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EP365: Tom Gegax - Get America Out Of Its Slump · Respark Your Life

• 0:00
  Ton Gegax: I'm challenging the CEOs and the leaders of American America to operate in a more responsible way for society.
• 0:13
  Raymond Aaron: Hello, this is Raymond Aron, New York Times Top 10 bestselling author, bringing you Respark Your Life podcast,
• 0:20
  Raymond Aaron: the world's premier podcast to ignite the fire to allow you to live life on your own terms.
• 0:26
  Raymond Aaron: Every single Thursday, I bring you a multi-millionaire, world-famous celebrity to teach you about
• 0:34
  Raymond Aaron: the most fascinating ways in order to live a far better life.
• 0:39
  Raymond Aaron: Every single Thursday, you just need to subscribe by hitting the subscribe button.
• 0:44
  Raymond Aaron: I'll see you every Thursday to re-spark your life.
• 0:50
  Raymond Aaron: This is Raymond Aaron, New York Times top 10 bestselling author.
• 0:54
  Raymond Aaron: But today, I have something very profound for you.
• 0:58
  Raymond Aaron: Really, really interesting.
• 1:00
  Raymond Aaron: You're going to learn an enormous amount, and in a very unusual and strange way.
• 1:06
  Raymond Aaron: From who?
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  Raymond Aaron: From Tom Egax, G-E-G-A-X.
• 1:13
  Raymond Aaron: He's the chairman of the Gramercy Fund, a venture capital fund for socially responsible
• 1:19
  Raymond Aaron: investing and co-writer, director, and subject of the new documentary Confessions of a CEO
• 1:27
  Raymond Aaron: subtitled My Life in an Out of Balance World. Wow. The film is a crackling critique of corporate
• 1:35
  Raymond Aaron: America told through the true story of a toxic CEO transformed from a profits over people
• 1:44
  Raymond Aaron: philandering executive to an unorthodox leader, populist messenger, and mentor to American
• 1:52
  Raymond Aaron: influencers, featuring notable figures like Deepak Chopra, the controversial Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,
• 2:00
  Raymond Aaron: and Blue Zones founder Dan Boutner. It's a story of growth, redemption, and the impact of self-awareness
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  Raymond Aaron: on leadership and life.
• 2:10
  Raymond Aaron: The film includes Tom mentoring former Vice President Al Gore on his decision whether
• 2:17
  Raymond Aaron: or not to seek a rematch with George W. Bush.
• 2:20
  Raymond Aaron: And in the film is Deepak Chopra on how to stabilize and expand his fledgling organization.
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  Raymond Aaron: As a bestselling author of books including The Big Book of Small Business, he is committed
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  Raymond Aaron: to inspiring positive change in corporate America and in you. Now, just before I introduce him,
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  Raymond Aaron: you have to understand something. He had an issue in his body, which he will tell you about,
• 2:48
  Raymond Aaron: which left his vocal cords quite damaged. And so I need you, instead of being turned off
• 2:58
  Raymond Aaron: by somewhat difficulty in listening to him,
• 3:01
  Raymond Aaron: I want you to be turned on by the fact that in spite of it,
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  Raymond Aaron: he's prepared to stand in front of the public like you
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  Raymond Aaron: and teach you even though he has this big challenge.
• 3:13
  Raymond Aaron: Tom Giegax, I'm honored to introduce you.
• 3:18
  Ton Gegax: Thank you very much, Raymond.
• 3:20
  Ton Gegax: Yeah, my voice, I had cancer 35 years ago.
• 3:28
  Ton Gegax: than did radiation.
• 3:31
  Ton Gegax: And there was no effect from that for about 25 years.
• 3:37
  Ton Gegax: And I was an international speaker, et cetera.
• 3:42
  Ton Gegax: At the last 10 years, that radiation kept on working
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  Ton Gegax: and it affected my voice.
• 3:52
  Ton Gegax: So, true love to you for having someone with a moist disability on your shelf.
• 4:02
  Ton Gegax: My mind was not affected, but my voice was.
• 4:07
  Ton Gegax: And I figure half a love is better than no love.
• 4:13
  Raymond Aaron: That's right.
• 4:14
  Raymond Aaron: That's right.
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  Raymond Aaron: And I'm honored at your courage.
• 4:18
  Raymond Aaron: Thank you.
• 4:18
  Raymond Aaron: And I insist that you, my dear listener, do not get turned off, but rather get severely turned on.
