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The Motivated Mindset -The Public Servant Mindset · Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk

0:59
So that want to not just learn, but want to.
1:05
But I think that that. Welcome everyone to the
1:18
motivated mindset. I'm Yoho San Antonio Flores, a
1:21
proud Latino, born in the Bronx, raised in Brooklyn, NY.
1:24
That New York flavor, that hustle, that resilience, it
1:27
shaped me, challenge me and continues to fuel todo lo que yo
1:31
ago everything I do. I'm a combat veteran who served
1:33
proudly for 30 years in the United States Army.
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And before we get started, me Gente, I want to send a
1:38
heartfelt salute to all my veterans, active duty service
1:42
member, military families, and 1st responders joining us today.
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Thank you for talking to us and for all your service.
1:50
We see you, we appreciate you, and we're grateful for
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everything that you do. Look man, when I retired from
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the Army, I thought 1 chapter of service was ending.
2:00
I'm done. What I quickly discovered was
2:02
that service doesn't stop when we take off that uniform.
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For me, the next mission was the federal government.
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Man, I had an incredible privilege of continuing to serve
2:13
our nation in several federal leadership roles, from working
2:17
at Fort Meade supporting the Garrison Agency to serving as an
2:22
EEO Specialist and Disability Program Manager, and later as an
2:25
Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for U.S.
2:29
Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters in DC.
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Mihente. I loved, love what I do.
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Throughout that journey, I help employees resolve conflict,
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build programs that strengthen workplace culture, develop
2:44
leadership training, expanded ADR services, and had the
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privilege of teaching leaders across the country.
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Right. And I tell you something, it was
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an amazing experience working for the federal service because
2:59
behind every agency, behind every mission, behind every
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policy of dedicated public servants who wake up Toro Dia,
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they wake up every morning committing to making a
3:13
difference. You know, most people never see
3:15
what happens behind the curtains, right behind the
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scenes. They don't see the men and women
3:20
who quietly solve problems, improve systems, protect our
3:25
country and support communities and help move our nation
3:29
Adelante forward. They don't do it for applause.
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They don't do it because they believe in something bigger than
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themselves. You know, and that's what public
3:38
service is all about. Today, as a motivational
3:42
speaker, a certified personal trainer, a certified mediator
3:45
and an end of life death doula, that same commitment continues
3:50
to guide me and throw the lo que yo ago everything I do because
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titles may change, but the purpose me and that doesn't.
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My mission has always been to serve right to como say these
4:00
said to inspire, to encourage, to help people discover that no
4:05
matter I want it to impesant that when life you started
4:08
right, the best chapter can still be ahead for you, you
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know, and that's why the motivated mindset exists, right,
4:15
because this podcast is about resilience, right, it's about
4:19
leadership, it's about purpose. You know, it's about faith
4:25
growth, right, Culture and the mindset that allows ordinary
4:31
people to accomplish extraordinary things.
4:35
We keep it real here. Real conversations, real
4:38
stories, real lessons, right? And sometimes we'll laugh and
4:44
sometimes we'll reflect. Sometimes we will challenge
4:48
ourselves because it happens to me every time.
4:51
But every episode is designed to leave you a little stronger than
4:54
when you arrive, when you push that button, right?
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Because motivation gets you started.
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Mindset keeps you going. Now, let's talk about today's
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guests, right? Today, I have the honor of
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sitting down with someone who has dedicated his visa, his
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life, to serving our nation not in the spotlight, but through
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quiet, impactful work that keeps government moving and people
5:19
empowered. Our guess is Doctor Javiat E and
5:22
Klein, Assistant Inspector General for the management at
5:25
the National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General,
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where he overseas human capital, information technology, budget,
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procurement, training and key business operations that support
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one of our nation's premier scientific institutions.
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His federal career is nothing come and say he's a short of
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remarkable Over the years, he served in leadership role with
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the US Army who wow, all right, the US Marshals Services and
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Department of Transportation, the US Department of Agriculture
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and now the National Science Foundation.
5:59
That's going to say you said decades of leading people
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building organizations and strengthening the public's trust
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in government. He also is a fellow of the
6:09
National Academic of Public Administration and continues to
6:12
shape the future of federal leadership right through
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organization like CG Leadership Innovation Committee and the ACT
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I say AACAAIC talent community of interest, helping develop the
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next generation comma cities of public servants.
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You know, So what I asked is, you know, grab a notebook, lean
6:34
in, right, because I have a feeling you're going to walk
6:37
away inspired by this conversation.
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And one last thing. I want to talk about one last
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thing, all right, and I'm going to put this in there.
6:45
You'll see it if this conversation inspires you, if
6:49
you believe leadership rooted in a service can change be thus
6:53
lives if you enjoy these conversations right and want to
6:57
help us continue to build incredible guests for the
7:02
motivated mindset. I I dropped it in the YouTube in
7:04
the chat and as you see in front of you, please take a moment to
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like, subscribe and share this episode.
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You know, your support, your support helps us amplify stories
7:14
that educate, inspire and motivate people across the
7:17
country and around and Mundo the world.
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I don't know, that sounds pretty cool.
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How you doing? Please help me.
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And now as we get ready, you're going to we're going about to
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welcome the MAN. That means the man, right?
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So somebody who truly embodies servant leadership.
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So give me a moment 'cause we're about to make this happen.
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Captain who? Wow.
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The interview of the week is brought to you by Jersey Mike's,
7:42
a sub above. Javier, how you doing my man?
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How are you doing? I'll say I'm doing great man.
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How you doing? I am doing stupendous now that
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you're here, right? Hey, I'm just really proud to
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have you here. And I think what people, before
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we start, people want to know who, who is, who you are, before
8:02
you became these titles, where you're from and so on.
8:05
Yeah, sure. So Javier Inclan, I was born and
8:09
raised in northern New Jersey. My dad was Cuban, my mom was is
8:12
from Spain. My dad passed in 2011, but my
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mom's still kicking at 83. So she's doing great, You know,
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humble beginnings, parents worked hard.
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My dad left Cuba in 1961, went to Spain for a couple years, did
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all this paperwork, did all the right things, came to the US in
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63, worked his tail off until, you know, he retired in the mid
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90s and, you know, gave my sister and IA life along with my
8:36
mom that we couldn't be more proud of.
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I always tell folks because, you know, there, there's a,
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sometimes there's a stigma about immigrants, right?
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And, and about this country. You know, my dad teared up every
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time he heard the Star Spangled Banner.
