00:00:00:00 - 00:00:26:14 Jennifer Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of CEO and Executive Thought Leadership. I am your host, Jennifer Kluge, and today we have two guests, not one, but two very special guests. We have Adam and Alex Krenke of Quest CE. The Quest CE is a family business that was founded 20 years ago. Last year, Adam and Alex were named co-CEOs of the company. 00:00:26:15 - 00:00:46:11 Jennifer They're based in Milwaukee. And they help financial institutions stay on top of their compliance, train their teams and simplify the regulatory responsibilities. They're well known for their continuing education. They provide. And it's a pleasure to have you both on the show. Welcome. Alex and Adam. 00:00:46:13 - 00:00:47:14 Alex Thank you. Jennifer. 00:00:47:16 - 00:00:48:03 Adam Appreciate it. 00:00:48:08 - 00:01:11:24 Jennifer So this is going to be fun. This is really going to be fun. You're a family business, and there's two CEOs, so, naturally, we're we're going to start there. Now, your family took over as, from what I understand, in 2005. Can you walk us through the family business that the transition to your generation, how many family members are involved? 00:01:12:00 - 00:01:13:11 Jennifer Just give us the lay of the land. 00:01:13:14 - 00:01:38:01 Alex Yeah. Happy to. So, like you said, it's a family owned company. Our parents, bought the company in 2005. And when they did, the company was extraordinarily small, like seven people, 12 customers, not very big. And, Adam and I worked, while we were in college and summers doing basic data processing. Very the lowest of the low and, totem pole type positions. 00:01:38:03 - 00:01:56:24 Alex And then graduated college, and then we both took different paths. I started in the marketing department, which was myself, department of one. Adam, you got started in compliance. And, at that time, I mean, I'm sure it was also a very small department, if not a department of one. 00:01:57:01 - 00:01:58:13 Adam Yeah, pretty much. 00:01:58:15 - 00:02:24:13 Alex Yeah, pretty much one. Yeah. And then from there, the company got bigger and bigger and bigger. And as we expanded, you know, we got more sophisticated, had formalized departments with people underneath them, and our roles expanded from that point to where it went from my focus of being marketing to sales and marketing to sales, marketing and client services, to when we got big enough that we it necessitated a leadership team and an executive board. 00:02:24:15 - 00:02:45:04 Alex We were on that board with our, dad until he retired and then our mom until she retired as well. In addition to our chief information officer, whose name is Patrick, who's been with the company since the very beginning. So the family is just the four of us, and we're the only family that work in at the company. 00:02:45:06 - 00:03:03:15 Alex Like you said, the transition happens last year, and it was one of those transitions that, I think happened very slowly, slowly, slowly, and then suddenly where, you know, it's a lot of planning, a lot of planning, and you, you know, kind of go through those points of like, is it going to happen? When's it going to happen? 00:03:03:17 - 00:03:35:09 Alex And then all of a sudden it's just like it's happening February. So I think for us, we had enough of a heads up. We worked with, our mom, Linda, directly as our supervisor for years, and got to know the ins and outs of of what her role was at the company and what it meant to be a CEO at Quincy and learn from working with our dad, Allen, as well, just to kind of see, you know, there's more than one way to do it, and there's a lot of different responsibilities that are tied into that role. 00:03:35:11 - 00:03:52:23 Alex So, we got the benefit of seeing leadership different styles and, and learning from people who took it from a seven person company to a 53 person company from a, you know, $500,000 a year annual revenue to, over ten. So you get to see we get to learn a lot. 00:03:53:01 - 00:04:22:03 Jennifer That's wonderful. That's wonderful. You know, the state is thrown around quite often. It's very hard for family businesses to go to a second generation. You had the luxury of of working with your parents, and there's always good and bad in that. So, Adam, talk a little bit more about the formula. For a cohesively family run operation, I'm sure there's good days and bad days. 00:04:22:05 - 00:04:35:22 Jennifer We going to laugh about that? Every family business can laugh about that, right? So tell me a little bit more of of what your secret sauce is for a well-run, cohesive family business and maybe share a story or two there. 