This episode is with Casey Lackey, Area Manager for stores in North Carolina. In this interview, she explains the need for self-motivation, discusses the importance of providing a caring and nurturing environment for stylists coming out of beauty school and chronicles how she has thrived at Sport Clips.
| Episode Air Date |
Guest Name |
Guest Title |
Topic(s) |
| December 10, 2019 |
Casey Lackey |
Area Manager |
The importance of self-motivation and confidence |
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Transcription:
Chad Jordan: Hey everybody, this is Chad Jordan from Sport Clips. This is another edition of our Hall of Fame Podcast. Thanks for joining us today. I'm in lovely Charlotte, North Carolina and I've got a really special guest that we've had a blast the last couple of days. Well, I have had fun, I don't know about you.
Casey Lackey: I have.
Chad Jordan: But she's actually been responsible for some of the fun that I've had here, visiting stores especially. And I wanted to unpack her story a little bit. She's a legend around these here parts in North Carolina, so definitely wanted to to get her on the podcast, capture her story, and I don't know, maybe inspire others to follow in her footsteps. So without further ado, young lady, could you, why don't you do me a favor? Tell me, give me your name, area, what you do and, and who you do that for, and all that.
Casey Lackey: Okay. I'm Casey Lackey and I am a Sport Clips Area Manager for the Charlotte market. And I do it for Patrick Hardy, he's our team leader.
Chad Jordan: We call that Hardy Nation around here.
Casey Lackey: Hardy Nation around here.
Chad Jordan: And you've been with Sport Clips how long?
Casey Lackey: 12, 13 years.
Chad Jordan: Okay. So really, you grew up in Sport Clips to be honest.
Casey Lackey: Yes, this is all I've done.
Chad Jordan: So you're an OG.
Casey Lackey: OG.
Chad Jordan: I mean, right out of ... So you went to community college, beauty school? Or a school, a community college and got hired right away or was there ... Well, I mean, Sport Clips is already in the market? What was going on?
Casey Lackey: I actually got interviewed and hired in the Morrisville, North Carolina location.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: I actually went ... They hired me because I had convinced them that I could cut men's hair and I had convinced myself I could cut men's hair. So I went in for interview.
Chad Jordan: So is this 100% self confidence?
Casey Lackey: Oh, yes.
Chad Jordan: Or it's like you were just going to fake it till you make it kind of thing?
Casey Lackey: I convinced my ... I've thought I was the bomb.
Chad Jordan: And then a guy sat down in your chair and you went, "Oh wait a minute, maybe-"
Casey Lackey: No, they did my technical backwards.
Chad Jordan: Oh, okay.
Casey Lackey: They hired me, they loved me. From what I understand, they thought I was great and they just went ahead and hired me. And then they did my mannequin technical. And the manager at the time-
Chad Jordan: And they've already made the decision so it's not like they can withdraw.
Casey Lackey: They've already hired me, no backtracking.
Chad Jordan: We rescind the offer. You had them between a rock and a hard place.
Casey Lackey: And so I was, she stopped me about halfway through my mannequin and was like, "I guess we got some work to do." And then I spent about three to four weeks in Birkdale, that's where I met Sue Harris, my area manager. She's been my area manager for many, many, many years.
Chad Jordan: We love Sue. Yes, yes. Hi Sue, if you're listening or watching this on YouTube, hello.
Casey Lackey: So, she-
Chad Jordan: And Sue's the sweetest thing in the world.
Casey Lackey: Oh, yes.
Chad Jordan: So I'm sure she never made you feel inadequate or-
Casey Lackey: She actually did not teach me, she passed me to her staff because at that time she was running Birkdale and way too busy to deal with this kid that didn't-
Chad Jordan: Now here's a question, had it dawned on you by that time, like, "Okay, maybe I don't know"?
Casey Lackey: Had not a clue yet.
Chad Jordan: Okay, you still thought, "What is their problem?"
