Youtube's automated transcript of an interview with Dr. Kathy Leonard from Publix

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58FpZrp48Oo
[Music] welcome back to our in my podcast my name is Nima I'm an and today we're joined by dr. Cathy Leonard the pharmacy operations manager at Publix thank you for joining us thank you for having me so we see here that you actually greeted us very well so we want to thank you first for giving us these gifts really appreciate it so um presentation seems like it's very key at Publix is that something that you guys are about is that is that something that you guys instill absolutely I think it's part of just human nature you know you look for the best qualities and in people and how they present you both all of you have presented yourselves very well this morning but you look for that it makes that first impression on people and it's no different in our stores from how our pharmacists interact with patients how they interact with prescribers and how they interact with each other all goes a long way with our customers and the brand and what we're trying to build at Publix we appreciate it thank you so much so a little bit about you can you just tell the people that have about your role and a little bit about yourself sure so I have the fortunate position to oversee the operations for Publix pharmacy in the southeast with that I am responsible for 233 pharmacy locations one of those is our outpatient pharmacy at Nicholas Children's Hospital so we're really excited about the opportunities that we have there and I've been with Publix in March I'll be celebrating 29 years Wow congratulations which is something I'm really proud of but I can tell you at Publix that kind of makes me the rookie there's a lot of tenure in this organization and I think that that Coast goes hand-in-hand with when you take good care of your associates and that word spreads pretty quickly and just like the inverse does as well if that doesn't happen those things spread very quickly but a lot of people recognize Publix is a great place to work and I'm one of those well you've been here for a very long time you said that you're you're not you're not even been here the longest why do you think that is what do you think people are sticking around for so long I think the key to it was made clear and kind of coined by one of our former CEOs at Crenshaw when he said that we have the secret sauce at Publix and that's really employee ownership everybody at Publix owns a part of of it so whether we succeed or fail everybody has skin in the game and I think that goes a long way when you when somebody owns something and you can apply that to anything they genuinely take better care of it yeah and feel more connected and as we move through this year there's going to be even more of a heightened focus on connections so connections with I think it's just natural people want to feel connected you know they want to be a part of it and know that what they're doing makes a difference and that's connections with our customers and how we build those relationships and connections with prescribers connections with health systems connections with each other within our organization so that we can retain people and help them to build and establish a great career that they're really proud of it public's well that's amazing so what are some of the future goals you're looking at in terms of expanding the pharmacy at Publix future goals so I think to keep it simple our goal is to be able to provide the services that every patient needs at Publix to not limit it and say you can't come to Publix because we may not offer that service nothing I think bothers us more than there being a need that's not met we can't meet at Publix so with new technology and just the evolving expectations of the customer we're looking to see how can we meet those demands and kind of get it ahead of it but bring the customer along as well you know we have a large populations of patients that we serve that are Medicare patients and we I don't think it's appropriate to look at all of our patients the same there's different needs that each patient has different and willingness to adapt to technology and different expectations for how that relationship and that partnership with the pharmacy goes some patients want to have a really strong person-to-person relationship and then others are like how can I go faster and we just want to make sure that it's safe and whatever would you you're in charge of so many public says across how do you keep up how do you make sure everything's going well and each one if there's complaints how do you go deal without with the complaints yeah there's so many of them well there's not a ton of complaints let me clarify there are some and you know what's what's exciting and what I love about this job after all the time that I've had with Publix every morning that I get up I genuinely and excited to come to work for the opportunity that lays ahead and that is is the good and the bad because I think there's so much we can learn from the customer who where we didn't get it right and it's not about blame it's not it's really about a sense of understanding where do we go wrong and how can we prevent that moving forward at the end of the day if the customer leaves our store and they're not satisfied it doesn't matter how defensive I am that you know we did it right we followed a process that we followed a policy that customer left and they they left with the feeling of a you know we didn't while them we didn't deliver on what we said we were going to deliver so the fun part for me is getting to make that right and figuring it out for each customer and I'm gonna be even more committed to that this year to make sure that we don't just get the patient back to the neutral stance of okay you know you called me gave me my money back he made it sort of right we're gonna make it really right I want that customer to leave singing the praises of Publix and feeling once again connected to who we are to our brand and to our people so that they have confidence that we're going to take care of them whether that's their health care their grocery needs whatever it is that Publix can provide we want to take care of that for that customer so in part that's the fun part it's interesting yeah I think when you approach it from the perspective of if that was my family member what