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Ann-Marie Foucault [00:00:05]:
Hello everyone. My name is Ann-Marie Foucault and when I am not at school with my students, I am out running or playing hockey or listening to John Garrett and What’s Your “And”?.

John Garrett [00:00:14]:
Welcome to episode 683 of What’s Your “And”?. This is John Garrett and each Wednesday I interview a professional who, just like me, is known for a hobby or a passion or an interest outside of work. And to put it another way, it’s encouraging people to find their “And.” Those things above and beyond your technical skills, the things that actually differentiate you when you’re at work. It’s the answer to the question of who else are you beyond your job title. And if you like what the show’s about, be sure to check out the award-winning book. It’s on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble Bookshop, a few other websites. All the links are at www.whatsyourand.com the book goes more in depth with the research behind why these outside-of-work passions are so crucial to your corporate culture. And I can’t see how much it means that everyone’s reading it and writing such great reviews on Amazon.

John Garrett [00:00:59]:
Thank you so much for those and more importantly, changing the cultures where they work because of it. And if you want me to read it to you, that’s right, this voice reading the book, look for What’s Your “And”? on Audible or wherever you get your audiobooks. And please don’t forget to hit subscribe to the podcast. You don’t miss any of the future episodes. I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week and this week is no different with my guest, Ann-Marie Foucault. She’s the superintendent at St. Michael Albertville School District just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota and now she’s with me here today. Ann-Marie, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:01:32]:
It’s really good to be here. Thanks for having me. I’m excited about the opportunity.

John Garrett [00:01:35]:
This is going to be awesome. It was so cool meeting you briefly after I spoke at the MASA/MACE Conference in Minneapolis a couple of months ago. So it’s cool to have you be a part of this. So thank you so much.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:01:46]:
Yeah, thanks for having me. It was lots of fun to see you and your message resonated with me. So yeah, thanks for having me today.

John Garrett [00:01:52]:
No, I appreciate the kind words. Well, we have 17 rapid fire questions which I couldn’t do with you from stage because that would have been awkward in front of hundreds of people. Now we’ll do it in front of GAZILLIONS on the Internet. So here we go. We’ll start. Maybe an easy one. Favorite color?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:02:05]:
Blue.

John Garrett [00:02:06]:
Blue. That’s mine. Too easy. All right, how about a least favorite color?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:02:10]:
Pink.

John Garrett [00:02:11]:
Pink. Interesting. Okay, all right, fair enough, fair enough. How about puzzles? Sudoku, Crossword puzzle? Jigsaw puzzle?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:02:18]:
I love wordle. I do it every night, and then I send it to my daughter, who’s 27. We compete against each other. Wordle. Definitely.

John Garrett [00:02:24]:
Nice. There you go. It’s intense. Okay. All right. Chocolate or vanilla?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:02:29]:
Chocolate. Definitely chocolate. Yes.

John Garrett [00:02:31]:
Do you have a favorite activity in gym class? Since you’re in schools, I have to ask. Maybe when you were a kid?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:02:37]:
Running. I love to run.

John Garrett [00:02:39]:
There you go. Which is what we’re here to talk about. So that’s perfect. I figured that was going to be the answer, but I wasn’t sure. How about toilet paper roll? You go over or under?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:02:47]:
Definitely over. Always over.

John Garrett [00:02:49]:
Okay, all right. Definitely over. When it comes to reading you a Kindle. Real book, audiobook.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:02:56]:
I have a Kindle, but I’m rediscovering the joy of actually picking up a book and the smell and the turning the page. But right now, Kindle.

John Garrett [00:03:03]:
Kindle, yeah, sure. Absolutely. How about Star wars or Star Trek?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:03:08]:
Star wars, definitely. Star Wars.

John Garrett [00:03:10]:
Your computer, you go more PC or Mac?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:03:12]:
PC, definitely. Although I do have my phone, my iPad. Those are all, of course, Apple.

John Garrett [00:03:17]:
Everything else is I. Everything. There you go. All right. Oh, this is a fun one. Rain or snow?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:03:23]:
Snow. I despise the rain. I hate getting wet. I like to run in the rain, but I do not like rain. I love snow. Hence why I’ve lived in Michigan, in Minnesota, my entire life.

