Leroy Pinckney Podcast
Summary
Leroy Pinckney Jr. is a senior operations and supply chain leader with over 20 years of experience in the industry. He grew up in Harlem, where he learned the values of discipline, faith, and hard work from his grandmother. He joined the military at the age of 27 and was deployed to Iraq in 2003, where he learned valuable lessons about leadership under pressure and the importance of trust and accountability. After leaving the military, he worked for the Department of Defense At the core of transitioning from military logistics to civilian operations, I had to learn how to better communicate my experience and skills to potential employers. I found success at Amazon but the key to being a great leader is trust. Trust is built in small moments, like showing up on the floor before expected, and advocating for your team. Leroy Anderson is a Navy veteran and veteran operations leader who has recently founded Lead Like a Lion, a leadership development company that focuses on helping military veterans succeed in warehouse leadership roles. In this interview, Leroy talks about his background and experience, and shares insights on what it takes to be a successful operations leader. He emphasizes the importance of trust and authenticity in leadership, and talks about the huge reception he received on LinkedIn when he announced that he had been laid off from his previous role. Leroy Pinckney Jr. discusses his background, work experience, and the values that guide him as a leader and professional. He is currently looking for his next mission as a senior ops manager or director in the DFW area and shares what he hopes for in his next role. He also offers advice for other veterans and professionals navigating career transitions. The maker of Infowars, Alex Jones, has launched a new podcast called "The Alex Jones Show," which covers current events, politics, and conspiracy theories. In the latest episode #40
Transcription
Ben Hopkins
[00.00.06]
Hey what's up everyone? Thank you for tuning in to episode number 40 at the Warehouse Underground podcast, Real Talk or Warehouse DC and FC professionals of all levels around the globe. I'm Ben, the host of the show and joining me on the show today, Leroy Pinckney Jr. He's a senior ops leader and supply chain leader with more than 20 years in the industry. All different types of organizations, all different stops. Also like me, he is a veteran, so he made the transition from the military into the distribution center career, which I want to talk to him about on the show, because there are a lot of people in this industry who have that background and more coming every day. And also he is currently networking. He is currently in the job market and he is navigating that. So you may have seen him on LinkedIn. He's very active on LinkedIn and doing that and searching, and I want to talk with him about some of that too, about what that experience has been like for him searching for the next opportunity in the job market. Right now, there are many people out there who are in the same position, and if you're not now, you might be in the future. So I think he will have some very good wisdom that he can offer people that are out there in that role, in that position. So with that, I will bring him on to the stage right now. Leroy, my friend, thank you very much for joining the Warehouse Underground podcast today. How are you, sir?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.01.37]
I'm doing really well. Then. I appreciate you for having me on today. Um, honestly, this feels like the the right conversation at the right time. Uh, so I'm grateful, and I'm ready to roll.
Ben Hopkins
[00.01.50]
Yeah. Awesome, man. Like, I, I follow you on LinkedIn, and I know and I now know that tens of thousands of people follow you on LinkedIn. We'll get about we'll get into that a little bit later in the show. Uh, so, uh, I don't I don't steal your thunder because I know that I appreciate
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.02.08]
that,
Ben Hopkins
[00.02.09]
but, uh, but yeah, so like I said in the intro, you you've got 20 years, more than 20 years experience in this game, in this industry. And I know that you have a lot of good nuggets of wisdom to share with the audience. But first, before we get into all that, though, can you just talk a little bit about you? Let's get to know you as a person, like your background from early on. Where did you grow up? What was it like, and kind of how did that begin to mold you and shape you into the leader that you are today?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.02.42]
Absolutely. That is a fantastic question. Thanks for asking. So, uh, I I'm I'm calling. I'm calling New York. Born and raised. Um, there's no other way to spend that. No other way to put that. Um, I was raised by my grandmother, uh, Christine Green. Um, she was the kind of woman who didn't accept excuses. Uh, she didn't have a lot of resources. Um, but she had an abundance of character, and I really imparted that upon me, and she poured it all into me. Um, you know, growing up in Harlem, you learn really, really quickly. Uh, life's not going to solve anything for you at all. So you either you develop resiliency, uh, or you fall to the wayside. And so what she taught me, and what Harlem confirmed to me is discipline, faith and hard work, um, are the only currencies that never lose value. Um, she taught me how to show up with is hard. How could she be accountable? Uh, what is difficult? Um. And how to serve people? Um. And never, ever, ever quit. So everything I've experienced past learned, um, from the Army, uh, to Amazon to other teams. It all started in Harlem with Christine Green.
