in Milan; I was working out in Europe and flew out with my then-girlfriend, now wife, Kim. Not only to the concert but then we went to an Inter match. When [the band] came to the US, I went to five or six cities to see them play. I’d go for a weekend or fly for the night to go watch them.
X: What leadership lessons did you get from your parents?
JR: The biggest part is always about work ethic and just being respectful for folks. One of the things, and this has probably hit me a lot particularly this last week, is also just being grateful for what you have, and grateful for people. I’m a big believer in that. I come from pretty humble roots. It’s always been about working hard, just having gratitude for what you have versus what you want.
I grew up in a really close family where we all lived in the same neighborhood. My grandfather and grandmother lived around the corner. My mother’s best friend lives around the corner. My mother’s sister lives five minutes away. Everyone was just really close and we spent a lot of time together. Everybody grew up working; everybody had a job, things they did to contribute.
When we have our Monday meetings at Station, one of the things that we do as a team is before we get into “here’s what we have to get done this week,” we start out talking about something good that’s going on in our life, something we’re grateful about. Then we get into where we need help. It’s the idea of thinking about what’s happening—not, “hey, this event went well,” but “hey, I just had my baby.” It’s the “good and grateful” part which I’ve incorporated into our culture, which is really important to me.
X: What did you want to be when you were a kid?
JR: I had two things. I either wanted to work on Wall Street like my dad, or I wanted to play for the Yankees. I worked on Wall Street; the Yankees thing was never going to happen.
X: Where do you think your drive comes from?
JR: I think a lot of it comes from about my grandfather, who recently passed away. He was
