Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Senior Care Is a Hospitality Job. Scott Nield Proved It Adds 7 Years to Your Life.
Transcript
- 0:04Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast,
- 0:08where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from
- 0:11their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome
- 0:14adversity. My name is Anthony Kotaspodi,
- 0:17and today's guest is Scott Neil, president and chief executive
- 0:20officer at Montereau. They are known as Tulsa's
- 0:23friendliest senior living community, offering a life plan
- 0:27approach that provides independent living, Wellness
- 0:31programs and high quality health services.
- 0:34Their mission is to give older adults a vibrant lifestyle
- 0:38complemented by retirement planning and meaningful
- 0:41engagement opportunities. Scott joined Monroe in February
- 0:452022, bringing over 25 years of expertise in senior living and
- 0:50hospitality. He has successfully LED
- 0:53innovative initiatives focused on return on experience and
- 0:58edutainment, enhancing how residents connect and thrive.
- 1:02Before coming to Montreau, Scott held various leadership roles in
- 1:06both hospitality and healthcare, always striving to ensure
- 1:10seniors feel valued and appreciated.
- 1:12Under his guidance, Montreau has continued to expand its programs
- 1:15and earn recognition for excellence in short and long
- 1:18term care. Now before we get into all that
- 1:21good stuff, today's episode is brought to you by my company,
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- 1:58To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at
- 2:02AD back benefits.com. All right, back to our guest
- 2:05today, President and CEO of Montrose, Scott Neal, thanks for
- 2:09making the time to Share your story today.
- 2:11It's a pleasure. I'm excited to get to to chat
- 2:14with you. Thanks for having me.
- 2:15Yeah. So maybe let's go a little bit
- 2:19further, further back even before coming to Montreal and
- 2:24tell us where you're originally from and how you found your way
- 2:28to the States. I I grew up in Scotland, the
- 2:32Highlands of Scotland specifically, so just outside
- 2:36Inverness, the capital, and had a great family dynamic.
- 2:42Father was a entrepreneur and former professional soccer
- 2:47player or football player, we call it.
- 2:50So I grew up in a very sporting family.
- 2:54Try it all sports. And, you know, was able to, to
- 2:59do a couple of them pretty well and came over to the States to,
- 3:03to, to play sports and also to, to learn the business of, of
- 3:09golf and, and country clubs. And that, that kind of was my
- 3:14career path for, for many years before I came into the
- 3:18healthcare component of hospitality about about a decade
- 3:23ago. So, so yeah, I got to grow up in
- 3:26Scotland as a child and America as an adult.
- 3:30So I feel really blessed to have both in my.
- 3:34And so were you what, like late teens, early 20s?
- 3:37Yeah, just. 19 so just yeah came over right, right as 18 and and
- 3:43were. You coming over to play golf and
- 3:45learn golf? Or was there another sport that
- 3:47you? Yeah, so and soccer as well.
- 3:49So, yeah, tried to tried to do both the same level as my, my,
- 3:55my dad didn't quite have the, the talent, the gene pool kept
- 4:00getting delineated every generation, but but it's
- 4:04afforded me to to kind of follow on his footsteps with level of
- 4:07people as well. And so kind of parlayed that
- 4:11into the business, the business part of of so.
- 4:15You were managing golf courses, clubs, academies.
- 4:19Talk to us about that. Work.
- 4:20Yeah, all of that. I got super, very, very lucky.
- 4:26Often it's better to be lucky than KUJ, right?
- 4:28And I got super lucky to, to get introduced to the, the Harman
- 4:33family and Craig specifically at Oak Hill and one of America's
- 4:41greatest clubs. And, and at a very young age, he
- 4:44took a chance on me and put me into this training program.
- 4:48And from there, you know, really learned the business of country
- 4:54clubs and golf and teaching. And then from there probably
- 4:58that into leading my own clubs and, and at a very elite level
- 5:05of hospitality. So, and then from, from, from,
- 5:09from that, it was being surrounded by many captains of
- 5:13industry that I was able to ask for help and coaching.
- 5:18And they wrapped their arms around me and had a wonderful 20
- 5:23odd years in, in that world and then kind of fell into the
- 5:28senior living part. And yeah, kind of got lucky
- 5:32there too. And now ended up in, in, in
- 5:35Tulsa. So it's been quite the journey.
- 5:37And 11th different state now, I think fourth different country.
- 5:41So it's been. It's been back.
- 5:44Around quite a bit, yeah. Yeah.
- 5:47Let's go back to Craig Harmon. What?
- 5:50What do you think he saw on you? Why did he take a chance on you
- 5:52back then? I don't know.
- 5:56I, I, I, I think Craig saw a passion from me.
- 6:01I think he also, I have an insatiable appetite to learn and
- 6:06I think he saw that. And I think what's, what's
- 6:10really being able to, to keep my career advancing has been a
- 6:19drive that maybe some would say is unparalleled.
- 6:22I've, I have a lot of Dr. willingness to to learn and, and
- 6:26therefore succeed. So a work ethic.
- 6:30I think you saw that too. And I was raw.
- 6:34I was a greenhorn. And thank goodness he took took
- 6:37a chance on that. So it was definitely not because
- 6:39of my experience and talent that he what he saw, but he saw
- 6:43something and and I took advantage of it with learning
- 6:47from him and and his training program.
- 6:49And, and you said as you advanced through your career
- 6:53along the way, you were doing a good job of kind of raising your
- 6:55hand, asking for help, asking for coaching, asking for
- 6:58training. And I think that's something
- 7:01that a lot of people would benefit from if they were better
- 7:05at doing that. Was that something that somebody
- 7:09else taught you? Was that just sort of innate in
- 7:11you? And what kind of tips would you
- 7:13have for listeners on how to go about that for themselves?
- 7:19Yeah, so I'll probably start at the back end.
- 7:23You, you just got to be fearless and unapologetic and, and great
- 7:27leaders. If, if they, if they do see
- 7:31something in you and, and a passion, at least there's only
- 7:35been a couple on my longer career than some that have said
- 7:39no. Most really great leaders will
- 7:44love to impart their wisdom on on others, especially those that
- 7:48are younger and less experienced.
- 7:50So I think you just have to be brave and, and, and, and expect
- 7:55a no, but hope for a yes. And, and often times you get
- 7:59that yes. I, I think it's really just,
- 8:06it's having courage, right? It's having courage to to to
- 8:10mess up and fall forward. I want to understand how the
- 8:15transition from being in the golf world to senior living came
- 8:20about. It seems like a bit of an
- 8:22unusual transition. Yeah, but less and less now I
- 8:27think you know, 10/15/20 years ago it was a less common.
- 8:33Today I think it's people are seeing what the future of the
- 8:37industry is, but also the the present, right.
- 8:41We're moving away from a clinical model into a Wellness
- 8:44model. And so there's a lot of
- 8:48hospitality and what we do quite frankly, what you're building
- 8:54widgets today, you're in the hospitality business, right?
- 8:56So everything we do and we teach a lot of that and our training
- 8:59here and even in healthcare, you may be a clinical expert, but
- 9:04you're a hospitality expert at the same time.