Casey Lackey: What is going on? Yeah.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: So these girls ... She set me up in the backroom ground, you know where, in Birkdale, right? It's teeny tiny back there. She set me up and she put this mannequin on there and she gave me a few instructions and I have no idea what I'm doing. And so then these girls come back to get their guards or towels and they're doing in between clean up stuff and they're coming up to me like, "No, no, no, you're doing that wrong." And I'm like, "Oh gosh, what's going on?" So they pretty much each, one by one, stood there and helped me get my grip on how to cut men's hair.
Chad Jordan: Why did you think you knew? Because at beauty school, I bet you weren't cutting a lot of men's hair. So did you think, you were just so confident?
Casey Lackey: I just thought I did. I'd done a few haircuts at the beauty school and decided when I came out that, I knew and I was doing, it was great. I'd done my brother's hair, it was great.
Chad Jordan: Did you ever have a devastating moment where it dawned on you that, "Man, I'm not as good as I thought?"
Casey Lackey: Yeah, after the third probably, stylist at Birkdale was like, "Oh-"
Chad Jordan: Bless your little heart.
Casey Lackey: Yes. "What did you do?" Just straight honesty.
Chad Jordan: On a live client?
Casey Lackey: No!
Chad Jordan: Okay, on the mannequin.
Casey Lackey: They had not let me out of that room.
Chad Jordan: Oh, okay.
Casey Lackey: No, it was that bad. I could cut them on and make it look like it, but I had no idea from that point, clearly. Yes.
Chad Jordan: So how long before they turned you loose?
Casey Lackey: Probably about three or four weeks I spent.
Chad Jordan: Wow.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, they really-
Chad Jordan: At any point are you going, "Maybe I'm not going to get this. Maybe I'm not cut out for this?" No pun intended.
Casey Lackey: No, they were very supportive. They really went above and beyond for what they needed to do with this person they had no idea-
Chad Jordan: They probably set you up well later for your manager career, and now area manager.
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: The fact that you had so much patience shown to you in an early stage of your Sport Clips career. So, okay. So eventually you break through and they give you a time on the cutting floor with an actual client.
Casey Lackey: I got really good at it. I got so good at, I was quick about it. So it was just something I was doing repetitively. It probably wasn't the best years of my life in Morrisville because I wasn't the best stylist that I could have been. I was probably the worst stylist you could probably imagine, in this way. When I tell this story-
Chad Jordan: You know, I can't imagine any bad stylists at Sport Clips, so I really don't know what you're talking about Casey.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, I could.
Chad Jordan: But yeah, working for another brand, I can imagine there being some bad ones. So you would rate yourself one out of 10.
Casey Lackey: One.
Chad Jordan: You would've given yourself a one on a Listen 360 survey.
Casey Lackey: All the way.
Chad Jordan: So shout out to ... Was it a Hardy store still?
Casey Lackey: No, it wasn't. That wasn't until 2011.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: He came in.
Chad Jordan: So at that point you're working for another. So whoever the team leader was, shout out to that to them.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, shout out for them, "I apologize."
Chad Jordan: For keeping you around. And for those eventually loyal clients who have come around.
Casey Lackey: So sorry.
Chad Jordan: And stuck with you. So what's the turning point in your career where you went from a one out of 10 to, I mean obviously now you're a 10 out of 10. What happened?
Casey Lackey: So Harris, once again, she picked me up and she put me-
Chad Jordan: Now, SUe was the manager at that-
Casey Lackey: No, she was my area manager.
Chad Jordan: Okay. So now she's the area manager at this time.
Casey Lackey: Yes. This is probably three years into-
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: Yeah. And I'm pretty hard to deal with at this point. So they decided that I obviously was bored and I needed something to do so they, "You know what, there's an opening at the management in the Hickory store, let's see what she can do." So, they-
Chad Jordan: Wow, so they're going to give you this shot even though as a proficient ... you're not as-
Casey Lackey: They saw something, I'm assuming they saw something, that I was just ... So they picked me up, they put me in the store and I cried for two weeks straight.
Chad Jordan: Well, what was so hard about going up-
Casey Lackey: It was the realization of, "You are now in charge of someone's income." And when the busy times are, and you have to, you're in charge.