would I do and instead of immediately being defensive but getting on the customers side so that they know you know I'm your biggest advocate I'm gonna do everything I can to make this right give me that please give me the opportunity to and you know something put them in that position I don't know what it is but we had a role in it intentionally or not and let's fix it let's make it better so that customer goes and tells 15 more people how great Publix pharmacy is that's what I want I want to be able to serve every patient in our market and with technology and beyond yeah our markets ready because I think we offer a great service and a great product and I have complete confidence in our people because of the investment that Publix makes in our people we don't chop people off at the knees we we go to find out what's the understanding we invest in training and we try our best to set the example so you said you know you're the biggest advocate for the customer so you actually use you started out working as a cashier at Publix so can you just take us through that journey and how you've ended up where you're at today sure sure like so many people I walk through the doors of Publix when I was in high school Publix came to town I grew up in a small town Land O'Lakes Florida okay and when they built a new store it was exciting and new and me and several friends from high school said hey let's go get a job at Publix so it was more of a social thing to be completely honest and so we went and I went and I applied for a job I have I left with so much more than that in the sense that I have established a career that I'm very proud of but I'm not alone in that I think a lot of associates that you speak to they work for Publix have a very similar journey and it's kind of it's kind of a cool thing to watch that evolve you know I got a job as a part-time cashier and there was a situation where I was just grunt old as a teenager about pay because somebody got more money than I did and my dad a great mentor in my life said you know you can pitch a fit all you want about that but is your pay gonna change mm-hmm no he said if you want to be effective you have to go to your manager and ask what more can you do for Publix supermarkets so the next time pay gets evaluated you will be considered for a greater increase I said well isn't that very adult so I did that I had to practice because that wasn't natural for me to go and ask batter or say that or put myself out there and I did and then opportunity started to open up once an eye manager or leader knew what did I want okay well I'm telling you as a teenager I have a car payment and I had these things money is important to me so I did that and as those opportunities opened up it was that was the Cascade that took me to the pharmacy at some point my store manager saying you know the pharmacist needs help in the pharmacy and all this time later you know the words that I remember the most from that conversation he said I need somebody I can trust to go over there and all this time later it resonates with me as a leader that the words we choose to say to people are lasting that's true they stick around you trusted me I immediately but I immediately had this sense of he's putting me over there for a reason and he trusts me I can't mess this up to do a really good job and then I just had great mentors and leaders around me from pharmacists to store managers district managers multitude of leaders to basically raise me keep me on the right path but to encourage me and let me know that it could be done okay why don't you go to pharmacy school why don't you become a pharmacy manager you know and I think that's natural to to kind of can I do it can I do it but I hope that my story and that transition and path is inspiring to others of what they can accomplish and what they can achieve so Publix is the reason why you got into pharmacy absolutely wholeheartedly I had no interest no desire no knowledge of even doing that but really didn't have a lot of direction as far as what I wanted to do you know you finish high school and some people have a very clear-cut path I'm gonna be a surgeon I'm gonna be a baseball player I'm gonna be whatever I was kind of like I don't know I don't know what that answer is so but I knew I wanted to work hard I knew that I wanted to be successful in whatever it was and I knew that I wanted to love what I do and I think I'm there okay I've worked the retail pharmacy before and I won't mention two other names but I've noticed that pharmacists at Publix really come um do things that other pharmacist at other companies don't like there they go to the cashier they don't mind helping and doing technical work I guess why do you think that is is that something you guys look for when you are hiring is that if a certain personality do you look for that you like alright this person can be a good fit absolutely because it's not just the fit for Publix it's the fit for the associate too so in the hiring process and the as we go through interviews and all of that it's really about finding someone whose goals and values align with that of public and at Publix it's very much a team mentality one person can't do it on their own and if you try to that burden gets very heavy yeah on your shoulders and then what happens when X Y & Z you don't fall into place just just so somebody calls out or there's an emergency or you need to depend on somebody else or lean on somebody for added support if we're siloed as individuals that makes that much more challenging so we ask a lot of questions about experience and and it becomes pretty evident during an interview even about somebody's previous experience if they're just giving you a blanket answer of yeah I really like or if they get excited and are like you know look that this is a time that I was able to jump in and do this in this and it's it's about teamwork and working together we absolutely look for that it definitely stands out though yeah and you can tell you know we won't name any any competitors and honestly I can see it in our stores from time to time you know we're not we're not perfect we certainly strive for excellence and all that we do but you can tell the difference in any retail pharmacist or really in any profession if somebody's passionate about what they truly and you like what they're doing you can see it on their faces you can receive it in their