Tom Vazzo

Thanks, Charles. Good to be with you.

Thanks, Charles. Good to be with you.

How do we think once they get out of prison, they're going to be able to get enough of a job to live and to pay their debt? Nutty, nutty, nutty. But George wanted to do it the right way. He didn't want to go ask his homies in his gang for money because then he was going to be indebted to the gang. He didn't go to a loan shark.

How do we think once they get out of prison, they're going to be able to get enough of a job to live and to pay their debt? Nutty, nutty, nutty. But George wanted to do it the right way. He didn't want to go ask his homies in his gang for money because then he was going to be indebted to the gang. He didn't go to a loan shark.

At the time, you can report it for three days of county jail, which is not the safest spot, and earn money off your debt. All right. So I'm talking to him. I'm amazed. I walk away really amazed by him that he's doing it the right way, that all these societal challenges are stopping him, but he's going to still do it the right way. Well, so all weekend long, I'm thinking about it.

At the time, you can report it for three days of county jail, which is not the safest spot, and earn money off your debt. All right. So I'm talking to him. I'm amazed. I walk away really amazed by him that he's doing it the right way, that all these societal challenges are stopping him, but he's going to still do it the right way. Well, so all weekend long, I'm thinking about it.

I'm thinking, should I have given him money? Should I have loaned him money? Should I have done some other thing? I make a beeline in the next Tuesday to see how it went. And I go right to George and I see the stress on his face asking how it went. I said, what happened? He said, well,

I'm thinking, should I have given him money? Should I have loaned him money? Should I have done some other thing? I make a beeline in the next Tuesday to see how it went. And I go right to George and I see the stress on his face asking how it went. I said, what happened? He said, well,

George has custody of his 10-year-old and 8-year-old, which is pretty unusual for a male to get custody as soon as they leave the prison system. And the caregiver who was supposed to show up to watch his kids didn't show up, and he still had to report into county jail. Yeah. And so imagine leaving your 10-year-old in the apartment by themselves for three and a half days. You're in jail.

George has custody of his 10-year-old and 8-year-old, which is pretty unusual for a male to get custody as soon as they leave the prison system. And the caregiver who was supposed to show up to watch his kids didn't show up, and he still had to report into county jail. Yeah. And so imagine leaving your 10-year-old in the apartment by themselves for three and a half days. You're in jail.

Now, the kids end up being fine, so nothing went wrong with the kids. But imagine the stress as a parent. So I'm telling the story for a couple of reasons.

Now, the kids end up being fine, so nothing went wrong with the kids. But imagine the stress as a parent. So I'm telling the story for a couple of reasons.

One is the rest of us in society can't imagine the challenges that the poor in our society face every day, the choices they got to make, whether it's George trying to choose to go to – having to go to jail to pay off debt and leave his kids alone, or the homegirl who comes in doesn't – one of our employees doesn't eat for breakfast or lunch so she can save money for diapers. Impossible choices.

One is the rest of us in society can't imagine the challenges that the poor in our society face every day, the choices they got to make, whether it's George trying to choose to go to – having to go to jail to pay off debt and leave his kids alone, or the homegirl who comes in doesn't – one of our employees doesn't eat for breakfast or lunch so she can save money for diapers. Impossible choices.

Right. And so we have to recognize that our folks have to make impossible choices and we have to resist the urge to judge, resist the urge to think, what would I have done? Would I have done something differently?

Right. And so we have to recognize that our folks have to make impossible choices and we have to resist the urge to judge, resist the urge to think, what would I have done? Would I have done something differently?

Yeah, sure. I grew up a middle-class kid. My brothers and I are first-generation college graduates. I go right into graduate school from my undergraduate, and then I land in a small company up in Boston, a family-run business. At that time, it was about a $50 million business.

Yeah, sure. I grew up a middle-class kid. My brothers and I are first-generation college graduates. I go right into graduate school from my undergraduate, and then I land in a small company up in Boston, a family-run business. At that time, it was about a $50 million business.

So I tell the story in relation to your question is as you hire these folks, don't judge, just lean in and help and know that they're working as hard as they can and they're trying to get through it, but lean in and help and don't sort of judge them by their actions in their private life in that sense.

So I tell the story in relation to your question is as you hire these folks, don't judge, just lean in and help and know that they're working as hard as they can and they're trying to get through it, but lean in and help and don't sort of judge them by their actions in their private life in that sense.

Yeah. Yeah. Good question. Let me, I want to come and come at it at two ways. Right. And I just want to be clear to the folks listening. Like I've been in the business world 26 years. I've been doing nonprofit 12 years and I can, I know when I tell these stories, people are saying, well, that's true in the nonprofit sense, but I'm running a for-profit company and you know,

Yeah. Yeah. Good question. Let me, I want to come and come at it at two ways. Right. And I just want to be clear to the folks listening. Like I've been in the business world 26 years. I've been doing nonprofit 12 years and I can, I know when I tell these stories, people are saying, well, that's true in the nonprofit sense, but I'm running a for-profit company and you know,

What you guys do is nice, but I got to still do the bottom line, right? And so I recognize that. And so what I want to say is like, even the way you framed it up, like if someone's not doing their job, that's going to impact the whole organization. And we have to feed the whole organization. People got to put food on the table, right? And so even at Homeboy, look, ours is about a mission.

What you guys do is nice, but I got to still do the bottom line, right? And so I recognize that. And so what I want to say is like, even the way you framed it up, like if someone's not doing their job, that's going to impact the whole organization. And we have to feed the whole organization. People got to put food on the table, right? And so even at Homeboy, look, ours is about a mission.

In my time there, we scaled to $300 million, run by the family, had all the attributes of a family-run business, a lot of other family members in there, but also bringing in professional managers. They sold to a bigger corporation in which then launched me into my corporate career. Ended over 26 years. My last eight years, I ran a $2 billion set of businesses for the corporation.

In my time there, we scaled to $300 million, run by the family, had all the attributes of a family-run business, a lot of other family members in there, but also bringing in professional managers. They sold to a bigger corporation in which then launched me into my corporate career. Ended over 26 years. My last eight years, I ran a $2 billion set of businesses for the corporation.

It's a people-oriented business. It's a mission of helping people leave gang life behind. So if someone's coming in every day, now we have... We have 500 people on payroll who we pay to work on themselves. In addition, we have another 150 staff, right? But if someone's coming in and they're still running with the gang, they're not programming. We're saying, come back when you're ready.

It's a people-oriented business. It's a mission of helping people leave gang life behind. So if someone's coming in every day, now we have... We have 500 people on payroll who we pay to work on themselves. In addition, we have another 150 staff, right? But if someone's coming in and they're still running with the gang, they're not programming. We're saying, come back when you're ready.

So we have our limits too. But the other part I want to say is to your question, And it's funny, I've never really said it this way, but it's, listen, there's no exact science to this, right? Now, if you're a good leader and you're running and your company's successful and you're growing all that, you can have a sense for people. You have a sense whether they can do the job or not.

