A Black Executive Perspective w/ Tony Tidbit

Kerel  00:07

Alright, we are back with another episode of Minority Report Podcast. For everyone listening, this is Kerel. I'm flying solo today. Erik will be back for the next episode. But with that said, we have another great guest joining us today. We've got Tony Tidbit Founder and Host with the Black Executive Perspective Podcast. Tony, my man, what's going on? Buddy, I'm doing well, man. I'm really excited to be here. Thanks a lot for the invitation. Heard a lot of good things about the Minority Report. So I'm definitely looking forward to having this conversation with you.

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Kerel  00:43

Yeah, I appreciate it. I'm definitely looking into digging into your work experience, your background, what you're doing with your podcast, and all that good stuff. But before we get there, let's start with telling our audience, where are you from? Where are you born and raised?

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Tony Tidbit  01:00

Yeah, so I'm a high energy dude, I may be down a couple of decibels because, to answer your question, I'm from Detroit, Michigan. Big Lions fan. Last night they came up short in the NFC Championship game. But all that being said, I'm not going to allow that to deter me from bringing what I need to bring. But Detroit, Michigan, my friend, born and raised. Went to the military and I was in the army, traveled around a little bit, lived in Hawaii a little bit, then to Korea, and then ended up settling out here in Connecticut. So I've been here in Connecticut since the late 80s.

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Kerel  01:32

Wow, okay, okay. You know, you grew up in Detroit. Detroit has changed so much over the years, like you said, you've been in the military, so you've traveled, you've been around the world, you've lived in different countries, - what has sort of that experience of seeing different cultures, living in different places, different types of environments - what has that done to shape who you are today, and sort of your outlook on the world? 

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Tony Tidbit  02:01

Excellent question, my friend. So, it's broadened my horizons, my man. You know, growing up anywhere in Detroit, or wherever you from, you think that's the world. You think that everything that happens in that city or town where you're from, people all over do that, right? That's the only thing going on. So being able to travel the world in the military, living in Hawaii, I've been to 46 out of 50 states here in the United States. Meeting people from all different backgrounds, it really helped me, and not just background, ethnicities, and the whole nine yards, it's really helped me get a better perspective of our world and the people. And it's interesting, because as we're all in different towns, and different cities and states, and we're different from ethnicity, or whatever the case may be, but we have so many things similar that we all trying to accomplish. And just more importantly, being able to learn from each person was just, for me, it just helped me grow substantially as a person. And I didn't learn about people by watching television or somebody pushing a certain narrative against certain individuals. It was great to just experience on my own, meeting all these different individuals.

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Kerel  03:15

That's awesome. That's awesome. And is your family originally from Detroit? I know you said that's where you were born and grew up, but where's your family from?

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Tony Tidbit  03:22

So currently, right now, I'm married, second marriage. Alright, which is, you know, look, you go through one, you try to figure it out, you do it again, you're like I got [inaudible], right. So I'm married, I got two teenage daughters that are, there'll be 17, 16, this year. My wife is from a small town outside of Boston, Mass called Maynord, Massachusetts. I met her when I used to work in Boston. You know, I've been in the advertising industry for over 30 years, so that's how I met her. So small town, big city, we put it together and made it happen.

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Kerel  03:53

Gotcha. Okay. And you mentioned being in the advertising industry for 30 years now. What are you doing today with respect to the advertising industry?

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Tony Tidbit  04:02

Yeah, so currently, I work for Direct TV. I'm in the sales game, I'm VP Sales and Client Partnerships. We have a sales team, we go out and sell national advertising that run across direct TVs footprint of solutions. So I started in television advertising. I was then in print for like seven years. And then I migrated to the digital side back in 2007. And I've been on the digital side ever since that timeframe until I went over to Warner Media, excuse me AT&T which owns Warner Media, or used to, Xander, and Direct TV.

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Kerel  04:35

Gotcha. Gotcha. And as you think about your career, from where you started to where you are today, I mean, so much has changed in our industry. Our industry is constantly changing and evolving. What do you think has sort of been the biggest catalyst for a lot of the change that goes on in our industry?

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Tony Tidbit  04:55

Well, buddy, it's no question, it's been the digital transformation. I grew up, there were three television stations, you know, four or five channels to watch television. Print was the second largest advertising revenue from a media standpoint outside of television. Radio was huge, right? That was basically it. Okay? And then the digital revolution came. And now you have so many different pieces of ways to be able to communicate and reach people with social media. Even this podcast, you know, years ago, we would be doing this with two cups and a string.

