Leading with Faith, Intentionality, and Purpose w/ Dave Peacock

In this episode, Lisa sits down with Dave Peacock, CEO of Advantage Solutions, for an inspiring conversation about leadership, faith, and intentionality. Dave shares his journey from humble beginnings to leading major organizations like Anheuser-Busch and Schnucks, emphasizing how pivotal life moments shaped his leadership style. Together, they explore the importance of building meaningful connections, fostering a strong organizational culture, and living with purpose in every decision. Tune in for valuable lessons on how to lead with heart and make an impact in your community and beyond!

Guest Links:

• Dave’s LinkedIn
• Advantage Solutions

Credits: 
Host: Lisa Nichols
Executive Producer: Jenny Heal
Marketing Support: Landon Burke and Joe Szynkowski
Podcast Engineer: Portside Media

Transcript

Lisa Nichols  00:02
Chromosomes, little strands of nucleic acids and proteins are the fundamental genetic instructions that tell us who we are. At birth, most people are born with 46 chromosomes, but each year in the United States, about 6000 people are born with an extra chromosome, making them a person with Down syndrome. If you've ever encountered someone with Down syndrome, you know that they are some of the kindest, most joyful people you will ever meet. They truly have something extra. 

My name is Lisa Nichols, and for 30 years, I have been both the CEO of Technology Partners and the mother to Ally. Ally has something extra in every sense of the word. I have been blessed to be by her side as she impacts everyone she meets. Through these two important roles as CEO and mother to Ally, I have witnessed countless life lessons that have fundamentally changed the way I look at the world. While you may not have an extra chromosome, every leader has something extra that defines who you are. 

Join me as I explore the something extra in leaders from all walks of life and discover how that difference in each of them has made a difference in their companies, their families, their communities and in themselves. If you like this episode today, please go to Apple Podcast or wherever you listen and leave us a five-star rating. 

I'm grateful to have Dave Peacock on the show today. Dave is the CEO of Advantage Solutions. Well, Dave Peacock, welcome to the Something Extra Podcast. I am so delighted that we can make this work today. 

Dave Peacock  01:34
Me too. I am thrilled and honored and a bit humbled that you even invited me. So, I appreciate it, Lisa, this is great.

Lisa Nichols  01:41
You have so much wisdom. I cannot wait for our listeners to learn from you. You and I though connected through an organization. Well, we've known of one another for years, I think. But we really connected through an organization you and I both love, called CEO Forum, right. And I know you would feel the same way. You feel the same way. It has been such a huge blessing for Greg and I to be a part of that organization. Amazing, faith filled leaders that are making a difference in the marketplace. And I know you feel the same way.

Dave Peacock  02:14
Very much the same way. In fact, I was down to the industry conference and was able to connect with another member who hails from Ohio, you know. And we've actually talked about in our industry, which is consumer kind of food industry, we're going to put a little subgroup together of faith filled, like minded leaders to have our own Bible study on a frequent basis. And Brian Wells is helping us with that. So, it's just great that it's amazing when you look around and the number of folks that really rely on faith to help guide them in their work.

Lisa Nichols  02:45
Absolutely. Yes, I can't imagine trying to navigate life, business, family, anything without that, Dave. But, but, you know, so I have my little sub group too, because I just got back yesterday morning, at 1:30 in the morning from the executive women's group, from CEO Forum, where Cheryl Bachelder, whom I know. You know, Deborah Waller from Jockey, amazing women came together in Tucson for a retreat. And my cup is my cup is overflowing. It truly is. So, it's just a testament that, you know, it's faith and it's also community with other people.

Dave Peacock  03:26
That connectivity with other people and being able to relate and have kind of open, vulnerable discussions around topics that we all live. It's one of the things we're actually trying to bring into our company, not necessarily faith based, but we're gonna start these moments that matter. And there's a way to bring people together, and they're topics like, you know, managing someone your family with cancer, you know, first time, empty nesters, sending a kid to school, buying your first house. And then these calls that just bring people together and help them share, and they'll be facilitated. But there's so much more that kind of binds us then divides us, and it's sometimes just reminding ourselves and others of that.

Lisa Nichols  04:04
I could not agree more, I could not agree more. We could probably have a whole podcast just on that, Dave, but we got a lot to talk about. But you have had just an illustrious leadership journey, and I want to totally dig into that, but before we do, I would love for you to take us back. I'd love for you to talk about your early years. What did they look like, what was growing up look, look like for you? Did you know that you wanted to be a leader? I would love to hear all about that.

Dave Peacock  04:30
No, I appreciate it. I grew up pretty humble background, kind of lower middle class, really well cared for by great parents. Had one brother, and although he had, you know, it probably is formative for me. He was in the hospital for most a year and a half. And, you know, had to be held back a year. And it was a pretty traumatic time for our family. And I stayed with my grandparents for a while because my parents had to attend to him. And so that, that that teaches you sort of at a young age, I think it was seven or eight years old, like, Hey, you're not the most important thing all the time. Because when you're seven or eight, you probably think you are the most important thing all the time but, but no, I never had the leadership itch. I was kind of an insecure, anxiety ridden kid that, you know, didn't, kind of, I grew really late, you know, late for a kid. But I was done growing in freshman year of high school, but I grew like six inches in sixth grade, like five inches in seventh grade, so it was kind of gawky. 

