Transcription
****Please forgive any and all transcription errors as this was transcribed by Otter.ai.****

[intro music]
Shark 0:16
Welcome back and thank you for joining A Shark's Perspective. I am Kenneth "Shark" Kinney, your host and Chief Shark Officer.

Shark 0:22
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Shark 0:26
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Shark 1:18
Do you love where you work? It's a tough question that a lot of leaders don't truly know the answer to or may not be looking for either. The perception of a lot of leaders is quite often not the reality of the employee experience. And yet many wonder why employee engagement is so low, or maybe they're not measuring the bottom line with employee retention, and why it's costing them so much. So what do we do as leaders to create organizations that people never want to leave? And what will employees remember when they ask themselves? Do I love it here?

Shark 1:49
Clint Pulver is an Emmy Award winning motivational keynote speaker, author, musician and workforce expert. And on this episode, we'll discuss employee engagement, the undercover millennial life on the road as a drummer and speaker, what it's like to work here, the power of Mr. Jensen ball headed bongos on America's Got Talent, the five C's becoming a mentor versus a manager, killer drum solos, the ultimate goal of being a pilot people leaving their jobs and mass exodus jumping skis into a promotion, and a lot, lot more. So let's tune into a killer drummer with a killer shark on this episode of A Shark's Perspective.

Shark 2:29
Clint, thank you so much for joining us today on A Shark's Perspective. Tell us a little bit about your background, your story your career to date.

Clint Pulver 2:36
Yeah, so I traveled the world as a professional keynote speaker. And a lot of my work has been founded in my work in research as the undercover millennial. It's kind of like Undercover Boss without the makeup. And I would go undercover into organizations as someone who is looking for a job. And now we present on that research that I've done for the last five years, and also been a professional musician for 23 years and play the drums and also a husband and a father to two beautiful little girls

Shark 3:09
that I just love and most important jobs at the end.

Clint Pulver 3:12
Yes, saving best for last. Absolutely.

Shark 3:14
So knowing of your speaking background and your success there. And we're going to talk a lot about employee engagement. And you're in your book, I love it here. But your background in particular with drums that started understand as a kid, and that also resulted in a little documentary, you made that one and me. correct us a little bit about that.

Clint Pulver 3:33
Yeah, so I was the kid in school that always just had a hard time sitting still, I still have a hard time sitting still. You know, I would always just tap I would always move. And everybody saw that as an issue. They saw that as an annoyance. And I had a teacher named Mr. Jensen who said, I don't I don't think he's an issue. I don't think he's a problem. I just think he's a drummer. And he created a moment that changed my life forever handed me a pair of drumsticks and made me promise that I would keep those sticks in my hands as much as I possibly could. And those 23 years ago and because of that moment, when somebody believed in me and saw something in me that I didn't even see within myself, it changed everything for me I wrote a completely different story and have become I think a different person than I would have had that moment not occurred.

Shark 4:22
So out of curiosity, were you diagnosed with a ADD or ADHD? I mean by people that maybe didn't know at first that it was just a Tap?

Clint Pulver 4:30
Yeah, so when this happened, this was like on like, during the time of the rise of ADHD and medicating kids and and they gave it a name and so I have never been clinically diagnosed. But there's a possibility i don't know i think there's a lot of misdiagnosis kids as well, that have been diagnosed with it, but they just have you know, a lot of energy or I don't know everybody kind of looks to give something a label that we want to define things very quickly in this world. So I don't know if I do. I don't know if I don't I do know that I have a hard time sitting still. I do know that I love to play. I do know that I love the sound and rhythm. And but does that equate to ADHD? I don't know.

Shark 5:09
So you took that affinity for drumming, and you turn that into a professional career. You also played bongos on America's Got Talent. Atlas is true. So what what year was that? And what kind of success Did you see out of that?

