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Peter Doyle · Tracks To Success

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Hi there, everybody.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Craig Cann.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_02: Right now on this edition of Tracks to Success.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: Every business takes risks.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: Every leader makes bets.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes the difference between moving forward and falling behind comes down to knowing which risks are worth taking.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_02: Peter Doyle has built a career around that very idea.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: For more than two decades at Gallagher, he's helped clients protect what they've built, navigate uncertainty, and make smarter business decisions.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: But along the way, his own career kept growing too, from leading students in Florida to taking on greater regional responsibility, to now leading Gallagher's U.S.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: retail property and actual food growth bridge operations as it's ego.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: You'll find out what it's learned about leadership, why relationships still win, and what it's like to sit at the center of one of the world's largest insurance and risk management organizations.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: This inspiring story of success is starting now.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to DraftSource Success, the podcast that introduces you to inspiring people with inspiring stories.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's your chance to hear from top leaders, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and they share how they found their way to the top and how their journey can help you find your own.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And now here's your host, former network broadcaster, D-Suite executive, best-selling author, and keynote speaker, Craig Cant.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Peter, it's great to be with you.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, two decades at Gallagher.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'm starting with that because that's not something that a lot of people can say.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: They in today's world don't climb that far and spend that much time with one organization.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm glad to have you and I can't wait to hear your story.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's great to be here.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: So let's talk about that a little bit.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm gonna start with this topic, which has got to be one you're very comfortable with, which is risk and betting on yourself.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, your career is all about that.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: And what about you?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: If you were to go back and think about your, you know, growth, your high school Peter Doyle, would you have bet on yourself to be where you are right now?
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: I would have bet on myself.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I would have thought I'd be where I am right now.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, man, it's been an awesome journey.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't know if I could have looked that far into the future.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: All I was trying to do was just put my head down, do a great job, and see where this crazy life takes me.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: So, what was the childhood Peter Doyle like?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, where did you start finding out that this might be the career path for you?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the childhood Pete Doyle had no idea that uh insurance was ever really even a thing, let alone a career, uh, which I think for most insurance folks out there probably is the same journey.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh funny story for you, you'll get a kick out of this.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, my insurance career, as I think of it, started on the golf course.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was caddying at a club in Northfield, Illinois for years.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: For those of you that know it's Sunset Ridge Country Club.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: All-time great caddy master.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Sadly, just passed away, Greg Kunkel.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, he let me caddy out there most of most of my college years.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I was caddying for Ann Gallagher, who is Pat Gallagher's uh spouse.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Pat is our CEO.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And on the second hole, she says to me, What the heck are you gonna do?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like after college.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I don't know yet.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: I just I just know that I I want to sell, I want to be a salesperson.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: And she goes, Well, why don't why don't you come do an internship at Gallagher?
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, That actually sounds amazing.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: She probably went into the bunker, hit her shot, and we carried on.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, that's kind of where the first thought of doing insurance ever even popped into my head.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: Were you somebody who could sell yourself pretty well?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: Did you feel like you had uh the chops to be able to do that and and climb?