Dave Peacock  05:29
But I was always a worker, and when I had my mind set on something, I was committed to getting it done. And I think that that helped me. I'd say college was a little bit of a loss period for me, just because I did not my, I was less in touch with my faith and it showed and just my, you know, environment, my actions, my friends, my behavior. But kind of got re-in touch with it, and as I started working, and was really blessed to. You know, work in an agency to start and then move my way up through Anheuser Busch and onto a bunch of other things. But leadership happened to me, and I think we have these defining moments in our lives, and a lot of them are by our decisions, having a child, getting married, and some happen to us. And sometimes leadership is you don't know you're a leader until your kind of thrown into the crisis, and you have to become one.

Lisa Nichols  06:18
That's good, that's really good advice. Well, now you've been a serial C-suite executive for brands such as, and we're going to talk, I'm not going to go back to Anheuser Bush. But you were at Anheuser Busch, I think, for like, 20 years, and you were the president for the last three or four years. And you went to Schnucks, and you were the COO/President there, you know, Continental Grain Company in New York, and now you're the CEO for Advantage Solutions. And I really want to spend time there, because I want our listeners to understand more about, about Advantage and what you guys do. But what are a few would you say, Dave, of the leadership lessons that no matter what organization you've been in, you've carried those leadership lessons through?

Dave Peacock  07:04
I think, and you do learn along the way, right? And you, you, and I think both agree, you collect kind of wisdom, if you will, through, through experiences and you never stop. And so, one of the things I love is just learning all the time. I look at these roles as opportunities to learn both about yourself and about others and how organizations can thrive. But, you know, I have learned, I think I tell people, you know, leaders ask two questions and answer them, which are, if not me, then who, and if not now, then when? And I think it's really important to ask yourself in certain situations, as you're coming up, when it's a project, or maybe a different role that has you a little uncomfortable, or changing jobs to a different company, even. Asking yourselves those questions, asking yourself those questions when you're in a church group, if you're watching your kids play basketball or soccer and like, Well, wait a minute, maybe I should be a part of that leadership and coaching and getting involved. And sometimes not. I don't know the rules of soccer. So, my answer that was no, if not me, it's that guy, because he knows soccer, but, but a lot of times you answer it, you know in the affirmative. And I think you can model to your kid’s what leadership looks like when you do that. So, questions are really important. They speak to urgency, they speak to action, and they speak to accountability.

Lisa Nichols  08:30
Well, that is so good, and you just you spurred something else in my brain, even things in your community, right Dave? When you see a gap, when you see something that needs to be done. Why not you? If not you, you know who, and if not you, you know when? So, you know, I mean, I can just think so much in my own life, and you do have to be used wisdom. Because I always say, when you say yes to one thing, you're saying no to something else because we've got limited energy, we've got limited time. But yeah, don't just I would say when you see those gaps, don't discount that maybe it's you that's supposed to build the gap.

Dave Peacock  09:16
One example was when I was between jobs. I was investing in businesses and playing entrepreneur, and saw that we were going to lose our NFL team, which is, you know, not the most critical thing in the world. There's a lot bigger challenges people face. But it was, it was a, it was a blemish on our community. I had grown up in St Louis. It was a part of who I was, and very defining for me. So, really started kind of managing and finagling to get appointed by the governor to help lead the task force to try to keep the team. And I always said, you know, we'll either get a team or much needed funds. And while the NFL left, and there was a whole long process and what have you, with a legal action and settlement. I mean, the region got $790 million and so that was an as a great example of saying, You know what? This team is just going to leave, and we're going to be left in the lurch. And we were able to step in with a lot of other people helping and create resources, which now people are fighting over. But, you know, once those get settled and used, hopefully the right way, they can really make a difference for people.

Lisa Nichols  10:27
And they can lift our region, for sure. So, I know that about you, and I just I appreciate that you didn't just stand on the sidelines and wait for someone else, but leading the charge there. What would you say, Dave, I mean, I could put words in your mouth, but I want to hear it from you. I think I know. But like, what would you say your leadership style is?

Dave Peacock  10:50
Well, I have my the leadership style I aspire to, and so you can appreciate this more than anybody. I'm Bible studies outside of even CEO Forum. And I always say the best leadership book in the world is the Bible. Just read it. And even for those who don't who have a different belief system, and you just look at it as stories, there is no better leadership book, and Ecclesiastes is a great example of that. But we do a word every year that we work on, and a good friend of mine started using acronyms. Because it's cheating, and so my I think it really does wrap up kind of how I want to lead as I've been in this role two years, I was a much more thoughtful around it. And it's PAPI, and there was a weird word, right? It's a Spanish word for father, but it also is an acronym with pause, awareness, patience and intentionality, and so, so many times we don't. And I funnel to this all the time, you're just so busy in the action, in the moment. 

Dave Peacock  11:54
Sometimes you just when things are going on, you need to take a pause, make sure you're really aware of and coming from curious around what's going on? Why is this happening? Why is this person doing this, or why is this situation occurring? Be patient sometimes as far as how you're going to respond, because sometimes its letting things come to you and leveraging your faith a little bit that you know things can, in ways, work out, but also being intentional when you take action and convicted around it. So, that is something I've been thinking about quite a bit this year, as far as how I want to lead. But you know, if I had to boil it down to one word, I'd say it's intentionality, and that's trying to live every day and lead with intention. As far as I mean, I pray briefly before meetings. I do things to be really intentional in the moment as much as possible, because I think people deserve that. 

