Mentors & Mentees

Jeff Bramble and Tanya Betts join us to share the story of their Mentor/Mentee relationship, how it's impacted each of them, and the lessons they've learned from each other about leadership over the years. 

Later, Jeff reflects on his legacy within Haverkamp Group as he approaches his retirement, and the importance of cultivating the "next generation" of leaders. 

www.HaverkampGroup.com

www.HaverkampGroup.com

Transcript

Todd Wuestenberg: 0:06

Welcome to HaverChat, a leadership podcast where we explore the principles, the stories, and the people that shape great leadership. Hello everyone, my name is Todd Wuestenberg, and I am the Chief Culture Officer here at Haverkamp Group. And today we're going to have a conversation about the mentor-mentee relationship and how it influences or impacts leadership. Joining us today are two guests. We have Tanya Betts, who is the Chief Financial Officer here at Haverkamp Group, and we have Jeff Bramble, the Vice President of Asset Management. Welcome and thank you for joining us today. Thank you. Yes, yes. So let's uh uh let's get at it. Uh before we dive into the first question, I really would like to hear a little bit of your guys' story, more than just the introduction I just gave about your titles. Want to know uh how you came to Haverkamp, what it is that you do, what it's like to work with one another. Then we'll get into the mentor-mentee relationship that the two of you have. So, Jeff, let's let's start with your story. Yeah.

Jeff Bramble: 1:03

Um you know, I'm I'm getting close to retirement, so I've got a long uh work history. Uh started back uh in the early 80s, uh, got out of college and got a job in manufacturing, worked the first 22 years of my career in manufacturing, first in accounting and finance roles and later in general management roles, culminating uh with a position with American Athletic in Jefferson as president and CEO, which is where I met Tanya. So our relationship actually started back in 1998, uh, when I was halfway through uh my career and Tanya was just getting started. Um let her fill in a little bit more, but from there, uh, when I left American Athletic in 2005, I kind of started the second half of my career, which happened to be in real estate. Uh I've worked uh now in real estate for a little over 20 years, the last 10, uh, which I just celebrated my tenth anniversary with Haverkamp, um, has been here at Haverkamp Group. Uh I started originally as president of Haverkamp Properties, did that for six or seven years. Excuse me, transition to president and CEO of Haverkamp Group, and most recently my current position in asset management.

Todd Wuestenberg: 2:20

All right. Tanya, your journey.

Tanya Betts: 2:23

Jeff kind of alluded to where my journey started. Uh I graduated from Iowa State in 1997 and started working at American Athletic straight out of college. I had about a year there when Jeff joined the organization. So then I had the privilege of working with Jeff. We weren't direct I was on a direct report of his at that point in time, but worked with him for maybe another year or so. Um, and then had the opportunity to be on Jeff's team. And so from a very young uh professional age, I guess, if you would, I had the privilege and opportunity to work underneath Jeff and and learn kind of what true accounting was, manufacturing accounting. He had a lot of experience and background in that. Um, and worked with Jeff for seven or eight years, I think, at American Athletic. Uh Jeff moved on to another opportunity, and then uh my career continued in American Athletic until 2021, when I left American Athletic, came to a company here in Ames called Hach Corporation for three weeks, and then had a conversation with Jeff, had an opportunity to join his team again here at Haverkamp. So uh ended up here in June of 2021, and I've been here since, started out as a controller role, and uh now sit in the CFO chair here for Haverkamp.

Todd Wuestenberg: 3:42

Yeah, we're we're kind of smiling at each other and chuckling a little bit because before we started recording, we were talking about what that transition was like from Hach to Haverkamp, and we'll unpack that a little bit more here in a little bit. Uh, before we dive into your mentor-mente relationship and get into that specific story of coming to work here and what that looked like for the two of you, uh, want to get your definition of leadership. So as you think about leadership, how you define it, you know, what it looks like, what it means to you. Yeah, I just would like to understand your definition of leadership. And let's start with you, Tanya, on that one.