body language and the more our team's operate as a family unit and with you know a sense of personal connection to each other of you know what the three of us were a team yeah I'm not gonna work harder because I'm not gonna disappoint the two of you and vice versa the customer picks up on that and sees that's true and then there's like a positive energy and vibe that people just want to be around nobody really wants to be at a retail pharmacy you know you'd rather be a doozy more fun chicken pub sandwiches come in right there's pups but we're excited when they're in the pub sub line well often times just received a bad diagnosis or something but there's there's winds to somebody just found out they're gonna have a new baby and there's there's things to celebrate but the the biggest thing to celebrate is those relationships with our patients where you know whatever that news good bad or whatever the customer feels like you know what I have a connection with somebody I have a connection with a pharmacist and a team this is my farm my pharmacy family that i can go to and i know they're gonna have confidence and the information they're gonna share with me they're knowledgeable they're empathetic you know they're there to try to advocate and be a resource for me and that's what we try to accomplish but it's not for everybody not for everybody and i can tell pretty quickly if it's not for somebody it's really in body language and in their willingness to help somebody do they genuinely is that their nature to want to help somebody or is it cathy standing here yeah I have to be forced or does cat they have to say hey customer is what can't you tell that my body language of that customers looking for something I'm gonna I'm gonna go help them you stay here and take care of filling those prescriptions I'm gonna go out and try to lead by example to show them be aware of your surroundings because every patients not gonna ask ya they don't you don't feel like they're bothering ya though so they'll see that the pharmacist is busy some pharmacists are really good at showing how busy they are because they almost want that barrier if I don't if they see how crazy I don't make eye contact because then you're committed you know once you think about the patient but I I seek that out and I try to get others to seek that out and and recognize those signs we have language barriers all kinds of things they that we can help assist with to make people make sure they're making the right choices for their healthcare and if they have a good understanding of how to how to dose that medication for a child or for an elderly parent more informed in just those relationships it affects compliance wholeheartedly that's true so you know you guys are really big on and serving the community so one of the ways you do that is through the free medication program the seven dollar 50 medication program so how did that idea come into fruition and I guess how do you pick these medications okay so well for crying out loud it's expensive right we agree that costs continue to rise and we just saw a need in the community that started with you know recognizing that when a child is sick or somebody is sick that puts an unexpected or unplanned bird financial burden on families and you look at that process of someone going taking a child taking time off work to take their child to the pediatrician to get a prescription to then go to the pharmacy to potentially find out that antibiotic maybe $100 and they say there's no way I can afford that so they abandon the prescription the child remains sick and it creates then maybe they go to Urgent Care and it's this this excessive spend and health care that's unnecessary so we looked for ways that we could we don't have a solution for everything obviously but we have a series of antibiotics that are out there and that's certainly what it started with and it also gives us an opportunity to potentially our new customers that may not think of Publix pharmacy as their health care destination we want to change that so if a prescriber says hey I'm going to write this amoxicillin prescription it's free at Publix mm-hmm I thought a lot of people trust me so you know but that's our opportunity once you come in for that free medication to establish that relationship to where you feel comfortable and say maybe I was going somewhere else but man that was just out of habit I didn't realize how great it could be I really feel a part of something I'm gonna get all of my family's health care needs met at Publix pharmacy that's that's part of the goal for sure and then that we extrapolated that out a little bit more to some more maintenance types of disease states like diabetes and hypertension and thing that effect a huge percentage of the population same thing we don't want people abandoning an option of medication or care because of cost and so those are good starting places you know metformin pretty commonly defense but lisinopril aim low de peen and then beyond that to be able to extrapolate out to even more disease states and cover more medication is our 750 program so on that there's I don't know the exact number over 25 at least different medications for a variety of disease states commonly prescribed stuff it's not you know willy-nilly hey look at us but nobody's ever gonna write for this kind of stuff it's commonly prescribed medication so to be able to get a three-month supply of that for your loved ones for seven dollars and fifty cents and that's something that we're proud of to just continuously looking for ways to make healthcare more affordable so technology like you said earlier is a big part of our society our generation right now um a lot of people say that technology might take over the pharmacy world especially you're in retail what do you say dudes people do you think it's a myth you think that's a retail pharmacy something that'll be lasting for a while well I think that there's a lot of ways to look at that in a positive light and to embrace technology we have to do it cautiously because we're dealing with pH I and things that are we don't want you know I don't really have a lot of room for mistakes but we need to embrace that as a way to add efficiencies to growing volumes in our stores and we want to be able to serve the patients timely and when people are sick you know even having it now isn't isn't quick enough in a lot of cases and