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And he used to tell me, Eho, no matter what people say, no
8:52
matter what happens, this is the best country on earth where you
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could give me and your mom an opportunity, which then we were
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able to pass on to you and your sister.
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So that makes me proud. Now that I'm a public servant,
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that makes me even more proud because I'm, you know, hopefully
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living a life that that he would be proud of.
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Wow. No, that's that.
9:10
It is stupendous. I know the same thing with my
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parents, where they came by. My dad came from Puerto Rico and
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and, you know, we lived in the South Bronx and the same thing
9:18
he said, hey, there is no country better than this, you
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know, you got to work hard, you know, and oh, when somebody
9:25
said, MJ, what's up, MJ, She said, Amen, Best country on
9:29
earth. Thank you for that.
9:32
You know, and Javier, who was some of your mentors as you were
9:35
growing up? Yeah, so even as a kid, you
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know, I went to Catholic schools, you know, some of the
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nuns in my school were, you know, they were tough, but but
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they taught me some, some life lessons, some teachers I had in
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high school, you know, I umpired and referee, you know, umpired
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baseball and softball, referee, basketball.
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Learned a lot from there. But it really got to, you know,
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so I I also worked in in local and state government.
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I have some amazing mentors and almost all of them were
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unofficial, right? Not, not a mentoring program,
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but people that, you know, just really were there for me.
10:08
You were able to answer questions for me.
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I had a lot of sponsors, people that were in the room and I
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wasn't allowed to be in the room or wasn't able to be in the
10:14
room. That stuck up for me and then
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spoke up for me and gave me opportunities.
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And then in the federal government, it was like
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something completely amazing. You know, people like a guy
10:26
named Wanzi Gardner, Robin Bailey, you know, people that
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you know, Rhonda Davis, just so many, so many great people that
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that taught me, you know, and, and were able to instill in me
10:38
that work ethic and, and give me opportunities that I never
10:41
thought, you know, somebody from northern New Jersey would be
10:43
able to get. Northern New Jersey.
10:46
OK, I'll give you a break, bro. You know that's OK man.
10:48
I'm from. New York and you know, and
10:49
you're being sponsored by Jersey Mike.
10:50
So, but I will tell you, Jose, something I don't know if we
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talked about this before, I used to work at Monroe College in the
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Bronx. Fordham Rd.
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Yeah, on Jerome Ave. and Fordham Rd.
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So I know you're, I know the area of the Bronx and the South
11:03
Bronx very well. Now it's funny, I never went
11:08
more into Jersey other than to Palisades, you know, or
11:10
something like that. This park that used to be that,
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I don't even think it's there anymore, you know?
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But I you know. Park Freddy, boom boom, Cannon
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says. I'm sorry about that.
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Hey, is Atlantic City? Atlantic City's in Jersey,
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right? Yes it is.
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Yes, it is I. Love Atlantic City.
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I like to go up in there though. That's cool.
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That's cool, you know, and you know what, what, because I know
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for me growing up, a lot of values my parents, but what
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values your parents taught you that still carry today in your
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in these leadership positions for you.
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Yeah, First and foremost, faith, right?
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You know, belief in God, belief in, you know, that, that there's
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a higher power, you know, that part of, you know, family, you
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know, no matter what happened, 6 O clock 6:30, we'd be sitting at
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the dinner table, you know, don't miss a meal, you know,
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with the family when you're growing up, right?
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That's not, that wasn't a good thing.
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And, and really work ethic, right?
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And, and both of my parents at different times were on
12:05
unemployment. You know, they lost their jobs
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and that was tough. And they tried to shield me and
12:09
my sister from the negativity. Always had faith, always said,
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hey, this is going to turn around.
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We're going to do OK. You know, my mom worked overtime
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a lot and, you know, trying to make, you know, being able to
12:19
buy a house in the early 80s, you know, really just I saw
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first hand my hard work and dedication meant.
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And it didn't matter what the paycheck was.
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It just mattered that they were telling us, no matter what you
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do, be happy what you do, work hard, and things will be all
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right. Absolutely, yeah.
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And that that is something a lot of people come to this country
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do. And, you know, and those are
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some of the values that I got from them for my parents, you
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know, And you know, a lot of people choose different careers.
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You know what made you choose service?
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Yeah, I, I, I mentioned to you about my dad and, and what he
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taught me about this country and how he got here and how we work
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hard. Growing up.
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I saw a lot of, you know, you know, growing up in an urban
13:04
area, I saw a lot of folks struggle and, and, and how they
13:07
use, you know, the services of the government and, you know, to
13:09
be better. I worked in the local recreation
13:12
department when I was in high school and in college, you know,
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so that, you know, exposed me to some of the local government
13:17
stuff. And that's really what I wanted
13:19
to do. I I just wanted to give back.
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I saw that people were really doing it for the right reason.
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My experience, you know, in government has been that the
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majority of folks do it for the right reason.
13:30
They want to improve, you know, the lives of the American
13:33
people. And that's really what got me
13:35
going. I said if I could do something
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that, yeah, sure, it's going to give me a good life, but it's
13:40
going to be able to make me proud at the end of the day and
13:42
say, hey, I did something that was worthwhile, that that's what
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it's about for me. Yeah.
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And I know we talked about, you know, working when we were
13:52
meeting earlier, how how the federal government was something
13:57
that I truly enjoyed, you know, and when we talk about, you
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know, if when we talk about how is public serving mindset
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different from simply working for a government organization?
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Yeah, You know, that's a good question.
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To me, working for a government organization, it is really just
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that where you work, right? I work at this agency.
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I work at that agency or in this department, that department.
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Having a a public service mindset is about how you
14:23
approach that work and the outcomes of the work, right?
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Regardless of what you do, you know, in public service, that
14:30
mindset really has to be focused on, you know, why are you doing
14:34
it and how are you doing it? You know, having a government
14:36
e-mail or, or, or working in a federal building doesn't make
14:40
you, you know, doesn't make you have a public service mindset.
14:42
It's really your government worker.
14:44
It's much more than that. To me, having that mindset means
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how do you approach that job and what are the outcomes that
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you're trying to achieve? Yes, absolutely.
14:52
I know one of the hardest things is always, you know, when they
14:56
had USA jobs, it's just trying to get in.
14:58
And I tell people that is probably the most challenging
15:01
part of applying for a federal job.
15:04
But you know, once you get in man, that you know, they come at
15:07
least in the world is your oyster.
