We love it when family is willing to join us on the podcast!
Larry is John’s nephew, and we are so proud to share a little bit about him. Larry Puszko is a seasoned professional currently serving as the Senior Manager of Revenue Operations—a graduate of Duquesne University, husband and father of two. With a career spanning over thirty years, Larry began at Associates Leasing in Madison, WI, followed by stints at Baker & Taylor, General Nutrition Corp, and American Refining Group, all in Pittsburgh, PA.
Larry’s journey eventually led him back to Baker & Taylor before joining FedEx in Pittsburgh in 2004. Throughout his career, Larry has exemplified true leadership qualities, guided by principles that underscore the importance of gratitude, resilience, and teamwork.
As a leader, Larry understands the significance of trust and delegation. By fostering an environment where talent is nurtured and empowered, he has successfully transitioned from manager to a mentor and leader. Larry’s true legacy lies in his devotion to his family.
Married to Beth for over three decades, he takes immense pride in the values instilled in their children, Kara and Drew. Larry’s dedication to his family echoes in his professional ethos, where respect, integrity, and collaboration are guiding principles.
Larry Puszko leaves an indelible mark as a leader, mentor, and devoted family man in both personal and professional spheres. His commitment to fostering a culture of respect, resilience, and collaboration ensures a lasting impact on those fortunate enough to work alongside him.
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Transcript
John Simon Sr. 00:06
John, welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon Sr,
Dina Simon 00:14
and I'm Dina Simon.
John Simon Sr. 00:17
Our guest today is Larry pushko Jr. Up front, I'd like to give a little information. Larry is my nephew and demons husband Rich's cousin. Larry, welcome to our podcast. Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, and then we'll get into what you do for the worldwide leader in package delivery, headquartered inventions, Tennessee. Okay, well,
Larry Puszko 00:40
nice to be here today. So thanks for the invitation. I work for the worldwide leader in package delivery. I've got two kids, Karen Drew and I'm married to Beth. I'm a graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, so the only one in the family who has graduated from Duquesne, as most of the rest of the family had gone to the University of Pittsburgh. So that's, that's how I stand out a little bit in the family.
Dina Simon 01:07
Nice, yeah, love that. They
John Simon Sr. 01:09
don't hold that against you. They
Larry Puszko 01:11
don't, because we root for the Panthers, and we enjoy that, and we go to all the football games and do a few of the basketball games every year. So we like to root on the pit Panthers, yes, but yeah, I graduated from Duquesne. And, you know, my degree is in accounting, yet it's one of those funny things where I kind of started out in collections and never really got into, I guess, what you would call hardcore accounting, you know, with the debits and credits and stuff. So my career has been, you know, working for several companies and in in the world of collections, nice
John Simon Sr. 01:43
is, we like to say revenue is great, but collections is where it all comes to the bottom line. That's
Larry Puszko 01:48
right, that's how, that's how companies pay their bills, right? You gotta collect the money.
Dina Simon 01:53
You gotta have the money in the in the bank account, exactly. Well, we are just thrilled that you were willing, as a family member to be on the podcast with us. So thank you for leaning in and accepting the offer to join us today. Absolutely,
Larry Puszko 02:07
it's a pleasure.
John Simon Sr. 02:08
So I think back to the days when I was in Madison and Dina was there, and you came up for a job interview at associate's leasing. And I think you interviewed with Chuck Wilson and Roberta goodmouth, and you ended up landing the job, which I'm sure you were excited about, because I think it was your first job out of school.
Larry Puszko 02:28
It absolutely was, and it was such a good foundation for my career. Because, you know, with that job, you know, I said I had the accounting decree, but I didn't have that experience. And, you know, one of the first things that I I started doing was doing what they call spreading financial statements, right? And you're taking financial statements and you're breaking them down into ratios and and analyzing them, and it really was a good foundation for the rest of my career, because a lot of what we do is we analyze credits of our customers, and we analyze risk, and having those financial statements of our customers and being able to look at them and seeing what the risk was was, you know, as I said, just a good way to start off a career. You know, it's really getting started with the basics, you know,
John Simon Sr. 03:17
yeah, and we worked with some pretty high profile companies, also at associates like SC Johnson wax and Motorola to tide and high end hotels. So there were some big five, a one companies that you had an opportunity to do some reviews on which I'm sure helped you become more familiar with spreading financials. Also,
Larry Puszko 03:37
no absolutely, and even you know the back then, you know, of course, and we are going way back now, we did not have the internet, right, so, so, you know, one of the things we did every year was we called the Secretaries of State and confirmed that there wasn't a name change or anything like that for contractual purposes like and those are, those are things that now, I mean, you can just go Online and and you look up information, you know, but there was a lot of phone calling and making sure that ABC Company was ABC comma, Inc, period, and that's how it had to read, you know, on a contract. So it's interesting stuff like that.
John Simon Sr. 04:15
So what you're saying is good old days weren't all that good, because today it's a lot different.
Larry Puszko 04:21
It was a little more labor intensive back then,
Dina Simon 04:23
a lot more labor intensive. You forget about that right until you look back like that. But I love that you took the leap as well, because it got you out of out of Pennsylvania for a while. How long were you in Madison? I don't remember.
Larry Puszko 04:36
Almost two years exactly. Nice, nice. So one year I was up there, you know, on my own, well, with family, of course. And then, you know, when Beth and I got married, we stayed up there for another year. And, you know, we really wanted to go, you know, back to Pittsburgh after that, but just a great, great foundation for the rest of my, you know, the rest of my career, right?
