If you're approaching life from a position of gratitude, your outlook is so much different. And life is so much better. The littlest things can make a difference. And your mindset, your mentality is so much better. Alrighty, folks.

 

Welcome back to Transacting Value, where we're encouraging dialogue from different perspectives to unite over shared values. Our theme for 20 22 is the character of your character. So who you see when you look your values in the mirror?

 

Today, we're talking our November core values of gratitude appreciation, and resilience with miss Angela Thurman, principal managing director of Thurman Company out of Texas, but before we get to Angela, If you're new to the podcast, welcome.

 

And if you're a continuing listener, welcome back. So without further ado, folks on Porter, I'm your host and this is transacting value. Alrighty, folks. This Thanksgiving season.

 

Your year may well just be hitting stride after the last 2 years of unplanned opportunities and growth. To broaden the positive impact and alignment, getting your life back on track in 20 22, email survival dad y t at gmail dot com.

 

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Answers can vary and only need to be a sentence or 2, but which aspects of your life are you grateful for? Alright, Angela. How are you doing? What's going on?

 

Good morning, Josh. I am fine. Thank you. I'm doing very well, and thank you for having me on your show. Yeah. Definitely. I appreciate you being able to make the time and and come out this morning and talk for a little bit.

 

But all things considered, I know you've got a busy schedule. And so in the spirit of valuing your time. Let's sort of cut right down to it. First of all, I gotta say I love your personality. I think I think you're super fun to talk to.

 

And so I can't wait to see where this goes. But for everybody who can't see you, and you're just another voice in the phone or car stereo or or whatever, let's work some relatability real quick.

 

So who are you? Where are you from? What do you do? So I'm originally from Arkansas, and from the extreme Northwest County of Fiton County, home of Walmart, JD Hut, and Tyson Chicken.

 

Nice. So, hopefully, everyone's familiar with at least 1 of those companies. I grew up in Arkansas, which is full at a very, very small university where only 6 electrical engineers graduated, in my class.

 

So we had very, very personal 1 to 1 attention. And I really, really enjoyed my years of school. I am an electrical engineer. I have a long, long, and sorted career history.

 

And today, I own a project management consulting firm in Houston. Maine, what a journey that must have been. Oh, yeah. Awesome. Yeah. My background is primarily in aerospace and telecommunications.

 

All the way from Ben County, Arkansas. Yeah. And it it did Chris. So my very first job was a car hop. Man, I started at Chick fil a. So I'm with you I was in the kitchen but yeah, is wild.

 

The pads we can sort of take to get who knows where you end up? You know? Yeah. Yeah. And now you said you started with a class of 6 and I'm assuming you've got a workforce of what hundreds or so now.

 

Not quite. We're not we're not a caliber person. Well, no. I mean, like employees, staff, clients like as a force, you've got more than 6. Yes. Yes. More than 6. Yeah. That's huge, man.

 

To be able to take relatively, let's say, simple upbringing, compared to what you might find in Manhattan, you know, uncomplicated upbringing to to get to where you're at. That's huge. So, yeah, that that's commendable good job.

 

Thank you. Yeah. But while we're talking about some of these other things, you being an electrical engineer, you working in manufacturing, really just industry as a whole, you mentioned aerospace. How has that been?

 

I mean getting into industries like that is uphill just by virtue of a knowledge base. As a barrier to entry. Let alone potential cost, manufacturing, setting up a facility, I don't even know enough to say intelligently.

 

What is that process like? Well, my first job out of college was as an electrical engineer for the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

It's now known as NASA Glen. So I was very blessed to have that opportunity. I actually worked as an electrical engineer and project manager for the power system of the a space station program. Well, that's cool.

 

And that, you know, gave me great, great opportunities. And so that was what initially led to my then going into commercial aerospace. And Most recently, I spent more than 10 years at 1 of the largest aerospace manufacturers in the US.

 

And so I work on programs primarily for Boeing, but also for Airbus and also Bombardier. And so I was able to work with both the customers and also primarily with the sub tier manufacturers.

 

Who produced content for my employer that was then integrated into larger systems delivered to the end customer who were the OEMs or original equipment manufacturers -- Oh.

 

-- the the aircraft manufacturers. And when you talk about the cost involved in aerospace.

 

There are so many things that people don't even realize go into that. Such as the cost to qualify and certify the products that go on to the aircraft. Because it's a very, very highly regulated industry, of course. Sure.

 

You wanna ensure the safety of the passengers. So everything is tightly, tightly regulated. And that means those products have to go through a rigorous qualification testing before they could ever be certified to go onto the aircraft.

 

Yeah. And that qualification testing involves things like smoke, qualification. So what happens if in the course of doctor forbid some sort of accident, smoke originated, or any kind of toxicity.

 

And then but even things like you know, waterproofness and fungus. Because what if condensation were to build up in the area where this product is to be located and mold mildew, other types of fungus.

 

Were to grow in the area where this product was to be located. So all of that testing electromagnetic interference testing. There's literally dozens of types of tests.

 

Not including any kind of software testing if if the product has firmware or software involved. Oh, yeah. And so that is a lot of investments to be made even after, let's say, you've built a factory, you've got employees, and so forth.