00:04:35:24 - 00:04:58:00 Adam Yeah, it's it's a really good question. And I think I kind of see to two different things pop up when I think about that. I think our dad, Allen, is, as Alex mentioned, was in the business from the ground up, worked with Linda, bought the company together and kind of focused more on the sales side. So that kind of like growing the company, flying across the country, bringing in new clients and sales. 00:04:58:02 - 00:05:24:13 Adam Our mom, Linda, was more kind of on the internal side of things. So making sure payroll is getting done, making sure vendors are getting paid. Onboarding new team members HR that was kind of her world. So they had two distinct pieces of the business, but I think worked really well. And then when the in-house came into the company, we both kind of picked and kind of got directed towards one of, you know, Allen or Linda. 00:05:24:15 - 00:05:45:12 Adam Me, I can work with that when we go to college. And naturally, I think our styles kind of aligns. We're very much love the detail. Like day to day, like the more we know, the better. So she kind of took me under her side, which was let's learn the the internal, the compliance, the operations, the accounting piece. 00:05:45:14 - 00:06:07:05 Adam So I spent a lot of time with her, just, you know, how does she how did she run it? What does she care about what was important to her? And just learning and not necessarily trying to put my own spin on things. Yet it was still so new and and crazy. Alex worked with our dad on, the sales, the marketing side and learning how to grow the business and how to grow our brand and our name. 00:06:07:07 - 00:06:27:16 Adam So I think one of the secrets really, I think, and just kind of looking back is really knowing kind of where we fit and kind of where our strengths are and what we'd like to do, and almost pairing us up with kind of that. Right guide that that mentor that could help us grow and kind of find that position a little bit better. 00:06:27:18 - 00:06:46:23 Adam I always kind of think about like, if it was flipped and I was, you know, working with Allen and and to work with Linda, I would be, I think, a different company in a certain way. I don't know if I would be as happy you just you would kind of be the river, you know? So I think that is one key thing. 00:06:46:23 - 00:06:59:19 Adam And whether or not it was intentional or not, I think it was intentional. Has helped us align our paths to kind of what we're good at. And I'd like to so it let us is hard. 00:06:59:19 - 00:07:28:02 Jennifer That right there is that is part of the trick of a family business, making sure the right family members in the right seats. There's so many conversations and family businesses where the because they are the child, they get put somewhere, but that's not where their skill set is. And when you're describing this, it's almost like Alex, you have the right brain, like your dad and and you have the left brain like your mom is. 00:07:28:04 - 00:07:34:13 Jennifer I'm paraphrasing that, but that sounds like that's what your secret sauce is, is making sure you're both in the right seats. 00:07:34:17 - 00:07:59:01 Adam Yeah. And I, I mean, many times I definitely lean on Alex to have that outward look. And I think he sees things differently from a kind of a higher level. And in the end, that looking strategically at how to grow and what is Quincy and what do we mean as far as a company. So it's it's refreshing to be able to have that full trust and just to kind of be like, I know he's got it. 00:07:59:01 - 00:08:12:10 Adam He's had the years, the training, he's built, the team behind him to help support that. So it's it is it's a it's a really important piece. And I agree with you just being put in the right position from the start has made, I think, all the difference. 00:08:12:12 - 00:08:43:22 Jennifer Around the difference. So we've had, co-CEOs on the program before is becoming a more popular their business model, to have co-CEOs. But they're tricky. It's very tricky. Where where does the buck stop? Right. Who who makes the final decision when things get tough? You do have a board. So why did you choose this model and not CEO and president or, president and executive vice president? 00:08:43:22 - 00:09:02:02 Jennifer Why did you choose the coach? Unless maybe you didn't choose it? Why? Co-CEO chose and not some other model where there's one person that makes the final say. And how do you handle that? Alex, you want to go, and then we'll throw it to Adam. Seem to agree or disagree? Well, I've. 00:09:02:02 - 00:09:25:13 Alex Watched it be two completely different. Yeah. I mean, in all honesty, it wasn't something that the two of us decided and proposed. This was something that heading into the year of transition, we talked a lot about what succession planning was going to look like. And part of that was putting together business plans and working independently and then bringing those together and kind of presenting them as like, you know, what is quasi you look like moving into this second generation. 