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: I I in my mind I thought I always had the chops, but you know, having the chops and then doing it are two totally different things.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, you talk about failure after failure after failure after failure, and you just got to get back up.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: And all you're looking for is that one, you know, Super Bowl moment that makes all the hundred failures go away.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I in my head, that's what I was telling myself.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Find your Super Bowl moment and the rest of it'll go away, and you'll hit repeat again.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so you've had this career, and I already mentioned the two decades.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: What about Gallagher specifically or the industry made you say this is absolutely for me?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna invest in myself, uh, better myself to climb the ladder.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, the Gallagher piece of it was pretty easy for me.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it was an organization that was gonna allow me to really go sell and make my career what it was, and frankly, in a way, make my income what it was.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I I loved that.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, the people at the organization were amazing.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: And when I, you know, when when organizations say their people are amazing, I get it can sound a little cliche, but like everyone around me was interested in coaching and helping and developing me in such a way that positioned me to even have a chance to do well.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just I just fell in love with that type of culture where people were always looking out for one another, not trying to maybe kick you to the side to to advance themselves.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it just it just turned out to be an awesome, awesome setup for me to to get after a sales career.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh when you look back at your career in the beginning part of it, um what do you think maybe that you did specifically or that you had um in your DNA, if you will, that opened the door for you to have success?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Do you know what that was?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was actually the biggest failure uh I've ever had that helped me through that.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like when I think back to the early days of my career, I started, and one of the recommendations from one of the team members there was Pete, you should you should chase restaurants.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a really good restaurant program, and you can use that program to hopefully build a niche in restaurants.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Okay, great.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I just kind of blindly went ahead and and started working on it.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh fast forward one year, I probably made, I don't know how many thousands of calls.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: I probably had, you know, 50, 60 meetings with different restaurant companies, and I wrote one customer for$200.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that is the point where I said, wait a minute, this is something isn't right.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I gotta figure this out.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I just put in a whole year's worth of work.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: I made absolutely no money, but it seems like I should have done better.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: What's the catch here?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the catch was the program I was selling in Chicago was built for Florida.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: So those two geographies are two very different, you know, sort of rating environments.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: But that was probably, I think, one of the best things that ever happened to me.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: That was the moment where I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: You're never just gonna go out and start doing.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: You are going to think about what you're doing, why you're doing it, plan it properly, align with the teams and the people that you know are best suited to help you along that journey.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just re-jiggered the whole thing at 23 years old.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: And thank God the second time it, you know, it worked dramatically better.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: But that failure doesn't happen for that duration of time.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know how long it takes me to learn that lesson.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: Failure is so big.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: I talk about this with everybody who comes on this program.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: Was there somebody, a mentor, somebody, a coach early on in your career that saw something in you that you give a lot of credit to for being here that's helped you to be able to coach and mentor other people?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, one of our leaders who's still at the organization, and golly, I think he's probably been here for about 35 years.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Brett Vandervoort was my mentor um when I started.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know, man.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: I I I don't I don't know if I would have done as well as I think I did without his help.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean, I'd be in his office constantly throughout the day, and he would, and just if you know Brett, just in classic Brett fashion, he'd always have a red pen in his ear.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: And what he was looking for is when you walked in, he was gonna pull that red pen out and just mark up everything you brought him to review, and sure enough, he did.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: But it became one, very helpful, and two, God bless him, really funny.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because every time that red pen came out, something snarky was coming out of his mouth.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, no, no, no, Brett, and it doesn't, it just doesn't go nearly as well.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do you tell other people then?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: What what would you tell our audience is valuable about that?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_02: Seek counsel, be comfortable with somebody, opening you to vulnerability.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: What what would that be?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think two things.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: I got I got lucky with Brad.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: He sort of was agreeable to coaching me.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you really I to me, you have to have somebody that is invested and committed to you for for the right reasons, you know, like they truly want to help you grow and develop in this organ in your organization.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what Brett was to me.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: There really wasn't much in it for him, maybe other than now me mentioning his name on this special podcast.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: But he was doing it because that was his DNA, like he wanted to help other people be successful.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: So where you know, people on the show are thinking, well, what the heck to do?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I would be looking for people you think you connect well with and have an interest in really helping you develop.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think you'd be surprised how many people are actually out there that genuinely want to do that.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: I've told people, Peter, I want your take on this, that if you ever want to know what your strength is, every time you go in for a review, let's say you stay at a company for five, 10 years, all right, and your boss hasn't changed and you're kind of trying to figure out who you are, how you fit in, what your your strengths are?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Ask your boss in your review, forget the money.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: Ask why did you hire me?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Why did you bring me here?
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Do it every year.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Ask the same question, and it will always bring you back to your center, to your greatest strength, to the thing that's most important about you.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: Did anybody ever did number one?