So we have our limits too. But the other part I want to say is to your question, And it's funny, I've never really said it this way, but it's, listen, there's no exact science to this, right? Now, if you're a good leader and you're running and your company's successful and you're growing all that, you can have a sense for people. You have a sense whether they can do the job or not.

And so when you're interviewing, just focus on whether you think they can do the job. Forget everything in their background. Just forget it. It's no impact. Now, do you sense where they can do the job? Are they stable enough to show up and get there? And obviously, you're going to have their challenges. You're going to lean in and help. But just it's about can they do the job today?

And so when you're interviewing, just focus on whether you think they can do the job. Forget everything in their background. Just forget it. It's no impact. Now, do you sense where they can do the job? Are they stable enough to show up and get there? And obviously, you're going to have their challenges. You're going to lean in and help. But just it's about can they do the job today?

And don't worry about what was in the past.

And don't worry about what was in the past.

Well, you ask good questions.

Well, you ask good questions.

Questions you got to think about. You know, let me see if I can get the words to it.

Questions you got to think about. You know, let me see if I can get the words to it.

And now what I do is I do a nonprofit. And I run Homeboy Industries, which we're a nonprofit in Los Angeles, helping gang members and felons leave gang life behind and life of crime behind and heal and mainstream back out to society.

And now what I do is I do a nonprofit. And I run Homeboy Industries, which we're a nonprofit in Los Angeles, helping gang members and felons leave gang life behind and life of crime behind and heal and mainstream back out to society.

Yeah. So, boy, another add-on to your good question. I want to actually dive in the middle there and talk about your example that you used about the murder type of thing, right? And I want to be careful about the words I choose. Okay. It comes down, again, not to be judging. Like, we don't know what people have carried in their life.

Yeah. So, boy, another add-on to your good question. I want to actually dive in the middle there and talk about your example that you used about the murder type of thing, right? And I want to be careful about the words I choose. Okay. It comes down, again, not to be judging. Like, we don't know what people have carried in their life.

We don't know situations of where they've been at and the trauma they've been under and what caused them to do certain things, right? And so we're not ever, we don't condone violence. We never accept that. But let me jump a little bit. People leave the prison system. They've done the time for the things they did. They serve their time.

We don't know situations of where they've been at and the trauma they've been under and what caused them to do certain things, right? And so we're not ever, we don't condone violence. We never accept that. But let me jump a little bit. People leave the prison system. They've done the time for the things they did. They serve their time.

So are we going to always sort of judge them for the rest of their life? Right. And so on the intellectual side, no, we're giving people a chance. We're not judging them from their past. Now, to your question of the management style and how that comes about, right, you know,

So are we going to always sort of judge them for the rest of their life? Right. And so on the intellectual side, no, we're giving people a chance. We're not judging them from their past. Now, to your question of the management style and how that comes about, right, you know,

This is where I've actually, you know, interestingly, I've been on my own faith journey by being here at Homeboy and learning about how faith in God and God loves us all, how that affects how I think and how I think as a leader, right? And so I've kind of, through Homeboy and through Greg, our founder and all that, kind of come to this point of understanding that. I'm finding joy through others.

This is where I've actually, you know, interestingly, I've been on my own faith journey by being here at Homeboy and learning about how faith in God and God loves us all, how that affects how I think and how I think as a leader, right? And so I've kind of, through Homeboy and through Greg, our founder and all that, kind of come to this point of understanding that. I'm finding joy through others.

My being, my moral being is not about these hard, firm rules. My moral being is about being in relation with others and leaning in to help others. And so like all of us in society, we have these sort of rules we have in place. I'm not hiring this type of person. Let that go. Look at the person in front of you as a person.

My being, my moral being is not about these hard, firm rules. My moral being is about being in relation with others and leaning in to help others. And so like all of us in society, we have these sort of rules we have in place. I'm not hiring this type of person. Let that go. Look at the person in front of you as a person.

This may not sit well with everybody, but how I say this, God loves that person too. I learned this at home, but God loves all of us, no matter what we've done. He's too busy loving us to be judging us, right? And once you sort of, it's the obvious thing, but it's my session. Once you know that God loves that person across from me as much as God loves me, it's way easier. It's way easier.

This may not sit well with everybody, but how I say this, God loves that person too. I learned this at home, but God loves all of us, no matter what we've done. He's too busy loving us to be judging us, right? And once you sort of, it's the obvious thing, but it's my session. Once you know that God loves that person across from me as much as God loves me, it's way easier. It's way easier.

But it's on two planes. I'm saying all that full throttle. But I'm also saying, hey, you're running a business. People have to meet the caliber of the job. They've still got to do their job. They've got to do the job, right. You've got to be clear about expectations and all those things. But just let all the other stuff that may cloud your vision about a person go.

But it's on two planes. I'm saying all that full throttle. But I'm also saying, hey, you're running a business. People have to meet the caliber of the job. They've still got to do their job. They've got to do the job, right. You've got to be clear about expectations and all those things. But just let all the other stuff that may cloud your vision about a person go.

Just treat them for the person they are today. Are they doing the job? How are they doing the job?

Just treat them for the person they are today. Are they doing the job? How are they doing the job?

Yeah. I've been very fortunate to be part of lots of different types of size organizations, right? And without a doubt, the big corporations have a lot of resources and bandwidth. And look, the businesses we were in, it was uniformed businesses, food businesses, facility cleaning. So no special technologies or patents. It was just how well you led your team is how you got future business, right?

Yeah. I've been very fortunate to be part of lots of different types of size organizations, right? And without a doubt, the big corporations have a lot of resources and bandwidth. And look, the businesses we were in, it was uniformed businesses, food businesses, facility cleaning. So no special technologies or patents. It was just how well you led your team is how you got future business, right?

And so I was sort of taught very early on about A lot of managerial skills, leadership skills, executive coaches, really the overemphasis onto making me a better leader. Because if I was a better leader, my teams were going to do better, corporation does better, right? And so what I've tried to do is bring that aspect to Homeboy.

And so I was sort of taught very early on about A lot of managerial skills, leadership skills, executive coaches, really the overemphasis onto making me a better leader. Because if I was a better leader, my teams were going to do better, corporation does better, right? And so what I've tried to do is bring that aspect to Homeboy.

And I view Homeboy as a small business, as a small family-run business. It has that dynamic. It's a sort of... grassroots-based, founder. I took over for the founder, that type of thing. And then at different levels, as we went from $10 million to $20 million and $30 million, you've got to bring more skill sets in and you've got to grow the team. I'm very proud of the fact that

And I view Homeboy as a small business, as a small family-run business. It has that dynamic. It's a sort of... grassroots-based, founder. I took over for the founder, that type of thing. And then at different levels, as we went from $10 million to $20 million and $30 million, you've got to bring more skill sets in and you've got to grow the team. I'm very proud of the fact that

So as a summary of how to do this, the key lesson is, it's not any great insight, is hiring the people, getting the right people in place and developing the people. Two-thirds of our management team now are former clients. Think about that. They were in our program, coming in, out of prison, no clothes, no food, no anything.

