Joe Hawn, CEO - From High-Intensity Leader to Intentional Dad: What Changed at Home

A lot of dads know how to win at work and still feel like they’re losing time at home. I sit down with Joe Hawn, CEO of Grandview Tech, to talk about what happens when a high-intensity, goal-driven life collides with bedtime books, bath time, and two little boys who just want you on the floor with them. Joe gets real about the inner shift that fatherhood forces, from chasing “I’ll be happy when” milestones to learning how to be present today.

We go back to Joe’s upbringing as one of six kids and the lessons his parents instilled in him early, including the mantra “earn it to burn it,” learning the value of a dollar, and building habits around giving, saving, and spending. From there, we dig into modern parenting challenges like emotional regulation after a stressful day, the power of a shutdown ritual, and how humility and vulnerability can be strengths for dads who lead teams and carry pressure.

We also talk about creating family core values that actually guide decisions, why stewardship and generosity matter, and how to teach kids through consistent, memorable actions. Joe shares practical ideas, including using AI tools like ChatGPT to craft value-based bedtime stories, while we both agree that technology can’t replace the human work of connection. If you want actionable insights on intentional fatherhood, work-life balance for dads, family values, and leadership at home, hit play, then subscribe, share with another dad, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hi, I'm Riley. And I'm Ryder. And this is my dad's show. Hey everybody, it's Casey J. Cox with the Quarterback Dadcast. Welcome to season seven. Can't wait for this season as there's a lot of great guests ahead. If you're new to this podcast, really it's simple. It's a podcast where we we interview dads, we learn about how they were raised, we learn about the life lessons that were important to them, we learn about the values that are important to them, and really we learn about how we can work hard to become a better quarterback or leader of our home. So let's sit back, relax, and listen to today's episode on the Quarterback Deadcast. But hey everybody, it is Casey J. Cox with the Quarterback Deadcast. We're in season seven, and uh, if you'd have told me that our next guest, I would be having him on my podcast when I met him, I'd be like, that A, that makes no sense because I wouldn't have a podcast, but B, um, seriously, but here we are. And it's it's for those that know him, he is he's definitely considered the Adonis of staffing. Um this guy looked as shaped like a Greek god. Um, tongue in cheek, he's a fantastic dude. His name's Joe Han, and I had the chance to work with him early in his career. We were in um the the old the old K Force days, and uh he now has he's gone on to do some amazing things. He's the CEO of Grandview Tech, formerly uh Transpoint One. He's a FSU seminal, but that is not why we're gonna talk to Joe today. We're gonna talk to Joe today because we're gonna learn how Joe is working hard to become that ultimate quarterback or leader of his household. So further ado, Mr. Han, welcome to the quarterback deck cast.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Casey, thanks for having me. Likewise, uh, when you agreed to mentor me back in the Cape Force days, uh, never thought we would um have the opportunity to connect on the domain of fatherhood, but I'm excited to be here and uh excited to talk about my journey and hopefully it inspires and helps uh other fathers along the way. You know, that's what we're here for, uh, is to help and you know lift each other up as dads. Because certainly it is a journey that's unique to everybody and we all have our own experiences. So uh excited to be here and talk about fatherhood.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Love it, do we have before we talk about gratitude, do we have any chance of your of your children becoming Adonis Jr.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

You know, likewise, uh, you know, my son got on the phone for the first time uh at Animal Kingdom Lodge when he picked up the hotel phone and I got a I got a uh a photo on my phone of it, and he actually hit the uh emergency button calling uh 911. So the the police showed up to our door you know a couple minutes later. So I'm like, okay, he he has cold colon in his blood. But it's it's a possibility.

Gratitude And Being Present

SPEAKER_00 2:39

I love it. I love it. All right, ma'am. We always start out each episode gratitude. So tell me, what are you most grateful for as a dad today?

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Um that's a great question. Um probably the man that um you know both of my sons are make are you know making me um it's a you know split between striving um and for the life that you want to create for your family, and then you know, being present um in the day-to-day. So you're not you know creating something that you're ultimately um giving up for the time that you have with your kids today. So I think you know, I'm very grateful that my kids have made me more present um father and just more present in my relationships uh throughout my life, actually, because you end up realizing how important that is, um, and not sacrificing the joy of being present today for you know, I'll be happy when I reached a successful moment.

Inside The Han Family Huddle

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yeah. It's good, dude. Simple but but powerful to be thinking about because uh as you said that you made me definitely think of my early days when my kids were probably like four and a half and two, where things were rolling at the force, but I was found myself just not happy. Well, I was happy, but I wasn't I was just like bummed because I didn't get a chance to see them as much. And I remember one of my former leaders, Angela Ronica, encouraged me to start leaving earlier and um still be available up until like five, but then like really shut it down and be locked in from five to seven until family time to you know whether it's bedtime, bathtime. So I'll with that I'm I'm gonna say I'm grateful for Ange for um helping me make that decision when I was like probably 34, 35. I'm now the ripe old age of 50 and and feeling good about being the 5-0. I haven't even got my AERP information yet, so I'm kind of concerned that maybe I'm off the radar for those guys, but they can cold call me later. I'll take their call. Um okay, joking aside, brother, tell me um tell me who's inside the Han huddle. You're playing quarterback, your wife's the GM, but talk about uh talk about the squad and how you and your wife met.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Yeah, so we have um Kelly, who's my wife. We've been together for 10 years, um, married for four. We met actually back when I was with K Force. And um, she was up at New York at the time, and um, I was in Atlanta and started dating long distance. And then we have um Roman, who's almost four. Gosh, time flies. So he'll be four here in May. And then we have Beckham, who just turned one on uh February 11th. So blessed to have two boys, and um, you know, the huddle is uh, you know, moms stay at home, uh, you know, full time, which gosh, it's it's one of the whole new levels of respect for um you know stay-at-home moms after experiencing it. And um, yeah, so we're at those unique ages from a developmental stage standpoint.

