Almost a year and a half into his Connor Group career Sal Gracia has proven to be a quick study, so quick in fact that he recently added the Columbus market to his portfolio, which also includes Cincinnati and Dayton. We recently sat down with Sal to learn more about his background and his Connor Group experience to date.
QUESTION: You’ve picked things up pretty quickly in the 16 months you’ve been here. How?
ANSWER: You just have to be relentless and think long-term. You have to put in a lot of long hours, but you have to know that it’s going to pay off over time. I’m not smarter or quicker than anyone else, but I think I’ve put the time in.
Q: When you were hired, you were one of four new hires with your same job description. You’re the only one left. Has that made you nervous?
A: I didn’t feel comfortable for at least a year. People told me I wouldn’t know what I didn’t know for at least a year. And I probably still don’t. But I thought if I could get to a year, I’d have a good base to learn from. I’m never going to know everything I need to know. But that’s what relentless pursuit is. That’s what drives us. And it all goes back to using your resources. People like Katie Powell and Jennie Juran and Meredith McCullough in the field and people like Chris Jemo in the Central Office have taught me a ton.
Q: What’s it been like reporting to Larry?
A: Intense. But I learned more in a year than I did in 10 years at my previous company.
Q: What do you like about the company?
A: Obviously the people. Everyone is competent and extremely driven. And I love how open and honest we are. There are no hidden agendas. And just about everything here already has been invented. There’s a process and a structure to everything we do.
Q: What are your priorities in Columbus?
A: No. 1 is getting to know all the people. We have amazing people in Columbus and I really can’t wait to start building relationships with them. We want to get Quarry sold and complete our supplemental loans. Long-term, I want to make sure we have the right PCM trainer in place.
Q: We always ask people during the interview process what career they would have if money was no object. Do you remember what your answer was?
A: I do, and it was consistent throughout the interview process. I didn’t hesitate. I would have loved to have had a morning show on the radio – something on a rock station.
Q: And you owned a karaoke business for a while, right? How did you get into that?
A: I don’t even remember, to be honest. I was always just fascinated with music. And I remember buying a set of Pioneer speakers and a 100-disc changer for CDs. It was the coolest thing at the time. And I remember one day singing along and some girl saying that she liked it. And the light bulb went on; that was how I was going to get girls. So I started doing karaoke.
Q: What was your first gig?
A: I was 17 and my neighbor was a DJ. He got me a gig at a bar called Spanky’s in Defiance, Ohio. I was 17 and I looked like I was 12. But they all thought I was 21; so they were serving me drinks. I thought it was awesome. And that’s all I did for a living from 2000 until 2007. I went to college and got more gigs. I’d do bars during the week and weddings on Saturday. I ended up not finishing college. I was there two years, but I probably only went to a year’s worth of classes. I was a mess. Classes were starting when my nights were ending.
Q: Let’s say you die today. And you get to the pearly gates and St. Peter says you get one karaoke song. And based on your performance, he’ll decide if you go to heaven or hell. What song do you sing?
A: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond.
Q: Before the DJ-ing and karaoke, what was the first paying job you ever had?
A: I shoveled horse manure at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio. It’s one of those historical places, where it’s set like an 1800s village. And we had to dress up in the old clothes. So I had the suspenders and the straw hat.
Q: How old were you?
A: Like 12 or 13. I rode my bike the first two years until I saved up enough to buy a moped. And then I rode the moped. Every year I’d get a new job – bailing hay, taking care of the horses, grinding corn on the old hand crank, milking cows. And people would watch you and take pictures. One time we had to kill and cook a chicken in front of everyone. It was gross, but I guess it was the old way of doing things. I did that all through high school.
Q: Are you a big reader? What do you read?
A: I was never a big reader, until I got to know Bob Lloyd. Now I’ve committed to reading one book a month. And it’s usually whatever leadership book Bob’s given me. I really liked Tribal Leadership and the Power of Positive Thinking.