So as a summary of how to do this, the key lesson is, it's not any great insight, is hiring the people, getting the right people in place and developing the people. Two-thirds of our management team now are former clients. Think about that. They were in our program, coming in, out of prison, no clothes, no food, no anything.

Yeah, you know, I sort of say it this way. I had my epiphany moment back, and if I can give you a little longer story to this. Back in 2008, which is now a while back, was the Great Recession of 2008. And our corporation, we were a private corporation for a number of years, then we went public. And then public for five years, then back to being private again. So I had the

Yeah, you know, I sort of say it this way. I had my epiphany moment back, and if I can give you a little longer story to this. Back in 2008, which is now a while back, was the Great Recession of 2008. And our corporation, we were a private corporation for a number of years, then we went public. And then public for five years, then back to being private again. So I had the

And we've helped them heal. Mm-hmm. help them become resilient, and then they just blossom in terms of their ability to be the next generation of mentors, to be the next generation of business leaders. People who run our cafe and our bakery, they're all former gang members, right? And they all lived in that lifestyle.

And we've helped them heal. Mm-hmm. help them become resilient, and then they just blossom in terms of their ability to be the next generation of mentors, to be the next generation of business leaders. People who run our cafe and our bakery, they're all former gang members, right? And they all lived in that lifestyle.

They have this natural leadership skills, but they didn't have the managerial skills. Then it's bringing a lot of trainings that teach them the managerial side of this. To me, it's always been about to scale an organization, you need two things. You need funding and you need people. Will people scale with you?

They have this natural leadership skills, but they didn't have the managerial skills. Then it's bringing a lot of trainings that teach them the managerial side of this. To me, it's always been about to scale an organization, you need two things. You need funding and you need people. Will people scale with you?

A lot of times when I see other organizations that don't succeed is because they didn't put enough time on the people side. That the entrepreneur, the leader did almost everything themselves, didn't spend the time to teach the next generation and to move the next generation along and then thereby not having a shared vision.

A lot of times when I see other organizations that don't succeed is because they didn't put enough time on the people side. That the entrepreneur, the leader did almost everything themselves, didn't spend the time to teach the next generation and to move the next generation along and then thereby not having a shared vision.

So it's really about developing people and bringing in outside trainers to make that happen as well.

So it's really about developing people and bringing in outside trainers to make that happen as well.

Yeah, two. One I'll do quickly and the other I'll spend more time on. I had a mentor early on in my business career. And he said, Tom, show the organization you know how to make money. So my point is, understand the finances. Take a finance course. You don't have to be a financial expert. You don't have to be an accountant. Just understand the numbers of a business. I mean, that's the entry fee.

Yeah, two. One I'll do quickly and the other I'll spend more time on. I had a mentor early on in my business career. And he said, Tom, show the organization you know how to make money. So my point is, understand the finances. Take a finance course. You don't have to be a financial expert. You don't have to be an accountant. Just understand the numbers of a business. I mean, that's the entry fee.

And then the other is, to be a great leader, is listen. Just listen. You don't always have to have the answer. You don't always have to rule the room. You don't always have to sort of do it. If you want to build a culture and have people kind of take the responsibility and run with it, listen. And I'm older now. It's easy for me to say. But also the dynamic.

And then the other is, to be a great leader, is listen. Just listen. You don't always have to have the answer. You don't always have to rule the room. You don't always have to sort of do it. If you want to build a culture and have people kind of take the responsibility and run with it, listen. And I'm older now. It's easy for me to say. But also the dynamic.

Homeboy is a very diverse population, right? It's a gang population, right? And so for me, when I took on the homeboy role, It was different. Like Father Greg, our founder, Jesuit priest, the mission was strong, but the organization was failing because management didn't know the strategy, didn't know people in the right positions, all that stuff. So I come in and listen.

Homeboy is a very diverse population, right? It's a gang population, right? And so for me, when I took on the homeboy role, It was different. Like Father Greg, our founder, Jesuit priest, the mission was strong, but the organization was failing because management didn't know the strategy, didn't know people in the right positions, all that stuff. So I come in and listen.

I'm not coming in to improve how to get gang members out of gangs. I'm coming in to actually see how the organization goes along. So it's a part about listening and piecing it all together and Same thing in the for-profit world. All the great leaders I've worked under, they've listened. They don't come in and start telling. It's sort of listening and thinking, listening and thinking and probing.

I'm not coming in to improve how to get gang members out of gangs. I'm coming in to actually see how the organization goes along. So it's a part about listening and piecing it all together and Same thing in the for-profit world. All the great leaders I've worked under, they've listened. They don't come in and start telling. It's sort of listening and thinking, listening and thinking and probing.

Yeah. Thank you for giving me that pitch. So Homeboy Industries, we have a Facebook page. We have a website, homeboyindustries.org. We have a lot of content on there. What's amazing is how our folks have changed our life, the transformation, and they tell their story in the first person. And look, we are blessed with donors. We need more donors, so please donate.

Yeah. Thank you for giving me that pitch. So Homeboy Industries, we have a Facebook page. We have a website, homeboyindustries.org. We have a lot of content on there. What's amazing is how our folks have changed our life, the transformation, and they tell their story in the first person. And look, we are blessed with donors. We need more donors, so please donate.

Fortunate to be there for those transactions and did well for myself and my family. But now this is the first couple of years of being a private organization. Private equity owned us. And so we had to deliver upon our numbers. So the big 2008 recession comes along. Employment levels dropped by 10%, which means the businesses were in revenue dropped by 10%.

Fortunate to be there for those transactions and did well for myself and my family. But now this is the first couple of years of being a private organization. Private equity owned us. And so we had to deliver upon our numbers. So the big 2008 recession comes along. Employment levels dropped by 10%, which means the businesses were in revenue dropped by 10%.

But people donate to us because they see, because every one of us, and I think in our world, have some type of brokenness in us. And And if our folks who have massive amount of brokenness can kind of get through that and not transmit that pain, but transform that pain, move that forward, it is sort of something to learn by and to sort of invest in.

But people donate to us because they see, because every one of us, and I think in our world, have some type of brokenness in us. And And if our folks who have massive amount of brokenness can kind of get through that and not transmit that pain, but transform that pain, move that forward, it is sort of something to learn by and to sort of invest in.

So through all that, on the business side, I wrote a book, The Homeboy Way, where I kind of take the things I've learned at Homeboy and apply that back to the business world. So please buy the book along the way. And then we have social enterprise businesses, you know, buy some cake and And if you're in Los Angeles, come for a visit. We have 8,000 people visit us each and every year.

So through all that, on the business side, I wrote a book, The Homeboy Way, where I kind of take the things I've learned at Homeboy and apply that back to the business world. So please buy the book along the way. And then we have social enterprise businesses, you know, buy some cake and And if you're in Los Angeles, come for a visit. We have 8,000 people visit us each and every year.

And all of us as executive leaders, executive officer of the corporation, have to do all we can to get our businesses right sized for the recession. And so at that time, my set of businesses, again, $2 billion on the top line, about $150 million of operating profit on the bottom line. That was the budget. I thought we did a good job.