- 9:06So other than, you know, not having a golf course, we have a
- 9:12healthcare center. It's pretty much same type of
- 9:15business. You're, you're in the people
- 9:17business. You got to know your people to
- 9:19know your business. And it's, it's, it's different
- 9:23in a Country Club in that this massive amount of regulation,
- 9:27massive amount of capital expenditure on these big, big
- 9:31communities. But the operational aspect is,
- 9:36is, is very similar. You're dealing with people.
- 9:38And that's definitely the most rewarding job in the world is to
- 9:43deal with people. It's also the most complex and
- 9:46sometimes the most difficult. So you, you, you have to take
- 9:50that into appreciation and into perspective as well.
- 9:53So you got people skills. That's what people want,
- 9:57especially in in their later years where you, you, you, you
- 10:03have to show empathy and, and, and the ability to provide
- 10:07compassionate care. So it's.
- 10:09Helpful to see those sort of commonalities the, you know,
- 10:12you're dealing with people. I think it's fantastic that you
- 10:16think about what you do now in terms of hospitality and we'll
- 10:21get into this a little bit more, but I have to assume that the
- 10:27the customer experience at Montereau is only benefiting
- 10:32from that kind of mentality and that kind of approach.
- 10:35But from your perspective, why make that change?
- 10:39You're in the golf industry, probably have lots of contacts
- 10:43in that space. You understand how it works, who
- 10:45all the players. Are we just ready for a
- 10:47different kind of a challenge or what?
- 10:49What was going on there? Yeah, I think all of that going
- 10:53through a transition and life, midlife, all of that divorce,
- 10:58health issues and just kind of fell into it as well and kind of
- 11:04got a phone call one day saying, hey, do you want to have you any
- 11:08interest in senior living? And I said, what's that?
- 11:12And but the more I got to talk to the recruiter, the more I
- 11:18realized that it would be, I think a really good fit.
- 11:24A lot of what I was doing already getting weekends off was
- 11:30something I never had before since I was, you know, 12 years
- 11:33old. So that was, it was just a, a
- 11:36different way of, of living, a different way of thinking as
- 11:41well, which was was a challenge. And, you know, that's kind of
- 11:47just who I am. I just willing to take the
- 11:49plunge and, and if it doesn't work out, we'll figure something
- 11:52else out. That's the beautiful thing about
- 11:55hospitality, right? Is there, there's just so many
- 11:59different avenues you can go down.
- 12:01And that, that would be one thing I would, I would say to,
- 12:05to, to people in general is and, and I was that way.
- 12:08I thought I was mired in the fear of being 1 dimensional for
- 12:12a long time. Well, it's only country clubs
- 12:14that I know. And and then coming into this
- 12:18space recognizing there's just so much opportunity.
- 12:22And so I would encourage people to to never think they're
- 12:26one-dimensional. Don't box yourselves into one
- 12:30thing. What was probably the biggest
- 12:33challenge in making that transition from golf courses to
- 12:37senior living? Having no clue about healthcare
- 12:42absolutely that, that, that was, that was a massive challenge,
- 12:48but one that I was willing to take on.
- 12:50And, and another example of I asked a lot of people for help,
- 12:55a lot of people that were, were willing to, to coach me and I
- 12:58was willing to study. So, and it took a long time.
- 13:03I mean, it, it, it's such a, a unique space that it, it took a
- 13:08good solid couple of years to feel comfortable.
- 13:11By the third year, you're, you're feeling like, OK, I kind
- 13:13of, I kind of understand this a little bit, but that was, that
- 13:17was a massive shift. And, and it is daunting and it's
- 13:22not for the faint of heart, especially in an industry that's
- 13:26a little bit different, like you care, but also one that's highly
- 13:30regulated. And, and so it's important that
- 13:33you surround yourself with that talent, right?
- 13:35And, and, and great leaders will make sure that they they hire or
- 13:40cast people that are complementing their weaknesses.
- 13:44And, and I certainly was able to do that in, in my first go
- 13:48around in senior living. So.
- 13:50How did the opportunity to join Montrose specifically come
- 13:53about? Yeah, we were living in Atlanta,
- 13:57building a in a a urban environment there.
- 14:02Got a call from a recruiter again and said, hey, you know,
- 14:06this, this is kind of your perfect Country Club model.
- 14:10It's just in senior living, it's a single site.
- 14:14You've got a, a governance model that's very similar to what
- 14:18you've been accustomed to in the, in the Club World.
- 14:21And you've got a chairman of the board that's not only brilliant,
- 14:24but he's not changing every two years.
- 14:26So that's rare. And, and it, it, it really was
- 14:31kind of for me perfect timing and and the perfect governance
- 14:36model to be able to to really bring my philosophy and and and
- 14:43senior loving to to fruition. And he, he bought into that.
- 14:48So it was. Say more about that.
- 14:49I want to understand what sets Montero apart.
- 14:52What? What is it that you guys are
- 14:53doing there that's different? I think we, we think different.
- 14:57I mean, we, we want our vision statement, which I did not
- 14:59write, but fundamentally believe in is that, you know, we want to
- 15:02revolutionize the way people age successfully.
- 15:04And, and, and, and it's going with a hospitality mindset and
- 15:07not a clinical 1. Clinical 1 plays a big part in
- 15:11what we do, but it, it's, it's just a different way that we
- 15:15want to think and, and operate. And so I, most CE OS will come
- 15:22with a, you know, 120 page business plan and, and we
- 15:25certainly have that. But I believe in just a very
- 15:28simple 5 fundamental pillars for, for this type of business.
- 15:34And if you're best in class in those five pillars, you're going
- 15:36to, you're going to be doing something, right?
- 15:38So our five pillars is obviously fiscal stability, right?
- 15:41You can have the best people in the best culture, but if you
- 15:44can't pay for it, it doesn't exist.
- 15:46And even as a not-for-profit, you, you make a profit, no
- 15:49margin, no mission. So we do that very, very well.
- 15:53We want to develop our people through, through service
- 15:55excellence, right? So superior service excellence.
- 15:58So it's incumbent upon this labor market to make sure that
- 16:01we're developing our people adequately.
- 16:04And we've got a bunch of really cool programs that we were able
- 16:08to to establish here on that. We have exquisite culinary
- 16:12right. It's the universal language we
- 16:14all have to eat. And it's a very important part
- 16:18of the lives of, of people in general, but certainly of those
- 16:23that are seniors in the European model.
- 16:25You know, you break bread around, you know, 6:00 and
- 16:29you're there for a couple hours and you're making fun of each
- 16:32other and, and, and you know, the banter and the patter and
- 16:37that's. Breaking bread at six, though, I
- 16:38thought seniors where they were, they were sitting down like 3 or
- 16:414. Surprised.
- 16:42Yeah, you'd be. Surprised some are at 4, some
- 16:44are at six, some are at 8:00. But yeah, it's, it's, it's
- 16:49really cool. And it's not just about fancy
- 16:51five star dining and fancy sauces.
- 16:54Really. You know, we teach here, right?
- 16:56Our, our culinary team, our executive chef, you know the
- 16:59principle, right, that you may not know that this is this
- 17:02person's last meal. So if you knew it was their last
- 17:05meal, you would make that a piece of art, right?
- 17:10And so that's the, I think a different mindset than than
- 17:14what's maybe been in senior loving before integrated
- 17:18lifestyle and Wellness, which I believe is the future of our
- 17:20industry, right? That's taking our baby boomers
- 17:23who have had a, a Country Club lifestyle their whole life and
- 17:28have accumulated more wealth than the world's ever seen.