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: Do you agree with that?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: Number two, did anybody ever tell you, Pete, you're really good at sales?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: Pete, you're really good at leadership, Pete, you're really good at mentoring.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: Anybody ever tell you something that has really stuck with you?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, yes, I think that's a great question.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I think whether it's that question or others like it, those are better questions.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Then how am I doing?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you you kind of got to get to that next level type question to really gauge whether or not they really do think you're doing well, because their natural inclination is going to be to say, yeah, or maybe they might not want to, you know, tackle some hard conversations.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, the more prescriptive the questions, um, you know, the better.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I mean, I think in my early network, um there were there were a bunch of folks who were really helpful and really complimentary about what I was doing and how I was doing it.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: But the, you know, but the people you could tell that were really complimentary were the people who were investing their time in you and spending time with you.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like the one that pops in my head, I I would go up to Tom Gallagher's office at 7 a.m.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: at least once a week, and he would give me an hour and a half of his time.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: And he was giving me an hour and a half of his time to go through real life, real situations, not like pie in the sky kind of chit-chat.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll never forget that because you know, it's that kind of mentoring, you know, that that really says somebody thinks highly enough of you that they're going to invest their time in making you better.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, where you've again, where you find those people latch on like crazy.
• 13:29
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• 14:12
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• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: Talking with Peter Doyle.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: He's a CEO U.S.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: retail at Gallagher, couple of decades there.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: And as I look at your journey, you've gone from local leadership, then you've gone regional leadership, major national role, and now CEO in a big way at Gallagher.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um as the roles got bigger, how did you feel less comfortable or more comfortable?
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, always less comfortable.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um not because when you look back on it, the role's any different.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's new.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's bigger, and I think your natural instinct is to go uh to be uncomfortable until you kind of work your way through it and figure it out.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, I think it's totally natural to feel you know less comfortable, but again, the things that got you there are the same things that are gonna make you successful while you're there.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: To your question, that's why they hired you into that position.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, I mean, totally fine being uncomfortable, and I think you should be, but just I always try to remind myself don't forget they hired you for a reason.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yep.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: I I talk about that a lot.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: Always remember whether it's a speaking opportunity, whether it's a job promotion, somebody tapped you on the shoulder, and you have to take that as confidence that you can do the job.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: You might have to learn some things along the way, you might have to grow, you might fail a couple of times, a stretch assignment here or there, but it's okay.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_02: I always remember a story for me personally, when I left television, which was my comfort zone for you know the better part of 25, 30 years, and all of a sudden I'm chief communications officer.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: I've got this big office, which I never had before.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember after about two, three, four months, um, Commissioner Mike Wan comes in and says, How you doing?
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: I said, I have no idea.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: I have no idea, you know, and and it was like it was such a learning curve for me.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: I was trying to be such a sponge and listen and look and watch people that were in the business world.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: I I hadn't done that.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so it was a risky move for me, and I was totally uncomfortable when I started.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: I knew what I knew, but I had to learn so, so much.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: And and so for you, um, on the vulnerability side, you're you're in a business that's all about risk.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_02: So, how has that shaped you?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_02: Did did you ever feel along the way?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: Have you felt like there were some risky situations in your own career?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, you you could you could go down a list of them.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, even the simplest one.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I grew up in Chicago, um, as you know, Craig, and I love Chicago.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: And for whatever reason, you know, what when I was uh about 29, that was like an environment in Chicago where Chicago folks just they just tend to not leave Chicago.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't I don't know what what it is.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's it it's it's a unique thing, but I was leaving Chicago to go start my leadership journey in Orlando, Florida.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I just wanted to be in leadership as bad as anybody wanted to be in leadership.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't care what city it was, I didn't care where it was, I just wanted to go do it.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd go down there and I remember walking off that plane, seeing palm trees and palmetto bushes and going, what in the world have you done?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: You have come to a state that in my mind you vacation in, you don't live and grow a career in.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it turned out to be, I think, the best thing I've ever done.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the willingness to be mobile.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I met my wife down here.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: We have three wonderful boys.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: We still live here today.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: My job's in Chicago, and I still, you know, commute to Chicago as a result.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: But it was sort of like that jumping off point where you're totally vulnerable.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you're totally risking just about everything to make a to make a career change and hopefully have it be a positive one.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: And it worked out great.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: But I'll never remember walking off, I'll never forget walking off that that airplane that day.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: That was something.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: Very cool, very cool.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: What would be the biggest mistake that that leaders would make or or have made when they become too risk averse?