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Kerel  05:28

(laughs)

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Tony Tidbit  05:28

Alright? (laughs) So that is the biggest thing. And the thing about it, it's still evolving. Now we're dealing with data, CTV, you know, you haven't heard a lot of it, but you're going to hear more about the Metaverse and all these things that will continue to evolve in a way for us to be able to engage, communicate. So that's been the biggest thing. And it's been exciting, to be honest. You know, when I was on the TV side, after a while you learn it's the same thing. When I was on the print side, after you learn, same thing. Digital has, from when I got in '07, to where we are now in 2024 and it's growing. I've learned a lot. And it's just very exciting.

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Kerel  06:10

Yeah, you make a great point about learning a lot and sort of the transformation. I always give advice to people coming into the space, or maybe someone just graduated from college and wants to get into digital media, to make sure that they are constantly looking to learn new things, because this industry is just, it's forever changing. And the minute you stop learning is the minute you're gonna get left behind in this space, really, you know?

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Tony Tidbit  06:39

No question, my friend, but I will take that to another level. I think no matter what you do, you never stop learning, okay? Because at the end of the day, it's all about learning, because that's the only way you're going to be able to differentiate yourself, you're going to be able to learn more, and then provide value in terms of ideas, thoughts and so on. So I just, I'm right with you on the digital side, but I think that's something that everybody should always be doing. And if you're not learning, then it may be time to move on to something else. So I would definitely recommend people do that.

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Kerel  07:14

Fair point, fair point. Definitely anyone listening, take Tony's advice on that one. (laughs) So staying on your career journey for a minute, I feel like people that are in an industry for a long time that have success, that are growing. There's always sort of these pivotal moments in your career, right? Can you give the audience an example, maybe tell a little bit of a story about a pivotal moment in your career journey?