Chad Jordan: And plus, they transfer you to another store, right? You're not cutting with the girls that you're normally hanging out with and familiar with and cracking jokes and all that kind of stuff. So, what was the intimidation factor like?
Casey Lackey: All of it, it was, you have a staff that you don't know. Who, they don't know, you don't know them. They got to trust you.
Chad Jordan: And looking back, do you think that maybe they were just rolling their eyes at, A, your manager style and B, your cutting skill at that time?
Casey Lackey: Probably, yeah.
Chad Jordan: Yeah? You know, imagine being in their shoes, right? And somebody comes in who's-
Casey Lackey: Oh, yeah.
Chad Jordan: So how did you survive that period? Did you ever feel like, "You know what, I'm just going to quit. I can't handle this. This isn't-"
Casey Lackey: No.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: I don't think I did. Looking back, I don't think I did. I think I found my challenge was just understanding that this was on me if it didn't work out. So-
Chad Jordan: You remember Tommy Callahan?
Casey Lackey: I do.
Chad Jordan: And he used to say, "If it's to be, it's up to me."
Casey Lackey: Yep.
Chad Jordan: Yeah. So it sounds like you embodied that that saying.
Casey Lackey: So it really ... I decided then I was going to be a better person, I was going to be, I was going to do what I had to do to grow this business, and I was going to take care of the people around me. And we were going to grow this business. I just made the decision.
Chad Jordan: So you're literally pulling yourself up from your bootstraps.
Casey Lackey: Pretty much. I'm growing up.
Chad Jordan: And you're having those talks, looking in the mirror, "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. Gosh darn it, people like me." And you're telling yourself that.
Casey Lackey: I've got to be an adult now, yeah.
Chad Jordan: Right. So how did you adult up? What kind of steps did you end up taking?
Casey Lackey: I just looked around me, I looked at the store that I had and the people that I had, and I was just decided then that we were going to do the right thing.
Chad Jordan: Did you lose any team members in the process who were like, "I'm not here for this."
Casey Lackey: One.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: In probably the first year.
Chad Jordan: Yeah.
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: How long before you start to hit your stride?
Casey Lackey: Six, seven months. We broke a goal real quickly.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: So what did you end up doing to motivate your team to break goals, to set records, to stick it out with you?
Casey Lackey: Probably my first couple of weeks there, they all sat me down, we had our one on one time. They told me things they didn't like about their job and a lot of it sounded really familiar on that end, and I just decided slowly that I was just decided slowly that I was going to do the opposite of what they ... I'm going to be that person.
Chad Jordan: You weren't going to be a source of frustration.
Casey Lackey: Yes.
Chad Jordan: Yeah. Not that you could solve everything but you weren't going to contribute to anything.
Casey Lackey: No. Yeah, I was going to show them that I care. That was my whole point. That we were going to have fun at work and I care about you.
Chad Jordan: What are some things that you did to show that you care?
Casey Lackey: Well, I guess some of their frustrations were ... Actually Tiffany, she's going to kill me if she ever sees this, Tiffany is still with me.
Chad Jordan: Oh, hey Tiffany. Hi.
Casey Lackey: So Tiffany.
Chad Jordan: You know what, I'm going to tag her in this to make sure she does see it.
Casey Lackey: Oh God, yeah. She needs to see this. So Tiffany was probably my ... She was my opening there because she had very little trust in the company and she had little trust in me and other people around her. And she probably kept me in my break room for about two hours telling me everything that needed to be worked on. And so I just took mental notes of everything. Well at the time she was about three months pregnant. And the whole time we were together while she was pregnant-
Chad Jordan: So we could blame a little bit of that on hormones. Hey, it might've been. I'm just saying if you want to give her an out.
Casey Lackey: I don't think so, she was that way after.
Chad Jordan: I'm trying to help you here Casey!
Casey Lackey: And I understood where she was coming from. For months she was worried about getting maternity leave. And this was on her mind and I had already checked in with Patrick about it and I already knew this was set up for her. And she did not trust me. She did not know me for for months and months and months. So-
Chad Jordan: So you reassuring her had really no weight with her?