Growing Up One Of Six

SPEAKER_00 5:43

So cool. Um, all right, man. Well, I like this is where I like to ask my my guests to go back in time a little bit. And I want you to tell me what was life like growing up for Joe and talk about the impact mom and dad had on you from a values perspective.

Earning Money And Learning Value

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Yeah, that's a great, great question. Um, so life growing up for me was um you know one of six. Um I'm the third. And um, you know, my father, you know, always taught me you gotta earn it to burn it. If it's not Christmas or your birthday, you better work for it and kind of gave us those opportunities. Um at the same time, it was kind of who is at the top of the totem pole, you know, thrown into a lot of competitive sports growing up uh definitely kept me out of trouble. But uh, you know, you had the stack of brothers above you and stacker brothers below you, and then uh the sixth is uh you know Holly, my sister. And so it teaches you a lot of uh existing in a wolf pack, if you will. Um but overall, um, you know, I my parents taught me uh the values of um you know working hard, the the values of you know putting somebody else before yourself. Um and then you know, I think also just um you know the Christian values of um you know treating others as you want to be treated, right? So, you know, for me, um I saw my father work really hard growing up and that inspired me to want to be like him, and um you know, from an entrepreneurship standpoint and you know, various success that he had while still staying humble, um, which I really admire him for. And um, so you know, early days it was sacrifice everything to be successful, uh especially in my early 20s. And um, you know, didn't have a family at the time. And you know, being a dad really changed me because my priorities were work, work, work, um, and you know, sacrifice any uh amount of fun to be able to achieve you know those goals. And so um I never really thought that I would have the perspective and view that I do today. Um, but fatherhood definitely you know brought my priorities of um a relationship with my wife and a relationship with my kids front and center, while still balancing um, you know, goals, thinking big, you know, making big bets, um, all of those things while also being present.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Talk about so tell me what dad did and what and mom what did mom do as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah, so um my mom was a stay-at-home mom. And um, you know, my dad was a sales guy who turned uh entrepreneur, started his own business when he was 28, um, ultimately in the legal copies industry. And so he was working really hard. Um, you know, my mom actually uh went to work for a little bit while he sat out his non-compete. Um, I was really young at the time. So he um you know started a company called Atlanta Legal Copies, uh, grew that uh 26 different cities, about um you know 2,500 employees uh over a six-year period. Yep. And then um he uh sold that company to a company called Icon. And uh since then he's um been kind of a serial entrepreneur of um you know buying, building, and scaling companies in the legal services space. And so saw that entrepreneurship journey growing up, which definitely inspired me. And um yeah, my mom was uh you know front and center with the family.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

So she had the she had the hardest job of the family, it sounds like.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I have I have two boys, but uh I always ask her, like, gosh, uh, how'd you do it? You know, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Didn't have iPads back then.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yeah, yeah, exactly. No iPads and um no help, but you know, you make it happen, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Right. Um, so one of six, uh, are you still close with your siblings?

SPEAKER_01 9:50

I am, yeah, absolutely. Uh very close with all my siblings. Um you know, the bond of uh of brothers is definitely um you know just really strong, right? So most of my brothers um own their own business or are on a path to owning their own business, which is you know pretty unique. We all we all got the entrepreneurship bug, if you will, um, and excited to see what uh my younger brother Josh and uh younger sister Holly are gonna do. Is Holly's just coming out of college and um Josh is kind of doing his apprenticeship in private equity. But um, yeah, ultimately it's great because we all get together, we talk about business, talk about um you know, entrepreneurship, startup ideas, and that's kind of a strong bond within the house, the Han household, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Wow, so cool. Now, mom and dad's still with us.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yep, mom and dad are still with us. So um they're they're they're doing great, strong, healthy, all that good stuff. Very cool.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

So um doing well. My mom's still with us, she's 76, mom. Sorry, I think you're 76. And then my pops, unfortunately, he passed away December 29th, 2021. So um hoping I got a lot more years than than he did because I want to be there for grandkids, and that's why I keep seeing my fitness goals have changed, Joe. Back when we knew each other, I was doing CrossFit. Now my fitness goals are don't get fat, don't get hurt.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

I love that. Yeah, I may I may take one of those goals and uh adopt them specifically the don't don't get fat one.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Yeah, well, I'm kind of joking, but I'm also like really serious. Like, I just I don't want to get hurt because I want to be able to play golf. That's like my I think I love a lot is being outside and walking the course and playing. And it's like I think it's good for my mind because you're chasing something you're never gonna be really, really good at, and you're there's always something to get better at, which I think is a great mindset to be in life. And um, okay, so your pops and mom, they taught you about hard work, putting others first, Christian values of you know, follow goal and rule, which I'm a big believer of that. First chapter of my book, self-plug, right there, is all about that. Um I'd love to hear a story of where that those values or those thoughts when I asked that question really got cemented. Um, as you reflect back. Can you think of a time where mom and dad had to maybe bring the hammer a little bit or when maybe Joe, little Joey was got out of line and they had to teach him a little bit?

