that
we got there, so I appreciate that.
Look, buddy, it's your background, right?
I didn't make anything up.
If you wanted me to, I couldhave, you know, said you were
scorsese's, you know, lost, lostcousin, but I didn't do that, right?
But your credentials speak for itself.

(03:45):
So we really excited.
For you to be here.
And obviously you are gonna chatabout something that, uh, the
majority Americans in the workforcestruggle with, and that's that
generational divide that we deal with.
So we can't wait to hear your story andhow you've seen success and learn more
about Barbara Jean Productions mm-hmm.
And how you guys are makinga lot of things happen.

(04:07):
But before we go into that, I would loveto hear more about, tell us a little
bit about where you're currently livingand a little bit about your family.
Yeah, sure.
Sure.
Um.
Currently I'm livingin Brooklyn, New York.
Been up here for about sevenyears, uh, since 2018 or so.
So I guess one could say Ialmost got my New York card.
You know, I know they saythat you are a transplant.

(04:29):
You, uh, you gotta do 10 years beforeyou can say you are a New Yorker.
Right?
So, okay.
We almost there.
We are almost there.
Um, but yeah, I'm a family.
I come from.
Mother and beautiful mother andfather are still married in 36 years.
Father was a police depar policeofficer at the Sheriff's Department
down in Montgomery County, Maryland.
My mother worked for the StateDepartment for over 30 years as well.

(04:51):
So very much come from black family,also down in the suburbs with some
old school traditional values, right?
So, um.
And then I have a sister who is theother half of Barbara Jean Productions.
So it is she and I and um, wecome from the lovely brown family.
Um.
Sailing all the way from theDMV from Southern Maryland.
That's awesome, man.
That is awesome.

(05:12):
I never heard he had to be inthe city 10 years before you
got to the New York City card.
So, um, that's a new one on me,but hey, if that, if that counts.
You, you close, you, do you win a prizeor do you, I guess it's pride, right?
Is it a prize thing?
Thing?
Yeah.
I don't know, you know, but I'll tellyou what, you don't have to be in
New York City long in my, in my book.
Earn your New York City cardbecause it'll, it'll introduce

(05:34):
you to itself real fast.
Well, here, here's the thing though.
A politician can move here in two yearsand all of a sudden run for mayor.
That's right.
That is true.
Then, you know, so I don't, I don'tbuy the 10 year thing, but regardless,
man, we're excited that you're here andthanks for giving us some, some insight
in terms of your family and being from.
You know, the Maryland area?
Mm-hmm.
Now look, bro, you got a lot going on.
You know, you have this productioncompany that you've done.

(05:57):
Um, you're basically, and you'regonna talk a little bit about
all the work that you do, andyou've made a lot of short films.
Um, it even took you a minute to get herebecause you were really, really busy and
all the stuff you got going on, right?
So, why did you wanna come onBEP to talk about this topic?
Yeah, so I think that first off, um,this podcast is necessary, right?

(06:17):
I think that the, creating a spacewhere we can have comfortable,
comfortable conversations in 2024 and2025 is really important because I
think we've seen over the past year or18 months or so, these conversations
sort of tail off a little bit, right?
Or some, some people will be a littlebit turned off by them, but I like
the fact that this podcast encompassesall uncomfortable conversations, big,

(06:38):
small, in between, doesn't matter.
So I love that.
And number two, I wanted to come onhere because I felt as though that
you have a topic that we're gonnatalk about today in regards to the,
the workforce generations bridgingthe gap, creativity, entrepreneurial
entrepreneurism, and storytelling.
I think that all of those things arereally coming to the forefront of

(06:59):
the workforce through creative worldand, um, just the, the dynamic of
how we're existing with one another.
And I think that it's reachinga critical point to whereas.
Both sides or all generationsneed to sort of come together
and get some understanding.
As to why.
The what, the why behind thewhat, I guess you could say.

(07:19):
Right, right.
Well, look man, I'm excited you're here.
Thanks for that.
You ready to talk about it, my brother?
Let's do it.
Let's do it.
All right.
Let's talk about it.
So, let's back up a little bit,man, south Maryland, you came here.
Tell us a little bit, you know,before you got, because I, I'm,
I'm hearing, you know, reluctant.
High school actor.
So talk a little bit about thatand then, you know, obviously how

(07:41):
you got into the production side.
Yeah, for sure.
So, um, again, from southernMaryland, so very much the suburbs,
so where I was from is a vast starkdifference from New York City.
Right?
So a little bit of a, a shock tothe frequency at which life is in
New York City, but where I was from,you know, I grew up playing sports.
My sister and I, we playedbasketball, we took the school bus.

(08:04):
And I just remember my dad alwaystelling me, you know, one day that
school bus is gonna come by andyou ain't gonna have to get on it.
And as a kid, you know, that didn'treally mean much, but that sure
enough, uh, that day short enough came.
Right?
So how the acting thing sort of cameabout was when I was in high school, I
was a basketball player, I ran track,played basketball, and I was pretty good.

(08:24):
And what happened was I hadgotten hurt my junior year.
And in addition to that, I had broughthome a C on my interim report or no?
So when you say you got hurt,like how did you get hurt?
Yeah, so I had decided I wantedto play football, so I was the
basketball star, I guess you could say.
And then if you had the footballball guys over here and you know,
they like to talk trash to thebasketball guys and what have you.

(08:46):
So you know, the football guys, they wouldcome try out for the basketball team.
So I said, all right, I'mgonna come play football.
And, um, I was pretty good.
But the problem was, I, the change interrain from going from hardwood to a
soft turf field was giving me tendonitis.
Mm-hmm.
Was giving me knee issues.
So as a result, I was unableto play basketball that season.

(09:10):
Um, I could have stayed on the team, butI didn't want to get, I didn't want to
take up a spot and not be able to play.
So I said, you know what, I'm justgonna run indoor track when I'm healthy
and outdoor track in the, uh, spring.
Just get my strength andconditioning up on my legs.
Got it.
Got it.
So I had brought home a C on myprogress report, and it was in
theater arts and in my household youwere not allowed to bring home cs.