00:09:25:15 - 00:09:58:03 Alex And there were so many it's so much of it overlapped, you know, which is no surprise, like Adam and his professional career has been at quasi from the beginning. And I think what Alan and Linda saw was a lot of the benefits that they got to enjoy by leading the company together. And now that the company is 20 years in and very mature, and I think we just have such different personalities that they complement each other as opposed to clash. 00:09:58:05 - 00:10:16:10 Alex And I think the great thing is, like, we don't, you know, both of us agree, like, we don't have a plan B, this is, this is our future, and we mean that in a good way. It kind of fuels the fire. And as much as I think when we tell people that this is the structure of the company, a lot of people kind of get that, like, giddy look in their eyes, like, let's see the drama. 00:10:16:12 - 00:10:37:15 Alex And like, there just isn't any, you know, like the, the beauty that we have is it's not just one person's decision putting themselves out there. Like, I get to run ideas past Adam and like he said, he thinks about things a lot differently than I do. And it's great. I think, like, the thing is, like, we understand there's going to be compromise as long as there's never a compromise on the quality. 00:10:37:17 - 00:10:39:06 Alex Right. And that's really what guides us. 00:10:39:10 - 00:10:41:15 Jennifer Right? Adam, you agree? 00:10:41:17 - 00:11:03:14 Adam Yeah, I yeah, I do agree with that. It it's it's true. I don't think there was ever thought of you know, one of us will be CEO, one's going to be president or there was kind of this different hierarchy. I think we've always thought like we're going to run it together and even, you know, at five years, six years ago, I think that was still the thought is, you know, I think very much I'm. 00:11:03:14 - 00:11:15:08 Jennifer Sorry to interrupt, you know, sounds like there hasn't been really a big obstacle that you both feel completely different about. I would, I would guess not yet know. 00:11:15:10 - 00:11:42:01 Alex You know, and that's somewhat reassuring. And knowing that, like, there's no right answer, wrong answer sometimes. But if we both agree and feel strongly about something, I'm like, it's probably a good idea. And if we disagree, that usually means someone isn't wrong necessarily. But like, it's good to kick these ideas and beat them up a little bit. Because like when you get two people turning the key like it's just as that much of them a better chance of being the right answer, right? 00:11:42:03 - 00:12:08:23 Jennifer Well put, well put up. Let's shift gears a little bit. Every industry has key indicators, every industry, and those key indicators can determine future trends. Some of them can forecast what's going to happen in the future. We're hearing a lot about AI. We're hearing a lot about AI, especially in the finance world and analyst world. I know you provide a lot of continuing education in that area. 00:12:09:00 - 00:12:27:13 Jennifer Education is something that AI is looking at to, so what trends are you seeing? Let's let's start there and then we can talk about what you're doing about those trends. But for other CEOs listening to the program today, share your expertise and what you see happening. 00:12:27:18 - 00:12:50:02 Alex Yeah. That's it. There's kind of two ways I look about look at the AI question, because we get it from customers. And then, you know, we think about it internally and I think it's okay to have two different answers there. So externally from the industry, people ask it as sort of a litmus test to see, like, are you guys staying with the trends or are you kind of taking a blind eye and thinking it's a fad? 00:12:50:04 - 00:13:10:17 Alex So I think we get a lot of questions from customers saying, like, what's Kwasi doing with AI? And it can be a trick question. Or it could be a genuine question where it's just like you're not putting my data into the machine just for everyone to see, right? It's like, no, no one's doing that. But are you guys, you know, seeing trends come down the pipeline and are you adopting them? 00:13:10:17 - 00:13:37:24 Alex Are you? Yeah. Like I said, sticking with with what's what's new and hot out there. So as a business, we're like, very lucky that, Patrick, our CIO, is so in tune with, with what's going on out there in the industry in the latest and the greatest. So when he saw, you know, the large language models rolling out, it was very important to him that the company get an education on what they are and what they can do. 00:13:38:01 - 00:14:10:23 Alex And that we would continue to offer training and support on what to do with these AI tools