Clint Pulver 5:23
Yeah, so America's Got Talent was a pretty funny thing. I never auditioned for the show, I didn't want to necessarily be on the show. They reached out to me as as a, you know, semi famous drummer and asked if I would come and be a part of this. And yeah, Americans talent Got Talent. It's a funny thing. We went directly to the mainstage in front of all the judges and national television, and they wanted me to play ball bongos on a bunch of bald guys heads. And I was like, Okay, sounds cool. And I went out and did that had a blast. It was so fun. I met so many. I think if you could have the chance to go and just hang out in the waiting room, where they keep all of the talent for America's Got Talent, you would have stories for the rest of your life. Like the people that were waiting, and that was the highlight of the whole, the whole event. I mean, I was in there. We were there for like six hours. Waiting being interviewed, the producers would come talk to us, they'd call us back. We do some filming. But everybody's there that's on the show. And I mean, it was just, I mean, there's a guy that had a pig, there was a lady that had birds, this this tattooed chick that like danced on glass, people that were blind, the gymnast circus people, like it was just, it was crazy. And so just meeting those people having that experience, performing in front of the live audience, you know, being on camera, and not to say that you've been on America's Got Talent. That's, that's fun. It's a unique experience that not very many people can say they've had.

Shark 6:59
So what made you move into being a keynote speaker, as opposed to a career in the music industry? With your passion of drumming?

Clint Pulver 7:08
Yeah, I it's a it's kind of a hard question to answer, because it's kind of like three full

Shark 7:14
20s may pay better.

Clint Pulver 7:16
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, there's some truth to that. I actually. So I wanted to be a touring musician. That was like the goal. And I did that, and realize that long term, like as a lifestyle and the life that I wanted to have and be a family guy, and you just can't have that if you're touring with a and especially if you're touring with the bigger artists, when they're on tour, you're on tour, there are no holidays, there is no like, you get to go home when you want, like you're there. And so that wasn't super conducive. And to be honest, my ultimate goal was to be a pilot. I went to flight school, flew helicopters, got my fixed wing radar rating did airplanes. And that was like the ultimate goal. It was never to speak. And I had an eye disease that ended that whole career for me. And all of a sudden, literally, in another moment, I was not able to fly, I couldn't I couldn't pass and get my flight medical, to stay current. And so I had to totally pivot. I ended up chasing, you know, the the quote unquote, real job and the salary and the benefits and was absolutely miserable. in the medical field. I worked as an orthopedic consultant and hated it. And I just I remember when I, my first speaking event was on I spoke in church and a guy owned a leadership consulting company heard me speak. And he said, I want you to come and speak to a bunch of high school kids at a leadership conference. And I was like, No, thanks. Oh, where are you at the time, I was a senior in high school. So I was still in high school. And the thought of going and speaking to other high school students was not, I just didn't want to do it. And he was like, I'll pay you 500 bucks. And I was like, Okay, what day when do you need me like, you know, 500 bucks, a high school kid, that's like, three months of work. And I was like I'm in. So I went down, I put together this little workshop called to the beat of the drum. I gave everybody buckets and drumsticks and I just taught music principles. And it was unique. It was different. We had so much fun. And I had kids come up and they're like, this is like, the best thing we've ever had. I learned this or I'm gonna live my life differently. Because you did or said this. And I'm like, What? Like, this is the thing. And then schools came up. And they said, we want we want to pay you to come and speak to our school. And I'm like, what do you what do you mean? Like, I didn't even know this was a job. I didn't know this was a career. And they go, yeah, we bring speakers in all the time. And so I just I went and did all these schools. I loved it. I felt like I lit my soul on fire. I was able to do what I love. I was able to, you know, provide for myself, but I never looked at it as a substantial, you know, census sustainable career. And until I was in the medical field, I was miserable. And I pitched to my two buddies, I said, wouldn't it be crazy if you could find a job they've allowed you to do three things. I call the three P's. It was passion, purpose, and the ability to provide, like, what if you could find something that most of the time you were able to do that. And both my friends were like, I don't think that exists man, like, you kind of live in with rose colored glasses, like they call it work for a reason. I don't think that you could, you know, find something that would meet all of those three things. And the only thing in my life that had truly made me feel that way was flying and speaking, I couldn't fly anymore. And so speaking was the thing. And two weeks after that conversation with my friends, I quit my job. And I jumped into the speaking industry full time. And that was four and a half years ago.

Shark 10:41
What got you into speaking about employee engagement? I know that undercover millennial was part of that. But why that topic?

