Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Daniel Benefiel's 20-Year Staffing Journey: Connecting People to Meaningful Work at Morales Group

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Daniel Benefiel's 20-Year Staffing Journey: Connecting People to Meaningful Work at Morales Group · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast,
0:08
where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from
0:11
their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome
0:14
adversity. My name is Anthony Kotaspodi,
0:17
and today's guest is Daniel Benefiel.
0:19
The Vice President of Staffing Operations at Morales Group
0:23
found that in 2003 they do staffing differently by offering
0:28
life changing job opportunities for professional, exempt,
0:33
technical, skilled and general warehousing manufacturing
0:37
positions. Their mission is about building
0:40
better futures and they pride themselves on fostering purpose
0:44
driven workplaces. Daniel has more than 20 years of
0:47
operational leadership experience in staffing,
0:50
especially in manufacturing and light industrial sectors.
0:54
Throughout his career, he has successfully served in roles
0:57
like Director of Operations, Regional Operations Manager, and
1:01
Branch Manager at Morales Group, always focusing on connecting
1:05
people to meaning for work. In 2022, Daniel was honored as
1:10
one of the Staffing Industry Analysts 40 Under 40,
1:14
recognizing his significant contributions to the field.
1:17
His approach to leadership centers on creating strong,
1:21
dedicated teams while helping people find paths to
1:24
professional success. Now before we get into all that
1:28
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Add Back benefits.com. All right, back to our guest
2:15
today, the VP of Staffing Operations at Morales Group,
2:18
Daniel Benefiel. Thanks for making the time to
2:21
Share your story today. Good morning, Anthony.
2:23
Thank you for for having me and hosting me.
2:25
It's an honor. So Daniel, before we talk about
2:29
Morales, you spent eight years at another company called Staff
2:33
Mark. What first drew you into the
2:34
staffing industry? It's funny when you talk to
2:38
anyone who's been in the staffing industry for any number
2:41
of years, nobody is A little kid wakes up and goes, I want to be
2:45
a recruiter when I grow up. And everyone that I've
2:48
interviewed internally, but we always ask what you know, what's
2:50
your story? Mine was I was waiting tables to
2:54
put myself through college and a buddy of mine ejected out from
2:59
from waiting tables and found his way into an agency.
3:03
Knew that I spoke Spanish, knew that I went to school for
3:05
business and Spanish and they were looking for a recruiter and
3:09
invited me over to to apply. I applied at the branch he was
3:14
at, the wife of the branch manager had another office and
3:21
he sent me over to her and the rest the rest is is history.
3:26
Was not looking for it. I just knew that I wanted to be
3:28
in an office and not not waiting tables after college and that's
3:33
how it stumbled into it. So that's how the door open.
3:36
What kept you in the staffing industry?
3:38
What do you like about it so much?
3:39
Oh, my Lanta the so I, I just did a check check yesterday with
3:44
a a new recruiter that's coming in and we talked about the highs
3:49
of staffing in the in the addiction that is there in that
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there's such a high when you can get somebody that job when I was
3:56
a recruiter, you're face to face and you know that you've
3:59
impacted their life. Maybe it's not the job that they
4:02
want, but the job that they need.
4:04
And then it can now afford diapers.
4:06
And there's a feeling with that that comes.
4:09
And then as you grow, you're doing that in a massive scale.
4:11
I got 200 people and you're impacting your organization to
4:15
be able to hire more internally. And then there's the lows.
4:18
But for me, I keep coming back because there's so much rich
4:22
goodness and and finding employment for for good hard
4:26
working people. Yeah, I could see that being
4:28
really rewarding. I mean, you want to show up to
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any job, you want to do good work, you want to get along with
4:34
your Co workers, you want to make a good living for yourself.
4:36
But right when you can take somebody who's been struggling,
4:39
help them find a job. And I love how you put it.
4:42
Now they can buy diapers, you know, like that just kind of has
4:45
to warm your heart. Oh, yeah, when you're 22 and
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you're probably, you know, you know, broke and eating ramen
4:51
noodles yourself and, and knowing that that somebody
4:53
sitting in front of you is going to do something impactful with,
4:57
with, with the money for their family.
5:00
It was, it was very, very rewarding intimately,
5:04
consistently. And it did just it, it, it made
5:08
me thrive, I think, in my earlier years of my career.
5:11
So you spent eight years there at Staffmark.
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Can you think of a particularly memorable experience there that
5:19
now that you look back on, you're like, wow, that really
5:22
influenced the way that I lead today in my work.
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So I was kind of like a low man on the totem pole for probably
5:31
five years there. They're pretty confined
5:33
structure, and so it's chopped wood, carry water and got the
5:37
opportunity to cover for a maternity leave at a very high
5:40
volume customer that had a tough cookie for a human resource
5:45
manager. And I'm all wet behind the ears,
5:49
batting my brown eyes, just wanting to try to win this team
5:53
over. It was a Japanese automotive
5:55
firm. And so there was just that
5:56
rigidity that was in there. And then there was little old me
5:59
who was just, you know, blowing a China shop.
6:03
And I made it like my life's mission that I'm all my time
6:06
here. I'm going to win this this point
6:08
of contact over. I'm going to continue to scale
6:10
the business and I'm going to make them want to keep me after
6:15
the maternity leave. It was just like my life's
6:17
mission because I saw it as my opportunity kind of out of the
6:20
role that I was in to spearhead up.
6:22
And I think that has just continued on and on is I'm going
6:27
to win them over. I'm going to never say no.
6:29
I'm going to never quit. And just that isolated point of
6:33
leadership experience with that, that point of contact and that
6:37
team, I'm duplicating that either in the leadership team or
6:42
with other other customers or my leaders continually 20 years
6:46
later. So were you successful in
6:48
winning them over and keeping the job after the maternity
6:50
leave was over? I was I was very successful at
6:53
it and got to build a team around me as that their their
6:59
business scale and it was a one man or one woman show out there
7:03
and then I was able to build a team around me.
7:05
It was the first time I'd had a team, small but mighty three of
7:09
us out there. And that that again drove me to
7:13
be like, look, I can bring people in, develop them, scale
7:16
this business, be a solution for labor and, and like lead people
7:22
and, and that became its own addiction, I suppose.
7:26
You know, a lot of times when you're starting early on in your
7:30
career, those memorable experiences are often times not
7:34
one of success. They're ones of I tried really
7:37
hard, I fell on my face and I learned a better way to do it.
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So you hear your story where, like you said, you were pretty
7:43
wet behind the ears, but you nose to the grindstone, you
7:48
figured out a way to win these folks over.
7:50
Why do you think you were successful right out of the gate
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like that? Blind, you know, blind
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ignorance. Maybe something in my medulla
7:59
Blangata back then was just didn't understand how what, what
8:03
true failure looked like. And it wasn't all roses on my
8:05
come up either. My my, my first boss.
8:08
So that that woman I referenced Kim Rayford, she's now our VP of
8:12
sales here at Morales Group. And that's a story on how I came
8:15
here. But she'll tell you, I bring her
8:18
in this office right now and she, she'll tell you she should
8:20
have fired me five times. I, I was, I would, I had some my
8:24
own failures, but how did I, how did I do it there?
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I just think I did not even have the concept of, of truly losing
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at that point in my career. And I think that that helped
8:35
give me that blind optimism even even today post COVID, in this
8:39
crazy staffing world that we're all suffering through, that
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resilience, I suppose is ever present.
8:47
You know, often times when I hear that competitive spirit of
8:50
folks have got a background in athletics growing up.
8:53
Was that the case for you? No, it's not my competitive like
9:00
so I was in the speech and debate team and I stayed
9:05
nationals. So that was where I competed.
