Q&A: Maintaining Professional Relationships & Resume Summary Tips

Additional resources

• Trending Topics for Leaders in HR
• Resume Tips For Job Seekers in the New Normal Hiring Market
• How to Manage Workplace Conflict
• The Best Resume Guide to Get You In the Door
• Job Seeker Questions from our Audience

Questions of the week

How do you follow up on someone who just doesn’t respond?

Not everyone wants to buy what you’re selling, and that’s okay! There’s a line between being persistent and too persistent. Business relationships need to be mutually beneficial to be considered healthy. Sometimes it’s just not the right time, but there is value in not giving up. So stay in touch enough, but don’t waste your valuable, professional time.

Summary section or list of qualifications on a resume, what do you prefer?

There is no “one size fits all” answer. It all depends on the type of resume, your situation, level, and objective. The summary section is used to display your skills based on the desired position. Whereas for a more technical role, your skills, being the most important aspect, should be listed. A mixture of both will show what your qualifications are, as well as what you have done with them.

How can you build a relationship with an employee who just wants to come to work and then go home?

If your employee doesn’t want to build any kind of relationship, believe them and leave them alone. Employees have to manage their own careers. Unwillingness to create relationships will hurt advancement in their career.

How do you deal with political and/or religious conversations at work?

It’s a sensitive time, so try to stay as neutral as possible. Test the water among your peers and you’ll quickly figure out what’s safe and what’s not. Some people are okay with it and some are not, but leaders shouldn’t go anywhere near it. Unless your organization is involved in these subjects, your business is simply not the place.

Transcript

Pete Newsome  00:12
You’re listening to The Hire Calling Podcast. I’m Pete Newsome. And this is your source for all things hiring, staffing, and recruiting. I’m back of course with Ricky Baez. Ricky, how are you, my man?

Ricky Baez  00:23
I’m doing good, sir. It’s a beautiful Friday in mid-August here in Florida, aka insane heat.

Pete Newsome  00:33
It’s always, the weather. We’re not old enough to start with the weather every time.

Ricky Baez  00:39
You know, it is always with the weather. And I’m noticing that. I’m noticing that I’m starting to focus more on the weather. I’m starting again like last time starting to focus on the kids getting off of my lawn. I did that too this week, I need to stop.

Pete Newsome  00:53
We established though that there are no kids on the lawn anymore because they’re all inside playing video games.

Ricky Baez  00:59
You know what, honestly, I’m about to buy these kids an iPhone. Here you go. Go inside, you know, back in the day when we used to threaten parents who let their kids go all crazy with a puppy and, like a Gatorade or Red Bull? 

Ricky Baez  01:16
Yeah, I’m gonna threaten them with an iPhone. I just go back. And that’s what’s gonna happen. 

Pete Newsome  01:22
So alright, so today well, only because we’re on the clock. 

Ricky Baez  01:30
We are.

Pete Newsome  01:31
I’m gonna keep you on task today. Maybe that’s impossible, but we’re gonna, we’re gonna try. 

Ricky Baez  01:38
Got it. 

Pete Newsome  01:38
We’re doing q&a, though. You have the questions. I don’t have them.

Ricky Baez  01:42
I do. Yes. So um, you know, last time we did the show actual the end of every show. We encourage our listeners to send us an email, you know, shoot us a text, let us know. 

Ricky Baez  01:52
Give us a like when they download us from their favorite platform. So I got some q&a questions that I want to throw at you. I got about four or five. So I’m just gonna just kick them off. You’re ready, but

Pete Newsome  02:03
I am. But you know what, you just brought up a good point. So I want to say at the beginning of the show this time, because no one’s listening at the end, we know that we start off strong and then fade a little bit. 

Pete Newsome  02:16
Let’s do them. Now here’s the first one. Now we may have to go back into a thinking cap here. So a few months ago, we spoke you spoke about the different ways to network.

Pete Newsome  02:16
But we will. We would love it. If you can subscribe. We’d love it if you can review and rate the podcast, of course, five stars. 

Pete Newsome  02:16
And always email us if you have any thoughts or ideas on what you’d like us to talk about at hirecalling@4cornerresources.com. So good. We got that out of the way. So now let’s do the questions.

Ricky Baez  02:50
How do you follow up on someone who just doesn’t respond? So we were talking about I want to say at the beginning of the year, we did an episode about how to network and what are the things that you want to do or you know, just to connect with.

Ricky Baez  03:05
And I guess what this person is asking is once you connect with somebody at a conference or at a meeting, whatever the case may be, and you send them an invite to you know, follow up with some coffee or something if they don’t respond, so they blow you off you. 

Pete Newsome  03:20
Yeah.