 

And that's for every product that goes on any type of aircraft. Already folks sit tight and we'll be right back on transacting value.

 

Hello, everyone. This is Cassie Baez from the podcast, adulting 01:01 with Cassie Baez. I wanted to share something with you all today. Before we jump into a new episode of the transacting value podcast.

 

If you are a young professional or a recent college graduate, who was looking for additional content on life, specifically, how to survive adulthood, then come check out adulting 01:01 with Caspi Bias.

 

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How to survive getting fired, how to file your own taxes, how to rate your first department, and more. Check out the podcast adulting 1 1 with caspi bias at caspi bias dot com slash podcast.

 

That's CASBYBIAS dot com slash podcast. Alright. Now let's get into today's episode. Even after, let's say, you've built a factory, you've got employees, you've built it. And that's for every product that goes on any kind of aircraft.

 

And if your product is, yay, it's gonna be on another aircraft. So let's say you sold it to Boeing for 1 of their platforms, and now you're going to sell it to Airbus for their new airplanes.

 

You have to go put the whole thing over again to certify it on their aircraft. So it's not really plug and play. It's custom No. It's not. Whoa.

 

Yeah. I didn't know any of that. Most people don't? No. I well, I guess not. That's part of what makes entry into the industry, so cost effective. Yeah. Wow. Well, there goes any ambitions of having single engine, Sesna, airline. Man.

 

But I imagine like with any other industry despite the cost there's ways that you can what barter for services you know, you know a guy who knows a guy that can who's certified to do these checks, where maybe you get sky miles to come help us out.

 

Give us advice. Is that a thing? Negotiating with your suppliers who will perform those qualification tests or doing them in house, being capable to do them in house is certainly a still.

 

Yes. Uh-huh. Okay. Yes. Alright. So you had talked about sort of set of principles, I guess. Well, it's it's a website. It's economy of 1 for any anybody listening.

 

Mhmm. But some of the principles that are on there are also about identifying what people have or find value in and then you sort of meet them where they're at. Right? Yes. Can can you touch on some of that before we move past it?

 

Yes. Absolutely. So the economy of 1, is a website, and also there are a couple of books on the topic by my good friend and mentor Elizabeth Owlett. And I met Elizabeth in early, early 2010, maybe even as late or earlier in 2009.

 

When, unfortunately, I was unemployed after my employer, a very large telecommunications company, in Kansas City was going through a series of reduction in force. Mhmm.

 

And at that time, I think the effective unemployment rate in Kansas City was somewhere around 20 percent -- Oh. -- because not only did my employer, which was 1 of the largest employers in the city, go through a series of reductions.

 

But also other companies like Yellow Freight, H and R Block, the US government, and many, many others. So, you know, this was following the 2008 crisis, and it was just very, very difficult for everyone involved.

 

Already folks sit tight and we'll be right back on transacting value. Alright then. Jimmy Mullen, hosts of discussions from Dublin.

 

An occasional guest contributor, transacting value to podcast. And good friend of survival at y t? Do I prefer to specialize in Alting script or decentralized that I still value a good conversation.

 

In fact, if you're into same train of thought and enjoy discussing trends in industry and various topical predictions, so will say it's even.

 

Or the occasional sea shanty, such that may entertain and persuade at your local Irish Bob, stop in and give a lesson.

 

The discussions from Dublin. Know who you are, know what you stand for, and learn from others, but most importantly, dance to the rhythm of your own clogs and don't forget to be your own alter too.

 

So, you know, this was following the 2008 crisis, and it was just very, very difficult for everyone involved. Mhmm. And so Elizabeth met with a grassroots organization of job seekers.

 

And as a result of that, she wrote a book, and she created her website and began to reach out to jobseekers to present her methodology and course called the economy of 1, which number 1 stipulates that money is not just the US currency that we exchange between ourselves, But isn't that, anything of value that we deem to be of value and can exchange between ourselves.

 

So you may have a skill. Let's say, you know how to create a podcast, and I don't. And I value that skill. And I know how to manage projects, and you don't.

 

Yeah. And you might value that skill. And so we would create between ourselves an exchange of these value. And we would say, you know, it's more than just bartering, but the crux of the topic, if you will.

 

Sure. Yeah. And So she also talks about identifying what your core skills are and valuing those for yourself because a lot of people don't even know what their value to the market at large is.

 

And so when I went through the course, I probably, for the very first time, identified what my real value was it wasn't checking off a bunch of tasks on a to do list every day, which is what I thought it had this or had thought it was.

 

It was much much deeper. And then she also helps people market that poor value, those sets of skills that people will pay for, and then much much more.

 

It's really awesome. And so like I said, she has 2 books on the topic. And then she also has a YouTube website or YouTube site.

 

Where she presents this material. So it's free, and it's just really, really a wonderful ways to to get that content out. And I've been through the through the course now twice. And The first time, it was like a lightning bolt.

 

And as soon as I began to apply the methodology, I ended up landing the job with my most recent employer, which brought together the 3 things that I love to do most at a higher pay rate than I had had at the telecommunications company, and it was just wonderful.