9:10
I competed in oratory and that was and it was.
9:14
It's not, it's not physical in that sense, but man, oh man, it
9:19
is a competitive landscape in the, in the speech, in the
9:22
forensics world. And then I was also in DACA,
9:25
which is a business side of, of high school and competed in, in
9:30
that sense too. So there was, there was
9:32
competition, it just wasn't on a field, so to speak.
9:36
I did speech and debate briefly back in high school, and I can
9:39
attest to the competitive nature of it.
9:41
Oh, man. And you had to be quick on your
9:43
feet, and you're going up against a lot of really bright
9:46
people who are also quick on their feet.
9:48
Oh, yeah. So yeah, I I could see that.
9:51
Yeah, I was tiny in high school. I was like 110 lbs until
9:55
sophomore. Yeah, I was a tiny little dude.
9:57
And so that was my playing field and all things are equal, the
10:03
size and stature didn't matter. So that was that was nice.
10:05
Saying, yeah, small frame, big brain.
10:09
You, you use the assets that you had.
10:12
OK, so you said there's a story about how you came to join the
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Morales Group. Let's hear that.
10:20
So CBS was originally Staff Mark.
10:23
So I joined a company called CBS and they were bought by Staff
10:26
Mark. A few years out of my tenure, I
10:29
had a sales Rep named Pam Griggs and I had a branch manager named
10:34
Kim Rafer. And somehow, someway Pam leaves
10:39
staff mark and comes to the Morales group and couple years
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later takes Kim. And a few years later they
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tapped me on the shoulder and like, look, you got to come over
10:48
here, man. This is different.
10:49
It's special. The man who owns it has has got
10:53
something going on here that I think you need to be a part of.
10:56
I just had my first son and did not want any instability.
11:01
I, I, I, you know, I, I crave kind of that consistency where I
11:05
change my benefits. And now I got a new office.
11:07
It's just too much change. And they eventually got me out
11:11
for a, a coffee with, with Seth Morales.
11:16
The founder is Tom, his father. And just fell in love with who
11:22
we are and why we do what we do as as an organization.
11:27
And so it it was very much a who you know, again, I knew a guy
11:32
who I work tables with who interviewed with Brad Rayford
11:36
and his wife was running a branch.
11:38
And that's how I came there and it and in this sense, it was a
11:43
couple of ex staff, Mark folks came over and and tapped me on
11:47
the shoulder. And I was originally supposed to
11:49
come in and like open up this branch down in Alabama and get
11:53
like corporate housing. And I was all ready for that.
11:56
And that deal fell through after I inked my offer letter.
12:00
And so they didn't retract it. They found a spot for me.
12:02
And by the grace of God, let me let me thrive in in my early
12:07
years of the career here. Now, it's interesting that they
12:11
tapped you on the shoulder and asked you to come over when
12:13
earlier you were saying there were probably five times that
12:16
you should have been fired. What?
12:18
What were some of those instances or transgressions if
12:21
you will? Right.
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You know, I had a lot of fun in my 20s and was single and went,
12:27
you know would enjoy later nights and was not a morning
12:31
person like I am now. And so there was some early 20s
12:35
attendance and then attention to detail as I was for those in the
12:39
staffing industry will love it. But completing an I-9 or running
12:42
a background check, just the binary functions of my job.
12:46
I was transposing socials. I was, you know, signing the
12:50
wrong part of list A and list B, which are huge compliance issues
12:54
and they cost the company money. But somehow, and Kim will tell
12:58
you that, you know, despite like those basic transgressions for a
13:03
recruiter and account manager, that I that I had a spit in the
13:07
spirit that that she took a shining to thankfully and saw
13:12
something in the past. You know the error of my ways
13:14
early when I was younger, frankly.
13:17
So tell us about the work that you guys are doing at the
13:20
Morales Group. What kinds of functions are you
13:23
serving? What kind of roles are you
13:24
filling? It's, it's evolved, it's and
13:29
it's, it's currently an my opinion, I've said this down the
13:32
halls like we're in the middle of an evolution within our
13:34
company. You know, traditionally for 20
13:36
years we've been a very light industrial mid low skill agency
13:42
that had a heart for serving people and creating meaningful
13:45
relationships with our clients. And we have cornered a good part
13:48
of the market here in Indianapolis and had began to
13:52
expand our footprint prior to COVID.
13:54
And what are we working on now is, is, is that evolution out
13:58
510 years from now where we need to expand past kind of like
14:02
that, that binary 01 light industrial and move into the
14:08
direct exempt technical. And so we recently did an
14:13
acquisition in January of this year with a company called
14:17
Career Transitions. They're out of South Bend, a
14:20
Hoosier company and bring bring with them like 30 years of
14:25
existence and like 80 years of experience with these bachelor
14:30
and master degree recruiters. And they've been a wonderful
14:34
culture fit and we're beginning to expand it.
14:38
While the core business of light industrial staffing, as many of
14:41
them know out there, if they're watching or listening isn't it
14:44
isn't a motive of flux and and and contraction.
14:47
Whereas we bought this and made some good higher Aqua hires.
14:52
So folks who can come in with a book, a business to help sell
14:56
that side of it. And then now we're focusing on a
15:00
contract recruitment, technical engineers, high skill CNC
15:06
operators that, that dictate a certain type of recruiter, a
15:11
certain type of difference in the the methodology in which we
15:16
were born and bred. And so it's been really exciting
15:19
to support the core business, but then pour into this
15:24
acquisition and actually scale it and not just buy it and set
15:28
it and forget it. It's been, it's been a great
15:30
nine months with with that team. So for those listening who maybe
15:35
aren't familiar with the insurance and outs of the
15:37
industry, can you first define light industrial and then
15:40
explain for folks why that sector of the market is kind of
15:45
having some tough times right now?
15:48
How much time do you have? Yeah, I mean, so light
15:50
industrial is is your warehouse general labor pick pack forklift
15:57
machine operating just in in general.
15:59
That's a, a very basic explanation of the light
16:03
industrial side of, of staffing and there's a multitude of
16:07
reasons how it's been impacted in a state of flux or disruption
16:13
over the last five years. You could take COVID, but then
16:16
I'd say forget COVID. We're still trying to find a new
16:19
norm. Many employers post COVID
16:22
migrated to internal full time hiring and kind of cutting out,
16:26
you know, staffing partnerships and agencies as that, as that
16:30
middle man. I mean, we, we took on the
16:32
financial risk of insurance, the burden of unemployment and they
16:36
decided to cost analysis that and bring it in house.
16:39
And it's worked for some and it's not worked for others.
16:42
With that disruption, there's been an evolution of recruiters
16:46
out there who have joined some of the the customers that we
16:50
serve inside of their talent acquisition department bringing
16:53
those best practices. You recently over the last few
16:57
years you've got, you know, macroeconomic influences,
17:03
whether that was supply chain disruptions that have occurred
17:06
Ala carte tariffs, de minimis impact to the industry, which
17:11
we're all kind of fighting through right now, especially if
17:14
you have we, we've got a couple good manufacturing markets and
17:17
those have have flattened a bit going on hiring freezes on
17:22
hiring freezes. So there's a lot of
17:23
unpredictability in that sense. And then margin compression, I
17:28
think everyone's experiencing that.
17:30
And out out there in the like at the front lines of the field,
17:33
it's not easy. It, it, it's tough for these
17:35
folks to do what they do day in and day out.
17:38
How people are looking for jobs is it has changed.
17:40
And so there's there's been burnout at leadership levels and
17:45
at frontline levels as well. And so I think we're going to
17:48
continue to stay in a state of flux like this, not to get long
17:51
winded, but like for the next year or two is as we find out
17:54
what the new, new, new normal is going to be for us.