because I think, like any new skill, it's it's hard and it's when you try to do it the first time, like it's not going to go well. And it's important that we had someone to be kind of the torch bearer to say, like, we're going to be, you know, a company that looks at these tools and see how it can benefit our employees, like, see how we can add efficiencies because we're a small company that does software and, anything that we can do to make us better and faster, and, and more well rounded like, 00:14:11:03 - 00:14:32:19 Alex they're great tools to use. So, I think internally when we look at AI, from like an employee perspective, it's easier to, to have some paranoia there and say, like, when, when am I losing my job? You know, when am I going to be replaced by robot? That's it's we've been very transparent with our employees. Like, that's not our intention at all. 00:14:32:21 - 00:14:55:10 Alex We've, we've worked so hard to cultivate a really strong team here. And we see AI as an investment and not a replacement in, in our employees. So we, we encourage people to use it and, to, to think outside the box and how they use it. And, I think for, for those that have chosen to adopt it and really get in there and, and mess around, they've seen a lot of benefits. 00:14:55:12 - 00:15:16:19 Alex Not necessarily like just a creation tool, but as, a tool to ideate and, a collaborating tool. So I think AI is at this point, it's it would be silly to say, like, I think it's got potential, but I think it's a great tool. And I think those that are using it will have an edge. As opposed to the fears of being replaced. 00:15:16:21 - 00:15:41:12 Jennifer And you're echoing what we're hearing from other CEOs, especially about ways that they can use it. I think CEOs are embracing I think the jury is still out on how all the details, the how, the when, the why. All of that. But it's definitely going to be something that we all have to address. And, let's, let's shift gears. 00:15:41:14 - 00:16:05:12 Jennifer You know, we have a lot of business leaders that listen to this program. Many of them are in a family business. And there's good, the bad, the ugly, the wonderful. There's there's so many monumental moments in our careers. And. Alex, get ready. I'm going to throw it to you, too. But, Adam, tell me, what is a monumental moment that you experienced? 00:16:05:14 - 00:16:24:09 Jennifer Whether it was a family dynamic or a lost client or a gain of a client, something, something tangible that you learned something from, that other leaders listening to this program, especially young leaders, can take some lessons from go ahead. 00:16:24:12 - 00:16:41:12 Adam That's a really good question. And I'm trying to think I'm thinking back through like 20 years of love and family and it all kind of bleeds together with, you know, the family piece and we talk about work outside of work and we talked about it more at work. So it's a lot I guess two things kind of come to mind. 00:16:41:14 - 00:17:07:15 Adam I think for me, in kind of the growth in my position and as a leader, it really is kind of looking back when you come into the company and you just have a single job. So like I said, we just we work that we process with the data entry. Very simple but very basic. Transitioning to like, okay, now Adam, you got to manage a person and just it's one person that you you have a team to now manage. 00:17:07:15 - 00:17:34:02 Adam You're not responsible for yourself anymore. You're thinking more about, okay, like this person represents me. I'm responsible for making sure they know how to do their job. They're following the core values. All that kind of stuff was a huge shift. And Gary, because I think for a long time you're kind of thinking about yourself and not in a bad way, but how can I be successful and what can I do to to continue that, to grow and climb the ladder? 00:17:34:04 - 00:18:01:19 Adam To my first priority is now my team and now this other person that's here. Yeah. That was a big shift. And again, I think from when you're a little kid, you're very much it's me and it's about me. And like, what do I get and what do I have to do? And that is a very, I think, telling time in a lot of people's careers is just the shift from I need to focus on myself to like, I need to focus on everybody else first. 00:18:01:21 - 00:18:04:17 Jennifer Yeah, yeah. Their success is your success, right? 00:18:04:17 - 00:18:05:20 Adam Yeah, exactly. 00:18:06:00 - 00:18:34:13 Jennifer And and shifting from doing to mentoring is a big shift for many leaders in their careers. So that's that's brilliant. Sometimes we forget the, the quote unquote small stuff in our career journeys, but but they're bigger than, as you say, it all blends together because we remember the really bad stuff or the really good stuff. And in this case, this was this was a natural leap forward that is very important. 