Ben Hopkins
[00.03.59]
Yeah, I love that. I mean, I respect that a lot. And for people that are listening that work in this industry, if you work on the floor in a warehouse F.C., you know the reality. It's gritty, it's tough. Things can change a lot. There's a lot of adversity that can happen. And so having a little bit of that type background, somebody that is in the role that has that just baked into them, I think can go a long way in that type of environment because it will test you at some point. So uh, kudos to you, man, because it's a cool background. But Leroy, you are an Army veteran and I am an Air Force veteran, too. And I know that there are lots of people in the distribution center industry that also have that background, and there's many more that are arriving every day. So but depending on who you ask, they have a different opinion on military leadership, what it taught them, what they learned from it. But how do you see it? I mean, what what did your military service teach you about leadership and what did you take away from it?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.05.07]
Good question. Well, first of all, thank you for your service to the country. Admirable. Uh, anybody who ever serves, I always get the kudos and citations. Uh. Uh, it takes a lot of, uh, fortitude to put that right hand up. And so thanks for that. Um, you as well, to your question. Um, so a little bit of a little bit of color to the story. So I joined at 27 years old. Um, the reason I joined was because I remember conversations, um, that my grandfather had my grandmother's boyfriend is he used to hang out with other people about how he felt I would be an amazing soldier. Uh, it wasn't something that was on my radar initially, but it was something that came to me. I was just in happenstance, and it was something that was like, you know, that might be something good for me to do. Um, and so I joined at 27 years old and needed a mission. Um, I had drive, I had discipline, but I needed the structure. Uh, that was something that would match my intensity. Uh, in the Army, uh, clearly and markedly provided that, uh, most people joined around 17, 18. Um, and I joined as a grown man who had already had a little bit of life experience. And I think that made me absorbing a lot differently than the typical soldier. Um, I mentioned the deployment in 2003 to Iraq, uh, from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and that experience taught me about that, taught me about leadership is something no classroom can ever, uh, sexual or teaching, uh, leadership is. Leadership under pressure is not about being the loudest or the most confident sounding person in the room. Um, it's about being the most prepared. Um, it's about leader. It's about making decisions. Um, with incomplete data, if you will. Uh, and and surviving the consequences of those actions. Um, it's about the people to your left and right. Uh, trusting you with their lives. Um, and you taking that extremely seriously. Um, so. So really, I became a supply sergeant and eventually left and worked for the Department of Defense and became a unit chief. Little distinction. Um, I've managed really large property books in excess of $15 million. Um, and, and was able to mitigate, um, much loss, um, in managing those property books. So the Army itself didn't just teach me logistics. They taught me what accountability really means in real time. Yeah, I think that's interesting. You mentioned that you joined when you were 27, and most people make the decision much earlier than that, but they do it without always having all the facts. Maybe they're more impressionable. So I think it says something more about somebody's character and state of mind. I think when they join as an, as an adult that they're going into something like that. So that's going I think you're right. Just the, the discipline, the structure that you find in the military. You also see in the world of warehousing and distribution, because you have SOPs, you have standards. There's a standard where all these things. And so, um, I think that there's a lot of parallels there. And, and that accountability piece, hey everybody, everybody knows that that's just the way it is, right? You hit the numbers, you hit the metrics, you accountable for you and your team's performance. So now you mentioned a couple of things. Um, so precision and discipline both big buzzwords very important in the military and also very important in the distribution space too. But can you and you mentioned it before, you talk a little bit more about what DoD property book is, and then your stellar management record and the scale involved in that, because everybody who's listening, they may know what that is, but others may or may not. So can you talk about that and kind of how there's a little bit of a parallel and overlap between that and what you might see in a, in a warehousing or distribution job environment. Absolutely. Um, so first, I just want to talk a little bit about, uh, the transition from, uh, from civilian or from military to, uh, to to Department of Defense. Um, it was about it was about translation. Right? Um, that's the word I used with, uh, with every veteran I told you, you know, you have to be able to translate, um, everything you did in the military has a civilian equivalent. Uh, you just have to do it. You have to be able to speak the language, uh, or translate and speak the language of the business or your current status. Business outcome. Um, and, uh, at at APG Aberdeen Proving Grounds. I was, uh, responsible, as mentioned before, for managing property booking in excess of 50 million. Um, asset management at that scale. Uh, most corporate leaders never get to experience. And so it was something that I, uh, something a failure on my part that I'm very, very proud of. Uh, what I learned was that the fundamentals don't change. Um, accountability. Accountability accuracy systems, people. What changes is the verbiage and then the vocabulary? Um, once I was able to learn how to translate my military experience into business language, uh, cost reduction, process improvement, team performance, uh, those started opening everywhere. Um, it was really, uh, it was actually very, very interesting to experience how synonymous uh, the the performances were, um, in military versus, uh, versus civilians. So that's the message I try to share with every veteran, uh, that's in transition or anyone in particular, uh, that's in transition. Uh, you know, don't hide. Don't hide what you've done, you know, lead with it and translate it into the doors will open for you.