Clint Pulver 10:49
Yeah. So another thing that I just kind of ran into someone, I was in a part of a mastermind group, we were in New York City meeting with other CEOs and executives. And it was just a business retreat. And we're sitting there and we're talking to, you know, these guys about how they've pivoted and moved and adapted and created strategies to meet the demands of a marketplace, it's always changing. And this one guy that we met with, you know, had a stick New York accent, and lived in the city for most of his life, on the sporting good retail chain. And I'll never forget, he said, You got to adapt to you're gonna die. If you don't adapt in business, you're gonna die. And I was like, wow, okay. And then I just asked him, I said, so what about management? What about like people? Have you felt the same need to adapt and change? And he said, Ah, no, no, with people, no need no need. And we get results. And I remember I had like, the most like, just glazed over confused face. And I could, because I couldn't understand it, he felt the need to change how we did business, to meet the demands of an ever changing marketplace. But when it came to his people, no need to adapt. And I remember, I looked around in the store, and all of his employees were my age or younger. And I just thought, Hmm, I wonder if they would say the same thing. I wonder if they you know, singing the same tune that he's singing that everything's wonderful and works great. And we have a thriving business. So I think the guy for his time, we had 35 minutes to kill until we needed to be to the next place. I had nothing else better to do. So I went and asked his employees what they thought of their job. And mind you, I was wearing what I'm wearing right now, like I had, I think I had a hoodie on backwards hat. I was literally a customer in the store. And I walked up to the first employee and I just said, Hey, I I'm just curious.

Clint Pulver 12:36
What's it like to work here? And that first employee, he got quiet, he looked around.

Clint Pulver 12:43
I felt like we're doing an illegal drug exchange. And he's like, he's like, dude, I can't I can't stand it, man. He's like, he's just a job, dude, we're all cogs in a wheel. I was like, What? Why are you still working here? And he's like, I've already applied to three other places. As soon as I get a chance to bounce, I'm gone. And I thought, Okay, well, maybe this kid's just having a bad day. So I went and asked another employee, and another and another. And another long story short, I interviewed six of his team members. And at the end of those six conversations, five out of the six of his employees said they would not be working for this guy in his store in less than three and a half months. And it was a lightbulb moment. It literally just I sat there. And I thought, My gosh, what if he could? No, he has no clue, the perception of leadership versus the reality of the employee experience. But it was crazy to me that they were so honest with me, they were open with me because of my age. And because I just was a customer I was there was no there was no incentive, there was no consequence. I was just me. And I thought, what if I could do something here. And I started to shop around and market it and talk to business owners and CEOs. And I started doing it more and more and more. And I would go in as a potential hire. As someone who's just looking for a job. I'd walk into a Verizon store chick fil a a Walmart, and I just go up and say, Hey, I'm just curious. I'm thinking about applying What's it like to work here? And they tell me everything, everything. And over the four and a half years that we've done this, we've worked with 181 organizations, over 10,000 employees that I've interviewed undercover. And that's what the new book that just released is all about.

Shark 14:28
Have you been found out by anybody beforehand? Did anybody recognize you at all?

Clint Pulver 14:34
Yeah, that's a great question. And then and the answer that is No. I've had people question why I'm asking so many questions. That has happened. Because Because there are some times Yeah, yeah. Because it's it is it's a balance of like, Okay, how do I, how do I really extract the information I'm trying to get in the most authentic way possible, but also still make this seem natural and real. So that has happened, but I've never had someone that bizarre Yeah, you clip over I saw you on America's Got Talent. And usually I shave, I always wear a backwards hat, or sometimes put on a hoodie. COVID has really helped we've done research during the pandemic. So having a mask. Amazing. You're Brian fans. Oh, now. Yeah, exactly. I love that. Yeah, exactly. So

Shark 15:24
were you looking at all different types? I mean, are you typically with the store? You first described this was the sort of the, the origin story was around young people working in a retail position? Have you seen the same thing open up with maybe people that were older in mid level management positions, and so on and so forth? What did you see from that?

Clint Pulver 15:44
100%? Yeah, I didn't want the research to be strictly, you know, to one generation, I just wanted it to be to the workforce in general. So we've interviewed everyone from boomers to Gen X, millennials, Gen Z. And we're still continuing to do that. Because I want the research to continue to be fresh. But here's the thing in all honesty, Kenneth, I mean, after doing this, like, you kind of just see the trends, like over the years, and it was like universal principles that I don't think it really would have mattered if it was in the 60s. Or if it's in 2021. The principles are the same. And, and for the most part, everybody's looking for that same thing within their job. And after 10,000 people, I'm like, I, I can almost predict, I could almost tell you like going into an organization in the first, you know, few interviews, what's going on and what the issues are, because I've just done it so much. And you see those trends of what people hate and what they love? Yeah.