Humility And Leaving Work At Work

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Yeah, so so many stories. I mean, when I say um, you know, you got to earn it, burn it was you know, um just burned inside of my memory growing up. It was a constant mantra, right? Um, so I mean, from the time that I can remember even um, you know, wanting something, right? Whether it's just checking out at the in the sports authority line and you're wanting to buy a pack of gum or buying something at the store. Um, but the thing about it is, is I was always given the opportunity to work. And so it really taught me the value of a dollar. Um, and so if I wanted something, it was like, hey, well, when we get home, I'll you can wash the car and I'll pay you for that, or you can go rake the leaves. And you know, I kind of it kind of built in this um reward mechanism of okay, I I work for something, you know, I want something, I'm gonna go work for it, and then I can immediately go and get it. And so, you know, I ended up um just kind of taking that and running with it. Uh, for instance, I remember when um we had Sally Foster at school. So basically it's like you sell wrapping paper and gift you know stuff around Christmas time to your neighbors. Um, I would take the Sally Foster list and you know, basically go and um to all my neighbors and um you know sell them um you know on Sally Foster. I ended up being like the top sales rep uh for my school of selling the most Sally Foster for you know so many years in a row. And um, you know, our my father also taught me when he did give us money for you know mowing the lawn, whatever it may be, um you can either spend that money or you could save it, right? And if you saved it, you know, he would ultimately match that savings. And so we had a you know giving bucket, which is this little box in our room, and there was a giving drawer, there was a spending drawer, there was a savings drawer. So I was always taught, you know, you save uh 10%, you give 10%, and then you spend the rest. Um, but anything you saved, you know, he would match. So um, you know, growing up, there were so many opportunities to, you know, work and make money. And I really appreciate um you know my father for providing those opportunities. And um, you know, it gave me the desire to, you know, want to work and take ownership, frankly, of you know, the things that I want, um, and going and getting after it and uh making it happen.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

What was the worst job you had growing up that said, man, I'm never doing that?

SPEAKER_01 14:48

My father was uh just if you ask any of my brothers, he's just known for like the Saturday projects, like Saturday morning up at 7 a.m., you know, let's go, and you know, gonna put all the kids to work. Um, so you know, we had these fields uh next to our house, and you know, he'd pay us to mow the field. And so there's a you know, imagine like a tractor with a bush hog behind it, and you're basically pulling this tractor and mowing two horse fields um that were next to our house. And so I was out there just mowing the fields on a Saturday. You know, it's probably gonna take a good three, four hours, and um, you know, was really thinking about playing video games at the end of the day and you know what I could do with the rest of my Saturday after I was done working. Um so I end up uh kind of being halfway through, you know, mowing these fields, and next thing you know, I just busted an in-ground uh yellow jacket hive. Oh jeez. So these yellow jackets just tore it into me. Um I ended up having to like uh who knows how many you know yellow jacket stings all across my body, but I'm running through the field, I got yellow jackets chasing me. I'm basically getting back to the house, I'm taking a shower, and then one actually was stuck in my hair, and his yellow jacket was you know buzzing around the shower trying to sting me. So I vividly remember that. That was the last time I I mowed fields out there um, you know, after having the yellow jacket incident. But luckily he didn't ask me to do anything that was um, you know, too ratchet from a you know job opportunity standpoint. But I would I would do anything to make money growing up.

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Yeah. Um, I'm curious, where did your dad get that work ethic?

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Yeah, it's a good question. Um you know, when he was young, uh my grandfather um got all of the kids interested in collecting quarters. So back in the day, banks had these portfolios uh that you could get at the bank and you could take actual physical quarters and you could put them into the slot of the portfolio and you could save up$10. And then, you know, when you saved up$10, you could take that portfolio to the bank and start your savings account, and it was a really big deal to you know have$10. And so um, you know, I think uh my dad at the time was maybe five or six years old when he, you know, he was kind of given this portfolio. And he was taught, you know, hey, I can work, I can get a quarter, I can save, and then I can go to the bank and kind of set up this uh savings account. So when he did, um he was really proud of saving up$10, you know, being six years old. And um my grandfather took him to the bank and set up this savings account for him. And then he started uh wanting to just continue to build on that, right? So he started um mowing people's lawns and um not just mowing uh you know my grandfather's lawn and he would mow the lawn for a nickel or yeah, a quarter, not a nickel. And then um, as he got older, he got other kids to start mowing lawns for him, and he would pay them um, you know, uh, you know, two two dimes, and I don't know, took took the quarter type of deal, right? Yeah, and then he started selling bubblegum at school and um you know other odds and end jobs, and he had a whole bunch of kids working for him in high school, knowing homes all across the neighborhood. And uh that's kind of where he learned it from.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Wow. So grand grandpa was an entrepreneur mine too.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Um, you know, he wasn't. Um yeah, my my my grandfather worked for uh NIFTA and was in the food business, and so he um definitely rose to the ranks, had a successful career, ended up being uh you know, vice president of a major food distributor, um, kind of controlling you know foods that get bought by you know package and grocery stores across the country back in the day. But uh he was more of a corporate man, if you will. And um yeah, my father kind of started the entrepreneurship uh you know theme in our family, if you will.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Love it. Um I always love to make when I go when I interview people just so fun to give when you reflect back and think of these stories. And like, and as you're saying that, like for some reason, like memories of me working some of the jobs I did were flashing back, and you know, you you realize what you don't want to do. Um, and then when you get the taste of success, it's like I don't know. I uh humility was always a big part of my life, and and staying grounded, and just because I've you could it could be gone tomorrow. And so um that is I think for the right mindset, humility can be the biggest driver of of anything because it just um once you get an ego and you think you're hot shit, it's like you just lose, I think you lose everybody. And um, my quarterback coach, this is Uncle Rico moment coming, he said, Um, whenever you if you ever have to tell me how good you were, you're not that good. When you're great, I'll tell you. And uh it just like so I I never like you know, you I'd have a good game in college, but I was like, well, I had a good game, but I wasn't great yet. And so until coach said, Hey, great game, man. I was like, okay, cool. And you like wanted to earn that because and the same thing in business, it's like you, you know, as a salesperson, as a sale leader, uh, once you get comfortable, business will uh you'll get you'll get humbled quickly. And you life, I feel like life's just a game of habits. And so like as we as dads, my hope is that I'm I'm hoping I'm showing more than I'm teaching my kids. I'm hoping they see um the results of versus you know whether you choose to work out at an old age like me or you you know how we save or how we spend. It's like you know, we're just we're there's just a constant, not like teaching everything every moment, but like when there's opportunities, I like to use curiosity then to teach so they're ready to learn and listen versus just constantly just in there, you know what, and they're just like, geez, my dad won't leave me alone. He's in his mind. But um I'd say, man, the worst.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

I think you get I think you get smacked in the face with with a new level of humility when you become a dad. Um, because you feel a different sense of responsibility for um for others that you didn't feel previously. And the more kids you have, the more you have to balance um across you know, quality time and um what your kids need at various stages of the game, and then you know, juggling the relationship with your wife and quality time there and keeping that on a positive track, you know, plus your business, plus your health, plus your relationship with your kids. And so you quickly need to uh make sure that your discipline muscle is really strong. And then um every day they're teaching you something new about um about being humble and about being vulnerable and um about being present, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:55

What's the biggest as a newer dad? You mentioned fatherhood humble. Maybe talk about that for a little bit and maybe give an example of how how did it teach you to be more humble?