- 17:31And they spend it. So being prepared for that.
- 17:34And they very much want that Turkey lifestyle style that, you
- 17:39know, the cruise ship that doesn't leave the port.
- 17:41And so the clinical aspect of life plan aspect is, is a
- 17:46component, but they put more emphasis on longevity and their
- 17:50lifestyle and providing that longevity and then having elite
- 17:53healthcare, right. So those are our five
- 17:55fundamental pillars that we want to be leading and best in class
- 17:59in and that kind of covers I think a lot of the bases in the
- 18:05operational sense with with senior living.
- 18:10And so what's the extent of the healthcare services that are
- 18:13being provided on site? Yeah, so we've got what what's
- 18:16called the full continuum of care.
- 18:18So we have independent living, right, Just like any living in
- 18:21homes or apartment homes. Then assisted living, memory
- 18:26care and skilled nursing. So we have all the components.
- 18:29We had the 5th component of home care as well.
- 18:31We want people to be living independently as long as
- 18:35possible and we all want to die in our own bed as we fall
- 18:39asleep. And so keeping people
- 18:42independent in their home as long as possible is important to
- 18:45most and certainly are important to those that believe in what
- 18:50Montreal is doing. So in addition to providing all
- 18:53these great services at what sounds like Club Med to me,
- 18:57you're also going into other people's homes and providing
- 19:00them the kind of care and support that they need for as
- 19:03long as they're willing and able to stay there.
- 19:06Yes, exactly. And, and, and that's not just
- 19:09that's been going on in, in senior living for a long, long
- 19:11time. That's the future of, of health
- 19:14systems as well, right. So you'll be seeing a lot of
- 19:17that coming, you know, having ERS in, in people's own houses.
- 19:22It's just the cost of healthcare has to go that route.
- 19:26So, so, so, yeah, we've been doing that for, for a, a long,
- 19:30long time. And you know, I, I, what I would
- 19:33say in that regard, right? Some organizations, you know, I
- 19:37call our, our care team. You know, there's a difference
- 19:40between being a time keeper and being a care provider, right?
- 19:43And so maybe too often, but, but getting less, you know, you're
- 19:49finding people that will just sit there on their phone and
- 19:52wait for something to happen. We're different here.
- 19:55We trained to that where you know, we want our our team
- 19:58members that are caring for people in their home to.
- 20:01To go through our, you know, Sipsy program and, and ensure
- 20:04that our residents are getting social engagement and
- 20:07intellectual challenge, physical movement, spiritual fulfillment
- 20:11and emotional well-being. And so it's really creating care
- 20:17plans, we call them Sipsy success plans that afford our
- 20:21our team to know other people and get them out, you know,
- 20:24having those dimensions of Wellness that will add to their
- 20:27longevity. And that's both for the folks
- 20:31that you're caring for at Montero as well as the folks
- 20:34that you're going into their homes.
- 20:35Yep, Yep, exactly. And also our team members, we
- 20:38want our team members to be living that sipsy life as well.
- 20:41So we talked about that. We educate that, we give a lot
- 20:45of statistics and we give great examples from the Blue zones of,
- 20:50you know, what we're learning from people that are living long
- 20:54and vibrant and purposeful lives.
- 20:55So, yeah, it's, it's purposeful and what we we do and the data
- 21:00supports it. You know, you come to
- 21:01communities like Montreal, on average, you'll, you'll live
- 21:05seven years longer than you would living at home.
- 21:08So the data's there to support it.
- 21:10We have the data there. And so I like to call Montreal
- 21:14kind of micro Blue Zone where you know you're, if you come in
- 21:18here early enough, it will add to your longevity absolutely of
- 21:22all the stuff that we are. What do you think's the key
- 21:24factor in that? Is it having access to that
- 21:26healthcare? Is it mostly that social
- 21:28interaction that's keeping people engaged and and
- 21:31interacting? Yes, yes and yes.
- 21:35So, yeah, number one key factor for longevity, right, is
- 21:38obviously socialization, having purpose, so giving people
- 21:42purpose. So you come into a communal
- 21:44setting like these wonderful communities, life plan
- 21:46communities, you're getting that heavy purpose, which leads to
- 21:52vitality, right? And we're the most stressed out
- 21:56nation in the world. And so being able to, to keep us
- 21:59occupied and not in front of that bloody awful TV, you know,
- 22:05and with, with different programming, unique programming
- 22:09that can be tailored to, you know, your, your passions is, is
- 22:14what leads a lot of that leads to to, you know, the longevity
- 22:18factor. It's a different, there's a
- 22:20difference right between longevity than and, and or, or
- 22:25lifespan and joy span, right. So I don't know about you, but I
- 22:30don't want to live a long life and not be joyful.
- 22:34I'll take a maybe a shorter life and and have joy most of that
- 22:37life. Life is seasonal, but but we we
- 22:41also want to have, you know, a high score in our in our Joyce
- 22:45fan as well. So we speak about that And
- 22:49that's the, the, the, the sipsy part with the emotional health,
- 22:52right, Making sure that we are we're touching base early enough
- 22:55if, if people are having some, you know, challenges or go into
- 22:59a different season. And I think this is part of what
- 23:01you're getting at. Like, these are important things
- 23:05to keep in mind not only for aging seniors, but also people
- 23:09of all ages, right? That social interaction is
- 23:12important at every age, which is why you guys are also focusing
- 23:15on some of these same things with your employees.
- 23:18Absolutely. How does that show up in in that
- 23:21employee interaction? How, how are you guys able to
- 23:23kind of foster that kind of what do you call it that social
- 23:27connection? Yeah.
- 23:29So I think it's super important that you keep reinforcing what
- 23:34we believe in and we keep reinforcing, you know, sipsy and
- 23:37and challenging them. We have daily scrums and so we
- 23:40speak about that and our daily scrums and and so we have a
- 23:46cadence everyday start of every shift and and it talks about our
- 23:50culture and it talks about, you know, the sipsy factors and we
- 23:53get to talk and engage and and and ask each other.
- 23:57You know, how you doing? You're doing a check in and as
- 24:01Winston Churchill said in 1938, you know, you have to have the
- 24:05courage to stand up and speak and you have to have the courage
- 24:07to sit down and listen. And we encourage our people to
- 24:11stand up and speak and say hey. And I speak to that in day one.
- 24:15So every new team member that comes here, I spend the first 3
- 24:19hours of their career at Montereau going through their
- 24:22day one class. And we speak to that and, and
- 24:25speak to, hey, if you're, you're struggling, you need to be able
- 24:30to have the courage to stand up and speak.
- 24:31Because as much as we want to assume positive intentions, if,
- 24:36if you're struggling and not performing, we're going to
- 24:38assume that you're either checked out or whatever it may
- 24:41be. But if you tell us, hey, you
- 24:43know what, I'm struggling. I'm, I'm, I just got asked to
- 24:47have a divorce or I just got diagnosed with nothing or my kid
- 24:50just, you know, had a, a bombshell that, that, that hit
- 24:55them. Then we can talk and then we can
- 24:58come together as a community and as a group to, to, to rally
- 25:02together and put our arms around.
- 25:04But if we don't know, we, we can't do that.
