January 3, 2025 • 33 mins
In this episode, Tudor talks to Eric Gardner, the producer of the film 'Confessions of a CEO,' who shares insights on leadership, the significance of kindness, and the need for corporate responsibility. The discussion also touches on negotiation dynamics between CEOs and employees, emphasizing mutual respect and understanding. The Tudor Dixon Podcast is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network. For more visit TudorDixonPodcast.com
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Tutor Dixon Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Right now, we are seeing all kinds of things happening
in the world. We've got Bobby Kennedy going into the administration.
He's been talking about how we have all of these
chemicals in our food.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And we're not eating healthy.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And I find this interesting because right now, I, as
you all know, I'm a cancer survivor. So I go
to my cancer doctor every six months, and I went
in this time, and this is the first time I've
seen her since this all kind of blew up, and
I said, so, what's it like with this new you know,
going forward with Bobby Kennedy and everybody going into the administration?
(00:39):
And she immediately pulled up like these are all the
healthy foods you can eat, and it was something that
we'd never talked about before, which I found fascinating because
I was like, oh, even my doctor's office is taking
this in a different way. It was like suddenly like
eat fresh fruit, fruits and vegetables, and here's a website
to go to and we don't necessarily want to put
(00:59):
chemicals into your system.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So I thought that was interesting.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
But in the midst of this, I saw that there's
a new movie coming out and we have with us
one of the producers. His name is Eric Gardner, and
the movie is called Confessions of a CEO, My Life
in an out of Balanced World. So in the midst
of this with Bobby Kennedy because I bring him up
(01:22):
because he's mentioned in the movie quite a bit and
he's a part of this, but also because we have
had this crisis in the last few weeks of the
year with the United Healthcare CEO being gunned down on
the streets of New York, and I think a lot
of it is because of some of the things you
cover in this movie, where people feel like it is
(01:44):
an out of balanced world, that CEOs are making a
lot of money and the people are actually suffering. So
that was a long setup, but Eric, I think it's
just so interesting what's happening.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Well, thanks, Tudor.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I really appreciate the call, and I'm really excited to
talk about the movie.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Good awesome, So that it actually follows a CEO who
kind of had a reawakening, right, So explain a little
bit about how how did this happen and how did
you decide this was a really powerful movie. And I
mean timing is very interesting too, So it will be
a very powerful movie that's coming out in January.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Well, the movie is about Tom Geegax, and he is
a businessman from who grew up in Midwest in Indiana
and he ended up running a tire excuse me, he
ended up running a tire company in Minneapolis and it
(02:43):
was it was, it got to be huge, and he
was kind of the mogul he was in Minneapolis. But
he was hit within a three month period, he was
hit with throat cancer. His wife found out at his
affairs and divorced him, and his business was overextended, so
it was about to go under, and so he he
(03:08):
had a rude awakening. And what he did was he
after he hit rock bottom, he decided to rebuild his
life around balance. And he was lucky because he met
Deepak Chopra early on and talked to about balance and
(03:28):
learned how to meditate. And once he started doing that,
it opened up his world and so he started to
listen to other people.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
He started to put his ego aside.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
He started to he just made his whole life around balance,
and the company turned around completely and he ended up,
you know, his company got more successful than ever and
he he he you know, men infences with his family
(03:59):
and he found somebody. He and his wife broke up,
but he found and he found somebody who is his
lifelong partner to this day.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And he recovered from cancer throat cancer.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
So what he did was he sold his company to
Bridge some on Tire for just a boatload of money.
And then he went out in the world and started
sharing his message about how you could help business and
life and people can work together through balance and so.
And it's like, and he's not a he's a capitalist.
(04:31):
He's a straight up capitalist. He's not like a woo
woo guy. And so he but he his whole thing
is about the business has to make money, the business
has to surprice. You have to take care of your shareholders,
you have to take care of your employees, you have
to take care of yourself and so and your community,
and you're part of your community. And so he works
(04:52):
towards that. And so he came up with a system
and he was a very popular speaker, and he went
around the world and he also became an advisor to
a very eclectic bunch of people, like he was Al
Gore's advisor, and he helped al Gore and he ended
up being Deepak Chopra's CEO of his company. And he
(05:16):
helped and he helped start his company. And he also
worked with the other side of the aisle, and you know,
and and Jesse Ventura was a friend of his too,
So the whole nine yards was it was he just
he He became an advisor to you know, Robert Kennedy
for water keepers and helped turn those guys around. There's
a there's an organization called the Center for Science and
(05:38):
the Public Interest that does food labeling.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
He worked with them.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
So he worked with all these He worked with all
these organizations to help to help them function and to
help them them do good in the world. And then
his uh and he wrote a couple of best selling books.
So that that that you know.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That was a but he had to all so have
like there had to have been an awakening that changed
how he decided to run things and run his life.
Because in the trailer I was watching, there's a moment
where he says, I thought, if I saw people smiling,
they weren't working hard enough. And I've heard this from
many CEOs that kind of have had this awakening. And
(06:20):
for some of them it was a religious awakening. For
others it was something had happened in their life. But
it was like I pushed people so hard. And I
think oftentimes CEOs have that level of competitiveness and drive
and they expect it and everybody, but everybody brings something
different to the table. And so the one gentleman I'm
thinking of, he was like, you know, I had to
(06:40):
realize that what drives me doesn't drive the person in it,
and maybe doesn't drive the person in development.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
And in fact, maybe to me they look like.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
They're not moving fast enough, but they're creating something I
would never be able to create. But how do you
get that across to people who kind of become this
he's driving forces in their company, but they end up
making people miserable.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Well that's a thing, that's a real thing.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
And how he got there is after he hit his
rock bottom and when he was you know, he still
had the trappings of the company and it was it
was huge, and but he was broke, you.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Know, miserable and and had cancer.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Uh, once the radiation healed his cancer, he went through
very very intense therapy and and he was very fortunate
to have some have some people really who really you know,
worked with him and he's and he's not you know,
we put it in the movie how you know, group
therapy and and he also got involved in spirituality and
(07:43):
which which is how you know, early on he met
with Depok about just caring about others and caring about
the universe.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And so he.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Eventually had had an awakening and then where he said,
I am going to change my life. I'm going to
and it's it's in the film he had this. It
was just it was just this. It finally just hit
him like a bolt of lightning where it's like this
is going to be things are going to be different.
And then he but then he had to put it
into practice. So yeah, and it's it's it's it's tough too.
