Meet Paul Humphries, former President of Reliability Solutions at Flex

[Transcript]

[00:00:00] Welcome to the finding gravitas podcast brought to you by gravitas Detroit, looking to become a more authentic leader. Finding gravitas is the podcast for you. Gravitas as the ultimate leadership quality that draws people in it's an irresistible force, encompassing all the traits of authentic leadership.

[00:00:26] Join your podcast, host Jan Griffis, that passionate rebellious farmer's daughter from Wales entrepreneur leadership, coach keynote speaker, one of the top 100 leading women in the automotive industry as she interviews some of the finest leadership minds in the quest for gravity.

[00:00:44] Paul: [00:00:44] Yes.

[00:00:50] Jan: [00:00:50] My guest today sits on the executive leadership team of flex a $25 billion company with over [00:01:00] 150,000 employees. Globally. Flex is a supply chain solutions company, encompassing design, manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain solutions. My guest is Paul Humphreys group, president of the high reliability solutions business for flax covering both automotive, medical and industrial.

[00:01:26] That's the official title. Here's the real story. I've known Paul for over 33 years. He's a fellow Countryman. He's a proud Welshman Ashland athlete. Boy, who did very well for himself, both in business and in life. He was my first boss and later, and mentor. Having significant impact and influence in my leadership style and my life [00:02:00] over the past three decades, he is without question and authentic leader.

[00:02:07] Paul, welcome to the show.

[00:02:08] Paul: [00:02:08] Thank you, John. Nice to be here.

[00:02:12] Jan: [00:02:12] Can you believe that we're sitting? No, it's incredible. Isn't it? Detroit, Michigan.

[00:02:16] Paul: [00:02:16] When you start that off with a 19 year old assistant, I never thought we'd be doing,

[00:02:20] Jan: [00:02:20] I know, I know sending telexes and BorgWarner in the purchasing department. Right.

[00:02:26] I knew we are. So, Paul, what is your story?

[00:02:31] Paul: [00:02:31] So as you know, I grew up in Wales in a working class towns and actually, which is known for its steelworks and its rugby teams. And, uh, my father was an electrician in the steelworks and my mother actually stayed at home and looked after us as kids. And I wasn't the best student.

[00:02:48] I was probably known as the mischievous student. I was in trouble, never with the police, thankfully, but I was in trouble with my teachers and everybody else. Um, but I went to what was called [00:03:00] Schlafly. Technical grammar school, um, you know, went through, did my old levels and a levels there. Um, and then moved on to university where I studied applied social studies.

[00:03:10] And so I had this view that I needed to leverage that capability, but not as a social worker, I always had an interest in business. And so I thought probably the most obvious career would be getting into HR. Um, so that essentially was sort of a direction of my career, but actually my first job was with Ford in supply chain.

[00:03:30] Um, I worked for Ford for 18 months. I actually hated it to be perfectly Frank, not so much the company, but I didn't like the job at D D. Wasn't what I wanted to do. Uh, so then I went back to school and I did, uh, uh, uh, qualification in human resource management and started my career with bill Warner in human resources.

[00:03:48] Uh, I was in human resources will Warner from 1979 to something like 1983. And then I took on additional responsibility for purchasing. And then I took on [00:04:00] responsibility for some of the technical departments and I moved into operations and eventually a program management before moving to the States in 89.

[00:04:08] I moved to Detroit, uh, to Sterling Heights actually is where I, where I worked. And I lived in, in Rochester Hills, started off as a program manager for a big launch of a new program for Alison transmission. But before long had human resources back. So I was ending up. Well running human resources as well as program management, and then ultimately became the general manager for that business.

[00:04:31] Um, you know, moved on, went out and tried to be an entrepreneur. And I say trade cause I failed miserably. I moved out to Oregon and then eventually moved back to the UK, worked for allied signal, um, in automotive, uh, and eventually, you know, transition back. To the U S working for flex. And I've been out with flex 20 years.

[00:04:51] I started off in, in global operations, running all the mechanicals business for flex. And then actually I ran human resources for six years. So, you [00:05:00] know, was a pretty big human resource job. We had over 200,000 people. We were in 34 different countries, a hundred facilities, and the biggest hitch our job I'd ever had before that was for like 1200 people.

[00:05:11] So it was quite a step up, but I basically had the chance to. To create an HR function at flex. Um, and then after doing that for six years, moved into the role I'm in now, which is running a business for medical automotive. And more recently I've taken on the industrial business. So it's about a 10 and a half billion dollar business.