- 25:06So we reinforce all of those and in a multitude of different ways
- 25:11to try to build that community and to try to build that culture
- 25:14of, Hey, I got you right. Instead of like a lot of
- 25:19corporate America is, hey, I got you right.
- 25:22So same words, two very different meanings.
- 25:25So. Different emphasis there.
- 25:28So I think you know, we, we, we, we, we do a lot of that.
- 25:32We do a lot of programming as well and we come together and
- 25:35and once 1/4 and and have leadership meetings off site and
- 25:40that sort of thing. So to build, it's not just about
- 25:43having a have a conversation or a focus factor, it's it's very
- 25:47much about spending time together as well.
- 25:49When you're talking about, you know, sort of traditional
- 25:51corporate America where there's an obvious focus on ROI, return
- 25:55on investment and you know also for you guys as well.
- 25:59But Scott, you guys focus particularly on something that
- 26:02you call return on experience Roe, how is that different?
- 26:08Very much right 'cause you're you.
- 26:09You. I think, you know, you, we're
- 26:12going to get to the same result, just going back a different way,
- 26:16right? And we, we're in the experience
- 26:18business, you know, as I tell the team all the time, you know,
- 26:22if you don't hear anything from me in your day one class to hear
- 26:25this, right, your job is to create memories.
- 26:27That's it. That's all we get to take with
- 26:29us. Just create a memory, right?
- 26:31Scorecard yourself at the end of the day.
- 26:33Did you create a memory? And memories are about
- 26:36experiences, right? You're in the hospitality world.
- 26:39You are on stage, you are here to serve another and the gift
- 26:43that you give to others is a gift to yourself.
- 26:46And so with that, our job is to give you an experience.
- 26:50Now you can have something extravagant like we one of my
- 26:52favorite residents of all time, we 99 years young and I truly
- 26:58loved that man. He was incredible human being.
- 27:02Incredible story. Was World War 2 injured in World
- 27:08War 2, injured in Korea, one of the first engineers to build Air
- 27:12Force One. Avid pilot at 99 years young.
- 27:17He went around or wanted to fly one last time.
- 27:21We got a World War 2 by plane and flew him around Tulsa.
- 27:25He came off the plane all upset because it wasn't long enough
- 27:29and he didn't fly. So I want to go out and be that
- 27:32guy. But a memory can also be, you
- 27:37know, just giving the power of presence and sitting down with
- 27:41somebody in our skilled nursing who's really struggling our end
- 27:44of life and just talking and listening.
- 27:49That can be a memory for them. And you can create a memory at
- 27:51end of life. And at the end of the day,
- 27:54that's all we get to take with us.
- 27:55So that's, I think that's the difference and it's a good
- 28:00difference, you know, to to have.
- 28:05You know, as you're telling that first story about the 99 year
- 28:09young gentleman who you took up in the airplane for one last
- 28:12flight, it reminds me of a hospitality book that I read
- 28:17that many of my guests have suggested unreasonable
- 28:20hospitality just kind of looking and, and for people who aren't.
- 28:24Scott is nodding his head and smiling.
- 28:26He's like, Yep, Yep, Yep. So this, this is kind of at the
- 28:29core of what you're talking about.
- 28:30And, and I, I, I've, I've interviewed a lot of, you know,
- 28:33people who work in senior care and lots of good people and
- 28:36they're running great facilities.
- 28:37I haven't heard this kind of focus on hospitality.
- 28:42I don't think the word hospitality traditionally comes
- 28:44up in senior care. No.
- 28:47It's according to your approach. Absolutely and and it's the core
- 28:51to to what people you know, strive for and desire, right.
- 28:55We all want experiences and it's our job to be able to provide
- 29:00that. That's what leads to vitality.
- 29:03Yeah, it's about providing care. And you need care, but you know,
- 29:07you have a lot more life in you than than than just having, you
- 29:11know, care when when it's needed.
- 29:15And that's the approach that that we take.
- 29:17Yes, it's we speak to that. It's a fantastic book.
- 29:20He's a fantastic guy and totally gets people again, I'll just
- 29:26keep going back to we're in the people business and if you know
- 29:29your people, you can create great experiences.
- 29:32So yeah, we, we speak that, I speak to that.
- 29:35And and they, they want, every recruit learns that language.
- 29:39That is our language. We have our own language.
- 29:41Our language speaks to unreasonable hospitality and
- 29:44what that looks like. So yeah, it's probably is
- 29:49different, but we pride ourselves on thinking different.
- 29:53I'd like to explore the word edutainment.
- 29:57This is something that you talk about a lot as a resident
- 30:01engagement approach. Can you define it and then give
- 30:06us a real life example of how edutainment led to a meaningful
- 30:11shift and how residents either act, interact with each other or
- 30:15with staff? So edutainment combines
- 30:19education and entertainment, is that simple, right?
- 30:22And, and what we want to do is we give an experience in both,
- 30:24right? So one of our sipsy pillars
- 30:27obviously is intellectual challenge. 55 million people in
- 30:30the world are diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia with
- 30:331,000,000 added every year. We're living longer.
- 30:36So that's only going to, you know, escalate.
- 30:40So give yourself that gift. Even if you're predisposed to
- 30:43Alzheimer's or dementia genetically, you can slow that
- 30:47down. And so be that continuous
- 30:49learner. That can be something like we've
- 30:51got my dad doing word search. He's a discipline guy.
- 30:56So he does it all the time, right?
- 30:57Learning a second language, learning the piano, which
- 31:01affords you to use both sides of your brain simultaneously.
- 31:04So there's so much you can do if you're a continuous learner to
- 31:08slow down the possibility of getting dementia or Alzheimer's.
- 31:14So we want to do that and we educate on that and, but we want
- 31:18to do it. We know that if you're going to
- 31:19learn, you're going to learn better through passion and
- 31:23having a, a, a great experience, right?
- 31:25So we have, I was just in a resident committee meeting
- 31:29yesterday and they were asking for, for more intellectual
- 31:32stimulation and guest speakers coming from, you know, different
- 31:36parts of the, the, the country talking about different
- 31:39subjects. So that's just music to my ears,
- 31:42right? You asked me to do something
- 31:45like that. We're, we're going to do it.
- 31:46We'll, we bring in docs from the health system next door, Saint
- 31:50Francis and educators from University of Tulsa and OSU and
- 31:56OU entrepreneurs, right? And, and we also have great,
- 32:00great wisdom inside. You know what I think a lot of
- 32:02people forget and it's a deep passion of mine is that, you
- 32:06know, seniors get sidelined and they often get marginalized and
- 32:10people forget and use. And I can teach both my girls.
- 32:12This is that, you know, there's wisdom there.
- 32:15You can, you can purchase knowledge.
- 32:17You cannot purchase wisdom. So get around these people who
- 32:21have massive career success, massive likes life success and
- 32:25learn from them. And, and I made a career out of
- 32:27that. I went to brilliant people that
- 32:30had, you know, unbelievable career success and wisdom and
- 32:35they were thankfully willing to impart that.
- 32:37And, and our role is then to cascade that, you know, and push
- 32:40that forward to others. So we want to create an
- 32:43environment where we're educating, but at the same time
- 32:45we're entertaining and we know that if we're doing that, the,
- 32:49the, the recall, the absorption of that information is going to
- 32:52be better. Making continuous learning fun
- 32:56for them. That's really what it's about,
- 32:58right? And it keeps the brain lit up,
- 32:59keeps those neurons firing. And that that helps to stave off
- 33:05that, that dimension, that Alzheimer's.
