Cortnie Cozeck

Guiding Conversations with Community leaders.

In this podcast, we'll explore the human journey of leaders, their stories of humility, triumph, roadblocks and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce. Providing resources, connections and belonging for business.

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Season four Number two.

Here we go.

Number two is my favorite number.

All right. That's perfect to be.

All right.

Raised in Southern California, our guest's childhood was filled with outdoor adventures and the vibrant coastal lifestyle. Her career began at Starbucks where a 12 year journey from Barista to a management role instilled a deep passion for company culture and team leadership. Now, as the Director of Operations for Barter and Shake Hospitality, she oversees award winning bars and manages a team of 75 employees. She is a certified rescue diver and an avid scuba enthusiast. And she credits her mom, dad and partner for profoundly influencing her outlook on life. Please welcome Courtney Kozak.

Welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited.

We are so happy you're here. I have so much I have to ask you about these things that Sarah just mentioned. But before we do that, let's jump into what we like to call rapid fire. All right, Sarah, go ahead.

Would you rather host a party for all of your friends or enjoy a dinner for two?

All of my friends.

All of your friends. Star wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars.

Okay.

Favorite color?

Ooh, I don't have one.

Okay, clear.

Well, let's go black. I'm a neutral tone type of gal.

This is a tough one because we live in Arizona. But anyway, winter or summer?

Ooh, I always like to go with summer, but I'm leaning a little bit more into winter these days. I got diagnosed with melanoma last summer, so I'm really leaning into layers and cold weather. So let's go winter.

Winter.

Okay, winter.

Now, what did your mom call you as a kid?

She called me Courtney Lee when I was in trouble. Or she would call me her sunshine.

Oh, those are very distinct.

Yahoo.

Yes. Very extreme on either side. Favorite holiday?

Christmas.

Oh, boy, here we go.

We'll practice that one. Would you Ever bungee jump?

No.

In your teenage years, what was your favorite movie?

Oh, the Breakfast Club.

Hey.

There you go. All right.

What is one thing you wish you.

Could enjoy more of?

The ocean.

Don't really have that around here much, do we?

All I'm gonna say is, oh, keep asking your question. He has one more question.

Final question.

Okay, I'm ready.

Glass half full or half empty?

Half full, always.

There we go.

I don't know. Just with all the talk of, like, ocean and Southern California, I just. I haven't had my summer vacation yet, and I'm.

She's jonesing for the ocean.

I am.

Where do you usually summer vacation?

Well, this year we'll just go up north to. But I love. I love San Diego.

Yeah, it's a great spot.

Tourist trap. It is good. Yeah.

Some spots, for sure. Yeah, Absolutely.

I don't care. I like.

Well, that's good, because they want you there.

That's true.

I bet their Chamber of commerce would love to have you down.

Yes, they would. Yes, they would.

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Okay, well, let's start there.

Let's start in your childhood and this.

Amazing outdoor lifestyle that you lived. What did this look like?

Yeah, absolutely. So actually, I grew up in the high desert, and then I transitioned over to San Diego in probably my very early 20s. My childhood was a typical 90s kid where, you know, I was raised by a single mom, and my brother and I were really alone a lot and up to our own antics. And so we watched a lot of movies and played outside a lot. And I developed a love for the ocean really, really young. My parents used to take us down to the coast quite often, and so I was in Orange County a lot, and I remember always making the long trek back up to the high desert and going, oh, I just want to live by the ocean. And so when the opportunity presented itself in my early 20s, I did it, and I loved it. And every time I got to drive home and go on the freeway and follow the ramp that said beaches, I always felt so, so lucky and so fortunate. So that's a little bit of a very sweet childhood and grew up into a nice adolescence, I should say.

Okay.

Younger brother or older brother?

Younger brother.

Younger brother.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah, we're best friends.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Back then, too. Yeah.

Thickest thieves. My poor mom. My poor mom. Picked up on her, huh? Yeah, we really did. And she talks about it a lot. She's like, God, when you two would get into it, it was like she couldn't stand a chance. You know, she'd. She always describes it as. She used to have to come home and take back her house because she'd be at work for hours. And my brother Anth and I would just be like, you know, living our lives. It's like Lord of the Flies kind of a vibe going on. And then she'd come in and be like, no, get off the furniture and put the house back together. And so. Yeah.

And what did she do for a living?

She's an rn.

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. So she was.

Those are long days to come home to a madhouse.