we're all patients too so we all understand that or having sick children with you you know there's you just you want it now and you want it to be as convenient as possible and as seamless as possible and I would venture to say that a majority of people don't wouldn't consider pharmacy retail pharmacies seamless there's oftentimes you know and you know probably from your experiences that you've got insurance problems you've got a higher authorization problems you've got you don't have it in stock well you have it but you don't have the right strength or the doctor you know there was something missing on the description so we got to call the prescriber back and clarify we want to embrace technology in every way possible to add efficiency so that we can free up the human element of what we do free up our people so that you're not so busy talking on the phone to get a prescription number then you can say hey miss Jones I'm gonna set you up on our med synchronization program we'll get you set up on a 90 day supply of your medications we know that that'll make her more compliant if she has the medication at home she's more apt to take it worse than if she's got those gaps every 30 days because she she can't get to the store whatever so we know that that'll help and then invite her to come in and talk to us in the store and then as she's talking to you in the store it's amazing what you can pick up from conversations with your patients by letting them do the talking sure because then you're like how are you injecting that medication and I think there's a real value in those personal connections so we're focused on embracing technology every bit that we can and I'm excited for the future and what technology will bring well I we see you're expanding and your realm can you speak on the specialty and compounding pharmacy around the public's are stepping into yeah so again one more Avenue actually - there's a potential there that our patients need something and we want to be able to meet that need so with specialty Yurok accredited and ACHC accredited we are you know Publix does things right and looks to make sure that we hold the highest standards and everything that we do and our current process is just what can we continue to do to get into more limited distribution networks so we have access to these medications and you know people look at Publix as a grocery store because that's that's what we are but we're a grocery store that provides health care and there's the reality is a lot of people walking through our doors every day that need that come to us for solutions and when we're not in those networks we do everything we can to advocate and point that person in the right direction even if it means at the end of the day we're not able to fulfill it because we don't want to leave that customer in limbo you know you walk into some stores and I did this a while back and I I just went into random stores not just Publix I went into some Publix locations that I went into our competitors to and ask questions about harvoni at the time so you know got a prescription my parent was just diagnosed needs this prescription what can you tell me about it and the information that you got back on that was so interesting there were some people that would say I don't never heard of it there would be some people that would say holy cow that's $90,000 for three months supply you know and what message does that center that comes to know you're already like hey I don't know what I'm doing but there's no empathy there's no caution before you dump that on a patient and then there were some that we're very knowledgeable and very helpful and what we want to do is anytime we see those prescriptions come in we want to tell the customer it's your lucky day you chose the right pharmacy to come to because we are gonna do everything in our power not only to fill the prescription and help you with this so you don't have to get in your car and drive to six different pharmacies you know you don't have time for that in your day we're gonna take care of it we're gonna do everything we can to reduce the cost as much as we can whether that's by through Foundation support with some of our affiliations through Moffitt Cancer Center and different resources that we have and we talked about giving value to our customers and when you can take a prescription that's as expensive as harvoni and a plot and let somebody know at the counter that hey this is a maybe a fifty dollar copay or maybe there's no charge at all they'll be happy people cry like tear up and hurl and you know you've made an impact and that feels good to our people we have technicians that dig into this in our life we are gonna this is like that was my parent what would I do and I love to see that because that's that's really what Publix is all about so in the end of the day everyone has competition right how do you look at your competition if they make a move how do you attack that like do you like do you try to go in copy them because you think they're moving forward um you guys are at the top so but there's a lot to learn from our competitors so one I'm glad they're there because imagine a world with no competition yeah we would have no need to progress and move forward so having our competitors there I think our eyes are always focused on what is what is everyone doing and it may or may not apply to public's at the core of what we want to do stems from George Jenkins founded this company in 1930 during the Depression - people tell me things are hard I'm like you don't know hard I don't know that was hard yeah so to have the resources in what we have today to be able to build on Publix and learn from the success of our competitors somebody says hey I really like going to another location and other retail pharmacy and this is why like wow that's awesome that's amazing I don't say I don't try to dispute it yeah yeah and say no that can't possibly be people there's great pharmacists everywhere I want them all at Publix I want to make sure that as I'm out in the community looking and visiting other locations I am looking for key traits and characteristics that when people don't think nobody anybody's paying attention so that comp it's the competitive nature I just I think it's good for progress and there'll be some things that we'll look at and say hey we need to advance that and we know some of those things you know pre