(09:33):
So my dad sees this and he said,well, this is unacceptable,
especially in theater arts.
I could see if this was math of science.
So I go to my theater artsteacher and I say, Hey, Mr.
Minor, yeah, this is this,this, this isn't gonna work.
And he says, well, how about this?
Why don't you come to auditions?
I.
I said, Mr.
Minor, I can't come to auditions.
I have basketball practice,or I have track practice.

(09:55):
He said, well, I guess you'rejust gonna have a C then.
So naturally I went to auditions and hekeeps calling me back over and over again.
I'm checking the board.
I'm going to school.
Why is my name still beinghere week after week?
And he ultimately gives me themain part and that part is Macbeth.
Wow.
I did not know who Sha, Iknew who Shakespeare was.
I wasn't familiar with the insand outs of Macbeth or with

(10:19):
anything else he had written.
So, um, that was an amazing experience.
So, um, I, I, I killed it at leastas far as the audience is concerned.
And, you know, it was funny, I hadmy friends in the front row trying
to make me laugh and what have you.
And, um, so from there thatwas really sparked my interest
into acting and into movies.
And from there, that is when mysister got, uh, involved in it as well

(10:39):
because she was on, she loved music.
She had a camera and she was shootingmusic videos, you know, young 18, 17
years old, just having fun with a camera.
And so from there that, lookingback that I think that was the spark
for both of us that said, Hey, youknow what, maybe we can do this.
And then we had parents whoreally believed in us, right?
And really said, Hey, youcan do whatever you want.
What is your oyster?
Go chase your dreams.

(11:01):
And um, that's, that'show it started, buddy.
So number one, the teachersaw something in you.
Think so.
I think he was, Hey, I think hewas trying to sell some tickets.
He look, so, to give you thething, Macbeth, so how was
he trying to sell tickets?
I, because there must be some moreof the story that I don't know about.
I I knew a lot of people in the school.

(11:21):
Yeah, yeah.
But to do that beat basketball.
To play that character though.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Let, that's not easy.
I think some of the otherthespians were a little upset.
Okay.
Think about it for a second.
I played Martin Luther King Jr.
Right in, in one of our, when I was in.
Sixth grade or something of that nature.
Right.
Not bad.
It was three, four lines.

(11:41):
Right.
I didn't have to, you know,I didn't have to practice, I
didn't have to to play Macbeth.
Yeah.
That was, that's not anybody gets that.
All right.
Yeah.
And so, so number one, he hadto, and, and again, I don't,
I just biased on the story.
Mm-hmm.
Had to see something in you.
Number two, you said you killed it.
Right.
Because evidently you musthave put some effort into it.
I did.
Right.
And you practiced.

(12:02):
'cause you didn't want to, if yourparents, as you're telling us, you know,
they didn't accept the C So other words,they didn't accept anything half-assed.
That's true.
Right.
So then that means when you, you,you, you said, okay, I'll do it.
You put in a hundredpercent and you kicked butt.
I did.
You know, I did.
I, uh, I, uh, was up all night.
Recording, like rehearsing my lines, Iwas going to the other actor's houses

(12:24):
and making sure I had my lines right.
And, um, so yeah, I put a, I put a lotinto it and, um, you know, didn't really
think much of it at the time, but, uh,to your point, yeah, maybe he did see
something and, uh, here we are now.
You know, I think that was,uh, the beginning of this, uh,
sort of storytelling journey.
That I, that I went on.
Wow.
But you know, mind if Itell you this quick story?
I, and I didn't re, I saw this on,um, what is the, um, the thing, uh,

(12:48):
it comes on BET or I forget, they doa little backstory of an actor or,
uh, an actress or a musician, I forgetit was called, but they had Leon.
Do you know who Leon is?
They did his backstory.
He played the temptDavid Ruffin Temptation.
Okay.
You've seen Lean On in a thousand movies.
That, that reason I'mtelling you the story.
Because it's similar to yours.

(13:08):
He played, he got recruited,he's from New York.
He got recruited, he got a scholarship,I think, to play basketball,
uh, Lelo, uh, out in California.
He was on the basketball team college.
Okay.
And all of a sudden a guy came up tohim on the campus and said, Hey man,
he said, you should check out thisacting thing, this class, this drama.

(13:29):
So he went and checked it out,but he wasn't interested in it.
Right.
And then he said like his second year,this dude ran up to him and said, look
man, we want you to be in this play.
And he was like, I don'tlook, I'm not interested.
I don't know nothing about this.
They said, you ain't got to.
We've been watching you.
I.
Okay.
And then he went and he got the bug.
Okay.

(13:49):
Just like you, not somethinghe wasn't even thinking about.
And then the moral of the story, he had abig play that he was gonna do on campus.
Mm-hmm.
And, uh, the, he went to the coach to say,Hey, I got this, this, this, this, this
film or this, this play that I need to do.
We have a game, can I miss the game?
And the coach said to him,if you don't show up for this

(14:10):
game, you're off the team.
He looked and said, I'm off the team.
Mm-hmm.
And he left and looked and it took hiscareer and he said he saw that coach years
later and the coach apologized and saidhe should have been, and this kind of
fits in terms of our generational stuff.
He should have been more flexible.

(14:32):
Uh, with his students, withhis players, knowing that they
had other gifts and talents.
Right.
So that's why I love your storybecause obviously Oh, dude must
have saw something into, into you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, I actually appreciateyou sharing that.
That's actually something that I, thatI actually wanna watch now, because
there's a lot of, there's a lot ofparallels in that, and that's actually
pretty deep because to your point.

(14:52):
The generations, you know, um, the coachis looking at it from his perspective
and he's like, Hey, look, like ifyou wanna do this and you wanna be a
professional, then you need to be here.
You can't miss a game.
Old school coach.
Exactly.
All right.
Right.
New school dude.
Mm-hmm.
And then now, you know, um, life isa little bit more nuance than that.
You know what I mean?
You two things can be true, right?
Or you can look at it from anotherperspective and say, Hey, well if

(15:13):
this is calling you, then maybeyou should answer that call.
Excellent point, bro.
So tell me, how did that, thatseed that was planted, how did
it take you to the next level?
Well, I think that, um, itstarted with us being able to
move to New York City, right?
The plea was, the seed was plantedyears before we moved there, and

(15:36):
we started with shooting contentwith the people who are around us.
Right, long before we wrote a script,long before we even, um, shot a movie.
It started with our family, ourcousins, our friends, and what have you.
So we would start, so we started witha, um, musician who's our cousin,
started filming his music videos.