Lisa Nichols  12:50
I agree. Well, I'm just thinking be intentional with every moment we're given and our words that we say, Dave, I mean, the words that we say. And I know you've got examples of this, and I do too, where somebody may have said something over me that changed even the trajectory of that day. And we can be that for other people, right? We can be that for other people. Wow. We could probably spend a whole podcast on that too. I think we're going to have to do part one, part one, part two, part three. Let me ask you this, because I know this is so important to you, and you've really just kind of spoken to it. I think, with your PAPI and really it filters down. But like, culture is so important, right, Dave? Can you speak to maybe some of the culture, and you don't have to do every one of them, but what were some of the cultures of the organizations that you've been a part of, and were they different before you got there? 

Dave Peacock  13:49
I mean, and I would say, like, Anheuser Busch, where I quote, unquote, grew up from a career standpoint, actually. You know, I'm gonna go further back, actually, a formative culture for me. Actually, was when I played high school football, public high school, we were the first class with desegregation. So, we had kids from all over, kind of thrown into a big pot, if you will, and but said, Hey, go become a team. And never forget, you know, we ended up, very little was expected of us, and we ended up 11, two semi-finals in the state, number three behind two nationally ranked teams and one who had the player of the year. So, really surpassed expectations. But it was in the just the day-to-day relationships, having each other's back and routines and process that we follow. And I remember the coach at the banquet said, first team I ever had that started calisthenics and warm up before the coaches got out there. And so, we had joy to this. But that was like, Well, that's what we do. This is how we start practice, and it's time to start. But we just sort of had this way of working. 

Dave Peacock  14:54
Anheuser Busch was an incredibly winning culture and incredibly competitive. I think, mostly in a good way, sometimes not in a good way. Before we got sold market share was our driver, and it was a work, hard, play, hard and great camaraderie, kind of team environment. I'd say, after we were acquired, it became difficult, and it was challenging. And I was there about four years, and you just had a lot of challenge. I remember telling the CEO of the global company, I said, the biggest fear I have is we become too large and bureaucratic, which you could say happened a bit. Because Anheuser Busch, as big as it was before we were bought, just had a closeness in the community to it that was different. 

Dave Peacock  15:41
And then, I'd say Schnucks was, was amazing. And frankly, one of the greatest experiences of my life was managing in a grocer during the pandemic. And seeing the very best of people watching the day after, quote, unquote, it started, if we all kind of remember that mid-March. 30% of our folks didn't show up for work, and our traffic almost doubled in the stores. But the people who did show up were just, to me, incredible, and the customer out pouring of affection for our frontline teammates. I always remind people, I say, don't, don't lose the lessons that were learned during the pandemic, whether you're out of your house, and the adaptability you had to learn the grit and just the appreciation for small things. And people, things that don't get appreciated usually, was just a really kind of magic experience that I'll always hold close.
Lisa Nichols  16:39
I could not agree more. I mean, it was terrible because people lost their lives, right? Lost loved ones, but there were so many good things. I think, I think we all learned to show each other a little more grace. Yes, you know, a dog starts barking in the background, or a child come I mean, you we just, I don't know. I think there were many, many things that that brought about in humanity that were good.

Dave Peacock  17:04
And that was my, I mean, we, you know, in a blessing, we only lost one teammate during the whole crisis, which out of 16,000 was remarkable, or 14,000. But no, I remember the first time we had a case in a store, it was the U City store, and, you know, to panic, you know, there's no masks. There's no this pre-mask. This is sort of like, people don't know what's going on. You get cleaning crews come in, all this stuff. And I remember going to the store. I said, Look, I need to be there because this is a group that's rocked and scared and nervous. And that's a small example of answering those two questions, if not me, then how and when? You know when is happening, and so you show up and you know, teammates acknowledge that and appreciated it, but it's kind of what you're supposed to do as a leader. Of course, we learned that most of the cleaning We were doing was irrelevant and was airborne all these things. But right, okay, it was, it was, it was scary for people. So, I just saw leadership show up in so many people that answered those two questions during that moment. And just I could rattle off a dozen names of people that just were incredible, and not all C-suite, a lot of frontline leaders who were incredible.

Lisa Nichols  18:24
That is that is awesome. That is awesome. Well, let's talk about this a little bit. You stepped in as the CEO of Advantage Solutions in 2023 I would love for you just to talk. Tell our listeners about it a little bit in case they're not doing because I know you guys have 70,000 employees, you're a multinational company. Tell them a little bit in case they don't know. And then I've got some questions around that. 

Dave Peacock  18:50
We're, I will say, the intel inside. We're kind of the unknown force within, largely the, the fast moving consumer goods space. We don't, we don't do as much with like furniture and things that are, you know, large durable goods, but we do selling for companies. I mean, if you think about the market and retail and where we shop, a lot of companies will say, Hey, I'm going to devote my resources to the largest retailers. Who's going to handle the long tail? Well, that's us. We can do that at scale and do that and drive efficiency. We do a lot, we're probably one of the, if not the largest supplier of labor to the consumer sector, and it's called third party labor. 

Dave Peacock  19:30
But we'll do a lot of the, what I'll call episodic tasks in stores. Again, people don't see and feel all the time, but you know, those shelves get reset with new, new products every six months. Every four months depends on the category and the retailer. We're the ones behind the scenes doing that, because the clerks are checking you out and taking care of you at the front end. And then we're also the ones making sure for like branded companies like Unilever and Mars and other great companies, the products are there, available when you need them. You know, in supporting the stores, because people think the clerks bring all that out, but they've got a lot to deal with, and they can't always we, we handle a lot of that work. 