Casey Lackey: Yeah, every day. This was an every week conversation. I'm like, "I will give you my paycheck, I am so sure of this." So, Patrick came to visit me for the first time since I had been a manager to just sit down and, "Hey, I'm glad you're here" lunch. And he's leaving, she is coming in. Well, she sees him and she turns real fast through the parking lot to get-
Chad Jordan: Oh, she's already in her car. Eerr! She does a burn out.
Casey Lackey: She sees him and she's tapping on his window and I'm going, "Oh no, what's going on?" And then she says, "I'm Tiffany, and I work here, and I'm pregnant, and I want to make sure I'm getting maternity leave."
Chad Jordan: Had he ever met her before?
Casey Lackey: No!
Chad Jordan: Oh my God!
Casey Lackey: And he said, "Yeah, I know. Nice to meet you." She said, "Okay, well you have a great day." And she come in and I'm just watching her walking through the story. "Okay. He said it was cool, we were good." And I was like, "Oh."
Chad Jordan: Wow.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, but I got it. She needs to trust me.
Chad Jordan: And how many years ago was that?
Casey Lackey: It's now eight, I think. Yeah.
Chad Jordan: So, obviously the trust factor has come through.
Casey Lackey: Three years into it, yes. She quit questioning.
Chad Jordan: Well, better late than never.
Casey Lackey: She quit questioning things. She's not one to like change, but she quit questioning. I remember the day. I turned around, I looked at her, "She didn't ask me why!"
Chad Jordan: It was so new and-
Casey Lackey: She's like, "Oh, you got it."
Chad Jordan: You hadn't felt that before. That's the day you became manager in her eyes.
Casey Lackey: Yes.
Chad Jordan: That's really what happened, right? What are some things, because we'll talk about being an area manager in a minute, but what are some things that you're most proud of when you managed? Whether it was building culture in your store or pep rallies? What are some things that other managers or team members out there that want to be a manager, listening to, could-?
Casey Lackey: I enjoyed pep rallies. I enjoyed watching people-
Chad Jordan: Okay, so it wasn't necessary fun. Pep rallies weren't like, "Ug, mandatory fun.
Casey Lackey: No, this was fun.
Chad Jordan: Yeah, okay.
Casey Lackey: We weren't going to do stuff that wasn't fun. We were always playing games. They always had a lesson to them, but they were always-
Chad Jordan: So you embraced that?
Casey Lackey: Yes.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: Laughing at work, that was big for me.
Chad Jordan: I think it still is.
Casey Lackey: Yeah. First thing in the morning, they always make fun of me. When I would open, they would come in and I'd be like, "Hello!" first thing in the morning. And they were like, "Oh my gosh, I haven't had my coffee."
Chad Jordan: You have any coffee?
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: I was out too late.
Casey Lackey: But it's really how you start their day. And I wanted to make sure, even if I came in in the morning or in the afternoon, I wanted to make sure, when I walked through the door-
Chad Jordan: It was a happy occasion.
Casey Lackey: Oh, yeah. They knew I was there. I love to laugh at work. Great day, all day long.
Chad Jordan: You're already there, away from your family. You're not at the beach. So why make it miserable?
Casey Lackey: Exactly.
Chad Jordan: So you might as well enjoy it. You're going to be there that whole time.
Casey Lackey: Exactly. And I, always, always, always, when we have our downtime, we're cutting up, laughing, doing silly, stupid, cutting up things. Whether ... Poor Patrick, I hope he never sees this.
Chad Jordan: I guarantee Patrick will see this. So-
Casey Lackey: We would do like different little stuff. It was being bored and having fun at work and getting to have a good time.
Chad Jordan: I will say, and this is a shout out to #hardynation. The best social media culture of a multiunit team leader that are out there. I can't even think right now who's second because ... Actually I can, it might be the Roberts, Dan and Angie Roberts. But it seems like all the stores embrace that mental ... And I don't know if, now that you're an area manager, I don't know if you started that trend or not for them, but it really does seem like everyone enjoys it. You guys take fun risks on social media. Safe, fun risks and do things.
Casey Lackey: Please don't' get hurt.