17:59
Yeah, and I hear this a lot, talking with folks even outside
18:02
of the staffing industry. So many changes.
18:05
You know, some industries went through the roof during COVID,
18:09
Some went, you know, down in the toilet.
18:12
Everybody coming out of COVID, you know, things have been
18:15
strained, right? And then you're talking about
18:17
tariffs, interest rates, the change in the diminished rule,
18:21
all these uncertainties. And business does not operate
18:25
very well when there's all of these uncertainties.
18:27
And so even when some folks have the opportunity to grow, they're
18:31
nervous, they hold back, they put on the hiring freezes and it
18:35
just sort of, you know, it just kind of spirals in that way.
18:38
That's right. And so.
18:41
Talk to us more about the new directions that you're heading
18:44
in some of these industries in these positions that you're
18:47
describing. Is this more of a like an
18:50
executive recruiting, like a one time fee, you place somebody
18:54
permanently there or are these still temporary positions that
18:58
you're filling? It's a good, good question.
19:01
I mean, if you would have asked this in 2017, what was our
19:03
growth strategy? Our clients were inviting U.S.
19:05
market to market. We were, we were out of state
19:08
three times in two years opening up and it that was our growth
19:13
path for the next 10 years. And after the COVID and we, we
19:17
didn't take the PPP money. So we, we weathered the storm
19:20
ourselves and reassessed how is it that we're going to continue
19:26
to grow and it's through through a acquisition.
19:30
And so I'll talk on what we acquired and what we offer.
19:34
But with the, with the asterisks that we're continuing to pour
19:38
into these acquisitions that are going to support us being that
19:42
family of brands and A and a people powered platform for
19:45
labor solutions. But what we have now, I think is
19:48
special. We've got 2 Pinnacle recruiters
19:52
and A and a Pinnacle recruiter, someone who's who's can gross
19:56
margin over 400 KA year on their own and these.
20:01
These two can do President COO, it's high in the chain that you
20:08
can go up there specialized in that highly confidential
20:11
searches. And so we can be tapped on the
20:13
shoulder for that at any time. And I've got the utmost
20:16
confidence that these two that we have on staff will, will
20:22
succeed because I've watched him do it several times this year.
20:25
And then not below that, but next to them are are those that
20:30
can find your, your warehousing managers, senior engineering, a
20:34
plethora within the engineering and insurance leadership roles.
20:38
And then those are all the direct hire.
20:39
Yeah, sure. One bill, one fee.
20:42
The search can take 6 months if you're going for a president, it
20:45
can take 6 days if you're looking for another role.
20:48
And then what we also have is the contract recruitment side of
20:52
the house and those are hourly roles.
20:55
They're typically, you know, six months to a year and those can
20:58
range. Maybe you're, you're an IT guy
21:00
or gal doing it for a year on a project that you know, it's a
21:03
project or you're there for six months with us and, and the
21:06
client brings you on full time. So we've got a variety and we
21:10
like to have a variety because there's good flexibility not
21:13
just for our customers, but for the candidates as as well their
21:18
premium premier paying positions.
21:20
And we're proud to be able to offer it and impact, you know,
21:23
those lives as well. And do you see that side of the
21:26
staffing industry with more stability in the moment and more
21:32
growth opportunity kind of near term?
21:35
You know, I, so Brian who lucky is, is the, the gentleman who
21:39
runs the, the, the professional side of the house.
21:42
And we brought on a gal who, who sells on their behalf and
21:45
another gentleman who sells on their behalf.
21:47
So the two sales reps, Shannon Puckett and Dennis Cable, those
21:51
two have been in the game for as long as Brian, but on the sales
21:54
side. So I'm learning from them kind
21:57
of what is, what's the cyclical nature of this through prior
22:01
recessions and prior disruptions, right.
22:04
The, the short answer is yes, it's going to continue to grow.
22:08
It's which is going to grow. Which year is it going to be the
22:11
direct, you know, one fee or is it going to be the contract side
22:15
of the house, the hourly? And what I've I've learned from
22:19
them and another mentor of mine is that it will breathe.
22:21
Six months will go hard here, six months you'll go hard there.
22:25
And they're sometimes leading and lagging indicators in the
22:27
market that you'll see in real time in your niche little world
22:32
of this that will tell you what the the next six months are
22:35
going to be like and where where the growth is going to be on
22:40
either on the hourly contract or the direct hire.
22:43
Things I'm reading say that it's it's going to go hard on the
22:47
contract because folks are going to be a little bit less
22:49
apartment to hire a full time at such a fee and not want to take
22:53
that immediate risk. As that comes out and people are
22:57
ready to make those permanent investments, then the direct
23:00
hire side will spike back up. But it it, it breathes just like
23:04
the labor market. Yeah.
23:07
What stars do you think would need to align for the light
23:11
industrial to make a comeback? Man, what star?
23:16
It's a great, great question, Anthony.
23:22
Good Lord. Consumer confidence.
23:25
I think is would need to be 1 divine power of the the dollar.
23:29
I'm not here to tell anybody what to do with interest rates,
23:34
but somewhere we're all dependent upon, you know, people
23:38
buying the things that that folks ship and receive.
23:42
I think that once that confidence happens, supply
23:45
chains loosen up, things will flow.
23:49
You know, I lose sleep on going. Will it ever get back to being
23:52
like it was maybe never and this this, this contraction there,
23:57
maybe there's just going to be less market share and that's
24:00
fine. That just means that, you know,
24:02
we have to evolve in our competitors have to evolve as
24:05
well for, but for, for those stars, I would say, yeah,
24:09
consumer confidence, supply chains and predictability.
24:12
If, if, if we could get a couple years of predictability
24:19
investment would happen back into the industry and you would
24:22
be able to flow like calm or river than the choppier one that
24:26
we're currently rolling up against.
24:29
Daniel, you've been at the Morales Group for 13 years now
24:34
and you've had, you've kind of worked your way up the ladder
24:37
there. You've had, you know, some
24:38
different role changes. As you think back to those
24:41
transitions, which one of them moving from one role to another
24:45
was the most challenging for you?
24:47
Oh, without question it the one that I'm sitting in right now
24:53
for a multitude of reasons. 1 You know, I was born on the
24:56
front lines, was, was led the front lines for many years and
24:59
that that real time impact an ability to play call and, and
25:03
pivot the direction of your branch or your region that was
25:07
much, much smaller. And I did so in what I would say
25:11
really good years for the industry where you unlock the
25:14
front door, candidates came in, you unrolled the phones, clients
25:18
called you. And that was just the perfect
25:21
storm of, of kind of being addicted to winning 'cause
25:23
they're not even knowing what losing felt like during those
25:26
years. And so you Fast forward and you
25:28
get ejected out of that seat and into this one and the, the COVID
25:35
hits macro contracts and you wake up and you go, you know, is
25:39
it me? Is it my leadership?
25:43
Is our stagnation part due to, to how I'm operating?
25:49
And then at the same time trying to try to fight the market from
25:52
this seat and it cascaded down in the organization.
25:56
Those are the things that I think that I struggled with
25:58
absolutely the most as I made the transition out of director
26:03
into the into the vice president role and and still how do you?
26:06
Cope with that. How do you handle that in the
26:09
moment? Right, 'cause now you're, I
26:11
mean, you're not alone, but you're certainly higher a top
26:14
the pyramid and people are looking to you for guidance and
26:18
you're looking like, well, I don't know, like I, I don't have
26:21
the answers. I think there I, I think I'll
26:26
still maintain some of that blind optimism like this too
26:29
shall pass this this too shall pass.