(15:56):
He launched a nonprofit organization.
So we started filming thekids and what have you.
And then we eventuallymoved up to New York City.
Uh, my sister was ableto get a job at Viacom.
I was able to get, get a job at Viacomas well and that's sort of what made us
open our eyes to see what's possible.
'cause we were exposed to theconglomerate that is Viacom CBS

(16:19):
Paramount and we were exposed to thevast city of New York where it is filled
with creatives and entrepreneurs anduh, people from all walks of life.
So coming up here I think was reallywhat opened our eyes because we come
from a small town down in Marylandwhere a lot of folks are either just
military, you are working with thefederal, state, or local government, or

(16:41):
you're working blue collar jobs, whichis absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But just as far as opportunity isconcerned, there was a lot more of
it up in New York City and I thinkthat's what sort of made us expand
and sort of And bloom and blossom.
Funny.
That is so and so tho that's animportant, and thanks for sharing that.
That's important.
I.
You, you want to be something, but ifthere's not a lot of opportunity in

(17:03):
your neighborhood, in your environment,it's hard for you to do that.
You have to go somewhere else.
Right.
And hearing that you guys came up andgot a job at Viacom, which is awesome.
Um, but I.
That, again, going back to the,the, the Macbeth thing, that seed
definitely kind of, it didn't go away.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
And then doing the things with yourcousins and stuff to that nature.

(17:25):
Right.
So let me, let me ask you this though.
How old are you, if youdon't mind me asking?
I just turned the ripeage of 30 years old.
So you're 30, okay?
Mm-hmm.
So now you're, you're coming in, you'recoming into big city like, what was
my girl Alicia Keys says in New York?
Yep.
Which is so true.
So true.
Right?

(17:45):
So you come to New York, you get a job,you got a big company, Viacom, okay.
Television, movies, the whole nine yards.
Advertising, everythingyou can think of, right?
Yep.
You're 20 something years old.
Now you are in a company thatyou have baby boomers, you have
generational X Generation X, you havemillennials, you have every, you know,

(18:08):
I think this is the only, I could bewrong, but I thought this was the.
One of the few times, this isthe one the time where we think
we have five generations all atthe same time in the workforce.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Talk a little bit aboutthat experience, right?
Coming up, getting a job, you know,and then you are, what, what's
your generation ZI am a millennial.

(18:30):
Millennial.
Mm-hmm.
So you are a millennial now youin, in the, in the office with baby
boomers and all that type stuff.
They, we, they have different mindsets.
Yeah.
Millennials have different mindsets.
Talk a little bit about that.
I think the best way toanswer this question is to, to
really lay out the timeframe.
So I started out in 2016 to 2018 downin Washington dc Department of Justice

(18:50):
and what have you, and then I came uphere 2018 through about 2020s when I
was working at Viacom and in the mediaentertainment, digital ad space industry.
Right.
And we were working with a variety ofgenerations, I guess you could say.
So I think what the biggest thing thatsort of jumped off the paper for me was
I was working with older executives.

(19:10):
I was working with folks who were, I don'tknow, maybe in their fifties or older,
and I was half of their age Correct.
Working as their assistant.
And it, it, it was interesting tome seeing how they were in this
position and they had troublefiguring out how to send their email.
Right.
But as a young kid, you don't reallyquite understand that their value is not

(19:32):
in the Gmail or Outlook inbox, right?
Of course, they know how to send anemail or structure an email, right?
Their value is in the experience,the relationships, and what have you.
And then as my career went on, Istarted to notice that the people
who are around my age group and olderdidn't struggle as much with doing

(19:54):
things that they were asked to do.
Even though they didn't want to, andthe folks who were a little bit younger
than I was, were sort of struggling tojustify why they should do things that
may not be outside their job description.
Now, the biggest thing that I noticedwas that folks a little bit younger than

(20:15):
me, uh, maybe I don't wanna prove reallyput a number on it, but they are not
afraid to pull that job description card.
Where I come from, I.
You never pull that job descriptioncard unless it, I mean, it's
been going on for months.
This is outta control.
They're taking advantage of you.
You're not getting, like, I mean, it hasto be really bad for you to have that

(20:38):
conversation and you better not havethat conversation within the first year.
So I'm, I'm sort of in themiddle of this, right, where my
generation understands both sides.
So, so working in those environmentswas really, really interesting to see.
How much pushback some of the youngerfolks would give and how the older folks

(20:59):
or the uh, folks in the positions ofleadership couldn't quite understand why
that the younger folks had this position.
So I think that I'm in a uniquespot to be able to understand
both sides of the equation.
Right?
And, um, I think that thatwas just a really interesting.
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(21:44):
You know, so number one,thanks for that my friend.
And you say something that we'veall struggled with and, and, and to
be fair, you're only 30 years oldand I say only not as disparaging.
But you know, at the end of theday, you're 30, you're on the lower
rung of being a millennial, right?
At the, at the well, yeah.
I'm closer to being Gen Z.

(22:04):
Correct.
Because I'm a baby boomer.
Right.
And it went from 44 to 64.
I was born in 64.
Right.
So I'm at the, the back end of it.
Right.
So, so, so, so a couple thingsI wanted to say is that.
You know, that has been a strugglebecause I think one of the reasons why,
well, there's multiple reasons and let,let me just say this, let's back up.

(22:27):
Number one, it's not,uh, an anomaly, okay?
When I was a kid, I.
When I was six years old, my grandmotherwas telling me how soft we were.
Right.
And what they did earlier when theywere a kid and they would run circles
around us and how they carry two PAsof water, three miles and uphill,
but all that type of, so that's not,that's not every generation does that.

(22:51):
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Every, it is not something and thenyour, when you get older, you're gonna be
telling your kids some, something similar.
Right.
The challenge is, is having allthese generations in the workforce.
More importantly, themindsets that go with them.
Okay.
You just gave two quick,two great examples.
Right.
You know, there's a mindset of, you know,why am I, this ain't my job description.