- 33:07As folks get older, I'd like to hear about Montero's life care
- 33:11model because I understand that there's a financial protection
- 33:16component in this. Can you speak about that?
- 33:18Yeah, so well, our benevolent funds, so we make the the
- 33:22covenant that if you know, you come to Montreal through the
- 33:27anti history model and independent living and work your
- 33:29way through and you through no fault over your own, you know,
- 33:37deplete your your resources, the community, the organization will
- 33:41take care of you for the rest of your life.
- 33:43So that's rare. Wait, say that again.
- 33:49I don't think I followed that. So I'll give you an example,
- 33:52right? So let's just say you came into
- 33:55Montereau and you know, we we qualify you medically and
- 34:02financially and you're good to come in and let's just say
- 34:06something happens. An example that happened to me
- 34:09in Florida, one of our residents at the Bernie Madoff scandal, if
- 34:14you remember that right. And overnight went from well to
- 34:18do individual to indigent. And, and so with that, you know,
- 34:23the, the Benevolent Fund, the, the community cared and gave him
- 34:27the same lifestyle that he had with the community prior with
- 34:33his own assets. And, and so the fund took care
- 34:36of that. That's what we provide here.
- 34:38OK. That's what I thought you were
- 34:40saying, but that's quite generous.
- 34:43How are you able to do that? We raise money so we do a lot of
- 34:48fundraising for it and our corpus, we continually need to
- 34:51grow, but we do a lot of fundraising.
- 34:55We we have an annual golf tournament last year was at
- 34:57Southern Hills. We're in the process of looking
- 35:00for another home this year, but we'll probably be back to
- 35:02Southern Hills the the following year.
- 35:04So we raise, you know, several 100 thousands of dollars each
- 35:08year to try to do that. Our, our residents are
- 35:11incredibly generous. They're Tulsa's, I believe, the
- 35:16second most philanthropic city in, in, in America, first per
- 35:20capita. So a lot of people are willing
- 35:23to, to put money in their pocket to care for others.
- 35:26So, and that's part of our culture as well, is that, you
- 35:29know, our residents care for, for each other and that you
- 35:33never know what may happen in life if something catastrophic
- 35:36could happen that depletes your assets.
- 35:38And and they're we're here for each other.
- 35:41That's incredible. I mean, you know, describing the
- 35:44type of place that Montero is. Yeah, I'm going to guess that,
- 35:48you know, these are folks that have, you know, they're of
- 35:52means. They've, you know, they've had
- 35:54financial success in life, but it's incredible.
- 35:58And so, you know, that's important for them to get in.
- 35:59But then it's incredible that you're saying, OK, hey, now that
- 36:02you're here and now that you're part of the Montereau family, if
- 36:05something were to happen, you know, use the Bernie Madoff
- 36:08scandal where, you know, people's wealth evaporated
- 36:11overnight through, you know, no fault of their own, Like, hey,
- 36:14we got you, We got your back or your safety net, you're here,
- 36:19you're good. That's kind of powerful stuff,
- 36:22Scott. Very, very, it's something that
- 36:25we're very proud of. It's it's it kind of, you know,
- 36:28it just stems from our founders and, and, and, you know, our
- 36:33founding family and the Warren Foundation.
- 36:35And it's just such a giving family and, and spend millions a
- 36:40year giving back to Tulsa and Tulsans.
- 36:43And it's just been our our, our culture from the get go.
- 36:48One of the longtime CEOs that was here was David Merlett did a
- 36:53great job and, and establishing that and establishing that
- 36:57culture as well. And we've we've been able to
- 36:59grow that corpus and and yeah, for those on occasion that you
- 37:04know about out love their assets, we we've got their back
- 37:09like you said. Say more about some of that
- 37:12community investment that's taking place.
- 37:17At Montreal or yeah, so at Montreal we, we again our number
- 37:22one pillar is fiscal stability, right.
- 37:24So the difference with Montreal opposed to other organizations
- 37:28is you know, and certainly the for profit model we make a large
- 37:33profit. That profit stays here.
- 37:35It doesn't go to stakeholders, it doesn't go to shareholders.
- 37:38And we in reinvest that several $1,000,000 a year into you know
- 37:42upgrading our facilities, our amenities, training programs for
- 37:49our our our team members and their kids.
- 37:53So I think that's the beauty of the not-for-profit model, that's
- 37:56the beauty of the Montreal model, that we are able to keep
- 38:00those dollars inside the organization and just keep
- 38:03moving forward. And I think that's an important
- 38:06distinction that a lot of folks don't understand.
- 38:09You know, they think of not-for-profit.
- 38:11That's like, OK, they're losing money.
- 38:13At best they break even. But that's not what it means.
- 38:17It means and and please repeat. Yeah, it means, you know, not
- 38:21for profits make a profit, but the the the difference is that
- 38:25profit stays within the organization.
- 38:26Hopefully it certainly doesn't Montero and that's reinvested
- 38:31into, you know, benefiting the two key stakeholders inside
- 38:35these types of organizations, which is, you know the residents
- 38:38obviously who we get to serve and and the team members as
- 38:41well. So, and then you add, these are
- 38:44Montreal's, you know, it's 1.5 million square feet on 104
- 38:48acres. It's there's a lot of stuff
- 38:50going on. So ensuring that you can
- 38:53continue to maintain and build and grow and, and, and repair
- 38:57all of that. And so there's a reason, and
- 39:01that's a big reason why, you know, fiscal stability should be
- 39:05everybody's number one pillar. So talk about the future Of
- 39:10Montreal. You got, you know, beautiful
- 39:12property, lots of room to grow. Are there ambitions to continue
- 39:19adding to your facilities there? Yes, and we shall.
- 39:23We're in a season of strengthening.
- 39:26So we're strengthening our our operations and our processes and
- 39:30our people, which will lead to growth.
- 39:33And I can't share what that looks like with you today, but
- 39:38it will be, it will live up to our, our vision statement and it
- 39:44will, it will be revolutionary. It's going to be.
- 39:47Revolutionary and and Scott, you don't strike me as somebody
- 39:51that's prone to hyperbole. No, this, this.
- 39:55We've got plans to do some stuff that's not been done in sooner
- 39:59than before. Well, OK.
- 40:02So my follow up question, I wonder if you can speak to yet
- 40:04then because I'm curious what role you see technology playing
- 40:10in the future of Montreux and senior care in general?
- 40:14Massive, I mean, that's just the reality, right?
- 40:17I mean, if you just look at healthcare alone, right, 64%
- 40:19reduction in nursing enrollment in the last four years, 50%
- 40:24reduction in people that are teaching those nurses.
- 40:29We have a global, not just a a national, but a global crisis,
- 40:34labor crisis that I don't think unfortunately our politicians
- 40:37have a grasp on. But it it it is going to play a
- 40:42massive role. University of Tokyo about three
- 40:45months ago just as reduced its first robotic nurse.
- 40:48So all of that is going to play a massive role.
- 40:53AI is just escalating at a a crazy rate.
- 40:59AI is going to be a massive player, especially in the higher
- 41:02levels of living already is cameras that can, you know, have
- 41:08AI checking people's gate. So we know that if the gate
- 41:12shifts even 1/4 an inch, that's a precursor for a fall.