[00:05:29] And we serve, you know, all the sort of major OEMs in industrial automotive in the medical space. So that's. Basically my story. I've also got a wife and two kids, both of whom. Now my kids are here in the States. My son lives in San Francisco. My daughter lives down in LA and my wife has tolerated me for it to be my 38th wedding anniversary.

[00:05:52] This year. She's tolerated me that long. Uh, and hopefully we'll see a few more years beyond that too. So living in living in, uh, San [00:06:00] Jose in the Silicon Valley, having a whale of a time. That's great.

[00:06:03] Jan: [00:06:03] Coming from a small town in Wales, from sun athlete to the position that you hold today. You've obviously learned a thing or two and you know, a thing or two about leadership.

[00:06:14] You have a reputation for being an authentic leader, but that's such a broad term. What does that really mean to you? What is authentic leadership to you, Paul? Yeah.

[00:06:25] Paul: [00:06:25] You know, it's interesting. Uh, you know, my mother always used to say, cause she felt that I had potential. Uh, that I needed to adapt my style or maybe go for elocution lessons or, um, you know, train and become a little bit more sophisticated.

[00:06:41] Um, and I always used to say, you know, if I can't be myself and succeed being myself, then I don't want to succeed. Um, and so for me, it's just being, it's really about being yourself, being who you are being true to yourself, and also other people seeing who you are, and you're true to them as well. And so for me, authentic leadership is not [00:07:00] about.

[00:07:00] Necessarily a style of leadership, more than it's about people, knowing who you are, knowing what you stand for. Knowing if you say something you intend to deliver on it, right? It's about being honest. It's about having integrity and it's also in delivering on what you say. You know, I think the, the other part of it too, is, you know, leaders, often times don't want to admit or acknowledge that they make mistakes, but every leader makes a mistake.

[00:07:25] And if you are making decisions, if you're not making a mistake often enough, then you're probably not making enough decisions. So it's being open to being critic, critique, criticized, being challenged. And, and admitting when you're wrong, you're wrong. And being able to do that without, you know, fear of embarrassment or fear of seeing to be weak or exposing yourself.

[00:07:45] Uh, you know, I used to, uh, have a saying with my team and I won't use the appropriate saying, I want to use the inappropriate saying, but I used to say that. Paul Humphrey screw-ups. So, you know, there were decisions that I made that I realized in retrospect were wrong and I used to call them PHS [00:08:00] Paul Humphrey, screw ups, because I wanted the team to know that I was willing to accept my mistakes, willing to acknowledge them.

[00:08:06] And there's nothing wrong with making decisions and making mistakes, but at least own up to them. And don't try and cover up.

[00:08:12] Jan: [00:08:12] And by doing that, of course you showed vulnerability and you made them feel safe. You essentially gave them permission to do the same thing. Absolutely. Yeah. In the automotive industry, um, as you well know, uh, it's, there's a lot of judgment and fear, and I think that leaders today coming up in automotive, Struggle with this idea of vulnerability.

[00:08:35] Um, what advice would you give a young leader coming up in automotive today? How to embrace this idea of vulnerability?

[00:08:44] Paul: [00:08:44] I mean, I think everybody has their vulnerabilities. Nobody's perfect. Right. And even if you admit to them and not people recognize that they have them. And so you may, you're only fooling yourself.

[00:08:56] You're not actually fooling anyone else. And so what happens is, is you may [00:09:00] not be talking to them about it, but that talking to each other about it. So there's no harm in it. Knowledging that, that you know, that you're not perfect, that you have your vulnerabilities, you have your weaknesses. And if you're honest with the people that work for you and share them, I think they respect you more.

[00:09:16] Jan: [00:09:16] Yeah. And it is actually a sign of strength more than it is a weakness we often hopefully. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I would, I would absolutely agree with you. So we talk about gravitas as being the hallmark or the ultimate trait of authentic leadership. What is that to you? What's that ultimate trait of authentic leadership?

[00:09:39] Paul: [00:09:39] You know, I think the, the most important thing for me about leadership is being inclusive, being engaging, being supportive. And you know, me pretty well also being humorous, but at the same time, holding people accountable, so people know. That when you ask them to [00:10:00] do something, it's something that you're going to help them to be successful at doing.

[00:10:03] You're not going to just let them hang out there and, you know, fail. You're going to do everything you can to support them, but you still have expectations. You expect them to deliver. Right. And to me, that them knowing that is a saying of what I consider to be authentic leadership. People know what the expectations are.

[00:10:20] You give them clarity, give them purpose, but then you hold them accountable for doing it. But they know that you support them in the event that they're failing.