(23:16):
I.
And I can't believe this, this, and that.
And then there's a mindset.
You ain't even got a rightto even bring that up.
You supposed to be just working hardand hoping that you get noticed.
Exactly.
Okay.
And so, so when you have those twodifferent mindsets and there's, there's
others in the middle too as well.
Mm-hmm.
It causes friction.
Okay.

(23:36):
And so talk a little bit 'cause I wanna, Iwanna par make this, um, make it parallel
to what you're doing because obviouslywith Barbara Jean Productions mm-hmm.
You are, you know, doing stuffand building stuff with all
different type of people, right.
Who are older, younger, in between.
Okay.
And have those different typeof mindsets, you gotta be able

(23:59):
to, um, navigate that mm-hmm.
In a very diplomatic way tobe able to become successful.
So, you know, one of the things iswhen I was, you know, I've been,
uh, um, uh, uh, in, in leadershipat a lot of places I've been right.
And I've always struggledwith those individuals that,

(24:20):
you know, would come in and.
My job says I'm doing this, I'm onlydoing this, or I only wanna work this
amount, or whatever the case may be.
Um, because I come from an oldermindset, an older generation.
You said you could understandbecause you've been on both sides.
Talk a little bit about that.
Yeah.
Um, yeah, I have been under on bothsides and I can't understand that.

(24:40):
I can't empathize with.
Younger generation becauseI think, I think it's, it's,
it's important to start here.
I think we have to give them grace, right?
I think you, we have to approachthis from a, uh, an approach of
understanding and empathy, uh,before we are quick to judge, right?
Because there's no fault of, totheir, there's no fault of theirs,
that they have been thrust into thissociety that is insanely reliant

(25:03):
on technology in the society.
That where information is attheir fingertips and there's.
Are ways to make a money and make aliving in ways that they weren't before.
So we have to first understand that theseyounger workers, well, they may not be as
technically savvy in certain areas, butthey are, they do know a little bit more
about, I guess you could say, no, they do.

(25:23):
They are a little bit more comfortablespeaking up about what they are
and are not comfortable doing.
And I think they'remore technically savvy.
Yeah.
I Than the older people.
Right.
Yeah, I would agree.
Just to be fair, right?
Agree.
Go with that.
I finish your thought.
Yeah, I would agree with that.
So I think it's important to justto just lay that out there first
and understand that they have been,they'd had an entirely different
upbringing than we have before.
We are quick to judge them, but Ithink I can empathize with them because

(25:48):
there are moments and there are timeswhere we see things that are not right.
We know that they shouldn't be doing this.
We know that they're underpaid.
We know that they're overworked.
We know that they're undervalued, but.
So, so it's like I understand that.
I understand that.
So that, but that's almostas far as it goes, right?
It's like I can understand how youfeel, however, you still need to do,

(26:09):
however, you still need to do that.
And that is where I think that the, myfather's values, my grandfather, sorry.
That is where I think my father'svalues, my grandfather's values
have been instilled in me.
And those, that's when thoseare active because discipline is
doing what you don't wanna do.
But do it like you love it, or doingthe things that need to be done when no

(26:32):
one's watching or doing the right thing.
These things are instilled in me,and I think that that is why I can
empathize and understand with thatside, but I'm still going to, I'm
still gonna go this way, right?
I'm still, yes, I can be upset.
Yes, I can and, and think thatI shouldn't have to do this or I
shouldn't be doing this, or I'mnot valued, but I'm gonna do it.

(26:53):
So, to, so, so to answeryour question succinctly is.
The fact that they've been exposed toa lot of things and I have as well,
lets, allows me to empathize with them.
But me personally, I'mgoing to go the other.
Yeah, I think so number one, firstthing you said, I totally agree.
We, we are quick to judge.
I told you my grandmother,you guys soft, right?

(27:14):
Mm-hmm.
And that was years ago.
Okay?
And we quick to always think ourgeneration is better than the rest.
Okay?
So that's human natureand always will be there.
Um, the thing is, is this, is that, youknow, we have to be willing, so let me,
let's just lemme say it this way, youknow, progress is always, in other words,

(27:36):
pushing the envelope is always by newer,the generation, the younger generation.
Okay.
And that's important.
It's no different.
When we went from the fifties to thesixties, okay, where the fifties mentality
was, you know, God, country and whatever.

(27:56):
Somebody do you do, and youwear your hair this way, and you
walk this way and you say this.
To the sixties where they were like,forget that I'm gonna wear my hair long.
I'm gonna do this.
I'm pushing back on authority on our yard.
That's always been the case.
Mm-hmm.
And when we look back at nowwhen that was happening, they're
like, they're, they're insane.
They're, they're undisciplined,they're, they lost their mind.

(28:19):
Right.
But then when we look back, no.
'cause they pushed us ahead.
They were seeing thingsthat we didn't see.
Because remember it is an oldsaying, pigs don't know pig stink.
Right?
When you're in the Pigpen,everything is normal.
They didn't, when you get outthe Pigpen, first thing you say
is, that's funky smell, right?
Mm-hmm.
So the bottom line is,I'm all for, I get that.

(28:39):
Mm-hmm.
Right?
The challenge is, is that, and I wannaask you this question, being 30 being
you're saying, Hey man, I see both sides.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Here's the thing though.
Is that, talk a little bitof why you see both sides.
Okay.
And then one of the things thatyou chatted about me and you

(29:01):
talked a couple weeks ago andyou said about how adaptable you.
Mm-hmm.
Right?
So speak a little bit, when yousay adaptable, what does that mean?
Mm-hmm.
And then more importantly,how can we bridge this us
versus them in the workforce?
And look at.
The strengths that each generationbrings and really try to,

(29:21):
uh, lean on those strengths.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So to answer the first question, uh,again, um, how I can see both sides,
and I think it really just comesdown to me being exposed to both.
Right?
When I first graduated, uh, college,I was working for the United States
Department of Justice, particularlythe United States Marshals.
So I was very much workingin an environment that was,
people were older than me.