John Garrett [00:03:34]:
Yeah, yeah. No, I despise rain as well. Like rain at night when we’re not outside.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:03:38]:
That’s pretty.

John Garrett [00:03:39]:
Like, then the grass and everything gets what it needs, and I don’t get bothered. There you go. Like, how about oceans or mountains?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:03:47]:
Oceans. Love oceans.

John Garrett [00:03:49]:
There you go. All right. How about ice cream? You go in a cup or in a cone.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:03:53]:
Definitely a cup.

John Garrett [00:03:54]:
Yeah. It’s just safer. I think you get a little more maybe.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:03:57]:
Yeah, I think so. But, yeah, I’d much prefer a spoon then. And it’s just not sometimes attractive to be, you know, running around, like, licking something and, you know, especially in town where my kids are, you know, I’ve got 7,000 kids in the district watching.

John Garrett [00:04:09]:
Me eat a Cohen Melty all over and.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:04:12]:
Yeah, not a good look. Not a good look.

John Garrett [00:04:13]:
Yeah. Do you have a favorite animated character or Disney character? I’ll Take any animated. Anything.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:04:18]:
I like Wonder Woman. I used to watch it growing up. Yes. Which I guess is kind of animated. Yeah, it’s animated because she’s flying.

John Garrett [00:04:25]:
Yeah. That’s a great one. How about a favorite number seven? Seven. Is there a reason?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:04:31]:
I just like seven on my. What’s my hockey jersey growing up? So number seven. So it just stuck with me after all these years.

John Garrett [00:04:37]:
It’s a great number. That’s for sure. How about diamonds or pearls?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:04:42]:
Diamonds, definitely. I like diamonds. I like the sparkle.

John Garrett [00:04:45]:
There you go. How about pens or pencils?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:04:47]:
Pens, definitely pens. I should do pencils. Although I do, like, on, like, my tablet or my, like, iPad. I can, you know, I have a pen, and I like the erase feature, so I can still erase, but I definitely like pens.

John Garrett [00:05:00]:
Yeah. Okay. All right. And the last one. The favorite thing you have or the favorite thing you own.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:05:05]:
My dog, I have a very spirited Yorkie who’s all of £5, and his name is Stanley, and he thinks he is the boss of the house. And he actually is the boss of the house. Favorite thing I own.

John Garrett [00:05:17]:
That’s incredible. And his name’s Stanley. That’s so great. So it’s like a real person’s name. So, Stanley, don’t pee over there. And it’s like, what. Who’s she yelling at? Oh, the dog.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:05:27]:
Yes. Not my husband or anything. So, yes. He’s named after the Stanley Cup. So, yeah, Stanley. His name is actually Stanley Cup. Fuquo. So big hockey fan.

John Garrett [00:05:36]:
I love it. That’s so incredible. So let’s talk running. Favorite sport growing up, apparently in gym class. So it’s something that you’ve been doing for all your life?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:05:45]:
Yes. I grew up in Northern Michigan, way up north on Lake Superior, and so there wasn’t much to do. So I like to run. My dad is a runner. My sister’s a runner. My whole family, I have four other siblings, and so we run. As I get older, my knees are a little bit bad, but it’s always. I think it’s something that’s always kept me grounded.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:06:03]:
And I think when I don’t come, when I do come to school and I haven’t had time for my run in the morning, staff will say to me, those that know me really well say, you haven’t had your run yet, have you? But I generally never miss a workout, so love to run. Just love to feel, get outside. I’m not a big treadmill runner, but if I have to, I will do that.

John Garrett [00:06:21]:
Sure. Yeah. No, that’s incredible. And I Mean, I’ve been up there in up Michigan and along Lake Superior. It’s beautiful up there.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:06:29]:
It is. It’s gorgeous.