paying for your medication before you come in you know we're piloting various avenues for that now to roll that out to our stores delivery access to medications and just adding those convenience factors that so many people are looking for it doesn't mean we'll do it the same way as a competitor in some cases maybe we will maybe we'll say you know what we've evaluated it and that's the right way to me that's the right move for Publix but in all things looking to operate a better business than our competitor at every turn and I think that stems from having the right people that want to deliver on that every day they're gonna do more because they want to then because they have to so what can we do to make people feel connected so they want to do that yeah myself and Nima we always talked about you can't do things alone you need a team you just can't do it so yeah we're glad that you know that's one of the main things probably about so in the next I say 10 to 15 years what do what are one of your main goals that you want to have accomplished for public pharmacy and that's a loaded question that is a loaded question right I don't know that I've got the crystal ball and no I want us to be I want us to continue to be relevant and the the key choice for people I love when I can have a discussion with a customer that's in a store that doesn't traditionally use Publix pharmacy but they're in our store five or six times a week for everything else I love when I can engage with them one on one and have a conversation and just watch like kind of the wow factor when I ask him hey where are you getting your metformin filled and they they may say some more how much are you paying for that each month and I can say well you know what I could give that to you at no charge and to watch them just kind of their their body language shift and change to this realization of I didn't even know Publix maybe how to farm honestly what let alone you can do that what else can you do well we can vaccinate we can provide all acip approved immunizations at our stores we can provide MTN services to make sure that patients are more compliant and adherent or med sync program cost savings programs so many things that I want to see that continue to expand and I think technology will be a big part of it to make Publix pharmacy a continued player in the retail game but especially as we move forward just I think really just continuing to evolve our processes and our services that we offer to keep up with the expectation and demand of the patient so you're in your position you're at the top of your position right what advice would you give to pharmacists or even students that are trying to get to your position okay not to take your job that's all right I encourage that I have a team of six supervisors and I tell them routinely you know that's that's the goal I won't be in this position forever but I'm an owner of Publix so this isn't about making decisions for today for me this is about making decisions for Publix to be sustainable and relevant for you generations to come and I think the average business today lasts about 15 years Publix is going to celebrate our 90th birthday in 2020 so I want that longevity to continue and you know our pharmacies as I've seen it progress and grow I want that to continue to grow in things that I can't even imagine right now you know regulatory changes within our state so that we empower our technicians more with proper training I think there's a lot of ability and skill set to elevate that and allow our pharmacists to operate at the top of their license at the same time provider status test and treat there are so many things that I think we've got trained well-educated individuals that can enhance and improve the outcome for the patient in the process so I'm a big believer in any team that successful it starts from your leadership from the top so what what are your main takeaways that you that George Jenkins has instilled in your life that you think has helped you be successful and what you're doing there's so many but you're right it's the leaders around you then you know I was once told that there's two types of leaders there's a leader that will throw you through the wall or there's a leader that'll make you want to run through a wall for them and I am fortunate to work for a leader that makes me want to run through the wall every day so but I've had influence from so many I was just thinking about these things that are posted behind me and those are really the messages of George Jenkins that he's taught us so be there you have to be present with your team's you can't lead a team of people behind a desk with no presence you have to physically be there and they have to know that true you have to giving you know we're very community-oriented business but giving the more you give away the more that comes back to you so having that mindset that's genuine and authentic investing in others so you know ongoing training but taking time to really make that wow moment for somebody who may think Kathie's not gonna take the time for that Kathy may come and sit with you at a training for lunch and say let's can I sit with you for lunch and let's talk or somebody that I know is struggling with something you know sharing my experiences I've had plenty of struggles so from that there's a lot of lessons I can help others see there's there's a light at the end of the tunnel to get past that respecting the dignity of the individual I think that's true and all that we do it's not because I said so and it's not anything that we do we always make sure that we're conscious of that okay because I want that in turn even if I make a bad decision or something goes wrong or I make a poor choice because we're human and that can happen I want to make sure that somebody takes the time to intervene but they are all turns they respect the dignity of the individual the customer is king you know they're the ones making the choices and there's a lot of choices today on where people go for their groceries where they go to their health care we want to be that choice prepare for opportunity there's a ton of opportunity at Publix and now some people will sit back and wait for that opportunity to come to them and they'll probably be sitting for a while directly occasionally you get lucky and somebody says hey I see you sitting back but I see that you have tremendous potential and