Ben Hopkins
[00.11.28]
Yeah. I think and that's, uh, advice that veterans will usually hear and not always internalize. And that is, there tends to be the mentality of you just trying to be modest. Oh, I'm. It's a this is a part of my job. I'm giving my team all the credit. But that's not. That doesn't always work when you're talking about civilian sector. They want to know who is going to provide the most value for them, who can do the job, not who can sort of move the credit like they're looking to hear exactly what you did, exactly the great things that there are about you. And I think in today's world, maybe 15 years ago, 20 years ago, it was much harder for vets, I think, to translate that into civilian speak in the world of distribution. But I think that that has changed a lot. I think more and more companies are joining the ranks of people that are beginning to see the benefit of hiring veterans into the distribution world, and so more people already know how to do that. Translation. So if you're a company out there, you listening and you and you're not sure how to do that. I would I would seriously consider bringing like vets work out very well in warehouse distribution center environment. There's a lot of parallels there. So, um, I hope more and more people will join the ranks. And if you're vet out there and you listen and you gotta you gotta tell, you gotta tell your horn, man. You gotta let people know what you did because they're not going to pull it out of you. Um, so it's a it's competitive. So. All right, so let's talk about let's talk about your transition. So you go, you know, you're in the military transition now out of military out of DoD. And now you're just in civilian work sector. So I know you mentioned in the beginning you spent a lot of time at Amazon, uh, Amazon FC. So what was that like for you making that transition into that world of ops in a fulfillment center environment? And then what did you bring with you from the Army that helped you be successful in that new world?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.13.34]
Amazon, for me, was the ultimate proving ground for an operations leader. Uh, I was able to manage, uh, at two Amazon facilities, um, 155 in Kent, Washington and Wyoming, which was a it was his a source center and Brian Schatz, two, in San Marcos, Texas, as I transitioned to Texas. Um, and that is a fulfillment center, two different, uh, layouts, two different operations, two different types of teams. Um, at five five, I was brought in pre-COVID, um, to, uh, during the venture hiring that Amazon did to support all of the, uh, logistical growth that they were experiencing at that time. Yeah. And, um, as part of that peak season of 2020, um, we, me and my team, uh, my peers and our team, uh, set all types of building records from, uh, throughput perspective. Uh, from a safety perspective. Um, and a lot of those records still stand to this day. So they were I was going to support a super impactful team, super, uh, high powered team that was able to lead at scale, um, and can help drive the mission of that building. Uh, is that too was a little different? Larger, uh, one point 2,000,000 square foot facility of fulfillment center. Um, and I was responsible for a segment of the outbound piece there. Uh, we had some real, um, improvements around, uh, trailer departure time there. That was a little to save the the company, uh, over $1 million undocumented project. So super and super impactful there. Um, what Amazon ultimately taught me is that scale at scale, everything is magnified. Uh, it's small, slow becomes a massive operational failure. Uh, and a great team can carry a building through chaos. Um, and the leadership sets the tone for everything. Uh, one thing also that I found is that a leader typically is calm. Their team and their flow is calm. Uh, if the leader is, uh, reactive and not proactive, then their team and their flow will be reactive and not proactive. And so I typically I am the type of leader I choose calm. Uh, I choose intentionality. Um, every single day. And I, I believe in my estimation, that is the best way to grow and develop people and a team.