John Garrett [00:06:31]:
Yeah. Do you have any runs that come to mind from your running career, if you will, that come to mind that were some of your favorites or more memorable?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:06:38]:
Really? Any place. Whenever I travel, my husband, I like to travel. I mean, my job is intense, but we do sneak away for weekends or in the summer or at breaks, and we sneak away. And my favorite thing to do is he’s not a runner. He does not like to run. And so he’ll be sleeping, and I just lace up my shoes quietly at the crack of dawn, and I go out and watch the sunset and run around and learn a little bit more about the city. So wherever I’m at. I was at the National Superintendents Conference in New Orleans in this winter, and so I was able to go and do a couple runs in the morning and got to see the city, you know, from a different lens that, you know, sometimes you see it when you’re out walking in the middle of the day, but in the morning, it’s quiet and it’s peaceful, and you can really just feel the city more than if you’re just walking around the middle of the day.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:07:25]:
So that’s the kind of run I like to do the most.

John Garrett [00:07:27]:
Yeah. I mean, especially a city like New Orleans, you know, I mean, you know, because it’s. There’s a lot going on and. Yeah. And those extra layers on top of the city, it makes it hard to get the vibe and feel the city. Like you said, where in the morning, nothing’s happening except for the city.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:07:41]:
Yeah, the birds. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:07:43]:
Yeah. No, that’s. That’s super cool. I love it. That’s. That’s awesome. And so do you feel like any of your running translates over to work? I mean, obviously, people that have known you for a long time can tell if you’ve run or not, but how do you feel like that skill set comes over? Besides, I’m guessing, you know, a mindset shift that happens as well.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:08:02]:
Yeah, I think that, you know, it’s just something that’s ingrained in me. So, like, going that extra mile, it sounds like, you know, it’s a. It’s a cliche, but at the same time, I always push myself. So when I’m out in a different city. I was in Austin recently and at a conference, and so I ran the first morning when I was getting my shoes laced up for the second morning, I thought, you know, I’m going a Little bit longer today. And so it translates back into school. Because there’s a Maya Angelou quote that says, do the best you can until you know better. And then when you know better, do better.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:08:31]:
And, and I always use especially that last part, when you know better, do better. I’m a big fan of that. And it’s on my bulletin board. And if you could see me, I’m looking over it, because once we know better, do better. And so with running, I’m always trying to not race myself. I don’t really. It’s different distances all the time. But when I’m out and running, I always, that next day try to just do a little bit better, do a little bit better.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:08:54]:
And in my world, I deal with kids. And like I said, I have 7,000 kids in my district and I always say they’re my kids, but we can always do better. And I’m always out and about talking to kids. I do these superintendent student forums where I just grab 10 kindergarteners. And then the next time I go to our elementary schools and I take another 10 first through fourth graders, middle school, high school, our alternative learning program, and I ask them all kinds of questions because I truly want to know how we can do better. And so going back to running, I can do better. And so I push myself. And I think when I come to work school, I don’t really think of it as work.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:09:31]:
Most days I joke to my husband, I can’t believe they pay me for this, because I love what I do. I mean, you can’t. You get that energy. I get energy running from looking at people walking their dogs or the birds or the sunrise. And then when I walk through our schoolhouse doors in the morning again, it sounds corny, but it’s the truth. You know, I get energy from our kids and from our staff members. We’re all doing what’s best for kids and trying to do better.

John Garrett [00:09:56]:
Yeah, no, I love that so much. There’s so many great things there, you know, but. But it’s just taking the moments to recognize the things around us and appreciate the things around us. But then I love how you go to where they’re at and you know, the students and then get 10 of them and ask them, you know, hey, what’s up? Like how, how are things from your perspective?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:10:20]:
Right.