That's correct. Yeah. So, yeah, I guess, you know, being the oldest, I had a good start of management in my youth. I don't know if my brother would appreciate being referenced. Is managed, but he was.

He knows now.

He does, absolutely.

You figured out what to look for, I'm sure, during that process. Because you lived it.

I did, yep. Absolutely.

Hey, go back to your teen years real quick. So when you think about that time period, were you involved a lot in school? Did you do any really cool activities back then? I mean, obviously you went to the ocean a lot, but other than that, no.

You know, actually I feel like I. In. In high school and going into like the, you know, graduating, I had a really average high school career where I think. I don't really necessarily feel like I leaned into myself until my early 20s and high school was just as it was for everybody. It was awkward and a little uncomfortable and you're still figuring you out. And so I knew I loved the ocean. And so I focused a lot on marine biology at that standpoint. But I really just was focusing more or less on making sure I was getting through day to day and had good grades because I knew I wanted to go to school. School. And whatever I did in my. My future, you know, I needed to have a good, solid high school career.

Okay.

Yeah.

And she was watching the Breakfast Club. She already told you that.

Yeah.

Well.

And, you know, only in those areas would you have marine biology as an option in those schools, because I don't know they even have that here, do they?

I feel like it would be cruel. It would be hard and a Little like Aliyah. A little counterproductive. A little counterproductive.

Any teachers stick out in your mind when you're thinking about that? Like, wow, they really helped inspire me there.

Yeah, absolutely. So I always have loved the sciences. And I had a teacher, Mr. Cortez. He was an anatomy and physiology teacher, and before that he worked at a morgue. And he had like the weirdest disposition. But he was so adamant about all of us doing extremely well in biology. And so I always took. I took several of his classes. We dissected a cat and all the things and. But he was always a champion of me and always kind of had my back in that sense of, hey, let's keep you focused, let's keep you grounded, and then what direction do you really want to go in? So I leaned a lot into science in my youth, and it wasn't until again my early twenties that I was like, okay, management seems to be where I'm defaulting.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good.

Okay, so you take the drive down to San Diego. What does that look like? I mean, like this new freedom and the place that you want to be, that's, I feel like, pretty liberating.

It was the most liberating. I drove in in the evening, late at night, and I drove into a little town called Ocean Beach. And you know, growing up in the desert, there's like, there's nobody on the road. And so you pull into this beach town and there's people walking around all over. And I'll never forget driving down the main drag and there was this banner for a fireman's pancake breakfast. And I was like, oh, my gosh. They like do things like that. Like, this is a real thing. And pulling up into my little apartment and my roommates were there to meet me, and I just remember feeling so fortunate. And I went up into our indoor apartment, and the first thing you could hear were the seals down by the harbor. And it was the most surreal feeling. And I think I lived in that apartment for about three years. And every day you could hear it. And I would lived. You could see seaweed from my backyard. And so you would see the fireworks every night at 10 o'.

Clock.

And it was just living that coastal dream. You take the bike out and ride through the waterways and it's a dream.

Yeah, but be honest, you never once said, those darn sea lions will never shut up. Trying to sleep one night, and it's.

Like everybody's as angry as you are. It's okay.

Sleep's important.

Come on sleep is important. You know, I might say that. I say that now. In your youth, you're a little bit more forgiving. You're not wrong.

That's awesome. So what do you do professionally while you're in San Diego?

So in San Diego, I was a general manager for Starbucks. So I started my career with them in my early 20s. And I started in the high desert, and I started as a barista, and I was able to transfer down to the San Diego market. And down there I ran a store in Tirasana, which is this teeny, tiny little suburban spot off the five. And it was phenomenal. It taught me a lot. I drowned quite a bit before I really was able to stand on my own two feet in that particular location. And it taught me a ton about management. So coming in and having a brand new team, being in a brand new market, you really learn to listen a lot as opposed to speaking a lot and starting to see what your team needs. And in that time is when I started to learn that I had a lot of passion, which was great, and I could get my team excited, but I wasn't super focused or direct on meeting metrics and getting results. And I had a great mentor at that particular location. His name is Scott, Scott McCreery. He actually lives out here, so full circle. But he gave me this leadership development test. I'll never forget it. And I scored off the charts in this, what they call a high I. And it was high interactive. And he goes, this makes so much sense. You can really direct your team and get them excited, but they don't get any results. And I just remember going, oh, no, oh, no, I can't. They're not going to continue to pay me to be a cheerleader. And I wanted success, and I wanted to be able to, you know, see my name at some of the top managers up there in the district. And it was something that, like, immediately I felt a little shame around. And he said, I'll never forget. He stopped and he looked at me and he goes, this is exactly who you are, and you shouldn't feel ashamed of this. You just need to be aware of how it can cause you to not gain results. And it was one of the biggest aha moments in my career, I bet. And it was the first time somebody had gone, hey, it's okay, like, be that cheerleader, but let's give you some additional tools and resources on how to be successful and how to gain results and how to get you that traction that you desire in terms of success within the Industry. And so the test was called the fourth dimensional Manager, and I still use it till this day. Anybody. Anybody on my team is probably going, oh, yeah, the book. Courtney always brings out the book. And so it was a real stepping stone on being able to take my career into a different direction. And once I was able to gather those tools and resources, I propelled to the top of the district, and I was getting ready to get promoted into a district management position, had people coming down from Seattle to see what we were doing and why my team was different. And so the success was there. And so it felt like I kind of had figured out that magic formula where you're like, okay, I finally get it. It's. It's a lot of elements that lead to success.