• 4:28
  Raymond Aaron: Because there are issues in your body.
• 4:30
  Raymond Aaron: There are things that you might be embarrassed about.
• 4:33
  Raymond Aaron: Could be your weight or heaven knows, whatever else.
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  Raymond Aaron: You're too short, you're too tall.
• 4:38
  Raymond Aaron: You're an immigrant, you're native born, whatever.
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  Raymond Aaron: Whatever you think your issue is.
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  Raymond Aaron: And you hide it.
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  Raymond Aaron: But listen carefully.
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  Raymond Aaron: Listen to his courage that he's prepared to be a professional speaker with a speaking disability.
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  Raymond Aaron: Wow.
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  Raymond Aaron: Wow.
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  Raymond Aaron: So, but that's one lesson.
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  Raymond Aaron: The other lesson is the content.
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  Raymond Aaron: So, Tom, you wrote books.
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  Raymond Aaron: You made a movie with incredible people and big name people.
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  Raymond Aaron: How did you do it?
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  Raymond Aaron: Tell us about it.
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  Raymond Aaron: And what's the purpose?
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  Raymond Aaron: What will we learn watching the movie?
• 5:11
  Ton Gegax: But I was going to write another book on this subject,
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  Ton Gegax: but I thought, there's nothing that says it like a movie.
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  Ton Gegax: And this is really a docudrama on corporate America
• 5:35
  Ton Gegax: and cool through my life.
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  Ton Gegax: I knew them.
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  Ton Gegax: I knew the CEOs of many of the largest companies in the U.S.
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  Ton Gegax: I spoke to their companies, and I know them inside now.
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  Ton Gegax: And this is not a shaming of them, but it's a challenging of them to be better.
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  Ton Gegax: What we have, corporate America used to have many different stakeholders, people that they serve.
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  Ton Gegax: They serve the community, their customers, their employees, their vendors, and their shareholders.
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  Ton Gegax: But what's happened today, almost everything is about the shareholder.
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  Ton Gegax: The customer service index has gone down.
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  Ton Gegax: The employee happiness index has gone down.
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  Ton Gegax: The community giving, which was 2% of their net profits in the 70s, today is 0.8%.
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  Ton Gegax: They're giving less than 1% of their profit to charity and community, down 130%.
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  Ton Gegax: And the salary, the compensation differential from the CEO to the average worker in the 70s was 20 to 1.
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  Ton Gegax: The CEO was making 20 times more than the average worker.
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  Ton Gegax: Mine was 10 to 1.
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  Ton Gegax: And that's the way CEOs should make a lot more.
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  Ton Gegax: But today, it has ballooned to $350 to one.
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  Ton Gegax: The average CEO is making $350 times more than the average worker.
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  Ton Gegax: yet they stamp on the salaries of getting workers or lay people off.
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  Ton Gegax: So they're not operating really in a socially responsible way.
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  Ton Gegax: And I am saying what they're doing well,
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  Ton Gegax: but I'm challenging them on the stuff that they're doing,
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  Ton Gegax: where they're hiding ingredients in their product,
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  Ton Gegax: where they're lowering the size, reducing the size of the product,
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  Ton Gegax: very small, but yet keeping the price the same
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  Ton Gegax: so that people don't think the price is going on.
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  Ton Gegax: Many different things. Hidden beans.
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  Ton Gegax: So that's why I made it.
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  Ton Gegax: I think I'm challenging the CEOs and the leaders of corporate America
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  Ton Gegax: to operate in a more responsible way for society.
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  Ton Gegax: And I'm challenging their employees to be better versions of themselves so that they can challenge in a gentle way the leaders of their company to be better.
• 9:53
  Ton Gegax: And if they won't be, rather than demeaning themselves in an environment like that, to either find another company operating better or to start their own business.
• 10:17
  Raymond Aaron: Well, you're right that companies seem to care only about profits.
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  Raymond Aaron: That means shareholders and not about the employees and not about the vendors.
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  Raymond Aaron: They switch vendors for a penny discount here or there.
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  Raymond Aaron: And also, you didn't mention it.
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  Raymond Aaron: They also don't seem to care about the environment.
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  Raymond Aaron: Never mind just giving 130 percent less than the 1970s.
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  Raymond Aaron: So there is a crippling, like a spiritual crippling that's been going on for the last 50 years.
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  Raymond Aaron: There is a heartlessness.