Building Family Values That Stick

SPEAKER_01 22:07

It's a good question. I've always been a pretty humble guy. Maybe you know, humble is the wrong word for it. I would say fatherhood and change it changed me a lot. You know, before in in business, you were rewarded through uh intensity. So the intensity in which you chase your goals, the intensity in which you bring um to every single day of um you know your your your team and your effort and what you're doing at work. And I think on the opposite end of the spectrum, intensity can um kind of diminish your level of presence uh with with your kids and and being at uh you know being at home. So it's a very interesting you know concept um because that same level of intensity can really um you know just diminish connection with your family. And um so I would say if anything, being a father has softened me because um you know, and I and I think it's also stripped me of um just a lot of self-focus where it was my goals and my focus and what I was driving, and um that laser focus really shifted for me and really understanding you don't have to wait to um achieve your goals because you know a lot of times you're saying I'll be happy when this happens, and a lot of the joy that comes from um life in being a dad is there uh for you to ultimately take right now and to be present and step into. And so I think that that reflection point um really changed me from you know, how can I still be intentional and still have the right focus as it relates to showing up for work every day and what I'm doing with the intention behind the mission and the vision. But then being able to shift and really giving that control to my boys to uh lead, getting down on their level, you know, getting on the floor with them, then be in control of um you know what we're doing and how they want to interact and what they need from a development standpoint. So I think it humbled my uh my ego a bit in regards to like how important I am, because I'm really not that important. Yeah, and also how important your goals are, because while the mission is important, um missing a goal is um nothing in comparison to like missing showing up for your kids. And so that's just something I won't negotiate on anymore is you know, being present there for them, making them feel safe, secure, loved, um, and just having fun because it was hard to shift from a tough day where you're you got a lot on you, you got a lot on your shoulders, um, a lot of people who are relying on you, and you can carry that weight into just you know, soccer practice or dinner with the boys or you know, playing in the backyard. Um, and how do you shed that from you know what's on your mind to really being present with your kids? And um so yeah, that that's changed me in a huge way.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

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SPEAKER_01 27:21

You know, um, I'm just a completely different man than I was before kids, uh, for sure. And um I give all the credit to them for changing me. And it just happened. Um, one of my clients gave me some great advice, and he said, um, no matter how busy you are, no matter what's going on, I know you work really hard, uh, find time to be intentional about um spending quality time with your boys every single day. And so I really took that to heart because I trusted him. And um I started just doing bathtime and books every night with when Roman was born, from the you know, the day he was born, basically. And I really cherished that time and I saw how fast he was changing. And um I also was really good about documenting like videos and just you know, home photos and all that type of stuff that of like those moments and going back and living them. Um because I always tell my wife, I'm like, and this is a quote, I forget who said it, but um, I definitely took it from somebody. It's like the best way to compete with time is to make memories that time can never take away. And so I've been pretty intentional since the beginning about making memories. And you know, um, I I just I just love the boys so much that um being a dad changed me because I I cherish those moments with them. And then when I reinforce that through gratitude and making these memories and reliving those memories, it kind of reinforces it. Yep. And um yeah, you know, I think you realize how fast time goes by and you're never gonna get, you know, the first year back or the second year back. And um you end up, you know, beginning to understand, like, hey, I really need to take advantage of this this time, especially as they're growing and you're developing them. Um you know, you're trying to instill confidence and trust and uh values at a very early age. So you you feel a sense of responsibility to do that now and um also to do it well, right? So I began trying to really just like read up on stuff, find materials, find things to you know, enlighten me on frameworks of for parenting. Um, you know, I'm like at one point I woke up probably a year in, I'm like, gosh, I really need to develop myself as a dad. Like I need to, you know, move from just like having a personal development plan to you know reading up on um you know other successful parents and what they did, um, versus trying to like reinvent the wheel myself. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 30:14

Yep. Well, I think I think you're doing a lot of it already. I mean, I got I got an almost 20-year-old and a 17-year-old, and they're not in jail yet. So um, sarcastically speaking, I think just being just showing up with intention is more than half the battle without judgment. Um, and remembering that this is their journey, not ours. And so many times we we on accident put our own interests into our kids and try to get them going down a path, maybe they don't want to go down that path. And so it's like I just um that'd be the one thing I'd just share with you as a guy with older kids is you know, the most important thing we can do is spend time with our kids. And just like when you have a bad day, or if I have a bad day, the last thing we want to do is just be torched in the backseat of the car, or we want someone to just have some empathy for us or to listen. And I think like those are the things that I've you know, and I I I reached out to older dad's more experienced too. And um, there's a I remember there's a guy named Mike Betts, I don't know if you remember working with him. Great dude. He's he was um uh on the on the up on the podcast early in the journey, like in season one or two, and one of my favorite things he taught me was we are what we allow. And so like that hit home for me on as I relates to like um uh what's the word I'm looking for? Like going out to dinner with your kids. And if you let your kids act like complete animals in the restaurant, well, that's not their fault, that's your fault, mom and dad. And so sometimes early my I'd have a couple buddies, not gonna name them, they'd say, Yeah, we just can't go out to restaurants because our kids are out of control. I said, Well, whose fault's that? If you let your kids act like that at home, they're not learning. And so, like, I that when I've that mindset of you are what you allow just kind of really stuck with me when with what Mike taught me. And so I guess for you and your family, as you think about like the values that you were taught, maybe your wife was taught, and then the values you're gonna really shape the the um Roman and Beckham. Tell me what what what might be two or three that you really hope when they when they hit 18 and you're measuring success as your journey as a dad, what would be like two or three values you're like, man, I hope that they are good at and then fill in the blank.