sometimes that boost of confidence will help somebody go I needed someone I could trust right I need somebody I can trust so me saying that to somebody who may think you know I'm not really that go-to person we'll have had an assistant one time in a store and I said you know when she when you stepping up to the plate you know you've got great ability when are you gonna be a pharmacy manager what's what's holding us back here and she said she kind of cocked her head and said you really think so and she said no my pharmacy managers Batman and I'm Robin she's like I'm okay with being Robin and I was like really just give it some thought because we need great Robins too but I think anybody can be Batman so it's just it's letting people know that sometimes that you see that you see those characteristics and then that they don't even see in themselves builds their confidence and then kind of gets the wheels spinning a little bit of maybe I could do that Kathy thinks I can do it let me try and then doing the right thing that's at the center of what we do not trying our best not to make decisions that are self-serving this is going to benefit Kathy those are very short-sighted decisions and they they often have bad implications but if in the decisions that we make we really focus on what's best for public's and what's best for our people and what would I do if it was the person that I thought was struggling the most or the person that is the best associate at Publix being consistent with how I handle that I think goes a long way so long answer to your question it's just a few other things so Publix recently made a collaboration with B firt Memorial Hospital to improve their patient care how important are these collaborations with the hospital they're crazy important you know we want to make sure that we have that collaborative spirit and everything that we do our goal is to make health care a little bit better and if we can do that we're serving the same patient and I think it's similar to what we found with immunizations when pharmacists were able to immunize there was some trepidation about that and what that would do for prescribers and the reality is there's it's only improved vaccinations right you know we continue to work with prescribers on various things that they need but it's it's building that collaboration to ultimately benefit the patient not any one entity and I think it's the same with a health care system is we have an opportunity to help you know just build those relationships so they you know they're trying to reduce readmissions and you know patients are released from the hospital if we can be a part of that continuum of care for patients it's huge and our brand is recognizable I think it's a brand that people trust and I want to protect that make sure that that's always the case but any kind of collaboration with healthcare partners and is something we'll continue to evaluate and make sure that we continue to expand that so a little bit of a curveball question if we were to go back into high school undergrad what who was Kath Landers and in high school and would your friends say describe professors how would they we say we're saying we talk to the tabulator today I would like to think that they're you know that I haven't changed all that much I think I've come out of my shell a little bit more than I did in high school though I was a cheerleader in high school so I was kind of loud and obnoxious some would say that hasn't changed I am very enthusiastic and easily inspired and I take that inspiration and try to share that with others I would hope that people see me as somebody with integrity and character and but you never know until you ask the gas station but I would I would like to think that there would be some that would probably be surprised that I'm sitting here today and then others that would say yeah we we expected that so uhm clinics are a very big thing now a lot of people are not going to hospitals there's a lot of more clinics opening up its publics working on instilling clinics inside the pharmacies so it's something we're certainly expanding on and it's because of just the demands of the patient there people need access and they need convenience but yet they still want a health care provider that they can trust and have confidence and they don't want to you know dial a doc and have somebody you know that they don't they don't have any connection to or know how is that person trained or am I sure I'm getting good healthcare so as part of our bay care collaboration we have walk-in care centers in some of our locations in the Tampa market for that exact purpose high-resolution video monitors so you go in and you have a private consultation with a Bay care certified physician so there's that brand recognition too and something that the patient can trust and then anything that's diagnosed and it's you know they're not diagnosing anything extensive it's gonna be for your basic rash coughing cold very you know acute care types of things and that when that happens any prescriptions that are needed can immediately be sent to the pharmacy and it streams streamlines that whole process or the patient right there the doctor prescribes something that the pharmacy doesn't have well the pharmacy will call that prescriber and there's just that immediate sense of let's make this right without the patient having to go from pediatrician to pharmacy potentially to another pharmacy and then home with a sick child or something or they're vacationing and something unexpected happens and their their traditional primary care doctors not here you know what's the solution that we can provide to them so that's something that we're continuing to look at and expand all right so I'm a customer I'm walking in and I'm not sure I have three different prescriptions and I'm not sure if I should go to Publix or somewhere else what are you saying to that cost I'm gonna say I'm Ehren nice to meet you welcome to Publix I'm going to take those prescriptions okay if you've got a screaming child we're gonna try to do something I'm sorry I have three of those oh my goodness here I'm gonna give you something to occupy them thank you coloring sheet it might be something just to kind of help put your mind at ease okay I'm gonna ask if you have a cell number if you do I'm gonna say hey you know what can I text you in a few minutes and you know maybe if