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: People that that are just not comfortable taking a chance.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't know.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: I see it a lot, whether it's leaders or other types of, you know, types of employees.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I think what can happen is, you know, you you have success, you're doing well, and you sort of have to remember what got you to where you are is what's also going to keep you where you are, unless you take a different step and a different trajectory to get to a higher, you know, to a higher level.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: Whether that's you know, you want to go from X number of sales to Y number of sales, you might have to do something totally different.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it doesn't mean you forget everything that got you to where you are, but it does mean you gotta really rethink what is required to get to that next level.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's sort of like I don't know if that ever stops.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah as long as you want to keep growing.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you've grown, Gallagher has grown.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um as a leader and you watch it grow into this massive, massive global organization.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_02: How do you scale a business, Peter, without losing, you know, you've talked about people, without losing culture that made it successful.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I always tell all of our people, uh culture might be the most important thing to performance.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and the reason I say that is because when I think of culture, I in my mind I always tell myself, culture is a feeling based upon values and behaviors.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're trying to maintain a culture, you know, your people got to know what do you value, and if you value it, do the behaviors follow it?
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: And when those two things happen simultaneously together, it it sort of feeds on itself.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: And you get one leader believing it, another leader believing it, and before you know it, throughout your organization, everybody believes it.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, when when you're trying to scale and grow a big business, you gotta have people in the boat rowing the same direction, and they have to know what your values are, what your strategies are, and those behaviors have to follow.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: And when they do, you've got you've got the makings of one killer, killer culture.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm guessing that trust is such a big part of that.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, how important is it in your business, you know, uh customers, clients, etc., people that are employees.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: How do you earn that trust with people?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: And and how quickly can a bad leader lose it?
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, a bad leader can lose it pretty quick.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it's on the first bad decision or the second, but it's it's shortly thereafter.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, look, I mean, in in our world, you know, we we don't physically tangibly hand somebody, you know, a product.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: We don't hand them a car, a pen, a piece of paper, what have you.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we actually hand them a promise to pay.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um and when I say a promise to pay, you know, we're we're literally designing the insurance policy such that if they have a problem.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: They they get paid.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what we're that's what we're always, you know, working to do.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: So when it comes to trust, I'm it's about as critical a thing in our world as you can possibly have, because at the end of the day, I don't physically give you something.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: And if it breaks, you you know, come get a new one.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, our our folks are constantly working on how do I drive value, drive value, drive value.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the great, I think one of the biggest components of building that trust is one value-added type action services.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and frankly, being honest with people, whether it's a difficult situation or not, if you can share difficult news, they're they're gonna go, okay, this person's never gonna hide something from me because they're capable of having a difficult conversation.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: In addition to hosting this podcast, Greg leads the Can Advisory, empowering companies and individuals to elevate communication and build brand awareness with bold ideas, lasting impact, and his signature green shoot style.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: From company consulting and team workshops to one-on-one coaching and transformational virtual programs, Can five Advisory guides people to communicate with greater clarity, confidence, and impact.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you're a leader looking to give your team a game changing one day experience, or an individual who wants to become a speaker and presenter people remember, visit can advisory.com mention the tracks to success broadcast to receive a special discount on Can Advisory Services.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's Canadvisory.com.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now back to Peter.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: Peter Doyle's my guest on Tracks to Success, CEO Gallagher, and a guy who's really climbed the ranks.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, my gosh, you look like you're 30 years old, so good for you.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, white hair is in there, Craig.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you you're you're doing a great job.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that based upon everything you've said so far, you were evaluated a number of times along your journey, climbing uh to where you are now.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_02: When you are evaluating and you're thinking about, you know, succession plans or who's next to be promoted or how that works in the corporation, evaluating leadership.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: What do you look for beyond somebody's resume that's got experience and results?
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'd probably tell you, I'm not even sure that the resume tells the story anymore.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm I'm looking for all the intangibles.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm looking for does this person have the aptitude to be a leader?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Is this person going to put the time and the effort in in a meaningful way?
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, can this person relate to people?