John Simon Sr. 04:56
You know, from running the business up there, one of the. Policies that associates had was a no nepotism policy. So thank God, thank God, you had a different last name. We did our best to keep it a secret, but I'll be honest with you, I had a number of other executives and children and grandchildren and brothers and nephews worked in the business also, so it wasn't as quite a hard and fast move, as I'd like to have had it, but you know what you do is you take talent wherever you can find it, and you know, once you find it, and you know it was a good opportunity for you to get your first start. And that's pretty much what you need when you first get out of school. It's getting that first job. And then once you do that, you know, moving on to other positions, and then opportunities to move, to grow. And it it, I think it served you well, yeah,
Dina Simon 05:47
yeah. When you look at, you know, those policies as well, like John, you said, you he, you set up. He came in and had interviews. He had to get the job himself. You know, they, and they probably didn't know at that time, he was your nephew. And it goes back to like, look at the opportunity so often when you're just starting out of college, you don't know what you want to do. And so with this Larry, you found out that you really liked this world of collections and did a great job, and it's led to a very prosperous career. So you just took advantage of the opportunities that were in front of you, and that there's, there's there's so many lessons in that for our children and those that are, you know, graduating from college and trying to figure out how to network in to their next, their next opportunities. Because it is, it is about who you know, and opening up those doors. Absolutely,
Larry Puszko 06:35
I would agree with that. And I, you know, I know that. I I tell my, my kids, you know. You just, you have to be patient, you know. And you have to put your time in wherever you were, you know. And then, you know, even after that, and after moving back home those next few years, after that, when we moved back home in in 1993 you know, I worked for four other companies in the next six or seven years. So really just, you know, just good experiences too, because you know you can benchmark one company against another, and you see what they do well and and what tools do they have, and different things like that. And you know that. But having that foundation right there, those first few years was just really important, and I still use some of that knowledge today. You know for sure? I mean, it's, you know, so many years later. I'm going to say so many years later, and well, because it's like 2829 years later, right? Too. Well, actually, it's over 30 years later, so I don't want to date myself, right? So, but just very important experience, and that's where the patience has to come in. Because I think I don't want to sound like, you know, the person who says, oh, kids today this, or kids today that, but you do have to, you have to be patient. You gotta, you gotta get your, you know, couple years of experience, and then you can really move on from that when you discover, you know, maybe what you actually want to do, you know, the rest of your your career, you know,
John Simon Sr. 08:02
I think it's good advice. I think
Dina Simon 08:05
it's good advice too. I just scanned a resume the other day from somebody and they had, you know, job hopped. And sometimes that's fine, and it's having the opportunity, though, to be able to tell the story behind it, right? So, as you said, like, if you can give it a couple years and then move to something else. You had a few and then you landed somewhere that you've been at now for a long time. So, so that worked out for you
Larry Puszko 08:29
20 years. Yeah, 20 years last week, as a matter of fact, congratulations. So the the job hopping from like 93 to, you know, basically 1990 9899 you know, was well worth it. So
Dina Simon 08:44
yeah, and then on the flip side, so as you said, You've been there 20 years now, and so it's probably where you'll hang your hat for a while, because once you do get into a company for that long, sometimes it's hard then to leave for, you know, a lot of different reasons. And if the company is a great company to be a part of. That's a blessing. And
John Simon Sr. 09:02
the funny thing is, no matter how old you become, you'll always be young, Larry, because other you know that'll never change in terms anyhow. So even though you're in your 50s, you're still young, Larry.
Dina Simon 09:17
So does anybody outside of the family call you young Larry. Well,
Larry Puszko 09:21
when I was a kid, it was little Larry and big Larry, right. Okay, young Larry and old Larry, right. Yeah. Once I got a little taller than my dad, it didn't make sense to call him Big Larry, right. We were both about the same bite. So you
John Simon Sr. 09:39
know, a lot of the people that we talk to on podcasts are entrepreneurs, and quite a few of them. And you know, I've always admired people that will take risk. And as I often say, Oh, my career, I signed the back of a check. I never signed in front of a check. And when you're the entrepreneur and you're signing friends every check that goes. Out, and the founder of your company, he did that in 1973 and I remember at the time, I was working for the Hertz Corporation in Pittsburgh, and we signed an agreement with that company to provide their first 100 vehicles. We bought 100 to kind of like vans, and leased them to the company. Wow. Oh, wow. Okay, yeah, yeah. And they only had 25 locations back then, so those 100 vehicles were split out amounts around the country, at those 25 different locations in the US. Wow,
Larry Puszko 10:33
very cool. Interesting. Yeah, I think now they have about 70,000 trucks. Or if I'm correct, I'm not, I'm not sure I'd give or take 10,000
John Simon Sr. 10:43
and and countless by aircraft. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, that deliver the packages all around the world, and, and. And the great part about it is they created a business that never existed, and they showed showed people how they needed to have something tomorrow, and, and that's really what did it I remember contracts. And used to, you know, fax them to people, yes, and you remember doing that. They created a business where, you know, we had to, you know, put contracts together and overnight express them to someone, so they'd have them the next day, and then they could get them back to you the same way. And within two days you could generally have a contract put together with someone,
Larry Puszko 11:22
yeah, which was a really big deal at that time, for sure. And I mean electronic signatures and different things like that, but yeah, I mean, that's just, that's it was an amazing thing to come along. Absolutely,
Dina Simon 11:36
yeah, it is an amazing thing. So just from businesses, the connectivity, but really, then think of like, then now, what has happened? Like, now, you know what? Overnight, sometimes is not fast enough. So it just really, how, how that created this whole world of receiving things, we might have to pay for it, but if we're willing to pay for it, well,
Larry Puszko 11:56
that's the, I think that's part of the society we live in, the instant gratification. You can order something online and have it a day or two later, right?
John Simon Sr. 12:05
Yeah, yeah. So we've talked a little bit about your life and your family and everything. Tell us a little bit about your leadership.
Larry Puszko 12:12
Well, I think you know leadership is important, and it's important because you can be a manager, or you can be, well, you can be a manager, or you can be a leader, right? You can manage a process, or you can lead people, right? And leading people is about having people you know who trust you and know that you'll support them. And in addition to that, you'll also treat them with dignity and respect. And I think those are the the important aspects of being a leader. Because if the people that you're leading who are on your team don't buy in 100% with you, well, it's it gets it gets hard to get the job done right, right?
John Simon Sr. 12:56
I know one thing that I always looked at being a leader, and I'm sure you, you do the same thing is you hire the right people, and you give them all the freedom in the world to do their job. And one of the things I always said, Don't come to me with problems, come to me with solutions, and let's see how we're going to fix this problem, because if I need to come up with the answer, I probably have the wrong person in the job,
Larry Puszko 13:19
exactly. And I think that's, that's a great point that you make, because I think good leaders are also good coaches, right? And a coach isn't just going to give you the answer, the coach is going to help you get to the answer, I think, because, as you said, if I'm giving you the answer, then, well,
John Simon Sr. 13:38
what are you doing? Exactly? Yeah,
Larry Puszko 13:42
it's about, you know, the teaching moments, I think, and saying, Hey, like, you know, what do you think about this? And even in, you know, in my position as a senior manager, I don't make a lot of decisions without at least talking to the people around me, you know, the people who are deeper into some of the processes and the different things that we do than I am. And, you know, it's one of those things where you don't want to just make a decision and find out later, oh, well, I had that wrong, you know, right?
Dina Simon 14:14
Yeah, and make the decision to say, well, how come nobody told me that I shouldn't make this decision. Yes, exactly like having we do sometimes you get far removed from some of the things that you need to know about, right? And so to have people and that, and that's what you like, the trust, the the people being able to lead up and say, Hey, did you know this? Or I want to help you make an informed decision. So it takes that whole team around those, those types of opportunities. It absolutely
Larry Puszko 14:40
does, and that's where that, you know, the delegation. And when you go from being an individual contributor to a manager in that first job, it's really tough, because I remember my first manager position where I did that, and I'm like, but that's not the way I would do it. And you're thinking, you know, wait a minute. Why are they doing it that way? But every team has their, you know, their their best contributor, and every team has one that, you know, needs a little bit more help sometimes, right? And and most of the team are, you know, somewhere in between there. But when that's the case, you've got to coach the people up who need a little bit more help. And you know, you got to be appreciative for the people who who help you get the job done every day, and absolutely great people on my team who do that.