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Tony Tidbit  07:40

Yeah, buddy. So I've had, to be fair, I've had a few, but I'm gonna tell you this one. And this is how I really got involved in sales. Okay, you know, I've always been a person, very gregarious, very outgoing. I've always had people say "Hey, you could be a salesperson," but, you know, words paint pictures. When they said sales, I'm thinking door to door, stuff to that nature. So we're talking years ago, I was a systems manager for this PPO company years ago, this was in the early 90s. I was there, I was the office manager. I was doing okay, but it was just, I was in a rut. And, you know, I was married to my first wife, we had two kids. And I've always been an ambitious individual. But being in this situation, there was nowhere for me to go. The only way I would become the branch office manager if my boss left or whatever the case may be. And it was just a dead end. And I remember somebody called me up, you're gonna laugh at this too, somebody called me up, a friend of mine that I used to work with. She said, "Hey, Tony, I'm looking for somebody who's looking to make a couple extra $1,000 a month" or something of that nature. So she had my attention because I was looking to do that, right? So I went to this meeting, net-net, it was the Amway business. Okay? So I don't know if any of your audience knows about Amway, but back in the early 90s, it was all about multi level marketing. You had a lot of companies that, Amway has been around for years, but you had companies that sprouted up and you could go out and bring people into a network and they buy products within themselves, and everybody can make some money. So I went to this meeting, my friend, I was hooked. They said I can make a couple of grand. So I was so excited. And I got involved, right, now getting involved is just not going out and selling stuff. There's a training program, okay? So I would have to buy all these books, I would have to listen to all these motivational tapes and stuff of that nature. And so by doing that, I was able to basically grow as an individual. So some of the books that I would read would be Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The Power of Positive Thinking, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Og Mandino, Acres of Diamonds, Good to Great, I mean a ton of stuff that I would read, right. Then I would listen to these motivational tapes and I would listen to, you know Zig Ziglar, and Les Brown and all these individuals. So I was in that for about two years. And guess what, Kerel? I didn't make no money. (laughs) Right? I was, oh man, I was putting all the money I had. Now listen, we were living paycheck to paycheck. I was robbing Peter to pay Paul to go to these different seminars. I was traveling around. I was trying to project success but I didn't want to go home, the bill collectors was calling, I was depressed, okay? And I remember one day being in my office, it was about eight o'clock at night, and I didn't even want to go home. I was going through some business cards, and I saw this card of this guy who used to be in my group. And he had quit. I haven't seen him in about six months. So I called him up and he said, "Uh, hello," I said, "Hey, Bob. How you doing, man? It's Tony Franklin?" "Tony Franklin?! Are you kidding me? It's Tony Franklin?" "I'm like, yeah, man, it's Tony Franklin. He says, "Man, me and my wife was just talking about you." I was like, "Bob, I haven't talked to you in six months." He's like "No no no no, can you come to my house? Excuse me, I want to have lunch with you later this week." So I said, "Okay." So I set up lunch with him. Now, Bob owned a construction company. Okay? And Bob was doing very well for himself. So I met with him at this diner and he said, "You know, Tony, my business is doing well. And I want to start expanding my business. And I have one salesperson, and I want to hire you." And I'm like, "What?" And he was like, "I want to hire you." I was like, Bob, I don't know anything about what you do. I don't know anything about construction." He said, "Tony, you don't need to know." He said, "I've watched you." Here's a key point here. "I watched you. I've seen, I want you. But here's the kicker, I only can pay you $250 a week plus expenses. Where I was working, and I was making more, I was probably making double that, okay? And then I asked him how much was his salesperson making. And he told me, and there was no way that I would be able to ever do that where I was at. So I went home, he said I want you think about it. I went home, I talked to my wife and I was like, I'm doing it. So I quit my job. I took this role making $250 a week, alright? And within six months, I changed my financial life. And I've never looked back. And I don't know if you read this book called The Go-Giver. Okay, it's by a guy named Bob Berg recommend it for you and your audience. Okay? In this book, he talks about the five stratospheric laws of success, right. And then he has another book, excellent book, great book and one of the laws he talks about is the law of left field. And it's something that we all experience. So let me give an example. In this situation, I was putting all my energy, right in this Amway business trying to grow it. However, I wasn't getting anything out of it. But while I was there, I was educating myself, I was growing as an individual, I was learning something that I had never knew. Then all of a sudden out of the blue, BOOM, here comes this other opportunity from somewhere else. Okay? And then that opportunity, when I stepped into it, it changed my life, because I was preparing myself not to do well in the Amway business, I was preparing myself for another opportunity that I didn't even know about. And because I did that, when I got into this new opportunity, I knew exactly what to do. I didn't know his business. I didn't know, you know, the different codings, I had to learn that, but in terms of how to communicate to people, how to set up meetings, how to run a meeting, how to ask for the business, all those things I learned in the Amway business, and it took off. So that right there was a turning point that changed my life that got me into the sales game, which eventually I ended up going into the advertising sales.

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Kerel  13:41

Wow. And to your point, the law of left field, that came out of nowhere, right?

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Tony Tidbit  13:51

Came out of nowhere.

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Kerel  13:54

It came out of nowhere, but at the same time, you didn't have blinders on where you weren't open to other opportunities, right? And that's another thing that I try to coach and mentor people on, is to always think about the bigger picture and always look at any opportunity that comes across your desk, because you never know when it can change your life. Right?

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Tony Tidbit  14:18

Exactly. The other thing though, my friend, is that at the end of the day, if I told the story to somebody else, they would say, "Wow, man, you was lucky." It had nothing to do with luck, okay? The energy, see, again, we put energy out, okay, and we're expecting a return to come back from exactly where we put it out. But just because the return doesn't come from there, doesn't mean that effort and energy is gone. It's out there. It just comes from some other place. And when it comes from some other place, you've already done the work. So when it comes, it's going to be BOOM and you slide right into it. And that's the thing that and not just your audience, but something as mentoring other you individuals, that's something I share with them because we all experience. However, when we experience it, somebody says it was luck. Alright? And it wasn't because your dues that you pay doesn't go for not, they're going out, and they will come back, may not come directly, but they will come back to you, then to your point, you have to recognize it and be open to it.

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Kerel  15:22

Awesome. Awesome. I love that story. Thank you for sharing that with the audience. You know, you talked about the person who gave you that opportunity. It sounds like he's a good leader, as well, too. And I want to ask you, what are some of the keys to leadership? Like, what does a good leader look like?

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Tony Tidbit  15:41

Wow, that's a good one, my man, I will tell you this, and you probably will agree, I've seen more bad leaders than good leaders. (laughs)

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Kerel  15:49

(laughs) I always say, too, there's lessons you can learn from the bad ones.