And all of us as executive leaders, executive officer of the corporation, have to do all we can to get our businesses right sized for the recession. And so at that time, my set of businesses, again, $2 billion on the top line, about $150 million of operating profit on the bottom line. That was the budget. I thought we did a good job.

We were going to come in at $140 million, only missed by $10 million in the middle of the quote unquote, great recession. And I still remember two days before Christmas being on the phone with the chairman of the corporation. He was essentially berating me and yelling at me. It wasn't good enough. I needed to get that next $10 million. I needed to get back on plan.

We were going to come in at $140 million, only missed by $10 million in the middle of the quote unquote, great recession. And I still remember two days before Christmas being on the phone with the chairman of the corporation. He was essentially berating me and yelling at me. It wasn't good enough. I needed to get that next $10 million. I needed to get back on plan.

I'm thinking to myself, we've been at this a long time. I know that get that next $10 million, how many more people I have to lay off. I also, smart enough, know about the business that once it's coming out of the recession, I'm going to need all those people back. It got me thinking, what's the long-term plan?

I'm thinking to myself, we've been at this a long time. I know that get that next $10 million, how many more people I have to lay off. I also, smart enough, know about the business that once it's coming out of the recession, I'm going to need all those people back. It got me thinking, what's the long-term plan?

commitment we have to our employees if we're an employee-based organization how's that all play out and so something said to me shoot in this capitalist society we're in where shareholder value dominates the caring for the employees that's not so good because well-run companies have three things it does well in the marketplace of shareholder value customers want to give you money for the products or services and and you have a great place to work for for your employee base you know

commitment we have to our employees if we're an employee-based organization how's that all play out and so something said to me shoot in this capitalist society we're in where shareholder value dominates the caring for the employees that's not so good because well-run companies have three things it does well in the marketplace of shareholder value customers want to give you money for the products or services and and you have a great place to work for for your employee base you know

And I felt like that all of a sudden things were out of whack. Now, listen, I'm a committed capitalist. Even today when I do speeches on behalf of Homeboy, which is a nonprofit, I'm in the audience. I say I'm a committed capitalist. A murmur goes across the audience about, oh, he's one of them. But again, well-run companies are good for people.

And I felt like that all of a sudden things were out of whack. Now, listen, I'm a committed capitalist. Even today when I do speeches on behalf of Homeboy, which is a nonprofit, I'm in the audience. I say I'm a committed capitalist. A murmur goes across the audience about, oh, he's one of them. But again, well-run companies are good for people.

But something clicked in me saying, look, there's got to be a better way. And so, listen, I wasn't the final decision maker. So I did what I needed to do. But I knew that. So thereby, a couple of years later, when my golden handcuffs uncuffed, I wanted to do something different. Something in my mind says, how can we run businesses where we're employees?

But something clicked in me saying, look, there's got to be a better way. And so, listen, I wasn't the final decision maker. So I did what I needed to do. But I knew that. So thereby, a couple of years later, when my golden handcuffs uncuffed, I wanted to do something different. Something in my mind says, how can we run businesses where we're employees?

are just as important in the long-term value as the shareholders and do that in balance. All right, so that's what was behind me. So I left the corporate world. A friend of mine invited me to come down to have lunch at the Homegirl Cafe. We're here in Los Angeles. He's my friend. We were on the board of Salvation Army in Los Angeles.

are just as important in the long-term value as the shareholders and do that in balance. All right, so that's what was behind me. So I left the corporate world. A friend of mine invited me to come down to have lunch at the Homegirl Cafe. We're here in Los Angeles. He's my friend. We were on the board of Salvation Army in Los Angeles.

We've always thought, give back, be on boards, be a part of charities, right? So I'm having lunch at Homegirl Cafe. I'm thinking, and I'm looking around, and I'm looking at the employees, and the employees are working hard. They're smiling. They're engaging with the customers. By the way, my background, my last eight years, I bought 40 companies and sold four in my for-profit world.

We've always thought, give back, be on boards, be a part of charities, right? So I'm having lunch at Homegirl Cafe. I'm thinking, and I'm looking around, and I'm looking at the employees, and the employees are working hard. They're smiling. They're engaging with the customers. By the way, my background, my last eight years, I bought 40 companies and sold four in my for-profit world.

You get a sense of employee base. I'm having lunch. I'm looking around, and I'm realizing I would have not hired one of those folks in my prior job because of the tattoo on their face. because of the felony, because they were gang members. And yet here's this workforce that's actually working hard and doing good. And so it challenged my notion that I'm a hot shot business guy.

You get a sense of employee base. I'm having lunch. I'm looking around, and I'm realizing I would have not hired one of those folks in my prior job because of the tattoo on their face. because of the felony, because they were gang members. And yet here's this workforce that's actually working hard and doing good. And so it challenged my notion that I'm a hot shot business guy.

I think businesses are good for society, but here at Homeboy, in the context of a business, we're helping people change their life in the most dramatic way. And so when my friend asked me to get involved, I had time on my hands. I want to know, can my business skills be used in a different way? And so I signed on as a volunteer and

I think businesses are good for society, but here at Homeboy, in the context of a business, we're helping people change their life in the most dramatic way. And so when my friend asked me to get involved, I had time on my hands. I want to know, can my business skills be used in a different way? And so I signed on as a volunteer and

And I thought I would be there for five, six months and help them out and move on. Now I'm here 12 years later and still helping out and still loving life.

And I thought I would be there for five, six months and help them out and move on. Now I'm here 12 years later and still helping out and still loving life.

Yeah. I mean, it's a multi-part answer to your good question. First of all, just sort of set the context. Businesses need people, right? They need people who are good. They need people who are loyal. They need people who are going to work hard.

Yeah. I mean, it's a multi-part answer to your good question. First of all, just sort of set the context. Businesses need people, right? They need people who are good. They need people who are loyal. They need people who are going to work hard.

And the way the work world is out there, it's hard to find enough good people along the way. And so there's this sort of on-tap amount of folks out there. So at Homeboy... Let me take a long answer to your question. At home, the folks we work with, they're all victims of complex trauma at a young age. That's why they join a gang. They think, you know, because they didn't have a family.

And the way the work world is out there, it's hard to find enough good people along the way. And so there's this sort of on-tap amount of folks out there. So at Homeboy... Let me take a long answer to your question. At home, the folks we work with, they're all victims of complex trauma at a young age. That's why they join a gang. They think, you know, because they didn't have a family.

Their parents told them not to go to school. Their parents told them be on the corner for the drug lookout. They're second, third generation gang members. They join a gang thinking that's their true family, false hope. They do something bad. They go to prison. They come out of prison. And they don't want to go back to that situation. They want to be better.

Their parents told them not to go to school. Their parents told them be on the corner for the drug lookout. They're second, third generation gang members. They join a gang thinking that's their true family, false hope. They do something bad. They go to prison. They come out of prison. And they don't want to go back to that situation. They want to be better.