Chad Jordan: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Was that yesterday I was telling you not to get hurt when you were standing on something?
Casey Lackey: Oh gosh.
Chad Jordan: Maybe it was today, but yeah, it feels like you guys really have promoted this fun environment. You want to work for us. And what I see, maybe I'm crazy, I visited a lot of stores and it seems like you guys are staffed pretty well, all the Hardy Nation stores that I go to. I think there's something to this having fun at work thing.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, it doesn't have to be work to me.
Chad Jordan: Yeah, like I said, you're going to spend all this time with these people, you might as well get along, you might as well have fun. They're going to pay you to be there, why not to enjoy it?
Casey Lackey: This is what I always told anybody that I've worked with or that I hired while we were there. "You're not going to want to be here 100% of the time. If I've got 80%, I'm happy with that." Because you do have kids or you do have a family, you do have stuff you want to do outside of work. But you're probably more at work than you are with your family, most of the time, especially if you're a single mom or, it takes two jobs to support a family now. I want you to be safe, I want you to be happy. So if this is your safe, happy place, I've done my job. I don't need to do anything else.
Chad Jordan: I love that approach. You managed, how many years?
Casey Lackey: Oh gosh, eight? Yeah.
Chad Jordan: Okay. Eight years and then how does the area manager role fit in? How does that opportunity happen?
Casey Lackey: Oh God, it's weird. They set up this program. I was their Guinea pig for this.
Chad Jordan: No, you used another word earlier.
Casey Lackey: I did, I was their dummy.
Chad Jordan: Yeah.
Casey Lackey: Patrick wanted to use this new, instead of throwing you into being an area manager, steps to get there.
Chad Jordan: Get your feet wet.
Casey Lackey: And I was young at the time and so-
Chad Jordan: News flash, you're still young, knock that off. Okay.
Casey Lackey: Younger at the time. So he probably was like, "This is a kid, I don't know about handing her out half of my business." To do this, it's a risk.
Chad Jordan: How many stores were there at the time?
Casey Lackey: Oh God. Like this past year for me as an area manager?
No, when you started, when they-
Chad Jordan: As a manager?
Casey Lackey: As an area manager, when they're easing you into it?
Oh, probably 24 at the time, I would say.
Chad Jordan: My point is, they clearly needed somebody as an area manager with that many stores.
Casey Lackey: Right, it was just Jen and Sue at this time. And they were, they're maxed out at this point.
Chad Jordan: They needed help.
Casey Lackey: Right. So they gave me Denver. So me and Brandy, we've been together for a long time and we ... She's grown her store.
Chad Jordan: Yeah. It was great, her store was amazing.
Casey Lackey: And so it was more of a support. And her team is awesome. They have their own culture. And I started to see that my culture was different than her culture and it doesn't have to be the same in every store.
Chad Jordan: It really feeds off the personality of the manager.
Casey Lackey: Exactly.
Chad Jordan: And I will say this, Brandy, when you're watching this, my heart is still racing from the surprise confetti cannons that you shot off when we walked into the store today. And I think your clients are still scarred. So you might get some Listen 360 comments on that. Yeah, from scaring the tar out of people. But now that I met and hung out with her, I can see, her store feeds off that energy just like you were saying.
Casey Lackey: I think you build your own culture in your store. When you finally understand-
Chad Jordan: Here's your question, who do you think is responsible for culture in the store? Is it the team leader or is it the manager?
Casey Lackey: I would say it falls back on the whole team, honestly. Sometimes it can't just be the manager. You got to build trust first, with your coworkers, your stylists, your friends at work.
Chad Jordan: And buy in.
Casey Lackey: You got to, yeah. And I think once I had he trust of the ones around me, they trusted anything that I wanted to do. And so, then their ideas flowed in, my ideas flowed in. The next thing you know it, we've got Christmas sweater weekends. It explodes so fast. And they have caravans when they do a photo contest, two or three a year. And we were winning them every single time because they would come up with these great ideas because this team was like, "Oh-"
Chad Jordan: Right, everybody is contributing and going for it.
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: And not caring about who gets the credit, probably.