 

I loved it.

 

How were you able to structure these things that once you found where your strengths and your preferences and your sort of more natural leanings, how were you able to structure them and, you know, design them into something that you're like Well, actually, I can custom design this.

 

I I can engineer this into something that works better for me. You know? How do you do that? But that's a very interesting question.

 

Because at Elizabeth's suggestion, I went into my interview with aerospace company with a booklet, basically. I mean, a binder that presented stereo of how I had previously demonstrated each of my core skills, which are engineering.

 

I'm an engineer. I also am a professional project manager. I'm a PMP. And I also, oddly enough, have a background in contract law.

 

I went to the University of Tulsa Law School, on a full scholarship. Now to be clear, I am not an attorney. I did not complete law school. Okay. There's just some other circumstances that happen.

 

But I excel in the area of contract. And I love it. Most people hate contracts. They would rather poke their eyes out. Then have to read a contract. Yeah. Except the terms. Accept the terms. Except the terms. This is just an iPhone.

 

What is this? Yeah. Yes. Yes. But But when I read the contract, I'm like, what you said up here and what you said down here, do not agree. They completely do not agree. And okay. Okay. Okay. But why you know, red flag. Red flag.

 

Red flag. Yeah. And I used that skill to help my customers avoid risk, negotiate better terms, or just create better schedule all sorts of ways to help them be better prepared to enter into whatever agreement they're about to select.

 

Yeah. Well, alright. So let me ask you this. Your process. Right? Everybody's got something. Maybe it's I don't know, hot yoga. Maybe it's doo wop music. Maybe it's a walk by yourself in the park with a tiny dog without a leash.

 

I don't know. But, like, what what's your process? You know what I mean? How do you because it here's what I'm thinking. When you say 1 of the first most important things that you've got to identify is what you bring to the table.

 

That's a big ask. Oh, it's a very big app. You know, especially now I think more than 20 years ago because everything's in front of you on a screen, it's so much easier to compare yourself to now the world of reality TV on social media.

 

You know what I mean? So what worked for you? What are your tips and tricks to identify Actually, here's what I prefer and here's what I'm good at.

 

Well, so Elizabeth's course goes through a lot of that. And a lot of it is a mental inventory of when were you happiest? What were you doing? When you were happiest at work?

 

And in a perfect world, what would you do with your time? If you could do anything, what would you be doing with your time? And I literally I mean, as I'm looking at the wall in front of me, I have a statement.

 

And that sometimes uses during interviews and so forth. Oh. And it says throughout my career, that that that, overall, I have a versatile background in 1230, you keep it literally visible?

 

It's literally right there in front of and I'm reminded daily. If I have a weak moment of doubt or imposter syndrome, no. It's right there.

 

That's me. That's that is what I'm good at. Those are that those are the things that people value about me. And and what I give to my community and my customers every day. I like that. It's like your own you know, 3 by 5 vision board.

 

It is. It is all look like that. Yeah. Yeah. And it's it's funny you bring that up. I never thought about this till just now. Any DOD recruiters that are listening to this might think I'm an idiot, but I just picked up on this.

 

So in order to go active duty reserves or whatever in the DOD, you gotta meet with a recruiter first, like any other job, any other organization, and they size you up, like, are you qualified or not Why do you want this job?

 

But that answer doesn't get you the job. Right? Getting through boot camp gets you the job. That answer ends up on some sort of index card or some sort of takeaway post it, you know.

 

And as you hang on to this and take it with you, Because on the days when you don't wanna get up and when you realize you're still not done with boot camp or in your career, you're like, man, this was a horrible decision.

 

Why did I do this? You pull the card out You say, oh, no.

 

That's right. That's why I did this. And it was such a trivial thing as a habit of thought to continue looking at this whenever you thought felt like you needed to. But now that you mentioned it, you're right.

 

There's a lot of power in that. You know, we're taking care of yourself, reminding yourself. I've also heard arguments though that well if you've got to remind yourself and clearly it wasn't that important.

 

You know, and not necessarily the values or what you bring to the table, just in remembering it, well, then maybe it wasn't as genuine as you thought.

 

And I think some of that is negativity playing a role in in various aspects. I think some of that's legitimate too, though. Right? Well, maybe you're right.

 

Maybe I didn't think about it enough. And so maintaining an open mind to, you know, reevaluate yourself as you get older, you change your perspective changes and whatever things things happen in in your your outlook shifts.

 

Already folks sit tight and we'll be right back on transacting value. Hey, y'all. It's Juules here with the b and the bear creations. We specialize in custom tumblers, t shirts, car decals, and anything else you can think of.

 

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Again, you can find me the bee and the Bear creations on Facebook. I look forward to helping you create your custom item. Right. Well, maybe you're right.

 

Maybe I didn't think about enough and so maintaining an open mind to, you know, reevaluate yourself as you get older, you change your perspective changes and whatever things things happen in in your your outlook shifts.

 

So have you found a willingness to be flexible on those terms as you get older as you grow? Is also equally important or stick to it, maintain commitment?