It's just that society has a lot of these sort of challenges for them that it's hard to get a job if you can't get a job you can't pay for rent so you're back into this cycle of going with the gangs because you can't survive on your own

It's just that society has a lot of these sort of challenges for them that it's hard to get a job if you can't get a job you can't pay for rent so you're back into this cycle of going with the gangs because you can't survive on your own

And so fundamentally, then to your question, so owners, managers, supervisors need to recognize that the working poor of America have these challenges, that they're good workers.

And so fundamentally, then to your question, so owners, managers, supervisors need to recognize that the working poor of America have these challenges, that they're good workers.

Not that they don't want to do the work, just that they either got to go see the parole officer, they have to sort of go back and sort of do something different to get rent paid, they're dealing with their kids, doing all sorts of things. And so it's about hiring people, leaning in and investing with resources.

Not that they don't want to do the work, just that they either got to go see the parole officer, they have to sort of go back and sort of do something different to get rent paid, they're dealing with their kids, doing all sorts of things. And so it's about hiring people, leaning in and investing with resources.

Not a lot of resources, but resources that if someone needs to go take care of their business, that they're allowed that day off. Let me just back up. To summarize, if you're looking for this workforce, it's a good workforce, but you recognize you've got to do it a little bit differently. You've got to know that they have their challenges. Let me give you this one quick story.

Not a lot of resources, but resources that if someone needs to go take care of their business, that they're allowed that day off. Let me just back up. To summarize, if you're looking for this workforce, it's a good workforce, but you recognize you've got to do it a little bit differently. You've got to know that they have their challenges. Let me give you this one quick story.

So at Homeboy, we have all sorts of jobs filled with our population that we serve, right? And so there was, I've had a number of executive assistants now over the years here and Teaching them to be executive assistant in the for-profit world.

So at Homeboy, we have all sorts of jobs filled with our population that we serve, right? And so there was, I've had a number of executive assistants now over the years here and Teaching them to be executive assistant in the for-profit world.

So one of them, young woman in and out of youth camp, youth jail here in LA County, mother at age 17, hardcore gang member, just sort of hated her life and very mad at the world. But through Homeboy, she's able to find herself and be a good mother. But she was my executive assistant with a young child living in a shelter, but she still showed up every day on time, did her work.

So one of them, young woman in and out of youth camp, youth jail here in LA County, mother at age 17, hardcore gang member, just sort of hated her life and very mad at the world. But through Homeboy, she's able to find herself and be a good mother. But she was my executive assistant with a young child living in a shelter, but she still showed up every day on time, did her work.

Well, we're a homeboy. We're a nonprofit. So we have a board of a director. And so quarterly, we have board meetings that start at 730 in the morning. And so she would get here at 6.30 in the morning, making sure the tables were set up, papers were in place, the water was out.

Well, we're a homeboy. We're a nonprofit. So we have a board of a director. And so quarterly, we have board meetings that start at 730 in the morning. And so she would get here at 6.30 in the morning, making sure the tables were set up, papers were in place, the water was out.

So I remember this one day, the night before one of our board meetings, her parole officer calls her up and says that she needs to report in to his office next day at 8 a.m. And she's saying, can I come at 10? Because I need to be here for the homeboy board meeting. I have a job. And essentially says, no, if you're not here by 8 a.m.,

So I remember this one day, the night before one of our board meetings, her parole officer calls her up and says that she needs to report in to his office next day at 8 a.m. And she's saying, can I come at 10? Because I need to be here for the homeboy board meeting. I have a job. And essentially says, no, if you're not here by 8 a.m.,

I'm going to violate your parole, which means you go back into prison. Now, knuckleheads. Right. But so of course we're homeboy, we're saying, you know, go take care of your business. We'll be here. We'll, we'll, we'll get by. Right. But how many other businesses were sort of letter? Maybe they would let her off that morning if they knew the situation, but would she have so much shame?

I'm going to violate your parole, which means you go back into prison. Now, knuckleheads. Right. But so of course we're homeboy, we're saying, you know, go take care of your business. We'll be here. We'll, we'll, we'll get by. Right. But how many other businesses were sort of letter? Maybe they would let her off that morning if they knew the situation, but would she have so much shame?

She couldn't tell the situation. So my point is the people we work with, they want to do it the right way. There's just a lot of hurdles in place that, And us as employers need to recognize that we've got to treat people not the same, but individually, and give them the chance to do their job well. And if they give them that chance, they'll do their job really well.

She couldn't tell the situation. So my point is the people we work with, they want to do it the right way. There's just a lot of hurdles in place that, And us as employers need to recognize that we've got to treat people not the same, but individually, and give them the chance to do their job well. And if they give them that chance, they'll do their job really well.

Yeah, I understand your question. Let me kind of like flip it a little bit. I would say you as a business owner, hire the person you think is going to do a great job. So just as in your story, the single mom who has to hustle, you have a sense that that person is going to work hard. Pick the person who's going to work hard for you.

Yeah, I understand your question. Let me kind of like flip it a little bit. I would say you as a business owner, hire the person you think is going to do a great job. So just as in your story, the single mom who has to hustle, you have a sense that that person is going to work hard. Pick the person who's going to work hard for you.

But also recognize that you're going to, just like my story, you're going to have to give them time off in different ways. You're going to have to sort of support them in different ways for them to do the job well. And that's it. So it's a mindset shift is, is what do you got to do to help somebody succeed in their job?

But also recognize that you're going to, just like my story, you're going to have to give them time off in different ways. You're going to have to sort of support them in different ways for them to do the job well. And that's it. So it's a mindset shift is, is what do you got to do to help somebody succeed in their job?

And what I'm saying is, well, you got to do help somebody who's been the working poor to see in their job is different from the college educated, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah person who are more self-sufficient, have more of a safety net, have more resources, resources around. So totally different. And if I can say second lesson is that when you hire those folks,

And what I'm saying is, well, you got to do help somebody who's been the working poor to see in their job is different from the college educated, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah person who are more self-sufficient, have more of a safety net, have more resources, resources around. So totally different. And if I can say second lesson is that when you hire those folks,

It's very hard for us as humans, always judge. Let me, if you have time for another story.

It's very hard for us as humans, always judge. Let me, if you have time for another story.

So we at Homeboy, we're a nonprofit organization, mostly funded by two-thirds of donations and foundations, but 25% of our social enterprise business is a measly amount of government money. social enterprise businesses. We have a bakery, we have a cafe, we have a bakery. Artisan made bread.

So we at Homeboy, we're a nonprofit organization, mostly funded by two-thirds of donations and foundations, but 25% of our social enterprise business is a measly amount of government money. social enterprise businesses. We have a bakery, we have a cafe, we have a bakery. Artisan made bread.

Listen, there's nothing better to break down barriers of two rival gang members standing at the bread table, rolling dough, shoulder to shoulder, knowing how much bread they got to get done. You can't demonize somebody in relationship with, and that's why we have, we don't deal with gangs, we deal with gang members, right? That's why we have rival gangs working among themselves.