Ben Hopkins
[00.16.20]
Yeah. Now, I mean, $1 million in op savings at a in a Amazon world is a lot. That's pretty substantial. I mean, because you're talking about a place that's been running lean and efficient, continuous improvement for a long time. So to be able to find $1 million worth of op savings is is no small feat now. I mean, one of the things that you had mentioned to me is that it it's rooting out waste, identifying that waste, finding that waste. I mean, what how are you able to see that? Because you could take ten different people and walk them through the same facility, or have them work at the same facility over a period of time, I should say. And some of them would be able to identify the waste. And other times people just cannot. They just can't see it. They, they, they miss it. So. What are your thoughts on that? I mean, how are you able to find that waste and root it out? And how do you have such a trained eye to to find that? And have you had so much success with that?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.17.24]
Absolutely. Good question. So I've been in a myriad of different types of operations. Um, and the first thing that I typically do when I walk into a facility is I walk the floor. Um, if the team isn't readily available, I'm engaging the team, but I'm also looking around corners for, uh, potential ways that the floor can run leaner. The floor cleaner. Um, the floor can, uh, minimize, um, waste or minimize things that are out of place. Um, and that leans into. That's what I'm able to lean into my, uh, my lean Six Sigma, uh, green belt. Um, it it people ultimately think it's a broad concept. Um, but it's it's really not, like, literally just it's living and breathing on every operational floor throughout the world. Um, and it all starts with the gimbal walk. Uh, typically that's where that's where it starts. You go to where the work is actually happening. Uh, you cannot manage. This is an adage of mine, and and I believe a lot of leaders fail here is you cannot see the fires behind the desk. Mhm. If you're behind a desk, you're halfway lost because you're not in tune with what's happening on your floor. You're not in tune with your junior leaders. You're not in tune with, um, your supervisors. You're not in tune with your associates. Right. Um, okay. So you have to stand in the process. You have to watch the process, you have to ask questions. And this is what we think leads. What helps you lean into finding, uh, waste? Uh, I personally am a big believer in doing the process myself. Uh, I need to I need to get a true understanding about what it is I'm asking people to do. Um, and I can. I can get no better, uh, snapshot of that than to complete the process myself. Obviously, with the proper training, um, and the blessing from safety, um, in the facility.
Ben Hopkins
[00.19.40]
Um, yeah.
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.19.41]
And Amazon, as you spoke to earlier, the lean mindset, um, is typically how we are driving these savings right now by not by minimizing folks, but by cutting waste. And there's a major difference there. Um,
Ben Hopkins
[00.19.56]
yeah. And then and. And let me ask you this. Like. Yes, sir. One thing that people forget is it changes. So you may have a process like one month, but then eight months later the dynamics change, like the team changes or the freight mix changes or the equipment changes. And so absolutely, you can't always be resting on your laurels. Right? You gotta always be out there finding it because it can change. And then it's not running good anymore, right? I mean, you agree with me on that?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.20.24]
Absolutely. And I'll go even deeper for you. Uh, there could be some operational changes within your shift that. Yes, that that pivot that you have to make a decision without all of the information needed. Uh, as I believe I spoke to earlier. Um, and and be able to deal with the results. Like, be able to bridge if you had, uh, horizontal opportunities or be able to give kudos and salutations to your team. Uh, if you were able to pivot, uh, in a positive fashion. So, uh, operations like you spoke to at the top. Uh, of of of the show, it is. It's a living and breathing thing. It it can change within a 15 minute period. Right. And so and I definitely echo and agree with your sentiment there.
Ben Hopkins
[00.21.11]
Yeah, I've always told people the analogy. It's like the human body. I mean, it doesn't just it's not just healthy. You have to work for it. You have to exercise it. You have to eat right. And then sometimes it gets sick and then it gets healthy again. I mean, ops out there on the floor is no different than that. Sometimes it's going to get sick and people sometimes look around and they go, man, I thought it was running so good. How did this happen? I'm like, yeah, it's just it's just how it goes, man. It's just people and processes and you always got to kind of be care and feeding it. It's never it's never said it and forget it. And if you think it's set at it you're going to be sorely disappointed. And, you know, military background teach you that too. Everything. Everything is all the way. Yeah, absolutely. So so cool. So I mean, like we talked about it before. Your background is is just diverse, man. I mean military logistics, federal service and then XPO Coles, Fleet Pride, Amazon, Copeland I mean, you have probably seen a thing or two. And in your day in terms of operations and particularly leadership. So what do you think? I mean, what if you had to boil it down to one thing? I mean, there's there's more than one thing, but if you had to boil it down to one thing, what do you think? One thing that separates a good operations leader versus a great operations leader?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.22.36]
That is a fantastic question, and I can answer in one word and then I'll build out from there. Trust. Yeah. Okay. It's very. That's the entire answer. Um, you can you can have data. You can have all these fancy dashboards. Uh, you can have KPI reports that are world renown. Um, but if your team does not trust you, it none of it matters, because you're going to have major gaps, uh, in your operation. And to speak to that trust is built in small moments. Like, it's not it's not nothing groundbreaking. It's not anything earth shattering. It's built when you show up on your floor and slide back in before anyone expects you to be there. Uh, it it's built on you. Advocate for your team. Uh, you know, when they're not in, uh, it's built when you do what you say you're going to do every single time. Uh, and be able to follow up, uh, and provide feedback, um, as to such, uh, great operations leaders understand that people do not work for a company. They work for a person. Um, if that person shows up with integrity, if that person shows up with accountability. If that person shows up with genuine care, those people are going to run through walls and move mountains Street. Um. I've had associates follow me from position to position, uh, because of the relationship that we've built and the trust that I had earned. You know, that's not luck. That's that's true leadership.