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Tony Tidbit  15:52

There's what not to do, right? (laughs)

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Kerel  15:55

Yeah (laughs)

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Tony Tidbit  15:56

But the first thing for me that I believe a good leader is someone, you gotta like people, okay? Because typically, if you are what we call in the sales game, if you're a lone wolf, if you're somebody that, you know, you're in a role where you only care about you and your efforts and stuff of that nature, and there's nothing wrong with that, but then all of a sudden you get a role where you're going to manage a team, you're gonna lead a team, you got to be okay with dealing with people. You gotta, like people, right? So that's the first thing, if you don't like people, then you're not going to be a great leader. Because to your question, the attributes of a great leader is service. It's about helping the other person become successful first. Because when you do that, then you become successful. So all of your efforts are not about you any longer. They're about that individual. So that's number one. Number two, you got to be a great listener, okay, because a lot of leaders, they talk at people or they'll just not look, or they'll be paying attention somewhere else, and not spending time with the individuals that they're supposed to be trying to help. So you got to be a good listener. And then the other thing is, a leader has to be open to feedback. Okay? Typically, leaders want to give feedback, but they don't want to accept feedback. Alright. And it's a two way communication highway here. I've never met anybody, including myself, that's perfect. That has gotten everything right. We don't, right? So at the end of the day, being a great leader and letting your team know that, "Hey, guess what, if I misstep or if you guys think I can do something better or I did- please tell me, right? Because we're a team. Right?" And well by doing that, that's gonna let people feel, number one you're building a relationship with them. Number two, you're being vulnerable and authentic. So when they make a mistake, they'll be more apt to come to you and more importantly, listen to your feedback. And then the final thing, my man, you see it more now, but it's still a struggle in a lot of these organizations - you got to be willing to build relationships with people.

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Kerel  17:59

Oh yeah.

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Tony Tidbit  18:00

Okay, you know, the old day was keep them an arm's length away, if you gave them 15 minutes, you know, they're supposed to be happy, okay? (laughs) That's not the way. You have to build relationships with individuals, real, authentic relationships. And what does that mean? That doesn't mean that you listen to them, and you let them tell all their stories to you and you- that's great, but you got to be vulnerable too. We're all human. You know, we're at work with our co-workers a lot, however, we have families, we have health situations, we have kids, we have a million other things that go on outside of work. And so a real leader is somebody that's going to be open and share and be vulnerable and say, "Hey, you know what? I don't know. Am I right? Do you know, Kerel?" So building those relationships, because here's the key, most people don't leave companies, they leave managers. And at the end of the day, and I've always said this, my friend, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, if a company was doing well, it was prospering, but the manager was horrible, okay, people would leave. However, if the company was about to go under, and then the manager or the CEO leader came to say, "Hey, guys, you know what, it's gonna be tough times. I'm gonna stick it out. I just want to let you guys know what time it is. If you need to start looking, you know, you can but I really appreciate everything you've done," blah, blah, blah, blah. And they see that this person has had their back and has always been there, those, a lot of people will stay. (laughs) So that shows you the value of leadership.

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Kerel  19:47

I agree with you on that one. And I think it's a respect thing as well too. Good leaders people have respect for, right, bad leaders people don't have respect for. And if you are a good leader, you will get people to follow you, you know, we were just talking about football before we started recording. And coaching is a great example of that. Right? Great coaches will get their players to run through a wall for them, the bad coaches, players will quit on you in a heartbeat.

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Tony Tidbit  20:16

(laughs) Exactly, so true. So true.

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Kerel  20:19

They will quit on you in a heartbeat. So I agree with you. I want to go back to one point that you said about building relationships in the office. I was having this conversation with someone the other day and I want to get your thoughts on this because I think in today's work environment, where most folks are working from home, virtual setup situation, distributed workforces, so on and so forth. I think that ability to build a relationship with your co-worker is tougher and harder now than it has ever been before because so many of those relationships are built by just running into the person in the kitchen when you get a cup of coffee, or you randomly going to lunch with your co-workers or randomly going out after work to have a drink. You know, you build those relationships and I feel like, not that it's missing today, but it's a lot harder to build those relationships today.