 

I'm more of a stick to it, and maintain commitment kind of person. Okay. Because I think that our world our number 1 social media, but the world around us is so full of negativity. I don't buy into it. I don't I don't watch the news.

 

I'm very careful about what comes into my home -- In your bubble. -- my my thoughts. Get my bubble, if you will. Yeah. I actually have a t shirt because I'm an engineer. I'm a math geek and it says f of x equals absolute value of x.

 

No negativity. I like that. I like that. Yeah. Functionsions were never my forte, but I understand absolute value. So I'm I'm with you. Yeah. There is no negativity. I like that. Where did you find it online?

 

Online. Yes. Alright. I'm a look around. Yeah. I like that. That's like I saw a shirt the other day. It said, There are 2 types of people in this world and then it had number 1 and number 2 on the front of the shirt.

 

And number 1 says people who can extrapolate meaning from incomplete thoughts, and then there was an empty number 2. Yes. I've seen that 1 and I love it. Yeah. There's there's a lot of funny ones out there.

 

But in saying that, right, like you there's a there's a threshold and I think you gotta be careful with it because in identifying your self worth and what you bring to the table, how do you communicate that without coming across as cocky or narcissistic?

 

Or what what's the balance? What have you found? Yep. You have to be very careful with that. And that is certainly something that I struggle with, and I'm constantly reminded of every day because I'm also a men's son member.

 

And so I I know I make a lot of genius jokes. And 1 of my favorite shows is Sherlock with than Dick Cumberbatch. Oh, yeah. And I appreciate how much of a genius he is but what an ass he is.

 

And I have to realize that I don't wanna be the ass. That's tough. I mean, I don't know that anybody really wants to unless, like, I don't know, you're in professional wrestling or something and that's your role.

 

Yes. Exactly. You know? But Yes. But it's tough. Like, you can't control what other people think about you.

 

You just have to control how you respond to whatever they think about you. Right? So Right. How do you and I guess the same goes for engineering or manufacturing or consulting where -- Yeah.

 

-- you know, you can't control what people consumers companies, distributors, wholesalers, think about the products or services you offer.

 

But in how you respond whatever the issues are, whatever the congratulatory phrases are or whatever.

 

Right? So -- Mhmm. -- how have you found in your experience to balance that you know, how you manage and how you'd sort through managing expectations?

 

A very long time ago, I used to own a wedding planning consulting business which a lot of people find very weird.

 

But I'm like, hey. It was project management. It was just not applied to technology. Sure. And 1 of the things that I used to do when I would first meet with a new client was I had kind of a I had a checklist that we would go through.

 

And 1 of the questions I would always ask them is on a scale of 1 to 10, Do you want me to be down here at the 1, which is your mama? Or then the wedding planner not see. Where do you want me to be on this range of -- Yeah.

 

-- kinda like enforcement or, you know, If you're falling behind on something, if something is not going according to plan or schedule or whatever, do you want me to just be real rigid and stringent about it?

 

Or do you want me to kinda be, oh, it's okay.

 

Kinda like the fairy godmother -- Yeah. -- or, you know Actually, get involved. Kinda let yeah. Kinda let them tell me. And if they're like, no. We've got to stick to this budget, you need to be very rigid.

 

Or if they're like, no. Everything is soft. You know, everything is soft. You can be like a 3. I'm like, okay. Good. That is good to know. That is a good idea. Yeah. Just ask it upfront and establish your boundaries.

 

Yes. Yes. I like that. In considering some of those aspects, there was a futurist among other titles and things. He was on time magazine as well. He he died back in, I think, the early eighties, 83 or something.

 

Buckminster fuller was his date. Oh, yeah. A particular Yeah. I imagine as an engineer, you're familiar. But Yeah. Yeah. Buckey for anybody listening, if you're interested in looking him up. He talks about these generalized principles.

 

Are you familiar with with anything any of his writings? Mhmm. Okay. So 1 of the principles that he wrote about, and I'm sure there were dozens. But 1 of the principles that he wrote about, he said unity is plural.

 

But at least 2. Mhmm. Right? And so the idea there, at least what I took from that. The idea is that in coming to any conclusion, there's multiple points of view that are gonna come into play to make that whole WH0LE.

 

And so at least though, there has to be more than 1 perspective every time. And that's where the unity comes from. Right?

 

So in following that line of logic in trying to establish boundaries, trying to create your own self worth, trying to I guess, market that or just find your role once you've established that within any given client consumer type relationship.

 

Establishing those boundaries you've got to have to take into account what you think their perspectives are what you think they want your role to be. Right? This isn't like you just walk in blind. You've got a plan up front, I assume.

 

Yes. Yeah. Okay. Yes. Well, as a project planner, of course. I've always got a Okay. Yeah. Duche. That's a fair point. But but having, you know, you refine it once you talk to somebody once you meet with somebody.

 

But where do you pull your influences from then before you meet with somebody? How do you frame your point of reference before you talk to them? I may need some sort of investigative research -- Uh-huh.

 

-- you know, looking at their social media, the company's website, that sort of thing. Is that what you're asking? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So -- Yeah. -- so like with a with a company, for example, because there there's obviously plenty.