15:08
I, I learned that, you know, you, you do the work that you
15:12
want to do. And I know you especially have
15:15
you have led commodities and professionals in areas such as
15:18
humans, human capital, information technology and other
15:22
mission support functions. You know, how do you help
15:25
employees in those roles recognize that they are directly
15:29
contributing to the public mission?
15:32
Yeah, it's, it's tough sometimes, you know, folks in
15:36
the mission support areas, sometimes they don't see that
15:40
connection. They don't see how they're
15:42
supporting the mission. They hear about these agencies
15:46
doing great things, you know, from a mission perspective, but
15:49
they don't make that tie in. And I've always tried from my
15:52
perspective, to make that link for them, right, you know, to
15:56
make sure that they understand that what they do matters.
15:58
And This is why it matters. When I was at the Department of
16:01
Transportation, we would say the mission is the train, but
16:04
mission support is the tracks, right?
16:06
Without the tracks, the train's not going anywhere, right?
16:10
And, and it's really, you know, in HR, if we hire really
16:13
outstanding, you know, employee or help somebody hiring manager
16:17
hire somebody outstanding, because we put out great
16:20
certificate, great announcement. All these things that that's the
16:22
connection, right? You have something to do with
16:25
Jose Flores being hired at HUD or Javier England being hired at
16:28
at National Science Foundation. You know IT.
16:31
If you develop an application that's going to help a criminal
16:34
investigator do their job better to go see, you know, go, you
16:38
know, find fraud and and you know, some of the grants at MSF
16:42
issues. That's, you know, being part of
16:44
the mission. If if you make sure that you do
16:47
a process and through a process that's going to save hours of
16:51
time, you know of those mission people that is helping the
16:54
mission. I'll give you a quick example a
16:56
couple of years ago. So my office, the office
17:01
Inspector General, we are responsible for mostly grant
17:04
fraud, investigating grant fraud.
17:05
But also what we do is over the last few years, since 2023,
17:10
we've been investigating sexual assault and Antarctica, believe
17:13
it or not, make that connection, right.
17:15
So the National Science Foundation runs the US Antarctic
17:19
Program in Antarctica, they have 3 bases.
17:21
And you know, there's, there's folks that live in Antarctica,
17:24
you know, for some time to do their mission, you know, do
17:27
their scientific research and then have that logistical
17:30
support as well. And unfortunately, there were
17:32
some things that occurred that, you know, there needed to be a
17:34
law enforcement presence there. And, you know, one of the things
17:39
that we realized was that when we went down there, when when
17:43
the investigators went down there, the auditors went down
17:45
there, there wasn't much trust because we were using a, you
17:51
know, the NSF network run by contractors.
17:54
And we really felt from a MIT perspective that we really
17:57
needed to have our own network. How the heck does that happen
17:59
when you're in the most remote area in the world?
18:01
Pretty much, right. So we sat down, I sat down with,
18:04
with the director of IT who worked for me.
18:06
And, and really we just sat down and we said, well, how about if,
18:09
how about if we just did a satellite network on our own?
18:11
And it was one of those like out-of-the-box ideas.
18:14
And he, he and his team did a lot of research.
18:17
They came back to gave some recommendations and I sent one
18:21
of our early career IT specialist to Antarctica with
18:25
one of our colleagues and they actually installed a satellite
18:30
network that now we use 24/7, 365 days a year.
18:34
That's up and running that we could then safely communicate
18:38
our investigative things and, and our audit things, you know,
18:41
back home without having any external interference.
18:44
And, and that's something that is I, I told her, I said, could
18:47
you imagine putting that on your resume, what that means for you?
18:50
And, and there's an immediate tide of the mission there,
18:53
right? You're doing something that's
18:54
going to allow them to do their job.
18:56
So those are things that I try to do it and make that
18:59
connection so that they really feel empowered to continue
19:02
moving their mission forward so that they could support the
19:05
mission of the organization. That is amazing.
19:08
You're right. I wouldn't ever make that
19:09
connection an article that was wow, that is to be honest, I
19:13
didn't even know we had things up there other than the military
19:16
that other than, you know, maybe U.S.
19:18
Army civilians working up there and and so on.
19:21
That is, that is incredible, you know, So you know, what with
19:24
that being said, what, what do you tell leaders who want, let's
19:28
say, authority but have not earned trust?
19:32
You know this is from Millie from Texas who asked that
19:34
question. Not earn that trust.
19:37
Yeah, it looked there needs to be a reset, right?
19:41
Some, some leaders go in and, and look, I, I, I've been guilty
19:44
of this. You know, you want to make so
19:45
much change, you want to make so much impact.
19:48
You think you're doing the right thing, but but people that work
19:50
for you, people that work with you, they know what they're
19:53
doing. They're there for a reason.
19:55
I always have this unofficial, you know, mantra that when I go
19:59
into a new organization, I don't change anything for 90 days.
20:01
Right. And I try to talk to people, and
20:04
I try to make my own opinion of, you know, what the organization
20:08
is, what the people are and what the mission is.
20:10
And I may have thoughts about how things could be done better,
20:14
but that doesn't mean that there's not a different way of
20:16
doing it. And it ends up being, you know,
20:18
as good or even better. So trying to gain that trust
20:22
from your employees is critical to be successful.
20:25
And, and it's never too late, right?
20:27
Even if you go a little too far, it's that self reflection,
20:30
right? Maybe doing a 360 study, you
20:32
know, getting that feedback from your folks and then just doing a
20:36
reset and trying to turn that around.
20:38
If you don't have trust, man, it, it is really hard to lead,
20:42
you know, the days of, you know, do as I say, not as I do.
20:46
I don't believe in that. That may work in some
20:48
organizations and even sometimes it's a requirement because OK, I
20:52
heard you, I listen to you, but we're going to go this way and
20:55
that's it. But at least they know that they
20:57
had an opportunity to be heard, that they had an opportunity to
21:01
be able to influence the decision and provide data.
21:04
And maybe the leaders aperture is a little wider.
21:06
But my thing is, even if I go in a different direction, I
21:08
explained to them why and that hopefully has them learn and has
21:12
them grow in their careers. Yeah, and and I can truly relate
21:15
when I was coming up to the military and I when I had a
21:19
leader that when I asked a question, explain it to me and I
21:22
didn't need them to agree with me, but OK, I see now, you know,
21:25
just talk to me. And that gave me the trust to
21:28
build in that leader because they went, they took the time to
21:31
walk me through why this was done and, and so on.
21:35
And because you're right, I don't see the big picture.