Shark 16:43
Yeah, so unpack if you will, what you discuss a lot in the book with some good recommendations as well with the mentor versus manager conversation, and how you uncovered what you call the five C's.

Clint Pulver 16:55
Yeah, so when an employee hated their job, they talked about the manager, when an employee loves their job, they talked about the mentor. mentorship was a unique thing that I focused heavily on and discovered in the research that hasn't really been written a lot about, we talked about leadership, and we talked about management, usually, that's what most books in my world are written about. And leadership is something that you know, traditional leadership, you stand at the helm of the ship, you lead, you're the visionary person, you got to get people from point A to point B, you're a leader of people follow you. That's like our definition of traditional leadership. Management is all about making sure there's no holes in the ship. How do we get there efficiently, effectively, how do we maintain productivity and get there as quick as possible? But mentorship, mentorship through an employee's perspective, again, in mind you that's my research. That's what they talked about. That's what mattered to them is when somebody possessed what we call these five C's. And mentorship has to be earned. That's why it's so unique. You can't give like you can hire somebody into management and just say you're You are the mentor to these people. It doesn't work that way. You have to earn it. Anybody that's ever been a mentor in your life or mid my life, they earned that because of who they were. And so when I would go into an organization, and I would talk to you know, the employee and say, Why do you work here? Honestly, it's it's because as Suzy I've stayed here because of Suzy, who Suzy Oh, she's, she's the manager. And she's unbelievable. Why. And then I go to the next employee, who had been there for 11 years. And I said, Why? Why do you stay here. And he goes, I was at another tech firm. But Susie came over here. We used to work together, she jumped ship, and I followed her over why, when I would find these significant leaders who earned the right to be a mentor in the eyes of their employees. We narrowed it down to these five C's, they were confident, they were credible. They were competent, they had the ability to display candor. And then the fifth C is they have the innate ability to just care about human beings, those five C's. And it was the the highest form that we could trace back when when an organization had the highest amount of retention influence, loyalty, engagement, productivity. It was because a manager became a mentor. Because that person who was in charge who was in that leadership position, through the eyes of their employees, with someone they looked to and said they're confident in who they are and what they do. They're confident in their ability to get me where I want to go. They're also credible. They've got a background and a history and a resume. This supports the thing that they're doing and what they're teaching me to do. They're also competent. They're not the manager that's sitting in the back of the room calling the shots saying do this do that. No, there are practitioner, there's someone that jumps in that can actually do the thing that they're teaching me to do. candor, they had the ability to create relationships so strong that honesty could exist under Good, I got to give it to you straight. And I'll always give it to you straight. But they also made the deposits of trust through caring, where they can make those withdrawals, they could have the honest conversations because they cared. They became advocates, not just developers. In doing so it changed. Everything was beautiful to see, beautiful to watch.

Shark 20:23
So here's what I think are maybe rather, I believe, at least having been a manager. But I believe that a lot of managers check each one of those off and think they're doing each one of those five C's, Well, yes and oblivious are not one side of the other will be absent from the reality that the other one sees, because it's their unique perspective. But at the end, and I'm curious, if you came across this with companies that you work with it did this, a lot of companies may discount this, because they just need to get stuff done. And they may think this person is a driver, which was part of my problem is I drove and I had great success in my organization with the numbers always look good. But at the same time, I was driving myself crazy as much as everybody else. This is a problem with every company everywhere. They all have some issues like this, but I think sometimes that are most of the managers are oblivious to what their employees think. And then also the company, which is part of that equation really just wants the numbers to be good. And do they care enough about employee retention?

Clint Pulver 21:32
Yes. And while we look at the numbers of profitability, I would ask at the same time to look at the numbers of retention, and what it's costing your organization as a real cost. Yeah, massive cost. And most people never look at that when they talk about the bottom line when they're looking at their p&l statement. Like they don't factor in. When

Shark 21:52
we look at they look at steady versus

Clint Pulver 21:53
last. Exactly, exactly. And so it's easy to get focused on well, productivity and numbers, and we got to drive we got to hit our numbers and quotas and sales and profitability and all that. But they're not considering, you know, not just when somebody leaves, but also when an employee mentally checks out and stays. What what's that what that is costing in morale and productivity and efficiency. So there's a whole nother lens that I think needs to be considered and looked at. And most organizations consider employee turnover is just a paper cut. It's like now Easy come easy go. Without realizing what what could change and what they would reap. On the number side, if they just changed a few things. And companies are doing better, I can honestly say that because they're realizing to stay effective in the recruitment process and to retain people they have to, because too many organizations are adapting and changing to this. And they're keeping people and retaining people. And yeah, it's adapt or die for sure.

