How was your job different than you thought it would be?
I went in just to earn some cash, but it was really an opportunity to learn the basics. I realized if I did more than just the job outline and made myself stand out, that I could make a lot more money in tips.

What important lessons or skills did you learn in your first job that have been instrumental in your success?
Tips were a big factor since I wasn't paid that much. I learned that excelling in customer satisfaction would increase my tips. I worked hard to earn more tips, and shared them with the cashiers, who, in turn sent me more customers. I saw how creativity and perseverance pay off in every job.

Which of those lessons, and how, carried into subsequent jobs after your first? How do you use those skills in your position today?
Enabling positive change, and having the ability to differentiate are the key elements to achieving sustainable wins. I use that at Kellogg's every day.

Have you seen how lacking those first job skills had negative effects on others?
A lot of people just go to work to earn a paycheck, and never take any risks. When you don’t take risks, you never get to experience rejection or failure, which allow you to learn, grow, and appreciate and value wins when they occur. As a result, these people never achieve solids wins, they just keep collecting the same paycheck.

Is there a specific event in your first job that you learned something you still use today?
Success is driven by customer-valued differentiation. You should constantly be striving to do what you can do best, and what the competition can't or won't do.

What obstacles that you faced had the greatest impact on your career path?
Working for individuals that valued themselves more than the team. I now use it as motivation to reiterate the value of teamwork.

What people or outside factors affected your work ethic or motivated you the most to succeed?
I never realized I was poor until I went to high school. My parents had instilled in me before I even realized it that it's not what you have; it's what you do with what you have that matters. In my first professional job, I was naïve and didn't think there were politics involved in business, and created a disdain for it once I was exposed to it. A mentor then explained to me that business politics are less reality and more of a game. If you want to create change, you have to play better and win first. Once I won, I could change the rules and take the politics out of the environment.

What advice would you give to someone starting his or her first job?
Be yourself and view your team as one of your greatest assets. Create and embrace positive change. Instill in yourself a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo--be content but never be satisfied.

What do you find most rewarding about your position today?
Enabling others to succeed. I have three business unit presidents who report to me and I provide an atmosphere where each of them can achieve success.