Ben Hopkins
[00.24.13]
Yeah. And I always remind this to people. You're right. Uh, and I agree with you. You know, trust and these sort of intangible things are important in any leadership role, I think, out there in the industry and corporate America. But they're especially important in this world because you've got a labor force that is typically younger. Sometimes they're older, but they're typically younger. They're hourly. Maybe they have a college degree. Maybe they don't. A majority of them do not. Right. So you take it from like a boardroom setting where everybody around there has a college degree, they're all established or all that, and there's one way to lead in that environment. But trust even more important in the end, like we're a long way from like a blacked out warehouse where it's just robots and everybody. Like, even though that there's technology and automation and systems and everything, those are still just aides, their aides. Right. Like helpers, if you will. Uh, and because the labor force is still that and in order to get good results out of the labor force that you manage, I think you're right. You must develop trust. Otherwise. Doesn't really matter to them. They're not. They're not going to go above and beyond when they're not being watched. They're not going to go the extra mile. They do that for people that they trust that they know care about them. So kudos to you like that. Thank you
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.25.39]
very much. I appreciate that. Yeah. All right. So let's talk about this. So all right you were laid off from your last role. You have been very public and transparent and open about this on LinkedIn with a huge reception. I mean, we're talking like 500,000 people seeing your your posts about this, you tens of thousands of followers that have gravitated like it is really resonating with you or with people, your honesty and your openness. So, you know, like for better or worse, or sometimes a stigma about this in the industry, I don't I don't think there should be. We can talk about that more in the future. I don't think there should be. It's just part of it. But for you, how were you? So you know what? How did you make the decision to be so open and be so transparent and be so vulnerable, for lack of a better term, to to putting it out there? How did you make that decision? And then what's the reception been like from you, from people that have reached out to you and talked to you about it, what you've been putting out there online? Thanks for that, guys. Another amazing question. So, um, it was one of those conversations for me that changed everything for me. Uh, about ten minutes, uh, I was at Copeland, and then I was not. Um, so I drove home. Uh, I sat with it for a minute, um, and thought about it and processed it. Um, and then I thought about Christmas green. Um, and I thought about, uh, nothing. Don't ever give up. And so I did. I did what I always do, and I got up. Uh, I made a conscious decision to post on LinkedIn. I was extremely transparent as we spoke, to be extremely honest about what happened. Uh, I didn't dress it up. I didn't sugarcoat it. I didn't make it pretty or palatable. Uh, I just told the truth about where I am right now. Uh, and I had a person and something completely. And and being like, say this. This is completely unexpected. Like, I did not expect the the reception, um, the the first two posts that I posted about it, uh, went viral on LinkedIn. Uh, in the week, there were over 500,000 impressions. Uh, 26,000 followers. Uh, I have a newsletter that I just, uh, published that has all the. Was 3000 members already and in less than 30 days, hundreds of thousands of comments from people all over the world, all over the world, sharing their own story, sharing stories and leaning in, trying to get some guidance as to how to navigate their current state better. Um, and what I, what I began to realize is that authenticity is a force multiplier. Uh, social media is a very, very powerful vehicle. Uh, people are starving for rich people are starving for it. Uh, people are starving for someone to, uh, shoot the street. Uh, no no no no no sugarcoating. Right. Uh, and and this is what I try to provide. But what Leumi lost wasn't the numbers. It was the messages of people like veteran veterans, uh, people who navigating, uh, wanting to give up on going into business for themselves. Um, people I can go on and on for days about, you know, the, the, the, the stories of her and the challenges that people are facing. Uh, people grinding in silence. Uh, they just need to know someone else was fighting to. Um, and that's when, you know, like a lion, uh, stopped being a brand and became a mission for me.