you want to take the kids outside they're hungry you need to go get him some food something I'm gonna try to make that right for you as quickly as I can you're probably not my only customer right now right so there's probably other people going you know how long do I have to be there's people behind you so I'm gonna try to expedite that as quick as possible I'm gonna ask you of it you have insurance okay I'm gonna if you have insurance it's going to be a code here in the New Year a deductible you may already know what that is but say something comes back and it's not covered and I tell you it's $100 I can't afford oh my goodness you're right that's a lot of money isn't it well let me see if there's anything I can do let me see what's the best price that I can provide you and I'm gonna look and I'm gonna use our resources to see you may have a discount card that you bring in and say you know this was in the mail is there any benefit to this okay give it let's give it a go let's see well sure yeah let's try it when I come back and tell you your prescriptions $10 Wow then you're like wow only ten now caveat it may not always be good but yeah but if there's any kind of a savings that we can pass on to you we're gonna do that I'll let you know how long it's going to take are you gonna wait with your kids would you prefer to wait would you prefer to go run some errands or get the kids home and then then come back at a later time we're gonna establish that based on what you want not me saying it'll be ready in an hour it should be when would you like to pick that up so once we have that agreement I'm gonna do everything in my power I'm not going to over promise until you can be ready in two minutes if I know that can't happen and I'm just gonna disappoint you but if I can say if you tell me hey I'm going to come back in an hour I'm gonna get them home get them situated I'll come back and pick the medication up I'm gonna have it ready for you in an hour all right that sounds awesome sound good great there's one thing let's say we have all the pharmacists that are under you in front of in a room right now and we told you to tell them something that it would be shocked to know about you what would that one was that something be I thought I was gonna tell them something and I was all prepared to say thank you they worked so hard whatever don't you have to have my whole team in a room and be able to thank them for what they do well they can all see this they can all right thank you once you do it's it's not easy being a retail working in retail in general whether you're selling medication or anything it's tough it's a tough environment but there are people who are cut out for it and I can see it in them and when when it's the right person and they're really they have the skill set and they've honed that man what an impact they can make and there's so many I can think of off the top of my head by name that just they inspire me every day based on what they do and the challenges that they overcome and how they get it all done really amazing so something that they don't know about me I love to fish okay I love to golf are you good I love to stay active I'm not good yeah Publix is gonna lose me to the Peet LPGA I wish I had the energy and the spirit to do it but sometimes the talent isn't quite there I've always wanted to be an Olympic athlete I have no skill set well I'm told that I might be bridging that age where it's a little too you know always be a dream of mine and I think it just goes back to trying to be the best it at something and just striving to your full potential because there's so much for each one of us that is within us that we don't even know because we just never tap into it you know maybe I am gonna be a rock star one day no actress or Olympic athlete you watch the next Olympics might see me will have this interview as proof if that happens please let me know I will the public's right now is in Florida mainly and the southeast southeast seven states yeah yeah are they are you guys planning to maybe go to the west coast north with Publix an expansion has always been about having people to support that so you know Publix is very financially sound company but to just take what we have and duplicate that or you know triple it overnight and we don't believe what makes sense for our brand and in our people so even each move we've made our move from Florida into Georgia our move into the Carolinas our move into Virginia has been you know making sure that there's there's work done before hand to make sure that we have people trained and prepared to go in and still be able to uphold the standards of our brand and feel connected again to Publix not well I don't know it's my first day I have this whole public saying you know I don't know anything about it and they don't have any buy into that they're a part of something bigger because when you're in a new market it's even more challenging you know in Florida I was born and raised in Florida went to school at Mercer University in Atlanta that's as far north as I've ever made another interesting fact I guess but when you're stretching out into a new market there's a lot of people they may go what is that public there spell it wrong though they won't they won't have any connection to what that is but also with technology and social media and all of that there's people all over the country all over the world you want a chicken tender side so you know now more and more you do get places or people you know right into Publix and ask when are you coming here yeah are you coming here so I think you know we want to continue to grow we just want to make sure that we do it in the right way and and folks you know beyond me are the ones making those decisions for sure but I know that at the heart of everything we do we want to continue to grow we just want to make sure that we do it the right way with the right people perfect so I I guess what will elude back you did want to say if you did have all your pharmacist in the room right now well what what is obviously something you said and what it's like I guess a message you would get them moving forward and I think that the key in retail pharmacy is is really finding your passion and and making sure that it's something that you love now I hope with this I don't get a lot of resignations finding their passion and realizing that retail pharmacy while hard and