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Tony Tidbit  21:19

There's no question buddy, it is harder. It still can be done. Look, at the end of the day, when I started over at AT&T at Xander, I started in March of 2020. I think it started March 9, our offices are in Rockefeller Center, and then that, first day in the office, alright, that March 9 and then then Wednesday, two days later, we went in and we packed our stuff up and then we ended up moving. And I was hired there to build out a digital sales team. And so there were people that I hadn't even met that was going to be on my team. And then I had to interview individuals. So I had to get this whole team together, we had to learn all their solutions. And the pandemic just kicked off. And some of the individuals had been shuffled around a few times. They had different managers. And so they were coming to my team. And I remember this one lady, I'm not gonna say her name, but to your point about the relationships. And so I met her and I can see, she was just nodding, but you know, I was saying, "Hey, look, I'm here to help you," all the things that you and I just got finished talking about. "I'm going to help you become successful first. I need to find out exactly, what are you looking to accomplish here? Is it to be in management, you want to make, whatever, don't tell me now, we'll get back together. But then once you tell me, my job is to help you get there." So she nodded me to death. And I knew, right. And this was virtually and she lived in LA. This is virtually. And her and I built a tremendous relationship. And the way we are able to do it was exactly what I just got finished talking to you about. Was the ability to listen, the ability to probe, watch body language, because listening is not just with ears. Okay? It's also looking at body language. All right, and seeing, "Hey, so real, just real quick, Kerel, is everything okay today, man?" "Aw, Tony, you know," "No, because I just noticed..." Those little things, people like, wow, this person is really paying attention to me. So back to your point, it is tougher today because you don't have the touchy feely or more importantly, it's not, it can't be as impromptu. You have to schedule time with somebody versus like you said you see him in the office and walk. However, all that being said, as a leader, that is something that is priority number one. So I don't care how you do it, if you got to do direct mail (laughs), whatever you got to do, you got to do whatever it takes to build those relationships with your people.

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Kerel  21:24

Yeah. Yes, yes, fair point. Fair point. Tell us about the podcast.

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Tony Tidbit  23:51

Thanks, my friend. I'm glad you asked. So this again goes back to the George Floyd situation. I had just started Xander in March 2020. George Floyd kicked off in May. We were merging with Warner Media. And then my boss, see and this goes right back to your question. You got them all set up so the stories are easy to dovetail, okay? So my boss who I say was a tremendous leader, he was looking to build a relationship with me, right? And so he said, "Hey, man, you live in Connecticut. Why don't we go hiking, right?" So him and I, first time we met face to face, we went hiking, George Floyd thing kicks off, I come home. I'm watching this, all of a sudden, all these years of just holding all these different things that I had to deal with as being an African American male in corporate America that I've never talked about. I've been at companies where I was the only black person. When I started moving up into leadership positions I was the only black person or very few people of color. And so all those things that I suppressed, didn't talk about, all nine yards just came pouring out. So you know, I wanted to change something, my friend, I wanted to do something different. So I wrote this Facebook post and I shared a story when I was a kid, my first racial turning point, when I was 10, my wife didn't know, my kids didn't know, but I wrote this thing. I put it on Facebook, again, vulnerability. And you talking about a person that has been very prideful. And I say that in a negative term, and what I mean by that, I would never share anything about me when it comes to my vulnerabilities and stuff to that nature. So this was the first that actually did something like that, right. And people reaching out, "Oh my God, Tony, thank you for sharing this." I sent the same thing to my boss and I sent the same thing to the CEO of Warner media. And he had just started, right. So I didn't even know, but I was like, I want him to, you know, he wrote this email saying "Hey, I'm here to change things," blah, blah, blah. So he reached out to me, he was in LA, he emailed me back like three in the morning and said, "Tony, thank you for sending this. I really appreciate it." So he kind of let me know, like, okay, he's open to this. So what I did, my friend, my boss called me, we were chatting, he said, "What do you want to do?" I said "You know what, man, I just want people this least read this story." So that was the first thing I was thinking, can I just send this to the company? And he was like, "Well, wait a minute, how about we do something different?" And he's like, "Think about it." And I said, "Okay." And then we got together a couple days later, I say, "You know what, man, I would love just to have a conversation on race. I just want to, you know, make people aware" and people at that time, everybody was white, black, it didn't matter, alright? People were open to it. Okay? So we got together, virtually too, I remember. And him and I went to this little studio, friend of mine, and about 10 minutes before we were supposed to go on, I said, we got to have a deck. So I wrote this little title, an open conversation on race. I came up with ground rules, because in a day, we're gonna talk about race, the reason people don't talk about race, because they're afraid to, all of us, right, because of attack or being labeled or whatever the case may be. So I came up with ground rules, you know, no politics, no attacking, active listening, no buts, everybody engaged, right. Net-net. And it took off, my friend. So I've been doing that now almost four years. And people have come together from all different races and people have come to me and said, "Man, you know what, I grew up this way or I grew up somewhere where there was no diversity, or my parents were like this. And just having these conversations where everybody can share their perspectives just helped me grow as individual." So I wanted to extend it, I wanted to scale it, so that's when we started the podcast which launched in September of 2023. And so it's an extension of that where we have like, to be honest with you, buddy, I'm gonna have you come on. Well, we have people come on, they share their, and it's all through storytelling. People come on, share their background, you know, different messaging, and then we talk about some of the topics that happened, real life topics today. So so far, things are going well. And you know, we're just here just trying to bring people together.