Listen, there's nothing better to break down barriers of two rival gang members standing at the bread table, rolling dough, shoulder to shoulder, knowing how much bread they got to get done. You can't demonize somebody in relationship with, and that's why we have, we don't deal with gangs, we deal with gang members, right? That's why we have rival gangs working among themselves.

One of the businesses is we go to farmer's markets. We sell bread at the farmer's markets, and they're interacting with customers and all. So early on in my time, I'm trying to do management by walking around and getting to know people. And so I walked through the bakery, and I heard one of our best –

One of the businesses is we go to farmer's markets. We sell bread at the farmer's markets, and they're interacting with customers and all. So early on in my time, I'm trying to do management by walking around and getting to know people. And so I walked through the bakery, and I heard one of our best –

farmer's market guys george asked for his bakery manager for the for the weekend off now as you can imagine weekends are busy for farmer's markets and he's one of our best guys every no matter how much bread he takes out he always sells it he's got a good gift for gab and interacts with customers right and people come to see george and talk about him so uh and so we so the manager gave him time off and

farmer's market guys george asked for his bakery manager for the for the weekend off now as you can imagine weekends are busy for farmer's markets and he's one of our best guys every no matter how much bread he takes out he always sells it he's got a good gift for gab and interacts with customers right and people come to see george and talk about him so uh and so we so the manager gave him time off and

I come up to him. I'm really a newbie at this point. I say, hey, what's going on? I'm like in a glib way. Hey, what are you going to do this weekend, right? And he says, I'm reporting in. And I said, reporting in? What's that mean? He said, oh, I'm reporting to county jail. And I take a step back and go, what do you mean reporting to county jail? Well, he owed money. And so back in L.A.

I come up to him. I'm really a newbie at this point. I say, hey, what's going on? I'm like in a glib way. Hey, what are you going to do this weekend, right? And he says, I'm reporting in. And I said, reporting in? What's that mean? He said, oh, I'm reporting to county jail. And I take a step back and go, what do you mean reporting to county jail? Well, he owed money. And so back in L.A.

County at that time, when you come on a sidebar, nutty thing about society is we release tens of thousands of prisoners a year and they come out with debt, not just restitution costs, but parole costs, court costs, fines and fees. And so how do we think a prisoner in prison is making money?

County at that time, when you come on a sidebar, nutty thing about society is we release tens of thousands of prisoners a year and they come out with debt, not just restitution costs, but parole costs, court costs, fines and fees. And so how do we think a prisoner in prison is making money?

Thanks, Charles. Good to be with you.

How do we think once they get out of prison, they're going to be able to get enough of a job to live and to pay their debt? Nutty, nutty, nutty. But George wanted to do it the right way. He didn't want to go ask his homies in his gang for money because then he was going to be indebted to the gang. He didn't go to a loan shark.

At the time, you can report it for three days of county jail, which is not the safest spot, and earn money off your debt. All right. So I'm talking to him. I'm amazed. I walk away really amazed by him that he's doing it the right way, that all these societal challenges are stopping him, but he's going to still do it the right way. Well, so all weekend long, I'm thinking about it.

I'm thinking, should I have given him money? Should I have loaned him money? Should I have done some other thing? I make a beeline in the next Tuesday to see how it went. And I go right to George and I see the stress on his face asking how it went. I said, what happened? He said, well,

George has custody of his 10-year-old and 8-year-old, which is pretty unusual for a male to get custody as soon as they leave the prison system. And the caregiver who was supposed to show up to watch his kids didn't show up, and he still had to report into county jail. Yeah. And so imagine leaving your 10-year-old in the apartment by themselves for three and a half days. You're in jail.

Now, the kids end up being fine, so nothing went wrong with the kids. But imagine the stress as a parent. So I'm telling the story for a couple of reasons.

One is the rest of us in society can't imagine the challenges that the poor in our society face every day, the choices they got to make, whether it's George trying to choose to go to – having to go to jail to pay off debt and leave his kids alone, or the homegirl who comes in doesn't – one of our employees doesn't eat for breakfast or lunch so she can save money for diapers. Impossible choices.

Right. And so we have to recognize that our folks have to make impossible choices and we have to resist the urge to judge, resist the urge to think, what would I have done? Would I have done something differently?

Yeah, sure. I grew up a middle-class kid. My brothers and I are first-generation college graduates. I go right into graduate school from my undergraduate, and then I land in a small company up in Boston, a family-run business. At that time, it was about a $50 million business.

So I tell the story in relation to your question is as you hire these folks, don't judge, just lean in and help and know that they're working as hard as they can and they're trying to get through it, but lean in and help and don't sort of judge them by their actions in their private life in that sense.

Yeah. Yeah. Good question. Let me, I want to come and come at it at two ways. Right. And I just want to be clear to the folks listening. Like I've been in the business world 26 years. I've been doing nonprofit 12 years and I can, I know when I tell these stories, people are saying, well, that's true in the nonprofit sense, but I'm running a for-profit company and you know,

What you guys do is nice, but I got to still do the bottom line, right? And so I recognize that. And so what I want to say is like, even the way you framed it up, like if someone's not doing their job, that's going to impact the whole organization. And we have to feed the whole organization. People got to put food on the table, right? And so even at Homeboy, look, ours is about a mission.

In my time there, we scaled to $300 million, run by the family, had all the attributes of a family-run business, a lot of other family members in there, but also bringing in professional managers. They sold to a bigger corporation in which then launched me into my corporate career. Ended over 26 years. My last eight years, I ran a $2 billion set of businesses for the corporation.

It's a people-oriented business. It's a mission of helping people leave gang life behind. So if someone's coming in every day, now we have... We have 500 people on payroll who we pay to work on themselves. In addition, we have another 150 staff, right? But if someone's coming in and they're still running with the gang, they're not programming. We're saying, come back when you're ready.

So we have our limits too. But the other part I want to say is to your question, And it's funny, I've never really said it this way, but it's, listen, there's no exact science to this, right? Now, if you're a good leader and you're running and your company's successful and you're growing all that, you can have a sense for people. You have a sense whether they can do the job or not.

And so when you're interviewing, just focus on whether you think they can do the job. Forget everything in their background. Just forget it. It's no impact. Now, do you sense where they can do the job? Are they stable enough to show up and get there? And obviously, you're going to have their challenges. You're going to lean in and help. But just it's about can they do the job today?

And don't worry about what was in the past.

Well, you ask good questions.

Questions you got to think about. You know, let me see if I can get the words to it.

And now what I do is I do a nonprofit. And I run Homeboy Industries, which we're a nonprofit in Los Angeles, helping gang members and felons leave gang life behind and life of crime behind and heal and mainstream back out to society.

Yeah. So, boy, another add-on to your good question. I want to actually dive in the middle there and talk about your example that you used about the murder type of thing, right? And I want to be careful about the words I choose. Okay. It comes down, again, not to be judging. Like, we don't know what people have carried in their life.

We don't know situations of where they've been at and the trauma they've been under and what caused them to do certain things, right? And so we're not ever, we don't condone violence. We never accept that. But let me jump a little bit. People leave the prison system. They've done the time for the things they did. They serve their time.