00:18:34:13 - 00:18:41:15 Jennifer So thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Alex, what about you monumental moment in in the company that you like I would. 00:18:41:15 - 00:19:08:16 Alex Say I was thinking about it's a great question. And I think like when I think about the, the core identity of this company, I think one of the biggest things we've ever done is not sold and remained private and remain independent, because I think it has it's been like financially the hardest thing you could do is just say, we're just going to do it all on our own and everything we do will be in-house. 00:19:08:16 - 00:19:33:16 Alex But it it's allowed this company to be what it is today. This like actually have a family feel to it and be successful while we see the industry change and people ride the wave and get bought and sold and companies get ruined and there's just never been something that we've had an interest in doing, even when the offers are ridiculous and people are saying, like, you'd be stupid not to take this, to say no and say like, we're building something important here. 00:19:33:18 - 00:19:38:14 Alex Has been, I think, a decision that's really built the DNA of this company. 00:19:38:16 - 00:20:05:17 Jennifer Yeah. It's not always about money. Right. And I think that's the message that you're you're conveying in there is a lot going on right now with private equity coming in, mergers, acquisitions, investors in a lot of cultures are getting disrupted. And it's been that way for about 18 months now. So protecting that culture and protecting what you've built, I do want to talk about that. 00:20:05:17 - 00:20:31:20 Jennifer Let's spend a minute on your culture. You your company quest, has been a best and brightest company to work for for many years. In fact, a brilliance winner as identified for keeping certain honors for so many years. And you've also won at a national level. Let's talk about culture. Give give us a feel for the culture there. 00:20:31:20 - 00:20:52:00 Jennifer You've talked a lot about it in this discussion, but your role as the CEO, both of you. Well, we'll start with you. And but your role as the CEO, your role for culture. How do you define your role in the culture that you're building? They're maintaining their ohana. Adam. 00:20:52:02 - 00:21:10:11 Adam Yeah. Good question. And I was I mean, I say it's an onboarding sometimes, but it's like, it's a, it's a family feel, but not like in a creepy way because, you know, you hear so many family businesses where, it has a negative thing with it, where it's like there's favoritism and like, things don't always get done right. 00:21:10:11 - 00:21:37:18 Adam And there's this some negative stuff sometimes tied to that. And I think I understand that and I get that. But I think we provide the feel of it without kind of the, the negative stuff or the stuff that can cause friction. I think our culture and kind of what I like to coming up as it's really it's the people, I think we're very careful about the people we bring on, as part of the team. 00:21:37:20 - 00:22:01:12 Adam And it's not always they got to be able to do the job. And I think that's that's the first roadblock. But really it's, you know, are they going to be a fit? Do they believe what we believe? Do they believe what are managers believe and our directors believe. And if they do, it's really a natural fit. And then we kind of view that in the new person, that's kind of the next culture bearer of our culture and kind of maintaining that throughout the company. 00:22:01:14 - 00:22:21:23 Adam I think we're also very blessed to have managers and directors that have been here for ten plus years. So they've gone through a lot of the growth with me and Alex. They've gone through the pandemic, they've gone through the, the hybrid, all that kind of stuff. And learning how to maintain that culture and the connection with their people, I think just really keeps the culture, life. 00:22:22:00 - 00:22:46:14 Adam And I think, again, it's just being genuine. And I think we all really care about each other, just not just from the work standpoint, but also just personally. So it's checking in with everybody, you know, what's going on personally. How's your kid doing? How is practice, how is the band all that kind of stuff? Yeah. And if we all do that, I think we all really care beyond just the work. 00:22:46:14 - 00:22:53:07 Adam And I think that just kind of gives you that engagement and you feel valued. And I think that's a big part of it. 00:22:53:09 - 00:23:17:04 Jennifer You mentioned hybrid work. Yeah. And you know the camaraderie can change during hybrid work. How have you and how have you personally and just that and related to culture building. And hey, how was Joey's soccer game or what have you. It's very different. It's very different. How have you adjusted there? 