All right. Share a nugget from that book or something that you put into practice that you really saw some immediate change.

Yeah, absolutely. So it taught me that immediately that there are multiple different types of people in this world. And when you hire only people that vibe necessarily with your energy, whether it's that high, high, high energy, you're really causing an unbalance of folks in your team. And so you need those strategic people, you need those direct people, you need those folks that are really analytical to build a well, diverse and successful team. And that was a big aha moment for me.

I actually think it seems so common sense, but I think that people really do maybe lean on their gut instinct or the vibe probably more frequently than we realize. Absolutely.

And we're usually attracted to those that are similar to us, too.

Exactly.

Which is the problem, probably, with hiring.

Sometimes, I think, yeah, you want your kind of energy. Right. You're there 8 to 12, 10 hours a day, and you want to have people that you want to have fun with, which is great. But when it comes down to the rubber meeting the road, is that really what's going to gain you those results?

Well, and then you got a team of maybe high analytical people, and you throw an eye in there, and they're going to be like, what did you do to us?

Correct the definition of crazy.

Yeah, absolutely. It's wild. And so when you see that the eyes are useful and the direct people are the ones that are kind of steering the boat, and you've got those analytical people. It taught me how to take all those types of people and how to, A, best manage them, and then B, put them in the best environment where those. Those skills and those gifts really accelerate. And I think from there is when I really started to get that bug around management and feel good about it and go, oof, I like this. And. Yeah. And that really kind of rocketed off my management career.

Also, can I just say, it's sort of refreshing to hear someone say that they really do enjoy management. I feel like for so many people, it's a chore, or they approach it as a chore.

She needs your book.

I do. Yeah.

But I'm actually. I know. And I so want to continue on that road. But I'm also really curious if you have, like, a really good barista story that you can share with us too.

Oh, barista story?

I've got more than I care to have. I mean, that depends. You want a funny one, you throw at us. Whatever you feel, I'm gonna go sentimental. Starbucks is really great at empowering their people. It was another one of those awesome tools and resources that I've taken with me on my journey. But they always wanted you to create this third place for each of their guests walking in. And I had a woman that came into my particular store, and you could just tell something horrible had happened to her. She just looked ragged, and she was standing in front of the pastry case, and she's looking at me, and I'm like, are you okay? And she starts sobbing, and she goes, my mom just died, and we're in San Diego. And she's like, I have to drive to Arizona. And I was like, oh, my God. And she just broke down. And at that moment, I felt empowered to care for her. Right. It doesn't matter what business you're in, all of a sudden you realize we're just humans trying to get through this. And so I sat her down, and I was like, what do you. What do you drink? And she's like, I don't even know. I don't even come to Starbucks. I don't even know why I'm here. And I was like, it's fine. I got you. So I made her a great cup of coffee, and we got a tote, and I packed her full of snacks and bottles of water, and we put a gift card in there to get her through in case she needed to stop again. And I got her to her car, gave her a big hug, and let her know, I'm so sorry, but you're loved and we're thinking of you. And if you need anything, please let me know. This dear woman became our biggest fan and my biggest champion. She went to the San Diego newspaper and told them what I had done. And the paper wrote up about how Starbucks creates this third place and creates this home and from there, she has always been a regular. She sent me flowers when I wasn't well and had always checked up on, on me at any point in my. In my life. So those connections that I think that you make, right. When you can pull the counter away and you're like, we're just humans really connecting, it was really one of the cool things about that particular position.

I honestly, I love that.

