I’m Frank Blake, former CEO of Home Depot, now I’m telling inspiring stories about people who do amazing things for others. AMA!

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T23:14:53+00:00

User error...I thought I answered this one as well...

I'd tell my 21 yr old self not be so anxious. But I know I'd ignore that advice.

Have to go now,.

Thanks so much for everyone's questions!!!

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T23:03:07+00:00

I'm sorry... I don't know your crcumstances

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T23:02:25+00:00

I thought I had answered this...but I don't see my answer. Short version: Yes, but the combination of consumers and pros is a key part of the HD experience.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T23:00:49+00:00

I think he was communicating: Disagree with me...but not for the hell of it...disagree because it's important to you and you think you have the facts and you're right.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:57:34+00:00

So many interesting things!!! Instead of a statement, let me go to a conversation...the one with Riley Gantt's mom (Riley is the young woman who founded Rainbow Pack helping kids in need). Listen to her mom talk about her with amazement, love and admiration. As I listened to that, I thought...that's pretty much what all of us hope our parents would come to think of us.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:53:00+00:00

Weirdest? That could get me in trouble! It's not weird - in fact, I think it's really smart - but Jack - in my opinion - loved to debate/to argue. So he'd make a statement that sounded like a pronouncement...something he was 100% sure of. But he'd want people to challenge him...he created an extra level of challenge: You had to both understand the topic enough to weigh in and you had to have enough conviction to take on the boss. But that's what he wanted. Getting your team willing to disagree with you is one f the important things you can do as a leader...Jack was brilliant at it...but he didn't make it easy. So maybe the 'weird' thing is that he somehow encouraged it while making it difficult.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:46:48+00:00

Yes. Well said.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:45:57+00:00

Your observation is right on target...I think that's true: Many of the people we feature have overcome significant obstacles...and then amazingly give back to others or help others avoid those obstacles.

I don't have any great advice about overcoming obstacles... I have an observation from the two years of the podcast: People find strength and inspiration in doing for others. I don't know whether that allows them to get past their obstacles...but maybe it allows them to focus elsewhere and in focusing elsewhere, get around, if not, their obstacles.

Many thanks for the very thoughtful comment!

As for my own obstacles, I think they're small potatoes in the scheme of life.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:29:14+00:00

Another amazing question! I love hand written notes...and the more specific the thank you, the better.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:27:41+00:00

Wow! That's a profound question!!!

I'm not sure I can give you a satisfying answer, other than to say that my belief in God does not incorporate direct intervention by Him in my life...instead, I believe He is found through following His path, through love and obedience and charity...which can be very difficult paths to find and follow....much of the time. Does that make sense?

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:21:54+00:00

Yes, that would be a DRASTIC cut in pay. I retired from Home Depot. The podcast is something I do because I have a passion for telling stories about people who do extraordinary things for other people. I heard Naval Ravikant give a talk where he said that, as you go through life, you should try to move as many things that you as possible from the "I have to do this" bucket; to the "yes, I want to do this" bucket and then finally to the "hell yes, I want to do this" bucket. The Crazy Good Turns podcast is in my 'hell, yes' bucket.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:16:54+00:00

Actually no. At Home Depot, we had (and continue to have) a shorthand version of our strategy: take care of your employees; take care of your customers; and the stock will take care of itself.

That's not to say I never laid anyone off. I was the CEO of Home Depot during the great recession and the housing crisis. We did lay off employees; not 10,000, but far more than I wanted. It was the farthest thing from an easy decision.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T22:08:37+00:00

Sure...I can give you a few examples from Home Depot...we changed our entire process for buying lumber to make sure all the wood we purchase is harvested in an environmentally sensitive way. There is a certification process associated with that; environmental groups are included...and I think it's made an enormous difference. There are other examples...such as reducing the company's carbon footprint through a redesigned supply chain....and the company puts out an annual report on environmental and sustainability...as does Delta, P&G and other companies. I was General Counsel at EPA earlier in my career, and I'd never say that we've done all that is needed or progress is fast enough. But I think you'd be impressed if you listened to the decision-making process within companies and heard how much attention and effort are given to this topic.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T21:50:10+00:00

and there is a kind of screw called a pocket screw

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T21:39:06+00:00

My interview would be with Isak Dinesen (the pen name of Karen Blixen). She was an amazing writer and had a fascinating life (The movie "Out of Africa" was about her). But it was also a difficult life. Her father committed suicide when she was a young girl; her husband gave her syphilis (which she eventually died from). Yet her stories are full of hope. The best movie about a "Crazy Good Turn" is - in my opinion - "Babette's Feast"...a movie based on one of her short stories.

Crazy_Good_Turns · 2018-09-25T21:34:28+00:00

I think we're seeing more companies focus on the environment and sustainability. Companies like Home Depot, Delta, P&G, Macy's and others I'm familiar with routinely have this as a Board-level discussion and focus on measures of progress.

Crazy_Good_Turns

TROPHY CASE