Tanya Betts: 4:16

Sure. So leadership for me is really just a group of people working toward that common mission, that common goal, and somebody is leading that group, whether it's a title at a work organization or whether it's just an informal role that somebody steps into, but uh just the opportunity to lead a group toward a common goal is kind of my definition.

Todd Wuestenberg: 4:40

Gotcha. That's good.

Jeff Bramble: 4:41

Jeff, how would you define leadership? Well, I think Tanya kind of gave a textbook definition, so I probably wouldn't define leadership uh a whole lot differently. I do think it's influencing and encouraging a group of people towards a shared or a common goal. Um I I'd add to that kind of my practice of leadership. I I've always viewed, I've always tried to be a lot of people have coined this term, it's not mine, but I've always tried to be a servant leader. And so I have always viewed my primary responsibility as a leader to remove barriers and roadblocks so that my team can get the job done. Gotcha.

Todd Wuestenberg: 5:21

Uh those those are good definitions, and obviously I've seen it lived out in both of you as you guys have worked here at Haverkamp. So let's let's rewind and go back to when you guys first met and uh like to hear the origin story of what we're gonna call the mentor-mentee relationship. Maybe it wasn't quite so formalized when you first started, but yeah. Uh Jeff, let's let's start with you and how did it begin and how did you guys first connect?

Jeff Bramble: 5:46

Yeah, and you you're right, Todd. It it certainly wasn't intentional. Uh we didn't think of ourselves as mentor mentee when it it started, but I I had um taken a position as CFO at American Athletic where Tanya was a young accountant. And I quickly realized that I had inherited a staff that didn't have a lot of accounting background. The assistant controller at the time, I don't think she had any formal education, certainly not in accounting. And after spending a little bit of time with her, I realized I had an issue on my hand of not having a very good right-hand person, if you will. And then I got to know Tanya and realized that she did have a formal degree in accounting, did know what a bank reconciliation was, did know what debits and credits were. And so that was kind of the start of the relationship. I quickly learned that she was going to be the person that I could trust the most on my staff.

Todd Wuestenberg: 6:43

Okay, so there wasn't any, you know, formal program, anything like that. Just in your leadership role, as you looked across to your team, you identified somebody who um you wanted to spend time with invest in, uh obviously from a hard skill standpoint, but was there any moment where anything became a little bit more definitive as far as you wanting to help her grow in her leadership?

Jeff Bramble: 7:07

Yes. Uh again, uh by that point in my career, I knew it was important to have a good team, and I quickly determined that my assistant controller wasn't going to be on that team. And and Tanya was kind of the next person up, if you will. And so I knew she had the educational background and and just needed some guidance from somebody who had a little more professional experience at that point than what she did. So at that point, again, I'd struggle to say it was intentional, but in retrospect, yeah, I guess it was intentional.

Todd Wuestenberg: 7:42

Tanya, as he uh shares that story and as you reflect on on that time in your career, yeah, what what were the qualities or what did you see? Were there any signals in the relationship that um yeah were impactful for you?

Tanya Betts: 7:57

Jeff was an individual that was willing to train, willing to teach, willing to take the time to work with somebody. And I think that's just part of who he is. Um he talks about building his team, but he also built, you know, a lot of things in me as a person, not just at the workplace. So um he wasn't held back about offering advice, sharing stories, sharing perspective from his life that he had lived. And so as a brand new young accountant, brand new into my career, brand new mom in some cases, um, just offered all kinds of life skills, life advice, as well as workplace advice. So um I think in him, that was what I saw, you know, just that person willing to take the time, willing to train, willing to show me those things that I didn't know, hadn't experienced, and then help me be a better person all, you know, kind of from a whole all-around perspective.

Todd Wuestenberg: 8:57

Okay. So Tanya, I'm gonna stick with you. Um so as you think about uh maybe a specific leadership skill, or maybe there's a couple of different leaderships leadership skills that Jeff has really influenced you on or helped you grow in, uh, what are those and how did that that growth happen?