SPEAKER_01 32:27

Yeah, it's funny you asked this question because um me and my wife were uh in the court on the way to Disney World a couple months ago, and I told her, I said, I really want to come up with a set of core values for our family and values that um you know we view as values that our kids will take and carry uh with them throughout life to help them make decisions so that as we embed these values into their identity and who they are, they know that being a Han means this. And so, from you know, hopefully the job they pick and who they surround themselves with and who their friends are and who they decide to marry, hopefully they will put their decisions through the lens of these values because it's what it means to be in our family from an identity standpoint, and that became quite the question. We started to throw some words around um because there's a lot of great words that would reflect values. Um you can't have them all, right? Um and that's the tough part. And we haven't finished that project yet because we're taking it seriously. Okay. And you know, we really want them to be a set of values that hopefully they can, you know, carry into their families as they build and um and what that looks like. So I I would say not that we've settled on values, um, you know, specifically, but I would say that um you know some some values that resonate with us um you know are definitely uh stewardship. Um, I think from a from a stewardship standpoint, um you know, we're we're a steward of um what we're given, our talents, our time, our resources, and it's not a stewardship for yourself, it's a stewardship for others. And so what does it mean to be a good steward um of what you're given and um also the influence that you have, and um you know the the power that you have that you know in regards to responsibility over others, right? And um, you know, I think the heart of a giver is is another one. I think the secret to living is giving, another quote that I, you know, have heard from somebody um in the past, and I think there's a lot of fulfillment um in being a giver. And I try to teach our kids that. Um, you know, I think this year, this past year during Christmas, um, you know, Roman and I, we baked Christmas cookies, um, you know, little Santa's and snowmen and Christmas trees, and we decorated them. We individually wrapped them, and then we I had them go knock on the neighbors' doors and um say, Hey, I I made you Christmas cookies and you know, Merry Christmas, and kind of give away cookies. And then um, you know, I said, told him, I said, uh, you know, um, you know, God gave us Jesus for Christmas, it's the meaning of Christmas, and you know, um, we're giving our neighbors cookies, and how do you think that makes them feel uh at the end of every time we went up to a neighbor's door and you know makes them feel happy and you know, life's about giving. And I'm trying to teach them that concept so they can see the smile on their face, see that they're happy, feel happiness from giving. Um, and that's just an example of trying to be intentional about uh teaching values. You know, another example is ChatGPT is a great resource. And um, you know, you find children's books out there, which are a lot of great children's books out there, but you can also take your values, plug them into Chat GPT, say, hey, write me a short story that I can, you know, bedtime story that um helps teach my three-year-old, five-year-old, seven-year-old, 12-year-old, whatever, um, some values, right? And it's amazing the quick stories that you know they'll end up really like being like, Daddy, read me another story, right? You're teaching them about you know values that are important to you and customized to how you want to raise your family. So that's been helpful as well.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

That's awesome. That's a great use case for for AI, everybody. I mean, like it's you can just stop being creative. I mean, just stop, just start being curious and creative and be open to see what it can do for you. I'm I'm a big believer that uh AI will not replace being nice or how we make people feel. Um, the human element will never be replaced, in my opinion. I think AI is one of those dangerous but really, really cool things, but also dangerous thing. It can also, I think it can, it can um what's the word I'm looking for? It can like not uh not hurt hinder, I guess it can hinders people's growth because you get lazy. Oh, well, let's go to this. Versus critical thinking is still a very, very powerful tool. Um, I know I'm probably sound like the old man that walks up the hill snow backwards, but uh I use AI a lot in my business, but I also know that um the practicing how we'd have conversations, doing the little things like how your son went to go deliver cookies, AI can't do that for you. No, and how you knocked on a door and how you have to talk to an adult and look him in the eye and say, all right, Merry Christmas, and go on and talk about it. Like AI won't do it for you, but humans can. Um, I think it's cool. What a what a cool story. My you actually made me think of have you heard of um Rack Friday?

SPEAKER_01 38:10

No, I've never heard of Rack. What's that?

SPEAKER_00 38:12

So this might be something you and your kids could do together, especially when when when Beckham gets older, but like it's called random random acts of kindness.

SPEAKER_02 38:20

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 38:21

And so I learned this from a buddy of mine named Travis Thomas. And um when my son was like in his senior year in high school, we did Rack Friday, and I got a hundred bucks out, but I made hundred dollar gift, I did 10 gift cards of Starbucks. I said, let's go to the post office and you're gonna go up and just say, Hey, have you ever been racked before? They're like, What? I'll go here, and you're just gonna hand them. We're gonna go to the grocery store. Um we're lucky enough to belong to a golf club. So we we picked five five members of the of the of the the the golf club of all the workers, like what hey, which ones are your favorites and why? And then go out and hand them. So it's like, and again, the power of giving, and giving doesn't have to be about money, giving could be your time. You know, whether it's you're you're mentoring kids at a local park, you're you're you're giving away, you know, your favorite toy because you want to go help someone else have a favorite toy, or you're going to T or you maybe using vulnerability to give away your experience so others don't have to make the same mistake you made. Um, there's which I I love that you're teaching that early. I think it's super super important.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

Um I was just gonna say, yeah, absolutely. And I I I love uh you know, have you ever been racked before? Um, and I'm definitely gonna use that with Roman and Beckham at the right age and um yeah, continue to just you know reinforce the concepts that we're talking about. And I I think also um them seeing you do it is super important as well, and and not just you know, instructing them um to do it. So if you have any other stories like that, we'd love to hear them because you know I think you gotta um reinforce it in a lot of different ways.