[00:10:28] Jan: [00:10:28] Yeah, and this I know to be true of you. And I will take you back to a situation. I don't know if you remember this, but I'm going back many, many years when I worked for you at BorgWarner and you had this great idea, you thought it would be wonderful for me to have experience in indirect purchasing in the tool crib on third shift.

[00:10:49] And you said, yes, you need to go and work in third shift. It was a 20 something young girl, and you threw me out there. And back then, you know, that was in the [00:11:00] eighties. It was a different world other than the shop floor than it is today. But I always knew, even though sometimes. I couldn't see where you were going or why you were doing it.

[00:11:10] Sometimes I wasn't 100% sure, but I always knew I was safe. And that you had a plan and that you had my back. Always, always knew that. And, and that to me is one of the. Ultimate traits of authentic leadership when somebody trusts you that much, even though they may not understand it completely, but the trust is there and they feel so safe and secure that it is the right move for them.

[00:11:36] And it was a developmental move and it was, you know, I learned a lot, some. Good things. Some not so good things, but yes, I would agree. It's getting this idea of, of safety is

[00:11:46] Paul: [00:11:46] so important. The boss. So we had Gary to me. Yeah. Um, you know, if anybody had high expectations, it was Gary. Um, you know, I think the guy was, was a genius.

[00:11:57] Yeah, bordering on insane, some respects. [00:12:00] Uh, but he was able to get out of people when nobody else was able to accomplish. And he was able to get people to perform at levels higher than they ever thought was possible. And that was including me, but I also knew that while he was expecting me to perform a riddles, he was there.

[00:12:14] Ready to support me in the event that I failed. And so I think it's really, really important that you're not afraid to fail that you don't not try things because you think one that you're not going to succeed or that you're going to be embarrassed, or that people are going to laugh at you because you didn't accomplish what they believe you should have accomplished.

[00:12:34] Be willing to put yourself out there, be willing to take a risk. And if you failure this you've learned from it. You haven't. Failed in the true sense, because you're going to be a better person for doing that. And if you had not done it, so that's the way I think about it. And I think of Gary, to me as something that really, you know, gave me that capability probably more than anybody.

[00:12:52] Jan: [00:12:52] Yes. Not being afraid to fail is very important when you're creating an environment when you're [00:13:00] trying to nurture and encourage innovation because innovation by definition is trying and failing and trying and failing. How do you create that environment and encourage innovation? You've spent enough time in Silicon Valley.

[00:13:14] Now, you know, you have a history with automotive, but you also know the Silicon Valley kind of culture. How do you create an innovation type of environment?

[00:13:23] Paul: [00:13:23] Yeah. So to me, you know, people think of innovation as people just dreaming stuff up and going out and trying to do it. But to me, there's a lot of structure.

[00:13:32] Excuse me. There's a lot of structure and discipline needed around innovation. You know, first of all, you need an idea. Obviously you need the idea. Uh, but then you've got to decide how we actually going to cultivate the idea and make that theater a reality. And how do you actually execute on it? And so to do that, You'll have to turn that idea into a strategy.

[00:13:52] So, you know, we were looking at setting up an innovation center, for example, in San Francisco. And we had a great idea of how we'd be able to [00:14:00] compete against a lot of the smaller companies to give customers fast turnaround and to provide them with a source of competence. They wouldn't. Be able to get necessarily from somewhere else.

[00:14:11] But what we didn't do is really understand what that source of competence needed to be. We didn't understand what expectations those customers had. We didn't understand the level of rigor that we traditionally expected to get from, from suppliers or customers, and that, that wasn't available from them. W, you know, we didn't have the right contracts in place because they didn't have lawyers to review contracts were 13, 14 pages long, right.

[00:14:35] They needed something on one sheet. So you have to, even if you're going to innovate, you actually have to take a step back, take the idea, but then have a real clear strategy on how you intend to execute against it. And we've had a couple of examples where we've been really successful in flex in doing that.

[00:14:50] Uh, one was a software startup that we incubated inside. Uh, that we ultimately spun off called bright insight. That literally started with an idea of how would you [00:15:00] provide, uh, a, um, uh, medical grade IOT platform for healthcare devices. So you can actually can connect any device that provides data back either to the patient, to the caregiver or even to the pharma companies.

[00:15:13] And so we started with that idea, but then we had a clear strategy on how we intended to execute it. We had it. You know, laid out in five to six phases. Every phase we sat back and assessed and made sure we were on track. Um, and then before we moved on to the next phase, so it was a rigorous discipline process, even though it was innovative.