Dave Peacock  20:08
And then we do, we're the largest sampling company, so one of my favorite parts of the business is, if you get a sample in Costco, it's our teammates. Target, or if you get a sample at Walmart, if you get a sample at Kroger or Alberts, any of these retailers, we're it's our teammates that are doing that and, and that's a service to both make people aware and have them try new products which, which can kind of stimulate sales. So, a lot of people don't know about us. We're a little unknown, which is fine, we're business to business, but it's a service business, which means we get to serve. And one of our principles is served with heart. And so, it's one of the things I love about the business.

Lisa Nichols  20:44
Well, it's fascinating. It really is. But you know, I bet you there's going to be listeners that aren't familiar, but now they are. Now they are. Well, let me ask you this, and I know one of the things that you did. I know that the company was headquartered in California, and you moved the headquarters to St. Louis, which, thank you for that, thank you for that. We needed that. What did the first 100 days look like for you, Dave? I mean, coming into an organization, having not been part of it, you know, there may be listeners out there that are like thinking about stepping into a role, and what'd you do? What were the first 100 days like?

Dave Peacock  21:26
I will tell you, it was not really hard, because the company had had a really bad year. The year before had seen profitability decline over 20% there's a bit of a turnaround. This was a company that was a byproduct of, of acquisitions over time in a primary sector, which is a sales business that we provide support for CPG companies. But then started going into other different areas, and all in pursuit of growth, and all with the right intention, but it was very kind of siloed and separated and lacked cohesion, and had just suffered this really rough year. And so, the first 100 days were getting to know people first. It's all about, you know, who are the people, who the leaders? We did have to make some changes, which is always difficult, but getting kind of an assessment. I always say, Don't go in thinking, you know, well, the answers, you know, really dig in and understand both outside in, from, from advisors, but also inside the company. 

Dave Peacock  22:28
And what it led to was really going from a federated group of companies to an enterprise and having a shared service team that supports three business units versus finance in five parts of the business, and HR in eight parts of the business. And, you know, with all these different policies and no movement across the organization, so we've implemented and built a lot of those systems, and it was through that first 100 days, that you learn where the opportunities are? But also, I'd say, year one was establishing culture. What are the things within this business, that are just gems, and how do we bring those out across the organization? So, people first serve with heart, lead with insights, win together. These are this, some of this language that existed before, and some was, was language we found through talking with people in the company that we said we have. Well, people, we are people first, that's what we do. We provide big part of our business is providing labor, you know, so well. So, we have to be a people first organization. What does that mean, you know? And how do we define that and hold ourselves accountable to it?

Lisa Nichols  23:32
Oh, I love that. I love that. Well, I if I were to presume something, I'm like, I bet you Dave went for a listening tour. I bet he just went in and started listening to people and not coming in there, thinking, you have all the answers because we don’t, right? When we come into a situation like that. But just talking to the people and seeing what the challenges are and but I was thinking as you were talking too, I'm sure you had to do a lot of cheerleading, casting vision, Dave, because morale was probably not great when you're not winning, that does not feel good.

Dave Peacock  24:10
That's right. That's exactly right. And it was giving people a roadmap to what winning can look like. And you know, we're in a tough market right now, tough environment. I'm sending some notes to my leadership team, making sure they understand the context of what, you know, some of our clients are dealing with customers. You know, Kroger recently announced 200 layoffs, and Walmart's trimming executive leadership. And I just read Starbucks is laying off 1100 people. And Ibota, which is a tech company sort of in our space, just laying off 8% of their way. So, there's a lot of challenges with GLP one drugs reducing consumption and inflation and all these things. And I said, guys, that's all opportunity for us. We can approach this. Again, ask yourself questions. Do I follow the path of woe is me and complain about it, or do we say no. How do we solve some of these problems for people? You know, we reduce the cost of food because the services we provide are more efficient than what people can do themselves. Then we need to lean into that and always people motivated around what is the purpose and what is the differentiator we can provide and helping whatever the situation might be.

Lisa Nichols  25:22
Instead of looking at it as doom and gloom, there's an opportunity here. 

Dave Peacock  25:27
And there's another side, right? I'm a massive Notre Dame football fan. My son went there, my wife went there, and following that team this year was great. You know, great win, first game, everybody's excited. Second game, upset by somebody that shouldn't have beaten them at home first home game, and then they rattle off, you know, 13 wins in a row to get to the national championship. And it was, it was being humbled and saying like there's another side of this, and treating every game like a playoff, and just saying, guys that there's another side, let's keep working on our foundational capabilities. Let's keep serving with heart, putting people first, and as things turn, we're positioned well to win.

Lisa Nichols  26:04
Oh, that's gold. That's gold. Dave, well, we need to take a quick break, and we'll be right back with Dave Peacock on the Something Extra Podcast.

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Lisa Nichols  26:43
Well, Dave, this has been so much fun. I feel like I've got, I don't know, I feel like I've got a mini-MBA, just talking to you for this 23 minutes here. But I do have a few more questions for you. You know, how do you and I think this is always kind of hard for a leader, but how do you balance short term performance with long term strategic growth?

