Episode 60
A CONVERSATION WITH BRENT BOHN
BRENT BOHN | LEADING WITH PURPOSE: BUILDING OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EXCELLENCE
Brent Bohn had no idea he was about to have his dreams crushed.
His father-in-law ran an organization that managed various McDonald’s restaurants, and Brent was learning how to lead and slowly rose through the ranks. Eventually, Brent became a manager of one of the locations.
He did so well that his father-in-law decided to have him give training to the other managers at his location—and even suggested that he might make Brent the next supervisor.
Excited to impress his father-in-law, Brent stayed up till 4 am cleaning his restaurant the night before the training.
When his father-in-law arrived, he remarked that he was super impressed with how clean the place was.
“Thanks,” Brent responded, “I stayed up all night cleaning it so today would be perfect.”
Without another word, Brent’s father-in-law called over the current supervisor and said:
​
“I want you to know that Brent will not be our next supervisor. A supervisor for me would not have to stay up all night to get their store clean—it would already be clean.”
Brent was crushed. After the training, he went home that night and almost quit. How could his father-in-law humiliate him this way?
In that moment, however, Brent decided he would prove his father-in-law wrong and turn things around. So he got to work on improving his leadership and management skills.
The result? Within a few months, Brent was made supervisor, and shortly thereafter his father stepped down to let him run the entire organization.
In our podcast together, Brent told me that what his father-in-law did that day was the best lesson he ever got in business and leadership.
In Brent’s words,
“You have to do the right things because they’re the right things to do—not to put on a show.”
Brent’s an incredible friend and mentor in my life, and I’m grateful that he took the time to come on my podcast.
.jpg)