[00:15:33] And obviously the next key is making sure that you select the right leadership team. Uh, and the right leadership team is committed to accomplish that, but also is committed to following the processes you've put in place.

[00:15:45] Jan: [00:15:45] I think that as you all know, a lot of automotive tier one companies all have innovation on their agenda.

[00:15:51] Some understand it at a very deep level and deepen meaningful level and realize that it's more than just creating the next widget. There's a lot more to [00:16:00] it than that, but others still see it as a well, I'm just going to give it to my VP of R and D or engineering and you handle innovation, but it's, it's, uh, Part of your culture, it has to be for you to succeed.

[00:16:11] What advice would you give to perhaps a tier one CEO that might be listening today? Um, how to embrace innovation and really make it a reality and not just another agenda item? Yeah, I think

[00:16:23] Paul: [00:16:23] one of the big challenges for, excuse me, for existing companies with innovation is what takes us in called the innovator's dilemma.

[00:16:33] Um, you know, so I have a big business today. That's in, uh, making parts for internal combustion engines and we know over time, internal combustion engines will be replaced by electric vehicles. So I need to make the switch to my business and invest in something new. But if I have to report to the street quarterly and I still have to make my numbers, you know, and I still have obligations to my.

[00:16:55] Because existing customers and shareholders I'm often faced with a conflict. So I think [00:17:00] you really have to take a step back and say, look, how do I actually find a way to do both? How do I find a way to sustain the current business? Because I got to protect the core, but at the same time, continue to invest in new areas of growth and you have to be pretty selective.

[00:17:15] About how you do that. I mean, if you try and, you know, you can talk about autonomy, there's various elements of autonomy. There's the, you know, the compute side, there's the sensor layer, the camera side, and, you know, sensor fusion, um, there's the, you know, connectivity to the cloud, right? There's various elements of that technology that are required to be successful and you can't do everything.

[00:17:36] So if you're going to focus on the hardware, focus on the hardware, if you're going to focus on the software, Focus on the software. Don't try and be all things to all people. And I think as you're seeing some companies trying to do everything. They're struggling with the financial capability to be able to support that as well as being able to hire and retain the talent that's needed to do that.

[00:17:56] So just think if, you know, you have to make that change, but you have to be very selective [00:18:00] and discipline and how you do that. That's

[00:18:02] Jan: [00:18:02] good advice. So let's talk about the talent aspect for a moment. We hear the term millennials, which is a broad term, and now of course we have gen Z coming into the workplace.

[00:18:12] What do you do to attract this new generation?

[00:18:17] Paul: [00:18:17] So, you know, I actually, sometimes I think we pumper millennials too much, uh, and I worry less about how do we attract, uh, gen Z or how do we attract millennials? How do we retain, uh, millennials or gen Z is about really, how do we actually attract and retain the best talent regardless of what generation they're from?

[00:18:37] Um, and so to me, I think a key part of doing that is having a company that's values driven, right. That people, when they come. To work for you. They know that you have an objective beyond just making, uh, you know, the right financial returns for your shareholders. You have a commitment of the community, a commitment to your employees.

[00:18:58] You have a commitment to ethics and [00:19:00] governance. Uh, you know, you have a commitment to the environment that you're really focused, not just. On serving the shareholders, but you're focused on, on protecting and, um, serving all stakeholders. Uh, and I think that again has to be authentic. They have to be examples of where you've done that it's not just a marketing campaign.

[00:19:20] Uh, you know, a publicity campaign. People actually need to come into the organization and see that you're doing that, that you have an organization that's focused on inclusivity. That's focused on gender equality and equality in all ways. Uh, I think that's what attracts people, you know, ultimately, you know, you want to have a workplace that's fun and you know, where people treat each other with dignity and respect and, you know, you know, your own, uh, you know, your own, um, capability is valued and, and, you know, rewarded.

[00:19:51] Uh, but I think people generally want to work for an ethical company that. Sees that objectives being more than just making money for shareholders. And I think if you do that, [00:20:00] whether it's millennials or gen Z or any other generation you will attract and retain the right people.

[00:20:06] Jan: [00:20:06] Yeah. I think there's a definite shift in consciousness.

[00:20:09] People connect with purpose more now than ever before. There seems to be a real shift in consciousness, and it's much more than just the metrics as much more than just an ROI. And that puts more. On the leader to be able to articulate a vision like never before. Uh, certainly when I grew up in the automotive industry, I couldn't care less about purpose.