21:37
And then when I became a leader, I learned from some of my best
21:39
mentors and leaders to explain to my, to my soldiers, hey, why
21:44
we're doing this and earn that respect, 'cause they're going to
21:46
do what I tell them to do. But if, if, if I get that trust
21:49
for them, they go with me wherever I need to go, you know,
21:52
which brings me to the point like, you know, what would
21:54
advice would you give somebody an early career employee who
21:57
wants to make public service a meaningful long term career?
22:02
Yeah, be curious, you know, learn as much as you can.
22:06
I, I've told some, some of the early career folks that they may
22:10
not have started a family yet or even have any ties to a certain
22:12
area. You know, if somebody asks you
22:14
go travel somewhere, go travel somewhere just like I asked, you
22:16
know, my IT special, go down to Antarctica for goodness sake,
22:19
right? When are you going to get the
22:20
opportunity to do that? You being in the military,
22:22
you've been to, you know, gazillion different places,
22:25
right? And you learn to get those
22:26
experiences, learn from other people, listen, right, Provide
22:30
your input, but also keep your ears open And don't think that
22:33
you know everything, especially early on, because you may have
22:36
the technical skill set that you learned at work at at school,
22:39
but at work, you, the application may be a little
22:41
different. I'd also say that public service
22:44
is a very wide field, right? Even if you go into the
22:48
government for a few years and you want to go to the private
22:50
sector and get that experience and then bring that experience
22:53
back to the public sector, what you learned, you know, there's
22:56
nothing wrong with that, right? To be able to go in and out
23:00
even, you know, working in the private sector, but supporting
23:02
the government also, you know, part of public service and
23:05
having that mindset. So don't limit your choices,
23:08
don't limit your options. Also, some people feel that
23:11
they're stuck in their agency. They just want to work in that
23:14
one agency. I'm not saying to job jumper,
23:17
agency jumper or anything or, or agency hop, you know, too often,
23:21
but keep your mind open, right? Especially in the mission
23:24
support area where you could really do what you do in almost
23:27
any agency, you know, keep that aperture open so that you could
23:31
always, you know, look at your career in a way that that's much
23:34
more broad, that your aperture is broader.
23:36
And then if you want to go back to that agency, be able to bring
23:39
back all the things that you learned aren't elsewhere.
23:42
Absolutely. And we had a a comment, McDonald
23:46
said. Well said.
23:47
Keep learning, as we say. Absolutely.
23:50
McDonald knows about that. Yes, he does.
23:52
Absolutely. And we have a.
23:55
This is from a LinkedIn user. Users say all I have here.
23:59
What is the leadership lesson you learned the hard way, and
24:03
how did it transform your approach to service?
24:06
Yeah. Well, you know, I, I always say
24:08
that you, you, you learn a lot from great leaders.
24:11
You also learn a lot from not so great leaders, right.
24:15
And, and you look at them, you say, hey, you know, hopefully if
24:18
I'm in that situation, I won't do that.
24:20
I won't go into specifics, but there is a time where I was put
24:23
in the situation where I had to explain to a higher up, you
24:28
know, that what they were doing was not the best way to do it
24:31
from a financial perspective. And it was almost as if my boss
24:35
was accusing me of accusing the leader of doing something, you
24:39
know, that that wasn't, you know, that was waste for an
24:42
abuse or something like that. And, and it was something that
24:44
stuck with me and, and basically what I told this person, I said,
24:47
look, I'm, I'm not accusing anybody of anything.
24:49
I'm just giving you my perspective as a professional in
24:52
my field. And my recommendation would be
24:54
this. And you only get to spend this
24:56
amount of money and you're going to get to the same outcome.
24:59
And that person was like, oh, what a great idea.
25:02
Thank you. Hubby had no problem and she
25:04
left the room and I stayed in the room.
25:05
My boss, I said, what the heck was that?
25:08
And they were like, what do you mean?
25:09
I said, you basically told your big boss that I was accusing the
25:14
head of the agency of doing it. Like that's not cool, right?
25:18
And, and I always, I mean, that was a leadership lesson that I
25:20
learned. And, you know, from that point
25:21
on, I was like, man, I have to assume positive intent and I
25:25
have to make sure that, you know, when I say things like
25:28
that or I ask somebody to do something, that I do it in a way
25:31
that that's in a positive nature as opposed to trying to deflect
25:36
and not, you know, she didn't want to make the hard call and
25:40
make that decision or, or make that have that conversation.
25:43
So she basically threw it on her subordinate.
25:45
And, you know, I, I just, that still sticks with me a little
25:48
bit, but it's something that, you know, it was a hard lesson
25:51
to learn, but man, that I learned it.
25:53
I learned it well. Wow, that yeah.
25:56
And, and to go back to what you had said before about be
25:59
curious, you know, and I remember when I first joined,
26:03
then my, my, my leader asked me, hey, do you want to try
26:07
something different? Put me on what they call detail.
26:09
I think that's what they call it.
26:10
And he put me on the detail 480 days.
26:13
I end up loving it, you know, and I end up staying and you
26:16
know, with with with that being said, you know what's what's 1?
26:22
One habit every leader should develop.
26:26
Yeah, I, I think, you know, so I'm going to pull the thread on,
26:30
on that detail because I think it's, it's a good, it's a good
26:34
point. And I think the habit is to be
26:36
open to opportunities even if you're going outside your
26:38
comfort zone. So November of 2018, so we're
26:42
talking almost eight years ago, the, the chief operating officer
26:46
at, at NSF calls me up and says, hey, you know, the two
26:50
executives in HR are leaving. One's retiring, the other one's
26:52
going to another agency. And I was like, yeah, that's a
26:55
bummer. You know, they're good people.
26:57
And he's like, you know, can I ask you to go run HR for a
27:00
little bit? And I was like, Sir, you know, I
27:03
was in facilities and security administrative services, right?
27:07
And I was like, you know, I've written a position description
27:09
or two in my life, but you know, I'm not that guy.
27:12
And he said, and, and I'll never forget it.
27:14
And, and I love the guy to death.
27:15
And he said, Javier, aren't you the guy that told me that the
27:18
Senior Executive Service was created to be able to lead any
27:22
organization, even if they're not the technical expert in
27:25
that, you know, work series? And I said, you son of a gun,
27:28
you're using my words against me.
27:30
And he says, so that means you're going to take it.
27:32
I said, yeah, of course I'm going to take it.
27:34
Here's the amazing part, right? So this was November of 2018.
27:37
My first day was December 9th of 2018 and 1112 days later, if you
27:43
recall, it was the beginning of a 35 day government shutdown.