John Simon Sr. 15:25
That's so great. And not and not everyone wants to be a leader. That's
Larry Puszko 15:29
true. And you need those people. That's those are the people you need as well, right? Exactly, how have
John Simon Sr. 15:36
things changed in your world since covid? Well,
Larry Puszko 15:41
since covid, and it's kind of, that's, that's a, that's a great question, I think, because since covid, you know, I think people have really embraced the work from home environment, I mean, and, and that's not just people where I work, but it's people like I know, and people you know across the nation, you know. I mean, with that said, In the beginning, when we first came home in in that second week in March, when everybody was, you know, getting locked down for the most part, it was one of those things where you're thinking, well, you'll be back in about two weeks, and this will all blow over. And quite honestly, I guess this week it's, it's, it's really four years this week that, you know, covid really started to affect everyone, and it's, you know, in the way we work. But right now, I think people really appreciate the opportunity to work from home. A lot of companies are saying, hey, we need to get some people back into the office. And that's that's needed for collaboration. There's no doubt about it. But it all depends on what kind of team you have. You know, if you're more of operational employees that are, that are doing a job that is, you know, one such as collections, you know that that's something that well, if you're you're on the phone, you know, you can do that from an at home environment, in a remote environment, or in an in office environment. But some of the jobs are a little bit different, where you need that collaboration. You really need to be there in person. So it just depends on what you're up to that day. And we do go into the office, you know, couple times a week for the most part, and it works pretty well in that environment. So the big change, though, there is, people really got used to working remotely, and it was, you know, it's, it's kind of tough to get people to, you know, come back into the office. So, and that's understandable. It's the you change the way that your your life has gone, right? Yeah,
Dina Simon 17:36
absolutely. And just the commute, the, you know, the being able to dress more casually at home. There's so many benefits. I know that in just January, well, December of last year, you know, a lot of companies made announcements to say 100% we're coming back. And in January, you know, January 1, giving people some somewhat notice, or even fourth quarter of last year. And a lot of people have said no and looked at other positions. Some people hunkered down, said, Okay, that's great. I've missed my people. So it really is an individual like you said, an individual preference as well as collaboration and what, what type of position, what type of team they're in, but it is still something that companies are definitely struggling with, where I know a few people that had those mandates in January one, and their companies have now, in March, not been so successful still in making, making what they wanted to have happen. Well, personally,
Larry Puszko 18:31
I mean, and you mentioned the commute. I mean, it's an hour each way, and I've converted that time into, you know, production time for me. I mean, that's, you know, really, I mean, just starting earlier and working later, but you still have that work life balance there. So that's important. That's another important part, right there. I mean, happy employees are really, you know, they are really more productive. It's kind of a benefit. I guess you can look at it as a benefit. Now,
John Simon Sr. 19:00
sure, have you had to hire anyone since the employees started working more from home?
Larry Puszko 19:05
Oh, yeah, absolutely. And you know what? Then, quite honestly, I made sure that every single person that we hired over the last four years, I did, you know, I went in and I met them on day one, along with their manager, and welcomed them to well, welcomed them to an empty office. They got the equipment and supplies that they needed, and then, you know, they, you know, we got them set to go. And then they, you know, they were trained remotely, you know. Now, in some of those cases, we did have people who are trained in the office, in our training rooms, for different, you know, for different things, but for the most part. You know, most people could train remotely, especially in the early days. You know, of covid, when you just were trying to you were trying to distance until you you really knew what you know, yeah. Situation was
John Simon Sr. 19:53
right, yeah. In hiring, you knew where people did they inquire about? You know, are we going to be able to work from? Own three or four days a week, or are we going to have to be the Asus a certain amount of time,
Larry Puszko 20:04
absolutely? And that was something where you could only really answer them by saying, we're in a hybrid environment right now, because we're not fully remote. We are. We do consider our team to be hybrid. So because we do come into the office periodically, and we are domiciled in an office location. So, but it's one of those things that I think people understand that they could be called to come back into the office with that said. I mean, we remain in a hybrid environment, and people are very happy about that, so
Dina Simon 20:35
yeah, and if it's working, it's working, right, and it is working, and
Larry Puszko 20:39
our management team is productive. And as I said that, you know, that's an extra two hours that I'm, you know, not in the car. But with that said, even when I am in the car, I'm, usually, I'll try to make a phone call and try to cover some of those things that you you can while you're in the car, right? Topic, you know, with people that you need to talk to,
Dina Simon 20:56
yeah, you're still working, but it may not be quite as effective. Then you got more used to it. Yes, yeah, yeah, exactly. So I think this whole conversation as well is pretty funny, because can you imagine John leading a crew that was working hybrid or remote? Because we know that when there was a snowstorm, he'd be the first to leave the house at 3am just so he could show that he could be at the office and wonder at eight o'clock why people were walking in the door, right? That's it, right?
John Simon Sr. 21:25
So whenever Nina worked in human resources for the associates, he would hire new employees, and she would bring them on, and first day she would sit down and talk to them, and she'd say, I always remember one thing, Mr. Simon expects you here, whatever your starting time is, not five minutes late, not 10 minutes late, to be earliest, to be on time. And that was something that I always, you know, expected of the employees, because my customers expected them to be there doing their job, and so did I, yeah, today's environment that might not come over is good that 20 years ago, it did. I would
Larry Puszko 22:02
like to think that everybody does subscribe, though, to what we call core business hours. And you gotta be there. You know, whatever your hours are, whether it's eight to five or eight to 430 right? So, right. I mean it, you know, so and a couple minutes before there just to, well, we had computers we were turning on right back in the 90s.
Dina Simon 22:21
Time to power up. One of the interesting things, Mandy and I just were in a small town here this weekend. And as you walk by the stores, you know for some businesses to be closed on a Sunday during the winter, sure that makes sense. But there was no uniform, like some are open Sundays and Mondays and closed Tuesday, Wednesday. Like we were just, we were kind of like walking around this cute little downtown, going interesting. Like, you would think somebody would just prescribe to we're going to be open these days, but I guess also then, if you're going to show up in this little town on a Tuesday, not everything's closed, then, because you have other options to go to some of the places, but it was really interesting because it didn't seem that there were core days or core business hours amongst like stores in this little downtown. So I think that's another thing that's happened from covid. I think we've all learned that we need to look up, you know, are they actually going to be open when we go? And hopefully they've taken the time to update their Google information, so when we look it up, that it's correct.
John Simon Sr. 23:22
And I think one of the things that I think we've all learned from covid is flexibility. Everything's not the way it used to be, and you just need to be more flexible and probably more understanding also,
Dina Simon 23:35
yeah, I think a lot more patient, right? Yes, yep.
Larry Puszko 23:39
I agree. I mean, in the one thing that that kind of came of that was even, even during covid, you would go out and you would assume a lot of stores would be open, like they always were till nine or 10 o'clock. And you're running out to a hardware store that used to be open till nine or 10 or, you know, and it was closed at eight. Why? Because they didn't have enough people to work all over the hours. And, you know, with that, they tried to make the one shift, I guess, you know, just one shift for the whole entire day. And it was, you know, it made it a little bit difficult. Things are a little bit more normalized. Now, back to what the way they were, but things you had to take into consideration, yeah,
Dina Simon 24:19
and there are still some staffing problems, that's for sure, within a lot of businesses.