00:23:17:06 - 00:23:43:20 Adam I mean, it is tricky, but I kind of feel like our culture never changed. I think it maintains. I think that's the day that March we all had to go home. And it was like, what's going on? We don't have that connection. We have to get laptops. Everybody. But we have such a culture where, you know, our our IT guy was going to people's houses and bring them laptops and helping them get them set up and driving to all, you know, 40 plus people at that time. 00:23:43:22 - 00:23:49:13 Adam And again, I think it's really we have had a lot of people that have been here for a long time and. 00:23:49:16 - 00:23:50:09 Jennifer And help. 00:23:50:11 - 00:24:14:23 Adam You prior to and you have kind of built that, that, that connection and the rapport with everybody, that it was easy to maintain it through like a virtual way. So we use the technology, we we do phone calls and teams and without even saying it, we our cameras on company. So we also never had to say like turn the camera on, you know, just by default. 00:24:15:00 - 00:24:32:15 Adam Everybody came on with the cameras on. So it didn't it changed, but it was just how we did it. But we still had meetings. We still had social things that we did. We still reached out to each other. And when we could eventually come back, we would have times in the office together and just make time for it. 00:24:32:15 - 00:24:54:01 Jennifer So it sounds like the longevity is a key part to your culture and the leaders that you have there, which is a reflection of your family. So you know, both of you, but also your parents and the longevity of the team that's there and, and, their joy and their careers. So that sounds like that's your secret sauce. 00:24:54:03 - 00:25:01:21 Jennifer Alex, what about you? How do you show up for the culture? And what's your role as it relates to the culture of your company? 00:25:01:23 - 00:25:25:14 Alex Yeah, I would agree with everything Adam said. I think it it for in the early days it was all about getting the right people in and then, making your company a place that you deserve to keep good people and you constantly try to. I think it's it's kind of a full circle moment that the best and the brightest award comes up a lot. 00:25:25:14 - 00:25:58:03 Alex And this is a promotion. We do interviews, people bring it up all the time. And, when we talk about that award during our new hire orientation and we don't do it as like, let's just brag about how great this company is. We talk about it in terms of, the survey results that we get back. And every year we get a chance to comb through all of those results, and you get to see what people like and what they don't like, when they can be honest, to not have to put their name on it because, you know, putting yourself out there is tough. 00:25:58:05 - 00:26:21:24 Alex And I think our approach has always been like, we know that, you know, creating a good culture that people want to work at, like it's a sickness you can't cure. It's something you'll always be working on. And we're always trying to think of new ways and creative ways to connect with people and to connect people so that, this is a great place to work and you look forward to it. 00:26:22:01 - 00:26:37:15 Alex And you have a sense of like the value add at every level along the company so that it isn't just check the box and, and go home. You know, we spend a lot of time at work, so it's, it's how much better is it that if you can find a way to enjoy it? 00:26:37:17 - 00:27:07:18 Jennifer Yeah. Wonderful, wonderful. Let's just chat briefly on what's next. You know, as far as what are you looking forward to or what's keeping you up at night in either? Either one of you can respond to this, but, any current challenges that maybe others can can empathize with any, any challenges or things that you're looking at between now and the next, let's say, three, 3 to 6 months. 00:27:07:24 - 00:27:10:11 Jennifer 00:27:10:13 - 00:27:33:14 Alex I would say, you know, thinking about internally thinking about the company. The world is very chaotic right now and being very plugged into people and their, their mental health and providing an environment where, you know, this is this can be a safe space where you can come and you can be around good people who, care about you is really important. 00:27:33:16 - 00:27:55:06 Alex On a very micro level. You know, we're heading into insurance renewals and who's who is and having fun with that right now. Externally, you know, our business is is centered around regulation. So that is an environment that is changing all the time. And especially when new administrations come and go, there's usually something that kind of jostles something loose. 