Pete Newsome  03:20
You don’t follow up, you leave them alone. That’s creepy to some degree. Right? Like, and I but I say that it’s somewhat in jest, but only part whereas a professional salesperson throughout my career because I even though that’s not the role I’m in today. 

Pete Newsome  03:43
That’s who I am. That’s happened, you know, there’s, I’ve met people I’ve wanted to, to follow up with them, maintain a business relationship, and not everyone wants to buy what you’re selling. 

Pete Newsome  03:58
And that’s okay. There’s, there’s a line between being persistent and being too persistent. And you’ve got to find that line. So stay and make a couple of attempts. But beyond that, I’m not a chaser. 

Pete Newsome  04:15
It’s not something I believe in doing. I think any type of business relationship needs to be mutually beneficial for it to be a healthy relationship. And also, as a professional salesperson, I never wanted to come from a position of inferiority. 

Pete Newsome  04:32
And so if I’m having to chase someone down, there’s an imbalance in that relationship. And it’s one that I don’t want to be a part of, probably.

Ricky Baez  04:43
So I’m glad you said that Pete because you know, a lot of these sales folks because that’s what this is. This is a sales tactic, right? That’s the whole purpose of building that relationship. 

Ricky Baez  04:53
Whether it’s sales, if that’s how you look at it, or you just want to solve somebody’s problem, right? One is definitely better than the other. But you know, people are told not to quit, people are told to continue on keep pressing on. 

Ricky Baez  05:05
But I like your approach, right? Because if you find yourself chasing, right, or if I have to convince you to be a part of my network or buy my product or my service, that’s, to me, that’s not a good fit. 

Ricky Baez  05:20
If I have to convince you to do that, the only thing I should be able to do is to let you know what I do and to see if what I do can help you. 

Pete Newsome  05:29
Correct.

Pete Newsome  05:30
Yes, right. 

Ricky Baez  05:31
Beyond that, leave it alone. 

Pete Newsome  05:32
And there are ways and there are ways to do that. So I look, this is where it sounds like a conflicting message, perhaps, but you have to find the line between driving the relationship as the seller, right? 

Pete Newsome  05:49
You do have that obligation, where if you’re trying to, well, I guess I’ll step back, I turned it into a sales thing, you just said networking in general. So if I’m trying to sell to someone, I have to drive that relationship at the beginning. 

Pete Newsome  06:05
But there’s a point where I’m not going to chase as I said, and then I’ll put you on autopilot, where, once a month, if hopefully, we will send you an email just touching base, we’re here because sometimes it’s just not a right time. 

Pete Newsome  06:19
Where if, for example, if I’m not in the market for a new payroll system, and someone is selling me a new payroll system, I’m not going to spend my time with them. I’m just not. But there’s going to be a point it where I will be interested again, in considering a new payroll system, that point may be years down the road. 

Pete Newsome  06:39
And that’s where the not giving up comes in. Because you will be out of mind if you’re out of sight. But don’t waste your professional, your valuable professional time. 

Pete Newsome  06:51
Calling them incessantly and you know, is desperate to build a relationship with someone who isn’t interested. But keep, stay in touch enough, you’ll put them out on an email once a month, once every few months. 

Pete Newsome  07:06
Hopefully, you have an automated system to help with that where you’re just letting them know you’re still there. And if you do that, I think you’re checking the right boxes. 

Pete Newsome  07:14
In general networking, though, if you’re just trying to build rapport with someone because you think there’s someone who, who’s good to know, that’s where it’s creepy. If you’re, trying too hard to do that with someone who isn’t responsive, just don’t, there’s too many fish.

Ricky Baez  07:31
Well, the reason I threw sales in there, is because to me, the purpose of networking is for eventually there could be a business relationship down the road, right? 

Pete Newsome  07:41
Correct. 

Ricky Baez  07:42
So, man, this is a two or three parter for this question, right? Because I like how you put that right, you separate it for sales, something that you need to be careful that the people that you’re trying to connect with and build that relationship with that you do have something to offer at some point, whether it’s now or later on, right? 

Ricky Baez  08:02
Or whether it is what you serve, what you provide, or just a simple business relationship. And you don’t know where that will take you. But I’m with you. If you crossed that line, it does come and it does come across as kind of creepy. 

Ricky Baez  08:15
And aside from that, Pete, take away the whole business side of it. If this was a personal relationship somebody was trying to pursue, wouldn’t a restraining order come into play at some point? 

Ricky Baez  08:25
Yeah, right?

Pete Newsome  08:26
Yes, potentially. 

Ricky Baez  08:27
So yeah. So the answer to this one, is whoever asked that sent it in and just don’t hide in anybody’s bushes.

Ricky Baez  08:34
You get it, right?

Pete Newsome  08:35
Yeah. And the last thing I’ll say, if this is whether it’s sales or general networking, what seems to be the disinterested party needs to have a reason or so I’ll say both parties need to have a reason to establish a relationship. 