- 41:15So we're going to be implementing that into our
- 41:17cameras throughout the organization.
- 41:20So it's just going to play a massive, massive role.
- 41:23You know, for the for a while now we've had survey servers
- 41:27that are automated that serve residence meals.
- 41:33You know, we're close to having a third generation that can go
- 41:36up elevators and and have all of a whole different bunch of
- 41:39sensors. When you say served meals, is
- 41:42this just sort of like a like a a moving tray that's sort of
- 41:46like brings it from one room to the other?
- 41:49Yep, yeah, it's straight to your desk.
- 41:50And Yep, it, it's, it's, it's, I wouldn't say it's revolutionary
- 41:57yet, but I think it's pretty much getting, getting there.
- 42:00There's just some great stuff. We are blessed to and I'm
- 42:04blessed to be able to have access to Saint Francis Health
- 42:08System, their innovation labs. And so I'm on that committee.
- 42:12And so we get to see what, you know, an industry that's
- 42:15probably about 10 years ahead of senior living.
- 42:19We get to see that and utilize, you know, that information I
- 42:23think much sooner than most. So to answer your question,
- 42:29that's why I said, you know, integrated lifestyle and
- 42:32Wellness. It's it's lifestyle and Wellness
- 42:34with technology that is the future.
- 42:37That is what our future resident is absolutely not just
- 42:41expecting, but demanding. So one thing you mentioned that
- 42:44was really cool is using cameras that have AI embedded that can
- 42:49detect even a, you know, quarter inch change in someone's gait
- 42:52because that's an early indicator that someone you know,
- 42:55it may fall and have a serious injury there.
- 42:58What other can you can you maybe even just pick one specific way
- 43:03that you see AI is going to be very helpful in your environment
- 43:09in the near future, or maybe even a way that it's being used
- 43:12right now that would surprise a lot of people?
- 43:15Yeah, our, our performance improvement team and collective,
- 43:19you know, they're, they're spending a lot of time, I'm
- 43:21spending a lot of time talking to our IT partner.
- 43:26It's just we're going to be able to automate.
- 43:30And this is the challenge, right?
- 43:32But this is where the opportunity is moving from or
- 43:35moving to a a hospitality mindset, right?
- 43:38There's a lot of things are going to be automated.
- 43:42A lot of departments are going to be automated, which will not
- 43:45require human involvement, but it's still a human space, right?
- 43:53And you know, you, that you've got, we will soon have humanoids
- 43:58that will be able to be kind of your, your Butler and your
- 44:02caregiver and and your best buddy, right?
- 44:04But you're touching a cold piece of metal.
- 44:08It's it's going to do a lot of great stuff, but it's just not
- 44:11going to be able to be that human experience.
- 44:14And we know even like, like we're talking, right, that if
- 44:20you can have care, let's just say from a psychologist and it's
- 44:26online versus in person, your neurons fire at a slower speed,
- 44:31right? So, so that engagement is super
- 44:35important. And, and so I tell my team all
- 44:38the time, be a hospitality expert and you will have a job
- 44:41for life, right? Massier, we call it here RDD
- 44:46leadership, right? Rigor, discipline and detail.
- 44:49Get your rigor so good that you have mastered your craft and you
- 44:53will have a job for life because there's a lot of jobs that are
- 44:55going to be automated. Some say between 30 to 40% of,
- 45:00you know, current job market will be automated.
- 45:03So that will put a lot of folks, you know, scratching their head
- 45:07and having to reinvent themselves.
- 45:09So that's going to come down the Pike.
- 45:12That is coming down the Pike. You know, you're seeing
- 45:15communities now that have, you know, reception desks that you
- 45:20know, you're talking to somebody from Mexico.
- 45:22It's automated, it's it's AI driven sales is another example.
- 45:27You know, our IT folks are telling us, you know, that could
- 45:31a lot of that role can be reduced 3540%.
- 45:35So it it, it what what we're seeing today, five years you
- 45:42won't even recognize. So we're not there yet, right?
- 45:47So present day still need a lot of people in lots of areas of
- 45:51the business and the labor market is tight as, as you've
- 45:54said, you know, we're in crisis, not just nationally here in the
- 45:58US, but globally. What are some things that you've
- 46:02tried and found success with at Montereau when it comes to
- 46:06recruiting good folks? And then once you have someone
- 46:09that's really good, how do you hold on to them?
- 46:11Yeah, great question. I'm a believer in in behavioral
- 46:16science, we have a program that we use called Predictive Index
- 46:21that all new team members are coming in.
- 46:22So it kind of affords us to get to know who these people kind of
- 46:28are, some of their tendencies and their behaviors.
- 46:32We have programs where we're currently building out 180 day
- 46:36onboarding programs. So we're not just, you know,
- 46:39having a one day and saying, hey, here's Monroe, have at it,
- 46:43go figure it out. So so we're doing that.
- 46:46We have a Montreux university that program that we use, that
- 46:50we utilize our our residence wisdom and create programs for
- 46:57our our team members and their kids.
- 46:59So it's not just about 40 hours of CE us that, you know, you
- 47:04learn how to, to know what a toxic sign looks like on a, on
- 47:09a, on a bottle, But anything from, you know, learning for
- 47:13their children, how to select their, their first credit card
- 47:17and what that means and what the rates are to being able to have
- 47:23their, their child or, or, or or a team member that has, doesn't
- 47:29have a, a high school diploma getting their GED.
- 47:32So we have residents that help them with that.
- 47:34So it goes through a whole path. I think we've got about 4044
- 47:38modules built out for there. The goal's about 400.
- 47:42And then we've partnered with other great institutions.
- 47:46We've got University of Tulsa that's got every college
- 47:50represented as an intern now. And we want to make sure that we
- 47:53get their top talent and they don't have to leave Tulsa.
- 47:56They can come here and, and they've got about 80 different
- 47:59disciplines that they can pick from here.
- 48:01You can be ACEO, you can be an engineer, you can be a CNA, you
- 48:04can be a chef, you can be a server, you can be a maintenance
- 48:09tech, you can be a memory care specialist, right?
- 48:14There's so much on offer here that you don't have to just go
- 48:18and sit in a cubicle and what's. To the extent of that training,
- 48:23is it sort of like foundational, like here is kind of an
- 48:26introduction to what it would be like to sort of advance in that
- 48:29or are they able to actually get a degree or a certification in
- 48:34that field? Yeah, not a degree, because
- 48:38that's not what we are. We're not an educational
- 48:40institution. But yes, they'll, they'll get a
- 48:42mantra certification and it's more about life skills, right.
- 48:47So we want to be able to a partner and we will, we make
- 48:52that covenant, we make agreement with our, our new team members
- 48:55coming in and, and walk hand in hand with them.
- 48:58And that we are, we're going to push you.
- 49:00We're going to push you hard to be the best you can be
- 49:03professionally and personally. And so it's not just, you know,
- 49:07we just care about you as a team member.
- 49:09We, we care about you as a human.
- 49:10And so taking that human centered approach is is
- 49:14important for us. That's great because I, you
- 49:17know, I think that's what and we touched about on this earlier,
- 49:19Scott, is that, you know, so many people they're looking for
- 49:22purpose. Right.