00:27:55:06 - 00:28:09:12 Alex And it can be good, it can be bad. But, at quest, we like compliance and we like regulation a lot. So I think, you know, yeah, we're the opposite of every other business that goes to a business meeting or like, bring it on. So. 00:28:09:12 - 00:28:14:08 Jennifer More the more rent changes, the more courses you need to trade. Yeah. 00:28:14:10 - 00:28:32:11 Alex Exactly. Yeah. So for us, it's just making sure that the company is growing. We're diversifying. And, and we're a technology company. So making sure we're staying up on the latest and greatest trends that are out there, and we're continuing to provide great software and, and new tools that our customers can, can use. 00:28:32:13 - 00:29:03:03 Jennifer Yeah. Thank you, thank you. So let's shift gears a little bit. People sometimes judge leaders by the title, and we can be scary. We can be intimidating. Even despite our greatest efforts to be down to earth and or transparent. So let's talk about you as humans. Alex, I know you have small kids. Are there any daily rituals that you have that keep you motivated and focused between work in the in the young family. 00:29:03:07 - 00:29:29:09 Alex Little kids is, yeah, it's it's all about the routine. Yeah. I when I think about routine, like, my work life is somewhat about chasing the car a little bit, but like my, my home life is very much like things have to happen at a certain time, otherwise everything falls apart. So the, the, the rituals that like, really light up my world are like the bedtime ritual, which probably sounds like kind of silly, but. 00:29:29:09 - 00:29:31:16 Jennifer What is your bedtime ritual? 00:29:31:18 - 00:30:00:07 Alex Oh it's amazing. So I have, we have a three year old who's like, I don't know. She's super fun and has so much energy. And then we have, twins that were born in June. So, we divide the labor, we split up, somebody has the toddler, somebody has the twins. If you're doing twins, it's it's it's about, you know, doing the bath one at a time, towel off, singing to them, doing everything you can to get a smile. 00:30:00:09 - 00:30:17:11 Alex And the toddler is just like, whatever crazy thing she's on to that day. Plus a lot of, like, bubbles in a bath. But, like, I think the one thing that we've done for a long time that is like we finally got our toddler on board with and she looks forward to is like, at the end of every day, we talk about her day. 00:30:17:13 - 00:30:36:12 Alex We talk about, like, what made us happy, what made us mad, and what made us sad. And it's been one of those like, great moments where you really get to take inventory of the day. So it's not just like everything's bleeding into the next and you have no sense of time. It's it keeps you disciplined and like you really do feel grateful for what you have. 00:30:36:14 - 00:30:44:09 Alex And like when you get a special mention in our our toddlers like thing that made her happy, it's like, do that's cloud nine. 00:30:44:11 - 00:30:53:14 Jennifer That's great. That's great. Wow. Twins. Wow. I was fighting the good fight for years. You'll be mostly through it. I think we'll see. 00:30:53:16 - 00:30:56:05 Alex Yeah, I think that's what they say. 00:30:56:07 - 00:31:07:12 Jennifer Adam, what about you? As far as what keeps you motivated and focused? Is there book a speaker or ritual that you do that helps you be the best that you can be? 00:31:07:15 - 00:31:14:19 Adam Yeah. I am probably into routines or ritual to like a sickness. So it's. 00:31:14:21 - 00:31:17:04 Jennifer Not there. The sickness, but. 00:31:17:04 - 00:31:37:16 Adam It's like one of those things where, like it is, it's good if you use it the right way, which I think I do. I don't know, I very much like for me, it helps. I have just that alone time. Life is crazy. We have a 11 year old in sports and soccer. We're also hosting a student from Spain, who is a senior. 00:31:37:16 - 00:31:55:13 Adam So she's at volleyball, and it's it's a lot. It's new. It's all different. So for me, it's just kind of carving out time every day. And for me, it's like, first thing in the morning, it's quiet. It's dark. I can watch the news, get caught up on what's going on. I don't get questions or, like, requests or, hey, can you do this for me? 00:31:55:13 - 00:32:14:05 Adam Can you help me pack a lunch? It's very much my time. Like, they all kind of know it. So it's like, don't get up, don't come and bug me. So that's part of it. And then it's just, I like to exercise. I spend time doing that again, just to kind of turn off my mind a little bit before I have to be back on. 00:32:14:07 - 00:32:32:17 Adam And then a big part of it really is just at the end the day. It's similar to Alex's. We have a family thing where we eat dinner at the table together. That might be common. We, you know, to do that. Growing up with our family every night, dinner at the table, talk about the day, what was good, what was bad. 00:32:32:19 - 00:32:53:18 Adam And doing that. It's been it's awesome your stories to hear stuff that happened to them at school, at sports. And again, it does kind of put it in perspective. Like that's the important stuff. That's that's why we're doing it, why we support the company while we have, you know, 50 plus people to help support as well. So it's it's a good reminder and it's a good routine. 