John Simon Sr. 24:23
Yeah, so, Larry, we've talked about life's leadership. How about a little bit about legacies?
Larry Puszko 24:29
Well, I think the legacies that that that are most important, I guess, for me, is, is just like the legacies that I leave with with my kids. You know, I'm very proud of both of them. They've both got really good work ethics. And, you know, they, they started their part time jobs. And, you know, in high school, both of them, and they're really dedicated to whatever job they're doing. They, they don't call off work. They, you know, they, they really pay attention to what they're doing and and they kind. Note, you know that when something's going wrong or something at the job, they talk about how they resolve an issue and how they resolve a problem. And I think that's just, that's just really good, you know. And I thought it was good having, you know, as soon as you're able to to get a job as a kid, I think it, it's great to do that, because it would be funny to hear they both worked at the same place. It would be funny to hear them talking shop at the dinner table, which is just funny, you know, and it's, you know, they were both in food service, their first job, that just to hear them talk about how they got through certain issues was just really interesting to me, because they they were learning problem solving, you know. And we were challenged, you know, this was our challenge, and this is what happened, and this is what we had to do, you know. And, and they work, you know, for an older, you know, it's a community. It's, it's, it's like a nursing home, but it's, it's called the villages, and, and the people they were serving, it was a very especially through covid. It was very important, like to that was an important job. You know, the nursing homes were, were one of the places that were, you know, hit hardest during the beginning of covid and and they, they went to work, you know, didn't miss a shift or anything like that. And they did a really good job with that. And even when there was a day when somebody wasn't having a really good day, or didn't like what they were served, or whatever, they would find a way to keep that person, you know, make that person happy, you know. So, you know, it's like, I don't know, I guess, you know, it was a high level of customer service. That's what we want. We
Dina Simon 26:33
do, and taking care of people, right?
John Simon Sr. 26:35
And problem solving and getting the job done. And the main thing is, is keeping the customer happy? That's
Larry Puszko 26:42
it. That's it. And, you know, you know, Kara even still works part time at a regular job, you know, or 40 hour a week job, and then she'll work a couple shifts during the week, just because, you know, she still has a couple friends who work there and drew works there as well, you know, as he's still in college, right? But just the way they handle stuff makes me proud. That's awesome.
Dina Simon 27:03
I love that well, and
John Simon Sr. 27:05
they learned it from you and Bess. I mean, that's where that, that message comes from.
Larry Puszko 27:09
I don't mean to patter something in the back, but we try really hard to instill that, that work, that can and, I mean, it's just that's the environment that they, they grew up in. So it's, it's good to see that they, they take that kind of stuff very, very seriously. So,
Dina Simon 27:26
yeah, yeah, awesome. And so Drew is, is he when does he graduate? He say, have two more years, a year and a half. He'll
Larry Puszko 27:32
graduate in December, actually, a little bit early, yes. So and Kara graduated two years ago in 2022 so, yes, as I said, everybody goes to the University of Pittsburgh, except for me. So
John Simon Sr. 27:48
And after all that, you're still young. Larry, right.
Larry Puszko 27:51
Still young. Larry, some things never change.
John Simon Sr. 27:55
And Jeannie and I will be there next week. So I look forward to coming in and seeing you invest in the kids, so maybe having a beer or something like that together.
Larry Puszko 28:04
Absolutely no, that sounds good. I'll pick up a couple good ones to try. We've got a lot of great local, you know, brew pubs around here, so you'll have to check one or two out
Dina Simon 28:15
nice and I can't believe that we've gotten through an entire podcast and the Steelers have not come up even in conversation.
Larry Puszko 28:22
It's, I guess it's off season from from that all the we've we've got a text group me and John and Richard, and you know, Uncle John is in there as well. And we talk a lot about the the Steelers and who their quarterback's going to be and and all of that kind of stuff. So more to come on that as they they continue to shape their team, but we're always debating the moves that they make. So there'll be more conversation on that. Yeah.
Dina Simon 28:49
And I think one of the cool things is, you know, so Jen and rich were pretty young when they lived in Pittsburgh and moved away, but they that's still their team, the Steelers, because of John and Jeannie and all of you, as far as family that are back there, and that's actually a really fun tradition, as well as just to watch that, that love for the Steelers and what was rich too, and John was four when they moved away, something like that. But that's still their team,
John Simon Sr. 29:16
1974 when we moved to Chicago. Yeah, right
Larry Puszko 29:20
before, I probably right before the first Super Bowl they were in, I guess, right, right. Right before Super Bowl menu, I would say,
John Simon Sr. 29:28
yep, when they beat the Vikings. Wow. About that? Yeah, yeah,
Dina Simon 29:35
the Larry being that you were prepping for being on the podcast. Is there anything else that you'd like our podcast listeners to know about you, or anything else you'd like to share. Well, I
Larry Puszko 29:44
mean, you know all, all I would say is for those, as I tell my kids, for those who are getting, starting their careers now and getting ready, you know, to launch their careers as I've got Kara's, you know, in her second year of employment after graduation and Drew's going to be thinking about it. I. Would just say, be patient. Sometimes to be successful, you're going to have to do things that are uncomfortable, so get out of your comfort zone. I think I wish I would have done that a little bit more, possibly take a couple more risks, calculated risks, no doubt. But yeah, it's easy to get that first job, I think. And just kind of go with it for for a while where, you know, like I said earlier in my career, I changed jobs quite a few times, just to, you know, to get the experience and whatnot. But, yeah, sometimes you got to get out of your comfort zone to be rewarded. And I think it's a good advice, hopefully, somebody will need to be good advice.
Dina Simon 30:42
Yeah, I think it's great advice. And as you said, calculated risk, but that you're still learning and growing when you're in your young 20s, right? And so taking all of that experience and just continuing to put it together as you're building it absolutely,
John Simon Sr. 30:57
yeah, it's hard. It's hard sometimes when you're young, like that getting started, because sometimes you think you know everything, and not always the case.
Larry Puszko 31:04
Yeah, that's one of those things where, oh, what, what I wish I knew before, right? You know what I wish I would have known, and now that what I know, of course, been very helpful,
Dina Simon 31:17
absolutely. And I mean, even in my 50s with somebody told me I was going to be doing what I'm doing today, 3020, years ago. No, right, like, so we don't, we don't know. So just being open and being surrounded by a good network of people and companies and, you know, people that will give us those opportunities to stretch and take those calculated risks as well,
Larry Puszko 31:38
that's right, yeah, you don't have to be the smartest person in the room. You just have to be able to get out there and really be able to talk to people, and, as you said, network and find opportunities. And, you know, see how you can, you know, help organizations where, where you think there might be a place for you, right? Exactly
Dina Simon 31:55
Sure.
John Simon Sr. 31:57
And he'll say it, God gave you two ears and one mouse, so listen twice as much as you talk.
Larry Puszko 32:02
That is great advice. Absolutely. Yes, awesome. Well,
Dina Simon 32:07
thank you, Larry,
John Simon Sr. 32:08
Larry, thanks for joining the podcast.