Pete Newsome  08:54
So maybe you have common interests, maybe you, you just hit it off and you like each other’s personality, or you see that there’s mutual business gain to be had. Right. 

Pete Newsome  09:08
And that’s gain, not game. But there has to be some reason for each party to continue. So clearly, if the other party isn’t responsive, they don’t see they’re not motivated to continue. 

Pete Newsome  09:23
So that’s, you have to give them a reason. Yeah, either It’s your charming personality, your what you can do for them. 

Ricky Baez  09:31
You’re acknowledging them.

Pete Newsome  09:32
Well, I doubt this happens to you for that reason, right? You do have that charming personality. No one’s gonna blow you off. 

Ricky Baez  09:38
There you go.

Ricky Baez  09:39
There you go. So awesome. So you and I are on the same sheet of music. Perfect. 

Ricky Baez  09:44
Alright, now the second question right? Now, this is what I think we did this last year. Last year we were talking about resumes how to build a resume and you know, kind of walking the candidate through the door and what they should expect.

Ricky Baez  09:58
But this is a quick straight the point regarding resume summary section or list of qualifications, what do you prefer? That’s what they’re asking. 

Ricky Baez  10:07
And I think they’re asking, you know how on a resume at the beginning you put a summary about your qualifications. Or do you do a list of your qualifications or your achievements, which is preferred these days?

Pete Newsome  10:18
Both. So, first of all, I’ll plug zengig.

Pete Newsome  10:21
Head on over to zengig.com to check out our sample resumes. And by situation by career level, we answer those questions in detail on how to build the proper resume. 

Pete Newsome  10:38
But if we’re talking about summary, I think of a summary as an objective statement of sorts. It doesn’t have to be it could be, here’s who I am and what I’ve done. 

Pete Newsome  10:46
So depending on the type of resume, the answer will differ a little bit, and I’m talking is it a chronological resume. Is it a functional resume? Is it a CV, which is something altogether different? 

Pete Newsome  11:01
So depending on who you are, what your situation is, what your objective is, and what your level is, the answer is going to differ a little bit. And again, all that is spelled out over at zengig. 

Pete Newsome  11:12
But I think there’s an opportunity for both, I want to know what the person’s objective is, that’s important. So when I think of the summary statement, that’s the first thing that comes to mind, and I’m speaking generally, and then the skills should be displayed as well, depending on the position. 

Pete Newsome  11:30
So if it’s a technical role, if you’re a software developer, and you are trying to get a job, where those skills are the most important aspect of the role, probably, then you should list them. 

Pete Newsome  11:42
But if you’re a salesperson, we’ll pick on salespeople all day today, I guess, then you don’t necessarily need to list your sales or your skills as much as you want to highlight your accomplishments throughout your resume. So it’s, I don’t think we can give that a one size fits all answer.

Ricky Baez  12:02
You know, I was looking at that when Pete and thinking I, I like both. I like both I like it summary of what the process intent is. And I like a snapshot of, to be honest, I look at achievements, right? 

Ricky Baez  12:16
I don’t give I’m going to be careful what I say here. I don’t give skill sets the same credibility the same value as I give what you do with that skill set, I want to see results right?

Ricky Baez  12:32
So on a resume what I like to see is a mixture of both are you got this skill set, but what are you doing with them so on there under the summary section, I like to see that the person with X skill set was able to reduce or increase efficiencies by X percent, right or increase sales or reduce this reduce that I want to see results. 

Ricky Baez  12:53
So from my perspective, I want to see a mixture of both where I can see what those qualifications are, but also what are you doing with those qualifications. So I like them both to be honest.

Pete Newsome  13:06
I think I think you hit the mark for sure.

Ricky Baez  13:08
Oh, excellent. All right, moving right along.

Pete Newsome  13:10
We are. 

Ricky Baez  13:11
I like this!

Pete Newsome  13:11
This is a record but we didn’t say up front you have a deadline. 

Ricky Baez  13:18
Yeah, I got to drive over to Millburn.

Pete Newsome  13:23
Now I’m saying I’m gonna do as grinds to a halt but it’s because I got a flat tire this morning and was stranded and so that’s why I’m the reason we’re on the clock so.

Ricky Baez  13:34
Yeah, but you know what you handled pretty well though, right? Because for somebody who’s got a full day that happens. We need to do an episode on what happens when Murphy’s Law comes into play. So that’s the next one.

Pete Newsome  13:48
Yeah, no well it ended up being kind of okay because they told me the tow truck was gonna take four hours and that it wasn’t a tire that could be changed just for the record because I don’t want to sound like I needed to call a tow just because of a flat tire.

Pete Newsome  13:48
I don’t have a spare it was completely off the rim I’m not sure how that happened exactly, but it was not drivable that’s just not a challenge to my ability.