Tanya Betts: 9:14

So as I was, you know, kind of beginning my um leadership path at AAI, a couple employees initially, then uh, you know, some extra departments moving forward. Um, I think the one thing that Jeff really made uh emphasized maybe or or made me aware of is the relationships you build. And he kind of mentioned it, you know, the servant leadership style, the removing the roadblocks, the helping the team grow. And as a young individual, that was important to me to have somebody that really kind of drove those principles home for me and really helped me understand that being a good leader is really all about my team, you know, really helping them be the best person they can be and helping that team build. And and that was very influential at my young age that I was working with Jeff at that point.

Todd Wuestenberg: 10:02

So what I'm hearing, Tanya, is I mean, Jeff's a great role model.

Tanya Betts: 10:06

Very much so.

Todd Wuestenberg: 10:07

Very much a great and I can speak personally as well that he's been a great role model for me in my career as as well. So, Jeff, was there ever a moment that you realized in your your role as being a I know it wasn't formalized or maybe uh given the title mentor, but was there a moment where you realized, boy, this is helping you grow in your leadership as well?

Jeff Bramble: 10:27

Yeah, I um so I'm trying to think back getting old enough, my memory's not as good as it once was. But I I had leadership experience when I came to AAI, but it wasn't many, many years. And so I think one of the challenges of a of a new leader is is often delegation. Well, we've been s leaders in general, we've been successful in our careers. That's usually what's landed us in a a leadership position, but we've oftentimes done it kind of by our by ourselves, you know. We've performed. You get in a leadership position and you start to realize that I need a team. A team will always accomplish more than any any individual will. But it's a little scary to delegate. You you you you're having to give up control of certain things. Well, Tanya was maybe the first person that I could truly trust to do things that I was willing to delegate to her and not only do them, but do them in a way that hopefully I had showed and modeled for her. And so through that informal relationship that we had, that's that's what I learned through it is that I could delegate, I could trust someone else that if I'd provided the the proper training and and modeling to do it, and and she did. She she took the things that I delegated, got the job done, and the relationship built from there.

Todd Wuestenberg: 12:00

Okay, I want to um piggyback off the the word trust, because that's important in any kind of relationship. So, what was it in your guys' relationship as you were going through this together that you began to um have that trust built up in Tanya? You know, what what were some things that happened that were pivotable?

Tanya Betts: 12:19

Pivotable. Well, she she started it. Uh uh, you know, it it's a combination of a working relationship, but also there's some personal touches. And and you know, there's always that fine line of you don't want to get too personal, but I think to develop trust in any individual, you do have to combine personal elements with it. It's about understanding the person's personal stories. And when you understand some of the things they've been through in their life personally as well as professionally, that helps build the trust. Those of us who have been through the five dysfunctions of a team training know that absence of the trust is the base of the pyramid, and you have to get beyond that before you can continue up the pyramid. And so building that trust does require personal knowledge and involvement with a person. I think Tanya and I, as she said, developed that along with our professional relationship from a very, very early point.

Todd Wuestenberg: 13:18

Um Lincioni uh uses the word uh vulnerability when he talks about trust, that in order to build trust, uh, people have to be vulnerable with one another. So, Tanya, what made it possible for you to be vulnerable with Jeff? And you know, what was there anything that, okay, I'm I'm willing to invest in this relationship a bit more and be vulnerable?

Tanya Betts: 13:40

Yeah, so um A, Jeff is Jeff is an easy person to trust. I mean, he he just has that personality that it's easy to connect with, easy to relate to, and just easy to develop that rapport. Um, I'm also not a super quiet private person. That comes as a shock to many people I know. Uh, but um I I do sometimes, you know, uh extend that. You know, I want to develop those relationships. I really want to have that rapport. So I think my personality coupled with just the person he is, it made that easy to develop that rapport.