Larry Puszko 32:10
Yeah, I really appreciate the opportunity to be on here and talk to you for a while. Today,
Dina Simon 32:15
I would like to thank Larry prusco Jr for being on our podcast. As you've heard on the podcast, we family also call him young Larry, because he is a junior, so his father is obviously senior. Larry is a senior manager of revenue operations at a very large organization that we alluded to. We thank him for his stories about leadership and legacy that he is building with his two beautiful children and wife of 31 years, and just thank him for his time and as a family member leaning in to be on our podcast as always, I'd like to thank my father In law, John Simon, and until we talk again, you.
John, welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon Sr,
Dina Simon 00:14
and I'm Dina Simon.
John Simon Sr. 00:17
Our guest today is Larry pushko Jr. Up front, I'd like to give a little information. Larry is my nephew and demons husband Rich's cousin. Larry, welcome to our podcast. Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, and then we'll get into what you do for the worldwide leader in package delivery, headquartered inventions, Tennessee. Okay, well,
Larry Puszko 00:40
nice to be here today. So thanks for the invitation. I work for the worldwide leader in package delivery. I've got two kids, Karen Drew and I'm married to Beth. I'm a graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, so the only one in the family who has graduated from Duquesne, as most of the rest of the family had gone to the University of Pittsburgh. So that's, that's how I stand out a little bit in the family.
Dina Simon 01:07
Nice, yeah, love that. They
John Simon Sr. 01:09
don't hold that against you. They
Larry Puszko 01:11
don't, because we root for the Panthers, and we enjoy that, and we go to all the football games and do a few of the basketball games every year. So we like to root on the pit Panthers, yes, but yeah, I graduated from Duquesne. And, you know, my degree is in accounting, yet it's one of those funny things where I kind of started out in collections and never really got into, I guess, what you would call hardcore accounting, you know, with the debits and credits and stuff. So my career has been, you know, working for several companies and in in the world of collections, nice
John Simon Sr. 01:43
is, we like to say revenue is great, but collections is where it all comes to the bottom line. That's
Larry Puszko 01:48
right, that's how, that's how companies pay their bills, right? You gotta collect the money.
Dina Simon 01:53
You gotta have the money in the in the bank account, exactly. Well, we are just thrilled that you were willing, as a family member to be on the podcast with us. So thank you for leaning in and accepting the offer to join us today. Absolutely,
Larry Puszko 02:07
it's a pleasure.
John Simon Sr. 02:08
So I think back to the days when I was in Madison and Dina was there, and you came up for a job interview at associate's leasing. And I think you interviewed with Chuck Wilson and Roberta goodmouth, and you ended up landing the job, which I'm sure you were excited about, because I think it was your first job out of school.
Larry Puszko 02:28
It absolutely was, and it was such a good foundation for my career. Because, you know, with that job, you know, I said I had the accounting decree, but I didn't have that experience. And, you know, one of the first things that I I started doing was doing what they call spreading financial statements, right? And you're taking financial statements and you're breaking them down into ratios and and analyzing them, and it really was a good foundation for the rest of my career, because a lot of what we do is we analyze credits of our customers, and we analyze risk, and having those financial statements of our customers and being able to look at them and seeing what the risk was was, you know, as I said, just a good way to start off a career. You know, it's really getting started with the basics, you know,
John Simon Sr. 03:17
yeah, and we worked with some pretty high profile companies, also at associates like SC Johnson wax and Motorola to tide and high end hotels. So there were some big five, a one companies that you had an opportunity to do some reviews on which I'm sure helped you become more familiar with spreading financials. Also,
Larry Puszko 03:37
no absolutely, and even you know the back then, you know, of course, and we are going way back now, we did not have the internet, right, so, so, you know, one of the things we did every year was we called the Secretaries of State and confirmed that there wasn't a name change or anything like that for contractual purposes like and those are, those are things that now, I mean, you can just go Online and and you look up information, you know, but there was a lot of phone calling and making sure that ABC Company was ABC comma, Inc, period, and that's how it had to read, you know, on a contract. So it's interesting stuff like that.
John Simon Sr. 04:15
So what you're saying is good old days weren't all that good, because today it's a lot different.
Larry Puszko 04:21
It was a little more labor intensive back then,
Dina Simon 04:23
a lot more labor intensive. You forget about that right until you look back like that. But I love that you took the leap as well, because it got you out of out of Pennsylvania for a while. How long were you in Madison? I don't remember.
Larry Puszko 04:36
Almost two years exactly. Nice, nice. So one year I was up there, you know, on my own, well, with family, of course. And then, you know, when Beth and I got married, we stayed up there for another year. And, you know, we really wanted to go, you know, back to Pittsburgh after that, but just a great, great foundation for the rest of my, you know, the rest of my career, right?
John Simon Sr. 04:56
You know, from running the business up there, one of the. Policies that associates had was a no nepotism policy. So thank God, thank God, you had a different last name. We did our best to keep it a secret, but I'll be honest with you, I had a number of other executives and children and grandchildren and brothers and nephews worked in the business also, so it wasn't as quite a hard and fast move, as I'd like to have had it, but you know what you do is you take talent wherever you can find it, and you know, once you find it, and you know it was a good opportunity for you to get your first start. And that's pretty much what you need when you first get out of school. It's getting that first job. And then once you do that, you know, moving on to other positions, and then opportunities to move, to grow. And it it, I think it served you well, yeah,
Dina Simon 05:47
yeah. When you look at, you know, those policies as well, like John, you said, you he, you set up. He came in and had interviews. He had to get the job himself. You know, they, and they probably didn't know at that time, he was your nephew. And it goes back to like, look at the opportunity so often when you're just starting out of college, you don't know what you want to do. And so with this Larry, you found out that you really liked this world of collections and did a great job, and it's led to a very prosperous career. So you just took advantage of the opportunities that were in front of you, and that there's, there's there's so many lessons in that for our children and those that are, you know, graduating from college and trying to figure out how to network in to their next, their next opportunities. Because it is, it is about who you know, and opening up those doors. Absolutely,
Larry Puszko 06:35
I would agree with that. And I, you know, I know that. I I tell my, my kids, you know. You just, you have to be patient, you know. And you have to put your time in wherever you were, you know. And then, you know, even after that, and after moving back home those next few years, after that, when we moved back home in in 1993 you know, I worked for four other companies in the next six or seven years. So really just, you know, just good experiences too, because you know you can benchmark one company against another, and you see what they do well and and what tools do they have, and different things like that. And you know that. But having that foundation right there, those first few years was just really important, and I still use some of that knowledge today. You know for sure? I mean, it's, you know, so many years later. I'm going to say so many years later, and well, because it's like 2829 years later, right? Too. Well, actually, it's over 30 years later, so I don't want to date myself, right? So, but just very important experience, and that's where the patience has to come in. Because I think I don't want to sound like, you know, the person who says, oh, kids today this, or kids today that, but you do have to, you have to be patient. You gotta, you gotta get your, you know, couple years of experience, and then you can really move on from that when you discover, you know, maybe what you actually want to do, you know, the rest of your your career, you know,
John Simon Sr. 08:02
I think it's good advice. I think
Dina Simon 08:05
it's good advice too. I just scanned a resume the other day from somebody and they had, you know, job hopped. And sometimes that's fine, and it's having the opportunity, though, to be able to tell the story behind it, right? So, as you said, like, if you can give it a couple years and then move to something else. You had a few and then you landed somewhere that you've been at now for a long time. So, so that worked out for you
Larry Puszko 08:29
20 years. Yeah, 20 years last week, as a matter of fact, congratulations. So the the job hopping from like 93 to, you know, basically 1990 9899 you know, was well worth it. So
Dina Simon 08:44
yeah, and then on the flip side, so as you said, You've been there 20 years now, and so it's probably where you'll hang your hat for a while, because once you do get into a company for that long, sometimes it's hard then to leave for, you know, a lot of different reasons. And if the company is a great company to be a part of. That's a blessing. And
John Simon Sr. 09:02
the funny thing is, no matter how old you become, you'll always be young, Larry, because other you know that'll never change in terms anyhow. So even though you're in your 50s, you're still young, Larry.