(29:42):
I was the only youngperson in the building.
I was 23 years old.
The next person closest to my age wasprobably seven years older than me, was
probably around the age that I am now.
So being thrusted, being raised withparents like that and being thrust
into that environment after straightafter college, taught me one way,
taught me, Hey, like you are workingwith, uh, with police officers,
federal police officers at that whoare gonna need to do, are gonna do what

(30:05):
needs to be done point blank period.
Because they are the onlyones who are gonna do the job.
So that's how they approacheverything that they do.
That's what I was first exposed to.
Um, and then after that, youknow, going to a little bit more
elusive in environment, right?
The, the entertainment industry.
I'ma got a chance to see why other peI got a chance to see how the other
generation was acting or the peoplewho younger than me, the acting.

(30:27):
And I got to a chance to be in thoseoutside of the conference room at the
lunch table and hear their reasoningsbehind why they felt the way that
they felt and get their side ofthe, the, the, the ver the equation.
But you just said something that's key.
What's that?
Repeat what you just got.
Finish saying, you said youwere able to listen Yeah.
To what?
Their point of view.
Mm-hmm.

(30:47):
Yes.
Right.
I was able to listen objectivelybecause I'm not their manager.
I'm not their leader.
I, you know, I'm notnecessarily their peer either.
I'm just a little bit older andmaybe one position higher than them.
So, um, I, I, I, I, I listen from a sourceof curiosity, like I said, and that, that
allowed me to empathize and understandwith them, because if you listen.

(31:07):
What they're asking for is not insane.
They're asking for maybe to be respected,maybe to not be name called, maybe to not
be contacted after work hours, maybe toum, maybe to have constructive criticism.
So a lot of the things that they'reasking for are not outside of the
realm of possibility or not insane.
And to answer your second question,um, the second question was,

(31:31):
so you being adaptable, right?
And and me being adaptable.
I think that comes from straight uphow I was raised and me just the time
I think I was at the tail end of themillennial generation where I was
exposed to a world that internet was,yeah, you better go home and use Dialup
to, I can pull it out on my phone inmy college class and Google something.

(31:52):
Right?
So I very much had toexist in both worlds where.
The internet is a thing is, doesn'treally exist yet, and I ended up
existed in a world where the internetis everything, but, and you did too.
But I think what's important from whatmakes my perspective unique is the
timeframe and how old I was going throughthese transitions because I had to go

(32:13):
throughout high school in most of collegeand all of my first jobs, they're, I mean,
yeah, we had phones, but I mean, they werenot used in the way that they were today.
They were used for phonecalls and maybe texts.
The texts then were two or three words.
You know, we weren't texting forconversation and we were texting
for emergency almost really.
So I had to grow up in a world whereyou don't have your phone to escape to

(32:36):
when you don't want to pay attention.
You don't have your phone to pull outwhen you want to Google and answer.
You don't have chat GBT, youdon't have any of these things.
You have to go to the actual libraryor you, I didn't have a laptop.
So I understand the older generation,and I understand the youngers because.
I, I had, I was able to do both, right?
So that's, I think what makesme really, really adaptable.

(32:57):
Um, and, and also just how I was raised.
You know, I, I was raised in ahousehold where there is no excuses.
This is no hold bar.
Like, I don't care how you feel.
You're going to school, you'regoing to get your work done, you're
going to do this point blank period,full stop, because I said so.
Right?
That's how I was raised.
Um, so that's what I reallythink makes me adaptable and, um.

(33:17):
Secondly, working in a varietyof different industries.
I've sold cars for CarMax for years.
I've worked in retail, I've workedfor Nordstrom, I've worked for Yelp.
I have sold solar panels.
I have lead productions,uh, for moose, short films,
commercials, branded, uh, content.
I have done a lot of differentthings, so I think that is, that's
also what allows me to go inany environment and listen more.

(33:39):
Talk second.
Always create value in it.
What do you think holds people backfrom moving forward when it comes
to this conversation, this issue,because again, we have these multiple
generations in the workforce.
They, they all individualsbring a certain level of talent,
certain level of intellect.
It's, you know, again, you know.

(34:01):
You know, from a baby boom where I couldsay, this is the way to do it, right?
Mm-hmm.
And then from a millennial or Gen Z,they could say, well, wait a minute.
This is the way to do it.
And two things can beright at the same time.
So what do you think holds people backfrom being able to be open and learn from
this and be successful and move forward?
You know, that's a really good question.
Um, and I think that the answer reallycomes down to, well, what do you in that.

(34:25):
Once you answer that, then Ithink the, then I think you
can really answer the question.
Because if the answer is, say, you sayyou're working, um, in a service industry
job, say you're a barista or a bartenderor waiter or what have you, and you're
frustrated with what's going on, before Ican give you any advice, before I can say
what the next best step is, is you haveto answer the question, what do you want?

(34:46):
Because if it, the answer is just,Hey, I wanna pay my bills and I just
wanna make enough money to get by andknow that I'm gonna go to work tomorrow
and my boss isn't gonna fire me.
That's the answer, then yeah,buddy, you are gonna have to do
some things that you don't want.
But if the answer is, Hey, I'm just hereuntil I can save enough money to do A
or B, or C or D, then I'm gonna havea different piece of advice for you.

(35:06):
You know?
So that is really how Iwould answer that question.
But at the end of the day, netnet, you're gonna have to do
things that you don't want to do inorder to be where you want to be.
Because if you continue to do thethings that you've always done, you will
continue to get the same results andyou will be where you always have been.
It really depends on what you wantout of life or what you want out of
that current job or that situation.

(35:28):
But I will tell you, but I,but I will close with this,
you always have to do more than you think.
And that's just the reality.
And so when you say, you know, and,and I love what you said, you know, you
gotta analyze what do you want and youthen, you know, based on what you want,
if you want the higher things, then yougotta be willing to do what it takes.

(35:50):
Who are you talking to?
Are you talking to everybody?
Are you talking to a certain generation?
I think I'm talking to everybody.
I'm talking to everybody because, um, Ihaven't been, you know, again, I'm only
30 and I can only go from the experiencethat I have, that I have, that I have.
And as I keep going, I, I, I notice thedifference between people and I notice
how, and maybe it's less a generationthing and maybe it's just a people thing.