John Garrett [00:10:20]:
As opposed to, I’m an adult, you’re six, so I’m just going to tell you what to do. No, it’s like, hey, what’s up? You know, because sometimes six year olds have great ideas that I Would have never thought about, you know. And the same works with your staff. The same works with, you know, no matter what organization we have. Is just. I love how you go to, you know, the end user or the lower level staff, the newer staff, the whatever, and just ask, you know, hey, what is it that we could do better from your eyes? And maybe it’s not realistic, you know, maybe it’s not possible, but maybe it is, right?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:10:55]:
A lot of it is. And I try to give the kids a win. And I talk about voice and being a student, that their voice matters. And, you know, it’s confidential. And so I don’t have the principal in there, you know, I just do it. And I always tell the kids it’s confidential. I won’t tell your parents, won’t tell the principal, your teachers, unless it’s something that would hurt them or somebody else. But then I try to give them some wins.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:11:13]:
Like, you know, our fourth graders said that they didn’t get seconds and they were still hungry, so talk to the food service person. And we got fourth graders seconds. The kindergartners told me that they didn’t have enough sidewalk chalk. You know, I mean, it’s kind of foddy, but like, well, yeah, let’s do that. You know, they did ask me to paint the building pink. And I said, well, you know, and I gave them the why, you know, but our kids, you know, our high school kids, they’re so honest. And the high school, we have 19, and I do 24 of these a year. And so we had 19 kids just this last time.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:11:43]:
And they’re like, Dr. Fuqua, we need some guidance on AI. Like, we don’t know, should we use it? Are we allowed to use it? Is it cheating? We want to do the right thing. And they were, they were honest. And when I tell the principals, I don’t say, just pick your high flyers. I want just a mix of kids, just our everyday kids that are gonna give it to me, like, honest. And so I try to then find the kids and follow up. Some of the stuff, like I said I can’t do, but a lot of it I share with our staff members.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:12:12]:
My favorite question is, what’s your most memorable moment this school year? And it really, it has them show or tell me what are the things that they like? And I’ll tell you. They’ve never said that they want to have a lecture. They’ve never said that they remember doing math worksheet, you know, 337. It’s always about the fun things. Like they remember when they had a dress up day, or whenever they remember when they got to do this activity, field trips, things like that. And I always tell the teachers, you know, I know your curriculum is very important because I’m a teacher, but at the same time, is it really important you know, the kids, unless they know who you are and they have those relationships, you know, that’s why your message resonated with me at masa. You know, unless they have that connection and we’re really the staff, we have about 800 staff members here. They know that I’m all about relationships and connections.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:13:00]:
Connections with kids, but connections with colleagues. Because if you don’t know, if you don’t know your colleagues and you don’t feel that connector, you don’t feel connected to the school district, connected to our common purpose, our vision, then we’re all moving around and we can’t do good things for kids.

John Garrett [00:13:15]:
That’s so true. Because unless you have that foundation and you have that trust with the students, then it doesn’t matter what we’re teaching them, it’s just going to bounce off. And it’s the same as when you go to a conference and there is a lecture or keynote or something like that. Like if you don’t build that rapport first, then it’s just throwing bricks at somebody’s face. And not only does that hurt, but it’s not ineffective. And I’m not bringing any of these bricks home.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:13:39]:
Right.

John Garrett [00:13:40]:
And so, you know, the same as with students. And so it’s, it’s being human a little bit vulnerable. And that’s where what’s your aunt comes in of just who are you as a human? And it doesn’t have to get super deep because Simon Sinek’s why can cause you to have an existential crisis if you really start to spin around in it. But you know, just who are you as a human? And then we’re all humans too. And what would be super cool is see what are the ands of the students. Like have all that at the beginning of the year and then now we have like the whole school year to just explore everybody’s ants throughout the whole thing. And you know, it’s just super cool to see for them to know. I mean, because I remember my teachers when I was a kid and I mean, I don’t know who they were as humans.

John Garrett [00:14:19]:
I mean I just knew who they were in school, but it was a different time a while ago. That’s so cool to hear how, you know, how it plays out you know, in the real world, you know that it’s not just a make believe theory, it’s a real thing that matters.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:14:33]:
It does matter. It absolutely matters.