[00:20:34] I really couldn't. I just wanted to know I wanted a job. I wanted a career progression and I wanted a salary. I couldn't care. What, what the widget was. It just didn't even, wasn't even a thought that came across my mind, but we're in a vastly different time now. So this ability to tell a story and connect people to a vision is much more important than it ever was before.

[00:20:57] What advice would you give [00:21:00] leaders that are out there? Whether they're a CEO. Looking at their entire leadership team or just maybe a mid-level director or manager, trying to connect a team, a group of people around their vision and really inspire this team. Any thoughts, any pieces, pieces of advice that you could give them?

[00:21:18] I mean, I

[00:21:18] Paul: [00:21:18] think, and I can give an example. I think a lot of it is. Creating a vision and a purpose that's beyond just what you're doing every day at work. Um, so if you think of the automotive industry, um, you know, you, we could make anything in automotive. Uh, but we chose to focus on three areas in particular, autonomy, connectivity, and electrification.

[00:21:43] And, you know, can I go, a lot of people are doing the same thing because that's where the growth is going to come from. But what we did is we took it back to some of the. Bill bill and mega trends and the challenges that the world's first with zero accidents are going to get more congestion in cities.

[00:21:58] Right. So you're going to get more pollution. [00:22:00] You can get more accidents. Um, you know, you've, you've got a concern with, uh, the environment and global warming. So how'd you connect your automotive strategy. With those larger global problems. So when you're talking to people about, yeah, we're going to make, you know, battery backup systems, are we going to make DCDC converters or we're actually going to focus on developing autonomous compute solutions?

[00:22:25] Why is it that we've actually chosen to do that? Yes, of course. We've chosen to do that because we think there's growth. And margin potential there, but also because we actually think we're helping to solve some of the great problems that the world is currently facing or continue to face over time. So there's a connection to the world outside of work.

[00:22:45] And then when you start to think about how do you actually. Address the best possible solutions, you know, that you're doing it with an impact beyond just the impact. As I said to shareholders, you're doing it a much broader impact of the community, um, you know, [00:23:00] to the employees and to your commitment, to, you know, improve the world.

[00:23:05] Jan: [00:23:05] That's that's great advice. So you're a leader, you've inspired a team. And then of course we've all had the experience where there's that toxic employee who also happens to be the high performer. We've all been. Now. We've all had to deal with that person. How would you guide a leader today? Who was. Faced with that situation.

[00:23:28] The reason I asked you this very specific question, I just had a conversation with some of the other day said, you know, nobody talks about this and I think they do. Um, Gary Vanyerchuk course a lot about it. I follow him from a marketing perspective on social media and he says, you know, you just do not tolerate.

[00:23:44] You need to just get rid of that person immediately. But it's easy to say that, you know, there's a lot more to it than that. So what advice would you give a leader that was, had to deal with a toxic employee? That was really, um, ruining the culture of the organization, but [00:24:00] yet was achieving all the numbers and the goals.

[00:24:02] Paul: [00:24:02] Yeah, Suzanne, I was saying it's all about results. And I became, began to realize it's not just all about the results. It's also how you accomplish those results. So the behavior, particularly of leadership is incredibly critical and actually. Affects the behavior of the rest of the employees. So if you can't lead by example, you have leaders on your team, the can't lead by example.

[00:24:25] You have to deal with that and, and, and don't adhere to the company's values and principles. You can't ignore that. You can't say, well, a good performer, let them get away with it because that just permeates the whole organization. And on basically what it does is people then don't believe what you say anymore.

[00:24:41] Right. So you actually lose the focus on the benefit from having values driven, not a purpose driven organization in the first place. So, but, you know, do, are you going to fire that person straight away? The answer is, I don't think so. What I think you do is you sit down with them, you explain to them what it is about that behavior that needs to change.

[00:25:00] [00:24:59] You help them potentially by getting them a coach, right. By holding them accountable, giving them the chance to, to change and to improve. It may not. Be that often that that will happen. But at least you're giving the person the best possible opportunity to modify their behavior to be effective. And if after that, it doesn't work, then you have to get rid of them.

[00:25:21] And so to me, in a, whether that's the style of leadership or whether it's being collaborative of being a team player, it doesn't matter how smart you are. And it doesn't matter how competent you are. If you can't operate as a member of a team, if you can't collaborate, if you can't engage with others in actually have no value to the organization whatsoever.

[00:25:38] So to me, yes, you have to deal with it, but you have to give them an opportunity to improve it. Yeah.