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: That might be even almost one of the biggest ones.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is this person relatable?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because people really will dive in when when they see their leader setting the pace, setting the tone, going, you know, this is what I value, this is what's important.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm gonna work my brains off.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: I've got the aptitude for this business, and I'm here and I can have a conversation with you at any moment of any day.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I I'm really trying to sniff out the intangibles, honestly.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, green pen in my hand.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you've known me a little while.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, green's an important color for me uh for multiple reasons.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_02: I I can tell people what it stands for.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um when it comes to leadership, genuine, relatable, you just use that word energy, engagement, and a narrative, having people be able to tell a story about you.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_02: And then I talk a lot about all that stuff in my workshops.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_02: But when it comes to leadership, what what I love that I just heard is something that I want to get your take on.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_02: So um a resume, piece of paper.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_02: And what I challenge people to do is know their story and can they bring the resume to life?
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: Because the resume, you know, the piece of paper, whatever it is, you know, the digital, however, it gets there is what might get you in a building or an organization, but your ability to connect, human engineering, if you will, is what'll allow you to stay.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: So as you're assessing people, I I want to go back to that a little bit.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: How important is it to really dive into people and get them comfortable with being able to sell themselves?
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: Well, if they don't know what they're all about, well, what are we even talking about?
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so having the ability to understand who you are, what you are, what you're good at, why you would be good in this role.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the the the story matters more than the piece of paper.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the the the ability to look across the table and tell the story in a manner that, you know, sucks me into the conversation is meaningful.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: Give you a good example.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: We just we just hired a 30-year-old uh gentleman to run one of our largest offices in the Northeast.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: He's 30.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, part of why we hired him is because when you're sitting across the dinner table from him, he's got a good story, he knows his story, he can communicate his story, and he can connect with people in a unique way.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: And as you may know, in some of those Northeast cities, connecting with people uh might be one of the most important attributes a person has.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, I don't know.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: The resume wouldn't say I've done this, this, this, this, and this, you should hire me.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: But the story says I'm capable of this, this, this, and this.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the right person for the job.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so why is it so important?
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: Why is it so critical?
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_02: You just basically blew off the resume and and a guy's career for you know whatever he's accomplished so far, because you just said um it's about the human connection aspect of it.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: Why is it so critical?
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, in our business, we're we're we're a people business.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, again, we're not we're not we're not spitting out products per se, you know.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're we're doing more intangible work.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: So as leaders in our world, which you know, I think is probably relevant in most businesses, you are a people business, whether you're just dealing with people or you're dealing with product.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: And the ability to influence and coach and develop and connect, it makes all the difference in the world because that's what influences people to go perform at a level maybe they didn't even think they were capable of performing at.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I'll take those types of folks all day, every day, because you you you want great people interacting in great ways with your people.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: You're really good at the communication aspect of it.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that takes a lot of work.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_02: I talk about leadership is communication, communication is leadership.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the best of the best are really good communicators.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: If you don't, it causes uncertainty, confusion, gossip, a lot of things.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_02: People don't know your vision, etc.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, when you're leading through uncertainty within an organization or an industry, or we'll call it a time period, let's say in the United States, how important is communication in your role?
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you're dead without it.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: And I would even take it a step further.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: And especially when it comes to uncertainty, keep things simple.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like simple, simple, simple.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure they understand what you want them to know and the simple actions people can take to eliminate uncertainty.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like you, it doesn't have to be this massive communication plan, but you do have to keep it simple, keep it actionable, and make sure not just part of the organization understands it, but the entire organization understands it from the top through the bottom.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_02: And simple messages, direct messages, strong messages sometimes are pretty tough to deliver.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what have you learned about that?
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_02: What have you learned about giving somebody the real straight, strong message when somebody might not want to hear it?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe you've been on the receiving end a time or two.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, um, knock on wood.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm trying to achieve not being on the receiving end of that, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I I would tell you, look, people, whether they want to hear it or not, in their soul, I think they want to hear it.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: They actually want to know how to perform better.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think as leaders, one of the things we've got to always push ourselves on is making sure we're giving real feedback that influences people in a really positive way.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: And for us as leaders, that can be challenging to give a you know a good professional hard message.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: But it but if we think about it in the context of that person deserves to hear what they need to hear to enhance their performance, it does make it a bit easier.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: But it can be the most one of the most impactful things you you interact and talk to a person about.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_02: So have you ever had to give yourself a strong message that says, hey man, I gotta slow down.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_02: This is too much.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I need a break.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_02: I need uh I need more time at home.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_02: You already talked about flying from uh Florida to Chicago and I'm sure back and forth.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if it's every week or what, but you talked about three boys and a family and all that.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_02: Have you ever had to sit down with yourself and go breaks?