Dave Peacock  27:07
It's interesting. We had our first strategy off site as a company a couple weeks ago here in St. Louis. And I learned from the you know, we have a combination of people who are newer, been here a couple years, and then people who've been here longer, and the folks who'd been here longer said they've never done this. And I'm like, Well, you have to do this is incredibly we have to step back. And we heard from people, and I always called Let's have an outside in session first, and then formulate some of our thoughts. And let's think, what is, what is, what do we see the world looking like in 2030 and then how do we make strategic choices to meet that and so really, really important is part of the work. 

Dave Peacock  27:46
And then you really do surround yourself with great people who are on top of. I think, day to day details, and that's been a big part of our work over the last two years, is just ensuring we've got, you know, really good people with the right culture, but also the right mindset. We always say mindset, skill set and heart. You know, do they have the mindset to continuously improve, and come from curious and challenge ways of working, to do things even better, and then the skill set to implement and execute that, and then the heart to do that in a compassionate way and a very kind of service-oriented way. So, but it's, I do have a lot of routines. I live by them. I have my, my I call three in one. What are the three most what are the three important things I have to do to the next day? And what's the one most important, I put them in my notes every night, and then I do my three done wells. And what could I've done better as well? So that is sort of my short-term day, to day, to day, making sure I'm constant.

Lisa Nichols  28:49
You do that every evening?

Dave Peacock  28:53
Every day. Then I feel like we need to be moving the ball down the field, yard by yard, but at the same time you want to win the season. And so, what does look like? 

Lisa Nichols  29:06
That is so good. What a great practice. I love that your three done wells and your three things that you need to do the next day, and what you, what you didn't say to me, Dave, is you're going to get 20 things done. I mean, you might do that, but I mean really, I always say you can't necessarily boil the ocean. And I don't think that we should expect ourselves to get it all done, but if you pick the most important things, I think. And I think personally, and I don't know if you agree with me or not, but I think that's one of the tenets of good leader too, is having that discernment of what is really the most important, because there's a lot of good things out there.

Dave Peacock  29:44
That's right. And I think, you know, I said I have to start it with myself before I can really drive that within our organization. But it's a good friend and a coach who's taught me that if you can get your top three things done every day 90 percent of the time. You're probably more effective than 99% of the people. And because it's so easy for us to get distracted, and some of it's personal. I mean, sometimes it's go visit my parents, who are aging, and my mom has fighting cancer. Sometimes it's, you know, very much long-term business. And nope, this thing needs to get done tomorrow for the business, so, you know. But I tried to discern and pray about a little bit, what are those three things each day and, and then I read them in the morning. And just to remind myself, have I done these things? 

Lisa Nichols  30:38
That is so good. Talk about it in an intentional life. I love it. I love it. Well, let's talk technology just a little bit, because technology partners, obviously, we're interested in technology. How is Advantage leveraging technology to drive growth, enhance efficiency? What kinds of things are you guys doing?

Dave Peacock  30:59
Oh, a ton. I mean, it's, you know, one of the first people I hired in, ironic, you'll, you'll get a kick out of this. We did not have a CIO when I started, so we had technology embedded in different parts of the business with no leader. So, I brought in a someone out of retirement who who's really, really good and has a lot of experience, who's built a great team. And it's not just the tech team. It's also your, your, your business unit leads, they have to buy into changes. And I love now that you know, we've deployed Power BI to, you know, our 1000 key account managers, who then are using dashboards that are supplied by our data analytics group that we brought in a great woman, Jo O' Hazo with a ton of experience as a chief data officer. You know, we've improved our purchases from syndicated data sources so that we have real time, fast analytics and can make decisions in the moment, which is great. 

Dave Peacock  31:55
And then we're leveraging AI for staffing and scheduling and parts of our business that we didn't do before, which is actually resulting in and thinking people first, how do we get people more hours? Because one of the complaints I had going out is, I can't get enough hours of your company. And so, we had 120, 130, 140% turnover in places. And said, well, we should be able to solve this. And so, it's kind of reimagining how we've managed our labor, but we need technology to do that. We, it's two with 70,000 people and 70 million labor hours of the year. We need technology to help us manage the complexity.

Lisa Nichols  32:33
I could not agree more. And I always say, if you don't have a technology strategy, if you're not using the emerging technologies such as Gen AI and these kinds of things. Dave, it's going to be almost impossible to keep up.

Dave Peacock  32:46
There's small wins too. I mean, our, you know, our HR team do using it on Job, RECs and Comm's team with the first draft of almost everything they do is coming out of, of Gen AI. And, and, and then, like I said, the just the machine learning around staffing and scheduling that we're able to do across the entire labor platform, and just countless examples. And we've built the data lake with the full cloud migration and invested in that and put a pretty significant investment in the technology to make sure that we're as kind of forward thinking as we can be. And Kev have the flexibility and nimbleness to kind of move and adjust as the market changes.

Lisa Nichols  33:33
I think that's so good. I love it. And I hope our listeners out there will understand that you can't ignore that. And I love what you said, too about giving time back, because at Technology Partners, I mean, we're drinking our own champagne. Obviously, we are doing this for clients and putting the AI road mapping together, but really it is infiltrated in just about every function within our company. And I know, Dave, that sometimes people say, oh my goodness, you know it's going to replace human beings. No, it's not. It's not going to replace human beings. I said what it's going to do is give your human beings time back. 

