Speaker A

When mistakes cost lives, leadership stops being theoretical and becomes real.

Speaker B

Our customers today leave their homes in the morning and fully expect to return home to their families at the end of every day.

Speaker B

And the disaster that occurs in a high voltage environment or situation is not an acceptable outcome.

Speaker A

That's Parker Burke, group president over at Fluke.

Speaker A

Leading teams whose tools stand behind a normal day in catastrophe.

Speaker A

In power grids, hospitals, mines and data centers around the world.

Speaker B

You have to stop thinking about the what ifs and you have to think about, potentially the wins.

Speaker A

Most leaders manage spreadsheets, but Parker leads in environments where a 99% success rate still isn't good enough because the remaining 1% can mean injury, disaster, or death.

Speaker B

Having spent time in these environments where the consequences are real and these decisions that you make as a leader become incredibly practical, they become real to those who trust you.

Speaker A

In this episode, we break down how to lead teams when failure isn't an option.

Speaker A

How purpose replaces fear as the motivator.

Speaker A

And how high stakes leaders make decisions under pressure without freezing or cutting corners.

Speaker A

And this is what high stakes leadership actually looks like.

Speaker A

Welcome back to Lead the Team.

Speaker A

I'm your host, Ben Fanning.

Speaker A

And this conversation that you're going to hear is meant to challenge, inspire and ripple out.

Speaker A

It's not just a podcast.

Speaker A

It's a positive movement to build better leaders.

Speaker B

And.

Speaker A

And you can help by taking just 10 seconds to rate and follow on Apple, Spotify and YouTube and drop a quick review over on Apple.

Speaker A

This helps more bold leaders discover the show and keeps the mission alive.

Speaker A

Enjoy.

Speaker A

You've consistently chosen leadership paths that carry life and death stakes, and this immediately jumped out at me.

Speaker A

You're a Marine Corps officer.

Speaker A

You led industrial scientific work.

Speaker A

Explicit mission was to end workplace death.

Speaker A

I mean, talk about a noble calling.

Speaker A

And now you lead Fluke, where the tools are the only thing standing between a technician and a potential catastrophic arc flash or a grid failure.

Speaker A

What is that like carrying that weight?

Speaker B

Well, you know, I can tell you, for many years, I pinch myself every morning waking up and with the opportunity and the trust that I've been given by others throughout my career, truly an honor and one that and a responsibility that I don't take lightly.

Speaker B

And this trust that others, my team, our customers, my Marines over the years inspire and motivate me each day to give best to my team and our customers each and every day.

Speaker A

How much responsibility do you feel?

Speaker B

You know, I, you know, I think that having spent time in these environments where the consequences are real, you know, whether during my time in The Marine Corps, whether spending time with customers in a mine, a steel mill, or more, you know, I have to stop thinking about the.

Speaker B

The what ifs.

Speaker B

And you have to think about, you know, potentially the wins and these decisions that you make as a leader become, you know, incredibly practical.

Speaker B

They become real and consequential to those who trust you.

Speaker A

Yeah, I bet.

Speaker A

Although I've never experienced this firsthand, you know, I look at your industries and you know, obviously in war or two, where, but especially in these, in these industries, where a 99% success rate, where a lot of industries would just be like, you know, you'd be like in the Gartner magic quadrant in the top or upper right hand, and you'd be getting recognized.900 success rate for you guys is, you know, like at Fluke is not good.

Speaker A

Right?

Speaker A

You're striving for perfection.

Speaker A

And, you know, think about your Marine teams, think about other teams you've led.

Speaker A

How are you managing a team of thousands and thousands of people?

Speaker A

Would that fear of the 1% failure rate sort of hanging over your head and still able to innovate and move forward with things that a lot of people would perceive to be risky?

Speaker B

You know, I mean, I think about the responsibility that Fluke people around the world, industrial scientific people, or the Marines that I've led, you know, they have the opportunity of responsibility, which means that consistency in serving those who trust us is imperative.

Speaker B

You know, our customers, absolutely, as you note, demand perfection and consistent execution.

Speaker B

Adherence to tight processes, and really, more than anything, a true desire to lean in and serve others is something that I think ultimately makes our teams successful.

Speaker B

You know, we pay them the compliment of extremely high expectations to deliver for our customers.