 

Most all of them have websites now. Where you can readily identify a corporate set of values or -- That yeah. -- a corporate culture and some don't do that.

 

So in your experience so far have you found that to be a better indicator of a stronger climate within a company or a stronger sense of customer service or fiduciary responsibility if they front load their values and their mission and everything.

 

Yes. You would hope that whomever you're meeting with embraces what the company has identified as their mission, their corporate values. Hopefully, you're able to get some testimonials.

 

And, certainly, if a corporate company. You can look at their financials. Mhmm. Yeah. That sort of thing. Yeah. That's true. Not not to trivialize. Company I should Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's fair.

 

A publicly held company. But and not to trivialize the hard sciences. Right? The numbers obviously tell a great deal as well. Yes. But, yeah, in understanding that other aspect, I think it makes companies a lot more relatable.

 

Yeah. And I think now 20 22 or at this just overall point in time, it seems like that's what people care about. You know? Like on a mass scale, like, I don't wanna do this job anymore, but because it doesn't really fit me.

 

Doesn't really fit what I stand for or what my values are, whatever phrasing. Mhmm. That's true. So do you think articulating that or identifying that early on and then just being forward about it? Will help make that more efficient?

 

People lasting longer, reducing turnover, all that kind of stuff? Yes. And I think that what we're seeing right now is people determining that their experience does not match the values stated by the company.

 

Oh. You said it doesn't match the value stated by the company. This isn't for clarity here. Meant to address shady dealings and black market trading or anything crazy like that on behalf of a company.

 

But under what circumstances would somebody have experience that doesn't match what a company says their values are? What what exactly what do you mean?

 

For example, let's say that the company supports the value diversity and maybe a person who would fall in a diversity category does not feel that they've been treated or that their experience has not been 1 where diversity was actually a value of the company.

 

I see. So this notion of self worth applies obviously to an individual but also to a company.

 

Right? And I imagine that Absolutely. Yeah. And I imagine that stems with or ultimately from whoever founded it and whatever value system or culture, they've sort of imbued within it. Yeah.

 

But you can't please everybody. You can't forecast how to please everybody. Right? No. So that level of being genuine or true to yourself or as a company true to your maybe not your base but like your corporate image values structure.

 

Yeah. I imagine that would go a lot farther in the long run. Yes. Yes. Before we get into more of that, I'm not to cut you off.

 

I'm sorry. Before we get into more of that, let's take a break for a minute and then we'll be right back on transacting value. Alrighty, folks. This is Porter with the transacting value podcast.

 

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For different perspectives with shared values, guys, I'm Porter. I'm your host, and this is the transacting value podcast. Alrighty folks. Welcome back to transacting value. I'm here with miss Angela Thurman.

 

We're talking corporate values. We're talking self worth. We're talking overall the attitude of gratitude. And we're gonna dive into more of that. First off to you. Welcome back and Angela. Welcome back. Thank you. Yeah. Of course.

 

And 1 of the things you mentioned before we just jumped onto that break, you said from an employee's perspective, from personal perspective, as an individual, that their experience doesn't match the values a company says they have.

 

And if that happens, then obviously they may change your career change their business, make a change.

 

Right? But as a company, you've got to identify your values and what you bring to the table. Right? For consumers, for clients I mean, you're consulting. Right? That's the whole point. Isn't it? Yes. Yeah. So how do you do that?

 

You know what I mean? If it isn't clearly defined, where do you start as a company? So that was 1 thing. That I worked on when I first launched my Business Thur, and our website actually includes a set of company value.

 

So we have both our mission statement, which is how we serve our customers. Mhmm. But then we also have a set of corporate values. And then beyond that, something that I share within my organization with all of my teammates -- Mhmm.

 

-- it's something that I call the Golden Credo. And this is 10 specific points about how we will, internally, work with our clients, and then the world at large.

 

Basically, about how we will embrace humanity. And it's kinda like a code of ethics because as a program management company, we do adhere to the project management institute code of ethics.

 

Sure. But our golden credo is just in quick statements about how serving co will conduct business, conduct ourselves, conduct our lives, basically, ethically, and humanely.

 

Yeah. Ethics go a long way. And it's crazy because they're so ubiquitous. They're so important to people, to companies, regardless of culture, geographic location, geopolitical affiliation, whatever.

 

Everybody says, well, yeah, I think so important. Of course, you need to know what you stand for. Okay. Alright. Do me a favor, sir, ma'am. What are yours? Okay. Well, look, see here's the thing. It depends on what you at.

 

What? Why? Why does it depend exactly? You know? So how do you foster that within a company like you guys posted on your website or you have this golden credo, you know, in a break room on a wall or where it's visible?

 

Mhmm. What about a smaller company? What about in a family household? Mhmm. How do you convey that to the teenagers that wanna play video games and the kids that wanna watch YouTube? And make them upstanding adults.

 

What do you recommend to convey these things to people? Well, I think that 1 thing is being selective about what you consume. Mhmm. And then another thing is being an example. Mhmm. So there are I mean, you can Google ethics.

 

You can take a course in ethics and learn about what does that mean. So, you know, for me, of course, it's a review of the PMI's code of ethics. How can I live by that daily as I serve my clients?