It's so good.

Right?

I think I could like you now. That's pretty cool.

Yeah.

Okay. Now, I mean, we're like, we're like 10 minutes in, he'll change his mind six times. All right, I'm gonna check in with you when we're done with this. And you want me to have a.

But I gotta know, I gotta know. What kind of coffee did you get her?

Oh, I gave her a grande vanilla latte.

Okay, that'll hit the spot every time.

Yeah. Who doesn't love that?

I love it. I think when you can lead, recognizing that we're all souls on a human journey and there's. It's so much bigger than the thing in front of you. And that's amazing.

Absolutely. It's essential. Right. And no matter what position we're in, you had mentioned earlier, it's refreshing to hear somebody say that they love management. And I will be very transparent. It took me a long time to feel that way because in the beginning I was like, this is awful. This is awful. There's so much responsibility. And you don't necessarily get the tool book to come in and go, hey, let me lean on these tools and resources that I've had in the past. Instead, you're really just kind of plunked down in boiling water trying to figure it out. And I fought it for quite some time. I went from wanting to go into marine biology into managing at Starbucks. And it's a stark difference. And what I realized that the connection was for me and what allowed me to enjoy that is that no matter what I'm doing in a day to day position, I have to be making some sort of a difference. So whether it's serving coffee and making somebody's day, or it's taking care of 75 people and making sure they have great health insurance and they're developed, it's making a difference in the world, a positive one at that.

So that, I think is one of the biggest challenges of being a leader is when you're a leader that has empathy or maybe is trying to find your own space and you have a tendency to question, which is actually what makes you improve and become better? It's also just a really. Sometimes an uncomfortable space to be in because it's a challenge to know if you're always doing the right thing. And you won't always do the right thing, but being okay with that, being comfortable in your skin.

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Okay. So what brings you to Arizona?

How do you get here?

How do I get here? So let's fast forward. I actually was in San Francisco, and so I went from San Diego up to San Francisco and continued my hospitality trajectory up there. I worked for a flagship store for Nespresso, continuing my coffee journey. And then I took over a local bar over in San Francisco. And when the pandemic hit, we were closed. And they were closed for about two years after that. And so in that process, my parents live in Tucson. So I came down to Tucson, and my dad looked at me and goes, so I get it. Like, the city's great, but, like, what's the end game? And I was like, oh, is that.

His way of saying, how long are you staying?

That's correct. Okay. That's correct. And I was like, wow. Really got me right. All of a sudden, the fun day one, that was like day two. He was like, let's. Why don't you rest and let's really start diving.

The laundry's done now. We'll see you later.

Exactly. And so when I went back up to the city, I realized that the city had changed, and the industry that I had loved so much had taken such a huge hit, and the city itself had taken such a huge hit, and so it just wasn't serving me anymore at that moment. So we transitioned over into Phoenix, and I won't lie, I really struggled with. Was so different, and I hadn't really experienced. Experienced such culture shock in quite some time. And so it took me a moment before I got my feet on the ground, but it was really essentially the pandemic that brought me and kind of dropped me in the middle of it.

All. Right, so what was some sources of culture shock for you?

Yeah, I'm curious, because it seems like everybody's from California.

Yeah, I mean, sure. Yeah. I think, you know, it's just not having the coast. It was the first time in, oh, my gosh, maybe 15, 16 years that I hadn't been around the coast. And that's different. That's really different.

Blue to brown is quite the transition, isn't it?

It really is. It really is. And I will say, another transition or culture shock was that everybody in Arizona was so nice like, wait a minute. Obscenely nice. Like, I was. I was stopped in the grocery store constantly to be checked in on or people just waiting on your tables or ringing up your groceries or somebody saying hello to you when you're getting your gas. And I was just like, whoa, this is.

I wish I would have known because I would have just put Ben in your path earlier and you would have felt so comfortable.

You would have been so amazed. You would have been like, wow, I'm never leaving this place. This is amazing.

Is that because you're obscenely nice all the time?

Of course I can relate to this path you're on. This is good.

Let's keep going. Okay.

All right.

Let's keep going.

Ignore this one just for a minute.

Well, that was a big change for me. I mean, my brother was in San Francisco and he was just down last week and he was like, man, people are so nice here. And I'm like, I know, it's odd, right? I think in the city you put your head down and you're just cruising and you're sticking to your own world. And sometimes that really comes off as, you know, it could be aloof and you lose again a little bit of that human connection. Whereas in Arizona, things were slower and. And you were able to stop and ask somebody, hey, how's your day? And hey, are you doing okay? Like, that goes such a long, A long way this day and age.