Ben Hopkins
[00.29.41]
Yeah, I and I respect you for this, man. Because if in this industry particular really in any industry, in this industry, if things can shift fast, there can be new leadership comes in, there's a drop in sales, there's a a drive to a different distribution model. There is some type of events that happen that you are the sacrificial lamb for. It could be any one of many things. And so I think if people are in a role right now, if they're being honest, they would know, man, this could be me in a year from now or two years from now. And and I think that's just the way it is. So what you're doing out there and you're grinding and you're making yourself visible, and you're not just just sitting around and moping around. I really respect for you. And I'm happy. I'm really happy that you're getting the the results. You're starting to see the results. You're seeing the recognition you're getting, the support from everybody that's out there. And it just proves that when people are authentic and and they feel like they need help and they support, there's hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people that are ready to to do that and be there and be there for them. So good for you, man. So you you founded Lead Like a Lion under Pinkney Capital Group, LLC. Talk to us about that. What's the mission? What's it all about? Where did it come from? What's the what's the story with it?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.31.10]
Thanks for that question, Ben. So it came from initially, um, during my time at Copeland, I just knew that I needed to go on a different direction. And and I knew that I had enough experience, um, to be able to launch something that is going to be impactful, uh, for not only veterans, but, uh, anyway, anyone navigating, uh, that thought process, like there has to be a better way. There has to be something different that I can do to help other people. And so Lee, Like a Lion, was born. Um, this was around the, I guess, the September or October timeframe of last year. And, and, uh, it's a leadership development grant, uh, for operators. Um, the idea behind it is pretty simple. Uh, the skills that make a great operator, the skills that make a great, great military leader, uh, are the same, uh, disciplined accountability systems thinking and a people first mentality. Uh, I didn't see anyone in that space, uh, speaking directly to that intersection, uh, the veteran who was transitioning into a warehouse. Leadership. Well, the ops manager who leads with grit and integrity, um, and is ready for the next level. Um, so that's a snapshot about who I built this for. Um, under, uh, Pinckney Capital Group LLC, uh, which is my parent company from my LLC. Um, I lost the lead like a lion brand. Uh, I lost a Lion's Den newsletter, uh, which is approaching 3000 people less than a week. Uh, and breaking news is the first book, uh, like a lion. Uh, from from Harlem to Iraq to the warehouse floor. Uh, it is live on Amazon, uh, and, uh, Kindle form and in hardback form as well. Uh. Oh, man. Uh, just went live, uh, like 4:00 this morning. Um, yeah, I was thinking, um, but but the goal is simple, uh, how leaders need better. Uh, especially the ones who came up the hard way, who had some, some barriers and and some, you know, some, some bottlenecks that they had to navigate. Uh, I believe my beginning in my, my humble beginnings in Harlem, New York, uh, and, and how I had to navigate some of the challenges that, uh, were inherent, uh, growing up in the 70s and 80s there, um, really added some, some still, uh, to he encouraged me as a leader. Yeah. And there's a lot of people out there that think to themselves, gosh, I have the means. I have the fortitude, I have the tenacity. I just I don't have the method, I don't have the playbook, I don't have the roadmap. And so it's great when people like you can begin to provide that to them. Hey, read this book. This is a roadmap for you. These are the things that have worked for me. And then they go, ah, now, now I there's a vector that I can put all my energy towards that will be positive and can lead to some good outcomes. So I love that. Now let me ask this question to you, Leroy.
Ben Hopkins
[00.34.30]
You we had talked a little bit about this earlier. How important do you think it is for ops leaders to learn how to lead themselves first? And it's always assume that people just know how to lead themselves, but oftentimes they don't. If you really are being honest, if people are really being honest, they're poor leaders of themselves, and it's very difficult for them to then be good leaders of other people. So what do you think about that?