(08:13):
It's tough to you know, to deal with all these
individual personalities. But I mean the good news is is
Tom is a is still a systems guy. So he
literally came up with a system where you know, where
there's checks and balances, where where you can look after people.
And his one of his big things is is he's
he's you know, he's warm hearted yet tough minded. So
(08:37):
because sometimes, you know, sometimes the solution is you have
to let somebody go.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
You know. So it's not like it's not like, oh,
everybody just it's not.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Everybody has to do their thing and everybody has to work,
and everybody has special needs.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
But then you know, there's still accountable.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Like in Tom's system, everybody is accountable, so you know,
so it's just because you know, so so just because
Tom had you know, or John or somebody you know
has has special needs, you want to attend to them,
but they still have to they still have to be
accountable because of work.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
So that's kind of how this this guy that I'm
talking about, who had come out and said, you know,
I've struggled with being too rough on people. They met
with somebody who said, okay, you can do these personality
tests with people and then they have these different markers
of how they handle a stressful situation, how they handle
(09:32):
daily life, and just their their personality compared to yours.
And so he said, you know, in our office, we
had people fighting and in many cases where they were like,
why wouldn't you do it this way?
Speaker 1 (09:45):
He said, we all took these tests and then they.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Actually put their scores up on their doors and next
to their desks, so people would go, Okay, I can
see you solve problems this way. I solve problems that way.
That's why we're both mad about the way this is moving.
I mean, I think that's an extreme but it shows
somebody who really went I've made mistakes.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
I want to change it.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
I want to make sure that people feel comfortable here,
and not letting people off the hook if they're not
doing the job, but making sure people know how to
communicate with each other.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
One of the things that's kind of interesting though, is
it's there's is that.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Tom when you're working with Tom, because.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Tom is an example of what of what the system
is and when you're especially when you're in a person,
when you're a person of authority, it's like there's a
big difference between being firm and being a.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Dick, right, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
And a lot of times people in our society they
think that they're not being firm unless they're being a
dick and so and then start sorry.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Of my lack of it.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
No, I totally get what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
But it's like, but it's like, you know, sometimes like
when you're the boss, you have to bite your tongue
and listen for a second. And you may be roiling inside,
but you know you're never going to see Tom Lose
as cool. And it's and the and it's in these
situations so much of it. Like in one of his
talks when went through all of his talks when he
(11:22):
was speaking, he uh, one of his talks, he you know,
he talked about how you present yourself is as much
a part of your message as your actual message. So
you know, so let's say, I'm I'm, I'm you know,
I have some issues with you know, with Bob or
or Sally or somebody like that.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
In the office, and I know they work in a
certain way.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Pretty much know if you come flying in their door
and say what the f is going on and why
isn't this happening, that pretty much.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Is going to ruin whatever sort of situation.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
And the end of the day was so fun is
like so many CEOs shoot themselves in the foot because
you know, they think that that's going to motivate them,
and actually that undermines them. And at the end of
the day, you know, they're part of the whole, the
whole organization too, So you know, so it's like, so
it's like, you know, unless you're a sick organization where
the company struggles and the CEO still makes millions bowing well.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I mean, that's an interesting example.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
You want everyone to do well because then everybody succeeds.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on
the Tutor Dixon podcast.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So Boeing was this incredible company, and I think that
you know, we all thought we all felt very safe
with Boeing, and Boeing is a great example of a
company that started to look at profits and step away
from manufacturing. And when this all started to go down,
As someone who came from manufacturing, I was like, there's
no way that Boeing would take the risk of not
(13:00):
making sure it was safety first. But this is this
is where corporate greed comes in. And I think this
is where the average American starts to turn on every
corporation because once they see Boeing a brand, they all
know everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Most everybody has flown on a plane.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Most everybody has said to themselves at one point or
another when they're in a plane, how does this actually
keep me in the air? You know, so you are
when you hear that the door has blown off. You're like,
oh my gosh, what the heck is happening? And then
you find out, well, it's because they move their headquarters away.
They started to focus on profits. They were like, well,
you know what manufacturing is like second second to profits.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That's terrible that.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
That undermines people's trust in all corporations.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So what do you do then?
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Just I'm fascinated by you being a manufacturing family.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
My dad made parts for Bone I grew up and
my dad's a metal lyrics I actually would work.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
In the summer is driving driving, you know, and to Seattle.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So we had a steel foundry, so we made parts
for We didn't do so much aerospace, but you know
other MANUF all other John Deere, Caterpillar, all those things.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, Zimmers in South Bend, Indiana. We used to work
with those guys.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Really, that's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes, So you know, I mean, you know that this
as soon as you have a disaster like that, it
is I mean, it is so hard to.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Come back from.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
But I think it has broken down people's trust across
the country. There's been this massive pushback against the rich CEO.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
We started to see it.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I would say when the Teamsters went up against Yellow
Freight and ups and they were like, we're not getting
enough money. And then you saw the big strike here
in Michigan with the auto workers against the auto companies.
And that's to me, that's really close to home because
I worked in the auto industry as well. But also
I see our state, the taxpayers paying these corporations a
(14:59):
billion dollars a year to stay in Michigan. Then the
employees are saying they're not getting good money, and the
CEOs are extraordinarily like beyond what you private jet wealthy.
You know, this is like the kind of stuff that
Americans will never achieve, and it creates this animosity. And
then I think that that sort of all came together
(15:20):
and that's part of the reason that we see this
situation with the United Healthcare CEO in New York City.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
And I don't excuse that or.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Make this excuse for that, but I think that there
are tensions brewing. And it makes me so nervous that
because one lunatic, one psycho went out and did this,
that it will make people feel like or there will
be copycats or you know, we've seen this uprising on
social media, and I like to think that it's not
(15:50):
as many people as we think. But once somebody says
something so radical it is like they are supporting this lunatic,
then it just gets kind of blown up, like, oh
my gosh, there are people who actually supported this psycho.
But it makes me nervous because of when you you
produce a movie like this, you did it because you
know there are CEOs that are taking more than they
(16:12):
should and the people aren't doing well, and right now,
that's not a good place to be when nobody can
afford anything well.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
I mean in speaking to that that if you watch
this movie thinking you should go out and shoot people,
then you've completely missed the point.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I hope nobody ever thinks that, right that.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Is not that is the opposite of what this movie about.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
The movie is about people being kind to each other,
and shooting people is not being kind to each other.
