You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to.
Don't know the difference between matte paint finish or satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all in the app. Download today. This message comes from Greenlight. Ready to start talking to your kids about financial literacy? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app that teaches kids and teens how to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with your guardrails in place. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending with real-time notifications. Join millions of parents and kids building healthy financial habits together on Greenlight. Get started risk-free at greenlight.com slash iHeart.
This is Jana Kramer from Windown with Jana Kramer. Have you ever felt that uneasy anxiety when the 4 p.m. hour strikes? The creeping meal related distress that happens when you don't quite feel prepared? You know, dinner dread. Let's get rid of that unpleasant feeling forever with one word, Stouffer's. No matter what happens, you'll have a dinner plan that everyone loves with Stouffers. Some chicken enchiladas or a cheesy chicken and broccoli pasta bake is always welcome whether it is Plan A or Plan D-licious. When the clock strikes dinner, think Stouffers.
Shop now for family favorites. I've never felt like this before. It's like you just get me. I feel like my true self with you. Does that sound crazy? And it doesn't hurt that you're gorgeous.
Okay, that's it. I'm taking you home with me. I mean, you can't find shoes this good just anywhere. Find a shoe for every you from brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike, Adidas, and more at your DSW store or dsw.com. I already love same day delivery with Shipt, but it's so much better since I signed up for Target Circle 360. Why? Because I no longer pay price markups from the majority of stores through Shipt. Only a handful of alcohol retailers and items don't count. That means no markups on groceries, pet food, even home goods and makeup. So to recap, I have more time to catch up on life while someone shops for me and I spend less. It's a win-win.
Order now at Shipt.com slash 360. Terms apply. And we return to Our American Stories. And when you hear that music, it's time for our Final Thoughts series where we hear final thoughts about loved ones who've passed away.
And today's Final Thoughts is a bit different than usual. It's a business story. John Bryan was running his family's third generation sausage company, Bryan Foods, until he moved to Chicago to become CEO of the well-known parent company, Sara Lee. But who would run their family business?
George Bryan picks up the story and honors his brother, John. When my brother went to Chicago and I became president of the company here and I was 29 years old, I guess, and when he told me that he wanted me to run the business. And of course, I didn't want to run the business. I told him to give it to somebody else and I would back him up and give me two or three years, but he wouldn't let me do that. He wanted me to take over. And of course, I doubted myself and I think he doubted too, but I think he had enough confidence.
He thought I could learn it pretty quick. I'd been there 10 years working all in the plant, manufacturing, sales, marketing. I just hadn't run the business, but I knew a lot about the business and we had a lot of good people there. At the time, a lot of seasoned veterans there that he thought would better support me maybe than somebody else. My name was Bryan for one and I didn't understand that. I didn't realize that, but he thought that if I didn't fumble the ball that they would support me and he was right.
They did. Our people enjoyed working there and they took a lot of pride in it, which makes a big difference now. Of course, after a while I liked it, but I didn't like it the first year or two because I was trying to learn so much. Then when he left, when he left he told me he was going to write a letter and send it to me. I didn't think a lot about it. I thought, well good, I'm sure it'll tell me a lot of what I need to do. I just didn't think about it that much because I was so busy thinking about the business and what I was going to do to run the business and work with people. I wasn't waiting on the letter, believe me. I had a nod in my head for about a year that I didn't know what it was, but it was just stress and trying to determine the right course. I can remember being in an executive meeting and I was making a decision. This was after maybe six months and I had a lot of doubt. This one person said, I don't know whether your brother would do it that way. I said, well, you know where the train is. I said, it's right out here.
You can take it to Chicago if you want to work for him anymore. From then on, I didn't have any trouble making decisions because I'll never forget it. Then the whole committee just kind of looked at him. When I said that, he turned about three shades of red and he never questioned me again. Not that I made every decision right, but he knew I wasn't going to let him throw my brother up to me. I never felt anything bad about my brother. I respected him so much. I wasn't jealous of him or anything like that. I didn't have those kinds of feelings. I just told him, I said, you can go to Chicago if you want to work for him anymore.
He didn't leave. I really wasn't thinking about the letter. Then maybe a couple of months later, I received a letter from him that really explained how he thought the business should be run. It was a classic letter to your brother of what to do and what not to do. I still read it today. I based my business philosophy off that letter.
I read it many, many times. I don't know whether anybody asked him to do it. I think he was probably afraid because he was running an overall business so he didn't want Bryan Foods to fail. He did it for that. If you followed his letter, it was hard to fail if you really stayed on what he said.