Dave Peacock  34:11
Well, it's a great example, I tell people, and I'm going to butcher these numbers a little bit, but it's directionally correct. So, in the 1900 kind of turn of the century, I think, is when they looked at this like 70% or maybe 60% of people were involved in the production and distribution of food in the United States. That's down to 2% but everybody still has a job for the most part. So, the market and the opportunities that come, and we're a labor provider. So, we're leveraging technology to provide labor in a better way, but I always say there's a bit of a moat around our business, because the labor we provide can't be replaced by robots or things because of the nature of what we do. But technology can help us do it better and more efficiently and actually get people a better experience. 

Dave Peacock  34:58
And we talk about the teammate experience all the time. Time when they work with us. So, totally agree, and I find that it will only unlock more opportunities for people, as you've seen with as other think of the percentage of the population was in the rail industry that's not in the rail industry anymore. You know, back in 1910, they're, they're off doing other things. They're doing working in sustainable energy, they're working in technology. They're working so, you know, the I find people are incredibly resilient, incredibly curious, and find, you know, the work and the ingenuity kind of come together to create opportunities for people.

Lisa Nichols  35:36
No, that's really good. I love that analogy too, about how the percentage that were in food production, and now it's down to 2% which is but people are still working, right? So, I love that. Well, let me ask you this, What, let's get into a little bit more personal insight here. You know, I know that you're a big fan of structure. You've already kind of talked about it, right with football and, you know, the, the practicing, in the calisthenics and that sort of thing. But tell me about your morning routine, and how do you believe that it has impacted your success as a leader, as a dad, because you've got you've got kids, you're a husband to Jane, you're a community leader. How does that morning routine impact you in all those areas? 

Dave Peacock  36:25
I mean, for me, it's critical, just because I know probably mood wise, I have to do certain things too. And my assistant, Christa, is amazing. So, I do block time. So, I get up between six and seven, usually closer to 6:30 and 7:00, probably and, and I actually have a morning routine around my faith, which is really important to me. Because it's just about centering and being present and feeling the power that is, you know, beyond me. That's in the perspective, right? And then quickly some days, I'm hitting cardio workout right away. Other times, I may have breakfast and then work out. I'm always kind of reading, because I want to say, like, what are the topical things? I try to send a lot of stories around to my leadership team, just to they get a sense of what I'm thinking about. But more importantly, that I think it's great. I learned it when I was a Continental Grain of just sort of opening our minds up to what's going on in the world, because it's so easy to get caught up in our own space, if you will. And then, but like I say, I try to do some form of exercise every morning, maybe take one day off, and then, and then, yeah, I hit the ground running. Then, like anything else, you know, you've got the series of calls.

Lisa Nichols  37:41
Those three intentions.

Dave Peacock  37:43
But I'll tell you one thing I do is I do look a week back in two weeks forward every weekend. So, every weekend, I try to look back a week, and I look at the color blocks, because Christa is super organized around my schedule, and I look at two weeks forward. And how can I spend my time better, you know, and, and I feel like it's a never-ending process to improve. But I'll send her no emails on the weekend, she doesn't have to deal with till Monday, but just, hey, let's move this. Let's not do this. Let's like, just, how do you spend your you know, we there are a lot of ways to make money, and to this day, outside of, you know, having children, I haven't found a way to create time and the sense of like for a human being like you don't in how we spend our time, you know, and invest our time is really important, and both personally and professionally. So, trying to be intentional around that every weekend of this assessment, and making sure that we're thoughtful around that. 

Lisa Nichols  38:40
Greg and I do the same thing. Dave, I love it. You know, Saturday mornings, every Saturday morning, we're, we're doing that. And I feel like, if I don't have that time on the weekend to really recalibrate sometimes, because sometimes you have to recalibrate. You've gotten off track a little bit. Things just go better when we do that. So, I do know this, because I read this somewhere, I think you eat blueberries every day, don't you?

Dave Peacock  39:08
I eat sausage and either chicken sausage or pork with blueberries every morning, every single morning with half of energy drink. Because I don't drink, won't drink a whole one. So, I'm a part of routine, and my wife makes fun of me, but I literally, and this isn't. I've never revealed this that I put out my supplements in two paper plates in the morning, because I cook two different types of sausage on them every morning every night before that, you know. I the next day, and my wife was even making fun of me that, you know, even on Saturday, I'm like, Yep, I just like, that's my routine. 

Lisa Nichols  39:43
I know, I love it. I really, I do. I love it. I think it's really, really important. Well, you've already talked about this. I was going to ask you about your faith and how it but I think you're like me, it's everything. It's everything you know Mackenzie or I think it was Bain and Company, a few years ago, Dave, came up with the study, and it said, what, you know, it was polling people, and what is the most revered trait that you admire about a leader? And it came down to centeredness was the number one thing. And so, I always say that spending the time and the word plugging into power higher than me is how I get personally, get centered. And other people may do that in a different way. But when I think about centeredness, it's like, you know that person, that leader, is going to be more consistent. They're not going to be like this. People aren't going to come in and go, Oh, wonder what she's going to be like today. You know you're, you're more. I think you live more by principles then. So, I know, I know you would say the same thing. 

Lisa Nichols  40:48
But I know that this is really important to you. You prioritize people. You prioritize people in every role that you've been in. You've just said that with, with advantage and how you guys show up in the world. Cheryl Batchelder was just telling me that Chick-Fil-A is rolling out this whole curriculum. Dave, right now about love. Loving your people, and then your people are loving the people in the community. How does that resonate with you? 