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  Raymond Aaron: Like they seem to be delivering their services without heart, without consideration, without looking around and deciding what's best for the planet and for the world and for everyone.
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  Ton Gegax: That is beautifully put.
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  Ton Gegax: I commend you on that.
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  Raymond Aaron: Thank you.
• 11:19
  Raymond Aaron: What, maybe you don't care about this, but what caused it?
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  Raymond Aaron: What happened?
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  Raymond Aaron: Like, why are we doing so much badly?
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  Raymond Aaron: Or maybe 1970s was a gigantic, wonderful shining point,
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  Raymond Aaron: and now we've come back to normal.
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  Raymond Aaron: Or was the 70s normal and we're back down in the toilet?
• 11:37
  Ton Gegax: Well, what caused it is certain CEOs like Jack Will of General Electric and others,
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  Ton Gegax: they really started promoting their shareholder return.
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  Ton Gegax: And that is what it's all about.
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  Ton Gegax: And we're going to deliver that.
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  Ton Gegax: So invest in us.
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  Ton Gegax: Buy our stuff.
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  Ton Gegax: We will make you a lot of money.
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  Ton Gegax: And as that focuses, really beyond that, at the expense of other things,
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  Ton Gegax: then it naturally part of their leadership.
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  Ton Gegax: Well, in order to make more money for our shareholders,
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  Ton Gegax: let's not give interest in the way we gave it.
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  Ton Gegax: Let's stop a profit-sharing plan for our employees.
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  Ton Gegax: Wow.
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  Ton Gegax: And let's give less to the community.
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  Ton Gegax: Let's not care about the fact that we're putting the environment to manufacture our product.
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  Ton Gegax: And on and on and on.
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  Ton Gegax: Got it.
• 13:16
  Raymond Aaron: Got it.
• 13:17
  Raymond Aaron: So give me a report card on two, the probably two most famous CEOs.
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  Raymond Aaron: If you ask the average guy in the street to name a CEO, a previous or current of a major American corporation, they would probably say Elon Musk or Steve Jobs or maybe Henry Ford.
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  Raymond Aaron: That's probably all they know.
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  Raymond Aaron: So give me a report card.
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  Raymond Aaron: Give me a report card on those three.
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  Ton Gegax: Steve Jobs, I would give a D-.
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  Ton Gegax: Ooh.
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  Ton Gegax: Yeah.
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  Ton Gegax: I would give him a plus on his product development, creativity.
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  Ton Gegax: It was amazing.
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  Ton Gegax: But his treatment of employees was shameful.
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  Ton Gegax: I mean, absolutely shameful.
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  Raymond Aaron: I've heard that, yes.
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  Raymond Aaron: He would yell at people, fire them on the spot.
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  Ton Gegax: Right.
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  Ton Gegax: And that's just not okay.
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  Ton Gegax: These are human beings.
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  Ton Gegax: CEOs need to understand, in my company, in my organization chart,
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  Ton Gegax: The customer, or guests, as we call them, was at the top.
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  Ton Gegax: I was at the bottom.
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  Ton Gegax: We are human beings that are serving,
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  Ton Gegax: rather than on a pedestal above everybody else
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  Ton Gegax: and better than everyone else.
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  Raymond Aaron: Now, report card on Elon Musk.
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  Ton Gegax: Well, Elon Musk had an A-plus for creativity, ingenuity, and delivery for shareholders.
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  Ton Gegax: But again, treatment of employees was down there.
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  Ton Gegax: So he would be maybe a key.
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  Raymond Aaron: I see.
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  Ton Gegax: I'm not going to...
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  Ton Gegax: I'm resisting
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  Ton Gegax: rating everyone
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  Ton Gegax: and saying in the film
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  Ton Gegax: the leaders that you are working with
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  Ton Gegax: are they exemplifying
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  Ton Gegax: what we're talking about in the film.
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  Ton Gegax: By the way,
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  Ton Gegax: Our film is a docu-drama.
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  Ton Gegax: It's not a vanilla documentary.
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  Ton Gegax: The producer of The Bachelor said it plays like a thriller.
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  Ton Gegax: The screenplay writer of Batman Return said, I'm still feeling the buzz because these months after, this is not your average.
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  Ton Gegax: And people will find in their things that they need to say, hey, my company meets the criteria and I will continue with them or I will help make them better.
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  Ton Gegax: Wow. Wow, Tom. How do we get out of the slump?