 

We actually just published an article on ethics in our blog on the Thermica website. It's a conversation. Have those conversations maybe in your family, in your community, whatever communities that might be.

 

Start a conversation on your social media channels. I don't think it's difficult to raise that awareness. Yeah. Communication around any topics, I think it's just going to naturally promulgate how quick -- Yeah.

 

-- how far that may vary. Mhmm. Right? But the fact that as people communicate, word gets spread, you know, every 4 year old can tell you about telephone game.

 

Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. You know, it may not be crystal clear what it started as, but it's gonna get to the end of the classroom.

 

Yeah. I think a lot of that when you start factoring in cultures, interpretations, perspectives, other values, you know, let alone any other opinions on yours or on your companies or whatever, it's gonna change.

 

And then as technology comes in, efficiency changes, time changes, your market, your consumers change. I think it's gonna shift some, but it's important to stand by what you stand for.

 

Yes. Yeah. I agree. Especially as a company if you're trying to build any sort of longevity because -- Mhmm. -- dependability goes a long way. Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah. I agree. 100 percent.

 

Now in saying that the other side of the coin, I guess, in identifying what you have to offer let's say as a company or as an individual however you want to take it and identifying what you have to offer Nobody does it alone.

 

You know what I mean? There is no vacuum of space that inspired anybody to do anything because you'd be dead. It's too cold. Yeah. Yes.

 

So all these inspirations come from other people and then you process them in a way that makes it unique. You formed yours into a company somebody else forms them exclusively into a family as a stay at home role or, you know, whatever.

 

But everybody forms their own opinions and makes it something worthwhile. So I guess what I'm saying is this attitude of gratitude, what role does it have? What value do you see that bringing to the table?

 

Oh, I think it's very, very important. And I can tell from day to day, you know, over the course of a week or a month, if if you have that attitude of gratitude. But, you know, maybe you're keeping a gratitude journal.

 

If you're approaching life from a position of gratitude, your outlook is so much different. And life is so much better. The littlest thing can make and your mindset, your mentality is so much better.

 

For 1 thing, depression is not as much of an issue for me when I have an attitude of gratitude. Just being grateful for waking up every day and for the rain we had this week because And she got a drought.

 

And I'm so grateful that we're finally having rained, and I don't have to water my lawn. And a little thing. I got a rebate from a medical provider that was completely unexpected.

 

And I'm like, yay. I'm gonna I don't know. Go buy an ice cream cone or, like, whatever, but that's so great. Yeah. That's so grateful for this unexpected windfall. I know it wasn't a lot. That's you know, it was unexpected.

 

So it's it's it's a surplus. Yeah. And you know, just messages on LinkedIn that came in and, like, you know, I appreciated that video or you are doing something great, things that I'm so grateful for all of that.

 

And you can go through life being a sourpuss, or you can take the other road.

 

And I've done both in my life. Definitely. Definitely. And the road of gratitude is so much smoother. Yeah. And it's mostly downhill. I mean, in the fact that I'm not working. Right. I'm not working and struggling on that path.

 

Yeah. It is it is a lot nicer. You know? I'm not I'm not saying I'm gracious all the time because I'm certainly not. In fact, most of the time, before I was, I don't know, 25, I didn't even know what I had.

 

Let alone be grateful for it. Oh, yeah. You know, it wasn't until Well, frankly, it wasn't until I enlisted and lost all of the things that I had that I realized Man, this sucks.

 

I wish I had what I had. That was pretty nice. You know, that I started developing any sort of sense of gratitude. But yeah. You know, to each his own, everybody learns differently in a different paces.

 

Right? But it you're right. It definitely carries a lot of weight And ironically, takes a lot of weight off your shoulders. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. So you mentioned something just then.

 

So when I'm grateful, it allows me to be gracious to others. Oh, to reciprocate. Yes. Yeah. Yes. I think that that really goes a long way too. And you mentioned, you know, like, when you were able to develop a sense of gratitude.

 

I can think of a time. So when I was unemployed after I was laid off from a telecommunications company, as I mentioned, that was a very bad, bad time in Kansas City. And I was actually unemployed for almost a year and a half.

 

And it was following a divorce, you know, very bad time, you know, personally as well. Sure. And I look back out on that time where people say, jolly, how did you even come out of that?

 

How did you And I'm like, really, I look back now, and I'm very grateful for that time. And all that I learned Yeah. And accomplished during that time because number 1, I was able to study for and pass the P and P exam.

 

Because prior to that, when I was working for the telecommunications company, I was extremely stressed. I was working 16 hour a day. I lost a hundred and 3 pounds in 1 year, and it was not intentional. Yes.

 

Whoa. I mean, I had 4 doctors tell me if you don't get a handle on this, you are going to die. Wow. And I couldn't help it. And I've obviously dated all that, but that's another story. But my life was, you know, coming off the rails.

 

Yeah. And but for the fact that I was unemployed, I probably wouldn't have been able to recover. And I was able to set time aside to meet friends for coffee. I've never been able to do that in my life. Never. I don't even like coffee.