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Kerel  27:59

Love it. I love it, man. That's awesome. It seems like it has been a very rewarding experience for you. Give me one thing that you've learned from the conversations that you've been having on the podcast?

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Tony Tidbit  28:13

Yeah, that's an excellent question. So one thing that I've learned, there's not a lot of stuff I know about race. Okay? See, a lot of times people think because we're black, that we know everything. We don't. We know our experiences. I don't know everything that Asian people go through. I don't know everything that, you know, the different levels of the Latin X community, from Cubans, Mexicans, you know, the whole nine yards, or people from Pakistan and India. So I'm just as ignorant on a lot of things as the rest of us. And I've made mistakes in terms of saying things or thinking things and the whole nine yards. So when I'm on these conversations, I'm learning as well, right? And before, to your question, I never thought that way. So that was a big - and with not only race but sexuality, you know, all the things that we deal with or people deal with. So that has been listening to people from hearing their different perspectives has really educated me, alright, as well. So I, even though I have this podcast, I'm not an expert on race. I'm just having a platform or a conversation and we can all discuss these issues. And then we can all, to your point, discover together, right? That's the key, my friend.

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Kerel  29:33

Love it. Love it. Alright, so you've got your day job, you've got the podcast, I'm sure the family keeps you busy. What does your daily routine look like? How do you stay focused on the things that are most important that drive success for Tony?

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Tony Tidbit  29:51

So one of the things that's helped me out that you never forget is when I was in the military. And military is all about focus. It's all about discipline, it's all about no emotion, right? It doesn't matter how you feel you got to get the job done. Okay. And same time, I'm very ambitious. I'm a self starter. So to answer your question, it's get up, it's, I have, and look, it's a curse and it's a positive attribute, but it can be a negative, right? So I, you know, one of my negative attributes is I'm a procrastinator, okay? (laughs) I just, I am. But it makes me get the stuff done. Okay? But I'll get up, I'll be focused, obviously, during the daytime is really focused on work, working with our clients, working with our team, trying to bring the best experience to our clients who are looking to reach their audience across our platform. So that's number one. Number two, and I hate to say it that way, because to be fair, my family is really number one, I have a tremendous, a beautiful wife, two daughters who keep me on my toes, right, now they're at an age where they don't listen to their daddy any longer, okay? They know everything. So I've kind of learned to shut up. So that, to be honest, it saves me a little of time. (laughs) Okay. But it's really about trying to put them in an environment where they can be successful. You know, I grew up in single parent household, I didn't know who my father was, my mother did the best she could. However, I wanted to be the best father I could. And, you know, one of the things for me is making sure that my daughter's self esteem is high, that they know that I love them unconditionally, that they know that they can do anything that they put their mind to, and then also that they're not perfect, and that's okay. Okay, that you're gonna make mistakes and it's okay to say I make a mistake and it's all right. And it's not, it doesn't define you. So those things, and then I have a very supportive wife, you know, who's really helping me with the podcast, this is the first time that we really tried to do something together. So you can imagine two, type A individuals trying to say we should use blue, or we should use red. But that's part of that, you know, learning now, that's, again, you said it earlier, my friend. It's about learning. So I have to learn how to work with my wife, because she's trying to help. And it's a lot, but you know what, when you really enjoy what you do, it's not work.