Casey Lackey: No, they're just, it's Team Hickory or Team Denver. It was their thing to do. Like, Denver takes the Halloween picture every year. That's their thing. They will go all out for it.
Chad Jordan: I think they already have started.
Casey Lackey: Yes. And then, Hickory usually took the Christmas. And then somebody else usually takes the summer photo. It's always something that they, "This is our thing, this is what we-"
Chad Jordan: Yeah, "We're going to own this corner." So you've got your feet wet, you like to be in an area manager?
Casey Lackey: I do. I like it. It's so different.
Chad Jordan: Okay. So how's your role? I mean, you're not cutting hair everyday now, right?
Casey Lackey: Right, it's weird.
Chad Jordan: You're not in a store. So what does an area manager do?
Casey Lackey: You are a support system to the managers. A lot of the times, I feel like it's, I've done a lot of listening. If there's going on something at home or something's going on in the store and they can't ... Because a lot of times when you're a manager, you can't express whatever's going on at home. If you're having a hard time or something's going on financially. There are so many things that can go on with a manager. And they can't go to their staff for this because that's not their burden to carry. They come to you, that's your job. So my job is to take that from them, I think. And if they're understaffed, I'm here. If they want to do an event, I'm here. It's more, I'm a support system for them. I was taught by Sue, so she was my support system through a lot of, not only just work, but-
Chad Jordan: Life.
Casey Lackey: Life!
Chad Jordan: Yeah. What's your favorite part of being an area manager?
Casey Lackey: My favorite part? I don't know yet, honestly.
Chad Jordan: How long have you been doing it?
Casey Lackey: Since January.
Chad Jordan: Okay, so it's still fresh.
Casey Lackey: It's new. I don't know yet.
Chad Jordan: But is it like a honeymoon period where everything's great or are there some challenges that you wish you had already-
Casey Lackey: I'm adjusting, yeah.
Chad Jordan: All right.
Casey Lackey: I'm adjusting because I'm used to talking to people every day.
Chad Jordan: You're a people person.
Casey Lackey: Yes. And I get to the store and I think the ride in the car is where it gets me. It's silent a lot of times, so I talk to Kristen a lot, which is our, she works in our office. So she's-
Chad Jordan: So what? You just call her just so you're-
Casey Lackey: Pretty much. We're going over stuff, that's where my time is to do my phone call stuff. And it's just different. It's different, and I'm enjoying it, don't get me wrong, it's just a whole different world.
Chad Jordan: Yeah. Well, especially when you're used to being surrounded by, I don't know, five to seven to eight women.
Casey Lackey: 25.
Chad Jordan: Okay. At a time, right? And all talking at once and there's always something going on.
Casey Lackey: Al the time.
Chad Jordan: And now that role is a little different.
Casey Lackey: Yeah. And it's fun to watch. I think the best part of it all, is watching these people, watching these managers develop. That is probably my favorite part. Watching them grow and connect with their teams and if there's an issue they come straight to me. The trust that's built up with me and the manager to where the trust is there. That will support any decision that they make and if they need anything, I'm here. And I've just loved watching. They enjoy pep rallies. That was not something that was looked forward to years and years ago.
Chad Jordan: Yeah.
Casey Lackey: It looked like it was a meeting, in a sense. And now they're fun and they're, people are posting them online and in Raleigh, Jackie is killing it with these pep rallies. And I have just watched this company grow so much in the last 12 years. It's great.
Chad Jordan: Well you've been a big part of that, especially out here. What advice, if you had a time machine, would you go back to ... By the way, you're an OG, that's what I call an OG, because you're original, you came right out of beauty school, started working in Sport Clips, been here ever since. So, I don't know, maybe I'll start an OG series. Maybe this will be the start of the OG series.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, ask them about the green floors.
Chad Jordan: The what? The the green floors. Oh, I know about the green floors. Trust me, because I've gone to some that haven't upgraded yet.
Casey Lackey: Oh, no!
Chad Jordan: Yeah. And then I'll take a picture there and then all these stylists will be like, Brrrt, on my thread. Like, "Why do they have green floors? I thought they had to get rid of those!" And I busted the store like, "I'm sorry."