Speaker B

Each and every day, all these staff.

Speaker A

Meetings go when you're, you're like, wait a minute, like you.

Speaker A

I mean, because perfection is impossible.

Speaker A

I mean, do we, do you.

Speaker A

I mean, we agree with that.

Speaker A

I mean, I'm assuming, like, this is the reality.

Speaker A

Like you say, sometimes it's not if, it's when.

Speaker A

How do you, how are you talking to your team about that and, and helping them live with the challenges and the life and death stakes that you're.

Speaker B

Yeah, man, I think it, you know, it's, it goes back to.

Speaker B

You're really measuring what matters.

Speaker B

And again, that relentless adherence to, to processes and standards.

Speaker A

So it's like trust the process.

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean, it's process, but it's also, you know, there's, there's process, but there's hiring people, building people, developing teams that have a true desire and are inspired by serving others in an incredible way.

Speaker B

And ultimately I think that's what helps to deliver to those extremely high expectations that our customers have for us.

Speaker A

Thinking about your career again and sort of these, like the long line of your career and you've chosen these industries.

Speaker A

Was there a time early on in your life or something you saw or a person who, you know, you went to the, went to the Academy, the Naval Academy, and you decided, hey, I'm going to just go all in on these types of things.

Speaker A

And you figure.

Speaker A

And then the second question is, was there a moment when you discovered that you had a knack for leading teams and businesses that do you have this life or death stakes?

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean, I think back to times, you know, my time is at the Naval academy.

Speaker B

You know, September 11th happened my senior year right before graduation.

Speaker B

And it really codified in me a desire to serve others.

Speaker B

And seeing the catastrophe and disaster that occurred in New York city and Washington D.C. and the fields of Pennsylvania that day, and more importantly those first responders who ran up the stairs of the Twin Towers to save people and bring them to safety, just something that truly inspired me towards a life of A leadership and then B safety and protection of others.

Speaker A

Then you went into the military, experienced combat.

Speaker A

What was all that like the stuff that you had prepared for at the academy that you'd been Inspired by during 9, 11 and then, you know, thrown into an environment in a war zone essentially.

Speaker B

Ultimately it's about taking care of those men and women to your right and to your left and ensuring that they're brought home safely to their families at the end, at the end of a deployment.

Speaker B

And you know, that's, that's where it all started for me.

Speaker B

And that continues into my life of service and leading companies and teams that do incredibly honorable things for the world.

Speaker B

Our customers today leave their homes in the morning and fully expect to return home to their families at the end of every day.

Speaker B

And a disaster that occurs in a mine or a steel mill or an accident that may occur in a high voltage environment or situation is not an acceptable outcome.

Speaker B

And the responsibility that our employees around the world have to prevent that is critical.

Speaker A

What do you think leaders in your specific industry can teach sort of the rest of the world about relay?

Speaker A

I'm thinking about, maybe it's about like how to inspire to a high level of quality or maybe it's, I mean like there are a lot of things I could think about, but what do you think?

Speaker A

Maybe like one of the bigger lessons is from these high Stakes industries can really teach those that are maybe in businesses that, that don't have the same stakes.

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean I think that in, in today's world I'm reminded every day about the purpose driven culture is what really inspires teams to go out and do great things.

Speaker B

Whether that is, you know, previously industrial scientific to the strive to eliminate death on the job by the year 2050 or here at Fluke where you know, we strive to, to keep the world up and running each and every day.

Speaker B

Rallying teams around the world around a purpose driven, something that really makes the world a better place is, is an imperative.

Speaker A

Yeah, that makes, it makes a lot of sense.

Speaker A

You guys have really mastered the leadership of purpose and making sure that this is communicated, making sure everybody along the supply chain understands it.

Speaker A

Although when I think about sort of like the supply chain inside the organization, you kind of control that.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

They know who you are.

Speaker A

But today, in today's business and I want to get into sort of the direction Fluke is also heading in.

Speaker A

But you're probably going to be more dependent on people that are not at Fluke.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

They're in your suppliers, they're in other organizations.

Speaker A

How do you get those people aligned to this life or stakes mission that everyone seems to understand inside a Fluke?

Speaker B

Yeah, I think that as we look to both our suppliers and or our customers, we strive to partner with people who have similar mindsets that we do.