26:32
Everything that we've experienced either in this
26:34
industry in our lives is, is a moment that's fleeting.
26:36
And once the moment's over, you're on to the next one.
26:39
You know, may feel like this is just a longer moment.
26:42
I feel responsible for my leaders in, in their teams.
26:46
And so, you know, the pressure is a privilege and carrying
26:50
that, that burden is something that I feel like I'm called to
26:53
do. And so that gives me that
26:56
inspiration, that hope to, to, to lead that.
27:00
And I've got a really supportive executive team where if we've
27:02
got an idea or we want to try a new piece of tech, they'll,
27:07
they'll, they'll go for it. And just leaning back into, I
27:10
think what makes my leadership special in this company special,
27:13
which is the, the engagement appreciation connection.
27:17
And that's been harder to do at times than not.
27:20
And I've, I've challenged myself here in the last few weeks to
27:23
get back to it because that's, that's what they need and that's
27:27
what I'm good at. And I, I'd say just all around
27:30
those are like the, the, the anecdotal feeling stuff.
27:34
And the other one is getting smarter with the business that
27:36
we're in measuring where we can measure finding efficiencies,
27:39
where we can be efficient, upgrading up skilling talent in
27:44
a measured way. And then when we go to market,
27:47
finding the right fit for for the culture and someone who's
27:51
going to produce. So it's, it's a package on how
27:53
you try to fight it and deal with it.
27:55
And if anybody sits there and tells you they've got a silver
27:58
bullet or it's all rosy, I would assume if they're in staffing,
28:01
they may be they may be BS ING you.
28:05
Do you currently have or in the past have you had a mentor
28:09
that's been helpful? Oh my God.
28:10
Kind of going through some of these different transitions.
28:13
Yes, I've had, I've been very, very lucky throughout my career
28:17
here thanks to ownership and thanks to their network to have
28:24
been introduced to and or have worked for folks that continue
28:29
to be a mentor to me. So I've had about probably 3 or
28:34
4 that are just super impactful and, and it's been great because
28:39
they've all been with me at a certain season in my life,
28:43
whether that's A season personally or a season
28:46
professionally. And when those two combine.
28:48
And so I feel extremely lucky to have been with these men and
28:53
women during those points of my of my life and my and my work
28:58
journey. So I'm a big proponent of
29:02
mentorship, peer groups where you can support each other,
29:06
something we talked about on the show a fair bit.
29:09
And I'm curious to hear more about your mentors.
29:13
Were they folks that, you know, there were your supervisors and
29:17
they just happened to be like very good at helping to develop
29:20
you and guide you in the right way?
29:22
Or were there people that maybe you didn't report directly to
29:26
and you kind of raised your hand and specifically asked for help?
29:29
Because I, I want our listeners to kind of understand that
29:32
there's different frameworks in which these mentors can appear
29:37
in our. Lives no, no doubt and I've
29:39
gotten the pleasure of being a mentor to a lot of folks here
29:42
internally over the years. So I, I respect and appreciate
29:45
what you're saying about that side of it where like, Oh my
29:48
gosh, they're a, you know, they're a boss and now they're,
29:50
or they work in a different department as a leader and they
29:52
become a mentor. The three that I would
29:54
reference, one was a boss of mine, didn't hail from the
29:59
industry and probably the smartest, kindest man that
30:01
that's ever maybe one of the two.
30:04
The other one, we may hear me say that and big what about me?
30:07
But he was an old boss of mine. He was the COO at the time and
30:13
he stayed with me for a few years after he left and I would
30:17
meet with him on a on a frequent basis years later as we were
30:23
undergoing A generational buyout here, right.
30:26
So we're G2 generation 2 owned. We were all partnered with a, a
30:31
mentor to help us, I think, work through that transition because
30:36
it's, it's not only business, but it's emotional.
30:39
And Jennifer Manning was her name.
30:40
She, she came in and was very impactful on supporting the
30:45
entire leadership team. And each one of us had our
30:48
unique works as to why we need to be supported through that,
30:51
through that, that change. And then here recently,
30:56
ownership partnered me with a a man who tries to blend the heart
31:03
and the brain and the work and the life and the one mentor
31:07
package. And for me, that is absolutely
31:10
what was needed. It was to lean into the
31:12
authenticity of being a person who's a leader and not mentoring
31:18
me as a manager or mentoring me as AVP, but taking care of the
31:22
human. And so those were those were 33
31:25
different experiences and they were very specific again, as I
31:29
referenced to that stage of my life.
31:32
Nice. I want to talk about the honor
31:35
that you were recognized being the Staffing Industry Analyst 40
31:39
under 40 list. Sure.
31:42
Is can you pick maybe an initiative, a story, something
31:46
along the way that you think helped you earn this honor?
31:50
You know, even when I got it, I was, it was like 39 1/2, right?
31:55
So one when, when I received it, I was like, that's I, I know I
32:00
maybe it's part of my upbringing, but do I feel like I
32:03
even deserve it, right? I feel like I'm trying to take
32:06
care of people, companies in the business and does that is it
32:12
does it deserve an award? At the time we had broke out of
32:17
COVID really well. We survived COVID and we're
32:21
profitable in a major way in myself and another were
32:28
instrumental in pivoting the entire organization almost
32:35
overnight to maintain business continuity in all aspects of the
32:41
operation. We were getting more throughput
32:44
with our applicants than we were when the offices were open with
32:48
the and thankfully with the clients that we were partnered
32:50
with. Their demand was high and it was
32:52
so high, no one could keep up with it.
32:55
We had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of folks in the E com
32:57
world because nobody was buying things in brick and mortar.
33:01
And so we had to develop a deployment plan for seven day a
33:04
week, three shift using folks who had not been at client sites
33:08
and implement some serious tight best practices for compliance as
33:12
well. And like you look back now and
33:16
like that was some memory. It's a dream.
33:19
It was, it was, it happened and then you're out of it and you're
33:21
dealing with the next thing. So I look back then and I got I,
33:25
I know that's why they tapped me on their shoulders because we
33:27
were so successful post COVID. But I think I referenced this
33:30
earlier. I felt responsible personally
33:34
for my individual teams in the branches and that I needed to
33:40
work my butt off and ensure that there was going to be continuity
33:45
in that through this moment in time.
33:48
They were all going to, they were all going to still work
33:51
here after it was over. And so I took that personally
33:54
and, and, and rolled up sleeves and, and, and had a team of
33:57
support behind me. It was, I was maybe the one that
33:59
got the Sia thing, but it was our marketing, our sales, our
34:03
people and culture department that were ownership that were
34:07
all instrumental in making that initiative a success.
34:13
I just got to be the one with the the sword and the shield at
34:15
the front lines and that. But that one, how you put that
34:19
when you're talking about that big pivot, you said that you
34:22
guys were actually able to increase your your throughput
34:26
even though you couldn't process folks in person.
34:29
How were you able to accomplish that?
34:32
We stop shop turned about half the company into sourcing
34:38
processors and conducted a, a, a, a deep training over a 2 day
34:43
period to get them up skilled to be able to take that that
34:47
throughput. We've got a wonderful business
34:49
analyst and systems analyst, Amanda Franklin and Francisco
34:53
Mendoza. They both came from operations
34:56
and so they're in seats to be able to take the technology and
34:59
piece it together to find the most efficient way, knowing what
35:04
the outcome needs to be at at the front lines.
35:07
And so we were able to pivot technology, pivot internally,
35:10
maintain compliance to create that, that increase in
35:13
throughput across the, the specifically at that time the
35:17
two markets where there was the most demand that and we turn the
35:21
other offices into into supporters of where the demand
35:24
was. It was, it was pretty, I haven't
35:27
talked about it in a in a damn minute.