Staffing Origins And Entrepreneur Life

SPEAKER_00 39:59

Well, stories always sell. That's how we relate, as humans relate. When we want to make changes or positive or negative, we we can relate to the art of a story. So as I think of these things, my man, since now we've been reconnected, I will I will definitely send them send them your way or share via text or jump back on the phone. Um so tell me how does how does one uh leave Florida State uh and get in the wide world of staffing? I don't know if I ever knew that about you. Like how the hell did you find staffing?

SPEAKER_01 40:26

You know, that's a great question. Um, my little brother was in staffing. He started a staffing company right out of high school called ISG Partners, which he still has today. And so um I had kind of uh come out of my first business when I was 24 that I started when I was in college, which was um in real estate. Uh we bought and sold uh kind of non-performing assets from banks. And um my brother's in staffing, he's like, hey, you know, come join me. We're in I'm in staffing, it's great, you know, um, let's work together. So it's like, okay, sounds good. Work with my brother. Um, so we were working hard, but we had, you know, just school of hard knocks, figuring it out ourselves, right? And we were uh walking into office buildings, uh showing up for appointments without appointments, right? And just saying, I'm here to meet XYZ person and just soliciting in buildings for staffing business. Um, you know, when I was recruiting candidates, I was, you know, my first placement ever was uh Katie Sutton, pulled her out of Bank of America. I called the corporate line at Bank of America and said, Hey, can you connect me to Katie Sutton? She picked up, hey Katie, you know, you don't know me. I'm calling with an opportunity that's gonna change your life. I'm looking at your LinkedIn, give me five minutes. I promise it'll be worth your time. And that's how I recruited. Um, and I loved the business because no day was the same. You were impacting people's lives. I wanted to get close to the customer, so I started doing that to have more control from a recruiting standpoint. And I got hooked. I was like, I love this business because you're at the center of people, human psychology, and creating value for people's lives. And I saw the impact that you could really have in creating outcomes that really were not possible unless you were in the middle of it for customers. And that was exciting. And then every day you're learning about a business and you're learning about how to um a business operates, runs, you know, strategic decisions that are being made. And at the time, these were small companies we were working with, not enterprises, right? And um, so yeah, I told my brother, um, hey, love you, man, but um I want to go learn from the best and um really do you know an apprenticeship in uh the industry? And um, that's you know, when I found Kforce and uh Kforce took a chance with me, which I greatly appreciate and uh value my time in K Force. I have nothing but great things to say, and ended up learning from the best who I'm actually on a podcast with today.

SPEAKER_00 42:55

So and then so you you leave and then you want to you that entrepreneurial itch of of um you've had ever since a kid. Um what what made you finally start um the company or that that eventually became Grandview Tech? And then I guess the secondary question, maybe share a little bit about what Grandview is so people can learn more about you.

Culture And Values At Grandview Tech

SPEAKER_01 43:18

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I think overall, um, you know, from a standpoint of um you know leaving and um you know starting a business, um, you know, it's just the I guess entrepreneurial uh DNA that um you know is in our family. And um, you know, certainly I think there's the opportunity to do it with inside of a larger corporate umbrella, but there are a lot more dependencies and things that stretch you and grow you when you're starting your own business. Um and there's an exciting identity and culture that you can create. That really maps back to your values. And that's one thing that, you know, when I started the business, I spent a lot of time thinking about and I talk about to anybody that we've hired since I started the business is who we are and what our values are. Because I spent a lot of time thinking about if I were to draft a world-class team, who would be on that team? And what are the values of those individuals that make them great? And what's funny is a lot of those people were people that I worked with at K Force. And Casey, you were one of those individuals. And those values ended up becoming the core values of the company. And we would hire on those values, promote on those values, you know, just reinforce them into the DNA of who we are today. And that started off as a company called Trust Point One. And we last year spun out and rebranded to Grandview Tech. And we're a technology solutions and staffing company. And we provide technology solutions and staffing across the spectrum of application development, infrastructure, cloud, AI, you know, for Fortune 500 companies. And it's been a pleasure to serve and help a lot of our customers achieve their goals and also all the lives that we've impacted. Our core mission is everything we do. We believe in connecting people to a better future. That's why we exist. That's our core focus. And that's how we measure success for our customers and consultants.

SPEAKER_00 45:36

Love it. I love it when you said that, man. Definitely spoke to me in the journey I'm on right now of your value. When you get really clear with your values, like it unleashes another level in you. And like for me, I'm so crystal clear around why being the most humble, vulnerable, and curious version of myself. I now kind of brand this thing. It's called the HBC flywheel. It just creates momentum. And I'm I'm obsessed with those three words. I think about them often. I think about ways to like sharpen my sword, my saw, what I'm not handy, so I probably shouldn't be having a saw. Probably cut my finger off. But um I do have a chainsaw for the record, and I am safe with it. And yes, that was random. Uh, but it's so clear. It's so clear. And so I think the more that um whether you go back to the the Han when you guys, you and your wife think about what these values are going to shape you, whether it's you know getting really, really clear at work. And then I think I think that the gap I see what companies forget to do is they inspect the values. They having them is one thing, but if you don't revisit them, they don't become wisdom. And you don't, if you don't revisit them with curiosity, they they're just the executive's values, not the company's values or the people's values. And so I think we have to create an environment where people can remove fear to instill confidence so that these values become something we celebrate, we talk often, um, we make decisions based on these values. Um, so there's not there's no surprises.