(36:14):
And the reason I made it a generationalthing is because, I mean, we've
seen so many headlines over the pastcouple of years about, oh, gen Z,
this, gen Z, that they're lazy, theydon't wanna work, they're entitled,
they're this or they're that.
But, but in the end, I reallyjust do think that it is in
you and it can be taught.
It can be learned.
Right.
Well, I think you said, you saida few things, buddy, that you

(36:36):
know stood out and you said abouthow your parents brought you.
Okay.
And how they set an expectation thatyou were gonna have to work hard,
you had to do whatever it takes.
And that goes when you eventalked about school, a C wasn't,
um, you know, sat, they wasn'tsatisfied with a C in your house.
You couldn't bring that.
Right.

(36:57):
And, you know, being able, havingthat type of mindset to understand
that, you know, regardless of thetechnology around you, you would
have to come in and work hard.
So, buddy, tell me a little bitabout Barbara Jean Productions.
Mm-hmm.
How you guys built it, you know, youwon a couple awards, you did a movie.
Talk to us a little bit about that.

(37:18):
Yeah, so Barber Dream Productions startedagain about 10 years ago with my passion
with, um, acting, which happened in highschool, and my sister with filming music
videos with our cousins and what have you.
And I think that what made us successfulin the, in the small amount of work that
we were able to do was our emphasis onstorytelling, was our laser focus on what.

(37:39):
Is the audience thinking, whatdo we want them to walk away
from this piece of content with?
Because they gave us their time, right?
Whether it's 15 minutes, 30 minutes, anhour, whatever, we want to not really,
not really teach 'em something, butwe want to make them feel something.
So we put a lot of effortinto pre-production.
What are we trying to say?
Who are we trying to say it to?

(37:59):
Who is our demographic?
Is this gonna live?
How long is, do we want theshelf life for this film to be?
Right?
And I think that a way that you can dothat a lot of way through storytelling
is having your character make decisions.
When they make decisions, that has alot to do with who they are, right?
Or showing, not telling, right?
Instead of saying, Hey, rememberwhen we used to do this?

(38:21):
Why don't you show?
Maybe you can show a flashback of them.
Maybe you can show a picture withinthe house of them at the beach
instead of them telling you, Hey,we used to go to the beach, right?
Those are small things that you can do.
And then lastly is givingyour audience more credit.
The audience oftentimes is a lotsmarter than we think, so you don't
have to spoon feed them information.
You can let them figureout things in their own.

(38:42):
And I think when you do that, you'llbe surprised at the, the reaction
that you get from the audience.
Got it, got it, got it.
So you seem like youreally enjoy this moment.
Right?
So give me a little bit in terms oflike what was the best movie that you've
seen that the story resonated with?

(39:03):
It didn't leave you.
And then from there, what lessonsdid you learn from that and how
do you apply moving forward?
Man, that's a tough question.
I always struggle when I'm, uh, whenI'm asked what, uh, my favorite movie
is or what the most powerful movie isI watched, and I guess off the top of
my head, I would probably have to say

(39:23):
I don't.
I don't have one movie or one mo,one movie that I can point to.
But I think that a lot of the ones thatcome to mind are movies that I watched
in my childhood, because those movies Ithink are timeless because they teach you
the, they teach you the values and moralsof just being a good person, doing the
right thing, making the right decisions.
So I can't really answer whatthe best movie or the uh, is or

(39:47):
what moved me the most, you know?
Why Tony?
Because I'm gonna make that movie.
I.
I'm gonna make that movie.
Oh, I get, well look and I getthat right because like you, I
like so many different movies.
I enjoy them.
They all speak to me.
I was just, reason I asked thequestion is because, you know, you
talked about the different ways orthe different components to a story.

(40:10):
About the audience smarter thanyou think and the whole nine yards.
And you know, one of the things thatalways, when I know I watched something
really good and I saw a good story mm-hmm.
It didn't leave me, I would thinkabout it even when I went to bed
that night, I would think about thatstory when I woke up the next day.
Think about that.

(40:31):
Right.
And even if it wasn't, um,something in my wheelhouse,
just in terms of the characters.
What happened in the story.
Right.
So that's why I was asking you thequestion because, and you tell me
one of the stories about makingthat emotional connection, correct?
Mm-hmm.
Right.
A hundred percent.
And trying to garner, make peoplefeel that they're in the movie or

(40:53):
they feel the pain or the exuberanceof what the character is going.
Talk a little bit about themovie that you guys made.
Um.
That, you know, you wonan award with, right?
Mm-hmm.
You talk, talk a little bit about that.
Yeah, sure.
So the first movie that I hadactually written alongside my
sister was called The Fruited Bears.
And it was a love story about, um, ayoung 25-year-old couple in New York City.

(41:19):
And really the, the crux of thestory was the, the gentleman in the
story felt as though that, Hey, wecan't be who we need to be together.
I can't be who I want to be andneed to be and neither can you.
And he had convinced himself of that andblamed it on the other person as opposed
to taking a look inside and saying,okay, well what can't, what can't I do?
As opposed to, what can't I do?
And I think what made that moviesuccessful was our goal was to.

(41:43):
Pull at the heartstrings, right?
So people often ask me, Hey, sothis is, this is your story, right?
This is, this is, thisis your breakup story.
And I'm like, no, this is your story.
This is my mother's story.
This is my father's story.
This is my sister's story.
So how we like to write characters iswe'll, we'll, we'll take one and say,
okay, this is where we want to go, right?
But when I said earlier that we like tobreak the rules, this is what I mean.
Because this character,this is a fictional story.

(42:05):
You're allowed to pull fromwherever you need to pull to
tell a compelling narrative.
Right?
So I pull from everybody in my life.
I pull from every movie that I've everseen to bring together this character
that is a full fledged, fully functioningperson that you can relate to.
Right?
Right.
And, um, that's how I think that we do it.
And, uh, we with the goal of, likeI said, you walking away from the

(42:27):
theater and you, you said the, thestories that stick with you have
you asking this, I think that that.
We had that in our mind when wewrote it and when we made it.
And I think that is what made ussuccessful because everybody could
see themselves in that story.
Whether you are eight, I remember sayingthis to my production team, Hey, whether
you are eight or 80, I don't care whenyou watch this movie, you are going to

(42:48):
take something away from it with you.
And we have that goal with everypiece of content that we make, and I
think that that is a real difference.
What separates Barbara Jeanproduction from everybody.
What separates us is our missionto motivate, educate, and inspire.
No matter what we're doing, whetherit's a corporate event, whether it's
for an event, for a charter school,or whether we're doing branded content

(43:09):
or whether we're doing a short film.
The work that we take on is alwaysmission driven and we want to.
Visually show people and make themfeel something, even if it's just a
commercial or even if it's just a product.
Right?
Um, so what sets us apart is you're alwaysgoing to, we're always gonna go above
and beyond for you, for our clients.