35:29
It's, it was pretty incredible for us to for us to go through.
35:33
You know, and I talked with a lot of folks about the COVID
35:36
experience, and it's one of those things where almost
35:39
universally, people have kind of blocked a big part of it out of
35:43
their minds until they start talking about it.
35:46
And then it's sort of like the wave of memories.
35:48
It's like, oh, my gosh, that was such a hard time.
35:52
And, you know, you look back on it with like a sense of
35:56
gratitude that you got through it, but also a sense of
35:58
amazement that you got through it.
36:01
It's so, it, that's so funny, It's so weird.
36:04
And I, you know, I again, this has been my industry, this has
36:07
been my career for, for a lifetime now.
36:09
And I would say, I would assume to say that anyone who's who's
36:12
in this industry as well came out of it.
36:15
And then since then it's been the next thing, the next thing.
36:20
And I don't think that we anyone really, truly had a, a time to
36:23
breathe and reflect. Yeah, because we oh, we're back
36:26
to normal because we've never been back.
36:28
So I think that disruption that's occurred post COVID has
36:31
also created that gap of fever dream where you where it just
36:35
feels like a memory versus a reality because you've had to
36:38
fight so much post post COVID you.
36:43
Have to make the Morales. Up COVID or anything, but yeah,
36:47
go ahead. It's, it's a part of our lives.
36:49
It's a, you know, it's a part of the, the rearview mirror and it,
36:52
and it continues to have cascading effects today.
36:55
So I think it's not always fun, but important to to revisit and
36:59
remember and, and, you know, embrace the lessons that came
37:04
from those really hard times. I appreciate that statement.
37:07
Yeah. So at the Morales Group, Daniel,
37:10
your core values emphasize humility, courage, and being a
37:15
light. It's one thing to sort of put
37:18
those up on a placard. It's another thing if can we
37:22
come up with maybe a specific example, a tangible real life
37:26
scenario where these values guided a critical decision or
37:31
conflict resolution. So I think that helps to really
37:36
paint a picture for people about what it's like to work there.
37:39
Damn, so yeah, we. So we've got 4 core values.
37:43
Be humble, be courageous, be a light.
37:46
And then I'm going to say it again, post COVID, we added a
37:49
4th called be gritty because God knows in this, in this, if I
37:53
didn't have a jacket on, my sleeves would be rolled up,
37:55
right? Like that's just how it has to
37:57
be to fight this thing, this market.
38:01
I could probably think of of two.
38:04
And they're examples of when a really, really, really tough
38:09
decision had to be made in the leadership team, one about an
38:15
individual and the other about an office and its permanency as
38:20
as part of our book of business. And you, you've got somebody
38:26
with a spreadsheet and and you've got somebody with with an
38:29
opinion going, this needs to happen.
38:33
And then you've got the owners of our company with that, that
38:39
light perspective going. We're, we're not, we're not,
38:44
we're not that person staying and that office is staying open
38:47
and just, and that was the end of the discussion.
38:52
And I came out of that inspired and, and like and humbled to
38:57
know that there's this commitment from the people
39:01
around me, 'cause I know I have it.
39:04
But at the end of the day, I'm not the ultimate decision maker
39:08
that and I, I was with them, right?
39:12
I, I was, I was with the decision of like, keep it open
39:15
and keep them. And that was a hard meeting up
39:19
into that point. And then the meeting got real
39:20
easy 'cause we were done talking about that.
39:23
And, and it was watching the ownership lead and make
39:26
decisions based upon heart. We make them all on data and all
39:31
on finances all day long. But these two were real and I
39:35
came out and I was proud to share with my net, with those
39:39
close to me that this had occurred.
39:42
And it drove me to like lead, like continue to lead like that.
39:46
I think a lot of times when you can do a senior role, it's easy
39:49
to just go numbers or numbers and make your data-driven
39:55
decisions based off those. But it was beautiful to know
39:58
that there's like the art to the science, the heart to the
40:01
spreadsheet that that exists here in.
40:05
Not that those helped drive me in the in the my future decision
40:09
making. So what do you think was
40:11
different about that particular moment, that particular
40:15
decision? The numbers are saying we've got
40:18
to close this location, we got to let folks go it they're not
40:21
producing, you know, it, it's a business decision.
40:25
But in that moment, the leaders, the owners were like, Nope, we
40:29
see this differently. Why?
40:31
It was think about other people it, it was, it was absolutely
40:36
think about those in the branch, but it was think about everybody
40:38
else in this company where if this were to occur, how would
40:44
how would that impact them? Sure, the company would would be
40:47
more profitable, but how would that impact them if we did not
40:52
commit to sticking to this, fighting through it, selling
40:56
through it and growing it, which we've done and, and it gave
41:01
that, that confidence boost. It's like, look, we, we believe
41:06
like it was a message of we believe, we believe in the team
41:10
there. We believe in the others here.
41:12
And, and I think that it would really resonated for more than
41:16
just me in that room after having conversations with senior
41:19
leadership afterwards. Yeah, I really appreciate you
41:21
sharing that story because, you know, I think a lot of times
41:25
people hear core values and they hear mission statements in their
41:27
eyes start to roll in the back of their head.
41:29
And it's like, that sounds like something you paid a Consulting
41:32
Group a lot of money to come up with and then sits in a drawer.
41:36
And, you know, that experience there that you're sharing is
41:39
like, no, no, no, we actually live by this.
41:43
And now that you've got some distance from that particular
41:46
situation, you can look in the rearview mirror and be like.
41:49
And it worked out like we had the commitment to stay with
41:52
them, to stay with that office, to continue to help and develop
41:55
and support them. And it's worked out favorably
41:58
for everybody. We, we, so we operate in the EOS
42:02
system. We've been doing that for about
42:04
a year and a half now. So you got GWC, get it one at
42:06
capacity. And when we put up a quick, when
42:10
we do our PRS or write people write C, we do the, the three
42:13
from the EOS, but then we also map out the core values to the
42:18
individual. And that's been a great exercise
42:24
plus sign when we rewrote our performance reviews.
42:27
We do them 6 every six months. They're not, I would say like
42:31
the traditional burdensome performance review.
42:34
They are all based, They're core value based.
42:38
Yeah, there's metrics and there's, there's, there's,
42:40
there's numbers to it. But they were all created with
42:43
people and culture and operations to be focused on
42:47
those, on those core values of our of our individual
42:50
contributors. And so it really is a lot of
42:53
walk behind that talk. I like that.
42:58
Curious what you're excited about as you look to the future
43:01
in terms of technology and innovation and how that affects
43:05
your field? I, I don't care who you had on
43:08
this show today, they, they tell you absolutely AI, you know, and
43:13
I remember as many others do, hearing about it and going and I
43:20
think there's a couple layers to that that are not completely
43:25
like come to fruition. The first one I would say is
43:28
that recruiters want to recruit. They like they're in the game
43:34
because they love the people. They want to make an impact.
43:38
They like that runner's high. They don't like clicking, they
43:41
don't like searching for the next screen.
43:44
They don't like a lot of that, like administration that goes
43:48
along with it. It doesn't fill their cup.
43:50
It's like sales reps Sales reps just want to go sell.
43:52
They don't want to go back to the CRM and then document their
43:55
last meeting. Gee, many Christmas everyone can
43:58
resonate with that. Recruiters are the same way and
44:02
more and more you're hearing and reading like, get your
44:05
recruiters back to their working genius, get them, get them back
44:09
to their core, their core mission and feed them that time
44:14
back. And so AII think is going to be
44:16
a wonderful thing to make recruiters recruit again and not
44:22
have to be necessarily that administratively driven.