Dina Simon 09:17
So does anybody outside of the family call you young Larry. Well,
Larry Puszko 09:21
when I was a kid, it was little Larry and big Larry, right. Okay, young Larry and old Larry, right. Yeah. Once I got a little taller than my dad, it didn't make sense to call him Big Larry, right. We were both about the same bite. So you
John Simon Sr. 09:39
know, a lot of the people that we talk to on podcasts are entrepreneurs, and quite a few of them. And you know, I've always admired people that will take risk. And as I often say, Oh, my career, I signed the back of a check. I never signed in front of a check. And when you're the entrepreneur and you're signing friends every check that goes. Out, and the founder of your company, he did that in 1973 and I remember at the time, I was working for the Hertz Corporation in Pittsburgh, and we signed an agreement with that company to provide their first 100 vehicles. We bought 100 to kind of like vans, and leased them to the company. Wow. Oh, wow. Okay, yeah, yeah. And they only had 25 locations back then, so those 100 vehicles were split out amounts around the country, at those 25 different locations in the US. Wow,
Larry Puszko 10:33
very cool. Interesting. Yeah, I think now they have about 70,000 trucks. Or if I'm correct, I'm not, I'm not sure I'd give or take 10,000
John Simon Sr. 10:43
and and countless by aircraft. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, that deliver the packages all around the world, and, and. And the great part about it is they created a business that never existed, and they showed showed people how they needed to have something tomorrow, and, and that's really what did it I remember contracts. And used to, you know, fax them to people, yes, and you remember doing that. They created a business where, you know, we had to, you know, put contracts together and overnight express them to someone, so they'd have them the next day, and then they could get them back to you the same way. And within two days you could generally have a contract put together with someone,
Larry Puszko 11:22
yeah, which was a really big deal at that time, for sure. And I mean electronic signatures and different things like that, but yeah, I mean, that's just, that's it was an amazing thing to come along. Absolutely,
Dina Simon 11:36
yeah, it is an amazing thing. So just from businesses, the connectivity, but really, then think of like, then now, what has happened? Like, now, you know what? Overnight, sometimes is not fast enough. So it just really, how, how that created this whole world of receiving things, we might have to pay for it, but if we're willing to pay for it, well,
Larry Puszko 11:56
that's the, I think that's part of the society we live in, the instant gratification. You can order something online and have it a day or two later, right?
John Simon Sr. 12:05
Yeah, yeah. So we've talked a little bit about your life and your family and everything. Tell us a little bit about your leadership.
Larry Puszko 12:12
Well, I think you know leadership is important, and it's important because you can be a manager, or you can be, well, you can be a manager, or you can be a leader, right? You can manage a process, or you can lead people, right? And leading people is about having people you know who trust you and know that you'll support them. And in addition to that, you'll also treat them with dignity and respect. And I think those are the the important aspects of being a leader. Because if the people that you're leading who are on your team don't buy in 100% with you, well, it's it gets it gets hard to get the job done right, right?
John Simon Sr. 12:56
I know one thing that I always looked at being a leader, and I'm sure you, you do the same thing is you hire the right people, and you give them all the freedom in the world to do their job. And one of the things I always said, Don't come to me with problems, come to me with solutions, and let's see how we're going to fix this problem, because if I need to come up with the answer, I probably have the wrong person in the job,
Larry Puszko 13:19
exactly. And I think that's, that's a great point that you make, because I think good leaders are also good coaches, right? And a coach isn't just going to give you the answer, the coach is going to help you get to the answer, I think, because, as you said, if I'm giving you the answer, then, well,
John Simon Sr. 13:38
what are you doing? Exactly? Yeah,
Larry Puszko 13:42
it's about, you know, the teaching moments, I think, and saying, Hey, like, you know, what do you think about this? And even in, you know, in my position as a senior manager, I don't make a lot of decisions without at least talking to the people around me, you know, the people who are deeper into some of the processes and the different things that we do than I am. And, you know, it's one of those things where you don't want to just make a decision and find out later, oh, well, I had that wrong, you know, right?
Dina Simon 14:14
Yeah, and make the decision to say, well, how come nobody told me that I shouldn't make this decision. Yes, exactly like having we do sometimes you get far removed from some of the things that you need to know about, right? And so to have people and that, and that's what you like, the trust, the the people being able to lead up and say, Hey, did you know this? Or I want to help you make an informed decision. So it takes that whole team around those, those types of opportunities. It absolutely
Larry Puszko 14:40
does, and that's where that, you know, the delegation. And when you go from being an individual contributor to a manager in that first job, it's really tough, because I remember my first manager position where I did that, and I'm like, but that's not the way I would do it. And you're thinking, you know, wait a minute. Why are they doing it that way? But every team has their, you know, their their best contributor, and every team has one that, you know, needs a little bit more help sometimes, right? And and most of the team are, you know, somewhere in between there. But when that's the case, you've got to coach the people up who need a little bit more help. And you know, you got to be appreciative for the people who who help you get the job done every day, and absolutely great people on my team who do that.