Casey Lackey: I'm so sorry.
Chad Jordan: Anyways, so you're in a time machine and you go back to the original Casey out of beauty school and it's her first day at Sport Clips. What do you sit down and tell her to help the transition?
Casey Lackey: The next three years are going to be crazy, keep it together.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: Yeah?
Casey Lackey: Don't, maybe that was just my growing up time, who knows. But I would-
Chad Jordan: well yeah, I mean you were a kid, you were a kid becoming an adult. So whether you were working there or somewhere else you were going to have to figure it out.
Casey Lackey: I know. And luckily they did see the potential that I had because if I was the stylist that they had, I wouldn't have kept me. I would just tell myself to cool it.
Chad Jordan: What do you know now, as an area manager, that you wish all your managers could know and just absorb and have it as a default?
Casey Lackey: That the stuff that you run into that did you feel are problems at that moment, they can be fixed. Don't stress out about it. You got to look at the whole situation, take a step back. You don't have to fix it right then unless it's an emergency. But when you're dealing with this situation, it doesn't have to be fixed right now.
Chad Jordan: That sounds similar to something I've heard where, "Don't take your work home with you."
Casey Lackey: Right.
Chad Jordan: As much as you can, when you leave, if there's issues or whatever, go home, enjoy your time with your family, decompress. If you have to face the issue the next day, do it.
Casey Lackey: Put it away. ANd that was never something I did. I have a very, very supportive husband, very supportive. He does not know my life before Sports Clips as a manager.
Chad Jordan: That's all he knows, yeah.
Casey Lackey: He doesn't know me as a stylist. He has put in his time with this company also. Any decision or any idea I had, he was supportive. He stayed up with me many nights coming up with decorations or ideas and helping me make them. Like last Christmas we made boxes that looked like a chimney and and he helped me paint them. Shout out to him, for real.
Chad Jordan: It's like a military spouse that has to relocate with their wife.
Casey Lackey: Yes. He has drove in many a parades and helped me and jumped into support when I needed it. Biggest, biggest support. So-
Chad Jordan: Well, I-
Casey Lackey: Taking it home sometimes is, it's how you make it when you take it home. If you take it home as a burden, it will be.
Chad Jordan: That's a great point.
Casey Lackey: If you make it part of your family, it will be. So if there's an issue at work that needs to stay at work, it needs to stay at work. It can be dealt with tomorrow. It's not something, unless the store is on fire, it's the stuff that I let myself stress out about, which could have been dealt with.
Chad Jordan: Why let a rough moment ruin the whole day?
Casey Lackey: The whole day, yeah.
Chad Jordan: Or a weekend sometimes.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, let it go. Let it-
Chad Jordan: So, I've had, geez, I've only been here the last couple of days, but some of the most memorable store visits.
Casey Lackey: Oh, good.
Chad Jordan: You've been a part of. A credit to you and to Sue. I mean Sue was there yesterday as well. So, what you guys have built in this ... I love North Carolina of course, in my home state, but what you guys have built as a culture around here and the vibe, it seems like every team member loves it. Loves being a part of, whether it's for you guys, Hardy Nation, but even other team leaders and other groups here. I don't know if it's something in the water, but you guys are doing ... I think it's the accent. I think it's the way y'all talk.
Casey Lackey: Probably.
Chad Jordan: Which by the way, I can listen to, I might listen to this podcast on a loop just to hear your accent over and over again. But here's what I want to do because it's late and you've been so gracious. You drove me around today after, after you cleaned your car out for me.
Casey Lackey: I did.
Chad Jordan: So thank you for that. But I've got 10 questions to end the podcast with and then you got to get home and eat at some point.
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: So, okay. Number one, which super power would you most like to have?
Casey Lackey: Oh gosh. Let's see. I'd like to fly.
Chad Jordan: Fly? Yeah, because then you could get there quicker and start talking to the team and not be on the road by yourself. What is your personal motto?
Casey Lackey: My personal motto. Oh gosh. What would they say? I don't know that I have one. I might have too many. I don't know.