Jeff Bramble: 14:12

Um I'm over here chuckling because yeah, Tanya didn't have any secrets. And and and honestly, once I get to know somebody, I don't have many secrets either, right? I prefer being open and honest and forthright and those kind of things. And I think we kind of built uh you know, played off one another in that to where she knew the kind of inside parts of my life and I knew the inside parts of her life, and that made our professional relationship grow.

Todd Wuestenberg: 14:40

Yeah, um gonna kind of go off script here a little bit. Uh, you know, over the last 10 years, uh Jeff, as you and I have uh, you know, built our relationship. I remember early on you and I having a conversation about authenticity and how it's really difficult to maybe live one life, you know, uh here and one life there, as far as you know, that professional and that personal. And it's a lot simpler life is when you can just be the same person, authentic at work as you are, you know, in person. Yeah. Um Tanya I'm gonna I'm gonna go back to you and talk about you know some of the hardest lessons um that you've learned as you wrestled through things together. And this is what we were talking about before we started recording. And and that wasn't all that long ago, maybe the hardest lesson that the two of you guys had to navigate together. You want to uh tell your version of that story, and then we'll get Jeff's version of the story.

Tanya Betts: 15:33

Sure. So I I kind of joked about it. I I mean I'm sure Jeff had challenges leading me as a young accountant today AI, but probably one of the most challenging times in our in our leadership relationship was maybe him trying to help me decide, help convince me what my future path should be. Um my son was uh just about out of high school, I felt a professional pull to kind of have some new challenges beyond where I was at at American Athletic. I had kept in touch with Jeff over the years. Jeff and I talked about that. We talked about um even early before that, I guess we had a couple of conversations about my kind of professional pull. Jeff knew my importance as a mom, where that kind of stood in my life. And he said at that point, I you might not remember this, but I remember him telling me, I'm, you know, I'm not sure if you're ready to commute at this point and take on that additional kind of challenge. And I said, Yeah, I don't think I am. So uh once Cole graduated, I started looking for opportunities outside of my base where I'd been for 24 plus years. Um, found an opportunity. I had communicated with Jeff. He was actually a reference for me, found an opportunity at Hach Corporation here in Ames. So I was super excited, um, made the transition, and then the reality of leaving my home of 24 and a half years, I think hit. So it was a really tough transition emotionally. It was tough professionally. Um, I started to second guess, is this where I'm supposed to be? Maybe I should have stayed at AAI, had many phone calls with Jeff, some of them involving tears. Um, my tears, not Jeff's, but um, it was really a difficult, a difficult transition. Um, so three weeks into my career there, Jeff called me and said, hey, I have an opportunity at Haverkamp that opened up in wow, the world upset again. So I talked uh over the weekend, multiple phone conversations, uh, multiple discussions, and finally decided to uh switch from take the opportunity here at Haverkamp and leave uh the new role that I just started at Hach. So very much an emotional window at time and maybe the toughest leadership that Jeff actually had to help me work through.

Jeff Bramble: 17:47

All right. Let's let's hear your version of the story, Jeff. And I think what you recall you know, I think there's no doubt it it was the toughest period in our relationship. Um we really didn't have any misalignments or conflicts or any of that in in a true working arrangement, but more in this career transition part. Uh right, Tanya had told me over the last few years she was at American Athletic that she didn't think she'd stay here forever and was anxious to consider opportunities. And if I would ever hear of anything that might be interested, let her know. And so we had those kind of conversations, and then as it got closer that she was pretty adamant that my time here is done, I need to move. I at that same time knew that there may be an opportunity at Haverkamp. I couldn't predict that for certain, certainly couldn't predict exactly when that may be. But I'm trying to slow her down and get her to wait until I know whether I'm gonna have an opening or not. And she's, you know, she can be a little headstrong sometimes. She's pretty adamant that it's time to move. And so ultimately she decided to take this other job. And of course, as things unfold within a week or two, we did have a transition here at Haverkamp where I had an opening for a controller that I knew. I I had known for years if I ever had that kind of opening, she was the person I would go after. And I didn't hesitate, and I was telling you before we started, Todd, I was actually playing in a in a chamber of commerce golf outing and negotiating with her at the same time to try and get her to leave a job that she'd been at for two weeks and come to work for us. So, you know, stressful. Yeah, you know, it's one of those things you look back on and kind of laugh about, but yeah, it was a big deal for her, and I didn't know for sure if I was gonna get her.