And so and so it's really important that the takeaway
from this movie is that balance and listening to others
and being kind to others and thinking about others and
(16:56):
thinking about how we all live in a world and
how to make that happen, and not being you know,
like I said earlier, not being a dick is like,
is the takeaway from the movie, because right now there's
so few things that you can do, and people feel
like they're frustrated, and so, you know, and so what
(17:18):
we want people to get from the movie is the
solution to the problem is too be kind and to
listen to others and talk to people who are differently
and try to do the right thing.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
It's taught. It's like, you always need to do the
right thing, and.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
And that's and and so that's why you know and
so and so you know, saying that there's you know,
a problem with CEOs.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Yes, there is a problem with CEOs, but.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Taking extreme action into your own hands is it's only
going to make things worse.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I wonder if then there's also a message to not
just to CEOs and and the working the work group
or the workforce, but also to those people who are negotiating,
like the Shaan Fains of the world. Sean Fain had
this massive protests or massive strike against the auto companies,
but then he had the largest increase that they've ever seen.
(18:18):
So is there a message there to come out and say, look,
this is a great industry.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
They have treated us so well. We negotiated.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Sure, We had an argument, just like anybody has an
argument and a negotiation, but it came out to be
positive for us. I just wonder if there's a message
for everybody in here that they can come out, because
I hear what you're saying about it's about being kind
to one another man. We've lost that a lot of
that in our culture today.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Yeah, and well, the other thing about it is also
being respectful.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
And that's where the wo woo stuff.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
It's not like, you know, it's not super weird when
we talk about spiritualities. I mean spirituality, it's not that complicated.
It's just like, you know, treat people like you would
if you're mother's house. Yeah, I mean it's like you
don't have to just you don't have to just fly
off the handle. And so the other thing about it
is respect is mutual. So you know, if I'm a
(19:12):
worker negotiating with a CEO or I'm a CEO, you know,
negotiating with a worker, respect has to be mutual, can't
It's once it's one sided, then it's not it's things
aren't going to go well. And a CEO is an
actual job, like we need CEOs Like that's it gets
kind of lost in the shuffle.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
That's also a tough job, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
I mean for the people who complain about it, I'm like,
you're not working twenty hours a day, You're not working
on airplanes.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
You're not you get to go home at night and
be with your family.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
The life of a CEO is very different than what
I think people think it is. It's not caviar and
private jets every day. It may be a private jet
that you're working on and you will end up going
to another country and you're spending the night there. You're
missing the kids recital, You're missing this and that. You
miss a lot of life to make sure a company
(20:06):
of that size survives for the people that work there.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Yeah, I mean no, when we were like Tom is
a as a born CEO, and it was really interesting
when we were working on the film together because that's
not normally the workflow of making a film, but you know,
you could really see how you know, we had committees,
we had this, I mean, the organizational stuff, the organizational
stuff to make a successful company is a real job.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
And it's like and there are good CEOs and there
are betsios.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
There are some that do you know that do you know,
spend all their time in their private jets and and
you know, and don't do the work. And you know,
and there's some that steal from their employees and their
employees who steal from their employers too.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I mean, there's it's it's across the board.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I mean, it's but it's but I think that, you know,
getting back to what you were saying, is that having
respect for others when you're when you're in those discussions
and thinking because you know, too often I don't know
what the CEOs are thinking.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
But you know, a lot a lot of times workers
think that, you know, who is.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
This guy, he's it's ninety percent of the guy, but
who is this woman or who is this person? And
and they you know, they shouldn't, you know, but there's
they're tough jobs, and it's a real job.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
It's in it, you know, in.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
A hierarchy, every every rung is important and so you know,
and and they all have to work or you can't
go up the ladder.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
So it seems like there's going to be a pushback
on corporate profits over safety, and I think that covers
many different corporations. I mean, I think RFK made a
statement that was corporations are driven by high profits, annual revenues,
and shareholder value. They don't care about the land, the water,
(21:51):
the people, the richness of life. You shouldn't be able
to make money by poisoning public water ways and by
poisoning the air.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
It's been interesting for or.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
I think I can pull from Michigan again because we've
recently seen the governor here partner with a company from
China who's coming in and they are going to be
taking seven hundred thousand gallons of water every day. And
the people have now been educated on this stuff thanks
to people like RFK Junior who've come out and said
there are dangers, but also people from years before who've
(22:23):
talked about the environment and the climate and all of that.
When you have a company that takes this kind of
water and they run it through these types of chemicals,
are they being good stewards? Are they being careful with
the land around them? And this is something that I
feel like we have an opportunity as the people to
also pushed back on. But it creates a different dichotomy
(22:44):
as well, because you have now many CEOs going into
public life and being a CEO of a company is
not the same as being the CEO of a state.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
It's not a.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Dictatorship when you mix politics with business, and I think
a lot of people get confused by that and they think, well,
this person can make all these decisions or that person.
I mean, gosh, in Michigan, we had somebody that made
a decision from the standpoint of a CEO and did
poison the public water by doing that. You know, there
are there are mistakes that can be made if you
(23:19):
aren't thinking about every different aspect of how you manage
the position.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
That you're in.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Whether you are the CEO of a company or you
are running a state, those things all have to go
through other people. You in the company, you may be
a dictator in a state, you or not.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Yeah, it's a there's a difference.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
It's funny that you bring up RFK because you know,
people forget that before he got into the vaccination world,
he was probably I've heard it said that he is
the one person who is most responsible for cleaning up
the water in North America through his water keeper organization.
(24:02):
And it's funny because how that organization started was these
these fishermen on the Hudson They they they were going
out of business because they're fisher dying in the in
the Hudson because there's so much pollution.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
So they started suing the polluters.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
And you know, and it's funny how how it's really
comes across well that that you know, these subsidies that
polluters get, they they're a cheat, They're they're anti they're
an anathematic capitalism because it's a you know, it's a
it's it's you know, you're getting the public to pay
for your you know, your manufacturing costs. And if your
(24:39):
manufacturing costs can't cover the the cost of cleaning up
your mess that you create, then you probably shouldn't be
in a business. That's how capitalism works. You know, if
your manufacturing costs can't cover you know, the the creation
of your product, then you know, that's and that's just
what it is, you know. So that's why they want
(25:02):
all their suits.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on
the Tutor Dixon Podcast.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
When people go to see the movie, because it is
coming out in January. When people go to see the movie,
what should they be expecting to walk away with?