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: I need to slow, I need to slow down.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, there have definitely been those moments.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um and to be honest, I think about it in the context of look, I I love what I do, I enjoy the people that I work with, I love the company that I work for, and I want to do a great job for for all of my those colleagues at the organization.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: I also want to do a great job for my family, you know.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: So the reality is, um, yeah, I mean, I gotta have those conversations from time to time with myself, probably at least once a quarter, to go, hey, I gotta make sure that my family knows they're my number one priority, while not letting anyone else know that they're not, you know, at that current moment.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, so you know, balancing, making sure everybody knows they're a priority is important, but I think your I think your family in general, they're really good if they know you're there that they're your top priority.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I would agree with that.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: I would agree with that.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: I even heard, Craig, you'll like this.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_01: I was at an insurance event, and um one of our one of our guys was interviewing George Bush, W.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that question came up, and the question was, as the president of the United States, how do you balance you know, work life?
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: And he gave the greatest answer of all time.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: He just looked across the table and he said, My dad taught me something really important.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: My dad taught me that as long as your children know they're your number one priority, life will always be simple.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: And like I can't get that out of my head.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I think about as I you know ask myself those questions.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: I I it's funny you just jogged my memory because in my TV career in golf, um, one of my most memorable interviews I've ever done was sitting down one-on-one with George W.'s wife after Katrina because she was so involved in the rebuild in New Orleans and had this opportunity.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, there was a pool of three reporters or hosts or whatever that got to interview her.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, they have twins.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: I have twins, and we were talking all about the work-life balance.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_02: And and that topic that you just brought up, that's why it jogged my memory, was her talking about how she and the president of the United States balance work life.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to segue um from that for just a second because in today's world, and maybe it was COVID, I don't know where this all started happening.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I've asked other leaders about it.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_02: The younger generation, we'll call them the 25-year-olds that are coming out of school, or maybe they're, you know, just approaching 30.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_02: This work-life balance, this this I need a hybrid role where I can be at home.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_02: Like things have changed, right?
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_02: Not everybody's in an office anymore, and people are are not wanting to go to the, you know, put in all those hours all the time.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_02: What do you tell young people who want that or who are seeking that?
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_02: And and does it actually potentially hamper their career to have a mindset of nope, that's not for me.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_02: I need this balance, I gotta have time off, etc., etc.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't know if I know the answer to that, but one of the detriments from sort of remote work, um, is look, I I genuinely think human beings were meant to gather.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they they were meant to come together, uh, whether it's at work or in communities or what have you.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and as a young person in any business, I mentioned it at the beginning of our chat, like you, you, you, you need people invested in you.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: You need people to coach and develop and and bring you along.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um so, yeah, from my vantage point, that makes me nervous when people are at home.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because they can't get that coaching.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you can't get the same coaching over a virtual call as you can in person.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: Nope.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I think virtual is probably better than a phone call, but you know, it's still you're not you're not getting that same development.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, look, for every for you know, for insurance, I would say it it's really important.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's a people business.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: And when our people are together in the office, I think that younger generation, we can pass that knowledge along to them in a really meaningful way.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm sure there's other businesses.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, maybe it maybe it doesn't quite matter as much, but I'll tell you, I it the the more gathering people can do, the better.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the the more they can spend time with other people to get coached and developed, the they're gonna have better performance and a better.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think we'll get back to that?
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think we'll get back to office work or are we done forever with that?