Yeah. What does Arizona look like for you? Professionally?

It has been my most exciting chapter thus far, I will say. So. It's my dream job working for Barter and Shake. I've had the opportunity to be the director of operations for coming up on three years now. And I was actually trying to transition back up to San Francisco when they approached me and I signed my offer letter without seeing the properties. Word of the wise, don't ever do that, team. But it worked out for me in my favor at this time. And so I've had the opportunity to really come in and be trusted to shape culture and drive results and care for the teams there. And it has been a wild and amazing ride thus far.

Yeah. What point out? Maybe a lesson learned over the last three years as you've settled in here and just professionally and personally.

Yeah, absolutely. I'd say balance, although that's not my favorite word in the world. I like the word harmony. Finding harmony with a very fast paced job and trying to balance your own personal well being. Right. So I have five bars that I oversee and 75 employees. It is never a dull moment. And you want to continuously show up in all aspects, whether it's championing somebody during a bar competition or making sure everybody has what they need for a Friday night or whatever it might be. And with that comes a bit of your own personal time can kind of really get pushed by the wayside. So a lesson that I've had to really embrace is learning the harmony of what does that look like with maintaining a healthy, happy Courtney and then a healthy, happy barter and shake.

Yeah. Hospitality kind of sucks the personal life out of you, doesn't it?

Yeah, it really can. And it's historically known for that. Right. And so that was something for me with barter and shake that I really wanted to make sure that we stopped it. And so if you go into our bars, you'll hear. You'll hear my team, from the most junior employee up to the most senior, talk about their homework life balance. And it was something that I really wanted to make sure that was living and breathing versus just, you know, a little phrase that's tossed around when it's your days off. I want you to have your days off, because when you're in those bars, you're giving everything to your guests, and you're giving everything to the experience, and it can drain you. It really can. And it's not because it's not great. It's just because you're interacting with 500 people in one night and working late hours. And so it's so important, and I constantly stress it to my team to take care of themselves and to really lean onto that homework life balance. And so that starts at the top. Right. So what does that look like for me? How do I protect my days off, and then how do I protect my manager?

Well, it's true. You bring your personal life into work every day. Right. So if you are coming refreshed, that's gonna show.

It does.

And some are better at masking it than others. But you still are gonna be influenced by whatever that day looked like for you, right?

Absolutely. And also feeling free to be able to go, hey, I'm. I'm not okay. Like, I'm not okay right now. I need a mental health day or even, you know, having the awareness of your leadership team look. Look at you and go, hey, you good? Have you slept? Have you had your extra day off? How can we support you in that? And so that's really a culture that we try to drive pretty hard there.

All right? So forgive my ignorance on this, but my thought of what you're doing here, I keep going to like bar rescue show. Like, you're going into these places that you're helping managing. You're like, turn them up and turn them over. Is this kind of the thing you're doing now?

I would say it's not so much as bar rescue from a structural standpoint. Right. But I will say that from an operations standpoint, you do. You can come in and you can see that you have a team that has been beaten down pretty good and they need a good leader and they need to be told, hey, it's okay to take your time. And let's talk about the structure of this and that. So, yes, in a way, yeah, absolutely.

I think it's interesting just from a general workforce, there's sort of these. There's very opposite generations still in the workforce. Right. So there's this generation who they think is, it's almost a sin to take vacation time. And then I'll even look at my own kids and they're very clear when they need a day off from school or something else just to reset and mentally recharge. And I actually can really respect them for that. And I'm sort of caught in this middle of. Like, sometimes I feel guilty. Okay, Ben. No, he's about to call me old.

And I refuse to accept that.

I didn't have to say a word, did I? That was pretty easy.

Let me see an interesting space to be in. And I have the same thought where I know my team is better off when they step away and they take that vacation time. It's not even about being kind as an organization. It's about you actually come back better for the organization when you've attended to yourself and decompressed and reprioritized your own thoughts. So it's interesting space to live in.

Right now with it is. I think you nailed it. There is a big, big shift right now within the generations, right. So the older generation, as you said, right. It was, there are no days off and suck it up, deal with it. Like, show up. You are a company man or a company woman. And that is how it is. And that's how you. That's how we earned success back then. And it was how you got your home and your promotion and that. It was the way of life in this newer generation. It's really interesting to see how they can come in. And there is a completely different set of home, work, life, boundaries. And at times it can take me by surprise, but you can look at them and really try to learn some things from them because we do need homework, Life balance You do need that break. And I think there's a really beautiful, once again, harmony right in the middle of all of it. And they can be really complementary. The younger generation can really teach that older generation a few things and vice versa. So it's really making sure you foster that environment where you feel free to be able to execute those boundaries.