Dave Peacock  41:20
I mean, I think it's great. I mean, it's what I talked about on the outset, around these moments that matter. You know, I think is such a critical manifestation of the experiences we all have, and the fact, and we did this at Schnucks a bit during the pandemic. And, you know, I remember bonding with certain like assistant meat managers and folks that were on these calls that were that were completely different socio-economic reality and background and experience and, you know, in some cases, different race and different had come from somewhere else. You know, they moved to St Louis from somewhere else. But we found incredible bonds through experiences were like with our kids or things that we, you know, endured together. So, I'm passionate about putting that out there for our teammates, because I think what happens after a year or so when people figure out one that they can join and just talk and share. And they realize, hey, we created an hour for you to bond with teammates, and you'll connect with people you never thought you'd connect with and on topics that are very personal. 

Dave Peacock  42:21
You know, we've got a number of folks fighting cancer in our company. My mom is, is well, and so I'm able to talk about that and looking forward to sharing that in that experience. Because there's is difficult as it's been, it's amazing examples of leadership and sacrifice. You know, my father really caring for her every day, and just how much he pours himself into that. And there's, I think, in sharing that, one, showing vulnerability, but two, reinforcing how important those are, the things that matter again. How you're spending your time he's spending his time in his latter years of life, serving his wife. And you can make all the money and do all the things and take all the trips, but that's what it comes down to. I remember telling someone, you know, visit my grandma, who lived to her 90s and had a lot of just Alzheimer's and what have you. But I remember I grew up staying with her for a while, but by the time at the end of her life, she was in a facility in Lee Groves, and she just the only thing that was hers was her nightstand. And I said, you know, you come in this whole life and you collect and assume and amass all these things, and eventually it comes to that. So, it helps you really get perspective of what's important. It's not the stuff, and it's not it's, it's the moments together and the relationships that are what you're going to remember and, and hold dear.

Lisa Nichols  43:43
I love that moments matter, that's so good. Dave, that's so good. Well, I would love for you to tell our listeners one thing I know something about you. You told me something before Christmas that you did, and I was so moved by that, and so touched by it. You wrote love letters to your people. 

Dave Peacock  44:04
No, I actually, not to be Jimmy Fallon. I do a lot of thank you’s. I do handwritten thank you notes every week, and notes just to people about whatever you know. And to my leaders I've sent letters, you know, just because I'm a writer. I was a journalism major. But I did 15 of them last week, I think 10 or 15 yesterday, and so I try to. But one, it's old school. I think people like getting something like that. And in sometimes it's frontline folks, sometimes it's some executive level who's done something that I say it should be position agnostic, but people are putting a lot of time, and they deserve that acknowledgement. And I always tell people, you know, at one point, someone said, some in our company, you know. Well, we don't have a lot of money for recognition programs. I'm like, a note card is pretty small. I mean, just take the time if people know you. I mean, you thought of them, whether it's about acknowledgement or just, hey, you're going through something difficult. 

Lisa Nichols  45:01
Thinking about you. It's huge. It's huge. It's huge. And you never know when that might be, honestly, the only encouragement like that someone's ever received, and they will treasure it. They will treasure it. 

Dave Peacock  45:19
Agree. And I've written them to my kids. I haven't given them to them because but I they're on my computer. When it comes to me, I want them to have this I've done it before where I've given them a letter, but it's almost, it's almost the army tradition. You know, when the soldiers went off to D Day, especially, they had letters written home, just in case they were killed in action. That, not that I'm morbid and worry about that all the time. But life is temporal, and you know, I, You want to make sure you're imparting some things even after the fact. And I think, I know people have gone through they're losing a parent or a loved one, and they've had, they've cherished those, those things that they can hold on to.

Lisa Nichols  45:55
Right. I've done, I've done the same thing. I did letters to my parents. I've done letters to our children at various points and but you really inspired me. I want to do it even more, Dave, and I would say to our listeners, if this is kind of pricking, you know, a piece of your heart and you feel like that prompting to do that for somebody, don't delay. Don't delay, because we just never know. We're not promised, we're not promised tomorrow. So, let me ask you this, growth as a leader, there's no doubt it's important. We've got to keep evolving. You said that at the very beginning of the podcast, that you're a learner. Are there books besides the Bible, and I completely agree with you, it's the greatest leadership book on the planet, relationships. I mean, how you lead. I mean, I think about the stories of Moses and how he led the Israelites. I mean, there's so much richness there. But are there other books, podcasts, anything like that, Dave, that you would recommend for our listeners?

Dave Peacock  47:02
I've listened to some of David Rubenstein's interviews with leaders, which I think has been good. He's this really probing. I was funny for a guy who's a private equity, a guy who formed a private equity firm, he's a really good kind of interrogative, you know, host, I mean, he's in funny at the same time. So, he does a good job of coaxing out a little personal, but also really getting to the heart of some of the what makes them great leaders. And then, you know, the chairman of our company is a guy named Jim Kilts who is a famous CEO in our industry for years, and it's great to be able to work with him. I spoke to him yesterday, and he wrote a book called "Doing What Matters". I think it's great. It's really just basics around the company and sort of how to look at the company. 

Dave Peacock  47:48
Jim Collins', "Good To Great", of course, is one for me that has always been great, and was able to meet him on a few occasions when I was in Anheuser Busch. And then I'm reading "The CEO Cycle" right now, which is just a book about the cycle that we all go through, or a leader that, but especially CEOs, because I'm learning. I always tell people I but I'm a first time CEO, so, you know, I do not have the playbook, and it's I'm kind of figuring it out as I go, and I'll learn from anyone I can. You know, I've got a few former CEOs on my board who are great mentors as far as just how to think about things and give great perspective.