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I think they should walk away with the idea that
the people I'm sitting next to are valuable and they
have something to say. And the people I see in
the street, the people I work with, the people are
worthy of my attention and they're worthy of my kindness,
(25:42):
and they're worthy.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Of me valuing them.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
And that doesn't mean I have to do whatever they say,
or that doesn't mean I have to be a milk
toast or a doormat, but I should. Everybody has ideas,
and if we promote the ideas and the end of
visual then you know then and not take them for granted,
(26:07):
then things will be better. And that's something that you
can just do in your daily life. And it's just like,
you know, just hold hold your tongue for five seconds.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well, I think that's I mean, I think that's great
advice for all of us, especially if you are someone
who is entrepreneurial and you want to start up a
company or you're trying to run a company right now.
I think a lot of people feel it's funny because
I went to a meeting here locally at our local chamber,
(26:37):
and they were talking to all the businesses about, you know,
what is what is the culture now? How do you
bring people in? They had some students from the local
community college come in and they were to saying, you know,
we need to have hours that are flexible. If we
come in and eat one day, we should be allowed
to come in at ten the next. And you're talking
(26:57):
to a bunch of people in a manufacturing town, you know,
like you punch in at a certain time, you punch
out at a certain time.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
And I think that.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It was very unrealistic for these students to think this.
And yet when they sat down, boy, the teachers up auroriously,
oh yes, clapping, clapping, and the people that were running
the chamber were clapping, all We're so glad, and they
kept saying, this is an employees market, this is an
employees market. And I was sitting at a table with
a bunch of guys from steel foundries and manufact or
(27:28):
and machining shops, and they were all they all looked
at me, and they were like.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
What how do we explain to them?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
We can't we can't do that, you know, And I
just wonder if this is this movie is kind of
a movie that should shift culture in the way where
you not only see that the CEO is responsible to you,
but you are also responsible to the CEO, none of
you succeed without each other.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
It's yeah, that's that's that's the thing and the other.
But it's really important to be able.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
To have a different sorry with focus.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
It's really important to have a difference of opinion without
it breaking down. And that's the thing. So it's like,
you know, in a perfect world, when the students are
talking about something, if they're you know, you want to
listen to them. But listening to someone doesn't mean agreement.
It just means listening. And that's the key. It's like,
(28:23):
it's very we talk about that in the movie. It's
you know, there's a difference between not being rude and
being a milk toast and rolling over. And a lot
of times, you know, in a situation like that where
somebody who doesn't have a lot of experience in a situation,
you give them their platform to speak, and because they
don't have a lot of experience in an organization, they
(28:43):
think that because you're listening to them, you're going to
do everything they say, which you're probably not going to
do any of it.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
But so where the disconnect is is how do you.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Keep them on the line and keep them working and
keep them productive and keep them feel valued without rolling
over for everything, for everything they do. And then because
at that point in the two because it's a two
way street, there may be something that can be used
out of it, because you know, I've worked in manufacturing too,
and it's like, you know, this whole thing about like
you know, if you're if you're you know, if you're
(29:19):
if you're you know, in a foundry and the parts
have to go out and they have to get to
Seattle by a certain time. Everybody has to you know,
you have to be there at six in the morning,
and everybody has to be there pouring steel. And so
it's like if somebody has this great idea about like
wanting to show up at a certain time, you have
to have in your organization a way to hear them.
(29:43):
But then they know that they are not always going
to be.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Follow Yeah, I think it's really different.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
It's different today than when when I was growing up,
and certainly when my dad was growing up. I could
remember when I was toward the end of working with
my dad, he would just be like, this is so
weird to me that you have to coddle people, you know,
because that he was in the steel industry when it
was like brutal. You know that you you either do
(30:15):
what everybody says or you're just gone. You know, nobody's
going to tolerate. It was a bunch of burly old
men and they were going to beat the crap out
of you.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Right, So this idea of.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Changing is different, But I think it's a it is
a new generation of you're right feeling they need to
be heard, and so maybe it is that discussion of okay,
but let's talk, let's let's troubleshoot this. If you come
in at ten, you're a part of a team. This
is not this The line that you work on doesn't
run at different hours.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Like if you don't show up, your buddy doesn't get paid.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
You know, if you shut down the line, you you
shut down everybody's work.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
And it's it is. That's why, that's.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Why CEOs do get the big bucks, because it is
not easy, and there are a lot of conversations, and
there are a lot of concessions, and then there are
you know, the tough conversations of no, you just have
to you have to deal with it.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
This is what we do here.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
We have also heard lately that parents have gotten really
involved when kids are working, like parents of twenty five
year olds have gotten involved. So it's a whole different
society that we're looking at. But I think it'll be
fascinating to watch the movie and see who it impacts most.
Does it impact CEOs? Does it impact the workers? But
I'm excited to see it. So tell us again, when
(31:30):
does it premiere and where can people see it?
Speaker 4 (31:32):
We are premiering in theaters across the country. We're going
to be in Los Angeles in January thirteenth and fourteenth.
We're going to be in January and other places where
our distributors is just are just our distributor is booking
theaters now, and then in February we will hit the
streaming market and then everyone is going to be able
(31:54):
to see us. And there's going to be a big
publicity push too, and so it's coming.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It's a couple of months, you're.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
One of the things I wanted to say too, is
that they, uh, it's not just like, oh, be you know,
be nice to each other and then and then everything's
going to be great. There are very specific examples, specific
things you can do, like there's a program that you
know and that you know of like you know, checklist
(32:24):
of things that run a company. It's very there's a
lot of very practical information. Like you know, Thomas Swiss,
I'm Scandinavians from the Midwest. You know, we're all like
very practical people, and so we have lists and stuff
like that. So you're not gonna it's not just going
to be some some you know, some in the clouds thing.
There's it's very practical and very specific that everyone can
(32:45):
can make their lives better by watching this movie.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Good awesome.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Give us the name one more time and tell people
make sure they know that they can go and they
can stream it eventually at home.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So give us the name.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
It's called Confessions of a CEO and it's coming to
you in February, and please watch it because it'll make
your life much better.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Well, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Thank you so much, Eric Gardner, Thank you for spending
some time with us today.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Thank you so much, Tudor. It was a pleasure talking
to you. It's like it was great.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
It was so much fun.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you, and thank you all for listening to us
on the Tutor Dixon Podcast. For this episode and others,
go to Tutor Dixon podcast dot com. The iHeartRadio, app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and join
us next time. Have a blessed day,
Welcome to the Tutor Dixon Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Right now, we are seeing all kinds of things happening
in the world. We've got Bobby Kennedy going into the administration.