Speaker B

And when you look at a supplier and they have the opportunity to support us and also participate in our mission of keeping the world up and running each and every day, we want suppliers that are inspired by that.

Speaker B

And I think about our fantastic team who in that interacts, engages with and develops this supply chain.

Speaker B

That's something they focus on in their daily work and they've done a great job of it.

Speaker A

You know, I think about you guys in this because other leaders listening like they, I think organizations right now are being sort of forced to think outside their company about their suppliers more than ever, especially with digitization and AI so that they can't necessarily be experts always inside the organization and recognizing that if your suppliers don't understand your purpose and your mission and you're then they're not tied in, it's making your job a lot harder.

Speaker A

So it sounds like you guys have got a plan for that.

Speaker B

And we do.

Speaker B

I mean I think, you know, we spend time, you know, we're a.

Speaker B

The Ford business system truly drives our productivity, efficiency and quality of products that we deliver to our customers each and every day.

Speaker B

And, and we spend time with suppliers in doing different Kaizen events, continuous improvement events, where we also help them to deliver the same productivity, efficiency and quality in the products that they deliver to us.

Speaker A

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Speaker A

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Speaker A

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Speaker A

That's BenLeads.com schedule.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

What a great way to build connection with your suppliers than to actually help them fix their problems.

Speaker A

It seems like it's a great way to be.

Speaker A

Now, for the listeners that aren't familiar with Fluke, and I didn't understand it as well as I do now, I mean, Fluke, like, the brand is iconic with the industry.

Speaker A

It's got like a special yellow color and design and like, if you're in this business and you're in the industries like that Parker was talking about, like, you know, Fluke, and it seems like it would be easy for Fluke to sort of hang its hat on.

Speaker A

Hey, we're, you know, like, we're the, we're the legends in this industry.

Speaker A

No one can beat us.

Speaker A

You know, I would say probably most people who need like your measurement devices, they're just going to get a Fluke, right?

Speaker A

Like, they're going to get that device.

Speaker A

It's almost like ubiquitous.

Speaker A

Ubiquitous with like Googling on the Internet.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

You're going to get Fluke.

Speaker A

But, you know, you, you've talked about, you know, there's something broken in your industry.

Speaker A

You've got a bold fix for this.

Speaker A

Why?

Speaker A

Why is Fluke, like, what is the big change you're doing?

Speaker A

And why not just chill out and like, why start innovating so much when you have the brand, you know, you already have the trust and you also don't have a lot of margin for error in what you do.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker B

You know, first off, I'll touch on Fluke overall.

Speaker B

You know, you commented on the Fluke brand.

Speaker B

It is a tremendous brand because of the legacy we've built since our founding.

Speaker B

And, you know, one of the unique things about the Fluke brand is that our customers are equally as invested in it as we are, because in many cases it defines who they are in their careers, which products that they use, and you know, those that use Fluke devices have reached the pinnacle of their, their careers.

Speaker B

And, you know, I have the opportunity to try to travel around the world and spend time with our teams.

Speaker B

And as I tell our team, I've never actually walked through an airport with a Fluke shirt on, a Fluke pullover, a Fluke vest, and haven't had somebody stop me and ask me if I work for Fluke and what a fantastic company it is.

Speaker B

And they've used a Fluke product or they've had a Fluke product that has been passed down through their family for many years.

Speaker B

And so the brand truly is a fantastic one.

Speaker A

In the airports are testing their H Vacs, they're testing all their electrical equipment.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

They're using that Fluke device every single day, multiple times.

Speaker A

And it's just.

Speaker B

That's right.

Speaker B

And it doesn't matter if it's somebody that's, you know, I've been in national laboratories where our calibration equipment is defining the definition of a vault all the way through to the technician who's coming into each of our homes and helping us keep our home electricity up and running.

Speaker B

There's a lot of people who trust our products to help them get their work done safely and efficiently each and every day.

Speaker B

And as we look at the world is changing dramatically with the advent of AI or the proliferation of AI, the growth of data centers around the world.

Speaker B

And our customers are demanding that we do things that are new to the world, that are helping them be more efficient, more capable and delivering on the needs of their customers in a way that we haven't seen before.

Speaker A

Well, do you think these technicians are going to be open to this?