Todd Wuestenberg: 19:47

Okay, so you you came to Haverkamp. Uh, what was that first week like for both of you?

Tanya Betts: 19:54

Uh very tough again.

Todd Wuestenberg: 19:56

Okay, very tough again.

Tanya Betts: 19:58

I didn't expect to have the same um hurdle, if you would.

Todd Wuestenberg: 20:02

Okay.

Tanya Betts: 20:03

I knew my boss, I'd worked for him before, I did not know the industry that was going to be new to me, but I was excited about the opportunity to learn. I've always been excited about opportunities to learn new things. And so I I thought it was gonna be great. Um, I thought, yeah, I'll be working with Jeff again. It's a known variable, you know, all those things I thought were great. And then kind of had again some of those same self, self-doubt. Um, just is this really where I'm supposed to be? Can I do this? Do I have the ability to do this? Um, so again, Jeff probably had a challenging role to continue to uh lead me, you know, continue to provide that leadership strength and say, yep, this is this is good. Where, you know, I think you have the skills, I think this is where you're supposed to be. And I I don't know if you had any secret conversations with my husband or not, but it was a trying time for that first week.

Jeff Bramble: 20:56

You know, I I can't remember a single time I've had a secret conversation with with Alan, but we've learned, Tanya and I have learned over the years, that her husband and I are very much alike and give similar advice. So I think we have a you know kind of a uh unspoken connection that that we just we just give her the same input. But I think Tanya tried to quit two or three times that first week. And again, I wasn't confident that I was ultimately going to salvage um uh her role here, but I knew she was the right one, and I knew her makeup, and I knew she would work hard, I knew she had a big hurdle learning a new industry, but I was confident she could do it if she would just buckle down and give it a chance, and ultimately she did. I you know, I had a little bit of a hurdle learning property management when I started. And Todd, you were a big help to me in in in that, and I knew that uh we collectively could be a help to her and she would she would get it.

Todd Wuestenberg: 22:00

I want to um talk about again mentor-mente relationships and let's let's imagine for a moment um that somebody comes to you. So let's role play a little bit and um they want to seek a mentor. Um Tanya, what kind of advice would you give an emerging leader who is uh seeking out a mentor?

Tanya Betts: 22:23

I think find somebody that A, you can be comfortable with, but B, you know will push you. Um it's hard to push yourself sometimes. So find someone that you know will be honest with you. They'll help you see your blind spots and that has the skills themselves to help you develop as well. Um I think those are all important in a mentor-mentee relationship. Those were all things that Jeff could help me with.

Todd Wuestenberg: 22:48

Okay. Jeff, what kind of uh advice would you give an emerging leader as it pertains to looking for a mentor? Maybe even uh differently, you know, having been a mentor, what kind of advice maybe would you give a mentor who's looking for a mentee?