I think our generation is the analog kids living in the digital world, in the workforce as well. We're figuring it all out and balancing it.

Absolutely.

The conduit between the two. Yeah.

Okay.

You feel good about that, Ben?

I can live with that one.

Okay.

I'm just glad I didn't call her old. You guys did it yourself, so it's all good.

I don't think anybody did. I just think it was your eyes. If it was your eyes, actually, I blame you.

Let's carry on, shall we, please. Okay, so now what? You're doing this beautiful, amazing career job that you love. What's next? What's going on?

So I would say, you know, I have been loving the success that I've been able to have with Barter and Shake. The goal is to continue to grow and expand, not just for the brand, but for myself. Personally, I would love to be able to step in and help other organizations and other companies with their culture and their leadership development. I think it's a big gap that we have and I've started within my own organization and making sure that our leaders are taught and trained in a manner that's going to help them to create beautiful, successful, well balanced empires. Hopefully our teams will continue to progress and grow in that aspect. But for now, really a lot of the time and energy is still focused within that Barter and Shake wall and being able to continue to champion the things that we do, whether it is our people or our program that it's working, it's working and it's feeling really good. I mean, we're getting better every day, which is really the goal, right? Not sitting and being complacent, but it's to really continue to drive leadership with those, with the leaders that we have within our organization.

Ever desire to open your own bar, own restaurant, whatever?

Definitely not open my own bar or restaurant, but definitely progress in an avenue where I can help any other bar, restaurant or any other organization to develop operations, develop that organization so you have a strong, strong footing. It is, it is everything.

I could see the three of us opening a bar. This would be a fun journey.

I think so too. Who do you think would be the boss?

Well, you'd Be the boss.

Okay. You heard it, Sarah. That's fine.

You've got the experience.

As long as it's not him, we're gonna be fine.

I just don't know what she would do for us.

I'd put you behind the bar.

I could be that.

I think you'd be a good bartender.

Taste test. There you go.

All right, let's manifest.

Military has that too, you know, let's.

Do it personally or professionally in the next five years. Five years from now you're sitting here. What do you want to say you accomplish?

She owns a bar.

Oh. Ben wants me to own a bar.

Those are his selfish motivations.

I would say professionally, I would love to. I will have achieved, I should say, a consulting company on the side, going and helping and developing leaders and adding management and helping organizations grow and be the best that they possibly can be.

I love that. I can see that.

Thank you.

That's gonna happen.

Thank you. I hope so. I love it.

I can see it. Yeah.

I love it. It's a big passion of mine, for sure. It changes everything.

Yeah. Yeah. Good. I have loved getting to know you. Thank you. Thank you for being here.

Likewise. It's been my absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Absolutely.

Podcasts are fun.

33 minutes into it, I could still hang out with you, I guess.

I mean, I'm ready. I got the whole day. Should have told me. I would have brought us cocktails.

That's right.

Oh, I gotta ask this last question.

Let's do it.

You're no longer with Starbucks, but what's your go to Starbucks drink now?

Grande iced coffee, unsweetened, black.

Do you do your own thing at home, too?

Absolutely.

You got your own machines?

Absolutely.

And when you go into a Starbucks.

Do you, like, cringe and be like, oh, yeah, yeah. I put my head down. Usually I go in, I get my coffee, and I skidoo it out of there. And I thank the universe that I am no longer with them because I really wanted to grow. Whereas it was a foundational journey that literally has made me the leader that I am today. It was time to go.

12 years is a long time.

It was a really long time. I grew up with them. Right. It's like drinking the Kool Aid from a young child all the way up into adulthood. And so it.

Yeah, yeah.

It taught me a lot.

All right, well, thank you for being here. This has been a great conversation.

Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you.

All right, if you like this episode, which I know you did subscribe to our tribe. Join us, get those notifications when we have another great episode. And thanks for listening. Guiding conversations with community Leaders.

Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast?

This is going to be a great opportunity for there's so many people in the community to have a chance to be heard if they want to tell their story or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us. So I think there's many opportunities at hand. Whether you want to again be on the show, reach out to us. Let us know what your story is and how you think you could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you. Reach out, let us know, and we'll see if we can make that connection.

Sa.