Pete Newsome  14:12
Listeners are like wow Pete owns a tank.

Pete Newsome  14:21
Yeah, no, no but they said it was gonna be four hours and the guy shows up so I was calling my wife hey, come pick. come pick me up and leave the car here. 

Pete Newsome  14:31
I found a spot to leave it for a couple of hours it was right across the street. And as I was on the phone with her letting her know where I was the tow truck guy shows up and the whole like I waited less than 10 minutes it was that never happened so.

Ricky Baez  14:44
That’s true when you don’t want it to happen Pete that’s when it happens.

Ricky Baez  14:48
Murphys Law. 

Pete Newsome  14:49
I didn’t want it to happen. Make no mistake. But anyway, here we are, and I just took unnecessary time. So let’s go.

Ricky Baez  14:57
That’s cool. We’re there. Alright question Three, this was on me. Ricky keeps talking about building relationships. How can you build a relationship with an employee who just wants to come to work and then go home? 

Pete Newsome  15:10
Alright, Ricky, how can you? 

Ricky Baez  15:12
So I guess what they’re saying is right, because you know, and I believe it or not Pete. I started doing TikTok a few weeks ago, like actually putting them out. I figured out how to use it.

Pete Newsome  15:22
Which dance? Did you do it first? 

Ricky Baez  15:25
No, I don’t. All right, I’ll explain that just how I’ll explain my love for Star Wars. I am a huge Star Wars fan. But I’m the level of the fan right below showing up to a conference dressed up as Chewbacca. 

Pete Newsome  15:41
Okay.

Ricky Baez  15:42
That’s not happening, right? I’ll show up. But I’m not going to dress up. So I’m not doing that dance. If we do, I mean, there’s a lot of people that are gonna have their eyes burned off. 

Ricky Baez  15:50
So look. So what I started talking about is it maybe they saw this, this TikTok. There’s, there’s a big push out there. And I’ve seen this a lot of people, just these young professionals pushing people to just don’t build relationships, just go to the office, go to your job, clock in, do your job and go home. 

Ricky Baez  16:11
Not everybody there is your friend. And my pushback is, although they’re technically correct, the opposite is also true. Not everybody is your enemy. And if you want to stay at your job, stay in the same position and not move up. That’s perfectly okay. 

Ricky Baez  16:28
There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you want to move up in your position, you are going to have to build some kind of relationship with somebody. It needs to happen. Now bringing it back to this, because I’m always telling all of my students and everybody I consult with, you’ve got to really work on the skill of building relationships. 

Ricky Baez  16:48
But if you have an employee who does not want to build any kind of relationship with anybody, and they put you on notice, quote, unquote, say, you know what, I don’t want to talk about my personal life, believe them, and leave them alone. 

Ricky Baez  17:01
It’s as simple as that. It’s the same thing as that first question. Right? It gets kind of creepy after a while when you’re pushing too hard. Now, with your employee, it’s a whole different story. 

Ricky Baez  17:13
Because if you keep pushing, and they don’t want to talk about their family, now you crossed that line, and now you’re going to talk to somebody like me about creating a hostile environment for that employee. 

Ricky Baez  17:24
So listen to the employee, if they don’t want to build a relationship, leave them alone. It really is as simple as that. What do you think?

Pete Newsome  17:32
Well, so last week, we talked about one of the ways to keep employees engaged, and it was to talk to whatever the question it was something effective. How do you feel about the level of social interaction? 

Pete Newsome  17:47
I think it was and so we debated a little bit about what the author of the article meant by social interaction is that outside of work, and this reminds me of that where you said something that’s interesting about you, to advance in the organization you have to do more than just show up and do your job.

Ricky Baez  18:10
You got to build relationships. 

Pete Newsome  18:13
Do you? 

Ricky Baez  18:13
You’ve got to talk to people and invest time and because look.

Pete Newsome  18:17
What if that’s just not who you are, but you’re the best at it? I always pick on accountants in this because I think of that as being a role where unlike sales, where it is all about often not all but but but a big part of the job is about the relationships and the ability to build rapport and engage with others.

Pete Newsome  18:39
Where you could be the best accountant but not want to talk to anyone but your numbers are always on the point you see the numbers speak to you all these things that you know, what are the traits that would make someone really valuable in the organization.

Pete Newsome  18:54
But let’s say you just don’t You don’t like engaging outside of work or even outside of just doing your job? Can you still can you still thrive?

Ricky Baez  19:06
Now I’m going to separate that question right because I’m not talking about engaging outside at work right you know if people don’t want to show up to a happy hour.

Pete Newsome  19:16
I mean even in the hallway right? I’m talking in the hallway or in the morning when the job is done I get up and leave I don’t need to stop and chit chat about the weather.