He's been talking about how we have all of these
chemicals in our food.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And we're not eating healthy.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
And I find this interesting because right now, I, as
you all know, I'm a cancer survivor. So I go
to my cancer doctor every six months, and I went
in this time, and this is the first time I've
seen her since this all kind of blew up, and
I said, so, what's it like with this new you know,
going forward with Bobby Kennedy and everybody going into the administration?
(00:39):
And she immediately pulled up like these are all the
healthy foods you can eat, and it was something that
we'd never talked about before, which I found fascinating because
I was like, oh, even my doctor's office is taking
this in a different way. It was like suddenly like
eat fresh fruit, fruits and vegetables, and here's a website
to go to and we don't necessarily want to put
(00:59):
chemicals into your system.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So I thought that was interesting.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
But in the midst of this, I saw that there's
a new movie coming out and we have with us
one of the producers. His name is Eric Gardner, and
the movie is called Confessions of a CEO, My Life
in an out of Balanced World. So in the midst
of this with Bobby Kennedy because I bring him up
(01:22):
because he's mentioned in the movie quite a bit and
he's a part of this, but also because we have
had this crisis in the last few weeks of the
year with the United Healthcare CEO being gunned down on
the streets of New York, and I think a lot
of it is because of some of the things you
cover in this movie, where people feel like it is
(01:44):
an out of balanced world, that CEOs are making a
lot of money and the people are actually suffering. So
that was a long setup, but Eric, I think it's
just so interesting what's happening.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Well, thanks, Tudor.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
I really appreciate the call, and I'm really excited to
talk about the movie.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Good awesome, So that it actually follows a CEO who
kind of had a reawakening, right, So explain a little
bit about how how did this happen and how did
you decide this was a really powerful movie. And I
mean timing is very interesting too, So it will be
a very powerful movie that's coming out in January.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Well, the movie is about Tom Geegax, and he is
a businessman from who grew up in Midwest in Indiana
and he ended up running a tire excuse me, he
ended up running a tire company in Minneapolis and it
(02:43):
was it was, it got to be huge, and he
was kind of the mogul he was in Minneapolis. But
he was hit within a three month period, he was
hit with throat cancer. His wife found out at his
affairs and divorced him, and his business was overextended, so
it was about to go under, and so he he
(03:08):
had a rude awakening. And what he did was he
after he hit rock bottom, he decided to rebuild his
life around balance. And he was lucky because he met
Deepak Chopra early on and talked to about balance and
(03:28):
learned how to meditate. And once he started doing that,
it opened up his world and so he started to
listen to other people.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
He started to put his ego aside.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
He started to he just made his whole life around balance,
and the company turned around completely and he ended up,
you know, his company got more successful than ever and
he he he you know, men infences with his family
(03:59):
and he found somebody. He and his wife broke up,
but he found and he found somebody who is his
lifelong partner to this day.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And he recovered from cancer throat cancer.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
So what he did was he sold his company to
Bridge some on Tire for just a boatload of money.
And then he went out in the world and started
sharing his message about how you could help business and
life and people can work together through balance and so.
And it's like, and he's not a he's a capitalist.
(04:31):
He's a straight up capitalist. He's not like a woo
woo guy. And so he but he his whole thing
is about the business has to make money, the business
has to surprice. You have to take care of your shareholders,
you have to take care of your employees, you have
to take care of yourself and so and your community,
and you're part of your community. And so he works
(04:52):
towards that. And so he came up with a system
and he was a very popular speaker, and he went
around the world and he also became an advisor to
a very eclectic bunch of people, like he was Al
Gore's advisor, and he helped al Gore and he ended
up being Deepak Chopra's CEO of his company. And he
(05:16):
helped and he helped start his company. And he also
worked with the other side of the aisle, and you know,
and and Jesse Ventura was a friend of his too,
So the whole nine yards was it was he just
he He became an advisor to you know, Robert Kennedy
for water keepers and helped turn those guys around. There's
a there's an organization called the Center for Science and
(05:38):
the Public Interest that does food labeling.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
He worked with them.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
So he worked with all these He worked with all
these organizations to help to help them function and to
help them them do good in the world. And then
his uh and he wrote a couple of best selling books.
So that that that you know.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That was a but he had to all so have
like there had to have been an awakening that changed
how he decided to run things and run his life.
Because in the trailer I was watching, there's a moment
where he says, I thought, if I saw people smiling,
they weren't working hard enough. And I've heard this from
many CEOs that kind of have had this awakening. And
(06:20):
for some of them it was a religious awakening. For
others it was something had happened in their life. But
it was like I pushed people so hard. And I
think oftentimes CEOs have that level of competitiveness and drive
and they expect it and everybody, but everybody brings something
different to the table. And so the one gentleman I'm
thinking of, he was like, you know, I had to
(06:40):
realize that what drives me doesn't drive the person in it,
and maybe doesn't drive the person in development.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
And in fact, maybe to me they look like.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
They're not moving fast enough, but they're creating something I
would never be able to create. But how do you
get that across to people who kind of become this
he's driving forces in their company, but they end up
making people miserable.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Well that's a thing, that's a real thing.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
And how he got there is after he hit his
rock bottom and when he was you know, he still
had the trappings of the company and it was it
was huge, and but he was broke, you.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Know, miserable and and had cancer.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
Uh, once the radiation healed his cancer, he went through
very very intense therapy and and he was very fortunate
to have some have some people really who really you know,
worked with him and he's and he's not you know,
we put it in the movie how you know, group
therapy and and he also got involved in spirituality and
(07:43):
which which is how you know, early on he met
with Depok about just caring about others and caring about
the universe.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And so he.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Eventually had had an awakening and then where he said,
I am going to change my life. I'm going to
and it's it's in the film he had this. It
was just it was just this. It finally just hit
him like a bolt of lightning where it's like this
is going to be things are going to be different.
And then he but then he had to put it
into practice. So yeah, and it's it's it's it's tough too.
(08:13):
It's tough to you know, to deal with all these
individual personalities. But I mean the good news is is
Tom is a is still a systems guy. So he
literally came up with a system where you know, where
there's checks and balances, where where you can look after people.