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um I don't know.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think we're somewhere in the middle.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I I I think pre-COVID, if I was going back pre-COVID, I I think most of the United States was was moving towards, well, let's be more flexible.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_01: This doesn't have to be a nine to five, you know, butts and seats kind of thing each and every week.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: That that's what I thought was going to happen.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think COVID just exacerbated it to the other side of, you know, nobody's in a seat.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I I think having a real, you know, flexible work schedule where the lion's share of the time is spent in the office, so you can get properly coached, develop, transfer knowledge, and just be with your peers, I think is really important.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you'll I think you'll see more of it.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it'll ever be like maybe it was 15 years ago.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: Looking for a guest speaker for your next event or annual conference?
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: Fred brings an inspiring and empowering message.
• 38:05
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• 38:07
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• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now, back to the show.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_02: Peter Doyle's my guest on Tractor Success.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_02: Stay tuned.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_02: Coming up, getting ahead.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_02: A little help, pivoting off of Peter's story to help you move forward in your career.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_02: He's the CEO of U.S.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_02: Retail at Gallagher.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, as I'm winding this thing down, what what makes you really happy when you're away from work?
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I see the Bay Hill on your sweater.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_02: So is it golf?
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_02: Is it something else?
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_02: What if I if I say, Pete, you've got a week off.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_02: You can do anything you want.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_02: Take family out of it because I know I know how important that is.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_02: But this is just you.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_02: You get to do you.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_02: Where are you going?
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_02: What are you doing?
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, um, anything that involves fishing or golfing, I'm game.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, anything that involves outdoors, I'm game.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, anything that involves fun restaurants, great food, and camaraderie, I'm game.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, if I had to pick one place, we've been we've been going up to northern Wisconsin since I was a little kid to this place called Derryman's.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's cabins, lakes, boating, fishing.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they actually have a golf course there.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't played it in, I don't even know, 20, 30 years, because I usually spend the rest of my time doing things I couldn't normally do.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I think I'd head up there with family and friends, you know, try to make a bad decision here or there and uh and enjoy the outdoors and enjoy all my all my people.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_02: So Gallagher, I want to get back to that um with a couple questions before we go.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_02: Gallagher is really a big brand name.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_02: So you mentioned Chicago.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_02: I've been to Wrigley Field, I'm a White Sox guy, but I've been to Wrigley Field and it's special, obviously.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um and Gallagher's name's there.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_02: I've seen Gallagher's name in basketball arenas in Orlando, actually, and around sporting events, big brand, brand awareness.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_02: Let's talk about your brand and your brand awareness.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um if you were to identify what you think your brand is as a leader that separates you from others, where would you start?
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_02: What what separates you?
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I would say I think I'm super focused on the strategy and the communication of the strategy and like specific, not like the one page kind of thing.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the one page kind of thing where you could hand it out to every single employee and by the end of by the end of reading the page, they could not misunderstand what the priorities are.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_01: And the subsequent actions that I think we need to take to, you know, to execute those priorities.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um I would look, I'd say I I hate in some respects to say this, but I but I I think communication is important.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's always on my mind.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: Communication can be a real catch-all, though, because it can be very personal.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, from my vantage point, I think communicating those strategies and priorities effectively, um, to me is really important.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then frankly, um, I think I have a full open door policy for any discussion, uh, good, bad, and different, not afraid to have them, actually happy to have them.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, think that our people deserve to have them.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: So if I had to just jump off the page with two of those, it'd probably be that.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then I do my damnedest to just stay humble and have empathy.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_01: The moment your head gets too big and you think you're better than you are, is the moment where you're gonna have one of those conversations you were asking me about.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_02: This podcast is called Tracks to Success.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you have been kind of on a straight line in your journey.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, uh, granted, you've gone northward, but you've been with the same organization.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I I see most people with some detours, some pivots that they didn't necessarily see coming.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_02: You just talked about strategy.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_02: If you were talking to somebody or or a classroom of seniors in college, do they need a strategy in their career or do they need to let it just play out?
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_02: What's your advice?
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think strategies are always better.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, kind of flying by the seat of your pants sounds a little risky to me.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um because I think if you have a strategy, if the strategy breaks bad, you know why the strategy broke bad and you can pivot to a new one.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, doing it a different way, you might not have a clue why it broke bad.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, if I was talking to seniors, I'd be saying, look, you gotta you gotta find what your heart and your DNA is telling you to do.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then you gotta just you gotta go after it and stick with it.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: And at the first sign of struggle, don't hit the panic button and eject.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_01: Stick with it, stick with it, stick with it.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, because you got to go through some adversity to get to the other side.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: This ain't this world isn't gonna give us just smooth sailing to a great final destination.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_02: Two more questions.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um as you look at where you want to go and what you want to do, is there something that's that's right there?