(43:30):
And what we understand is we aredoing work for our clients and we
are doing what our client wants.
We are delivering what you want.
We're not putting, we're not, and this is,it goes back to giving them more credit.
The client knows what they want,they knows what works for them.
They know what they want to do.
If they asked you for yourcreative direction, we're
more than happy to provide it.
What we're gonna do is we're gonnashow up, we're gonna show up on time,
we're gonna be respectful, and we'regonna give you a quality product.

(43:51):
We're gonna under promiseand we're gonna overdeliver.
Mm-hmm.
And guess what?
You got a brother and sister duo.
What company, what production companyyou can hire, where a brother and sister
show up on set, ready to deliver your,uh, delivering a line on your vision.
That's what makes us different.
That is awesome, my man.
So talk to us a little bit about what'sin store for the future, for the future.

(44:12):
So we see Scaling Barber Jean Productions.
Our goal is to always makea feature length film.
We got very close to doing it, um,with BET, uh, during the film strike,
but unfortunately that didn't happen.
But.
We want to be a fullfledged production company.
I always pictured myself beingthe, the executive with the suit on
going in and getting the deal done.

(44:33):
Now, that can still happenand we want to do this on the,
on the production standpoint.
So full service, end-to-end production.
Whether you wanna start a podcast, youwanna produce it, you need, need copy
for it, you need an editor for it, oryou want to go do a feature links film,
or you just want to do a photo shoot, ormaybe you wanna do some branded content.
That is ultimately the goal andthat is what we're going to do.
We have a goal of $500,000 thisyear and um, I think we are

(44:55):
well on our way to doing that.
That is awesome buddy.
Yeah.
So any upcoming movies?
Anything?
Yes, we have another movie upcoming andit's called, I Deleted the App and yeah,
I think you're gonna like this one.
It is about, um, you know, it is kindof a reality now, but it's about like.
If they had a detox center,but in real life, right.
So say Tony, say you'readdicted to a detox center.
For what?
Go ahead.
For, for, yeah.

(45:16):
Yeah.
So, so say you're addictedto, I don't know, Dr.
Pimple Popper or you're addictedto, to, to car videos, right.
And you got somebody, you say, HeyTony, look man, like you spend a lot
of time on that Dagg on phone, and Ithink that we need to get you some help.
So you go to this AA style, uh, detoxcenter, but it's for digital media or
what have you, or, or social media.

(45:37):
And you are gonna sit in a littlecircle and then they're gonna encourage
you to go, I don't know, touchsome grass or maybe, maybe go for a
walk or maybe read a book instead.
You know?
So it's very silly, you know, we're tryingto make fun of ourselves, but it also is
sending a message like, Hey guys, a lotof fulfillment you can come out of life is
not gonna come in this black box, right?
No, no question.
And look, I can imagine, youknow, when you said the title, you

(45:58):
initially everybody or immediatelyeverybody would be like, oh,
that must be for younger people.
You kidding me?
Right.
There's older people that'saddicted to TikTok or Facebook.
Mm-hmm.
Or whoever the case may be.
Right.
So I can't wait for that to come out.
When, when will that launch my brother?
Yeah.
I think we can expect to seethat in, uh, mid to late spring.
Okay.
So before June, but not beforeApril, I can tell you that.

(46:19):
So probably a mid to late April.
To, uh, uh, late May.
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Hit subscribe now to stay connectedfor more episodes that challenge,
inspire and lead the change.

(46:41):
Okay.
Well we're looking forwardto when that comes out.
We'd love to have you comeback on and share it with us.
Oh, I'd love to.
Right, because that sounds intriguing.
Look, my man, I gottagive you a lot of credit.
You know, for young brother,you got your head on right?
Your parents did a fantasticjob bringing you up.
More importantly, you andyour, I met your sister.
You guys were very receptive of itbecause the way you carry yourself.

(47:04):
That foundation is there.
Um, and so I, you, you saidyou have a goal of 500,000.
I don't, I, I, there's no questionyou guys are gonna hit that more.
You guys are just touching this,scratching the surface of your greatness.
Appreciate that.
So we really appreciate you comingon a block executive perspective.
We're gonna be doing more things in 2025together, so I'm excited about that.

(47:27):
And tapping into that storytellingrealm that you and Barbara
Jean productions bring.
So, final thoughts, my brother.
What do you wanna leave the audience?
Well, what I wanna leave the audiencewith is, is, is a couple of things.
And the first thing is if I is, if Ican encourage you all to be solution
oriented, I don't care how old youare, I don't care if that's with
your workforce, if that's with yourrelationship with your family members,

(47:50):
maybe it's a romantic relationship.
Relationship.
I encourage you to besolution oriented because.
As I enter, you know, sort of middlemanagement, you know, sort of getting
towards the 10 year mark of, ofwork experience and even experience
with my production company too.
'cause I've had the, the, theluxury of leading a team of 10, 20,
30 people on a production shoot.
I've had the luxury of leadinga team in the workforce also.

(48:11):
So I'm exposed now more than ever, 10.
The people who stand out the mostto me are the people who come
to me and they don't say, HeyRodney, the coffee mug broke.
And then just stop talking.
You know what I mean?
Like as a leader, you know this, everyonecomes to you with problems, but the
ones that have earned your trust andthe ones that you love, respect the most

(48:33):
as far as this getting something done.
It's the ones that come to you and theysay, Hey, Tony, here's what happened.
Here's what I suggest we do about it.
Here's why.
Here's the potential implicationsof what were suggestions.
Here's the ramifications,here's the risks.
What do you think?
Right?
And you tell me what to prioritize, right?
That is the person that you, I'm sure,that you'd like to work with, right?
And the second thing that I would sayis, is life doesn't happen on the couch.