John Garrett [00:14:35]:
Yeah. And so I guess do you come across other runners or maybe students that love running or cross country team or track team or whatever, or do they know this side about you?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:14:46]:
Yeah, so I see them at the gym because I, you know, in the mornings I don’t run outside when I’m like during school. So I go to the gym in town here. And so I see kids all the time. And you know, a lot of them, it’s unique because I’ve been here so long in this district. 25 years, like I said. And so I had. I’m a chemistry teacher. Chemistry, biology.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:15:03]:
But I was actually asked to be the kindergarten principal one year. And so. Yeah, right. And I’m like, no, no, no, I don’t think I want to do that. And our superintendent, who’s my fabulous and a great mentor, she said to me, you know, Amerie, you got to do it. And so I did. And I had 477 that year. And she kept saying, it’s going to be a piece of cake.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:15:24]:
Don’t worry about it, piece of cake. And that first month I called her almost every day and said, marcia, it is not a piece of cake. And so I think I gained like five pounds because she kept bringing me cake. But it was the best, best job. I mean, I love the job I have right now. This is probably the best job. But I loved being a kindergarten principal. But going back to what you asked, you know, I think that I had kindergarteners, So I had 477 and I’ve been in the district since.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:15:49]:
So the kids all know me as the kindergarten principal. Of course I’ve changed in those years, nine years. But they know me. So when I see them at the gym and they’re working out with me, you know, they’re always stop and say hi when I go to the grocery store. So I do see them and I also go see our kids just about every night I pick an event and I’m very hands on and energetic. That’s why I run, so I have more energy. But I pick an event and I go see our kids at night. So cross country, track, all of our things.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:16:17]:
But not just sports, you know, it’s our concerts. Saturday I went to our true nights program or our prom. Our students with IEPs from high school all the way up to age 22 had a prom. And so I had it almost made Me cry. I had tears in my eyes, actually. I had kids that I had in preschool, special ed, and I watched them and now they’re, they’re past high school and so they are in school still because our programming goes up to 22, but they were there and they were dancing and it was just, it was so much fun to see it full circle.

John Garrett [00:16:48]:
So anyway, yeah, no, that’s, that’s really powerful. And I mean, just the difference that you’re able to make and you know, just by being a little, little bit vulnerable yourself, you know, that you don’t have to be this, you know, superintendent or principal that’s up on this pillar that is invincible, all knowing, you know, godlike, you know, demanding, whatever. You know, it’s. It’s quite the opposite. You get out from behind the desk, you leave your office, you go to the students, you go to their activities, you, you share those other sides of you that, you know, just the human sides of you, you know, what lights you up because, you know, people want to see that side of you. You know that you don’t want the students to become just one dimensional robots. You want them to be multidimensional beings, the same as you, you know, so they need to see that modeled for them, which is really cool. And then how do you feel that that plays out? Does it play out differently with the staff or is it a similar thing?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:17:40]:
It’s a similar thing because I’ve been in this district for a while, but I really value like the relationships and the connections. And so I’m rarely in my office. When I walked in the staff morning, I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m gonna be in the office for two hours. You know, I mentioned that I have these superintendent student forms, but I also do listening sessions with staff members where they can come and, you know, it’s just me and they can ask me anything they want. But a lot of times I’m vulnerable and say, you know what? I don’t know the answer to that because I mean, clearly if they, if I sit up there and act like I do, everybody knows I don’t know the answer to. I mean, that’s ridiculous. So, you know, I like. And I’ll ask them, you know, what do you think of that? You know, so I am a big believer in asking staff because they’re smart, we hired them and they’ll have a different perspect perspective and a different lens.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:18:22]:
And that, I think makes me grow as a leader, but then it also helps the organization remember back to that Quote, when you know better, do better. You know, they’ll tell me something and I’m like, what? You’re kidding me. I didn’t know we were doing that. That’s ridiculous. And so I’ll come back and I’ll ask hr, business services or technology, I’m like, hey, tell me more about this. Are we doing this? And then I’m also, I schedule myself in classrooms, so I most of the time I’m in the classroom. And so, so I’ll schedule a day at our primary, I’ll schedule a day at our elementaries or at our middle schools and high schools. And so throughout the year I’m in classrooms 24 times a year.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:18:57]:
I mean all the time, but formal. And so then I just go and crawl on the floor with our kindergarteners, our third graders, and sit there and you know, if they’re doing, using math manipulatives or in high school, if they’re doing a science experiment or they’re doing push ups in middle school and pe, I’m trying to do push ups with them and so that they can see that I’m a person. But then also occasionally the teachers will come out or the paras or food service or I’ll go on the loading dock and talk to the custodians and they’ll tell me, we’ll just have a conversation and I’ll ask not necessarily about school things, but about them as a person, as a human. Because I think it’s important that we get to know each other on a different level. And I’m fond of poking fun of myself. So I’ll talk about my noisy dog Stanley, because they know Stanley. Or when I’m running or I have two different shoes on, I’ve been known to do that. I’m running to school quick.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:19:51]:
So I try to get to know them as people because if I don’t know them as people, it’s hard for them to come in and feel connected to the school district. And it’s not about me knowing them, but it’s about them feeling connected so that they can come and do good things for kids.