[00:25:43] Jan: [00:25:43] I see a lot of people struggle with that, but I've learned certainly over the last, you know, several years that you have to deal with it. And when you deal with it, The respect level shoots up. You know, people really respect the fact that as a leader, you, you made a [00:26:00] difficult decision and you took some action.

[00:26:03] Paul: [00:26:03] Yeah. I mean, I think if you don't do that, then you're going to lose the respect of all the people who are behaving in an appropriate manner and, uh, you know, providing leadership that the rest of the organization, that myosin respects, if you don't deal with the person that isn't doing that, then you're basing not being true to yourself.

[00:26:21] And that goes back to, you know, authentic leadership, I guess.

[00:26:24] Jan: [00:26:24] Yeah. Yeah. You're right. Let's talk about this idea of being a workaholic and working number of long, long hours. We see organizations that where it's like a badge of honor that they work, you know, 12, 14 hours a day, six, seven days a week, you know, and they're proud to say I haven't used any of my vacation time.

[00:26:46] You know, you often see that, right. Some guy will say, well, yeah, I've only taken two days of my four weeks this year. Right. And somehow that's a badge of honor. And, um, of course we all want to work hard and we're all proud of the work that we do. [00:27:00] But that's not really the way to lead and to lead your life.

[00:27:04] We talk about life leadership as well as leadership in the professional realm. So what are your thoughts around

[00:27:09] Paul: [00:27:09] that? Work-life balance means different things to different people than you. As an individual have to decide what that work-life balances and, and, you know, that may work in some organizations and it may not work in others.

[00:27:25] And so, you know, you have to be comfortable at the organization that you work in is going to give you the work-life balance that you're looking for. But to me, it's not about, I work so many hours a day and then I relax or I have personal time, so many hours a day, it's getting to the point where they didn't diminish.

[00:27:41] Right. So, yeah. You know, I'll take myself as an example. I worked long. I was, I work hard. I traveled a lot. Uh, but I try and, and, you know, spend the time that's needed to take care of my health. Just take care of my family. Uh, you know, I like, I like to race cars. Um, you know, I like to have fun with my [00:28:00] friends.

[00:28:01] Um, but it's not, I'll do it for, I mean, work for eight hours a day. And then, you know, I'll, I'll have leisure for the rest of the time. I might go for a drive with my friends, first thing in the morning. And then go to work after that, I may end up leaving on a lunchtime and going out and going to the gym for an hour.

[00:28:18] Um, I may even take, take a call from the gym, right. So, you know, I'm, I'm, again, I'm combining the time that I need to take care of my health also with the time to take care of my role. Um, and you know, maybe I leave work at five in the evening cause I've got. Got an appointment or a commitment, but then I'm doing emails at nine, 10 o'clock in the night because I want to make sure that I can get done what I needed to do that day before, uh, before I go to bed.

[00:28:44] So it's not about it's to me, work-life balance is not like it used to be. It's not like, well, I can only work out eight hours a day. You know, I grew up in a union environment the same as you did, uh, where people only work so many hours a day. And after that, they didn't do anything else regarding work. I don't think it's like that anymore.

[00:29:00] [00:28:59] Yeah. So the other day in a work-life balance is, is a personal choice and you can't dictate for people what their choice is. They have to decide that for themselves. And then they have to decide whether the environment they're working in suits and fits with that need.

[00:29:13] Jan: [00:29:13] I agree with you. I think it's a bit of a myth, right?

[00:29:15] That there's this some magical balance or number, and sometimes you, people are chasing this or, you know, I have better work-life balance at this company cause I'd have to work X hours a day. And I think that those choices change at different phases in your life. Too. I know that as a working mother, as a single mother with a very intense automotive job in my last corporate role with a heavy travel schedule.

[00:29:41] And I can honestly say that I didn't miss one school event or event that my daughter was in because it was a choice that I made and there are times, and that choice was in favor of family. And there were times when that choice was in favor of my job and you have to get comfortable with the [00:30:00] idea that.

[00:30:01] Maybe I'm going to make a choice towards my family and I'm not going to put in that extra hour or two hours. So that, that PowerPoint presentation is perfect, but it's a choice that you make and it you're right. It's different for everyone. I think it changes at different parts at different points in your life.

[00:30:20] I know that for me right now, physical fitness is. One of the core values. And I cannot even think about doing anything else in the morning until as some form of physical activity.

[00:30:33] Paul: [00:30:33] My physical activity in the morning is getting out of bed.