SPEAKER_01 46:58

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. Um, we kind of um adopted you know the the POA and uh you know QBR culture of of Kforce, but we kind of instead of doing it annually, did it quarterly, and then um we celebrate our values quarterly and spotlight um you know people in the company and stories um to reinforce that from a culture standpoint, and then we measure them in our one-on-ones um quarterly, you know, are you um you know at the bar, if you will, and how we measure our values? But I I totally agree. And um, I think having really strong values that everybody knows and um it helps really you know set the bar for what your standards are. And I'm excited to do that for for our family, and it's it's so interesting how different it is in creating values for your family than a company, even though there are some similarities. And um you you realize how important it is, you know, as you um you know focus on being a dad and how you ultimately raise your kids. Um so I'm excited to create our our family values, and I think this conversation is kind of giving me a little kick in the rear to hey Joe, get it, get it together, get these on paper, you know, have them have them written and clearly defined, and uh, you know, maybe we'll even hang them somewhere in our home, you know.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

So there's a there's a good buddy of mine named Dan Wadley. Shout out to him. They have something called the Wadley Principles that he he has that in his house. And they ask them often. Yeah. Um, if you want, I'll actually find the episode. If it'll help you, I can I'll text it to you. It's um he's a great dude. Um he's a teammate of mine at Central, watched him way back in the 90s, and then um he's an executive in the banking industry. Actually, then he believe it or not, he had me come introduce me to their bank. I did a speaking engagement for them a couple years ago, and um I ran into him at a I don't randomly, I serendipitously ran into ran into him at an airport um within the last six months. Um, but whenever I think of values, I think of the Wadley principle. So, Dan, if you're listening, buddy, shout out to you and I'll I'll text that episode, Joyce. You can check it out if you want to.

SPEAKER_01 49:14

Yeah, that is awesome. I would I would love to check that out. Um, you know, it's funny what kids remember. Um and you know how memorable you are as a as a father to them and what they what they kind of look forward to. And um, you know, I love making smoothies. And um, so I I'll you know get in there with um the boys in the kitchen and we'll we'll make smoothies and and you know we'll go out back and play soccer. And you know, more often than not, when Roman comes downstairs, he's like, Are we gonna make smoothies today and are we gonna play soccer? Because it's you know, this consistency of like making a healthy smoothie, going out back and playing soccer, and he just enjoys the time together. Um, because he knows that that's what he does with that, uh, as an example. So um, you know, it it starts to make you realize like, okay, consistency matters. Yep. Um and um, you know, and and being present. And so when you think about the things that you want to teach him, it just goes to show you how important consistency is and just you know, quality time.

Dad Game Gaps And Shutdown Rituals

SPEAKER_00 50:20

Spot on, dude. Um, before we get into some fun, giggly stuff, if you're to think of an area of your dad game that maybe you're like, you know, I'm the good news is Joe, you're early in your dad game. But if there was an area that you think, man, you know what, this is probably a gap that if I was being honest with myself, here's something where I know I can I can work hard to become better. Um, tell me what what might come to mind that might speak to other dads at home. And I'm I'm more than happy to lead my witness and go first if you want. But if you have something in mind that you want to air yourself out first, go for it.

SPEAKER_01 50:49

Yeah, I love it. I I think um I'm such a plan I'm such a planner that um a lot of times I'll try to plan out the development for the kids of okay, here's my week, here's all my time. This is the time that I'm blocking off for family, you know, nothing's getting in the way of this time. Okay, what am I going to teach my kids during this time? What activities are we gonna do? What and I think what needs to happen with my game is um to to let go of control and to let go of um outcomes and to um just let them lead a little bit more in um in those moments of um not having something planned, but just showing up and being present and um having fun and then just saying, hey, you're in control, what do you want to do? You know? Um so I think that's an area of improvement for my game, for sure. Um I think loving my wife more in front of them, showing them what it means to be a man, um, seeing that you know, mom and dad love each other and there's affection with two young boys in the house. Sometimes it's like, oh, divide and conquer, you know, while I'm with the kids, you go upstairs and do this, and laundry and taking out trash and just different things, just life stuff, right? And I I think um just making sure they see how how to really um you know treat your spouse and um in a way of just authentic love, right? At the end of the day. They're watching, yeah. They're watching a hundred percent.

SPEAKER_00 52:26

They're watching. Yeah, I think those are two really, really good ones. Um I love that you you gave yourself two, I only asked for one, but you wanted to really throw yourself under the bus, so good job. Um, I think that the the first one um that spoke to this guy, the the host of the show, because I used to do that. Um, I read a great book called The Surrender Experiment after my corporate journey. Um, but one of the things that it made me realize as a younger dad was because I was like that too, and you wanted to like try to like impact your outcomes, and but you don't. And I think what happened, I learned is I I ended creating more stress for myself stress for myself. Um, it's like, okay, we're gonna do this, get the kids back here, we'll do nap time this time, we'll have the kids down bed at seven, they'll be perfect, and then but it always goes off the rails. So I would just encourage you to like give yourself grace through this journey. Um, for me, my gap was patience. So I but I think interviewing 300 and nearly 50 dads, I become more patient. I try to least um, and when I'm not, my because I'm flawed human like we all are, I own it and I apologize. And I'm like, you know what? That was not good, and that was not cool. Dad acted like an absolute a-hole. I'm sorry, guys, that was not not a best version of me. And because I want to teach them it's okay to mess up, it's all but it's not you gotta do something about it. Own it and be a pa and being honest with yourself and realize that perfect doesn't exist, we're all gonna F up. Um, so yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 53:49

I mean, to that point, I find myself apologizing to my wife because kids are too young. Um, so the moments where I wasn't patient enough, I was just you know too short, because at the end of the day, sometimes kids are screaming and yelling, and there's so much going on, and you had a crazy day at work, and um, sometimes it's easy to just be short, yeah, and to not reset your energy when you're you're going in to um you know interact and support your family. And I think it's so important to um make sure to have a shutdown ritual at work so that you can get into the right spirit of serve for you know serving your family. Because sometimes if you uh you know, I've I time block everything in my schedule. So if I go straight from work, straight into family time without having a shutdown ritual, it's very easy to just you know, you're you're wired up, you're you know, intense, go, go, go, and you can bring that energy um to the family, and the kids can feel it for sure.