00:32:53:18 - 00:32:58:23 Adam And it does kind of set you up for just being grateful. And then good to go on to the next day. 00:32:59:02 - 00:33:19:20 Jennifer That's wonderful. Well, you both mentioned your families and your your children. Let's let's pretend let's pretend for a second. There's the third generation of the family business. What advice do you give them for work and what advice do you give them for life? Alex, you go first for work. 00:33:19:23 - 00:33:41:01 Alex I, I would say advice would be start at the very bottom. And when you're very young in your career, I think it's really important to realize that you don't know anything. And, no one expects you to. Therefore, you should ask a lot of questions and be really curious. And, you can be young and you can have good ideas at the same time. 00:33:41:01 - 00:34:20:12 Alex It's not something that only comes with maturity. So, it's just, you know, be present, ask questions. And if find something you love to do because you'll do it a lot. So if you if this is not for you, no hard feelings and then for for just advice in life, I mean, it's I feel like it's the simplest advice is just like, you will be happy if you have time, if you have freedom, and if your family is close and like if you can find a way to structure your life so that all of those like three things are centered, you will be happy time. 00:34:20:14 - 00:34:21:20 Jennifer Freedom and family. 00:34:21:24 - 00:34:25:05 Adam Kind of conflict sometimes, but I agree with that. 00:34:25:07 - 00:34:31:07 Jennifer Adam, advice for the next generation of family business at your business. 00:34:31:09 - 00:34:53:00 Adam Yeah, that's, you know, I'm thinking about it more now just because, you know, he's not old, but he's 11 and he's kind of like getting ideas that are a little more realistic about what he wants to do. I mean, he started off when he was 5 or 6 wanting to be a giraffe when he was older. I mean, you can't be an animal, but he was like, I kind of want to be like a business guy. 00:34:53:01 - 00:35:11:22 Adam I want to be a businessman. I'm like, I that could be a lot of things. But yes, if that's what you want to do, awesome. He also wants to be a barista, which. Awesome. Love coffee. That's also good. But it's interesting, I, I don't know if I'm at the point where I've kind of thought, okay, like, you have to go in the business. 00:35:11:22 - 00:35:31:16 Adam I think, you know, I've talked loosely about it a little bit with Linda to where it's like, I don't know if I would ever force it. I would if there's interest, I would definitely be all there to help them grow and learn and be a mentor, if I could. But like Alex said, you know, if they're not passionate about it, they don't love it. 00:35:31:18 - 00:36:01:03 Adam I'm not going to be forced to do it. And we'll find the right people, the right person to help carry on the legacy. But again, ideally, yes, bring them into the business would be awesome. Life advice kind of ties into work a little bit, and my wife has said it a lot. She's worked in a lot of service positions, so I would say as a young individual work in some position where you have to do customer service, work with people face to face, on the phone, through email. 00:36:01:05 - 00:36:19:05 Adam I think you learn a lot and you appreciate on the other side of it when you make it to the other side, and it just teaches you a lot about people and how to work with them. Everyone's different. So that would be my advice. Just in life, to just talk to as many people as you can, learn all that kind of stuff. 00:36:19:07 - 00:36:44:18 Jennifer Ask questions seem to be the theme with both of you. Curiosity. Yeah, well, thank you both for being on the program. Ladies and gentlemen, we have Krusty, the two CEOs, Adam and Alex. And, just keep shining bright. You're doing it. You're doing it. Congratulations. And when those next generation comes into the family business, we'll have them back on the program. 00:36:44:18 - 00:36:51:07 Jennifer But in the meantime, the company's in good hands. And congratulations on your success. Keep shining bright. 00:36:51:09 - 00:36:53:02 Adam Thank you. Thanks, Jennifer. 00:36:53:04 - 00:36:57:00 Jennifer Thank you everyone. And that wraps today's program. We'll see you next time.