 

And I was able to go through the program with Elizabeth and really identify what it was that I wanted to do with my life. And then achieve that. Yeah. I've met some fabulous people who have become true true friend.

 

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Different things happen. People were gracious to me. And in spite of the fact that I was unemployed for a dear nap, I didn't lose my house. I -- That's huge. -- I got to walk my dog 2 miles every day.

 

And what that did for my cardiovascular health was wonderful. Sure. Just I mean, there were so many things that came out of that that I am I'm still so grateful for, almost 15 years later, that it's just, you know, it's just amazing.

 

Yeah. Graditude changes everything. But ultimately, it started with your perspective shift. Like you made a conscious decision to say, I'm not gonna keep doing it this way.

 

Right? Right. Right. I'm not gonna be defeated by this. Yeah. And I'm not gonna keep doing the things I was doing. Right? What was your trigger? Like, you said you you said Getting getting laid off.

 

Well, yeah. Yeah. That's Sure. To start your uptick. Right? But what I mean is, like, you worked all these hours each week and then this divorce, the stress, all the everything that came around the same time frame.

 

Mhmm. And then you went to the seminar with Elizabeth and started rebuilding and rebounding. But like -- Yes. -- what was that point when you're sitting at home and you're like, man, this is dumb.

 

I'm done. Let me find out some other ways to fix this. Like, how did you even it just happened? Well, like I said, I was in this grassroots organization of jobseekers.

 

And it was, like, instead of, you know, working for this company where I'm just a number -- Sure. -- I'm going to commit my skills to this organization, this this group, and help others.

 

Basically, you know, I mean, they're helping me. I'm gonna get back to them. I see. So you start sort of building enough traction and in helping others, you you started learning to help us. I get it. Okay? Yeah.

 

That that level of resilience only comes in time. And, yeah, again, back to our initial point of the conversation. Look how far you come now. Well, yeah. That's crazy. Yeah. Mhmm. Man, yeah, gratitude definitely counts for quite a bit.

 

Now saying those things though, there's a important concept here that I think ties all this together more specific to your experience and fields of interest, where understanding what you bring to the table, understanding let's say as a company, your corporate self worth and your values Coupled with as a company your fiduciary responsibility or as an individual just a social courtesy of being a human.

 

Mhmm. But now more to your interest in line of work in manufacturing and engineering. There's a human factor there, and I imagine a lot of that background information, the numbers, the statistics, the graphs and charts.

 

It's probably stupid easy to get sucked into those and look at this particular company has this amount of revenue and then their quarterly 2 earnings are this.

 

So they're going down the drain like But the corporate culture is still made up of humans that may just be having a bad day that turned into a loss on a balance sheet or something.

 

Right? So What's your perspective on this human factor of manufacturing? Let's call it. Well, first of all, in manufacturing, a lot of people think of it still as being you know, dark, dangerous, dirty. That's what I thought.

 

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. You know, it's old, new sheens, you know, oily, grimy, and dangerous. Get out of my head, Angela. Get out of my head. And and, you know, and and so people are thinking, I don't wanna go into manufacturing.

 

I don't wanna work at a factory. Yeah. And manufacturing today is not necessarily like that. It's super cool. And to put in automation and robotics and lean manufacturing and I mean, we're talking.

 

Conban and all kinds of super cool tools and visual scorecards and maybe there's a big monitor that's showing process flow and but, I mean, I I get really excited. I have done countless factory tours in my past. Yeah.

 

And I get really, really excited about this stuff. And 1 of my great friends, Megan Vistenba, is an evangelist for bringing the next generation into manufacturing and, you know, drawing attention to it. And, of course, I'm Oh, I see.

 

A member of women in the manufacturing and the membership director for the Texas chapter. So I'm super excited about bringing more people into manufacturing. And here in Texas, we've got some of the best manufacturers.

 

I mean, we've got Tesla. We've got spacex. We've got all kinds of aerospace. We've got the semiconductor industry. Yeah. You're talking about modern manufacturing. You name it. Texas has it. And don't know what else to say.

 

We've got Siemens. We've got, you know, Texas instruments. Right? Sure. Yeah. Well, so in in in all these different aspects of manufacturing and corporate environments of manufacturing I mean, you said it yourself.

 

There's more robotics now than there was over the last couple decades and a lot more smart equipment and all sorts of innovations and inventions.

 

How do you balance that out with? Yeah. But remember, the people are there too. Hey. I gotta leave early and pick up my kid, you know, like Right.

 

How do you balance that? Well, I'm glad you brought that up. So I think that, especially, as a result of COVID, manufacturers are more appreciative of the fact that the individual has to be considered.

 

Oh, I see. And so my belief is that there is some relief for individual scheduling. And there's also modern factories are more clean. There's certainly health and safety.

 

I have a friend who's definitely into the health and safety area. And then, I mean, even to the fact that there's a company called Zena that produces personal protective equipment, specifically for women.

 

And -- Oh. -- this company makes the most beautiful feel so boost. I mean, like, they're so beautiful. I would wear them because they're fashionable, not because they're steel clothes.