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.35.02]
Absolutely. Thanks for that question. So, um, I, I lead my individuality in self, um, by something I call the four FS. Uh, that's my personal operating system. Uh, they're, uh, the four domains where I evaluate every decision that, that I make, um, in my life, uh, face. Um, but when I speak to faith, it's not just religious faith. Uh, that's a that's a part of it for me. Uh, but faith in the process and faith that the work you put in is going to compound all the time. Faith that your integrity will 100% be rewarded. Um, at some point, I don't know, uh, fitness is the second f uh, I, I try to work out every single day. Uh, whether it's cardio or, uh, strength training, whatever. Not because I'm trying to look a certain way. Uh, because of the discipline of the gym spilled over into everything else I do. Uh, as a father, as a professional, uh, as a, uh, as a team member, uh, as a peer. Uh, so if I could do the hard things at 5:00 in the morning when nobody's watching. I most certainly can do the hard things in the boardroom when everyone is watching. Um, third is family. Everything I do. Um, you know, for my children. Uh, my daughter Leonia. I have two sons, Langston and Chadwick. Um, and then my partner, Linda, um, who stood by my side through this whole transition. Uh, family is the reason that the mission matters for me. Um, and finance, uh, you can't build anything sustainable without financial discipline. Um, so I talk about this openly with my audience. Uh, because too many leaders earn good money, but don't build wealth. Uh, and, yeah, you know, I'm chasing after myself, and I'm teaching others, uh, to do the same. So when you have these four things that intersect and are aligned, uh, that's when you're operating in your highest capacity. Um, and that's leading like a lion. Yeah. I love that man. All great points there that I think anyone in any field could benefit from. So. All right. Let's talk about this. You're looking for your next mission out there. You are senior. Your senior ops manager director in the DFW area is the kind of the general vibe or the flavor of what you are looking for and where you're looking for. But in your mind, what is the what is the right role look for look like for you? What does it feel like, taste like, smell like? And then what do you want hiring managers out there to know in a nutshell about Leroy Pinckney Jr. Absolutely. Thanks for that. So firstly, um, I would like to, you know, let everyone know who's listening. Uh, I'm not looking for a title or role. I'm looking for a mission. Uh, I believe I spoke to that earlier, uh, upon my decision to join the military, and I. It's about having a mission. Like something that you can, uh, jump down into and improve from day one. Um, I want to facilitate. I can walk to walk into one day one, start earning the trust of the team, start driving results immediately. You know, that's what I've done in all of my previous roles. Uh, whether it was at Amazon or the Department of Defense or Higgs field and physics or or Calls on the list goes on and on. What I would like to hire a manager to know about me. When you bring me in, you're not getting someone who needs six months to find their footing. Uh, you're getting some of the 20 plus years of proven and documented operational experience, uh, expertise, uh, military discipline, and a genuine commitment to my people. On my on the floor and my team. Uh, I am an upgrade. I'm not a stretch candidate. I am a true upgrade. Um. And I'm available immediately. I'm in. I'm basement learning, and I'm ready to get to it. So that's what you need. Let's talk. Yeah. And with your background. With your background in the military and in Amazon on all the these different places. This is what I say to people sometimes if there are roles, if there are operations out there that have some mud on them, and I think you know what I mean by that. Like they have some mud on them. They're a little bit dirty. Like that's where people like you sometimes can really come in and make a difference because they're not afraid of that. They're not afraid to get in there. They're not afraid to get dirty. They're not afraid to get muddy. I know it's not perfect. That's where I sell. That's where a lot of times people like you can come in as well. So if you listen out there and you're like, man, I got this operation and I can't bring in some office type guy who wears a suit and like, it's too messy. Leroy could be your guy. And that and a lot of distribution operations out there are. They're a little bit muddy, man, like that. They're messy. So, uh, you're not afraid of that, so. All right. Last question. You were a veteran. We're both veterans. Uh, so what message do you have out there for vets who are transitioning or or who have transition, I guess I should say, or professionals out there that are in between jobs. They got laid off. They're they're moving. They're grinding. They're trying to find that role. It's a stressful it's a tough environment out there. Like it just is. So what's a message that you have for those two groups of people. What do you want them to hear from you? And what do you want them to internalize what you want them to feel going forward? Absolutely. So I'll tell them what I had to tell myself. Um, oftentimes in in my, in my life, um, you know, culminating with this latest layoff, um, the lion doesn't stop. He just fired the new. He just finds a new hunt. You know, a little doesn't erase a legacy. Uh, a setback doesn't cancel your skill set. The terrain is changing, and it has changed for you. But you still who you are. You're still a subset of everything you've learned and experience. Um, uh, like we spoke to before, I've been saying that, uh, I've been to the warehouse floor three in the morning. Uh, I've been to the moment where someone tells you your position has been eliminated, uh, due to no fault of your own. And every single time I got up, I hear Christine Green in my head every time. You gotta get up, son. It's time to get up. Yeah. You can't, you can't. We can't lay here. You gotta get right over there. Not because that's easy and it's not. I'm not saying that it's an easy process. Um, but it's because it's ingrained in me who I am. You know, that's the better way. That's the harmony. And I truly believe with everything in me that it is your way, too. If you're listening, keep going. The right opportunity is already heading your way and moving into your resistance. You just have to keep moving towards it. You gotta live like a lion. Always.