SPEAKER_00 54:51

I interviewed you do you remember the name Mike Holmgren? I don't know. Coach, coach Mike Holmgren, play coach the Packers, he's Packers, Niners, Seahawks, he's a Hall of Fame coach. Um so he uh he talked about that. He had every day he'd come in, we'd come home, it would be five. The kids knew they trained the kids to say, Hey, mom and dad need five minutes. So it was like five to ten minutes of them just like talking, get his mind right, you know, because you know, NFL, it's like you're dealing with adult kids pretty much. Um but the same thing too. And so, like, whether it's sometimes when I work remote, I'll walk outside my office door and then walk back in to like just kind of reset my mind. Um because again, if we're having a shitty day, it's not not the kids' fault, it's not my wife's fault. So why would I bring it on them? That's on me, you know. So like again, staying grounded, humble, and but I I think you you got a lot. I'm excited to see you. You're gonna be a great dad. Probably are already a great dad, but um, you always I always remember you had a great mindset and you were super coachable when I worked you younger in your career, but now it's cool to see you. Now you're leading others, my man.

SPEAKER_01 55:55

Um they end up leading you to some degree, right? Sure.

SPEAKER_00 55:59

What's the easiest way people can find um find out more about Joe and connect with you and learn more about Grandview? What's the easiest way to find? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 56:07

Connect with me on uh LinkedIn, um, you know, visit GrandviewTech.com. And um, you know, I think overall, those are the two best ways to connect. Um and you know, I don't have a podcast yet. Um, so no podcast to follow, but uh considering I've always tried to follow your steps, Casey. Maybe maybe one day we'll see.

Lightning Round And Closing

SPEAKER_00 56:30

Hey, never know. Never know. All right, my man. It's time to go now to the lightning round where I show you the negative hits of taking too many hits in college, not bong hits, but football hits. Uh, your job is to answer these questions as quickly as you can, and my hope is to get a good giggle out of you.

SPEAKER_01 56:44

Okay, I love that. Love that's it.

SPEAKER_00 56:46

Are you ready? Okay. You true or false, you own the Grandview Tech uh bench press record of 843 pounds.

SPEAKER_01 56:54

False.

SPEAKER_00 56:55

False. Okay. Um, true or false, on your lower back, you have a tattoo that says uh earn it to burn it. True. Okay, we're tied. You made me laugh. Okay. Uh favorite comedy movie of all time is uh Wedding Crashers. Catalina wine mixer? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 57:17

Love that movie.

SPEAKER_00 57:19

Um tell me the last book you read that made you really, really think. The Bible. Okay, here we go. That's that's not a short book. Uh it's a long one, so that's gonna make you definitely think a lot. Um if you were uh to go on vacation right now, just you and Kelly, sorry, Roman and Beck, I'm gonna stay with grandma, grandpa. Where are you taking her?

SPEAKER_01 57:40

Oh um, I'm gonna take her to the Ritz in Paris.

SPEAKER_00 57:46

Les jeux sont faits.

SPEAKER_01 57:49

Translation, she's always wanted to go there. It's a uh dream vacation for her. So um, you know, one day I gotta go there and uh you know stay in the writs in Paris.

SPEAKER_00 58:00

So there we go. I can see it now. You and a beret just doing your thing. Um, if there was to be a book written about your life, tell me the title.

SPEAKER_01 58:09

Man, um that's a tough question. Wow, you really hit me with that one. It's speed round, so I can edit this to make it look like you.

SPEAKER_00 58:20

I just said it's not about you. What was it? It's not about you. Ooh, I like that. This book, it's not about you, everybody. No, Joe, I got good news for you. This book's selling out everywhere. I mean, freaking Amazon can't print enough copies. Uh Barnes and Nobles sold out. Um, so now, I mean, every airport can't even get one in there. So now Netflix and Hulu have heard about it. They're gonna now, they're fighting over you. It's not about you, and they're gonna know who they want to make a movie out of this. You're now the casting director. Tell me who's gonna start the one and only Joseph Adonis Hahn in this fantastic new critically acclaimed hit new movie.

SPEAKER_01 58:57

So not me, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:01

Um dead or alive?

SPEAKER_01 59:03

I'd say Christian Bale.

SPEAKER_00 59:05

Okay. Love it. And then your last and most important question tell me two words that would describe Kelly.

SPEAKER_01 59:12

Hmm. Loyal and um I say loyal and funny. She's got a great sense of humor. And um she has a fierce amount of loyalty.

SPEAKER_00 59:24

Love it, love it. Lighting round's complete. We both giggled. I'm gonna give you the dub because I usually, if I'm laughing at my own jokes, that's that's an automatic loss. Um, but congrats, you you won lighting round. Um, dude, it's I'm grateful our we've been reconnected and I'm grateful uh for you. Um I'm I'm wishing you the best, all the success in the world, my man. Um and uh I just uh appreciate you spending some time with us and talking about ways you can continue to work hard from the ultimate quarterback or leader of your home. Um everybody who's listened to home, if you've if you've been intrigued by Joe's story, if you've been intrigued by the things we talk about, send it to another dad. Um the goal of this podcast is to serve others and to help others, other dads just kind of find ways to become that most curious, vulnerable, or humble version of themselves. We can work hard to really shape the next generation of workers, which is our kids. Um but Joe, I know this is not the last we'll be talking, buddy, and I really appreciate you spending some time with me uh late on a Monday evening.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:20

Yeah, Casey, thank you, thank you for having me and um thank you to all the dads out there that have tuned in to the podcast today. Um certainly open to connecting with any dads that want to talk about fatherhood and how we can become you know better dads. We're all going through it together. So um, Casey, great reconnecting with you. And um I I hate to say it, but um I haven't spent a lot of time listening to the pod. And um after today, it's definitely going to become um something that I bake into my routine for sure because I think um there's just so much wisdom in other fathers jumping on, being vulnerable, and sharing their story.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:00

Love it, ma'am. I appreciate you, and I know we'll be talking soon, buddy. Have a great night.