Shark 22:54
One of the things you talked about in those five C's that I really thought about a lot after reading the book was credibility and how each person I mean, it's almost like companies and brands, people want to believe in something they want to see that you've done it. What should a leader do to motivate someone to do their job to perform well to be happy in their role if they haven't earned that street credibility, if you will, an employee's but they earned it from a company because it could be that senior management saw something in young plant, and he hasn't run a basket weaving organization for a terrible example with that specific expertise. But they just know they can get stuff done and motivate that team. And it doesn't always work that way. But I get completely why the company may see something and young Clint and the employees see no experience in plant and then it becomes a friction point that happens all the time. Because a lot of people get promotions that feel like they're jumping over their skis a little bit, but it's not, you know, sometimes you need somebody that's just loyal to the company, and you feel like they're going to get some good performance out of the rest of the team.

Clint Pulver 23:57
Yeah, there's a lot of different ways to do it. There's a lot of different examples. I remember one CEO, he said, Every orientation, he would show up, when they would bring in new hires, they would sit their manager in front of the new team. And then that CEO would be the person who would literally go through all the five C's, and tell all of the new employees, why why this manager was the mentor, why this manager was credible, why this manager might be younger than you. But let me tell you why we put them in this position. Let me tell you why we support them. Let me tell you why you need to liberate point, like so having the support of of you know, upper management, I think is critical. It always came down to standards and connection. The standards that the manager was able to uphold and the connection they were able to create with their employees. Sometimes

Shark 24:47
it doesn't have to even be a 20% even split with each one of those five C's. I mean, it can be a little bit of one versus the other. I just remember credibility because I do see that a lot with younger people today and what they're looking for in their leader And sometimes it, it's not always the easiest puzzle to solve, and it's different anywhere with every person.

Clint Pulver 25:07
And it's important to ask yourself, as you know, if you're a CEO or owner or even an HR director, you're someone that's placing people in positions of leadership, ask yourself that, are they credible? Because it does matter to people. And I think far too often we put people in a position of management that have no, they have no business being managers. We don't know what else to do with them. Right? They're a good employee, they were awesome. So it's like our guests will just promote you into management doesn't make you a mentor. So we have to be careful there. It's a hard balance, there's no like one easy answer. But to be aware of that, and to figure out, Okay, well, then how can we increase their credibility? What are the certifications, the trainings, the books, the experiences, that whatever we can do to increase that credibility is going to be helpful, again, hiring from within, that's another great thing that great organizations did to establish that credibility, they would bring somebody up within the organization or someone that, okay, you're now the car sales manager, but you were also one of the leading reps in in sales and car sells, so that instantly you have credibility, to be a manager in that. So be aware of it, obviously, it can't always happen, but to your people in matters.

Shark 26:20 So you publish this, it came out in April of 2021. As we were starting to really emerge from the pandemic. I know that this was a topic you've been talking about four years. But did you notice anything in particular, during the pandemic, that you could recommend coming out of that was sort of germane, if you will, to that bubble of time, because managers were going through the same thing as everybody else learning to navigate zoom calls and connect with people, none of the managers had done it either. And, you know, I think they were put under stress, trying to figure out how to manage themselves, plus their team. And I'm just kind of curious what you found out of the pandemic leadership and where employee engagement really got exposed.