(48:55):
I don't care how many emails yousend, how many Zoom calls you attend.
Yes, networking is important.
All of that is important.
I'm sure you got a lot of stuffscratched off your task list,
but at the end of the day.
First impressions matter.
A lot of those happen in real life.
A lot of the people who are gonnachange your life are people who you
are gonna meet in person becausethere is no energy exchanged through

(49:17):
that keyboard or through that screen.
Right?
Um, and I think, I wish that somebodyhad told me that, uh, a while
ago because, um, you know, some,sometimes you're just comfortable,
man, you know you're going to work.
You're in a routine.
You don't wanna go to that dinner,you don't wanna go to that conference,
you don't wanna go to that seminar.
You don't wanna go to that mixer.
You don't wanna go tothat networking event.
So, especially when you're anentrepreneur, especially if you're

(49:37):
in the creative field, if you'retrying to grow your career, man,
life does not happen on the couch.
And lastly, I would just say,just knew the next best thing.
You don't have to have it all planned out.
I think oftentimes a lot ofpeople get caught up in having
everything planned and mapped out.
Everything needs to be myt's need to be crossing them.
My, I need to be doted for me tolaunch, but life does not work that way.

(49:58):
Sometimes you just have to throwyourself out to the universe and
build the plane as you fly it.
And I always say, life opens upwhen you do, and the best things in
life are on the other side of fear.
This may sound cliche, this maysound corny, but really just sit
down and think about some of thethings that you really want to do.
Sit at the edge of your bedone day and think about.

(50:19):
What am I doing?
What do I really want to do?
And I guarantee you some of thosecliches that I just said, you are
gonna be running them in your mind.
And I promise you, you're gonnacome up with some answers, buddy.
It is so true.
And those are great finalthoughts, my brother.
So thank you, man.
So, final question I have for you.
How can BEP help.
You, my brother.
I'm glad you asked.
How you can help iscontinuing to do this right?

(50:39):
Because I know that we're in2025 now and there's all kinds of
conversation going on about whetherthese conversations need to still be
going, but the answer is yes, they do.
Because we're here to have uncomfortableconversations that can be about anything
and that never needs to go away.
So I would encourage you guysto keep doing what you're doing
and I wanna see you on the road.
I wanna see you at conferences.
I wanna see you at live events.

(51:01):
I wanna see people.
Stumbling upon your podcast in personand say, Hey, I'd love to come on
here and share something with you.
That's what I wanna see.
And I wanted to, I would loveto see this platform grow.
I wanna see weekly segmentsbecause I think that it is
important now more than ever.
We're past the George Floyd economy,we're past 2020, we're past all of that.
These conversations need tokeep going and, um, I think

(51:23):
this is a perfect place forward.
I think you guys are doing greatand I would love to see us get on
the road and explain the platform.
Well, thank you my brotherand challenge accepted.
We appreciate that.
We're gonna make it happen.
We loved you today.
Your energy, your intellect, yourmaturity, your leadership, creativity.
It's all been shown here todayon this episode of a Black

(51:43):
Executive perspective podcast.
So buddy, we can't wait to continue toengage with you throughout the rest of
the year, and we're gonna ask you to stayput right now because we're gonna have you
have you help us with our call to action.
So I think it's now time for Tony'stidbit, and so the tidbit today
is generations don't divide us.

(52:04):
Perspective does when we listen,learn and lead with purpose.
We open our mind and createendless opportunities, and
you heard a lot of that.
From Rodney Brown, Jr.
So want a quick little reminder?
Don't forget to check out every Thursdayon a Black executive perspective podcast.

(52:25):
Need to Know by Dr.
Dinger Burton.
Dr.
Burton dives into the timely and crucialtopics that happen on a daily basis
that you don't have time to delve into.
So she brings all the fire and the energyand what you need to know to move forward.
So need to know by Dr.
Na Burton.
Every Thursday on a BlackExecutive Perspective podcast.

(52:47):
And don't forget to check out, pull up,speak up our round table that sits down
and talk about the crucial topics, theeveryday things that's happening, and
it's a place where all voices matterperspectives are gained, and more
importantly, a revolution is going on.
So make sure you check out, pull up,speak up now as our people who watch

(53:10):
a black executive perspective podcast.
As you know, our goal, our mission,is to decrease all forms of racism.
Way we do that is with theacronym, we call it less LESS.
Our brother here, the co-founderof Barbara Jean Productions,
Rodney Brown Jr's gonna helpus with our call to action.

(53:31):
Rodney, kick us off.
My brother.
Yes sir.
Yes sir.
So for less, the first L andlessons gonna stand for learned.
Educate yourself on racialand cultural nuances.
Absolutely.
And then after you've learnedand you've enlightened yourself,
the next letter stands for E.
Which is empathy.
Now since you understand more aboutwhat your brothers and sisters are

(53:51):
going through now, you can be moreempathetic to their problems and
situations since you put yourselfin their point in their shoes.
In the next S stands for share.
Share your insights to enlighten others.
Absolutely.
And then after you sharethe final S stands to stop.
You want to, we want to all stopdiscrimination as it walks in our path.

(54:15):
So if Aunt Jenny says somethingat the Sunday dinner table that's
inappropriate, you say, auntJenny, we don't believe that.
We don't say that.
And you stop it right there.
So if everyone can incorporateless, LESS will build a more
fairer, more understanding world.
And the key is we all will be ableto see the change that we want to

(54:38):
see because less will become more.
Don't forget to continue to followa black executive perspective on all
platforms, YouTube, apple, Spotify,or wherever you get your podcasts.
Don't forget to come to our website.
Sign up for our newsletter,give us feedback.
How did you enjoy this episode?
Was this questions that Ishould have asked Rodney?

(54:58):
Give us some feedback becauseagain, we wanna mold this
to what you are looking for.
And then finally, continue to followus on our social channels of X.
YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook,Instagram at a black exec for our
fabulous guests, the one and only theco-founder of Barbara Jean Production's.

(55:18):
Rob Rodney Brown, Jr.
I'm Tony Tidbit.
We talked about it.
We laughed about it, we learned about it.
We love you.
And guess what?
We're out
a black executive perspective.

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