Chad Jordan: You want to come back to it?
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: Other than where you live now, where else in the world would you most like to live?
Casey Lackey: I would like to live in Florida, surprisingly, on the Gulf.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: Because my husband likes to the Gulf.
Chad Jordan: Oh, yeah. What words or phrases do you most overuse?
Casey Lackey: Everything is fine.
Chad Jordan: Okay. Even when it's not? Isn't that a meme? Everything is fine, when it's on fire or whatever and that dog or whatever is sitting in there.
Casey Lackey: Yeah, everything is fine, yes. Everything is fine, yep.
Chad Jordan: Everything is fine. What sound or noise do you love?
Casey Lackey: Oh my gosh. I don't know. I think I am so used to hearing ESPN on the TV.
Du-na-na, du-na-na!
Chad Jordan: Yeah, okay. I thought that might be answer this next question. What sound or noise do you hate?
Casey Lackey: Oh, the TV on ESPN, yeah. Except at four o'clock when it's, what does it, where the guys come on and they do the questions?
Chad Jordan: PTI?
Casey Lackey: No. HQ, or-
Chad Jordan: Around-
Casey Lackey: Highly Questionable!
Chad Jordan: Oh yeah, Highly Questionable, oh yeah, with Papi?
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: Okay. And these next three questions are kind of together. When they make a movie based on the story of your life, what actress are you going to pick to play you?
Casey Lackey: I would like Rachel McAdams.
Chad Jordan: Oh, okay, I like that. Notebook, is that right? Is that what she's from?
Casey Lackey: Yeah, I love her.
Chad Jordan: Okay, good one. Okay. And then what a band or musician is going to do the soundtrack?
Casey Lackey: I really love CCR.
Chad Jordan: Really? Are they still? John Fogerty might be-
Casey Lackey: They're probably not even-
Chad Jordan: I think he's still alive, I think. I think John Fogerty is still there.
Yep. And then what is the title of that movie based on the story of your life?
Casey Lackey: Oh gosh!
Chad Jordan: I think I might know. But I'll let you say first.
Casey Lackey: I don't know. Something about culture at least.
Chad Jordan: Can I pick it?
Casey Lackey: Yeah.
Chad Jordan: Everything is fine.
Casey Lackey: Everything is fine!
Chad Jordan: Okay, last question. If heaven indeed exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Casey Lackey: Oh my gosh, that's just going to be emotional.
Chad Jordan: For him or for you.
Casey Lackey: Both.
Chad Jordan: Okay.
Casey Lackey: I hope. For me, it would probably, I would hope he would say, "Job well done."
Chad Jordan: Nice. Yeah. Well, you're not at the Pearly Gates yet, but I will say you're doing a great job and I've loved the time we've gotten. I know it's coming to an end here for this trip, but your area is fantastic.
Casey Lackey: Thank you.
Chad Jordan: It seems like you've really grown into this role already. I know you're only, what, eight or nine months into it.
Casey Lackey: I'm learning.
Chad Jordan: But you've got, first of all, you've got great mentors.
Casey Lackey: Oh yeah. I got a great support. At home, at work all the way around me.
Chad Jordan: You got great support with your husband, a great team leader, and great stores. So it seems like you're really set up for success.
Casey Lackey: Yeah. And I hope I've set a good example for others.
Chad Jordan: Yep. You're blazing the trail for sure. So yeah, I think we're going to have this be the first OG episode. You know, I think this is a good way to ... So you're the OG of the OGs. First OG-
Casey Lackey: I want to know who the oldest OG is. That's the question.
Chad Jordan: Oh, well that's, that is a great ... Oh, I like that. Find out on the next OG podcast. Maybe we'll be able to find them out.
Casey Lackey: I'm trying to think of here in this state who it is. I have no idea.
Chad Jordan: I'm sure it's somebody from Texas, but we'll figure that out. But at any rate, thank you so much.
Casey Lackey: Thank you for having me.
Chad Jordan: And thanks for everybody for listening. We'll have another episode for you next week.
Casey Lackey: All right.