Clint Pulver 27:03
Yeah. So I actually wrote a whole new chapter in the book because of COVID-19. We were actually going to publish the book almost six months earlier. And I just said, No, no, no, no, no like that. We there's more that I have to include in the book now with this, not to just give it relevance. But it was also an opportunity for me to do research and really talk about some stuff during a time of chaos. So here's something that's interesting. And we are seeing this currently, right now is we're in quarter through coming quarter three, quarter four of 2021. There's a mass exodus of people that are leaving their current jobs, or they're leaving the job that they had in 2019. And as I've worked undercover, as I've talked to business owners, leaders, managers, what we're seeing really is employees have two things on their minds right now. Number one, they all remember how they were treated during the chaos. All of them do. And I saw some pretty horrific things that leaders and managers did, in a time of turmoil right out of fear, out of just necessity, or they, you know, they call it survival. I also saw some beautiful things that managers did in a time of chaos and hardship. The point is, employees remember that right now. And as we're coming out of this, I think now more than we have seen in the last eight years, I would say, employees have options that are in their favor, again, massively. Employers are scrambling to hire people to find good people, many of them laid off and furloughed, everybody that affected morale that affected productivity. Now, people are having to do twice the amount of work, or their job responsibilities have tripled, some of them have net less pay. And so and the second thing is employees have had time to think they've all had time to think during this chaos and go, okay, is this where I really want to be? And they're realizing, Oh, my gosh, I can I can work in Colorado.

Shark 29:04
And, and, and

Clint Pulver 29:06
live in Japan. I can live in in Utah and work in New York City and make twice as much save three times on rent and work whenever I want. And so that, that that dynamic has really shifted a lot of things. And there's a lot of employers right now that are saying, Well, you know, this the incentives and the kickbacks and all the things that we're giving people to incentivize them not to work. The reason why we can't find any, anybody.

Shark 29:39
So I met you at NSA influence in 2021, when the topic was relevancy. Yeah. Luckily, this will be a topic that is relevant until you are 200 years old. So if this is going to be an ongoing problem, and something that we need people to address and talk about and fix and focus on until the end of time, because companies are not getting better, they're getting worse. So it's a good hit. So you talk about this a lot in your shows. And then you pull out a drum solo. How did talking about employee engagement? And all those good things in the book and those topics? How does that tie in with a killer? drum solo?

Clint Pulver 30:20
Yeah, great question. So it comes back. It ties into the Mr. Jensen story. It talks about, you know, going back to that last thought of No, employers are having a hard time finding people, but there's some employers that aren't having a hard time finding people right now. And is it you know, they just don't want to work, right? employees don't want to work? Or do they not want to work for you? There's a big difference there. There's a big difference. And I think it's, it's worth thinking about. And so I tie the drum solo into the power of being a Mr. Jensen. Are you an organization? And are you a boss that when people are with you, they say, I like myself best. You're an organization that represents potential for me, you also represent opportunity, the I feel seen, I feel worth something while I'm working for you. And that's what Mr. Jensen did. And so it's a cool thing to tie in that story. I tell that story, third person, they have no idea that I'm the kid and the story. And then we reveal the drums, they find out that I'm the kid. And it gives leaders the opportunity to see what influence looks like. You know, when you can step out of the monotony of the meetings and scheduling and, and the profitability and the margins and making sure that things are getting done and the restaurants clean when you can step out of that for a minute. And just realize that you also have the opportunity to be a great storyteller in people's lives. To be someone who really was an advocate to be someone who really was that mentor, someone that really helped you live a better story, someone that helps you get to where you wanted to go, like you can be that roll, you can be that person that people never forget, you can be a Mr. Jensen. And that's what employees talk about. That's what people remember. And that's how we tie it in. And we sit there and yet we rock we rock the house with a drum solo. And the hope is to spark and wake managers up to go, Okay, my goodness, I need I need to do a little better. I can make a little bit more of a difference. And in the long run, it's going to it's going to help me as a manager as well.

Shark 32:17
Okay, well, Clint, you're in the great state of Utah. I ask everyone who's a guest, there's no sharks in Salt Lake. But you've got young children. So you'll appreciate some form of a shark story doesn't necessarily have to be diving with them like I do. But I ask everyone who's a guest. What is your favorite kind of shark and why? I love I would say Baby Shark right now.

Clint Pulver 32:39
Yeah, Baby shark, I would actually go with the blacktip. Shark. The choice. Yeah, black tips. First shock that I ever learned as a kid, it was a shark that I saw at SeaWorld. And I'll never forget the first time I saw a blacktip shark. And yeah, that was

Shark 32:55
that's, that's a good choice. Well, Clint, it's a special time in the show, you're ready for the five most interesting and important questions that you're going to be asked today. Yeah, I'm stoked. All right, number one, speaking on stage or performing the drums on a stage. And I know that you do both together. But if you had to pick one, maybe which would it be speaking on stage, speaking on stage, hands down? Why so?

