Supply Chain Today: Ralph Henderson Interviews Jon Gordon and Jeff Reed

HomeMy Supply Chain Rocks BlogSupply Chain Today: Ralph Henderson Interviews Jon Gordon and Jeff Reed

Ralph Henderson:
Today, on Supply Chain Today, we have the Wall Street Journal, best-selling author, Jon Gordon of books, like The Energy Bus and The Carpenter, and many others, as well as a new book, Relationship Grit coming out that’s going to talk to us about energy and relationships. It’s really important that we get our arms around these things. And I know you’re going to enjoy this talk and you’re going to enjoy Jon. So get ready for Supply Chain Today with Ralph Henderson.

Ralph Henderson:
Well, welcome Jon Gordon. I am so excited to have you here. And I know that people who are going to be viewing this will be as well. We are talking today about energy. We’re talking about relationships. I can tell you firsthand, knowing Jon Gordon, he is a husband, he’s a father, he’s a speaker, he’s an author. And I can’t speak for the first two, but I can speak for the second two. He does those very well. I’ll let him talk about the first two, but today we’re talking about energy and we’re talking about relationships. In the supply chain right now with everything we have going on it’s so important for us to focus on these two things. So first of all, thank you for being here, Jon. I really appreciate it. And are you ready to dig into energy and relationships?

Jon Gordon:
Thanks Ralph. I definitely am. And by the way, I asked my wife the other day on a scale of one to 10, how much you like to be married to me? And she said pre COVID or now? So I’m not sure where I am with the relationship piece right now.

Ralph Henderson:
That is fantastic. So the first time we met a few years ago, actually about five years ago, you spoke to this industry at an executive summit and you talked about a book, The Energy Bus. A lot of the viewers have seen that and read that. But some of them probably haven’t, I don’t want you to have to go through a whole synopsis, but maybe just a cursory. The Energy Bus, what is it? And maybe give them some insight.

Jon Gordon:
Well, it’s a fable. It’s a story about a guy who was miserable and negative. His team at work is in disarray. He has problem at home and he wakes them Monday morning to a flat tire. So he’s fed up with a life and he has an important meeting to get to. So he asks his wife to take him to work and she won’t, that was based on personal experience. So he has to take a bus to work. It’s on the bus he meets Joy, the bus driver. Uber wasn’t around back then when I wrote the book, and he has to basically learn these lessons along the way to get his team on the bus and moving in the right direction with a shared vision, focus and purpose. And it’s about the fact that every one of us will have to overcome negativity, adversity, and challenges to ultimately define ourselves and our team’s success.

Jon Gordon:
So you have to be more positive than the negativity that you face. It’s about your positive energy, being greater than all of the negativity and the doubt and the fear. And right now, as you know, dealing with a lot of fear, a lot of uncertainty, we’re going through a challenging time. So now more than ever, we need to stay positive. We need to have that positive energy. And as you said, continue to develop great relationships that will get us through this time. And I think that’s why The Energy Bus, even years later is resonating with people right now because of what we’re going through.

Speaker 3:
Thank you for joining us today. Ralph and our entire crew hope you enjoyed this session. If you would like to be a guest on Supply Chain Today, please visit our website at optimizedsupplychains.com and fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page. Thanks again for spending this time with us.

Ralph Henderson:
Welcome back to Supply Chain Today with Ralph Henderson. Today, I’m joined by two times Super Bowl winning champion, Jeff Reed. It’s such a pleasure to have you here, Jeff. We’re talking about volatility and uncertainty in the supply chain, and we’ve been dealing with this for a long time. When you look at technology and you look at labor, and now you look at what’s going on with a pandemic, lots of volatility. And it’s something that we are prepared for, but not prepared for. And I’d love for the audience to hear maybe a story from you as a professional NFL kicker. What’s something that comes to your mind in the way of a story. When you think of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity in the game of football?

Jeff Reed:
The big uncertainty was the fact that I got a chance to play in the NFL. I played one year in high school. I was a soccer player. I didn’t want to play football. I wanted to watch it. They wrote me into trying it. I got a look from a few colleges only because we had a great running back and I made a 54 yard the game that all these Scouts came to watch him. And so they’re like, who’s that guy? Because back then, now there’s these kickers I coach man, they’re great. I mean, they could hit 55 yards in her sleep, but not back then. It was like linebackers, towing kickoffs. And everybody went for two and my high school, which we were not the best team in high school football by any means in Charlotte, but we actually attempted to have goals and most people didn’t.

Jeff Reed:
So that was a standout. And so I got an opportunity, but then even more than that, I walked on at Chapel Hill because when I moved from Oklahoma to North Carolina, you got to pick Duke, Wake Forest, NC state or Chapel Hill. And I was a Michael Jordan fan so that was real simple for me. So ultimately I didn’t even know I was going to play in college. I was a walk on. I didn’t get a chance to get on the field and actually play in a game besides a practice game until my fourth year. So I was pushing 22 years old and, 21 years old basically. And so I played one year in high school about almost two seasons in college and had to beg a scout at our pro day at Chapel Hill to watch me kick because everybody was there to watch Julius Peppers, Ronald Curry and Ryan Sims.

Jeff Reed:
So, you talk about uncertainty. I had a lot of friends say, “Oh, you’re going to play in the league, man. You’re doing great.” I said, “What league, a rental league? Hopefully I’ll get it. If I get a shot, or maybe some semi-pro league, you’ve got to buy your own pads and stuff.” I mean, I didn’t know. And so that was a quicker story that uncertainty of even making NFL. And then once you do get that shot, I didn’t go to any combines. I didn’t get drafted. I don’t even know if I was really on anybody’s board, so to say. I was just a guy trying to make it. And I have a, deep down inside I have a will that I will never give up until, if something’s up like my NFL career it’s over. Unfortunately for me, I wish I could go back tomorrow, but it’s not going to happen. I mean, you have some really great young talent now and that’s just the way it goes.

Ralph Henderson:
And you do have the two championships and that is something that obviously, that’s what you do at four. In supply chain we say farm to mouth, we say origin to consumption. It’s really beginning to end because if any part of that chain breaks down, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the chain is. And you certainly showed that with winning those championships. Any final thoughts as far as that is concerned, just having those two championships, what that has meant to you and kind of what, what it’s done for you?

Jeff Reed:
Well I mean, obviously it’s something, I mean, you can make it, I know a lot of people that make a lot of money and a lot of people have a lot more money than I do. So you can talk about money all day and yeah, it helps you pay bills and yes, you get to take some vacations or buy a vehicle or buy a house that some people can’t afford, but ultimately money goes away. And when you pass away, you can’t take your money with you. But when you have two huge pieces of jewelry that you earned at the highest level of football, or just professional sport in general or anything, I mean, a class ring is pretty cool. You are [inaudible 00:07:50] getting your degree, but ultimately graduating, I should say, but ultimately you play the game to win championships.

Jeff Reed:
I mean, because everyone has people trying to take a bite out of their pockets. But ultimately I tell friends all the time jokingly, I said, because everyone thinks you’re an instant millionaire if you played in NFL and you never spend money, that’s just how people think. I say, you know what, if you see me one day at a bus stop, just give me a blanket or maybe offer me your shower or something. I’ll have my two super bowl rings on either way, because that’s just, that’s what those mean. I mean, I hide them from myself, so I can’t really find them myself until I do a motivational speech or a charity event, but ultimately that’s why you play the game.

Speaker 3:
Thank you for joining us today, Ralph and our entire crew hope you enjoyed this session. If you would like to be a guest on Supply Chain Today, please visit our website at optimizedsupplychains.com and fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page. Thanks again for spending this time with us.