Speaker A

All the changes that you guys are making?

Speaker A

I mean, it's, they've got a certain way of doing their, doing their jobs and they might, you know, I read a little bit about the digitization and it sounds like you're really revolut trying to revolutionize this whole thing.

Speaker A

But this is an industry that's used to it.

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean, technicians are asked, are being asked to do more and more each and every day.

Speaker B

And you think about, you know, artificial intelligence and the, the enormous potential that it has to support the technician on the job.

Speaker B

Well, you know, as the, their, the, the needs that they have stack up, their capacity is only so great and AI enables them, supports them to do their jobs better.

Speaker B

It will never completely replace human interaction, but, you know, the accountability always will remain with that person doing the work.

Speaker B

But the technician needs these capabilities to do their jobs more efficiently and more safely.

Speaker A

And not to go too far down in the weeds, but I want to explain what I understand about this because I think it applies to a lot of different industries.

Speaker A

So Flu Cat's this amazing tool they use every day, but it stores all the data on the tool.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

It doesn't give it uploaded.

Speaker A

There's no predictive analytics to what's going to happen on that H vac system or in the laboratory.

Speaker A

So, so they can't get ahead of it.

Speaker A

And it's like more and I'll say it sounds like it's like these operators or technicians operate in a more of a human intuition capacity.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

They're, they're sort of locking into their job experience and a human intuition on this thing.

Speaker A

You guys bring in this whole digitization predictive analytics to be ahead of the problem.

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean you look at some of these large factories that are becoming more, the loads on them are only increasing and the reliability of those systems is becoming more and more of an imperative.

Speaker B

Whether it's in an industry, in an industry where productivity efficiency is becoming even more important because of rising costs or lower prices.

Speaker B

Reliability is critical in those environments through to some of the fastest growing industries in the world.

Speaker B

The cost of downtime is only increasing each and every day.

Speaker B

And our products services capabilities to help them predict reliably the uptime of their, of their equipment is, is something that they're striving towards.

Speaker A

If you were to leave Fluke tomorrow, what's the one survival story that you'd want a technician to tell about Fluke that saved their life or someone else's?

Speaker B

Yeah, you know, it's funny because the stories, the survival stories that matter most are the ones that nobody ever hears, you know, a technician using a Fluke tool in an incredibly hazardous environment.

Speaker B

They trust the reading that's delivered by the device, it does the job that's required and ultimately they go home safe to their families like any other job, whether it was a high stakes environment or not.

Speaker B

And you know, those are the survival stories, the ones that happen each and every day.

Speaker B

They're not necessarily dramatic.

Speaker B

And that's the point.

Speaker B

When our tools operate as expected, in tough conditions, we live up to those customers expectations day after day, month over month.

Speaker B

That's the legacy that Fluke has, has had since its founding and one that I can, that I strive to continue to deliver.

Speaker A

Getting your crystal ball out, you guys are really at the, the, the way I think about it, you're sort of like the picks and shovels aspect for, for the energy industry that you mentioned with, with data centers proliferating, the draw on the energy grid is greater than ever yesterday.

Speaker A

I understand this.

Speaker A

We're actually recording this in 2026 for our listeners.

Speaker A

It's supposed to increase over 4 to 5% a year.

Speaker A

In terms of our energy draw mainly being driven by AI that we've already talked about.

Speaker A

The flip side of this is we got the technician side and we've got issues because people aren't going into those industries necessarily.

Speaker A

So there's probably, there's a lot of forecasting on having shortage of workers in those.

Speaker A

And so here, here comes Fluke sitting sort of at the, sort of at the intersection of these two things.

Speaker A

What and what.

Speaker A

And I'm thinking for our leaders, what are the trends happening out there and the things keeping you up at night in terms of the, the these two industries?

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head.

Speaker B

We're in a unique intersection where the increase of power usage is going up at a dramatic rate at the same time in which we have a technician retirement cycle and we have experienced technicians who are leaving the workforce and going, enjoying retirement after incredibly successful careers.

Speaker B

We have new technicians who are coming in to learn these trades and help carry us into the future.

Speaker B

And you know, in addition to providing the greatest, the latest and greatest technologies to serve the increasing demand of power, Fluke is also actively involved in participating in the training, the development of the technicians of the future.