44:27
You know, the other one is Atss, man.
44:31
Everyone who's probably been a minor, another seat gets sold a
44:34
bill of goods and like, ah, this ATS is the best.
44:38
They've gone through their own system migrations over the
44:40
years. I think what's going to be a
44:42
game changer here in the next 5 is finding that ATS that has got
44:45
that big, that generative interface that is just bringing
44:52
a lot of throughput and a lot of efficiency.
44:55
And I don't think it's going to like completely disrupt your
44:58
offices where from you're going to go from 5 to 4 people.
45:01
I think they're just going to be able to produce more, be more
45:05
fulfilled, be more engaged as human beings, thanks to this,
45:10
these these technology Boltons that we're currently exploring
45:14
in it, in the disruptive state of the market by implementing,
45:19
you know, those. And it's maybe it's easier an
45:22
easy answer right now to say AI, because everybody's saying it.
45:26
But those are the reasons why I think it's going to be
45:28
impactful. It's going to it's going to feed
45:30
the human, it's going to feed the human spirit to work on
45:33
their working genius. And and they're going to feel
45:36
like they did more at the end of the day because of it.
45:39
And they're not going to lose their Co worker with it either.
45:42
And, and at least in in our world, that's our plan.
45:45
Yeah. You know, and I hear that from a
45:47
number of folks, particularly folks in the the healthcare
45:50
field, interestingly enough, where their hope is that, you
45:53
know, the AI, it's not going to reduce the need for the human,
45:57
but it allows for the human to do more of that human to human
46:01
contact. That is so important not only
46:04
in, you know, medicine and caring for sick people, but in
46:08
in your field as well to be able to interact with people, get to
46:11
understand them and their needs and connect them with the right
46:13
types of employment. So it's interesting, yeah, to
46:16
hear you and the staffing field talk about it the same way.
46:19
Are, are there any ways that you guys are using AI now that are,
46:24
you know, helping to kind of streamline and, and maybe even
46:28
in the early days of it introduce more of that human to
46:31
human interaction because you're cutting down on that
46:34
administrative requirement? So we're, we're at, we're in the
46:38
implementation phase of, of one that is essentially what it's
46:43
doing is it's, it's mass bringing in folks to our, our,
46:47
our recruiters. So instead of them having to do
46:51
a binary task over and over, it's bringing them hot
46:56
candidates on a silver platter in that moment.
47:00
Just that alone is making a better human experience for the
47:05
candidate and for our recruiter. Our recruiters not on their 14th
47:09
call leaving a voicemail. They're on their first call
47:12
talking to someone who just clicked a button, expressing
47:16
interest in an opportunity that we have.
47:18
And so you're serving both people the, the right way.
47:24
And like, it's easy to just use the business term like it's more
47:27
efficient. I think it's just, it's, it's a
47:30
better human experience for both the candidate and the, and the,
47:33
and the recruiter in those in those intimate connective
47:36
moments. And it fuels them too.
47:39
Like the recruiter is going to do that and they're going to go
47:42
back to the next one and like their, their output is going to
47:45
increase because they, they're not on their 15th call of
47:49
losing. They're on their, their 15th
47:50
call of winning. And excuse me, that's that's
47:54
great to see. I want to turn the the viewpoint
47:59
around a little bit here and look at it through the lens of
48:01
somebody who's looking for work, who's applying for jobs.
48:04
This came up in a conversation with a friend recently where
48:06
she's about applying for a number of different positions
48:10
and one position she applied for, within seconds, she got a
48:15
rejection notice back. Like it was clear, like some
48:17
sort of AI was scanning her application, scanning her resume
48:21
and determining, you know, sight unseen in my mind that you know,
48:27
that she wasn't a good fit. What would you say to somebody
48:31
that's in her shoes where she's looking for a position and she's
48:34
getting frustrated because she feels like she can't even get
48:37
past the AI filter? Yeah.
48:41
You know for us the, the there's we're not in rejection mode
48:46
right now. We're not in filter out mode.
48:48
We're in bring it in and let us do that, that vetting for for
48:53
where we're for where we have it.
48:55
Do I think that it could potentially get there if I've
48:57
got AC and C position and you apply without any experience on
49:01
it? Well, sure.
49:04
And I've heard the same story as I go to market for leaders or
49:06
recruiters, senior level, technical level, like industrial
49:11
level, where you, they're out there hitting the market and
49:14
they're finding it discouraging to be on the, the other end of
49:19
the table now. And, and having that, I don't
49:22
know the, without knowing her personally and known her story
49:25
in her journey. The, the advice that I would
49:28
give, I mean, hell, I just talked to a, a competitors HR
49:32
who was just laid off. And the advice that I gave him
49:34
was like, look, dude, this is going to be a a job and it's
49:38
going to be a chin up and it's going to be a network game.
49:41
And I don't maybe it's just me, but we're all I think we're all
49:47
meant to be where we're going to going to go.
49:50
And so if she gets an automated rejection letter, is that the
49:54
company that you want to work for that is automatically
49:56
rejecting people sight unseen? Is that is that the right
50:01
opportunity for you? And is there another Ave. into
50:04
that organization if it's one that you want to be in to get
50:08
into? That's an off the cuff response,
50:10
probably not my greatest to give.
50:12
Again, without kind of knowing her or the organization.
50:14
What would be another Ave. for somebody to get in?
50:17
They went through sort of the traditional application process
50:19
and had a brick wall and and where do they go from there?
50:24
Man, you know, so this guy was a director of HR for eight years
50:31
at a, at a competitor and then like 14 years in manufacturing.
50:34
He like LED a family owned company of like 200 and then of
50:37
5000. And my advice to him was
50:41
continue to network, continue to network, continue to network.
50:45
And I think that's cliche. And I wasn't trying to be cliche
50:48
with him. And then I pivoted it off and I
50:50
was like, look, you just came from an agency, man.
50:54
There's agencies out there that specialize in HR.
50:56
You need to go network with those people and if you've got a
51:01
niche that you're that you're in, if you are nichy and and
51:05
you've got a niche offering is to secure to identify employment
51:12
agencies that specialize in placing folks with that folks
51:16
with that niche. So I was able to introduce him
51:18
to the three HR agency folks here in town to expand his
51:23
opportunity for employment. And it's a, it's a, yeah, I'm
51:28
over here lamenting over the macro and then the micro of my,
51:32
my organization. It's a hard market for many
51:36
people right now. And I am absolutely not one to
51:38
sit here and be like, I'll just network on LinkedIn and you'll
51:42
get my, my stances. Broaden all aspects of your
51:49
search as wide as you can. And if you're nichy, do so in an
51:53
itchy way. That's helpful.
51:55
Thank you. Daniel, I'd like to shift gears
51:58
now and maybe hear about a serious challenge that you had
52:01
to overcome in your life, whether it was something
52:04
personal or professional. What did you learn and how did
52:07
you get through it? A few a few years ago, there was
52:15
like a an imperfect storm, yeah, in in my personal and
52:21
professional life. So like one we had at work,
52:25
there had been a disruptive change within the, the
52:31
leadership team. And so a, a couple of the folks
52:35
at the table were, were exiting untimely and that, that there
52:43
was some, some instability in that in that room and I was not
52:47
in that room yet. And as the, the exit occurred
52:52
with one of the, the C-Suite players in there is when myself
52:56
and another were were asked to join that room.
52:59
And very shortly after that, my, my father took his life.
53:04
And I was in this, this mode of like wanting to like be proud of
53:09
where I was at, scared as hell. And then dealing with this like
53:13
unexpected dramatic change for, you know, someone who had, you
53:19
know, shaped me. And so I'm having to like live
53:24
in this like proud moment, but also grieve.