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not telling you to lay out your next, you know, your next career move or whatever, but is there something that's really important to you?
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um maybe it's a role or maybe it's uh some sort of influence in your career?
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um no, I I mean I just think about doing my part to grow our business each and every day.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I have a slide that I share with all of our folks around why.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_01: And the why is because people matter.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: And when you're an organization that grows, everybody, but the whole ecosystem benefits, whether it's you know, your direct employees, whether it's stakeholders, uh whether it's clients, whether it's you know, prospective clients, communities, charities.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you grow a business, it one, it's fun, but two, it just matters to so many people throughout the ecosystem, um, that it really reminds you on why you're doing this each and every day.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I just think from a from a compass perspective, that's that's sort of what I'm thinking about and why I'm thinking about it, because so much good comes from getting after growth.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_02: Last thing success as a word.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_02: Are you able to define it?
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_02: Has your has your definition of success changed?
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_02: What would you say about that that word?
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: Are you gonna hit me with a hard one at the end?
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_01: You couldn't throw a softball up there?
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um and you're really good at communication, so I figured I'd get thanks for challenging me on that one.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, I don't know if my definition of success has changed.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know that, to be honest, I ever had one.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: Success to me kind of always felt like a feeling around whether or not what I had perceived I wanted to have happen happened.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, I don't think that definition has changed.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know that I actually want it to change.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um because success, you know, numbers on a spreadsheet or what have you don't always tell a story.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_01: And there's always a story around the good, the bad, and the ugly.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, to me, I think I'll stick with that feeling of whether or not uh I got to where I thought I was capable of going.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_02: Your story's pretty good, and uh a lot of success for the organization you work for, a lot of success for you, and and I can clearly tell in talking with you, um, you're all about the success of those around you and seeing them grow as well.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_02: So really appreciate the time, Peter.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks, Craig.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: Great fun.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_02: One last segment I call Getting Ahead, which is focused on you and your own tracks to success.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's brought to you by Ahead, the finest in headwear and the official headwear of the Tracks to Success podcast, available at AheadusaShop.com.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_02: For listeners of this show, ahead is giving one of its biggest discounts ever.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: Visit AheadUSAShop.com now and use the code TTS30.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's TTS30 and receive not 20% off your purchase, but 30% ahead.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_02: They don't follow the trends for more than 30 years, they've been setting them.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_02: It's time for getting ahead.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_02: You heard Peter's story, he spent a career, a long career so far, in the business of risk, helping companies think about what could happen, what might happen, and how to prepare for it.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_02: But here's what I took away from our conversation, and maybe you did too.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_02: You can't build a great career by eliminating risk.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_02: At some point, you actually have to take some.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_02: You take on a new role that might be a little risky.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_02: You say yes to more responsibility.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_02: You walk into a room where you don't have all the answers.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_02: You trust your preparation, you trust the people around you, and sometimes you trust and actually bet on yourself.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I've learned in my own career that the safe decision isn't always the best decision because growth almost always requires some level of discomfort.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_02: Are you good with it?
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_02: Here's something you should think about.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: What opportunity are you calling a risk simply because it makes you a little bit uncomfortable?
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_02: My advice: don't be careless.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_02: Do your homework, build your relationships, know exactly what you stand for.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_02: But when the right opportunity presents itself, don't let fear make decisions for you because sometimes the biggest risk you can take is actually never taking one at all.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_02: That's how you get ahead.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's how your tracks to success become a whole lot easier.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_02: Hope you enjoyed the interview.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_02: Until next time, I'm Craig Cannon.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to subscribe for more great news and Craig's insights on reaching your highest personal and professional summit.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to Tracks to Success on all the top podcast platforms.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_00: Watch it on the Craig Cann YouTube channel and visit Craigcanspeak.com to learn more about Craig as your next speaker.