Ricky Baez  19:30
Apparently old people do.

Ricky Baez  19:35
Okay, so, so look, here’s how I look at it and I’ve seen this done and it always works. If you get my definition of moving up, right is moving up whether it is in seniority in your post, but part of that is going to be you need to influence other people. 

Ricky Baez  19:55
Right, and if you have people working, if you want to position where people are going to work under you, you’ve got to be able to, to get out of the corner out of your comfort zone if you’re an introvert, and you’ve got to start building those relationships. 

Ricky Baez  20:10
Above and beyond that, if you do an amazing job, right, that’s, that’s, that’s, that’s awesome, you know, hard work pays off. But hard work pays off for the people that notice it. Right? 

Pete Newsome  20:21
Right. 

Ricky Baez  20:21
If you do a lot of hard work, and nobody knows you’ve done it, nobody sees the value in it, then what’s the point of that hard work? So you’ve got to build a relationship with your boss, which I know a lot of people are not going to agree with what I’m about to say. 

Ricky Baez  20:34
But if you want to get promoted, your boss has to be your cheerleader. I mean, I don’t know. What do you think about that?

Pete Newsome  20:44
I agree with you 100%. So I was hoping you were going to go there. I was trying, I was trying to bring that out. Because in the scenario, the fictitious accounting scenario is going to be limited in how much they can advance. 

Pete Newsome  20:59
Should it be that way? I mean, I don’t know. But it is, right, we, that’s what we have to acknowledge. So you’re 100% correct, I don’t think I can improve upon that answer other than just to really agree with you and say, you have to manage your own career. 

Pete Newsome  21:18
And you have to manage up to whatever that means in your situation. And in a specific environment, you have to be conscious of it. 

Pete Newsome  21:26
And so just showing up doing your job, not considering those other things, the networking aspect of it, the perception, managing your boss to all that they do what you just said, you’re going to be limited because someone else is doing it. 

Pete Newsome  21:42
And they’re gonna get noticed, even if they’re not as good.

Ricky Baez  21:46
And I learned this lesson a long time ago, where I made the huge mistake of assuming just because somebody is good, really good at the job they do, within like, if they’re responsible for their own duties, and nobody else’s, I made the big mistake of thinking that they’ll be a great leader. 

Ricky Baez  22:04
Right. And the person told me because I wanted to put her and I think we talked about this Miss Ethel, this is somebody that I put in a leadership position, and she failed at it. 

Ricky Baez  22:15
And I’m going to her like, what are you? What are you doing? And she just yelled at me. And she was right. She’s, I told you, I didn’t want to be in this position, then I’m like, I got nothing to say but you are 100% right. 

Ricky Baez  22:27
You did tell me, right? So I put her back. But that was a big lesson for me. Right? That always lets regardless of how good your employee is. You have to be very GPS, right if I was to use the example of a car, right?

Pete Newsome  22:44
Little sensitive subject, right now.

Ricky Baez  22:46
I’m sorry.

Pete Newsome  22:47
A little sensitive subject right now. 

Ricky Baez  22:48
Oh, sorry. Sorry. Alright. So I’ll do it really fast. So the vehicle is, it’s the career, the employee is in the driver’s seat, and you’re the GPS, right? You listen to what they say to where they want to go, and you help them get there. 

Pete Newsome  23:03
Perfect. 

Ricky Baez  23:04
Yeah, so alright.

Pete Newsome  23:05
Yeah. Well, I think so. I do want to recommend that you continue to tell Miss Ethel stories. I don’t think that’s a real person. I don’t believe you, you’re not going to convince me that there was a Miss Ethel. 

Pete Newsome  23:16
I know it’s a good story. But I think you need to continue to build on them. Just use her as an example for things.

Ricky Baez  23:24
Dude, I was yelled at and it scared me.

Ricky Baez  23:27
It was like 16 years ago.

Pete Newsome  23:31
And I’ll pretend along with you. That’s real, okay.

Ricky Baez  23:35
Got it. Got it. Alright. Okay. So next one. Oh, you and I might differ on this one. 

Pete Newsome  23:42
Okay. 

Ricky Baez  23:42
How do you deal with political and or religious conversations at work?

Pete Newsome  23:46
Oh, well, we definitely differ. Not that we differ in our opinions on the subjects themselves about whether they should be discussed. 

Ricky Baez  23:56
Yeah. 

Pete Newsome  24:00
I don’t think peers I think you have to test the water among your peers. This is just my general thought. This is not an HR-approved answer. But test the waters and you’ll quickly figure out what’s safe and what’s not. 

Pete Newsome  24:18
You know, if you can read people at a decent level, and then don’t go into areas where people are going to be, you know, have potential to be upset, alright.