[00:30:40] There's a difference. There's a difference between a job and a career too. Right. You know? And so if I'm working on the shop floor and I'm doing, and I'm going to say good, but you're doing the same thing day in, day out, day in, day out. Right. You know, you can't wait to get the hell out of work, but if you're in a career where you, you have.

[00:30:57] And inspiring environment [00:31:00] around you and a role that you enjoy and you're contributing and it's valuable, then work isn't really work, right? Work is part of your life. And you enjoy doing that as much as you enjoy spending time doing other things. You're

[00:31:12] Jan: [00:31:12] so right. And you talk about being an inspiring leader, you know, many years ago, when I started working for you, I was my first year at BorgWarner and I don't think I wasn't even a full-time employee.

[00:31:23] I was attempt, I think, and. Um, I was working as a material control the expediter, and I wanted to get a handle on some schedules for a Marine industrial launch. And it was going to take time away from day-to-day production. I would have to focus. So I came into the plant because in those days you didn't have a laptop.

[00:31:43] You couldn't work from home. I came into the plant every day for a week during shutdown, unpaid, and people thought I was out of my mind, but to me. I wanted to be that it was my choice because I wanted to do this thing that was going to really take us to the next [00:32:00] level. So when I came back, you know, I had this spreadsheet already done and we will be able to schedule it differently.

[00:32:06] And I was so excited about it, but that's because I was inspired by you and the leadership team at that. Company to want to do more. And that's really what it's all about. Right. It's connecting to the hearts and minds of people so that you really tap into that passion and energy. When I launched this business, I don't have the traditional, you know, uh, de Marcus, you know, that the agenda and the things that you do in a corporate role, right.

[00:32:33] Because it's my business, it's my job. I can get up. Four o'clock in the morning. I get it before o'clock in the afternoon. If I wanted to, what I find interesting. And this is a process of discovery for myself. I still have the same relationship and mindset to work that I had when I was in the corporate role.

[00:32:51] I still get up at four 30 in the morning. I still like to go to the 5:00 AM, workout class, and I work in line with my energy flow. [00:33:00] So when my energy is really strong, I take on something big. But when my energy is sort of waning a little bit, I may run some errands or go to do something else or do some day to day, maybe some email.

[00:33:12] Um, it just. It gives me the ability to work more in line with my energy flow. But my relationship, my mindset to work has not changed at all. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's interesting. Very interesting. Okay. Let's talk a little bit about giving back. I know that you're on the board of the Silicon Valley education foundation.

[00:33:32] What's that?

[00:33:34] Paul: [00:33:34] So it's a not-for-profit I've actually been on the board for. 12 years. I was chairman for six years. I just recently gave up the chairman's role. Um, but I'm still on the executive committee and I chair the development committee, which is basically the fundraising committee, um, and being Frank and started when I was in HR in flex.

[00:33:53] Um, it didn't start necessarily as a, as a personal, um, um, Ben showed was, it was [00:34:00] something that was related to work. Um, But what I found is, is, you know, we actually were making the big difference in the lives of a lot of young people. Um, so we focus on afterschool and summer school programs for underserved kids.

[00:34:17] So kids who, you know, generally. Uh, uh, the children of immigrants, um, you know, the lowest socioeconomic, um, you know, they, they, um, you know, have struggled at school so that, you know, basic or below basic. Um, and so what we do is we take them through, uh, programs in math. Um, so over the summer we provide Saturday five hours of additional training.

[00:34:39] Then we have follow-up programs during the school year. Uh, we train about 300 teachers every year, um, to actually deliver, um, the math. Uh, learning because a lot of teachers and particularly California that are master teachers don't necessarily have a math education, you know, they might be, um, you know, liberal arts students, et [00:35:00] cetera.

[00:35:00] So, um, we make sure that teachers are better equipped as well. And then we provide a whole different set of learning pedagogy so that they. Um, and not just stuck in a classroom when they're going through rote learning. It's, you know, uh, we use, uh, gaming technology. We use online learning, we use classroom learning, we use project based learning, uh, and you know, we have a significant impact on those kids, but 83% of the kids that go through the program actually do much better going into eighth grade.

[00:35:31] Uh, we've trained over 30,000. Uh, we've, we've, uh, put about 30,000 students through the program over the last 10 years. And a lot of them are doing exceptionally well. Um, and so, you know, I've just recognized the value that we bring, not just to the community and to the students themselves, but also in terms of creating a pipeline of talent for the companies that are in Silicon Valley.

[00:35:54] These are kids that might otherwise not have. Succeeded at school and now gone and [00:36:00] succeeding in careers and college as a result of the work that we do, we also do advocacy work. Um, so we advocate on behalf of the students and we do tech in the classroom. So we're bringing technology into the classroom to help, to facilitate a better learning experience for the kids.