And his one of his big things is is he's
he's you know, he's warm hearted yet tough minded. So
(08:37):
because sometimes, you know, sometimes the solution is you have
to let somebody go.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
You know. So it's not like it's not like, oh,
everybody just it's not.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Everybody has to do their thing and everybody has to work,
and everybody has special needs.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
But then you know, there's still accountable.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Like in Tom's system, everybody is accountable, so you know,
so it's just because you know, so so just because
Tom had you know, or John or somebody you know
has has special needs, you want to attend to them,
but they still have to they still have to be
accountable because of work.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
So that's kind of how this this guy that I'm
talking about, who had come out and said, you know,
I've struggled with being too rough on people. They met
with somebody who said, okay, you can do these personality
tests with people and then they have these different markers
of how they handle a stressful situation, how they handle
(09:32):
daily life, and just their their personality compared to yours.
And so he said, you know, in our office, we
had people fighting and in many cases where they were like,
why wouldn't you do it this way?
Speaker 1 (09:45):
He said, we all took these tests and then they.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Actually put their scores up on their doors and next
to their desks, so people would go, Okay, I can
see you solve problems this way. I solve problems that way.
That's why we're both mad about the way this is moving.
I mean, I think that's an extreme but it shows
somebody who really went I've made mistakes.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
I want to change it.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
I want to make sure that people feel comfortable here,
and not letting people off the hook if they're not
doing the job, but making sure people know how to
communicate with each other.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
One of the things that's kind of interesting though, is
it's there's is that.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Tom when you're working with Tom, because.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Tom is an example of what of what the system
is and when you're especially when you're in a person,
when you're a person of authority, it's like there's a
big difference between being firm and being a.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Dick, right, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
And a lot of times people in our society they
think that they're not being firm unless they're being a
dick and so and then start sorry.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Of my lack of it.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
No, I totally get what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
But it's like, but it's like, you know, sometimes like
when you're the boss, you have to bite your tongue
and listen for a second. And you may be roiling inside,
but you know you're never going to see Tom Lose
as cool. And it's and the and it's in these
situations so much of it. Like in one of his
talks when went through all of his talks when he
(11:22):
was speaking, he uh, one of his talks, he you know,
he talked about how you present yourself is as much
a part of your message as your actual message. So
you know, so let's say, I'm I'm, I'm you know,
I have some issues with you know, with Bob or
or Sally or somebody like that.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
In the office, and I know they work in a
certain way.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Pretty much know if you come flying in their door
and say what the f is going on and why
isn't this happening, that pretty much.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Is going to ruin whatever sort of situation.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
And the end of the day was so fun is
like so many CEOs shoot themselves in the foot because
you know, they think that that's going to motivate them,
and actually that undermines them. And at the end of
the day, you know, they're part of the whole, the
whole organization too, So you know, so it's like, so
it's like, you know, unless you're a sick organization where
the company struggles and the CEO still makes millions bowing well.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I mean, that's an interesting example.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
You want everyone to do well because then everybody succeeds.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on
the Tutor Dixon podcast.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So Boeing was this incredible company, and I think that
you know, we all thought we all felt very safe
with Boeing, and Boeing is a great example of a
company that started to look at profits and step away
from manufacturing. And when this all started to go down,
As someone who came from manufacturing, I was like, there's
no way that Boeing would take the risk of not
(13:00):
making sure it was safety first. But this is this
is where corporate greed comes in. And I think this
is where the average American starts to turn on every
corporation because once they see Boeing a brand, they all
know everybody.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Most everybody has flown on a plane.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Most everybody has said to themselves at one point or
another when they're in a plane, how does this actually
keep me in the air? You know, so you are
when you hear that the door has blown off. You're like,
oh my gosh, what the heck is happening? And then
you find out, well, it's because they move their headquarters away.
They started to focus on profits. They were like, well,
you know what manufacturing is like second second to profits.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
That's terrible that.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
That undermines people's trust in all corporations.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So what do you do then?
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Just I'm fascinated by you being a manufacturing family.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
My dad made parts for Bone I grew up and
my dad's a metal lyrics I actually would work.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
In the summer is driving driving, you know, and to Seattle.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
So we had a steel foundry, so we made parts
for We didn't do so much aerospace, but you know
other MANUF all other John Deere, Caterpillar, all those things.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, Zimmers in South Bend, Indiana. We used to work
with those guys.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Really, that's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes, So you know, I mean, you know that this
as soon as you have a disaster like that, it
is I mean, it is so hard to.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Come back from.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
But I think it has broken down people's trust across
the country. There's been this massive pushback against the rich CEO.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
We started to see it.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I would say when the Teamsters went up against Yellow
Freight and ups and they were like, we're not getting
enough money. And then you saw the big strike here
in Michigan with the auto workers against the auto companies.
And that's to me, that's really close to home because
I worked in the auto industry as well. But also
I see our state, the taxpayers paying these corporations a
(14:59):
billion dollars a year to stay in Michigan. Then the
employees are saying they're not getting good money, and the
CEOs are extraordinarily like beyond what you private jet wealthy.
You know, this is like the kind of stuff that
Americans will never achieve, and it creates this animosity. And
then I think that that sort of all came together
(15:20):
and that's part of the reason that we see this
situation with the United Healthcare CEO in New York City.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
And I don't excuse that or.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Make this excuse for that, but I think that there
are tensions brewing. And it makes me so nervous that
because one lunatic, one psycho went out and did this,
that it will make people feel like or there will
be copycats or you know, we've seen this uprising on
social media, and I like to think that it's not
(15:50):
as many people as we think. But once somebody says
something so radical it is like they are supporting this lunatic,
then it just gets kind of blown up, like, oh
my gosh, there are people who actually supported this psycho.
But it makes me nervous because of when you you
produce a movie like this, you did it because you
know there are CEOs that are taking more than they
(16:12):
should and the people aren't doing well, and right now,
that's not a good place to be when nobody can
afford anything well.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
I mean in speaking to that that if you watch
this movie thinking you should go out and shoot people,
then you've completely missed the point.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I hope nobody ever thinks that, right that.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Is not that is the opposite of what this movie about.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
The movie is about people being kind to each other,
and shooting people is not being kind to each other.