Pete Newsome  24:27
As a leader or a manager of people, I don’t think you should go anywhere near it. I think you should avoid it. I don’t think the workplace is the place to take political stances unless your business is involved in politics or has a reason to same thing for religion. 

Pete Newsome  24:48
If someone brings it up with me, as the leader of the organization, I’m happy to. I don’t shy away from the discussion, but I’m also not going to expect anyone to share my opinions or even need to know my opinions. 

Pete Newsome  25:04
And I don’t feel compelled to hide them either. But I don’t think it’s relevant in the workplace as a rule. You disagree?

Ricky Baez  25:15
I, I agree and disagree, right? Because you said the key phrase at the beginning of your answer is you’ve got to check the polls, you’ve got to check the people who you talk to because some people are okay, in having that conversation. And some people are not, either way, is okay. 

Ricky Baez  25:31
That’s why a lot of people in HR or leaders for that matter, just take the stance, we don’t know how people are going to take these conversations. So let’s just not talk about it at all. 

Ricky Baez  25:41
Now, I was involved, I managed a team about five, or six years ago, and this topic came up. Because being in HR, you run into that topic more often than not, and not people talking about it, you run into investigations, or you have to make a decision based on something somebody said, that may be radically different and how you feel about that position. 

Ricky Baez  26:05
Right? So for example, it because in HR, you got people who have their own political and religious beliefs that they have to act on with other situations where other people have the exact opposite. 

Ricky Baez  26:16
So we’re kind of forced to talk about it from an investigation perspective, which opened the door to people starting to share their views on it. Right. And let me tell you, what I found was amazing, Pete because I was lucky enough to lead a team that they had open minds, right?

Ricky Baez  26:37
They respect other people’s points of view and the only agenda they had. And this is a soundbite that I use all the time, somebody asks us what’s your agenda, in allowing your employees to talk about that. And I’m like, my agenda is to understand. 

Ricky Baez  26:54
So if you have an ideal if you have a mindset that you’re asking questions, you’re pushing back for the purpose of understanding the other person’s point of view, brother, you build a heck of a team. Because from then on. Again, I don’t suggest everybody does. 

Ricky Baez  27:10
It really depends,, on who you have on your team, but I’m just sharing the outcome of what happened here. So I allowed the team to talk about their own political views and their own religious identity, and discuss back and forth why they did.

Ricky Baez  27:24
What I found is that skill set, they were able to sharpen those tools, and they were able to have more meaningful conversations with their business partners in the field. 

Ricky Baez  27:33
It worked beautifully for us, but it’s not going to work for everybody. When you said that at the beginning is key, you said, only do it if you’re 100% certain that the people who you’re having this discussion with are gonna be okay with it. Not pushing another ideal down somebody’s throat.

Pete Newsome  27:55
Everyone’s well aware that we live currently in a very divisive polarized society, and even seemingly neutral topics, and can often end up in an argument it relationships are ending over political views these days in, you know, family relationships, right, long-term friendships. 

Pete Newsome  28:24
And so it’s just it’s a sensitive time. And I don’t know what the future holds with that. But right now, I see on social media and often that there are calls for canceling companies and boycotting companies, because one side or another doesn’t agree with that company’s political views. 

Pete Newsome  28:46
And I just think, first of all, the company shouldn’t take a political view, we talked about that recently, and, you know, I never will, that’s for sure. 

Pete Newsome  28:58
But at the same time, you know, it’s just a weird time for that. That’s, that’s it and so I err on the side of, hey, let’s, let’s just avoid where possible, the things that have the potential to have people be upset. 

Pete Newsome  29:16
But again, if asked, I’m always gonna give my opinion, I don’t mind those conversations. I agree with you 100% that we should be able to do that we should be able to engage and share and I for one, certainly always want to understand the perspective of someone who differs greatly from mine. Right? 

Pete Newsome  29:37
Because I wanted that. But I under acknowledge, as I should, as any leader should that hey, I’m in a unique position where I have to be a little careful, not a little careful a lot careful with how I proceed in those situations. So I try to stay as neutral as possible.

Ricky Baez  30:00
I want to tell you really quick because I know we’re short on time a really quick story. And I think I shared this with you before, where, you know, I, I once had a class that I teach this is back on the not, this past presidential cycle the previous one, right? 

Ricky Baez  30:15
Where my it’s, I’m just telling you what happened my class, it’s worth completely the entire class puts against Trump, right? And there was a rally here in Central Florida, my assignment for them is go to a rally, go to a rally, and interview people just for the sole purpose of understanding their point of view, you don’t say a word, right? 

Ricky Baez  30:38
Only to follow up on questions. Right. And at first, they were really uncomfortable. I’m like, folks, this is for a grade, right? The whole idea was is to put them in a difficult emotionally, I don’t want to say scarring, but an emotionally difficult situation where they had to keep their mouth shut for the sole purpose of understanding the other person’s point of view. 