So are we going to always sort of judge them for the rest of their life? Right. And so on the intellectual side, no, we're giving people a chance. We're not judging them from their past. Now, to your question of the management style and how that comes about, right, you know,

This is where I've actually, you know, interestingly, I've been on my own faith journey by being here at Homeboy and learning about how faith in God and God loves us all, how that affects how I think and how I think as a leader, right? And so I've kind of, through Homeboy and through Greg, our founder and all that, kind of come to this point of understanding that. I'm finding joy through others.

My being, my moral being is not about these hard, firm rules. My moral being is about being in relation with others and leaning in to help others. And so like all of us in society, we have these sort of rules we have in place. I'm not hiring this type of person. Let that go. Look at the person in front of you as a person.

This may not sit well with everybody, but how I say this, God loves that person too. I learned this at home, but God loves all of us, no matter what we've done. He's too busy loving us to be judging us, right? And once you sort of, it's the obvious thing, but it's my session. Once you know that God loves that person across from me as much as God loves me, it's way easier. It's way easier.

But it's on two planes. I'm saying all that full throttle. But I'm also saying, hey, you're running a business. People have to meet the caliber of the job. They've still got to do their job. They've got to do the job, right. You've got to be clear about expectations and all those things. But just let all the other stuff that may cloud your vision about a person go.

Just treat them for the person they are today. Are they doing the job? How are they doing the job?

Yeah. I've been very fortunate to be part of lots of different types of size organizations, right? And without a doubt, the big corporations have a lot of resources and bandwidth. And look, the businesses we were in, it was uniformed businesses, food businesses, facility cleaning. So no special technologies or patents. It was just how well you led your team is how you got future business, right?

And so I was sort of taught very early on about A lot of managerial skills, leadership skills, executive coaches, really the overemphasis onto making me a better leader. Because if I was a better leader, my teams were going to do better, corporation does better, right? And so what I've tried to do is bring that aspect to Homeboy.

And I view Homeboy as a small business, as a small family-run business. It has that dynamic. It's a sort of... grassroots-based, founder. I took over for the founder, that type of thing. And then at different levels, as we went from $10 million to $20 million and $30 million, you've got to bring more skill sets in and you've got to grow the team. I'm very proud of the fact that

So as a summary of how to do this, the key lesson is, it's not any great insight, is hiring the people, getting the right people in place and developing the people. Two-thirds of our management team now are former clients. Think about that. They were in our program, coming in, out of prison, no clothes, no food, no anything.

Yeah, you know, I sort of say it this way. I had my epiphany moment back, and if I can give you a little longer story to this. Back in 2008, which is now a while back, was the Great Recession of 2008. And our corporation, we were a private corporation for a number of years, then we went public. And then public for five years, then back to being private again. So I had the

And we've helped them heal. Mm-hmm. help them become resilient, and then they just blossom in terms of their ability to be the next generation of mentors, to be the next generation of business leaders. People who run our cafe and our bakery, they're all former gang members, right? And they all lived in that lifestyle.

They have this natural leadership skills, but they didn't have the managerial skills. Then it's bringing a lot of trainings that teach them the managerial side of this. To me, it's always been about to scale an organization, you need two things. You need funding and you need people. Will people scale with you?

A lot of times when I see other organizations that don't succeed is because they didn't put enough time on the people side. That the entrepreneur, the leader did almost everything themselves, didn't spend the time to teach the next generation and to move the next generation along and then thereby not having a shared vision.

So it's really about developing people and bringing in outside trainers to make that happen as well.

Yeah, two. One I'll do quickly and the other I'll spend more time on. I had a mentor early on in my business career. And he said, Tom, show the organization you know how to make money. So my point is, understand the finances. Take a finance course. You don't have to be a financial expert. You don't have to be an accountant. Just understand the numbers of a business. I mean, that's the entry fee.

And then the other is, to be a great leader, is listen. Just listen. You don't always have to have the answer. You don't always have to rule the room. You don't always have to sort of do it. If you want to build a culture and have people kind of take the responsibility and run with it, listen. And I'm older now. It's easy for me to say. But also the dynamic.

Homeboy is a very diverse population, right? It's a gang population, right? And so for me, when I took on the homeboy role, It was different. Like Father Greg, our founder, Jesuit priest, the mission was strong, but the organization was failing because management didn't know the strategy, didn't know people in the right positions, all that stuff. So I come in and listen.

I'm not coming in to improve how to get gang members out of gangs. I'm coming in to actually see how the organization goes along. So it's a part about listening and piecing it all together and Same thing in the for-profit world. All the great leaders I've worked under, they've listened. They don't come in and start telling. It's sort of listening and thinking, listening and thinking and probing.

Yeah. Thank you for giving me that pitch. So Homeboy Industries, we have a Facebook page. We have a website, homeboyindustries.org. We have a lot of content on there. What's amazing is how our folks have changed our life, the transformation, and they tell their story in the first person. And look, we are blessed with donors. We need more donors, so please donate.

Fortunate to be there for those transactions and did well for myself and my family. But now this is the first couple of years of being a private organization. Private equity owned us. And so we had to deliver upon our numbers. So the big 2008 recession comes along. Employment levels dropped by 10%, which means the businesses were in revenue dropped by 10%.

But people donate to us because they see, because every one of us, and I think in our world, have some type of brokenness in us. And And if our folks who have massive amount of brokenness can kind of get through that and not transmit that pain, but transform that pain, move that forward, it is sort of something to learn by and to sort of invest in.

So through all that, on the business side, I wrote a book, The Homeboy Way, where I kind of take the things I've learned at Homeboy and apply that back to the business world. So please buy the book along the way. And then we have social enterprise businesses, you know, buy some cake and And if you're in Los Angeles, come for a visit. We have 8,000 people visit us each and every year.

And all of us as executive leaders, executive officer of the corporation, have to do all we can to get our businesses right sized for the recession. And so at that time, my set of businesses, again, $2 billion on the top line, about $150 million of operating profit on the bottom line. That was the budget. I thought we did a good job.

We were going to come in at $140 million, only missed by $10 million in the middle of the quote unquote, great recession. And I still remember two days before Christmas being on the phone with the chairman of the corporation. He was essentially berating me and yelling at me. It wasn't good enough. I needed to get that next $10 million. I needed to get back on plan.

I'm thinking to myself, we've been at this a long time. I know that get that next $10 million, how many more people I have to lay off. I also, smart enough, know about the business that once it's coming out of the recession, I'm going to need all those people back. It got me thinking, what's the long-term plan?

commitment we have to our employees if we're an employee-based organization how's that all play out and so something said to me shoot in this capitalist society we're in where shareholder value dominates the caring for the employees that's not so good because well-run companies have three things it does well in the marketplace of shareholder value customers want to give you money for the products or services and and you have a great place to work for for your employee base you know

And I felt like that all of a sudden things were out of whack. Now, listen, I'm a committed capitalist. Even today when I do speeches on behalf of Homeboy, which is a nonprofit, I'm in the audience. I say I'm a committed capitalist. A murmur goes across the audience about, oh, he's one of them. But again, well-run companies are good for people.