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Kerel  32:20

It's not work. It doesn't feel like a lot. 

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Tony Tidbit  32:22

It doesn't, right, having this conversation with you at this time, right? You're like, "Oh, man, I'm tired." (laughs) You know, but at the end of the day, I enjoy this. I enjoy meeting new people, I enjoy talking about things that can help people grow, always love about learning new things I know nothing about. So you know, at the end of the day, if I can come and bring my, and which is a challenge. I'm not gonna sit here and say I still struggle in terms of bringing my authentic self every day, especially at work. Okay? Because, you know, as much as everybody says, "Oh, we want you to do that" it's still being flushed out, right? All that being said, my friend, just knowing what I'm trying to accomplish. I'll tell you this, five years ago, if you were to ask me, Tony, what's the next step for you? Where you looking?" you asked me this question, I would've gave you some BS answer. Today, I know exactly what I'm doing. Or what I'm looking to do. And what I'm looking to do is to help as many people as possible without anything in return. Okay? And so if I can help you in terms of connecting with somebody, if I can help you in terms of, there's a domain expertise, if I can help you learn about different individuals, if I can, whatever, my goal, my mission on this planet, is to provide assistance to anybody that comes across my path. And that's what I enjoy doing.

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Kerel  33:53

Thank you for that, man. Thank you. Appreciate that. Fun question. What's in your music rotation these days? 

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Tony Tidbit  33:58

Oh buddy, you throwing the whole gamut at me, huh? (laughs) Okay, so look, I work out at least anywhere between three to five days a week. So I listen to a bunch of stuff, man, I listen to, you know, back Biggie and Tupac. And then I'll listen to Drake, I'll listen to Jack or whatever his name is, it'll come to me in a second. So I'll have a collective full of different types of music. I love jazz, pop, R&B, hip hop, I listen to a bunch of stuff. I also like listening to music that is very deep, that gets me to thinking. Like, you know, you know Marvin Gaye stuff that was written back in that he recorded back in early 70s. Right, 50 years ago, right? Still resonated today, like "What's Going On?"

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Kerel  34:47

Cause it's classic stuff. (laughs)

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Tony Tidbit  34:49

It's classic, right? But it shows you how history repeats itself, right? And then there's a couple songs, and I don't, you know, I'll send them to you because I don't remember who the artist is, but I was in Amsterdam, and I was with a friend, we were having a deep conversation, the song came on, and we were like, we listened to it and were like, "That's it, right there! That's what we're talking about." So it's a song called "What Are You Searching For?" Alright, it's real deep, my friend. When you listen to it, you will, you'll be like, oh my God, because at the end of the day, we're all searching for something.

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Kerel  35:22

For something, yeah.

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Tony Tidbit  35:23

Even if you say you're not searching, you are. So that's how deep it is and how it peels back the onion. And then another, one of my other great songs, again, I'll have to send it to you. I don't remember the author. But it's called "The Groove Is You." Okay? And it is, buddy, when I send it to you, I'm pretty sure, I'm getting goosebumps now (laughs) because it's, he's saying what time it is. The groove is you. It's not, he ain't singing, he's just talking with a nice little beat, right? And I love the hook because he says, how does it go, it says "the groove is you when you don't say 'what about me?'" Because typically, we always saying "What about me?" Right? He's saying the groove is you when you don't say, what about me? So I'm gonna send it to you. Those are some things that I definitely have in my arsenal.

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Kerel  36:17

Okay. Alright. Well, Tony, thank you again for joining me. It's been a fantastic conversation. Glad we got a chance to get to know each other. I know the audience, the listeners are gonna love this episode. If people want to reach out and continue to conversation with you. What's the best way for them to get in touch with you?

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Tony Tidbit  36:37

Thanks, my friend. So number one, you can reach us at ablackexec.com. That's our website. You can follow us wherever you get your podcasts at BEPpodcast.com. And then I'm on every social from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok at @ablackexec.

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Kerel  36:59

Alright. Thanks again, Tony, for joining us. Really appreciate it. For those of you listening to this episode, thank you for continuing to listen to the podcast and the continued support of Minority Report podcast and you can find more episodes wherever you listen to your podcast, whichever platform you choose. Thanks again, Tony. 

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Tony Tidbit  37:19

Thank you, my friend.