Clint Pulver 33:20
Because the drums when I'm playing on stage, like if I'm playing with a band, it's fairly fairly predictable, fairly structured, speaking, it's like golf. It's fun to play, but you'll never master it. And I enjoy that. That opportunity to strive to master that every time I'm on stage. And that is more fulfilling to me than playing a chart or written out music.

Shark 33:44
Alright, number two, which of these two do you think of as a better drummer? in history, john Bonham of Led Zeppelin or Neil Peart of rush,

Clint Pulver 33:53
john Bonham.

Shark 33:55
I was going to ask you, john, or animal from the Muppets, who was the animal, but I ended up going with Neil Peart of Russian and Yeah, I would agree with john, john Bonham as well. Alright, number three more favorite drum set brand. Oh, Ludwig, or pearl. Ludwig. Okay. Number four. Being an author of a best seller, or appearing on America's Got Talent playing the ball headed bongos.

Clint Pulver 34:32
America's Got Talent, hands down.

Shark 34:34
Why so?

Clint Pulver 34:36
So interesting author, so in my industry and our industry as speakers, anybody and everybody is a best selling author, right? To that in a million different ways for a million different reasons. I don't know very many people that are on America's Got Talent in our industry.

Shark 34:53
Alright, and the most important question that you're going to be asked today is biscuits or cornbread.

Clint Pulver 35:02
I'm gonna do cornbread.

Shark 35:04
Okay. I mean I'm not nreally sure what would be more popular in Utah in general? anyway? So Clint, where can people find out more about you, your keynote speaking your thoughts? Get a copy of the book and more.

Clint Pulver 35:16
Yeah. First off, thank you for letting me be on this show. Thank you. For what you've put in to this. It means a lot. And I'm always appreciative and grateful for podcast hosts that do it right. So I usually say that you can find me at Clint Pulver calm. And then all the social media handles the books on Amazon title is I Love It Here, How great leaders create organizations that people never want to leave.

Shark 35:39
Yeah, it's a fantastic book. And like, I marvel at what you do, this was one of the books that I really enjoyed that tied back. A lot of times speakers write things that you don't feel have some street credibility. And having been both a professional speaker and a, almost a professional manager, semi professional manager. Yeah, when I read this book, it actually it made me stop and think a lot, and I really appreciate the content. Clint again, thank you so much for being with us today on A Shark's Perspective.

Clint Pulver 36:09
Thank you.

Shark 36:15
So there was my conversation with Clint Pulver, an Emmy Award winning motivational keynote speaker, author, musician, and workforce expert. Let's take a look at three key takeaways from my conversation with him

Shark 36:26
First, do you love it here? It's an excellent book and a great question that workers very often struggle to answer positively. Even when they're at the top leadership positions. It's often a bigger issue for managers who have their perception of leadership that doesn't reflect the reality of employee experience. So ask yourself if you had an undercover agent, and undercover millennial in this case, what would employees tell that agent in truth about what they feel about the job and you as a leader, I encourage you to ask if only just ask yourself.

Shark 36:57
Second, ask yourself if you are a mentor or a manager, I really enjoyed the part of the discussion, where he talks about what he sees in his research, to help managers become better at what they do and become mentors, that management also get a lot more out of their employees. The five C's as he call it, are being number one confident to credible three competent for displaying candor, and five, the ability to care about human beings.

Shark 37:23
Third, I love the example of where the CEO explains to the team why someone was promoted. This isn't always an option, but the closer you get to your workforce, then the closer you are to understanding those values, especially with credibility, and the closer they will understand your role as a leader. Yes, a job is a job and people need to do the work if they want the job. This isn't about making millennials happy. This isn't a plea for the snowflakes of the world either. But it's pretty obvious that a motivated employee will perform better for you. Across the generations. The Workforce wants to know and wants you to show that you care, and you want more and increasing credibility is another way of how you get to that.

Shark 38:02
Got a question? Send me an email to Kenneth at a shark's perspective calm. Thank you again for the privilege of your time. I'm so thankful to everyone who listens. And thank you to the amazing sponsors invoke in drips, would you please consider writing a review and let me know your thoughts on the show. I'm always honored when you write them or read them and it helps me create better content for both of us. It's time to be a leader. At least for me, it's time to be a leading undercover shark, if you will. So please join us on the next episode of A Shark's Perspective.
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