But something clicked in me saying, look, there's got to be a better way. And so, listen, I wasn't the final decision maker. So I did what I needed to do. But I knew that. So thereby, a couple of years later, when my golden handcuffs uncuffed, I wanted to do something different. Something in my mind says, how can we run businesses where we're employees?

are just as important in the long-term value as the shareholders and do that in balance. All right, so that's what was behind me. So I left the corporate world. A friend of mine invited me to come down to have lunch at the Homegirl Cafe. We're here in Los Angeles. He's my friend. We were on the board of Salvation Army in Los Angeles.

We've always thought, give back, be on boards, be a part of charities, right? So I'm having lunch at Homegirl Cafe. I'm thinking, and I'm looking around, and I'm looking at the employees, and the employees are working hard. They're smiling. They're engaging with the customers. By the way, my background, my last eight years, I bought 40 companies and sold four in my for-profit world.

You get a sense of employee base. I'm having lunch. I'm looking around, and I'm realizing I would have not hired one of those folks in my prior job because of the tattoo on their face. because of the felony, because they were gang members. And yet here's this workforce that's actually working hard and doing good. And so it challenged my notion that I'm a hot shot business guy.

I think businesses are good for society, but here at Homeboy, in the context of a business, we're helping people change their life in the most dramatic way. And so when my friend asked me to get involved, I had time on my hands. I want to know, can my business skills be used in a different way? And so I signed on as a volunteer and

And I thought I would be there for five, six months and help them out and move on. Now I'm here 12 years later and still helping out and still loving life.

Yeah. I mean, it's a multi-part answer to your good question. First of all, just sort of set the context. Businesses need people, right? They need people who are good. They need people who are loyal. They need people who are going to work hard.

And the way the work world is out there, it's hard to find enough good people along the way. And so there's this sort of on-tap amount of folks out there. So at Homeboy... Let me take a long answer to your question. At home, the folks we work with, they're all victims of complex trauma at a young age. That's why they join a gang. They think, you know, because they didn't have a family.

Their parents told them not to go to school. Their parents told them be on the corner for the drug lookout. They're second, third generation gang members. They join a gang thinking that's their true family, false hope. They do something bad. They go to prison. They come out of prison. And they don't want to go back to that situation. They want to be better.

It's just that society has a lot of these sort of challenges for them that it's hard to get a job if you can't get a job you can't pay for rent so you're back into this cycle of going with the gangs because you can't survive on your own

And so fundamentally, then to your question, so owners, managers, supervisors need to recognize that the working poor of America have these challenges, that they're good workers.

Not that they don't want to do the work, just that they either got to go see the parole officer, they have to sort of go back and sort of do something different to get rent paid, they're dealing with their kids, doing all sorts of things. And so it's about hiring people, leaning in and investing with resources.

Not a lot of resources, but resources that if someone needs to go take care of their business, that they're allowed that day off. Let me just back up. To summarize, if you're looking for this workforce, it's a good workforce, but you recognize you've got to do it a little bit differently. You've got to know that they have their challenges. Let me give you this one quick story.

So at Homeboy, we have all sorts of jobs filled with our population that we serve, right? And so there was, I've had a number of executive assistants now over the years here and Teaching them to be executive assistant in the for-profit world.

So one of them, young woman in and out of youth camp, youth jail here in LA County, mother at age 17, hardcore gang member, just sort of hated her life and very mad at the world. But through Homeboy, she's able to find herself and be a good mother. But she was my executive assistant with a young child living in a shelter, but she still showed up every day on time, did her work.

Well, we're a homeboy. We're a nonprofit. So we have a board of a director. And so quarterly, we have board meetings that start at 730 in the morning. And so she would get here at 6.30 in the morning, making sure the tables were set up, papers were in place, the water was out.

So I remember this one day, the night before one of our board meetings, her parole officer calls her up and says that she needs to report in to his office next day at 8 a.m. And she's saying, can I come at 10? Because I need to be here for the homeboy board meeting. I have a job. And essentially says, no, if you're not here by 8 a.m.,

I'm going to violate your parole, which means you go back into prison. Now, knuckleheads. Right. But so of course we're homeboy, we're saying, you know, go take care of your business. We'll be here. We'll, we'll, we'll get by. Right. But how many other businesses were sort of letter? Maybe they would let her off that morning if they knew the situation, but would she have so much shame?

She couldn't tell the situation. So my point is the people we work with, they want to do it the right way. There's just a lot of hurdles in place that, And us as employers need to recognize that we've got to treat people not the same, but individually, and give them the chance to do their job well. And if they give them that chance, they'll do their job really well.

Yeah, I understand your question. Let me kind of like flip it a little bit. I would say you as a business owner, hire the person you think is going to do a great job. So just as in your story, the single mom who has to hustle, you have a sense that that person is going to work hard. Pick the person who's going to work hard for you.

But also recognize that you're going to, just like my story, you're going to have to give them time off in different ways. You're going to have to sort of support them in different ways for them to do the job well. And that's it. So it's a mindset shift is, is what do you got to do to help somebody succeed in their job?

And what I'm saying is, well, you got to do help somebody who's been the working poor to see in their job is different from the college educated, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah person who are more self-sufficient, have more of a safety net, have more resources, resources around. So totally different. And if I can say second lesson is that when you hire those folks,

It's very hard for us as humans, always judge. Let me, if you have time for another story.

So we at Homeboy, we're a nonprofit organization, mostly funded by two-thirds of donations and foundations, but 25% of our social enterprise business is a measly amount of government money. social enterprise businesses. We have a bakery, we have a cafe, we have a bakery. Artisan made bread.

Listen, there's nothing better to break down barriers of two rival gang members standing at the bread table, rolling dough, shoulder to shoulder, knowing how much bread they got to get done. You can't demonize somebody in relationship with, and that's why we have, we don't deal with gangs, we deal with gang members, right? That's why we have rival gangs working among themselves.

One of the businesses is we go to farmer's markets. We sell bread at the farmer's markets, and they're interacting with customers and all. So early on in my time, I'm trying to do management by walking around and getting to know people. And so I walked through the bakery, and I heard one of our best –

farmer's market guys george asked for his bakery manager for the for the weekend off now as you can imagine weekends are busy for farmer's markets and he's one of our best guys every no matter how much bread he takes out he always sells it he's got a good gift for gab and interacts with customers right and people come to see george and talk about him so uh and so we so the manager gave him time off and

I come up to him. I'm really a newbie at this point. I say, hey, what's going on? I'm like in a glib way. Hey, what are you going to do this weekend, right? And he says, I'm reporting in. And I said, reporting in? What's that mean? He said, oh, I'm reporting to county jail. And I take a step back and go, what do you mean reporting to county jail? Well, he owed money. And so back in L.A.

County at that time, when you come on a sidebar, nutty thing about society is we release tens of thousands of prisoners a year and they come out with debt, not just restitution costs, but parole costs, court costs, fines and fees. And so how do we think a prisoner in prison is making money?