[00:36:16] And it's something I've gone to the point where I actually love doing it. Um, you know, I've learned a lot myself through this process. I've made a lot of good friends, but I also see the value that we're having, you know, particularly in certain areas of Silicon Valley that, that you know, are struggling socially, economically.

[00:36:31] Hmm.

[00:36:32] Jan: [00:36:32] Okay. That's great. Um, looking back, what advice would you give to your 25 year old self in today's environment? Knowing what you know today?

[00:36:49] Paul: [00:36:49] So, and I think the one thing I've learned and I, you know, I just reached a milestone. I just, um, had my 65th birthday. [00:37:00] Um, and I think the one thing that I think more than anything is you're on a never ending learning path.

[00:37:06] You know, don't think at 25 that you know it all while you have all the answers or that isn't, you know, I've been through university and I've got my undergrad and I got my master's and you know, now I can conquer the world. Um, you're going to be learning something every day, but you need to be open to that learning and you need to recognize that you're going to improve.

[00:37:24] Now, literally every day of your life. And so I think to me, that's a really, really important part is, is, is make sure you're always open to learn more and you're willing to put in the effort to learn more, um, You know, I think the other thing too is, is, you know, particularly you've trained as, as, as an engineer or a scientist, or is, you know, the hard stuff is not really the hard surface, the soft stuff.

[00:37:48] It's how you work with people. It's, you know, having empathy, having, uh, the ability to inspire others, to be effective. Uh, being supportive of others, being [00:38:00] collaborative, being team-oriented, it's not necessarily about you, it's about how you work with others and how you relate to others and the contribution that you can make to a team.

[00:38:10] And so, as I think back over my career, you know, I've, I've tried to do that. Uh, I should, I haven't succeeded, um, wholeheartedly or, you know, all the time, um, But those are the learnings that I've had in my life that I think that are applicable to my twenty-five year old self and the things that I would encourage any 25 year old to think about.

[00:38:30] Jan: [00:38:30] Yes. I know that when I look back up. Uh, when I was 25, I was pretty sure I knew it all noodle. And you tried to help. We see that I didn't have very nicely, but one thing that I remember remember that stuck with me over all these years is that, you know, as a, as a, a young woman in automotive, all excited about a career and taking on all these different challenges that you would throw my way.

[00:38:55] If I encountered difficulty with somebody, I would run [00:39:00] to you, you know, and I would say, well, this guy said this, or did this and did that. And you trained me very early on. You would say to me, and have you sat down and talked to him about it. And, you know, you only have to do that a couple of times, and it sounds so simple, but it had such an impact because it taught me to have the conversation, right.

[00:39:26] To not, not run away from it. And not judge, but to really take a moment to understand the other person's position. And I see so many relationships today in the working environment that fall apart because people don't take the time to listen to the other person's position and find a solution. And you trained me to do that very, very early on.

[00:39:50] And it's funny, but. That stuck with me over three decades. Yes, I did. I did. [00:40:00] Okay. So as we come close to, um, well, I hate to say the end of a career because I don't know. I can't even imagine you entering your career. No, no, no, no, no, no. But what is your legacy? What do you want to leave behind you?

[00:40:18] Paul: [00:40:18] You know, I think more than anything, um, is that I created a direction or a sense of purpose, um, for the people that work for me and, and for the organization that I work in.

[00:40:35] Uh, I, when I eventually move on, I've left the team with people that will not only carry that on, but improve it over time. Um, you know, again, it's really not about me. Um, you know, I don't necessarily want to be remembered for me. I would like to be remembered for somebody who, who, you know, had a tremendous passion and commitment to the business, uh, did what they thought was right and built a team that was able to [00:41:00] continue doing that.

[00:41:01] Um, and again, as I said, you know, improve upon it as appropriate. Yeah.

[00:41:05] Jan: [00:41:05] And that's a great legacy to have. I think that we may have to provide some sort of explanation as to how to spell so an athlete, and I'm not sure that people will understand all of this podcast with two strong Welsh accents,

[00:41:23] but it has been an awesome honor and a pleasure to have Paul Humphreys on the show today. Uh, a man who has influenced my leadership style and my career. And as we said earlier, my very first boss. So Paul, thank you very much for your time today.

[00:41:41] Paul: [00:41:41] Thanks a lot.

[00:41:42] Jan: [00:41:42] Thank

[00:41:42] Paul: [00:41:42] you.

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