53:28
And I'm trying to combine like the I mean, when you're I would
53:33
maybe it's universal, but you know, most, most sons want their
53:36
fathers to be proud of them. And and those without which they
53:39
had one that was I just think that's a universal desire.
53:43
And so as I was like new into the role and it wasn't easy to
53:47
be new in the role. Like, yeah, you pop the
53:48
champagne on Friday, but man, it sleeves up on Monday.
53:52
You got an organization to lead, ownership suite to report to and
53:57
A and a business to take care of that you've been taking care of
54:00
for decade plus and you would feel responsible to all of it.
54:04
And so like combining that perfect, that imperfect storm
54:10
gave you that like personal seasoning, that executive
54:13
seasoning, it gave clarity to what's important.
54:18
It made I think me more more measured.
54:22
Like when I when I'm in this state of flux right now in my
54:24
company, I'm like this too shall pass.
54:27
The rebuild afterwards will be so much better and stronger.
54:31
And I have that never ending belief.
54:34
And I think as we talked here, like that's part of me anyway
54:38
that that unfailing desire of hope and and winning and success
54:41
and competition. But then when you stub a knee, a
54:45
toe, a leg that hard and then you go through all the things I
54:49
think we've just talked about it.
54:54
It defines you as who you are in like this moment today, like
54:58
today's not easy for me. It's an honor to be on your
55:00
podcast and it's great to be able to talk to you.
55:02
But we're all we're all gloves up in in the industry.
55:08
But I have this peaceful harmonic belief that this will,
55:15
that this too shall pass and out, out of the outside, we will
55:18
be so much better and and so much stronger.
55:22
And I think I could probably look back a few years ago to
55:24
attribute it to that, that time of my life where there was
55:29
celebration and suffering all over.
55:34
I think so this this difficult time period where your father
55:37
passed, where you're going through the big changes at work.
55:41
This are you saying is sort of the genesis of your thought
55:46
process that this too shall pass?
55:48
Is that really where you started to embrace that idea?
55:51
Probably, and like I haven't given it super reflection, but
55:54
man, oh man, like if you were wound back like 5 years, like
55:58
this is a high. I, I describe it to be a high
56:00
frequency business. There's always something going
56:03
on out there. I've got 3000 people
56:06
contributing to society working. And at any given moment,
56:10
anything can happen. It's always happening.
56:13
We're at 300 customers. So it's very, I think high
56:15
frequency. And what I have been wrapped
56:18
around the axle of as is some of my leaders of is that worry,
56:24
that unending concern, like am I getting it right?
56:28
And if something bad happens, you get, you get, you lose a
56:31
client, you lose an employee. There's this knee jerk to be
56:36
like, Oh my God, how are we going to get through it?
56:40
Whereas now as I'm in this evolution of rebuilding the the
56:45
operation structure here in the core business of light
56:48
industrial, I have this piece, I have this, this confidence.
56:54
And I don't know if I would have I would have had that had I not
56:58
gone through something as emotionally it as emotional and
57:04
as that as that period of my life.
57:08
Why do you feel like that was such a catalyst?
57:10
Is it with the passing of your father that you went through
57:14
something so painful and horrific that other things pale
57:18
in comparison to that? Did it just give you a tougher
57:22
exterior? Is it, you know, that you can
57:26
bounce back because you made it through that?
57:28
And, and, and maybe it's maybe I'm asking the wrong question,
57:32
maybe putting the finger on exactly why is not important,
57:36
but there's a curiosity inside me that wants to understand that
57:40
like that that's. Funny to say, like maybe that's
57:42
not the right I you could I could almost look at it like
57:48
like we talked about that season of COVID words is it was a fever
57:52
dream. Like so much happened in that
57:54
that time period. And then it was right like back
57:56
on the horse and without giving it like the serious reflection
58:00
of how did that truly shape you? Just sitting here talking to you
58:07
vulnerably. And, you know, it's the time of
58:09
my life that I at that moment don't care to like look back on
58:12
a lot, right? I talked, talked to my therapist
58:19
through it when it, when it happened and work through that.
58:22
But man, oh man, it's, it's not one that I've like dived into
58:26
and decided to look back on it. I, I, I'm a belief in like
58:30
underdog and resilience and that like overcome, like proving to
58:34
yourself that you've overcome gives you the strength to find
58:38
the next hill or mountain to, to beat.
58:41
And maybe it's that knowing that you did, or maybe it's just like
58:44
this internal muscle memory and, and like core memory that you're
58:47
not even living with at the moment.
58:50
That's just now who you are. You just now have that peace and
58:56
confidence to overcome and you're not even knowing that
58:58
you're drawing back on what you went through because you went
59:01
through it and it's and it's reshaped in a sense of who you
59:05
are. And I think that's probably more
59:08
of the real answer is that I don't necessarily even know or
59:12
recognize that that's what it was.
59:14
It's. Not something you're consciously
59:15
thinking about or aware of. It's just yeah, you.
59:18
It's almost been changed at a cellular.
59:20
Level because of the experience, no doubt.
59:23
And, and that's kind of what I want to help communicate to
59:26
listeners as, you know, other folks are going through hard
59:29
stuff and they're like, I, I'm at a wall.
59:32
Like, I don't know how I get through this.
59:33
And so they can hear other people's stories, you know, what
59:37
was your support system? How did you kind of figure out
59:40
how to put 1 foot in front of the other as you were going
59:42
through all this? I mean, I've got a wonderful and
59:44
caring wife. Jennifer held me up really,
59:49
really well. So just that, that alone did a
59:54
lot. You know, I got the call when I
59:56
was sitting in the bullpen. Actually, no, I was in my
59:59
office. I, I don't have a desk phone.
1:00:00
I just use a cell phone. And one of the owner's sons that
1:00:04
comes and grabs me and is like, hey, somebody's on the phone.
1:00:08
And I find out right there in the middle of the damn bullpen
1:00:10
in front of the branch I used to lead.
1:00:13
And this the, this family, these people here have seen me through
1:00:19
other seasons of my life, other loss.
1:00:22
And have been an insanely supportive group of leaders and
1:00:28
group of peers that's at the level that I'm at.
1:00:32
And then I've got just a wonderful, and I know I'm
1:00:35
talking work, but I've got a, a wonderful leadership team that
1:00:39
runs the business. And they, they were right there
1:00:44
with me as well. So like on the personal side, I
1:00:47
had, you know, a therapist, I had my wife, I had my brother.
1:00:53
And that takes you so far. And then, you know, 'cause your,
1:00:57
your world is work for most, for most of it.
1:00:59
And the, the, the folks here absolutely help, help carry me
1:01:03
through it. And I'm, I'm grateful for all of
1:01:06
them for, for helping me through that that moment of my life.
1:01:09
They're they're alight, which is one of those core values.
1:01:13
They are, they're, they're human.
1:01:14
And and it's, that's always great to see.
1:01:17
Yeah. That's wonderful.
1:01:19
I appreciate you sharing that, Daniel.
1:01:20
Yeah. How would you characterize your
1:01:23
superpower? I would say like I think I'm
1:01:32
really good at being like a catalyst and a galvanizer.
1:01:35
Like I can spark it up and I can bring them together and I can
1:01:40
get them when I say them. Just whether it's teams or
1:01:43
people or or people leaders to to to operate, to push, to
1:01:49
drive, to activate. And that's I think critical in
1:01:54
the in this industry. You.
1:01:58
So I, I do, I think I we just had our operations meeting
1:02:01
yesterday and we did the three things of the keep doing, stop
1:02:05
doing. And what's your what's your
1:02:07
strength? And so I'm kind of speaking from
1:02:09
the hip after yesterday evening that that that was the the keep
1:02:13
doing is that I that I'm able to continue to support push and and
1:02:17
and activate them as a leadership team.