 

And there's so much that a and b done for the individual. And I'm sorry to keep harping on wind. But women in manufacturing has an entire program to provide leadership training specifically for the woman that is on the production floor.

 

And that's something I don't think previously had ever existed. There's all kinds of leadership training for middle managers -- Their executives.

 

-- and people that wanna become executive. Right. Yeah. But this is for the woman on the production floor that needs to know how to have better time management skills.

 

Or Yeah. Money management, balance, and work, and life. No. All kinds of leadership skills. Oh, I don't know that I've heard of anything like that either.

 

Come to think I mean, like, there's available online. Right? You look at you to me, you look at YouTube, you look at whatever stack skills, whatever you find online, and you can But is it specific for manufacturing production worker.

 

Right. Well, that that's what I mean. It's all sort of generically applied. And you can, you know, you can get it on your own or not if you ever even learn about it.

 

Like to have an environment like that in a manufacturing facility for the line workers. Yeah. No. I don't think I've ever heard of anything like it.

 

Yeah. Well, I was very proud when this program came out. Oh, yeah. I'm sure. I mean and and like you said now, women in manufacturing as an organization in itself, representing all of these same attributes and initiatives and people.

 

It wasn't a thing before either. So yeah. I know. That's that's huge. That's huge. Now saying that, I know you've got your life to get back to. And so I don't wanna take up a lot of your time.

 

I appreciate we've had so far. However, This does bring us to the last segment of this interview. So if you're ready, it's called developing character. Developing character. Are you interested? I'm interested.

 

Let's go. Alright. So here's how it works. 3 questions. K? And it's all about your view of your values. Question number 1. How do you view the values that you had as a teenager? What were they? Oh, boy. I'm just nerd even as a teenager.

 

So, my values as a teenager. So It might be as simple as, no, I didn't really have any. No. I did. I would so I was deeply involved with my church, So I definitely valued honesty, punctuality, and oh, work ethic.

 

Mhmm. I always knew I wanted to work hard. And so I got my very first job as a car hot when I was 15 because I wanted a new pair of Nike. There you go. You know, I'll tell you I got a job at Chick fil A.

 

I think when I was 16, I was working in the kitchen because I wanted to stop paying for all my meals. Very good. Every everybody's got something if you incentivize it appropriately. Yeah. Question 2 though.

 

What are some of your values now? They're still very similar. Today, I definitely valued gratitude more. I also value my community score. Mhmm. So I'm more I value my friendships more, and my boys see the the hard work.

 

I mean, I'm constantly amazed at what my team does and the struggles as they go through to do that. That's just amazing. But the amazing skills and knowledge of the people that I'm connected to.

 

Yeah. And that they're they're so willing they're so willing to share this. That is a crazy thing. And it, like, of all the amount of knowledge or topics or influences or perspectives that billions of different people possess.

 

Most of them. All you do is ask, you know, and they'll share with you whatever amount of wealth and knowledge and insight that they've got assuming they've got the time and drive to do it.

 

Mhmm. I mean, look at this interview, you know? Like, Yeah. It's crazy. Being able to learn all this stuff from you that I didn't even know existed till now. You know? And it just -- Mhmm. -- take some questions.

 

Yeah. And a little bit of open mindedness. It's it's really cool what we're able to do now mostly because because of technology and manufacturing. But Mhmm. Yeah. I agree. Question 3 though. How do you see your values changing?

 

Over the next 20 years. Oh, wow. That's kind of hard to predict. Yeah. But I would say maybe technology, the value that I already place on technology, I think that that may evolve over the next 20 years.

 

You just can't we just can't imagine because as the slope of the growth of technology -- Yeah. -- just becomes awesome. Autic. Who knows what's gonna be available in the future?

 

And I think that I'll just be placing more and more value on the available technology. I mean, I never would have imagined 5 years ago that I'd be doing podcast interviews. No way. No way. I'm an introvert. Yeah.

 

There's a pretty wild pace. I think that gets set. And it's so ridiculously exponential, especially when it comes to technology. Just like you said, that once it gets rolling and starts to build traction, you're not scaling it back.

 

Right. You know, like what you're not gonna undo convenience unless it becomes a detriment I think to maybe freedom of security or something.

 

But it is pretty wild saying that though. I really appreciate you taking some time out of your day, out of your schedule.

 

To be able to just talk come and hang out and, you know, consult the world on the importance of ultimately women in manufacturing and and your perspective around it. So thank you.

 

I appreciate it. Of course. It's been my pleasure, Josh. Yeah. This was good. Now all things considered to everybody listening. Thank you for listening in. To our core values of November for gratitude, appreciation, and resilience.

 

Thank you to well Elizabeth Allen and women in manufacturing and Thurman Co for giving up your founder, but also for your inspiration to this conversation, and ultimately to our show partners.

 

To Keystone Farmers market, Be in the bear creations, anchor, and now bus route for your distribution. So if you're interested in joining our conversation or you wanna discover our other interviews, check out transacting value dot com.

 

And remember you could follow along on social media too while we continue to stream new interviews every Monday at 9AM Eastern Standard Time on all your favorite podcasting platforms. So until next time. That was transacting.