Speaker B

We're in trade schools each and every day teaching training, showing our products and teaching that next generation how to operate on the, on the best products in the world.

Speaker A

Yeah, I like that.

Speaker A

One of the things I'm taking away is you guys are being so proactive in developing your ecosystem.

Speaker A

It's not all about Fluke.

Speaker A

It's about your suppliers and the customers and doing their jobs.

Speaker A

And you guys are getting involved versus standing back and just sort of pointing the finger at all the gaps.

Speaker A

You guys are, you know, leading the team.

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean, I just look at the legacy of this company and this team and it's what we've done since our founding is to be a leader in an industry, you have to truly lead an industry.

Speaker B

And we have the opportunity, I believe, to co invent what the future looks like for the customers we serve each and every day.

Speaker A

I've got a few questions more on the personal side.

Speaker A

I could spend time talking about all these other things a lot and fluking all this, but I want to hear a little bit more about Your Marine background?

Speaker A

Because my understanding of the Marines is.

Speaker A

And Simon Sinek wrote that, wrote a great book, Leaders Eat Last.

Speaker A

And that's Marine culture, right?

Speaker A

Eat last, put the mission first.

Speaker A

But the corporate world is driven by ME metrics a lot of times, right?

Speaker A

Your goals, you achieving, and then you're kind of hoping or you're planning where everything else is going to kind of trickle down to everybody else.

Speaker A

I'm not saying you're running your team that way, but I do want to ask, what is the.

Speaker A

What's that friction like between military values and the demands of being a great president?

Speaker A

General?

Speaker B

Yeah, but I mean, you know, the officers eat last mindset is a mindset that permeates leadership in the Marine Corps.

Speaker B

And if you were to be with a group of Marines, whether you were in the field and eating MREs or you're at a formal event, you'd see an interesting phenomenon that by nature, naturally, Marines line up in reverse rank order with the idea that they need to serve those who they're responsible for first, nourish them before they take care of themselves.

Speaker B

And I think about how that equates to my role leading Fluke.

Speaker B

You know, I'm so fortunate that I lead what is the most talented team in the industry, in our market, and in geographies around the world.

Speaker B

Our customers trust this team.

Speaker B

They trust that we're designing the best products in the world to meet their needs.

Speaker B

They trust that we're out communicating the value, the capabilities of these products to ensure that they have the best products in their hands for the job that they're doing.

Speaker B

And they trust that we're manufacturing these things at a standard that far exceeds the expectations that they have when they come to work.

Speaker B

Yet your day and I have the best job of the world.

Speaker B

And my role in all of this is to support the team, to be successful in meeting these needs of our customers and the trust that they provide in us.

Speaker B

So as I think about how it relates to, you know, my, my training, my nature of officers Eat Last environment, you know, my role remains the same here.

Speaker B

How do I feed, nourish service, and support an incredible team each and every day before I serve myself, because this is what ultimately is going to enable Fluke and our employees to reach our potential overall.

Speaker A

When you see the.

Speaker A

And I can just imagine going to an event, there are a bunch of Marines there, and, you know, everybody gets in line and they're, they're sitting, they're.

Speaker A

They're standing at the back of the line.

Speaker A

What, what is the result that you saw of this in the Marines.

Speaker A

And what's the result that you see of how it translates in the corporate environment?

Speaker A

Like on a day to day?

Speaker A

You know, I think you see it.

Speaker B

Yeah, it, you know, I think it's all about servant leadership.

Speaker B

And when you serve those who you lead first, ultimately it gives them the opportunity to deliver a better outcome for those that trust them, Whether it's, you know, in the Marine Corps or the military, as they, as they seek to towards their mission, or whether it's in the corporate world.

Speaker B

When you serve, when you nourish, when you treat others, before you treat yourself and serve yourself, ultimately the organization has a better opportunity to succeed.

Speaker A

Being in the corner office, it can be a terrible place to get feedback because everyone's working for you, right.

Speaker A

Even if they want to give you good feedback, a lot of times they hold their tongue because they're like, Parker's the boss.

Speaker A

Where do you go when you need to get real feedback?

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

And how do you go about asking for it?

Speaker B

You know, I, I think that the, the best, first off, the best place to go is the place where the work is done.

