In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Jim Bruner, a corporate safety director in the healthcare sector. Jim opens with a personal hockey story about a Zamboni swallowing a puck, which led to a chain of events that introduced him to his future wife, illustrating life's unexpected synchronicities. He then discusses major shifts in the safety industry, emphasizing emerging technologies and the critical role of developing people and relationships to navigate change. Jim shares his core business philosophy: never stop learning, constantly ask why and how, and approach every conversation as a learning opportunity. When asked for advice to his younger self, he stresses confidence. He offers a nuanced view of happiness, describing it as a balance of emotions rather than a primary goal. Jim recommends the book "Originals: How Nonconformists Shape the World," highlighting how questioning norms drives innovation. His favorite quote, from his wife's grandmother, is "Life is always right," echoing a Carl Jung sentiment about order within chaos. Finally, he directs listeners to connect with him on LinkedIn, noting it as his primary professional platform.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Jim Bruner with us. He's a corporate safety director. So welcome to the show, Jim.
Thanks, Tyler. Glad to be on.
Of course, thanks for joining us. We'll dive in. The first question I have for you, Jim, is what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
So, not a safety story. I have some of those, but one of the more interesting ones was when I was growing up, I grew up playing ice hockey, and I was trying out for a minor league team. And as a goalie, you don't get to play often a whole game to showcase your skills. So I was set to play a third period and show my skills. And in between the second and third period, the Zamboni, the ice cleaner machine, went on and it ate a hockey puck. It never finished cleaning the ice. And so in Texas, there was a lot of issues with soft ice and people could get hurt and things. And so the teams met and they said, yeah, we're not going to play the third period. So I missed my chance to showcase my skills. And the next, you know, a few days later, I was traded for a used puck bag and a free bus ticket home. So, um, So the story there is, is, you know, you never know the synchronicities in life and where those things will carry you. Little tidbits like a hockey puck being bit, being eaten up, sent me in a totally different direction. It wasn't my ideal at the time, but it ended up, you know, putting me in touch and meeting some family members I hadn't planned to meet. I ended up meeting my wife through that path. So all sorts of manners of, uh, of change ensued from that one little point.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
There's a lot of changes in the safety industry. I happen to work in the healthcare arena. Um, but there's, there's so much breaking in the new technology for safety professionals, um, across all bands of industry. And, but I think the, the biggest thing that continues to be most important is developing people and developing relationships with people so that you can contain and master those relationships and skills and build your trust within your divisions, within your groups, within your industry.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
I'm a proponent, like many people, I think, of never stop learning. Always ask the questions, either why or how. Always dig another level deeper because you think you've gone deep enough, you know, and you can't always do that in every, in every aspect, but I always try to think, what else could I ask a question about so I could learn, learn something? And always expect, always go into a conversation expecting to learn something from someone else. Always assume that they know something you don't. Mm-hmm.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Probably go forth and be confident.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I— happiness is not the key for me. I think there's some other podcast guests you've had and some other folks as well would agree. That happiness is not the goal. And so it's more along the lines of, you know, you've got to have the whole gamut from sadness to happiness, and you strive for that balance. And so it's that striving for me is what keeps me moving toward—
Yes, yes. And what's the best book that you've read, and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
I have to say, one of the more recent ones that I've read that was really good There's a book called Originals, and it's titled Originals: How Nonconformists Shape the World. It's a really unique layout of the way that people push the edge of asking those questions and doing things that aren't socially acceptable or financially acceptable, and that's what pushes the envelope. That's really where change happens. In so many different ways.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
I have to go with— I don't know if it's a famous quote, but it bridges the gap on some similar ones. But a family— my wife's grandmother used to always say, "Life is always right." You can apply it in any situation— good, bad, indifferent. You can't argue with the way that life happens to you or what happens in life. But it's almost similar to a Carl Jung quote. He says, "In all chaos, a cosmos. In all disorder, a secret order." So it's that balance of seeing the good, the bad, the light, the dark, and accepting it. Hmm.
And thank you so much for coming on, Jim. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
Really, LinkedIn is my main source. I don't do Twitter, I don't do Facebook or other accounts, but LinkedIn is probably the main source for me.
Okay, sounds good, man. Thanks again for coming on. We appreciate it.
Great, Tyler. Thank you. The podcast you just heard was recorded with Anchor. If you want to make your own, download the Android or iOS app completely free from anchor.fm/podcast. That's anchor.fm/podcast.