Ricky Baez  30:58
And for the record, I would have done it with any political side, right? If I had somebody, a bunch of people in my class that didn’t like the opponent, I would do the opposite, again, is to just to understand.

Ricky Baez  31:10
And let me tell you, their eyes were open that they still were not convinced about flipping over, because that wasn’t the point. But they’re able to have more meaningful conversations. 

Ricky Baez  31:19
And it turned out amazing. So I’m excited about the next political cycle because I’m going to do the very same things to my students to just understand each other because if we do more of that, we will live, we would have less divisiveness in this country right now.

Pete Newsome  31:35
I thought you’re gonna say we would live happily ever after? We’re not quite ready for that. 

Ricky Baez  31:40
We’re not quite there yet. When you know, before I used that phrase I have to use do. Did you know that children are the future? We got to teach them well, and you know, let them lead the way. 

Pete Newsome  31:51
Thank you for that.

Ricky Baez  31:52
Here is the next one. Alright, last question. This is a little bit off. But okay. If you guys had no plans on a regular Tuesday, and money was not a restriction. How would you spend that day? I love this one. I do love this one.

Pete Newsome  32:08
Tuesday, a Tuesday?

Ricky Baez  32:10
Yeah, and I guess they’re saying that because it’s I mean, every other day has some kind of a connotation attached to it. Right? Everybody hates Mondays, Wednesdays is Hump Day. Fridays is Friday. Thursdays is Friday Eve. Saturday is Saturday and Sunday, you relax and Tuesday doesn’t have an identity.

Pete Newsome  32:28
Do we do we? Do we know who sent in that question? Because I’d like to address them personally. It’s a poorly constructed question. I’m gonna tell you why. 

Ricky Baez  32:36
Why? 

Pete Newsome  32:37
Because you’re only given me one day. Well, how if I have to be back Wednesday, where money is now in a consideration? That, and what I do on that Tuesday is extremely limited, right?

Ricky Baez  32:50
You take it, you take it too big of a dime.

Pete Newsome  32:54
Do I have a magic wand where I can waive it? And suddenly I’m in? I don’t know, Argentina? If that’s where I want to be.

Ricky Baez  33:00
So let’s do that. Let’s you know, what, if you had no plans for any day, right, just how would you spend a couple of days out? I’ll change it to that.

Pete Newsome  33:09
Right now. I’d say probably I’d be in Greece. 

Ricky Baez  33:13
Awesome. 

Pete Newsome  33:13
I’d be in Greece. Yeah, I’d be on the Mediterranean on the water. 

Ricky Baez  33:22
I saw that. And I went that route, but not Greece. I want to go to Switzerland. 

Pete Newsome  33:28
Okay.

Ricky Baez  33:28
Man, I want to throw away my phone, and my laptop. I don’t want to know anybody. And I just want to hang on to one of those farmhouses. That’s in a valley with a creek in the back, you go outside and you see the same cow from last week. 

Ricky Baez  33:41
You know, just having a conversation with the neighbor. That’s five acres away. That is how I will spend my time.

Pete Newsome  33:49
That’s not a bad option and then cook out. You don’t want someone cooking out for you at that point?

Ricky Baez  33:55
No, you know what, when it comes to like, like real good food and for conversation, I enjoy the cooking portion as I do just conversing with people afterwards. 

Pete Newsome  34:05
Okay.

Ricky Baez  34:05
Because in my left hand, I have a drink here. There’s a beer scotch and my right hand. I got tongs, right that I got to clip them a couple of times to make sure they work. If you don’t clip them they’re not going to work right. So you

Pete Newsome  34:17
Clip them or click them?

Ricky Baez  34:20
Well, I call clip clipping. 

Pete Newsome  34:22
Click?

Ricky Baez  34:23
I think I do clip.

Pete Newsome  34:24
What does that mean clip? You’re doing some with your fingers here.

Ricky Baez  34:30
When you make sure you make the clicking sound right?

Pete Newsome  34:32
Right. So you’re clicking.

Ricky Baez  34:36
Tomato tomahto Potato, potato, I get it. 

Pete Newsome  34:40
Okay. You have to do that to make sure they work.

Ricky Baez  34:46
Okay, I gotta click them to make sure what a horrible joke Ricky stop with your jokes. Just stop with your jokes. No, I do it and I’ll just you know, have some beef on the grill. I love it. 

Ricky Baez  34:56
Because as I’m cooking, I’m having conversations they’re asking me where I learned this. And I learned some great tips from them at my house or anywhere I go when I cook, and I’m entertaining it as a whole everybody’s involved with automobiles is awesome.

Pete Newsome  35:10
I was picturing fondue, from where you were like that would be, you know, the right setting for it. 