Jeff Bramble: 23:02

Yeah, I I think from the the latter part of that, Todd, um always be willing to invest in the next generation. Uh I mean, you and I share a a faith journey in a church that believes in pouring into the next generation, and it's easy to take that same concept and apply it to the workplace. Yes. Um you will always be better served by continuing to raise up young leaders because as I know well now, two weeks from my retirement, I'm not going to be here forever. And and Haverkamp needs the next generation to step up as some of the original leaders move on. And and so that that needs to be a bit of an intentional effort to pour into younger people. As it concerns a young person looking for a mentor, um I I encourage it, but I would say first focus on doing the job that you've been assigned and doing it real well. Don't don't look for the next step too quickly. You will always impress upper leadership by doing your assigned job well first and concentrate on on you know being very proficient there before you look for new opportunities. But then and I had a good friend and and uh partner, if you will, in business that was the first one I remember encouraging me, don't be afraid, particularly when you're learning a new industry, to reach out to people that maybe are at a peer or even a level above where you are and learn from them. Be willing to buy them lunch and just ask questions. And you know, I can think of a lot of professional leadership people that kind of apply that same philosophy, Dave Ramsey being one good example, always reaching out to leaders in other industries and learning from them. And so I think that's something as a young emerging leader that you can that you can do as you're seeking out a mentor type relationship.

Todd Wuestenberg: 25:06

Okay, so Jeff, while you've got the mic, if you will, I want you to to think about uh Tanya and how she has grown in her leadership um and how she has impacted Haverkamp. What what has she brought to Haverkamp over the last several years here?

Jeff Bramble: 25:23

Sure. Well, she she's brought a unique approach to financial leadership. I've always thought that. I I don't know that Tanya told uh chose the right uh profession originally because she doesn't have a typical accountant personality. So that's just kind of a fun thing that she's she's brought to. Yes. She's very social. Yes, most accountants are not social. So that's just kind of a fun thing that that she's brought, but she's fed it fit on the team exceedingly well. The the thing I've always been most impressed about, Tanya, and she said it earlier, is her desire to learn new things. She's always anxious to grow personally, and that becomes uh a model for her team.

Todd Wuestenberg: 26:04

Okay.

Jeff Bramble: 26:05

And she may not come across as being real pushy to promote professional growth, but people see that in her and they want to follow it. And she works exceedingly hard. She doesn't always work exceedingly hard at work. That's a bit of an inside joke because I know the hours she puts in when she goes home at night, and she's a late-night person. I'm an early morning person, so that was maybe one conflict in our relationship. But she's willing to work extraordinarily hard, a lot of hours, and she does it to learn and to get the job done. You can count on her to get the job done, you can count on her to always be willing to take on something new.

Todd Wuestenberg: 26:50

Okay. Well, I have a feeling you modeled that for her as well, a lot of those those traits, and it's it's coming out, and love hearing how now she's modeling that for others on her team. So Tanya, when you think about Jeff and his impact here as far as uh his leadership at Haverkamp, what comes to mind?

Tanya Betts: 27:07

Um I you know, one thing that pops right into my mind is his care about the team and and his you talked about authentic authenticity, you know, just that genuineness, the openness and caring about the team, not just at work. You know, he cares about the person, he cares about their future, their benefit. And I think that was something I learned early on from him that it isn't just about the workplace. It isn't just about what I need out of that person. That can't be great leadership. And so, you know, really being vested and concerned about the genuine well-being of that employee, whether it is the pro-in position, whether it is a person with this aggressive learning desire, um, whatever that is, whether it's a person who wants to grow and develop beyond the team that they're on with you today and have an opportunity outside of that, but really genuinely caring about their well-being and where do they want to go.

Todd Wuestenberg: 28:03

All right, Jeff, you you alluded it, alluded to this earlier. Uh, you're just a couple weeks from retirement. This is kind of a very unique month. Uh, we're gonna celebrate, or you know, you did have your 10-year anniversary, we're gonna go celebrate that here, uh, even today, yet. And then in a couple weeks, we're gonna be celebrating your retirement. So as you think about your retirement, uh, what part of leadership philosophy approach do you hope will continue kind of as a legacy here at Haverkamp? Uh wow.