And so and so it's really important that the takeaway
from this movie is that balance and listening to others
and being kind to others and thinking about others and
(16:56):
thinking about how we all live in a world and
how to make that happen, and not being you know,
like I said earlier, not being a dick is like,
is the takeaway from the movie, because right now there's
so few things that you can do, and people feel
like they're frustrated, and so, you know, and so what
(17:18):
we want people to get from the movie is the
solution to the problem is too be kind and to
listen to others and talk to people who are differently
and try to do the right thing.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
It's taught. It's like, you always need to do the
right thing, and.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
And that's and and so that's why you know and
so and so you know, saying that there's you know,
a problem with CEOs.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Yes, there is a problem with CEOs, but.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Taking extreme action into your own hands is it's only
going to make things worse.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I wonder if then there's also a message to not
just to CEOs and and the working the work group
or the workforce, but also to those people who are negotiating,
like the Shaan Fains of the world. Sean Fain had
this massive protests or massive strike against the auto companies,
but then he had the largest increase that they've ever seen.
(18:18):
So is there a message there to come out and say, look,
this is a great industry.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
They have treated us so well. We negotiated.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Sure, We had an argument, just like anybody has an
argument and a negotiation, but it came out to be
positive for us. I just wonder if there's a message
for everybody in here that they can come out, because
I hear what you're saying about it's about being kind
to one another man. We've lost that a lot of
that in our culture today.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Yeah, and well, the other thing about it is also
being respectful.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
And that's where the wo woo stuff.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
It's not like, you know, it's not super weird when
we talk about spiritualities. I mean spirituality, it's not that complicated.
It's just like, you know, treat people like you would
if you're mother's house. Yeah, I mean it's like you
don't have to just you don't have to just fly
off the handle. And so the other thing about it
is respect is mutual. So you know, if I'm a
(19:12):
worker negotiating with a CEO or I'm a CEO, you know,
negotiating with a worker, respect has to be mutual, can't
It's once it's one sided, then it's not it's things
aren't going to go well. And a CEO is an
actual job, like we need CEOs Like that's it gets
kind of lost in the shuffle.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
That's also a tough job, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
I mean for the people who complain about it, I'm like,
you're not working twenty hours a day, You're not working
on airplanes.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
You're not you get to go home at night and
be with your family.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
The life of a CEO is very different than what
I think people think it is. It's not caviar and
private jets every day. It may be a private jet
that you're working on and you will end up going
to another country and you're spending the night there. You're
missing the kids recital, You're missing this and that. You
miss a lot of life to make sure a company
(20:06):
of that size survives for the people that work there.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Yeah, I mean no, when we were like Tom is
a as a born CEO, and it was really interesting
when we were working on the film together because that's
not normally the workflow of making a film, but you know,
you could really see how you know, we had committees,
we had this, I mean, the organizational stuff, the organizational
stuff to make a successful company is a real job.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
And it's like and there are good CEOs and there
are betsios.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
There are some that do you know that do you know,
spend all their time in their private jets and and
you know, and don't do the work. And you know,
and there's some that steal from their employees and their
employees who steal from their employers too.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I mean, there's it's it's across the board.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I mean, it's but it's but I think that, you know,
getting back to what you were saying, is that having
respect for others when you're when you're in those discussions
and thinking because you know, too often I don't know
what the CEOs are thinking.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
But you know, a lot a lot of times workers
think that, you know, who is.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
This guy, he's it's ninety percent of the guy, but
who is this woman or who is this person? And
and they you know, they shouldn't, you know, but there's
they're tough jobs, and it's a real job.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
It's in it, you know, in.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
A hierarchy, every every rung is important and so you know,
and and they all have to work or you can't
go up the ladder.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
So it seems like there's going to be a pushback
on corporate profits over safety, and I think that covers
many different corporations. I mean, I think RFK made a
statement that was corporations are driven by high profits, annual revenues,
and shareholder value. They don't care about the land, the water,
(21:51):
the people, the richness of life. You shouldn't be able
to make money by poisoning public water ways and by
poisoning the air.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
It's been interesting for or.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
I think I can pull from Michigan again because we've
recently seen the governor here partner with a company from
China who's coming in and they are going to be
taking seven hundred thousand gallons of water every day. And
the people have now been educated on this stuff thanks
to people like RFK Junior who've come out and said
there are dangers, but also people from years before who've
(22:23):
talked about the environment and the climate and all of that.
When you have a company that takes this kind of
water and they run it through these types of chemicals,
are they being good stewards? Are they being careful with
the land around them? And this is something that I
feel like we have an opportunity as the people to
also pushed back on. But it creates a different dichotomy
(22:44):
as well, because you have now many CEOs going into
public life and being a CEO of a company is
not the same as being the CEO of a state.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
It's not a.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Dictatorship when you mix politics with business, and I think
a lot of people get confused by that and they think, well,
this person can make all these decisions or that person.
I mean, gosh, in Michigan, we had somebody that made
a decision from the standpoint of a CEO and did
poison the public water by doing that. You know, there
are there are mistakes that can be made if you
(23:19):
aren't thinking about every different aspect of how you manage
the position.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
That you're in.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Whether you are the CEO of a company or you
are running a state, those things all have to go
through other people. You in the company, you may be
a dictator in a state, you or not.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Yeah, it's a there's a difference.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
It's funny that you bring up RFK because you know,
people forget that before he got into the vaccination world,
he was probably I've heard it said that he is
the one person who is most responsible for cleaning up
the water in North America through his water keeper organization.
(24:02):
And it's funny because how that organization started was these
these fishermen on the Hudson They they they were going
out of business because they're fisher dying in the in
the Hudson because there's so much pollution.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
So they started suing the polluters.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
And you know, and it's funny how how it's really
comes across well that that you know, these subsidies that
polluters get, they they're a cheat, They're they're anti they're
an anathematic capitalism because it's a you know, it's a
it's it's you know, you're getting the public to pay
for your you know, your manufacturing costs. And if your
(24:39):
manufacturing costs can't cover the the cost of cleaning up
your mess that you create, then you probably shouldn't be
in a business. That's how capitalism works. You know, if
your manufacturing costs can't cover you know, the the creation
of your product, then you know, that's and that's just
what it is, you know. So that's why they want
(25:02):
all their suits.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Let's take a quick commercial break. We'll continue next on
the Tutor Dixon Podcast.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
When people go to see the movie, because it is
coming out in January. When people go to see the movie,
what should they be expecting to walk away with?