He said, dear George, leadership of any management involves properly selecting, training, organizing, and motivating the people. You cannot spend too much time improving your skills for doing this. Sometimes I think that's a natural. Some people have it naturally.
Some people have to learn it. I won't discuss all kinds of motivation techniques. It is perhaps worthwhile to read up on this, but the ability to motivate people is in a large part common sense and instinct. To me, everybody has a different button to push. You can't motivate everybody the same way. Some people you have to praise. Some people like to be kicked in the rear end. There are just different ways to motivate people. I tried to learn with each person, each direct report to me, how to motivate them, how to get them fired up about their part of the business and how important it was to the overall success of the business.
That was interesting. Obviously, you like some people better than others. You got along better with others.
Some people you didn't want to meet with as frequently because you just didn't get along with them as well, but you have to make yourself appreciate everybody that you're working with and that everybody has a contribution. How do you pull that out? How do you understand that? We thought about that a lot. I thought about that a lot. We thought about that a lot.
I thought about that a lot. And on planning, he talked about a management that does no planning will go nowhere. There are a lot of companies that really didn't plan well in those days. Planning is by no means restricted to formal budgets and long-range plans. More importantly, in my judgment, affecting planning is a continuous exercise expressed in an attitude which causes everyone to be thinking creatively about what can be done to constantly improve performance. And this was a big factor for me is constant improvement. I'd say every day, everybody comes to work every day wanting to make improvements, wanting to improve the business. And I think you have to have that attitude.
Prices can be raised, yields can be improved, costs can be lowered, expenses can be reduced, and volume can be increased. Something can always be done. We never had a defeatist attitude. If we had a problem, we found a way to correct the problem and move on.
Generally, even though we presently have a strong momentum going for us, you should always run scared. And that was emboldened in me. And that was emboldened in me to never be satisfied, to feel like we can make it. Not that you don't praise people when you have a good week, but you've got to realize it all starts over the next day.
And it's not about what you did for me last week, it's what you're going to do for me this week. So we had that kind of attitude. We praised our success, but we didn't linger on it.
We didn't dwell on it. We were always thinking about how to improve. And that came back from my father and my uncle. Years ago, they had the same drive when they started the business in 1936. They wanted to build a nice business and grow it and improve it. And that was instilled in us, in my brother and in me. And my brother instilled it in me. And he says, success breeds success unless complacency sets in.
Therefore, never let anyone be completely satisfied, for the job is never fully finished. Good luck. Sincerely, Johnny. So that's the kind of way he ended. He said, good luck.
I'm going to need a lot of luck. But I read the letter over and over and probably read it later later on in my career than I did early on. I mean, I read it and kind of memorized it. And you don't really realize until five, 10 years later that you're operating under that philosophy. It's been embedded in you and embedded in generations, from my grandfather to my father, to my uncle, to us. It stays with you forever.
Final thoughts, the late John Bryan's letter to his brother, George, here on Our American Story. You don't want vacation to end, but with Amex Platinum, you earn five times membership rewards points on prepaid hotels and more booked through AmexTravel.com. So you're already planning the next one. Book your room with fine hotels and resorts through Amex Travel and get an upgrade when available, plus guarantee 4 p.m. checkout.
So you have time to check out the pool before flying off to what's next. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply. Learn more at AmericanExpress.com with Amex CST 1022318. Behind every successful business is a vision. Bringing it to life takes more than effort. It takes the right financial foundation and support. That's where Chase for Business comes in.
With convenient digital tools, helpful resources, and personalized guidance, we can help your business forge ahead confidently. Learn more at Chase.com backslash business. Chase for Business.
Make more of what's yours. The Chase mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC, copyright 2025, JPMorgan Chase & Company. This message comes from Greenlight. Ready to start talking to your kids about financial literacy? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app that teaches kids and teens how to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with your guardrails in place. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending with real-time notifications. Join millions of parents and kids building healthy financial habits together on Greenlight. Get started risk-free at Greenlight.com slash I heart. Hey, Janice Torres here.
And I'm Austin Hankiewicz. We're the hosts of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Catch up on seasons one and two and join us for a brand new season of the podcast as we talk to small business owners about how they manage and grow their businesses with the help of platforms like Intuit QuickBooks. Listen to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And your eyes deserve extra. Find refresh online or in the eye drop section at all major retailers, FSA and HSA eligible. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.