27:47
So now I'm signing, you know, furlough notices to 1500
27:51
employees. If folks didn't know me at NSF
27:54
before that, they certainly knew me then.
27:56
And and I stayed in that job for eight months until they found
27:59
the permanent and it was Jose. It was the best experience in my
28:03
federal career. It really gave me a great
28:08
understanding of, of what HR really meant.
28:12
I, I created such a bond with the people I work with.
28:15
They're some of my closest work friends even to this day.
28:18
Because, you know, we're, we're battle buddies, right?
28:19
You know, you have a 35 day shutdown.
28:21
Nobody ever, you know, that was the longest one up until
28:24
recently is the longest shutdown, you know, ever in the
28:26
history of the government. So we're doing things that, you
28:28
know, we have, you know, talk to OPM and talk to OMB and, and
28:31
talk to all these folks and trying to figure out, you know,
28:34
for what work for our agency. And, and it was just a great,
28:37
great experience. But the only reason that
28:40
occurred is, and I don't think that would have made me do
28:42
right, even though, you know, we joked about it.
28:44
He probably would have let me off the hook, but he really, I,
28:47
I give him a lot of credit. He gave me the opportunity and
28:50
had that trusted me and, and my boss as well.
28:53
So it, it was something that I really, really enjoyed.
28:56
It was tough. It was hard, but man, if I would
28:59
have said no, I would have missed out on really the best
29:03
opportunity I was ever given in my federal career.
29:06
Absolutely no you and sometimes you, you know, you have to get
29:09
people out of their comfort zone, you know, your employees
29:12
and put them in positions that they normally would not go.
29:15
And that was that was a perfect opportunity.
29:17
And then he used those words against you, what you said about
29:20
wasn't it you? And you're like, oh man, that
29:22
was amazing. We have a question from a
29:27
LinkedIn user. And the question says, when you
29:32
think about legacy, what impact do you hope your public service
29:36
leaves for the next generation of leaders?
29:41
Yeah, integrity, That I did things for the right reason,
29:47
that I made the tough decisions even when it wasn't in my best
29:50
interest, because it was the best interest of the American
29:53
people. And lastly, that I, what I did
29:59
was all in service to the American people to be able to
30:03
lead the institutions that I, I either ran or worked in better
30:08
than when I found them. And to be able to say that
30:12
hopefully I did something to create the next generation of
30:16
leaders that are kind of come behind us.
30:18
And that I imparted some wisdom to them so that they don't have
30:22
to struggle through some of the things that some of us may have
30:25
struggled throughout our career. I always say that people find it
30:28
hokey when I say I, I don't find it to be a, a, a nice to have or
30:35
a good thing to do to mentor the next generation.
30:37
As a senior executive, I think it's my responsibility to do
30:41
that. And I think everybody should do
30:43
it if they have the capacity to do it and they have the right
30:47
intentions to do it. You know, I, I currently serve
30:50
as a mentor for OPM's lead program, which is leadership for
30:53
an efficient and Accountable government.
30:56
I see some really strong GS14's and GS15's in these programs and
31:01
I envision them sitting in the senior executive chair at some
31:05
point. And, and that makes me proud,
31:07
Jose, because I was blessed. I said before, I have so many
31:10
great mentors, but especially sponsors, people that told me
31:14
about opportunities that were able to mold me in a way that,
31:17
you know, allowed me to be ready, you know, give me the
31:20
arrows in my quiver so that I can be prepared for the next
31:23
opportunity, even if it wasn't in that urgency.
31:26
People were just so not selfish. They were so kind.
31:30
And even when they gave recommendations, they're like, I
31:32
don't want to lose you, but man, did I give you a strong
31:34
reference because I think you deserve it, right?
31:37
So I think it's an opportunity for people to be able to give
31:40
back. And again, it sounds hokey, but
31:43
I really believe that in my heart of hearts that our
31:46
responsibility is to make sure that the next generation of
31:49
leaders are sufficiently trained and sufficiently motivated to
31:54
take on those opportunities, regardless of what the climate
31:56
looks like. You know, sometimes people say,
31:58
I don't even think it's worth being an SES or I don't think
32:00
it's worth being an executive, or I don't want to do this or I
32:03
don't move to that. Well, if not you, then who?
32:06
And if not now, then when? Right.
32:07
So, so let's get ready and, and hopefully I'm doing my little
32:10
part and that could be part of my legacy that hopefully I left
32:13
the institutions that I worked in a little better than when I
32:16
found them and that I helped mold the next generation of, of
32:19
federal civil servants. No, that, that is, that is
32:22
awesome. That is really good.
32:24
I know for a lot of people fear holds us back so much because
32:29
let me tell you, when, when my SES asked me to take on that
32:32
role, it was, it was a bit, I said, you know what, let me do
32:35
it. And it was the best thing I ever
32:37
did because I became the, the ADR, you know, personnel and I
32:43
loved it. It was had I, like you said, had
32:46
I said, you know what, no, I'm OK, I would have lost a great
32:49
opportunity for that. We have another question and
32:54
let's see this one, McDonald. McDonald, it says, have you ever
33:01
had to deal with a situation where you became close with a
33:04
colleague and that same person lied about you in order to get a
33:08
job? How do you handle working with
33:11
an individual after? Yeah, luckily I've, I've never
33:16
really been in in that type of situation.
33:20
It's that is brutal. I I can't even imagine going
33:23
through that. I could tell you that I've been
33:27
in situations where, you know, I don't know if they lied about
33:31
me, but but they, you know, try to put me down in a certain way
33:36
to try to make them, you know, look better instead of just
33:39
trying to go in there themselves.
33:42
You know, they try to instigate some things with the hiring
33:47
manager that I really didn't appreciate and I didn't learn
33:50
about till after the fact in that in that situation, I did
33:55
get the job, but it was I didn't find out till later and it
33:59
wasn't through them. And you know, I always tell
34:02
people I didn't pick me for a job.
34:04
Somebody else picked me for a job, right?
34:06
The hiring manager picked me for a job.
34:08
You want to get mad, get upset, Don't get upset at the hiring
34:10
manager. Don't get hired, you know, mad
34:12
at me. But man, that, that would be
34:15
something that I don't know if I could get over that, right?
34:18
That's something that, you know, it's, it's very easy to say,
34:22
well, you got to get past it and work with the person.