Speaker 4 (25:18):
I think they should walk away with the idea that
the people I'm sitting next to are valuable and they
have something to say. And the people I see in
the street, the people I work with, the people are
worthy of my attention and they're worthy of my kindness,
(25:42):
and they're worthy.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Of me valuing them.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
And that doesn't mean I have to do whatever they say,
or that doesn't mean I have to be a milk
toast or a doormat, but I should. Everybody has ideas,
and if we promote the ideas and the end of
visual then you know then and not take them for granted,
(26:07):
then things will be better. And that's something that you
can just do in your daily life. And it's just like,
you know, just hold hold your tongue for five seconds.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well, I think that's I mean, I think that's great
advice for all of us, especially if you are someone
who is entrepreneurial and you want to start up a
company or you're trying to run a company right now.
I think a lot of people feel it's funny because
I went to a meeting here locally at our local chamber,
(26:37):
and they were talking to all the businesses about, you know,
what is what is the culture now? How do you
bring people in? They had some students from the local
community college come in and they were to saying, you know,
we need to have hours that are flexible. If we
come in and eat one day, we should be allowed
to come in at ten the next. And you're talking
(26:57):
to a bunch of people in a manufacturing town, you know,
like you punch in at a certain time, you punch
out at a certain time.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
And I think that.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
It was very unrealistic for these students to think this.
And yet when they sat down, boy, the teachers up auroriously,
oh yes, clapping, clapping, and the people that were running
the chamber were clapping, all We're so glad, and they
kept saying, this is an employees market, this is an
employees market. And I was sitting at a table with
a bunch of guys from steel foundries and manufact or
(27:28):
and machining shops, and they were all they all looked
at me, and they were like.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
What how do we explain to them?
Speaker 2 (27:35):
We can't we can't do that, you know, And I
just wonder if this is this movie is kind of
a movie that should shift culture in the way where
you not only see that the CEO is responsible to you,
but you are also responsible to the CEO, none of
you succeed without each other.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
It's yeah, that's that's that's the thing and the other.
But it's really important to be able.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
To have a different sorry with focus.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
It's really important to have a difference of opinion without
it breaking down. And that's the thing. So it's like,
you know, in a perfect world, when the students are
talking about something, if they're you know, you want to
listen to them. But listening to someone doesn't mean agreement.
It just means listening. And that's the key. It's like,
(28:23):
it's very we talk about that in the movie. It's
you know, there's a difference between not being rude and
being a milk toast and rolling over. And a lot
of times, you know, in a situation like that where
somebody who doesn't have a lot of experience in a situation,
you give them their platform to speak, and because they
don't have a lot of experience in an organization, they
(28:43):
think that because you're listening to them, you're going to
do everything they say, which you're probably not going to
do any of it.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
But so where the disconnect is is how do you.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Keep them on the line and keep them working and
keep them productive and keep them feel valued without rolling
over for everything, for everything they do. And then because
at that point in the two because it's a two
way street, there may be something that can be used
out of it, because you know, I've worked in manufacturing too,
and it's like, you know, this whole thing about like
you know, if you're if you're you know, if you're
(29:19):
if you're you know, in a foundry and the parts
have to go out and they have to get to
Seattle by a certain time. Everybody has to you know,
you have to be there at six in the morning,
and everybody has to be there pouring steel. And so
it's like if somebody has this great idea about like
wanting to show up at a certain time, you have
to have in your organization a way to hear them.
(29:43):
But then they know that they are not always going
to be.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Follow Yeah, I think it's really different.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
It's different today than when when I was growing up,
and certainly when my dad was growing up. I could
remember when I was toward the end of working with
my dad, he would just be like, this is so
weird to me that you have to coddle people, you know,
because that he was in the steel industry when it
was like brutal. You know that you you either do
(30:15):
what everybody says or you're just gone. You know, nobody's
going to tolerate. It was a bunch of burly old
men and they were going to beat the crap out
of you.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Right, So this idea of.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Changing is different, But I think it's a it is
a new generation of you're right feeling they need to
be heard, and so maybe it is that discussion of okay,
but let's talk, let's let's troubleshoot this. If you come
in at ten, you're a part of a team. This
is not this The line that you work on doesn't
run at different hours.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Like if you don't show up, your buddy doesn't get paid.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
You know, if you shut down the line, you you
shut down everybody's work.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
And it's it is. That's why, that's.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Why CEOs do get the big bucks, because it is
not easy, and there are a lot of conversations, and
there are a lot of concessions, and then there are
you know, the tough conversations of no, you just have
to you have to deal with it.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
This is what we do here.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
We have also heard lately that parents have gotten really
involved when kids are working, like parents of twenty five
year olds have gotten involved. So it's a whole different
society that we're looking at. But I think it'll be
fascinating to watch the movie and see who it impacts most.
Does it impact CEOs? Does it impact the workers? But
I'm excited to see it. So tell us again, when
(31:30):
does it premiere and where can people see it?
Speaker 4 (31:32):
We are premiering in theaters across the country. We're going
to be in Los Angeles in January thirteenth and fourteenth.
We're going to be in January and other places where
our distributors is just are just our distributor is booking
theaters now, and then in February we will hit the
streaming market and then everyone is going to be able
(31:54):
to see us. And there's going to be a big
publicity push too, and so it's coming.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It's a couple of months, you're.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
One of the things I wanted to say too, is
that they, uh, it's not just like, oh, be you know,
be nice to each other and then and then everything's
going to be great. There are very specific examples, specific
things you can do, like there's a program that you
know and that you know of like you know, checklist
(32:24):
of things that run a company. It's very there's a
lot of very practical information. Like you know, Thomas Swiss,
I'm Scandinavians from the Midwest. You know, we're all like
very practical people, and so we have lists and stuff
like that. So you're not gonna it's not just going
to be some some you know, some in the clouds thing.
There's it's very practical and very specific that everyone can
(32:45):
can make their lives better by watching this movie.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Good awesome.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Give us the name one more time and tell people
make sure they know that they can go and they
can stream it eventually at home.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
So give us the name.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
It's called Confessions of a CEO and it's coming to
you in February, and please watch it because it'll make
your life much better.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Well, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Thank you so much, Eric Gardner, Thank you for spending
some time with us today.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Thank you so much, Tudor. It was a pleasure talking
to you. It's like it was great.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
It was so much fun.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you, and thank you all for listening to us
on the Tutor Dixon Podcast. For this episode and others,
go to Tutor Dixon podcast dot com. The iHeartRadio, app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and join
us next time. Have a blessed day,
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show News
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Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
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