John Simon Sr. 15:25
That's so great. And not and not everyone wants to be a leader. That's
Larry Puszko 15:29
true. And you need those people. That's those are the people you need as well, right? Exactly, how have
John Simon Sr. 15:36
things changed in your world since covid? Well,
Larry Puszko 15:41
since covid, and it's kind of, that's, that's a, that's a great question, I think, because since covid, you know, I think people have really embraced the work from home environment, I mean, and, and that's not just people where I work, but it's people like I know, and people you know across the nation, you know. I mean, with that said, In the beginning, when we first came home in in that second week in March, when everybody was, you know, getting locked down for the most part, it was one of those things where you're thinking, well, you'll be back in about two weeks, and this will all blow over. And quite honestly, I guess this week it's, it's, it's really four years this week that, you know, covid really started to affect everyone, and it's, you know, in the way we work. But right now, I think people really appreciate the opportunity to work from home. A lot of companies are saying, hey, we need to get some people back into the office. And that's that's needed for collaboration. There's no doubt about it. But it all depends on what kind of team you have. You know, if you're more of operational employees that are, that are doing a job that is, you know, one such as collections, you know that that's something that well, if you're you're on the phone, you know, you can do that from an at home environment, in a remote environment, or in an in office environment. But some of the jobs are a little bit different, where you need that collaboration. You really need to be there in person. So it just depends on what you're up to that day. And we do go into the office, you know, couple times a week for the most part, and it works pretty well in that environment. So the big change, though, there is, people really got used to working remotely, and it was, you know, it's, it's kind of tough to get people to, you know, come back into the office. So, and that's understandable. It's the you change the way that your your life has gone, right? Yeah,
Dina Simon 17:36
absolutely. And just the commute, the, you know, the being able to dress more casually at home. There's so many benefits. I know that in just January, well, December of last year, you know, a lot of companies made announcements to say 100% we're coming back. And in January, you know, January 1, giving people some somewhat notice, or even fourth quarter of last year. And a lot of people have said no and looked at other positions. Some people hunkered down, said, Okay, that's great. I've missed my people. So it really is an individual like you said, an individual preference as well as collaboration and what, what type of position, what type of team they're in, but it is still something that companies are definitely struggling with, where I know a few people that had those mandates in January one, and their companies have now, in March, not been so successful still in making, making what they wanted to have happen. Well, personally,
Larry Puszko 18:31
I mean, and you mentioned the commute. I mean, it's an hour each way, and I've converted that time into, you know, production time for me. I mean, that's, you know, really, I mean, just starting earlier and working later, but you still have that work life balance there. So that's important. That's another important part, right there. I mean, happy employees are really, you know, they are really more productive. It's kind of a benefit. I guess you can look at it as a benefit. Now,
John Simon Sr. 19:00
sure, have you had to hire anyone since the employees started working more from home?
Larry Puszko 19:05
Oh, yeah, absolutely. And you know what? Then, quite honestly, I made sure that every single person that we hired over the last four years, I did, you know, I went in and I met them on day one, along with their manager, and welcomed them to well, welcomed them to an empty office. They got the equipment and supplies that they needed, and then, you know, they, you know, we got them set to go. And then they, you know, they were trained remotely, you know. Now, in some of those cases, we did have people who are trained in the office, in our training rooms, for different, you know, for different things, but for the most part. You know, most people could train remotely, especially in the early days. You know, of covid, when you just were trying to you were trying to distance until you you really knew what you know, yeah. Situation was
John Simon Sr. 19:53
right, yeah. In hiring, you knew where people did they inquire about? You know, are we going to be able to work from? Own three or four days a week, or are we going to have to be the Asus a certain amount of time,
Larry Puszko 20:04
absolutely? And that was something where you could only really answer them by saying, we're in a hybrid environment right now, because we're not fully remote. We are. We do consider our team to be hybrid. So because we do come into the office periodically, and we are domiciled in an office location. So, but it's one of those things that I think people understand that they could be called to come back into the office with that said. I mean, we remain in a hybrid environment, and people are very happy about that, so
Dina Simon 20:35
yeah, and if it's working, it's working, right, and it is working, and
Larry Puszko 20:39
our management team is productive. And as I said that, you know, that's an extra two hours that I'm, you know, not in the car. But with that said, even when I am in the car, I'm, usually, I'll try to make a phone call and try to cover some of those things that you you can while you're in the car, right? Topic, you know, with people that you need to talk to,
Dina Simon 20:56
yeah, you're still working, but it may not be quite as effective. Then you got more used to it. Yes, yeah, yeah, exactly. So I think this whole conversation as well is pretty funny, because can you imagine John leading a crew that was working hybrid or remote? Because we know that when there was a snowstorm, he'd be the first to leave the house at 3am just so he could show that he could be at the office and wonder at eight o'clock why people were walking in the door, right? That's it, right?
John Simon Sr. 21:25
So whenever Nina worked in human resources for the associates, he would hire new employees, and she would bring them on, and first day she would sit down and talk to them, and she'd say, I always remember one thing, Mr. Simon expects you here, whatever your starting time is, not five minutes late, not 10 minutes late, to be earliest, to be on time. And that was something that I always, you know, expected of the employees, because my customers expected them to be there doing their job, and so did I, yeah, today's environment that might not come over is good that 20 years ago, it did. I would
Larry Puszko 22:02
like to think that everybody does subscribe, though, to what we call core business hours. And you gotta be there. You know, whatever your hours are, whether it's eight to five or eight to 430 right? So, right. I mean it, you know, so and a couple minutes before there just to, well, we had computers we were turning on right back in the 90s.
Dina Simon 22:21
Time to power up. One of the interesting things, Mandy and I just were in a small town here this weekend. And as you walk by the stores, you know for some businesses to be closed on a Sunday during the winter, sure that makes sense. But there was no uniform, like some are open Sundays and Mondays and closed Tuesday, Wednesday. Like we were just, we were kind of like walking around this cute little downtown, going interesting. Like, you would think somebody would just prescribe to we're going to be open these days, but I guess also then, if you're going to show up in this little town on a Tuesday, not everything's closed, then, because you have other options to go to some of the places, but it was really interesting because it didn't seem that there were core days or core business hours amongst like stores in this little downtown. So I think that's another thing that's happened from covid. I think we've all learned that we need to look up, you know, are they actually going to be open when we go? And hopefully they've taken the time to update their Google information, so when we look it up, that it's correct.
John Simon Sr. 23:22
And I think one of the things that I think we've all learned from covid is flexibility. Everything's not the way it used to be, and you just need to be more flexible and probably more understanding also,
Dina Simon 23:35
yeah, I think a lot more patient, right? Yes, yep.
Larry Puszko 23:39
I agree. I mean, in the one thing that that kind of came of that was even, even during covid, you would go out and you would assume a lot of stores would be open, like they always were till nine or 10 o'clock. And you're running out to a hardware store that used to be open till nine or 10 or, you know, and it was closed at eight. Why? Because they didn't have enough people to work all over the hours. And, you know, with that, they tried to make the one shift, I guess, you know, just one shift for the whole entire day. And it was, you know, it made it a little bit difficult. Things are a little bit more normalized. Now, back to what the way they were, but things you had to take into consideration, yeah,
Dina Simon 24:19
and there are still some staffing problems, that's for sure, within a lot of businesses.
John Simon Sr. 24:23
Yeah, so, Larry, we've talked about life's leadership. How about a little bit about legacies?
