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Bill Johnson's been with the company for, how long have you been with the company?
Just under five years.
Bill's been with the company, that's all?
It feels like you've been here for a long time.
I know.
I mean in a good way.
It doesn't it?
Yeah.
, but actually I've been with the company almost 20.
. As from a homeowner standpoint, but with working just under five years.
That's gonna be longer than that.
No, I got it right here.
It's four years, ten months in some cases.
Okay, alright, fair enough.
Bill's We should just leave all this in.
Steve: Bill I remember us meeting at Starbucks and you posing the question
wondering if there was a position available and what that would look like.
I remember it like it was yesterday.
So we had a really good discussion.
Steve and I were friends too.
We worked on an HOA board together and that's really how
Steve and I became friends.
Really respected him.
And actually loved the company because I was part of it in the rental pool.
And I, my life has changed drastically for the better.
It's made me a better person.
It's made me learn and grow and live again.
Which that's kind of what life is about is learning, growing and living.
Yeah.
We really have been through a lot together in five years.
Haven't we?
Yes, we have COVID and border shutdowns and a lot.
I remember telling you, Bill.
I'd love to work with you, but I'm not easy to work for.
Was I right?
Yes
Yeah, no, we've had our differences but you hired me to Speak the truth.
Mm hmm, even if you didn't want to hear some of the things And I know you weren't
always happy, but that was okay because I knew that you would ponder on it.
But it also went reverse.
So you tell me some things that maybe I didn't want to hear, but
where I actually needed to improve or grow and having those conversations
makes anybody a better person.
Sure.
. Can you tell me like how it made you live again?
Well, yeah, I mean, I ran a landscape business for 30 years and
you get complacent after a while.
And part of it was 2008 downturn felt like I was treading water and drowning
at times and started to lose interest.
And actually Charlene is the one I recommended.
She goes, why don't you talk to Steve about a job?
And I really didn't know what I was getting myself into.
Which was, a good thing.
, but it challenged me and there's a lot of stuff that I had
to learn as an older person.
62 now, so, you know, 57 at the time.
Old people are tough to teach new tricks.
But you challenged me on tech.
You challenged me to look at things in different ways and to
listen to other people around me.
It wasn't Bill's way.
It was listen and grab the nuggets that really work and put it together.
Yeah.
I've watched you grow and I've also grown from our experiences together.
And when you spoke in truth to me, , I remember having to come
back to you a couple of times ago and you know, Bill, you're right.
. So I appreciate
the courage to have honest conversations as we went through this journey together.
It's one of the things you'd said when you hired me.
I don't want a yes person.
I want a person to tell me the way it is.
I don't necessarily have to agree with it.
I don't have to like it.
But I need people to tell me that.
Yeah.
Because that's how we all get better.
Mm hmm.
Yeah, there's nothing worse than leading in an echo chamber.
Correct.
, as you're leaving CASAGO, what's some advice you might have for the partners
out there what are some of those nuggets that you would like to impart to them
as you leave your active role at CASAGO?
So, job descriptions, it's one.
I think it's really important that you write out job descriptions.
We all wear a lot of different hats, and at different times,
we have to wear different hats.
But them understanding the role that they have is important cause
they, it gives them some direction.
The second thing is listen to your team.
Even if you don't want to hear it, you can listen to them and you
might learn a little bit from them.
And I'm not talking gossip.
I'm just talking about their issues.
So housekeepers that are in the field and maintenance guys that are
in the field, listen to their issues because you might be able to make
it a little bit better for them.
And there's certain things you're just not going to be able to fix for them.
And that's okay.
But give them the time to listen.
I like that.
As you've gone through your journey, what are some of the things that surprised you?
about where you started to where you are now.
What are some things you would have never imagined that your
paradigm would have shifted?
And now you see something in a very different light, but
would have never guessed it.
Some of my computer skills.
That'd be, that'd be one thing.
Um,
you know, I learned a lot from a lot of different people.
which I value.
I'm not trying to get too choked up.
You have taught me a lot.
And, you're younger than me, but that doesn't mean you can't
learn from younger people.