34:25
But man, if they lied on you like that, that that is
34:28
something that I don't know that, that that's a tough
34:31
situation. Yeah, probably you have to have
34:35
enough enough emotional emotional intelligence and savvy
34:38
to to keep it moving. But that's always going to stick
34:41
in the back here, right. And and that trust that you said
34:44
that, you know, that that we had before probably isn't going to
34:48
come back. I, I always tell folks I'm of
34:50
the opinion that I, I try to trust everybody from the
34:53
beginning, right? Even though I'm from Jersey, you
34:54
know, I don't have that cynical, that cynical piece of me too
34:58
much. So I try to get people to
34:59
benefit the doubt and try to be, you know, really look at people
35:04
as if they're coming from, from a place of good.
35:07
But if I lose that trust, it's really, really difficult for me
35:12
to get it back. I'll tell you a quick story.
35:15
I had, I had an employee once who we're, we're looking to hire
35:18
a contractor and you know, there were a couple of candidates that
35:21
we're doing meet and greets with, right?
35:23
Because we don't hire the contractor, the vendor does, but
35:25
they gave us an opportunity to meet them.
35:27
And I was like, OK, great. And there were some 2 candidates
35:29
that are really, really strong. And I, I, it was going to, the
35:33
contractor was going to work in my office, but I had my 2
35:35
colleagues with me. So I said, Hey, you know,
35:37
anything you want to say about no, everything.
35:39
You know, both of them are great.
35:41
And I asked the question, look, do you have any history with
35:44
these people or do you know them?
35:46
Both of them said Nope, Nope, Nope.
35:49
And then somebody told me, Hey, I really think that one of the
35:52
people in that room knows one of the candidates.
35:56
I thought, that's interesting. So I, I, I, I made the mistake
36:00
of going on LinkedIn and, and there was a connection there and
36:02
there was a actually a, a, a, an endorsement there from the
36:07
person in the room to. So I, I gave benefit of the
36:10
doubt. So we had another meeting.
36:11
I said, Hey, if either one of you know, one of the candidates,
36:14
you know, left and, and this guy was really pushing for this one
36:18
towards the end. And I said, look, do you have if
36:20
if you know them and you know the work quality, that's great.
36:23
Nope, Nope, Nope. And I was like, can I see you in
36:25
my office? And then I brought his boss in
36:29
with him. He worked.
36:29
He was a second line to me. So his first line worked for me.
36:33
And I said, all right, I'm going to give you one last chance.
36:35
Like I'm really being open his head, one last chance.
36:38
Do you know this person that you're really pushing hard for?
36:41
And he's like, Nope. So I pull up my phone, I, I put
36:45
up LinkedIn and I show him his, you know, his, his profile with
36:49
the, with the, with the recommendation of the
36:51
endorsement. And he looked at me and he said,
36:54
oh, is that how you're going to be?
36:57
And I was like, Oh no, he he didn't just say that.
37:01
So I said. Yeah, that's the way I'm going
37:03
to be, I said. Somebody actually mentioned this
37:05
to me. I felt as if I needed to look
37:08
into this. I gave you 3 different
37:10
opportunities to come clean. It isn't even a problem.
37:13
I hope that you know the person and that's why you're
37:16
recommending that. But for you to just look me in
37:18
the face, lie to me and then deny it and then say, oh, that's
37:22
how we're going to be, you know. So Needless to say, I sent them
37:26
to his office. I talked to his boss.
37:27
I said, look, you got to take care of this or I will.
37:30
So she sent them home. He was really upset.
37:32
A couple of days later he came and, you know, apologized, but
37:36
there was something still there like, you know, for a long time
37:39
that I was like, man, that, that that trust eroded, right?
37:42
Like I, I really need to get over it, but how do I do that?
37:46
And we ended up being fine. But man, it was it's just that
37:50
something to me, it's like my word is my bond.
37:53
My word means more to me than a signature, right?
37:55
If you look at me in the face, you tell me something that
37:57
better be rock solid, right? Because that's the way I am and
38:00
I try to be, you know, as as easy going as possible.
38:04
But my word is my bond. And when when they lied to me,
38:06
to my face, I was like, man, that that's hard to get over.
38:10
That, that, that is a hard situation.
38:11
I've I've dealt with some of those in the military, but it's
38:14
a little bit different in the military.
38:16
We can actually take action. But once that trust is gone,
38:19
it's it's hard to lead. It's hard to lead within the
38:22
organization. Absolutely.
38:25
What we're going to do, we're going to take a quick commercial
38:27
break and when we come back, have I want to, I want to talk
38:30
about, you know, over these past 20 years how your leadership has
38:34
changed, if any, and also talk about Nafi, NAFI roles and, and
38:39
stuff like that. And we'll come back in.
38:41
And ladies and gentlemen, if you have any more questions, please,
38:44
please continue to post and we'll be right back.
38:47
Here we go. The station where our veterans
42:16
voices are heard. MBR talk.
42:19
Hey, thanks for supporting our channel by watching and
42:21
listening. Find us on the web at MB Radio
42:24
dot. All right.
42:27
Welcome back, Javier. Thank you.
42:28
Wait, what you think of that commercial bro?
42:30
That's amazing. It's a red, white and blue.
42:32
I love it. Brother, if I had hair, there
42:34
they go. But I.
42:36
Don't you know, I, I, it's one of my favorite, favorite songs,
42:40
man. It's just, it's just stupendous.
42:43
But I got a question from oh, we got a question from Yvette.
42:46
And before we get into that, she said being a leader can feel
42:49
heavy sometimes. What helps you stay calm and
42:53
keep going when everyone depends on you?
42:58
Focus, All right, Focus on the mission, Head down and do the
43:01
work. Yeah, sometimes it's heavy.
43:04
And then we've been through a lot, you know, during my federal
43:06
career. But man, it, it's just about if
43:10
people are relying on you, you have to put your best face
43:13
forward, you know, you have to put on, you know, that face that
43:17
it is a positive. That's a positivity of, you
43:20
know, coming from a good place, assuming positive intent.
43:23
You know, there's times where it does get heavy and it does get
43:27
difficult and challenging and, and sometimes doesn't work out
43:30
and people can't, you know, can't understand why certain
43:33
decisions are made. But at the end of the day, some
43:36
things are just, you know, above our pay grade, as they say.
43:39
And it's like, no, well, this is the reason why this is the best
43:42
we got and let's move forward and let's do the mission.
43:44
And, you know, we'll get through this just like we got it
43:46
through, you know, everything else over the years.
43:49
And it's just trying to, you know, roll up your sleeves and
43:52
do the best you can with the cards you dealt.