 

Ricky Baez  35:16
Have you seen me? 

Pete Newsome  35:18
I know. But I didn’t think you bring your grill with you over there. You can leave it at home. Oh, no, I will wake up in that neighborhood with brisket. 

Ricky Baez  35:29
Me clipping them.

Pete Newsome  35:30
Clicking or clipping. I don’t know. But I’m with you. And I that scene, I can picture it. But I think of that as a winter time deal. Where right now, I’m thinking I want to be on the Mediterranean Sea, like floating in the water right now. That’s where I want to be. And then come December, I want to join you over in the Swiss Alps.

Ricky Baez  35:53
All right. So we are right at time. But I want to add this last one in there. Forget about on a Tuesday or whatever, let’s say retirement, what’s your perfect retirement scenario?

Pete Newsome  36:03
Same, same answer. Go see every place and do everything. That’s really the answer. That’s what I warn my wife about all the time, like, hey, just a heads up when the time comes and the kids are gone. Or we can do this. We’re rolling. We’re like, we’re going everywhere. Right? What about you?

Ricky Baez  36:26
So okay, so I want to I love how you said that because I warn my wife as well. I’m like, Hey, I got 10 years, right? In 10 years, I’m done. And here’s what I’m gonna do. Laptop, all technology is gonna go away. 

Ricky Baez  36:39
I’m going to move to a beach somewhere in South America. I’m going to buy a little fry hut, right? I’m going to own no shirts, only shorts, and flip flops. I’m going to let my beard grow out. 

Ricky Baez  36:50
And I’m just going to wake up and walk over to my hut, which I live right next to, by the way on the beach, open up at 11 and just sell nothing but french fries and cold beer for tourists. 

Pete Newsome  37:00
French fries?

Ricky Baez  37:01
All I want to do is just fries, french fries, french fries with whatever toppings you want. That’s it right? And I’m gonna call it my side hustle sides french fries right? That’s what I’m gonna do. Right? It’s just wake up at 11 Meet the the the tourists there and just go ahead and close like after sunset. Okay,

Pete Newsome  37:18
How was there not? How does that restaurant not already exist? It does it. I’ve never seen a french fry-only place but it sounds amazing. Exactly. Right. We should probably cut that part out before

Ricky Baez  37:32
Somebody should get that part. I’m sure somebody has thought of that. That’s right. Yeah, it’s easy you want with Chili’s or you want it with jalapenos. You want it with cheese, but here’s beer. 

Pete Newsome  37:42
Okay so then I have to ask and then we will see this is why we lose people after the end but you only get one kind of French fries to eat for the rest of your life. You have steak fries. You have curly fries. You have thin McDonald’s fries. How are they cooked? What kind of fry? What kind of seasoning? You only get one.

Ricky Baez  38:06
Curly Fries. Curly truffle fries.

Pete Newsome  38:10
Okay, curly fries. 

Ricky Baez  38:13
Dude, have you had truffle fries?

Pete Newsome  38:15
I have but but but some are good. Some are not. They’re not all created equal. Sometimes there’s a little too strong flavor on those.

Ricky Baez  38:24
I don’t think and if people have seen me, you’ll know why I think this way. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad truffle fry.

Pete Newsome  38:32
Okay. Okay, so here, this is one for you if you have if you don’t, you can’t picture these and taste them just by the visual. Checkers french fries are the absolute best french fries on the planet and in my opinion, I haven’t had him in years.

Ricky Baez  38:55
Checkers? I am concerned about the napkins and the cholesterol level and the napkins, right? Because if you pour them on a napkin that you can you can wring that out. It’s so darn good, man. 

Pete Newsome  39:10
It makes you want to get them. 

Ricky Baez  39:12
Yeah, because I got a lunch meeting with a client and I might change the venue.

Pete Newsome  39:16
Checkers sit on a little table outside.

Ricky Baez  39:22
But I’m gonna tell them look, eat this moderately. I need you to sign this contract.

Pete Newsome  39:26
There you go. And I can’t go to Checkers today because I have no car. So tell me about it. If you go.

Ricky Baez  39:33
Just spend 80 bucks on Uber. Uber Eats I’ll send it to you.

Pete Newsome  39:37
All right, you’re heading. You’re heading out of town. I’m heading back to work. Again no car I have nowhere to go. So all right. We did it. We got through the questions and keep them coming. 

Pete Newsome  39:50
I don’t think there was anything too tough today. But hopefully, it’s been a couple good lessons along the way. So Ricky, thank you as always have a great weekend.

Ricky Baez  39:58
Thank you, sir, you too. Hopefully, you have an amazing weekend again for everybody listening. Hirecalling@4cornerresources.com and give us a like on your favorite platform. Thank you very much have a good one.

Pete Newsome  40:09
Have a great one goodbye.