John Garrett [00:20:04]:
Yeah, a ton of great stuff in there as well, but yeah, just they’re not able to do their job as well if they don’t feel connected to each other, but also vertically because that’s what I find too is, yeah, horizontally. Yeah, all the custodians each know each other or all the teachers know each other or whatever. But does it go vertical? You know, and that’s super cool to hear that you’re making sure that it does. I mean, because that’s the most vertical it can get in a school district, really. And so it’s like, yeah, I mean, you know, I want to make sure that I know who you are. I know what you do, but who are you? And then just more fun. Cool things come from that. It’s only good.

John Garrett [00:20:40]:
It’s never, oh, you do that, you’re fired, or, you know, or I’m never talking to you again. Like it’s a. Because it’s not illegal or taboo. So, hey, who are you? Type of a thing? Yeah. That’s so cool to hear. Do you have any words of encouragement to anyone listening that has a hobby or a passion, but they feel like, well, it has nothing to do with my job, so no one’s going to care type of thing?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:21:01]:
Yep, absolutely do it. Because I always tell people, if you can’t take care of yourself and show up for yourself, then you’re not going to be able to be the best person you can be for your family, which is important, but then also your school, family or whatever your job is. You have to take care of yourself first. And, you know, when I was talking about running, it’s about me getting energy, but it’s also about my health. If I want to be healthy, not necessarily so, I can show up for school every day or for work every day, but I want to be healthy so that I can make the most of my life. I can be there for my family, for my daughter, for my husband, for my parents, but I can be here for 7,000 kids. I. I can’t remember the last day I took a sick day.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:21:42]:
And again, I think it goes back to that activity. When you’re doing what your passion is and you’re not just worried about work all the time. I think you can be more efficient when you actually take time to be there, show up for yourself. You can be more efficient when you get to school or to work.

John Garrett [00:21:57]:
Yeah, right. No, absolutely. That’s so perfect and so great for everyone. And it’s just cool to hear this example that’s out in the world. And so I’m so happy that you were a part of this, but I feel like it’s only fair since I rudely peppered you with questions at the beginning, that we turn the tables, we make this the Ann-Marie Foucault podcast. Thanks for having me on episode one, I’m assuming. So, yeah, I’m all yours, whatever you want to ask.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:22:25]:
So thank you for being on what is your and what fuels you to get up. I don’t know if you do one of these every morning, but when you’re doing this, what gets you up in the morning and gives you energy and gives you that feeling bump to just keep going?

John Garrett [00:22:38]:
Yeah. Well, I mean, I certainly don’t do the podcasts every morning, but it’s so cool to do them because I’ve accidentally created a show where you’re most alive. You know, we’re not talking about work on the show. We’re talking about what lights you up on a deeper level. And so I get everyone. Yeah, most alive on the show. And so it’s cool to share that and then how it impacts everyone else because it’s our collective message, which is cool. But for me personally, I mean, college football is definitely my thing.

John Garrett [00:23:07]:
I went to Notre Dame and so Notre Dame football, of course. But all of college football, I just grew up watching it. It was a thing. When we were kids, we lived on the east coast, so my parents would take us to the Army Navy game in Philadelphia, like, old school. And that was really neat. And so just all of the pomp and circumstance that goes around the traditions and all of that with college football, I just really love that. I love going to concerts again. It’s a shared experience, I guess, you know, the energy and all that.

John Garrett [00:23:36]:
And just really cool to be a part of that experience. I love to travel. I also love ice cream. So, you know, just a variety of things there that, yeah, running is not on the list. I would be sleeping also. So kudos to your husband. And maybe that’s his hand. Maybe that’s his hand.

John Garrett [00:23:52]:
Because my best friend from high school, his hand is definitely taking that. That’s for sure. Anywhere, anytime, it doesn’t matter. But, yeah, I’m not quite that level. But, yeah.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:24:00]:
You’re not a hockey fan then.

