"McDonald’s was my first real job, and it had a profound effect. I was in high school, then it helped put me through college. I learned about working on a schedule and being responsible. I found that, if you did a really good job and worked hard, you got promoted from French fries to milkshakes, to the grill (I enjoyed being the grill man), and then to manager. Customer service and cleanliness were really driven home."
"Out of college, I went into a management training program at a bank, then spent a year as a lender. I got to learn about lending to the agricultural customer, doing credit write-ups for commercial businesses. It shaped my ability to see a business through a financial lens. My manager taught me to analyze a company’s operations by reading its financial statements. I didn’t learn that in accounting classes."
"I waited tables during college. It sounds easy, but juggling the needs of all your customers and doing it all with a smile is really hard work. But it taught me a couple of really valuable things. The first is the importance of good customer service. The second and probably the most significant lesson was learning how to deal with difficult people. It’s a skill that’s served me well my entire life."
"My dad got me a job on a pipe crew when I was 17. My job was to unload the concrete from a flatbed for the crew to use in laying out storm drains. It was pure manual labor. I would have to pull over 4 or 5 times driving home from work because my hands would get so cramped. But my dad would tell me, 'You’ve got to work through it and strive to move forward, to do better.' I credit him with giving me my work ethic."
"I worked for several years at an aluminum factory. It was my job to collect environmental samples and test them for aluminum production-specific chemical contamination. I worked in that lab for long hours, plus weekends and most holidays. But the experience taught me how to work in tough situations, and it helped me get where I am today. I still have a picture of the factory at my desk to remind me."
"I worked at the drug store Walgreens through college and law school, during summers and breaks. I think almost everything I needed to learn to be successful, I learned working there. Really basic stuff — first and foremost, dealing with people. Second of all, teamwork — making sure to pull your weight so no one else has to pick up your duties. Those lessons really transcended into all parts of my career."