while quite challenging it's rewarding too if it's done in the right way and if people develop the right skill set have the right support structure and invest in people around them a lot of people have invested in me in my career and if I can get our pharmacy managers and 233 stores to invest in their associates that they see day in and day out you know the future operations manager is is somewhere in that group you know that they think you know I don't know if I should go to pharmacy school those same conversations are taking place and just really a sense of gratitude you know it's it's hard with that many people and as the work force continues to grow and expand to connect enough where people really feel appreciated you know I can't I can't give everybody more money everyday I can't you know give them new cars and all kinds of I can give you a t-shirt the most of people sometimes are the words that we say and taking time when it's unexpected to not just celebrate you know you're very top performers and not just beat up your low performers but what about all these people that are in the middle they want to feel noticed and they want to feel like the work they do matters and there's a connection so that's a big part of my message I think right now is really just emphasizing those personal connections of what can we do and just remember to show gratitude and what we do and I think people feel better about what they do they'll feel inspired to overcome some of those not so good days where you're like why am I doing this and that customer walks in they you know you helped them when when somebody was going through chemo or you helped them with a child diagnosis or something then you go that's why I'm here that's what it's about it's about the people where's dr. Leonard headed in the next five years are there new goals that you haven't met is there in a bucket list things in your career that you want to or not career um I think I don't have a crystal ball again I don't I don't know where I'll be in five years I know that my my spirit is always to just kind of keep progressing I love to learn I love to read and I love to to take on new things and watch things grow and thrive I love to see success and other people that's rewarding for me so to do my part to continue to build a better stronger public's but in whatever capacity that is I'm pretty sure that people will be at the center of it I don't know what it what it looks like but it'll it'll certainly involve people yo my job is being is taken right now because of it I would I wouldn't have anybody else there so we're in good hands with our leadership across publics which is which is fantastic we have a phenomenal vice president of Pharmacy Dane Rusk and our leadership here in the Miami division is exceptional with John Goffe and Ty Jones Kevin Murphy we have so many phenomenal leaders that inspire and motivate me every day to to work harder and give my all because I see what they're doing yeah and if we can keep that cascade where a technician sees what their pharmacy manager is doing pharmacy manager sees what their supervisor is doing the supervisor sees what I'm doing and you can you feel that connection to I'm not doing this by myself or I'm not just a number I'm actually a person I'm an owner of Publix everybody that works for Publix is my business partner and I treat them as such so with that comes responsibility and expectations but also a sense of pride in connection so there any lasts in ending messages you were like oh I have one question last one last night so our first interview was with dr. Canaan he's the Cleveland Clinic director of pharmacy and he's also president of SHP and he said something that stuck with us for for all the episodes and we like to a say he says something that his boffins instilled in him to buy us for yes always say yes yes I never said no is that um something that what do you think of that do you believe in that I do I think that you know it's the easy answer is no you know we can't do it this is why or you've been told no in the past so the easy thing is you know path of least resistance you know if I just say no and somebody keeps moving on that'll be good but I think by saying yes and putting yourself out there for different things that you may not be prepared for or have the skill set I read the book lean in very popular book about exactly that have a seat at the table raise your hand you may not know what you're in for and you may fail at it yeah but you know what too often were - we live in like a perfectionist Society yeah they weren't we don't allow ourselves we stay in our comfort zone because if I'm here I'm safe and I'm not gonna fail so I mean it's gonna be perfect rather than really pushing those extremes to seeing you know what I want to fail sometimes because then I'm gonna know I want to fail in the right way yeah I don't want to intentionally go out and fail but if I want to test things I want to try things I want to take different approaches meeting here with you guys today I I've never done anything like this before so it's putting yourself out of your comfort zone you know yeah I might fail but there's also a message in that that it's okay to fail it's what you do from that it really matters I don't you know celebrities athletes so many examples politicians so many people that have had significant failure in their life and have gone on to become the very best in their field so I think we've got to get people a little bit more comfortable with that so that they continue to say yes yeah and take some chances instead of just saying you know I don't wanna be in the game get it to somebody else so any last messages last messages really just thanks to both of you for including publics in this and I'm very proud of of public's but public's isn't a name on the building public's is the people within the organization that make it strong so we will continue to invest in our people which is our greatest resource to be able to make sure that we're able to serve our customers well into the future awesome well thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy visit stores because you've got to be there my plan for today well we appreciate you taking the time and for the gifts we appreciate thank you so much thank you both thank you and thank you for everyone that tuned in my name is Nima and thank you for accepting our invite you [Music]