Jeff Bramble: 28:33

Uh you know, it's it's a little, I don't know, uh uncomfortable. I I never thought early in my career, obviously, that I'd reach this point, you know, where you'd start talking about legacies, but not only at work, but from a family standpoint. You know, the next generation's passing on, and even from a family standpoint, I'm starting to think about legacies. So um, you know, you know, I have to start, Todd, and you were integrally involved with this. Uh I brought EOS to this organization, and as I look back on my 10 years with Haverkamp, I can't think of a single thing that maybe I've had a hand in that is more important than bringing EOS to the organization. And I always say there's nothing really complicated or exceedingly difficult about implementing EOS, but it's crucial to get the entire team on the same page. And as you know, it's been an operational structure that has allowed us to thrive over the last ten years because it gets everybody on the same page, speaking the same language, doing the things the same way. Yes. And so I hope if there's a piece of my legacy, it is EOS specifically, but in general, in general, understanding the benefit of structure, uh, uh a set of guidelines that everybody adheres to. It's not rigid, it's very flexible, but it's something you can always come back to if if you get off on a tangent or something. And so I think um that would be that would be the the biggest specific thing. And then we've talked about the philosophy of always emphasizing team over individual. Uh I I would hope that my years have seen a transition of Haverkamp uh being an organization that was perhaps a bit siloed when I came to being a much more integrally uh operated company now where all of our uh people and all of our divisions work together for a for a common purpose.

Todd Wuestenberg: 30:42

Yeah, Tanya and I are like nodding our heads here as you talk because um yeah, uh I say your fingerprints are all over this company when it comes to the entrepreneurial operating system and and develop developing that uh within the organization. And it did help remove the silos and it helped bring uh greater unity and structures and all those type of things. So I would definitely say that that's a big one. Um would you add anything to that, Tanya?

Tanya Betts: 31:09

Absolutely. So the number of individuals who Jeff has had an impact on, and again, it might be an informal mentor, mentee type relationship, but just the number of individuals here who you can see um snippets of his leadership style carry forward through, um, that's that's impressive to me. And it's exciting because I know the person that helped me develop through my career was a great leader. And so to be able to see those little snippets in other people that you know he has um rubbed off on them, if you would, or has, you know, train, you know, led that those individuals to have kind of the same excitement about that leadership style within our organization. You know, it just helps um the overall culture that we have here. And I think when we talk about that, Jeff has played a very pivotal role in the overall culture of our organization and driving that throughout the throughout the entire company. And that's what I think a lot of us get so excited about being part of Haverkamp for is the culture that's here. And he talked about EOS, the opportunities that exist, because that helps all of us in terms of opportunities for growth and opportunities for the company to grow. So just a huge impact on our organization that he leaves behind at the end of this month. Um, so uh thank you for that. And uh yeah, I I I'm excited that you know the things he has put in place and the things he has influenced and developed and helped here um will help us moving forward.

Todd Wuestenberg: 32:42

Tanya, you and I have um been in some meetings recently with asset management. And yeah, you you talk about uh his impact on that next generation. We see that in Luke and Josiah, and as we sit in those meetings, there's oftentimes I see little glimpses of Jeff's impact and influence on them. And you know, there there's a phrase that uh I will always give Jeff credit for, and that's that you know, numbers tell a story, and what is what is that story telling us? So that's another legacy part right there. Numbers tell a story, yes. Yeah. So, Jeff, as you think about uh that next generation of leaders here and um yeah, what what gives you confidence in the culture, in the company, um, that you know that it's gonna uh continue to grow, that there's their scalability, their sustainability. Yeah. Oh oh my goodness.

Jeff Bramble: 33:30

As I uh I I realized, I don't know, in in couple a couple of recent years that it w it was time for me to step aside uh primarily because the the younger generation of leaders has the energy that perhaps I had in my twenties that I don't have anymore. So uh just that energy, the the desire to learn, there's new technologies that when I was in my twenties, I was the one you know pushing the new technologies, you know, PCs over mainframe computers and those kinds of things, but now it's AI and a bunch of things I don't understand. So, but the the young people do, and they're really good at it. And Josiah is a great example, as as is Luke on on my current team. These guys are gonna far surpass anything that I could do if I stayed. And uh we had a um uh uh a session in here on Monday where we went through some of our properties. Josiah led that, and at the end of it all, Paul looked at me and said, Jeff, do you have anything that I add? And I said, Absolutely not. I think you're in good hands when I walk away. Yeah, and both he and Brent nodded in the affirmative. And it it just made me proud for Josiah because I know he's got uh a strong future, as do many, many of the up-and-coming leaders in our organization.