Speaker B

We use a term called gemba, which means a place, a Japanese word indicating where the, the work is done.

Speaker B

And that work is being done in a variety of places that could be being done on the factory floor where teams are assembling and putting together our products to go serve customers, or they can be being done in the hands of an electrician out, out in the market.

Speaker B

And, and I think that I seek to, and encourage my teams to get to those places where the work is being done in order to, to get the real truth, to seek out the truth and then have the courage to speak up and speak the truth back to the broader team.

Speaker A

Wow, cool.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Gamba.

Speaker A

I'm like, I'm dusting off my 10 years of Honeywell.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

But it's so, yes, I, I believe in the Gamba and a gimbal walk, as we talked about a lot.

Speaker A

And I love it when the President's coming in and like, yeah, we get, it's like I, you know, I go through to feedback, I go to the floor and I look to see what's happening.

Speaker A

Because the corporate office can be a little bit about guessing or assuming that we know what's happening.

Speaker A

And unless you get on the floor, do you really even know?

Speaker A

You might be surprised.

Speaker B

Yeah, that's right.

Speaker B

I mean, I think back to early in my career, one of my first roles when I was with Gilbarco Vitorud A former Fortif company, I took the opportunity to go work first shift in a convenience store for a week where I took out the trash, I cleaned the gas pumps, I rung customers up at the point of sale and with the desire of how do I truly learn how customers use our products.

Speaker B

Take another opportunity to go right along with salespeople, spend a week with them behind the windshield and understand their day to day interactions with our products, with their own support teams and our customers so that I can help design systems, processes and capabilities that enable them to be most successful in the work they're doing every day.

Speaker A

Do you have an example or a favorite example or instance where you did the Gemba?

Speaker A

You worked in the convenience store and then ended up paying off in your decision making for the organization?

Speaker B

Yeah, I mean I have countless examples where you're spending time with a salesperson writing and understanding the challenge that they face every day.

Speaker B

As I say, sometimes the hardest roles in a company are the ones that are the furthest away from the flagpole and seeing the challenges.

Speaker B

Whether it's how our own support team serve and support those salespeople or how our customers and the demands that they put on our salespeople.

Speaker B

You know, when I see those things firsthand, it enables me to work with the team and and help design systems processes that ultimately make those people as successful as they possibly can be.

Speaker A

Right on.

Speaker A

Such a power in that.

Speaker A

And leaders don't forget it.

Speaker A

It's easy to get glued to that chair when you got a lot of emails coming in and presentations coming up, but it can pay off so much to get out in the field.

Speaker A

Parker, here are a couple of rapid fire questions for you.

Speaker A

What is the one thing you do every morning at 5am Other than this interview because you're up early on the west coast?

Speaker A

Yeah, y' all get hats off to Parker for waking up so early.

Speaker A

But what.

Speaker A

What is the one thing you do every morning at 5am to prepare your mind for the day?

Speaker B

Well, the best the thing that I think is best about 5am is generally speaking it's the time in which nobody bothers you and it's the time where you can settle your thoughts, get ready for the day ahead, prepare yourself for for what lies ahead.

Speaker B

For me, I'm typically in trying to get some physical activity in.

Speaker B

At 5 o' clock this morning it's by my alarm went off and I got on my peloton and did a couple of different workouts.

Speaker B

In prior lives I've been a part of different boot camp and workout Groups that inspire and drive me towards, towards my best.

Speaker B

But I think that's the beauty of 5am is that it's a time in which, generally speaking, nobody's there to bother you.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

And they're not there because most people are sleeping.

Speaker A

And if you're willing to get up early before other people.

Speaker A

Yeah, the world is quiet.

Speaker A

And I mean, that can be some of your most clear headed work.

Speaker A

Tom, thinking back over your career, could be in the military, could be, you know, one of your other executive jobs.

Speaker A

But is there a moment that you still replay in your head sometimes wondering if you could have handled those stakes differently?

Speaker B

You know, we've noted before I've been given incredible, the honor of incredible responsibilities to take care of others, whether it's my time in the Marine Corps or my professional life.

Speaker B

And I can certainly say my record is far from perfect.

Speaker B

And I think what devastates me is when I hear about somebody who was injured or killed on the job, someone who left their house in the morning to, to go to their shift or in the afternoon to go to their shift, kiss their family goodbye and didn't return home that day.