1:02:19
Yeah. You know, and I appreciate you
1:02:22
talking about that. You, you, you found, you know,
1:02:27
some help in therapy as you were going through that difficult
1:02:30
time 'cause I think that's really important for other folks
1:02:33
to hear that. That's OK.
1:02:35
That was a help. That's a helpful thing.
1:02:38
Like let's, let's burn away that stigma around it.
1:02:42
Let's get away from sort of the, the therapist component.
1:02:45
And because, you know, for some folks, there are other resources
1:02:49
in their lives that have been helpful, books or podcasts or
1:02:52
courses, whether it's going through something difficult or
1:02:55
just doing personal development. Is there something in in your
1:02:59
background that's been really helpful in a book, a podcast of
1:03:02
course, that you would recommend to other folks?
1:03:04
Oh man, and it's funny, I just leaned into it yesterday.
1:03:07
Deep work by Cal Newton. Deep Work by Cal Newton The the
1:03:12
concept I think is is incredible.
1:03:16
The book is a little heady but man if you the first 3 chapters
1:03:20
are are just like an axe to a log.
1:03:24
The concept is that like right now, you and I, before we
1:03:27
started it was let silence our phones.
1:03:30
And if we flip that thing back over, most people, I mean, it's
1:03:34
notification city and you flip over your laptop and it's a
1:03:38
Teams message. If you got a Mac, you're getting
1:03:41
your text on it. It's a never ending stream from
1:03:43
Outlook. And then it's your Gmail.
1:03:45
And there is this, I use the word high frequency again, but
1:03:48
there is this barrage of distraction that does drive
1:03:53
business. Like you have to respond to the
1:03:54
e-mail. The text does need a response at
1:03:57
some point and it goes through these iterations of distraction
1:04:02
and then later in the book it gets really scientific and
1:04:04
heady. But the the concept is those
1:04:07
that can master the art of stopping what they're doing,
1:04:11
removing all distractions, doing contemplative thinking, doing
1:04:16
strategy based thought, doing isolating work with a notepad or
1:04:21
or a white board will possess, hone and possess a skill that as
1:04:27
time goes on, less and less will have and thereby they will be
1:04:30
more valuable to the organization.
1:04:34
And that was a book given to me from an old boss.
1:04:37
Last thing he gave to me before he left.
1:04:39
I got 3 chapters in about two months after he left and stop
1:04:44
shop scanned him in and got a whole session for a year with my
1:04:48
at that time leadership team on deep work and the ability to
1:04:52
shut this off because man, oh man, when I tell you we've got
1:04:54
300 clients working 24/7 in a barrage of everything like
1:04:59
people and staffing care a lot like the ones that love being
1:05:03
here. They, they just give a huge, you
1:05:06
know what? So they want to reply.
1:05:09
They, they, they don't want to let it slip through the crack.
1:05:12
They know what a missed e-mail can do.
1:05:14
So I to get long winded there, but man, oh man, that book right
1:05:17
there. I would recommend that to any
1:05:19
leader in any industry in any capacity, and then taking action
1:05:24
on what you've learned is way harder than reading that book.
1:05:28
Can you put in the words an action that folks could take
1:05:32
right now? Let's be realistic, there's
1:05:34
going to be a small percentage of folks that listen to this
1:05:36
that go and grab the book, but they're really curious about
1:05:40
sort of the idea. Give one pointer.
1:05:43
Yeah, there's four ways to do it.
1:05:47
One of those ways is to set the time on your calendar and
1:05:51
actually stick to it. It's a no fly zone and you leave
1:05:54
your office and you go sit in another one and you get your
1:05:58
notebook and think of one problem that you've got in your
1:06:01
organization. One doesn't have to be the
1:06:05
biggest one, doesn't have to be the hardest one, just one that
1:06:08
is there, that has not been solved.
1:06:10
And you sit down and you think for 3045 sixty minutes and start
1:06:16
solutioning from what is inside of your head in in in silence.
1:06:21
Your laptop's not with you, your phone's not with you.
1:06:23
It's you the problem in a in a note.
1:06:26
No ChatGPT, right yeah, I've got this problem and yeah, give it
1:06:31
to me yeah and that good Lord, when that book was written in
1:06:34
like 13, yeah, wasn't even a a concept and yeah, no chat.
1:06:39
So but that would be the one thing that would be the one
1:06:41
thing it's I've got a a few new folks on the leadership team
1:06:44
here. We talked about it yesterday and
1:06:46
we're going to revitalize the, it's funny you asked that
1:06:49
because we're revitalizing the deep work component here out the
1:06:53
rest of the year. I love that.
1:06:55
Yeah. Just being able to tune out all
1:06:57
distractions. It's one of the reasons I I love
1:07:00
going on vacation. I get there, got a day to
1:07:02
unplug. I set everything aside.
1:07:05
I'm just staring there at the ocean.
1:07:06
And it's like I'm and a lot of times I'm not even trying.
1:07:09
Like something just pops into my head that I've been working on
1:07:12
and it's like, that's so obvious.
1:07:14
I just needed a moment to tune everything out, give my brain a
1:07:17
chance to relax, and then new neurons start firing.
1:07:22
Yeah, I 2/2 of my managers, we were going round round table and
1:07:25
they were like, well, I do it on vacation.
1:07:27
Like that was their time. And I'm like, oh man, that's
1:07:32
funny that you you reference that because there are clarity
1:07:34
times of epiphanies that can happen if you lead into it while
1:07:38
you're while you're not here and you're on a beach.
1:07:41
Yeah. Just one more question for you,
1:07:43
Daniel. But before I do it, I wanna, I
1:07:47
want to knock out a couple of things.
1:07:48
First of all, everyone listening, pause for just a
1:07:51
second. Open the podcast app that you're
1:07:52
using right now. Hit the follow or subscribe
1:07:54
button. You want to continue to get more
1:07:56
great interviews like we've had today with Daniel Benefiel.
1:07:59
Daniel, I also want to let people know the best way to get
1:08:02
in touch with you or the Morales group.
1:08:04
What would that be? Absolutely.
1:08:06
I think the two best ways are are LinkedIn and e-mail Daniel
1:08:11
BENEFIEL. Not too many of that last name
1:08:15
out there. So hopefully you'll be able to
1:08:16
be the one that pops up. I think I'm wearing the same
1:08:18
suit jacket as I looked at myself this morning that's in my
1:08:21
picture. And then e-mail
1:08:23
daniel.benefiel@moralesgroup.net. As much as I say don't have be
1:08:29
distracted by e-mail, I will absolutely answer an e-mail that
1:08:32
that comes through. Terrific.
1:08:34
And we'll put links to that in the show notes for everybody.
1:08:36
So last question for you. You and I reconnect a year from
1:08:39
now, Daniel, and your fist pumping in the air, super
1:08:42
excited about something. What is the thing one year from
1:08:46
today that you're celebrating? The one thing I would say it
1:08:51
would be, it'd be growth in the core business and growth with
1:08:56
the the direct and in contract. And where I sit here today with
1:09:00
what we've got coming down the Pike, I'm confident that in a
1:09:04
year from now, I should be doing some fist pumping for you.
1:09:09
Good stuff. Daniel Battlefield from the
1:09:11
Morales Group. I want to be the first to thank
1:09:13
you for sharing both your time and your story with us today.
1:09:16
I really appreciate it. Thank you, Anthony.
1:09:19
Folks, that's a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories
1:09:21
podcast. Thanks for learning with us
1:09:23
today.