Todd Wuestenberg: 34:58

As we um start to wrap things up here, uh I just want to always close by giving each of you, uh each guest the opportunity to maybe share something that didn't come up in our conversation that you know you would like to share, something that maybe you don't want to left, you know, unsaid. So Tanya, I'll I'll start with you. Anything that you wish you would have shared that you didn't get a chance to?

Tanya Betts: 35:20

Uh no, I feel like I shared everything that I wanted to share. Um, but just you know, we talked about it, wasn't a formal mentor-mentee relationship starting out. But um I, you know, I try to reflect back and think where would my career have gone had I not had the opportunity to work with Jeff at the start of that foundation. And I I honestly don't know. Um, I think, you know, I had a mentor who pushed me, pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I I loved to learn, but I needed that too. So um, you know, I don't have anything to say other than just I appreciate everything you brought to myself as a as a developing accountant and developing leader, as well as everything you brought to the Haverkamp team that I now get to have the benefit of going forward with uh beyond your retirement. So just thank you for all the people that you influenced over your career.

Todd Wuestenberg: 36:14

Tanya well said I I love that part about the coaching and what a mentor's role is to challenge and push that person outside of their comfort zone, and that's where we grow. And so that's the role of a mentor and a coach. And yeah, I would agree uh Jeff has had that impact on me as well. So, Jeff, how about for you? Anything you want to say that uh you don't want to left unsaid?

Jeff Bramble: 36:35

Well, you know, I I just am exceedingly grateful to have spent the last 10 years of my career here here at Haverkamp. Uh, you know, it maybe was kind of an odd ending date to pick the end of January, but I intentionally did that because I knew my 10th anniversary date was in early January, and I didn't want to stop short of that. I never worked anywhere 10 years in my career until I came to Haverkamp. So just very grateful for uh the opportunity that Brent gave me 10 years ago to come here, the chance to do some things that I'd always wanted to do in my career, like implement EOS. Um although I'm leaving from a professional standpoint, I will always maintain relationships. Tanya and I have each, and I don't want to get emotional in this, but Tanya and I have each experienced some pretty significant personal losses over the last couple of years. And one of the benefits of our relationship is we have been there for one another uh during those times of loss. And that's just pretty special.

Tanya Betts: 37:51

Yes.

Jeff Bramble: 37:52

When you can have those relationships that develop throughout your personal career. Yeah, it it's work, it's a career, is our professional path, but there's personal things that intersect with that, and that's pretty special.

Todd Wuestenberg: 38:07

Uh Jeff, thank you for for sharing that and being vulnerable. But uh yeah, that's that's that's all part of the mentor mentee relationship. It's yeah, any relationship to have a healthy relationship, um, that's what it takes is getting to to know each other. And yeah, we do spend a lot of time at at work with one another. So let's make it enjoyable, let's get to know each other, let's, you know, um yeah, sharpen each other as well. So uh again, Jeff, Tanya, thank you for being guest today and for sharing your experiences and your stories and your insights. Uh, we're all the better for it. So thank you so much.

Jeff Bramble: 38:43

Thank you for the opportunity.

Todd Wuestenberg: 38:44

Absolutely. And I do want to thank our audience for joining us today uh here at HaverChat, a leadership podcast. And we hope that today's conversation uh will have inspired you to think about becoming a mentor or asking for a mentor or being a mentee, or maybe even both. So thank you so much for joining us. And be sure to keep following HaverChat as we continue to have conversations with leaders who are making an impact each and every day. So until next time, keep leading with purpose.