- 49:24And here I am present day and how I fit into this world.
- 49:28But I want to know that there's opportunities for me to grow.
- 49:31I want to grow and you know, the and where I fit in, in Monterey,
- 49:35I want to grow as a person. I want, you know, to improve my
- 49:38skills. A lot of people, you know,
- 49:41income, I want to advance my income and sounds like you guys
- 49:44are, you know, making the foundation for a lot of this
- 49:47available. Yeah, and even if it means that
- 49:50they go on to care success outside Of Montreal, as long as
- 49:53they keep advancing, right, we're cool with that.
- 49:56I've got a number of people that worked under me and through my
- 49:59training programs and all that does right.
- 50:02They're making more money than me.
- 50:04Some of them, you know, they're doing great.
- 50:05And, and, and with that, you know, you, you build a network,
- 50:09you build a training program. And I, I know I've not really a
- 50:13lot of my leadership. I, I recruited in, I didn't
- 50:17really have to have a recruiter do it.
- 50:18It was a part of that network. And so we want to continue to
- 50:21grow that ecosystem and have that talent.
- 50:24But if it means that you have career advancement outside of
- 50:27Montreux, then, you know, we celebrate that, but we also know
- 50:31that they were trained right. And maybe down the line they can
- 50:35make a call like if you have done and say, I get a person
- 50:39that needs to, you know that, that that can do what you're
- 50:43asking to do at Montereau at that level, elite level.
- 50:48And, and then we don't have to go through all the rigmar.
- 50:51We know we're getting somebody that's been trained properly.
- 50:53So so that's what I learned from Craig Harmon and, and, and, and
- 50:58really try to, to model my career around that as well.
- 51:01Where you, your, your responsibility is to grow and
- 51:05nurture and, and care for people at the same time.
- 51:07The benefit from that is, you know, they're trained really,
- 51:11really well. And in the golf world, if he
- 51:13doesn't want to go work for Craig Harmon at an Oak Hill
- 51:16Country Club, right? So we'll hopefully we can create
- 51:18that. That's terrific.
- 51:20All comes full circle. Yeah, time for my favorite
- 51:24question, Scott. I would like to hear about a
- 51:27serious challenge that you've overcome in your life.
- 51:30So if it's personal or professional, how'd you get
- 51:33through that and what did you learn?
- 51:36OK, there's so many I could go. I, I, all right, I'll be
- 51:44vulnerable here. So I've had some health
- 51:47challenges in my life and, and I'll go back to my tenacity and
- 51:52I'll go back to my drive. I was having some significant
- 51:58health challenges and a divorce at the same time.
- 52:02And, and with that feeling really, really sad, a bit of the
- 52:10martyrdom and I had, I had a lot of sadness to have to deal with
- 52:18and, and, and a young early teenager that's having to, to,
- 52:23to see all of that. It was hard.
- 52:25It was very hard on her and her family, but you know, not giving
- 52:32up, not giving in, just fighting through it inch by inch, day by
- 52:37day, ability to overcome, going back to that, having the courage
- 52:43to stand up and speak. I brought in my my executive
- 52:48team and, and, and told them all this.
- 52:50And obviously they could see some physical changes taking
- 52:53place, but I'd the courage to let them know.
- 52:56And I, and I asked them straight up, I'm not going to be at my
- 53:00best for a while. Can you support me?
- 53:04Can you have my back? This organization needs you to
- 53:09have my back. And, and I promise I'll
- 53:11reciprocate when we get through this.
- 53:15And they were terrific and they had my back and, and we got
- 53:20through it. But I will say, you know, you've
- 53:25got to have the courage to stand up and speak and, and, and know
- 53:29that you can get through this and you, you shouldn't get
- 53:32through it alone. And you know, where we are today
- 53:37compared to where we are, we're in great shape, But also knowing
- 53:40that there's a lot of teaching in those moments, right?
- 53:42And, and the, the, the, the teaching for me was never give
- 53:46up, never give in. Give more to people than you
- 53:50want to take from people. And I think that was the beauty
- 53:54of my mindset that was really recognizing in my 12 hours in my
- 54:04work day, I made it about everybody else's problem and
- 54:09problems and not my own. And that gave me, I think
- 54:16greater health built my immune system back up and and then that
- 54:21the, the, the teaching was, that's the greatest gift you can
- 54:24give to yourself, right is serving another.
- 54:27It was at night that I had to worry about all my problems.
- 54:30And I don't like that very much. But but you, you get through
- 54:32that. And so for my advice and, and,
- 54:36and my encouragement for others is at your weakest moment, at
- 54:40your your hardest point in life. The power of prayer works and
- 54:45that if you give more then you take, people will be willing to
- 54:50to give you that goodwill. So I've had a blessed it is.
- 54:55It's ironically it's the best and hardest thing that ever
- 54:58happened to me. You know, and the other
- 55:01component of that story there that I really appreciate, Scott,
- 55:05is the value of you raising your hand and admitting that you were
- 55:10hurting. You were hurting physically with
- 55:14your health issues, you were hurting emotionally going
- 55:17through the divorce. And those are the times when,
- 55:22for whatever reason, as humans, I think our natural reaction is
- 55:25to sort of like withdraw into ourselves and to suffer in
- 55:30silence and, and, and try to pretend like everything is OK
- 55:36when it's not. And for whatever reason, the way
- 55:39that we're wired, those are the hardest moments for us to reach
- 55:42out and connect to people. But it's the best medicine that
- 55:46exists. And your ability to do that, and
- 55:50we talked about this early in your career, like, hey, I froze
- 55:53my hand. I said, I want to learn.
- 55:54I want to grow. I want.
- 55:56And that's great. But doing it when you were in
- 55:59that kind of strife, it is so challenging.
- 56:05But how rewarding it was for you, I think is the lesson that
- 56:10everybody listening needs to take from this.
- 56:12Yeah. Yeah, I, I think, you know,
- 56:16you're going to be judged most at your, your worst moment under
- 56:20duress, right? And again, how are you going to
- 56:22show up? That's really it.
- 56:24You know, how are you going to show up in your worst moments?
- 56:27You show up hurting people, hurt others.
- 56:29Are you going to be that that's the easy route.
- 56:31Or are you going to show up and continue to want to give even
- 56:35when you don't have a lot or feel like you don't have a lot
- 56:37to give? And in return, there's a lot of
- 56:40other people that will, will, will give you the true beauty of
- 56:44humanity. And, and, and I was, I was
- 56:46afforded that gift. So yeah, just show up, control,
- 56:52poise, make it about everybody else, not you.
- 56:55And, and in that regard, you know, you'll, you'll come
- 56:59through it. And a lot of people want to walk
- 57:01by your side going through it as well.
- 57:06What advice do you have for folks that maybe they're
- 57:10listening right now and they're in the throes of something,
- 57:14They're in the midst of something really hard, and what
- 57:19they need to do is raise their hand and ask for help and they
- 57:22just don't know how to take that first step.
- 57:26Yeah, One, I would say give yourself grace, right.
- 57:32You're going to be harder on yourself than probably anybody
- 57:34else. So give yourself grace.
- 57:36Don't beat yourself up. We all have hard moments, weak
- 57:39moments. We all have downfalls.
- 57:42We all make silly decisions. But you have to start somewhere
- 57:48and find somebody that if you have nobody, which I have a hard
- 57:53time believing, yeah, you have nobody.