Lisa Nichols  48:29
That's so good. One more thing, and then I want to talk about something extra. You and I have talked about this, and I know that you and Jane are really big on giving back. You've served on lots of boards. Let me ask you, what is your giving philosophy? Why is it important? Maybe if there's some listener that says, Well, I've never really been big on giving back time, talent, treasure, you know, what advice would you give to them? What's your philosophy on giving?

Dave Peacock  48:58
And it evolves, right? I mean, when I was fortunate enough, after leaving Anheuser Busch, we had some resources. I was very, kind of focused on St. Louis. I was involved in this, you know, and survived the sale of the company, but it was a blow to St. Louis. And anyone who lived here knows that same Anheuser Busch kind of being bought by a global company and sent these signals and shock waves, if you will. So, I felt quite need to do things get back so we focused on some of the institutions around the city. The St. Louis Arch was one. We've always been involved with the Urban League, but in their headquarters is another one. My wife's been involved with the Center of Creative Arts. We're very big arts fans, and like you know, dance and theater and what have you. 

Dave Peacock  49:44
And then we were really intentional around our kids. You know, we donated to each of our kids’ schools because we thought they were so critical in helping their formation. Our kids went to Catholic schools. And say all went to three different schools, which made things always a little harder. Academy, St. Louis U High, and Chaminade, but really important in their formation. And so, we thought it was important to give back to those schools and then, I'd say, another level. We've done that with the University of Notre Dame, where my wife, her sisters went, my son went. It's a special place to me, even though I didn't go to school there, it's just different, and you feel God on that campus. And not that everything's perfect, but you just it's different. And there's, there's, it is powerful. 

Dave Peacock  50:33
So, you know, a lot of what we've done has been St. Louis centric, because this is a community where we've grown up and raised our kids, and we put your name on some things, like my old high school stadium, because I knew more than anything. Because I went there, my mom went there, my brother went there, my niece went there, my sister-in-law went there. My dad was a massive booster. I kind of did it more for him. It was one of the years it was being built, and very proud moment for him later in life. So, but a lot of things we just do because they're things that we think are meaningful and pull at our heart.

Dave Peacock  50:33
But then it's just a lot of stuff. I mean, you know Mission STL, which is a the organization that helps people kind of find their way after maybe serving in prison and Concordance Academy, and I mean, just so many organizations doing great work that we've that have pulled in our hearts for different things. My wife, the bookstore where she works, Novel Neighbor in Webster Groves is Noble Neighbor, which is they have author visits at school, underprivileged schools, and donate books. And oftentimes the books that these kids are getting is the only book own. And so, we've been involved in leaning into that as well. 

Lisa Nichols  51:46
I remember you telling me something along the lines, and I'm probably going to get this wrong, but you said, you know, I just, I don't want to leave anything on the table. I want it, at the end of life I want to have used it all up. You know, my time, my talent, my treasure everything, I want to use it up for the betterment of the world, right? For the good of others and the glory of God.

Dave Peacock  52:06
That's right. I mean, we always said we'll leave some to our kids, but they're off with their careers because they're older and doing a great job. And I think it's important to have to kind of create your own a little bit, and then we've got a big chunk we're giving away, and just because, you know, and we'll be giving away after we're gone, because I think it's just important, it's not ours, it's temporal, like we talked about, it'll be a day when all I have is a nightstand.

Lisa Nichols  52:34
Oh, my goodness. Well, let me ask you this. This is called something extra, what do you believe, Dave, is something extra that every leader needs? 

Dave Peacock  52:48
I'm going to use the word, and it kind of steals from, I think it steals from "Good To Great" a little bit, because in that book, Jim Collins talks about humility and will. But I'm going to say will. And I think will can, can mean a lot. I think will is that extra that want to get you out of bed when maybe you're tired and don't feel like it. And it's that just a little bit extra that you put into something, whether it can be a relationship, it can be time with teammates. It can be, but having the will to do that even when it's and sometimes it's making the decision that's unpopular but necessary. So, I use the word will, because in my case, it's founded and grounded in faith, or at least I try, I hope it is, but I think it's really important, because it's what underpins some of the actions when things are either difficult or challenging or you just feel like doing something else that you need to do.

Lisa Nichols  53:50
That's good. Out of 330-some-odd guests, you're the first one that has said that. I love it!

Dave Peacock  53:58
Stealing it from a book too. 

Lisa Nichols  53:59
I love it. I love it. Oh, well, Dave, this has been so much fun. I so appreciate you. I cannot wait for our listeners to hear from you, and I know it's going to help them. It's going to help them in their personal lives, it's going to help them in their leadership journeys. So, I appreciate you. Thank you so much your time today.

Dave Peacock  54:17
I appreciate that you do this because I think that you put your heart out to so many people, and have touched and impacted more people than you have ever imagined. So, really appreciate you doing this.

Announcer  54:28
Thank you for listening to today's show. Something Extra with Lisa Nichols as a Technology Partners Production Copyright Technology Partners Inc. 2019. For show notes, or to reach Lisa, visit tpi.co/podcast. Don't forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen. 

*Please note, the preceding transcription has been automatically generated and should be used for informational purposes only.