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  Ton Gegax: How we get out of this club is to be transparent and challenge all CEOs and all boards of directors
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  Ton Gegax: to list, publish four things
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  Ton Gegax: for everyone to see
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  Ton Gegax: and how they operate.
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  Ton Gegax: Yeah, their financial numbers,
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  Ton Gegax: but also the percent they're giving to community
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  Ton Gegax: to their customer service index,
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  Ton Gegax: to their employee happiness index,
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  Ton Gegax: and to their CEO to average worker pay ratio.
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  Ton Gegax: Those things need to be public,
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  Ton Gegax: and we need to see how they are performing for society.
• 18:38
  Raymond Aaron: Wow. Tom, I'm going to repeat those.
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  Raymond Aaron: Number one, financials, which every public company has to do anyways.
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  Raymond Aaron: Number two, percent of giving.
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  Raymond Aaron: Number three, employee happiness.
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  Raymond Aaron: And number four, the ratio of CEO salary to the average employee.
• 18:58
  Ton Gegax: Yeah. And number four or number five, customer service.
• 19:03
  Ton Gegax: And there are five things.
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  Raymond Aaron: Customer service. Okay. Wow. That brings us to a perfect ending.
• 19:12
  Raymond Aaron: Now, I would love to see, besides the financials, I would love to see as a requirement highlighted,
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  Raymond Aaron: percent giving, employee happiness, CEO to employee salary ratio, and customer service data.
• 19:26
  Raymond Aaron: That would be wonderful.
• 19:29
  Raymond Aaron: Every public company on NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange and everywhere in the world, not just in America.
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  Raymond Aaron: Right.
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  Raymond Aaron: Required to do that.
• 19:39
  Raymond Aaron: The world would be a better place.
• 19:42
  Raymond Aaron: Yeah.
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  Raymond Aaron: Be a better place.
• 19:44
  Raymond Aaron: And you and I would dance in the streets.
• 19:46
  Ton Gegax: Amen.
• 19:48
  Raymond Aaron: Amen, brother.
• 19:49
  Ton Gegax: I would just add, if your viewers or listeners are interested in improving their lives and corporate America, watch our docudrama, Confessions of a CEO, on Amazon Prime.
• 20:11
  Ton Gegax: search CEO as a quick search, and our film comes up first.
• 20:21
  Raymond Aaron: Amazon Prime, Confessions of a CEO, and Tom's movie comes up first.
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  Raymond Aaron: So his request for you to improve the whole world
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  Raymond Aaron: by improving corporate America and corporate Canada
• 20:36
  Raymond Aaron: and corporate UK and corporate Hong Kong and corporate Australia
• 20:39
  Raymond Aaron: is go to Amazon Prime and type into the search bar
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  Raymond Aaron: Confessions of a CEO and watch it.
• 20:48
  Ton Gegax: Well, they only need to type in CEO that fast.
• 20:54
  Ton Gegax: Our film comes up first.
• 20:57
  Ton Gegax: Wow.
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  Ton Gegax: The title is Confessions of a CEO,
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  Ton Gegax: but a quick search,
• 21:05
  Ton Gegax: type this time, CEO.
• 21:07
  Raymond Aaron: Wow.
• 21:08
  Ton Gegax: Our film is the very first.
• 21:10
  Ton Gegax: We're also on Apple TV and many other streamers.
• 21:18
  Ton Gegax: But almost everyone has Amazon Prime.
• 21:22
  Ton Gegax: So go there.
• 21:24
  Raymond Aaron: Wow.
• 21:25
  Raymond Aaron: And I'm honored to have had you.
• 21:27
  Raymond Aaron: I was quite captured by the information that I read about you and studied about you.
• 21:34
  Raymond Aaron: And I said, I want this guy speaking disability or not.
• 21:39
  Raymond Aaron: My darn writers are going to put out the extra effort.
• 21:44
  Raymond Aaron: For gosh sakes, it's a small, tiny extra effort to make sure you understand someone of Tom's genius and vision.
• 21:52
  Raymond Aaron: Thank you very much.
• 21:54
  Raymond Aaron: I'm honored to have had you on my show.
• 21:56
  Raymond Aaron: I'm honored.
• 21:57
  Raymond Aaron: Take care, my friend.
• 22:01
  Raymond Aaron: Wow, I sure hope you enjoyed that fascinating episode.
• 22:05
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• 22:09
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• 22:11
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• 22:17
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