- 57:55First, go to God. Never be let down by God.
- 58:01It may not be on your time, but he, he, he, he will be there for
- 58:05you. And then the other is, is maybe
- 58:08just think outside the box, right?
- 58:10Go, go, even though you may not attend a church, go go talk to a
- 58:15pastor, talk to a a colleague that you admire or you feel like
- 58:20has some wisdom and empathy. Take, take the chance, right?
- 58:26What's the worst that can happen, right?
- 58:28They think you're, you're an idiot.
- 58:30OK, then next person, right? You will find that person and
- 58:35you will find there's so much beauty in this world.
- 58:37There's so many lovely, positive, caring, kind people.
- 58:41Somebody will just be there and don't be frightened to to be
- 58:45rejected. That's just another opportunity
- 58:48for a door to be opened. What's your superpower, Scott?
- 58:53Nah, it's funny how we ask that. That's the first thing I ask or
- 58:58one of the first things I ask. And everybody's Day 1.
- 59:02So we go through kind of what's your, what's unique about you
- 59:07all the way down to the last thing I ask is, you know, if you
- 59:10could be a superhero, who would it be?
- 59:13Or if you could have a superpower, what would it be?
- 59:17I, I, I think mine is passion. I'm passionate about just life
- 59:23in general, but people I love people.
- 59:25I, I got that gift from my father.
- 59:28My father has never met a stranger and I think passion can
- 59:32overcome a lot talent and and ultimately, you know, I think
- 59:37character as well super important, But I I have a lot of
- 59:41passion for people, a lot of tenacity, a lot of drive, and
- 59:47that's taken a a a a pretty average guy to overachieve a lot
- 59:54in in sports and in career. So give yourself that gift work,
- 59:59work super hard, right, hard work never ever will will steer
- 1:00:06you wrong. So I think those are kind of I
- 1:00:09don't know if that answers your question, but that perfect
- 1:00:12answer characteristic characteristics of of sued, sued
- 1:00:16me in the test of time. Now I have to ask about the wall
- 1:00:20behind you. And for folks that are just
- 1:00:23listening to the audio of this, Scott's got at least 16
- 1:00:27different framed objects hanging on the wall behind him.
- 1:00:31And so I have to ask what what's, what are those?
- 1:00:34What's in those frames? So that's my quote wall and
- 1:00:37that's my ability to move from perception to perspective every
- 1:00:42morning when I get to walk through that door and and get to
- 1:00:45see much smarter people than me bring their wisdom.
- 1:00:49And it's also an opportunity for me to to, you know, just bring
- 1:00:54peace, but also, you know, bring stability to me.
- 1:00:58So I've got yeah I think there's more eight 12/16/2020 quotes
- 1:01:05everything from I may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm
- 1:01:08this team double shot of whiskey to a fulfilled human being
- 1:01:14doesn't need to break down anyone.
- 1:01:15They build you up. Sometimes you have to be hard on
- 1:01:19people, but. Wait, sorry, sorry, Scott.
- 1:01:20Read that. Read that one again, a little
- 1:01:22louder as you're turning away from the mic.
- 1:01:23It's hard to hear it. Says a fulfilled human being
- 1:01:26doesn't need to break down anyone.
- 1:01:28They build you up. Sometimes you have to be hard on
- 1:01:30people, but it comes from a good place.
- 1:01:33And like that. And then you've got great
- 1:01:37teammates hold each other accountable to the high
- 1:01:41standards and excellence their culture expects and demands.
- 1:01:45So there's there's 20 that you know all they're all from, you
- 1:01:50know, Nelson Mandela to, to Tupac.
- 1:01:54So we name it. We've got it.
- 1:01:58You quite the span there. That's great.
- 1:02:02How about a book or a course or another resource that you might
- 1:02:06recommend to our listeners, something that's been really
- 1:02:08helpful for you? Oh gosh, so many greatness.
- 1:02:17It's an expensive book and it's it's an easy read, but it's it's
- 1:02:21a great book. Joyce band, right.
- 1:02:24I think for those that are in our space or certainly those
- 1:02:27that are maybe midlife and kind of looking at a second season in
- 1:02:33their life. Joyce Band, I think is is is a
- 1:02:36very good book to read. Yeah, there's there's there's a
- 1:02:42there's a oh gosh, a ton unreasonable hospitality.
- 1:02:46It's a very good book to read. So, yeah, let me suggestions my
- 1:02:54if you want a really interesting read that Dan Browder's an
- 1:02:58interesting guy, but read notice kind of a guy that the
- 1:03:02investment backer that went into the breakdown of the Soviet
- 1:03:05Union and really, really interesting, fascinating.
- 1:03:10My wife's from Belarus, so we grew up in the Soviet Union.
- 1:03:13So that's a fascinating book, especially with the geopolitics
- 1:03:17that are going on over there right now.
- 1:03:20Yeah, the only guy that ever took on Putin and and one he's
- 1:03:24still around to talk about it. Huh.
- 1:03:26Yeah, exactly. Scott, I've just got one more
- 1:03:28question for you, but before I ask it, I want to do 2 things.
- 1:03:32Everyone listening today, just pause for a second, open up that
- 1:03:35podcast app you're using right now and hit the follow or
- 1:03:38subscribe button. I want you to continue to get
- 1:03:41more great interviews like we've had today with Scott Neil from
- 1:03:43Montaro. Scott, I also want to let people
- 1:03:46know the best way either to get in touch with you or Montaro,
- 1:03:50What would that be? Yeah, we have a website.
- 1:03:55It's a pretty cool website. You can, you can reach me or
- 1:03:58Montreal and learn more about Montreal through our website,
- 1:04:00montreal.net. You can e-mail me at
- 1:04:04sneil@montreal.net. And you certainly could call
- 1:04:09Montreal and they'll direct you to to my my office.
- 1:04:14But yeah, if people have a passion and they have a passion
- 1:04:18about people and senior living, call me.
- 1:04:22All right, And we'll include that phone number, the e-mail
- 1:04:24and the website address in the show notes for folks.
- 1:04:27Last question for you, Scott. A year from now, you and I
- 1:04:30reconnect and you are really excited you are celebrating
- 1:04:35something big. What's that big thing you're
- 1:04:38celebrating one year from today? We're stronger a year from now
- 1:04:42than we were yesterday or last year.
- 1:04:45We just keep strengthening our, our, our growth, our, our, our
- 1:04:50wisdom or desire to serve another.
- 1:04:54That's, that's really, you know, again, I think I'm, I'm not AI
- 1:04:58didn't grow up with baseball, but I like the game.
- 1:05:02And, you know, I think championships are, are 1-2 base
- 1:05:08hits. We're in a season at Montreal
- 1:05:11where we want to to get our base hits and then a season in life
- 1:05:15where, you know, it's just building good habits which
- 1:05:20establishes great standards. Terrific.
- 1:05:24Scott Neal from Montaro, I want to be the first to thank you for
- 1:05:27sharing both your time and your story with us today.
- 1:05:29I really appreciate it. That's a pleasure being with you
- 1:05:32today. Yeah.
- 1:05:32Thank you. Folks, that's a wrap on another
- 1:05:35episode of the Inspired Stories podcast.
- 1:05:37Thanks for learning with us today.