43:54
And sometimes it's working long hours or, or doing things that
43:58
aren't, you know, exactly in your position description, but
44:00
falling under the category of of additional duties as a sign.
44:05
Just just trying to just trying to give them that positive
44:10
outlook and say it's going to be OK, right?
44:12
You know, you know, come talk to me if you need to.
44:15
You know, let's keep this moving.
44:17
Let's focus on the mission. And at the end of the day, you
44:20
know we're going to be better off for it.
44:21
Absolutely no, that's, that's great.
44:23
I know when I was a leader, the biggest thing is making sure
44:25
that my, my, the people who work for me knew that I was
44:30
approachable. You know, that's big, you know,
44:33
because we've been had A and I know we, when my last
44:36
organization, we had like an open door policy, but make sure
44:39
you use your chain of command before you come see me.
44:41
Let your leaders give them an opportunity, you know, before
44:45
you come see me. But you're right.
44:47
And another thing, presence, presence is so big when I, when
44:52
I was in and even at the job, just being there, making sure
44:54
that, you know, hey, I'm here to support you can't be there all
44:57
the time, but I understand that whatever I'm giving you, you
45:00
know, you're going to make a difference and trusting your
45:03
subordinates to do the right thing.
45:05
But I'm here if you need any more guidance or whatever.
45:09
And you know, another question we got, where do you see the
45:11
biggest gap between what employees need and what leaders
45:15
think employees need, you know, so.
45:19
Yeah, I, I think the biggest gap is, is a gap in understanding,
45:23
understanding what the mission is and what the mission needs
45:28
from the employees and from the leader to be accomplished.
45:31
And that starts with communication, right?
45:33
Being able to communicate with your subordinates, with your
45:35
colleagues, explain what, what they need and, and explain what
45:39
they they need to do. But then listen, right?
45:42
Listen to what the employees are telling you.
45:44
Sometimes, you know, they're telling you things that that
45:47
you're not, you know, you're hearing, but you're not
45:49
listening to. And I think that, you know, we
45:52
can't be making too many assumptions because that could
45:55
go down a rabbit hole and and it's going to be really
45:58
difficult to come back from, but trying to understand where
46:01
they're coming from. For example, sometimes folks
46:04
think that they need a certain class to do better or, you know,
46:07
something like that. And maybe there's no money, you
46:09
know, to send them to that class.
46:11
So then as a leader, what do I do to give them that, you know,
46:15
that experience or that knowledge in order for them to,
46:18
you know, do their work better? So there's always that open
46:21
communication that needs to occur.
46:23
And it's got to be bilateral, right?
46:24
It's not just the leader telling the employee, it's, you know,
46:27
you got to listen as a leader and be able to understand where
46:29
that employee is coming from. And maybe they have a
46:31
misunderstanding meaning of something or if their concept is
46:35
incorrect, well then let them know that and try to come to a
46:38
mutual understanding. OK, Now that absolutely we have
46:42
another question and the question said great dialogue.
46:45
Any advice for aspiring senior executives on what paths to
46:48
pursue while managing others and sometimes managing up?
46:53
How do you advocate for yourself to ask for training
46:56
opportunities? Yeah, so I'll, I'll answer the
47:00
last one first. Justification, right?
47:03
Whenever somebody asks me about, you know, leadership development
47:05
program or training that they need, I always ask him to to
47:09
give me a quick blurb on two things.
47:10
How is this going to help you as the employee?
47:13
And how's it going to help the organization, right?
47:15
What are you going to bring back to the organization that that's
47:18
going to make it better, that's going to make you do your job
47:20
better, which then improves, you know, the mission it I'm, I'm
47:25
big on, on development, but there has to be a Nexus to the
47:28
job, right? If I'm going to spend, you know,
47:31
public dollars, I have to make sure that there's that Nexus.
47:34
I, I think my best advice for aspiring senior executives is
47:39
continue doing your job. But also, and, and I mentioned a
47:44
little before about Aperture, right?
47:45
So many people I've talked to and, and tried to mentor love
47:50
their agency and just wanted to, to be an executive at their
47:54
agency. I actually told somebody who
47:56
went for a job a couple of times didn't get it and you know,
47:59
they're frustrated and they came to talk to me and I said, look,
48:02
I have two questions for you and they may be two different
48:04
answers. Do you want to be a senior
48:05
executive or do you want to be a senior executive at this agency?
48:10
Two different, two different answers potentially.
48:12
And and they told me, well, I want to be a senior executive at
48:14
this agency. And I said, well, I said, that's
48:16
fine, but you just limited your opportunity significantly and
48:21
you may retire as a 15 if you don't open up your aperture.
48:25
And that's like what they, they ended up retiring as a 15
48:28
because they wanted to stay in that agency no matter what.
48:31
You know, some people tell me, I, I, I want to, you know, I, I,
48:34
this is my, my boss's job is a job, you know, for me, great.
48:38
But you're not hiring you, right?
48:40
So, so make sure a, that you're prepared for the job.
48:43
But if not, you know, if you don't get it, make sure that you
48:45
start looking, you know, for other opportunities.
48:49
And the, the higher up you go, the broader your, your aperture
48:52
is and the less deep has to be your technical right.
48:55
I mentioned before about being the HR director for a few months
48:58
at NSII. Don't consider myself an HR
49:01
professional. You know, I, I could be an HR
49:04
leader, right? An HR falls, you know, under my
49:07
purview. And I could run an HR shop like
49:09
I did, but I wouldn't I didn't grow up in the HR world.
49:12
I wasn't a 2O one since I was AGS 5, right?
49:16
So it's just trying to, to make sure people understand not to
49:20
cut themselves short, right? That, that if you're a
49:23
contracting specialist, maybe you could do an administrative
49:27
services job because they have procurement under it, but they
49:30
also have facilities and security and some other things,
49:33
right? But they maybe they need a
49:34
procurement person more than anything else.
49:36
And you don't know that unless you give it a shot.
49:39
All right? So don't limit yourself when
49:40
you're on USA jobs that you mentioned before, and don't
49:43
limit yourself when people are giving you opportunities to
49:45
expand, you know, your horizons and to be able to give you, you
49:49
know, that that different look from a different seat, right?
49:53
One of my mentors, Robin Bailey, always said, you know, you see
49:55
from where you sit, right? You know, but if you don't get
49:57
to sit in that chair, you don't get to see what that individual
50:00
was going to see. So yeah, it's it's sometimes
50:03
it's tough, right? And it's a tough pill to
50:04
swallow. I've been in a position where I
50:07
thought I was going to get my boss's job.