Ben Hopkins
[00.42.19]
Yeah, I agree with you. And I think, you know, I mean, there's some people that follow me that listen that may be unemployed in between jobs. And I always say to people is like, look, uh, it is not easy, right? Everybody gives you lots of platitudes about this. Feel good, but it does not feel good, right? It is a grind. It is not. And so they don't always want to hear rosy type. Thing I will say to people is, look, you know, you just do what you're doing and that is you keep grinding it out and you keep ringing the phone, right. You keep ringing the phone of somebody's house, and you have to separate yourself from whether or not they answer or not. And you just say, my goal is how many rings am I going to create? How many rings? Because trust me, the more that you ring the phone, the higher the likelihood it is that somebody is eventually going to answer it because they're just getting annoyed by it. Right? It just keeps on ringing. He's coming in. I see him all the time. He's all he's on LinkedIn. He's all across the street. Like, you know, eventually it you will increase the odds of that. But, uh, but it's not a guarantee. You just have to know that I'm going to keep getting my odds as high as I can possibly get them, and that's what I can control. And then whatever the outcome is, is other people, other people out there looking for help and supporting can help help with that. Outcomes not guarantee. Keep ringing the bell. Guys out there listening and just keep ringing the bell. And that's how it will. How it will go. So I love I love that man I think that's that's great advice for people. And there's many of them out there. And if they're not there now they could be in the future. Just like what we talked about. So. Well cool. Well Leroy man, thank you very much for appearing on the podcast. This was awesome. You know, it was great chatting with you, very honest and authentic and genuine. And, you know, I hope that there's people out there listening that that will be interested in you. And I hope somebody sees some value in you, like I certainly do, because, you know, I'm well, I have a well-trained eye for this industry. And, uh, I think I just I respect you immensely for what you're doing and what you're talking about. And, uh, I wish you nothing but the best, man. I hope it ends up good for you. And I have ultimate respect for you, sir.
Leroy Pinckney Jr.
[00.44.30]
And then I thank you for that. And I just want to, uh, thank you as well for providing for providing the platform, uh, to allow me to express, um, you know, some, like you said, show up intensity. Uh, this is this is delivery that you get and this delivery that you see every day. And this is not someone who is, you know, perpetrating this is who I am, raw and and direct. And so I appreciate you for providing the platform to allow me to, uh, try to reach the masses and help and help someone, uh, in this interesting situation. I'm
Ben Hopkins
[00.45.05]
happy to do it, man. I'm happy to do it. And this is what was what we're here for. And I want good things to happen. I want to get things to come your way. And if I can play a small part in that, I'm honored to do that. So thanks again, Leroy. It was awesome. Thank you again coming on the show, sir. Thank you. Yeah, you got it. All right guys, that concludes today's show. Thanks again Leroy Pinkney Jr. If you have a distribution center, a fulfillment center or warehouse, and you're looking for a senior leader to come in there and really take hold of it, he's your guy. He's your guy. Contact him, talk with him. Find him on LinkedIn. Excellent, excellent. Excellent. Person. As the warehouse underground goes. Please sign up for the community. If you have not done so. We have over 300 members who are in that community. We've got message boards in their networking. We've done some live events in there that you can see and some more coming down the pipe. So sign up for free at the Warehouse Underground Comm, and also check out the Tiger Team show. That's the other podcast spinoff that I do with my co-host, Jordan. It's all about things going on in warehouses, DCS and NFC's The Life, but it has a little bit of a witty, sarcastic, humorous slant to it. So if you guys are into something like that, I think you'll really enjoy the show. So as this podcast goes, thanks again, Leroy for appearing on the show. I will see you guys next week for episode number 41. God bless.