John Garrett [00:24:02]:
Well, so growing up, we lived in outside of St. Louis, so big Blues fan, but that was back Chris Pronger, Al McInnis, Grant Fuhrer, Pablo Demetra. Like, and then the strike happened in the early 90s or whatever, and then that all got exploded and I just sort of gave up because I was like, yeah, forget it. Like, all the players that I remembered are gone and like, all that. So. But I mean, it’s a crazy sport. It’s absolutely insane. I mean, the fact that it’s a sport at all, like, I mean, the.

John Garrett [00:24:29]:
I mean, it’s just. It doesn’t even make sense. And the fact that they’re able to do what they do is amazing. I mean, I would I would argue the best athletes on the planet. I mean, it’s crazy. I mean, the muscle mass or body fat has to be like 0%. I mean, just everything from head to toe is active and you’re sweating but you’re freezing. But it’s like, it’s just, it’s nuts.

John Garrett [00:24:51]:
It’s absolutely nuts. But yeah, so I mean, I do enjoy watching it, but not as much into it.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:24:56]:
Yeah, yeah, it’s a good sport. But yeah, football is good too. My husband’s into, loves football, so. Yes. So you wrote a book. Tell me more about that. What inspired you to write a book?

John Garrett [00:25:06]:
Okay, yeah, so when I was speaking, I would have people come up after and say, hey, you know, my manager’s not here but she needs to hear this or he needs to hear this and I’m going to mess up telling them. And I was like, well, you probably will. So after enough people asked, hey, do you have a book? I said, well, apparently, you know, bigger forces are trying to tell me to write a book. That was quite a journey. When you write a book, you really have to want to write a book if you want to do it. Well, yeah, so it was about two years from start to publish and yeah, it’s intense, but it’s been really cool to see. I wrote it in a different way. It’s micro chapters, it’s very readable.

John Garrett [00:25:44]:
I mean, I wrote it so it’s my words, it’s my language, it’s very conversational, it’s easy. The greatest compliment I’ve gotten was from a 25 year old who hasn’t finished a podcast book in forever. And he said, I accidentally finished your book, which is great because you enjoyed it to where you were, oh, I’m done type of a thing. And so, yeah, so it’s won some awards, which is really cool and gotten a lot of really positive feedback, which is awesome. And it’s neat to see when people that I don’t even know how you got the book leave an Amazon review or email me or whatever. And the impact that it’s had beyond corporate, it’s stay at home parents that their kid goes away to college and now all of a sudden they’ve lost their identity. It’s people that, you know that I didn’t even imagine it impacting that now are letting me know how the message resonates with them. And so that’s what’s been really neat, is it kind of makes it permanent and more shareable, I guess, which is cool.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:26:41]:
It gives you energy when you impact Somebody and you impacted me. You impacted so many at the superintendent’s conference. And it’s on my list to get the book. And I’m looking. I gotta read the book first, but I wanna use it next year with our staff members because I think that it will impact them as well. And again, I haven’t read the book yet. But, you know, like I said earlier, if staff members, any of our staff members, if they don’t have a passion, they don’t know what their and is, then they’re not gonna show up for our kids. So that’s what I love about you, is that, you know, your message resonates with so many different people like you mentioned, from corporate to schools to people that don’t even work in an organization.

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:27:19]:
Everybody needs to have a passion. Everyone needs to know what their and is so they can be a good human, they can be a good citizen, they can contribute to society in a meaningful way. So, yeah. So kudos to you. I love that message.

John Garrett [00:27:30]:
No, awesome. Well, thank you so much, Ann-Marie, for letting me on your podcast and also being a part of mine. Very meta at the same time. But this is so cool to hear and I appreciate the kind words. So thank you for being a part of. What’s your answer?

Ann-Marie Foucault [00:27:43]:
Yeah, thank you for having me. It was a delightful time.

John Garrett [00:27:48]:
Absolutely. And everybody listening. If you want to see some pictures of Ann-Marie running or connect with her on social media, be sure to go to www.whatsyourand.com all the links are there. And while you’re on the page, please click that big button. Do the anonymous research, survey about corporate culture, and don’t forget to read the book. So thanks again for subscribing on Apple podcasts or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread that who you are is so much more than what you do.