50:09
It didn't happen. And I just said, OK, well, no
50:12
big deal. I'm not going to get mad.
50:14
I just, you know, what am I going to do about it?
50:16
Well, you start looking and you know, if you don't, if you don't
50:18
think you want to stay in your current job, you start looking.
50:20
And ultimately, you know, I left that agency and you know it, it
50:23
worked out well for me. But you have to have control of
50:26
your own career at some point because there's only so much
50:29
other people are going to be able to do for you.
50:31
Right, you know, excellent. That's it was an excellent
50:33
guidance for that. And before I let you get a
50:37
chance to say your last words and if people want to get a hold
50:40
of you, Javier, this is the best play, best way to get a hold of
50:44
you. Absolutely, absolutely.
50:45
LinkedIn is is a great platform to get in touch with me and and
50:49
send me a message or you know, connect with me there.
50:53
Yeah. So ladies and gentlemen, also
50:54
this will be once this recording, if you don't get it
50:57
now, you'll be able to go back and, and definitely get this
51:01
will reach out to me and I'll make sure you get it.
51:04
And Javier, as we get draw down, as we draw down toward the end,
51:09
I, I want to ask you a question. What keeps you grounded?
51:14
Yeah, the the, the mission focus, right?
51:18
Taking care of my folks, being able to do something that's
51:23
worth doing. You know, as I said, you know,
51:26
it's not, it's not our institution, it's the American
51:29
public's institution. It's not our money.
51:32
It's the American public's money.
51:33
What we do, regardless of of what agency you work for, you're
51:37
doing something on behalf of this great nation that we live
51:40
in and even local and state, right?
51:43
And you know, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not just saying federal,
51:46
right, any level of government, right?
51:48
You're doing it for the people that you serve, the
51:50
constituents. And, and I would say that what
51:52
keeps me going is that, that, that public service mindset that
51:55
we've been talking about throughout this entire podcast,
51:58
you know, the, the ability to be able to sit at the end of the
52:01
week and say, did I have a good week or not?
52:03
And what did I do? And what could I do better?
52:05
And then taking care of your folks, right?
52:08
Giving them the opportunities that they need, giving them, you
52:11
know, the, the room to grow. You know, I, I just recently
52:15
what one of my best employees decided to move to another
52:18
agency. And, you know, he called me up
52:20
and he said, Hey, you know, I have some bad news for you.
52:22
And he told me, and I said, that's not bad news.
52:24
That's sad news for me, right. But this is an opportunity for
52:28
you to be able to expand your horizons and do something that
52:30
you really want to do. And now I have another member of
52:33
my board of directors at a different agency that I could
52:36
call and say, hey, what are you doing over there?
52:39
Yeah, we're having a similar challenge over here.
52:41
Right. Right.
52:41
So, you know, that's what keeps me grounded.
52:43
And I'll tell you one thing that I'm so proud of a guy I work
52:47
with, NHR. As a matter of fact, he left NSF
52:50
and he went to a different agency and he called me a couple
52:54
weeks ago and he said, Hey, I just want to let you know I got
52:57
my, my SES and I was like, man, that's great.
53:00
And, and it was awesome to be able to, you know, we talked
53:02
for, you know, we worked together for a long time and,
53:04
you know, we had a lot of good conversations.
53:06
I never thought anything of it. And he said, but you know, you
53:08
were one of my strongest mentors and I was like, oh, man, that
53:11
makes me feel great. Can you pin me, man?
53:17
I'm driving down to Fort Lee, VA, a couple weeks.
53:21
I'm going to be able to stand in front of his family and his
53:23
colleagues. And it, it just chokes me up
53:27
that somebody that, you know, I considered a colleague, somebody
53:30
who's a great guy and he considers me his mentor.
53:32
And, and for him to ask me to, to have the honor of pinning the
53:36
SES pin on him just just means the world to me.
53:40
And and that that right there is an example of what keeps me
53:44
grounded and what keeps me moving because anything I can do
53:48
to help the next generation, certainly going to do.
53:50
And and what an honor. Well, that is an honor.
53:53
Oh, that is one of the best honors.
53:55
Were you able to pin somebody like that?
53:57
That is, that is stupendous. And we got one more question and
54:00
I think you answered part of it. But what motivates your mindset,
54:04
and what should listeners take with them after hearing your
54:07
story today? Anything can happen to anybody.
54:11
If this kid from northern New Jersey got to where I am, you
54:15
know, we could all do it. You know, just work hard, stay
54:18
focused, learn as much as you can, stay curious, get as many
54:23
mentors as you can. You know, some people reach out
54:26
to you. They don't even know you.
54:27
They may send you some on LinkedIn and say, you know, hey,
54:29
you know, can I be your mentor? Or, you know, you want to be,
54:31
you know, you be my mentor. You know, just just be open to
54:35
opportunities and and they'll come.
54:38
They'll come. I will say this that patience is
54:42
also a virtue. And sometimes things happen for
54:46
a reason and you just don't know why at that, at that particular
54:50
time, why something didn't happen.
54:52
And it could be because you have something even better in store
54:55
for you. You just don't know.
54:56
It wow that no thank you. Like Gabby, I want to say I want
55:00
to say I want to say, you know, thank you for reminding us that
55:03
leadership isn't about Como say you said titles.
55:06
It's about service, integrity and making a positive impact on
55:10
the lives of others. I I would tell you that your
55:14
journey is proved that life dedicated to for serving other
55:18
truly leaves a lasting legacy, which you definitely will will
55:22
leave out. Any last words.
55:24
Anything else you would like to say, Javier, before we we go off
55:28
the air? Now I, I would just say that it
55:31
is such an honor to be here, Jose.
55:32
It's an honor for me to be a public servant.
55:35
It, it's, it's been just a great ride for me and, and I have a
55:40
quite a number of years to go in front of me, but I, I, I look
55:43
forward to them and I just want to thank everybody for being
55:46
here. And if anybody needs to connect
55:48
with me, you know, please do so. Yeah, thank you so much.
55:52
And I will put this up one more time for before we have to.
55:55
Somebody needs to, you know, get in touch.
55:58
He's on LinkedIn. If you don't get the QR code,
56:00
just look up his name. But ladies and gentlemen, I want
56:04
to say thank you for being here, Javier, Gracia, Porto.
56:08
And have a blessed day, Gracia, for everything that you do, Sir.
56:12
Thank you very much. You too, and thank you for your
56:13
service, Jose. My pleasure.
56:16
Thank you, Sir. I'll be the same.
56:18
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