I, there's a gazillion people I can name, but Pilar took me under her wing
traveled 17 days, and she was, and she still is, the best teacher I've ever had.
She would encourage you, even though you've got the knowledge
stuck up there somewhere.
She said, you can pull it out of there.
But never let me fall backwards.
Always prop me up.
She knew it when I was down.
And, so those are two big things.
But also, I think my people skills have always been really good.
But I think they've improved.
Because I've work with a lot of different personalities in this role.
The orange, I'm a big believer in orange.
I used to say I drank the Kool Aid but it's one of the things
that I think every location.
will get great value.
If you start having regular orange meetings with your team, it's the
way they get to communicate with you.
It gives them five minutes to vent, but they also get to learn how to
solve problems, maybe different than the way they would think by learning
from other people and listening to how other people have handled it.
Yeah, that's great.
What's been your favorite part about your job?
Well, you've had multiple jobs.
What's been your favorite job?
That's tough.
I really did like the role of COO some of the time, but not all the time.
I love working with people.
People are my, it's, it's my passion.
I love different personalities.
I love the challenge of working with different personalities, trying to
figure out how I can communicate to them better, maybe get through to them.
So it's really the people, the people.
And I've met so many different people from owners, to guests, to housekeeping,
to maintenance, to owners of franchises.
It's, I've, the whole gamut and it's been really a great ride.
When we think of Bill, as we're slaving away over a keyboard and an angry
homeowner where do we wish that we were, that Bill is, as we're doing that?
Well, first of all, I want to tell everybody I really am retiring
. Um, family.
Uh, those who know me know that family is super important.
My parents are 91 and 90.
Looking forward to spending a whole summer with them up at their cabin
and spending time because I know their time is getting limited.
On this earth.
I'm looking forward to that.
I have a granddaughter maybe getting back to a little bit better of
a golf game and picking up some hobbies that I just haven't done.
Um, and I have a ton of projects at my cabin to do, so.
Yeah, you have some end or end act chairs to go for Caroline, I believe.
Yeah, but I can't build 'em in orange
Well, darn it.
Well, bill, I can't tell you how much I've appreciated over the years and.
And I know at times I haven't always been able to show it like I should,
but you've been such a value.
And I would tell you that when I watched you go into the PSM role,
partner success role, and the way you've handled those situations, help
build other people up, coach others to become successful, I felt like.
I felt a lot of pride and watching your success, especially in that role.
I liked you in many of the roles that you worked in Costco, but in that role it was
so wonderful to see the value you brought to all of our partners that you interacted
with and hearing the value that people would talk about to me in your absence.
about how wonderful you are and how much they really deeply
care about you as a human being.
And so I just want to personally say, thank you.
You're welcome.
I, I, um, I'm a lucky person.
I've met some fantastic people.
Some people that I will take And hold near and dear to my heart.
And a few of them probably already know that some friends that I believe
are lifelong friends might not talk to them as much, but I believe they're
lifelong friends, uh, shared some great stories and, you know, some personal
stuff too, both ways, which was, which is different in business nowadays.
A lot of people don't share their personal side.
And I also want to thank.
You personally, cause you gave me this chance.
Um, and I've enjoyed it 85 percent of the time.
So
I've only interacted with you about 15 percent of your time.
I don't know how that correlates.
So, um, I get choked up thinking about leaving.
I'm ready to retire.
I'm excited about retirement.
I will miss the day to day interactions.
I have.
And I get a little choked up around a couple of people cause I see them get
watery, watered eyes as I tell them it's my last week and a half or so.
I know you're leaving being active, but what everybody may not know
is we have an alumni program.
And alumni number one was Jill shot.
She's still active in our groups, in our communities, even in our committees.
And now we have our second alumni, and that's you, Bill.
And we really appreciate it.
We're keeping you on the chat lines.
You don't have to interact.
There's no obligation, but you're there.
You're invited to any and all activities we ever have including Casa Con.
And we won't even put you to work isn't that nice of us?
That is nice.
That is pretty nice.
But we just wanted to keep you, as part of the community because Your value
as a person is so great that even if you're not active as a staff member,
you're still active as our friend and as a colleague and as our community.
So thank you bill.
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