Larry Puszko 24:29
Well, I think the legacies that that that are most important, I guess, for me, is, is just like the legacies that I leave with with my kids. You know, I'm very proud of both of them. They've both got really good work ethics. And, you know, they, they started their part time jobs. And, you know, in high school, both of them, and they're really dedicated to whatever job they're doing. They, they don't call off work. They, you know, they, they really pay attention to what they're doing and and they kind. Note, you know that when something's going wrong or something at the job, they talk about how they resolve an issue and how they resolve a problem. And I think that's just, that's just really good, you know. And I thought it was good having, you know, as soon as you're able to to get a job as a kid, I think it, it's great to do that, because it would be funny to hear they both worked at the same place. It would be funny to hear them talking shop at the dinner table, which is just funny, you know, and it's, you know, they were both in food service, their first job, that just to hear them talk about how they got through certain issues was just really interesting to me, because they they were learning problem solving, you know. And we were challenged, you know, this was our challenge, and this is what happened, and this is what we had to do, you know. And, and they work, you know, for an older, you know, it's a community. It's, it's, it's like a nursing home, but it's, it's called the villages, and, and the people they were serving, it was a very especially through covid. It was very important, like to that was an important job. You know, the nursing homes were, were one of the places that were, you know, hit hardest during the beginning of covid and and they, they went to work, you know, didn't miss a shift or anything like that. And they did a really good job with that. And even when there was a day when somebody wasn't having a really good day, or didn't like what they were served, or whatever, they would find a way to keep that person, you know, make that person happy, you know. So, you know, it's like, I don't know, I guess, you know, it was a high level of customer service. That's what we want. We
Dina Simon 26:33
do, and taking care of people, right?
John Simon Sr. 26:35
And problem solving and getting the job done. And the main thing is, is keeping the customer happy? That's
Larry Puszko 26:42
it. That's it. And, you know, you know, Kara even still works part time at a regular job, you know, or 40 hour a week job, and then she'll work a couple shifts during the week, just because, you know, she still has a couple friends who work there and drew works there as well, you know, as he's still in college, right? But just the way they handle stuff makes me proud. That's awesome.
Dina Simon 27:03
I love that well, and
John Simon Sr. 27:05
they learned it from you and Bess. I mean, that's where that, that message comes from.
Larry Puszko 27:09
I don't mean to patter something in the back, but we try really hard to instill that, that work, that can and, I mean, it's just that's the environment that they, they grew up in. So it's, it's good to see that they, they take that kind of stuff very, very seriously. So,
Dina Simon 27:26
yeah, yeah, awesome. And so Drew is, is he when does he graduate? He say, have two more years, a year and a half. He'll
Larry Puszko 27:32
graduate in December, actually, a little bit early, yes. So and Kara graduated two years ago in 2022 so, yes, as I said, everybody goes to the University of Pittsburgh, except for me. So
John Simon Sr. 27:48
And after all that, you're still young. Larry, right.
Larry Puszko 27:51
Still young. Larry, some things never change.
John Simon Sr. 27:55
And Jeannie and I will be there next week. So I look forward to coming in and seeing you invest in the kids, so maybe having a beer or something like that together.
Larry Puszko 28:04
Absolutely no, that sounds good. I'll pick up a couple good ones to try. We've got a lot of great local, you know, brew pubs around here, so you'll have to check one or two out
Dina Simon 28:15
nice and I can't believe that we've gotten through an entire podcast and the Steelers have not come up even in conversation.
Larry Puszko 28:22
It's, I guess it's off season from from that all the we've we've got a text group me and John and Richard, and you know, Uncle John is in there as well. And we talk a lot about the the Steelers and who their quarterback's going to be and and all of that kind of stuff. So more to come on that as they they continue to shape their team, but we're always debating the moves that they make. So there'll be more conversation on that. Yeah.
Dina Simon 28:49
And I think one of the cool things is, you know, so Jen and rich were pretty young when they lived in Pittsburgh and moved away, but they that's still their team, the Steelers, because of John and Jeannie and all of you, as far as family that are back there, and that's actually a really fun tradition, as well as just to watch that, that love for the Steelers and what was rich too, and John was four when they moved away, something like that. But that's still their team,
John Simon Sr. 29:16
1974 when we moved to Chicago. Yeah, right
Larry Puszko 29:20
before, I probably right before the first Super Bowl they were in, I guess, right, right. Right before Super Bowl menu, I would say,
John Simon Sr. 29:28
yep, when they beat the Vikings. Wow. About that? Yeah, yeah,
Dina Simon 29:35
the Larry being that you were prepping for being on the podcast. Is there anything else that you'd like our podcast listeners to know about you, or anything else you'd like to share. Well, I
Larry Puszko 29:44
mean, you know all, all I would say is for those, as I tell my kids, for those who are getting, starting their careers now and getting ready, you know, to launch their careers as I've got Kara's, you know, in her second year of employment after graduation and Drew's going to be thinking about it. I. Would just say, be patient. Sometimes to be successful, you're going to have to do things that are uncomfortable, so get out of your comfort zone. I think I wish I would have done that a little bit more, possibly take a couple more risks, calculated risks, no doubt. But yeah, it's easy to get that first job, I think. And just kind of go with it for for a while where, you know, like I said earlier in my career, I changed jobs quite a few times, just to, you know, to get the experience and whatnot. But, yeah, sometimes you got to get out of your comfort zone to be rewarded. And I think it's a good advice, hopefully, somebody will need to be good advice.
Dina Simon 30:42
Yeah, I think it's great advice. And as you said, calculated risk, but that you're still learning and growing when you're in your young 20s, right? And so taking all of that experience and just continuing to put it together as you're building it absolutely,
John Simon Sr. 30:57
yeah, it's hard. It's hard sometimes when you're young, like that getting started, because sometimes you think you know everything, and not always the case.
Larry Puszko 31:04
Yeah, that's one of those things where, oh, what, what I wish I knew before, right? You know what I wish I would have known, and now that what I know, of course, been very helpful,
Dina Simon 31:17
absolutely. And I mean, even in my 50s with somebody told me I was going to be doing what I'm doing today, 3020, years ago. No, right, like, so we don't, we don't know. So just being open and being surrounded by a good network of people and companies and, you know, people that will give us those opportunities to stretch and take those calculated risks as well,
Larry Puszko 31:38
that's right, yeah, you don't have to be the smartest person in the room. You just have to be able to get out there and really be able to talk to people, and, as you said, network and find opportunities. And, you know, see how you can, you know, help organizations where, where you think there might be a place for you, right? Exactly
Dina Simon 31:55
Sure.
John Simon Sr. 31:57
And he'll say it, God gave you two ears and one mouse, so listen twice as much as you talk.
Larry Puszko 32:02
That is great advice. Absolutely. Yes, awesome. Well,
Dina Simon 32:07
thank you, Larry,
John Simon Sr. 32:08
Larry, thanks for joining the podcast.
Larry Puszko 32:10
Yeah, I really appreciate the opportunity to be on here and talk to you for a while. Today,
Dina Simon 32:15
I would like to thank Larry prusco Jr for being on our podcast. As you've heard on the podcast, we family also call him young Larry, because he is a junior, so his father is obviously senior. Larry is a senior manager of revenue operations at a very large organization that we alluded to. We thank him for his stories about leadership and legacy that he is building with his two beautiful children and wife of 31 years, and just thank him for his time and as a family member leaning in to be on our podcast as always, I'd like to thank my father In law, John Simon, and until we talk again, you.