Speaker B

And unfortunately it, it happens far too often.

Speaker B

And you know, those are the things that, those are the tragedies that are painful and, and those are the things that, that devastate me because it means that we still have work to do that we have in design, systems, processes, tools that are simple enough to use or straightforward enough to use that ultimately take care of those who trust us.

Speaker A

How much does being president at work make it harder to be relaxed and father and friend at home?

Speaker B

Well, you know, as a noted, I, I've got the best job in the world.

Speaker B

I lead an incredibly talented fluke team around the world.

Speaker B

However, the best title that I'll ever have is certainly being a dad.

Speaker B

And I hit the jackpot with an amazing wife and mother, two or three fantastic children.

Speaker B

People, when they want to get to know me, they asked, often ask me about, you know, what my hobbies are, what I love to do outside of work, and, and I can honestly tell people that my best joy in the world is spending time with my family, spending time with my kids, whether it's, you know, this time of year, skiing in the mountains, summertime, we love to ski on lakes, coaching them in ball fields across town.

Speaker B

You know, my children are certainly my biggest blessing and I've got three of them at home that wait for me every day when I leave the office.

Speaker A

I love coaching, man, I love it.

Speaker A

My daughter's 15 now, and I don't get to coach her anymore.

Speaker A

At least I try to coach her, but sometimes she's so much easier.

Speaker A

What's the most uncomfortable truth about leading a legacy brand like fluke in 2026?

Speaker B

You know, I think about, you know, if you think about the legacy of a brand like Fluke is that we can't rest on the laurels of a reputation that we've built over years.

Speaker B

Our customers trust us because of the decades of performance that we deliver to them.

Speaker B

But we have to earn that trust day after day, week after week, month after month.

Speaker B

And legacy doesn't buy us relevance forever.

Speaker B

We have to, as a business, continue to invest, continue to innovate, and continue to improve the service that we deliver to customers every day and every time they need us.

Speaker A

What's the one thing you've sacrificed over your career that sometimes you think, maybe not sure that was worth it?

Speaker B

You know, I think the biggest sacrifice that.

Speaker B

That all of us make in life is time where.

Speaker B

Where we choose to spend it, who we choose to spend it with.

Speaker B

And I think that, you know, I'm fortunate that I don't have any regrets on where I spend my time.

Speaker B

But my hope every day is that no matter the quantity of time that I'm able to dedicate, each moment is one of quality.

Speaker B

And whether it's spending time with valuable team members around the world, whether it's time spent with friends, my wife, my family, or my children, you know, I strive to make each of those moments as high quality as I can, because there's never going to be enough quantity, never gonna be enough of it to do.

Speaker A

Yeah, just that simple recognition of it's not about quantity, it's about quality.

Speaker A

And there's research that.

Speaker A

That goes on that how uninterrupted conversations make a bigger impact than interrupted conversations.

Speaker A

And anyone that's been having a conversation with a friend that's important and they pick their cell phone up in the middle and they look at it and you realize, okay, I'm not the most important thing here.

Speaker A

Like, you.

Speaker A

Like you quickly realize, hey, it's about equality and executives with high time demands.

Speaker A

I mean, that's a really powerful thing to land the plane on.

Speaker A

But before we do that, let me just open it up to you, Parker.

Speaker A

What's your parting thought for our listeners today?

Speaker B

You know, I think that you appreciate, Ben, you having me spend time with you and the audience today.

Speaker B

I'm honored to be able to share some of my experiences, but, you know, more excited maybe, to learn from others.

Speaker B

As Ben, you continue to interview and spend time with others who have had differing experiences.

Speaker B

You know, we all bring something unique and interesting to bear and whether it's our experience or the work that we're doing.

Speaker B

And I'm most excited to learn from the others who've had maybe different experiences that I have that I can apply to the work that I do is that as I strive, as many of us do, to deliver the best outcomes for our people and our customers every day.

Speaker A

Thanks for coming on.

Speaker A

Lead the team.

Speaker A

Parker.

Speaker B

Thank you, Ben.

Speaker B

Appreciate it.

Speaker B

All the best to you want to.

Speaker A

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Speaker A

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Speaker A

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Speaker A

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