Kelley Puckett (goodr) | Sunglasses with the Permission to Be Unabashedly Yourself

24:58It was really smart how he's building this company. But it wasn't until a couple years later, I was running a race up in Napa. And before that, I'd only seen my friends wearing Gooder. And I go up north, I'm running this race, and everybody is wearing the brand. And then I go to a running store nearby, and I see the display on the counter. And I asked the woman about it. And she's like, we can't even keep these glasses on the stand. They are moving so fast. So I realized this brand was something special. And I think at the time as well, I was starting to feel like I wanted something different.

25:33I think the film industry was really starting to change. It didn't feel the same as it had nine years before. You know, you can only work on so many Mission Impossible films and you start to burn out a little bit. So not long after that race, he called me and he asked me if I wanted to come and work for Goodr. And it was an immediate yes. I was terrified, but it was an immediate yes. I think just the opportunity to be a part of a growing brand and scale it. I really believed in him. I believed in what he was doing. And then just this unique opportunity to combine my passions in life with my career was something that was really interesting to me.

26:10So for the first time, I would be talking about running inside my job, which I thought was just amazing. So I took the leap and haven't looked back. That's six and a half years, you're CMO, but you also have two other titles, right? Your brand director and the energy lead. We've had many, many different names of our teams internally. So it's, it's changed quite a bit. The position I started at was really focused on marketing to runners. And then I was focused on leading our partnerships team, which is now our sports marketing and partnerships team. And then I was working on what we now call, we previously called energy, but we call it now consumer marketing.

26:50So it was all of our D to C marketing efforts. And now I oversee essentially two marketing teams, which is our retail marketing team and our consumer marketing team. So it's just one big marketing department with two larger teams that sit within that. But we've had so many different shifts. Our brand grows very quickly and the organization changes as well, but that's where we are today. Now, you seem to be a leader who's very intentional with how you spend your time. I've heard you talk about your weekly kind of rhythm. You do weekly reviews on Monday, you connect with people on Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday and Friday for bigger projects, which need a little bit more breathing room, time, thought, you know, pensiveness, deeper thinking.

27:37So could you talk about that rhythm and why that works for you? And I think maybe the bigger challenge is how do you stay true to it, you know, in all the things that come up every week, every day? Certainly. It definitely, I'm not always able to stay true to that. I think if I can accomplish one thing going into the week, it's having a lot of little things done. And usually I'll spend some of Saturday and Sunday completing that so that I can go into the week without stress. so that if my week completely blows up, I can still be in the moment of whatever that requires from me versus feeling like I'm behind.

28:14So I always try to go into the week feeling like I'm ahead. Like I've checked off a lot of things from my list I need to because inevitably things are going to change. If anything, I love to preserve that Monday morning to really set myself up for success. And then if I can, you know, find a couple hours on Friday for that deep thinking, for creative thinking, whatever space I can find for that, then I feel really good about that. And then there's always, you know, sometimes it carries over into Saturday and Sunday and you're not receiving any slacks. It's really quiet and I can really focus on something that I'm also just really excited to work on.

28:50So that's sort of how I approach my week, knowing that typically things are going to change. You know, I love the thought of the rhythm. I had a kind of a similar rhythm myself, and I still try to keep a kind of rhythm. When you take that time for a deeper thinking project, how do you approach that? Do you do it with people? Do you do it yourself? Do you do some external benchmarking? Do you do some reading? So just talk about that because I think a lot of CMOs don't reserve time for those bigger issues because they're gnarlier, right? They're tougher. And we have lots of things in our inbox and we can let our inbox control our lives without thinking about the other part, which is sort of our outbox.

29:30So I'd just be very curious. And what are the characteristics of some of those projects you work on and how you really approach it? For me, if I have a project, I know, you know, a couple months down the line and it's a larger project. For me, it's always about starting, starting early and giving myself the space to change my mind many, many times throughout the process, which really removes some of that pressure and allows me to be a little bit more creative. So I want to start it. And then I want to continue to think about it and change it and modify it and see what it turns into. So for me, it's about giving things space.

30:05And then I like to, within that space, get the opinions of others. So whether that's sitting down with my boss or some of my teammates and getting their opinion, I find that that's really helpful in continuing to build out whatever it is that I have. But it's all about having that space. If you don't have that space, you don't have the time to change your mind. You don't have the time to adapt it. So that's what it really looks like for me. It's so important. Even when I do a podcast like this, I don't want to be rushed. I mean, I prepared for you maybe 10 days ago. And then I put my notes aside and then I come back to them and think, oh, I think I want to talk about this some more.

30:45And you want to also go in with an open mind that you told me about Coach Wood and I didn't know that was coming. I hadn't found that. So you want to be present, but you also want to have the time to think about preparation in a calm way, because I think we're more creative that way. Absolutely. I mean, preparation is probably one of the most important things to me. We call it having a sharp axe. And so if I feel like I have a sharp axe going into something, that is going to give me the confidence to feel like I can execute whatever needs to be executed. So that is my life hack is just as much as I can prepare, then that gives me the space to do what is needed.

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31:58You also seem to be a leader who injects a lot of fun and development-oriented rituals into your workplace and with your team. You do lunchtime talks, you do squawk talks, focus on outside speakers, things like that. So could you talk about how that resonates with your team, how they respond to that, what sorts of topics or people really resonate? I think in general, our brand really lends itself to fun, which we are just so lucky to be a part of something that allows us to lean into absurdity, to really enjoy what we're doing. There's a lot of practices we have just company wide. We have something called Pitchapalooza, which is really about democratizing creativity and allowing anyone to come in.

32:39And whether they're pitching a launch of a pair of sunglasses or a marketing idea, that's just a great way to bring in the entire company and allow them to share their ideas and have fun. I like to do that within our marketing meetings as well and just making sure we have some space for brainstorming and just, you know, not necessarily focused on a specific project, but what are just fun ideas and how is that going to lead us to doing something really incredible with the brand? And then the Squawk Talks really comes from a place of, you know, I thought it can feel a little insular as a brand. I think most brands, right, you start to just you're only hearing yourselves.

33:18And so I wanted to start a speaker series so we could bring in outside voices. Also, inclusivity is really important to me. I have a sister with Down syndrome. So I really, you know, it's important to me to bring in different perspectives. It bleeds into what we do as a brand because at our core, accessibility is really important as well. So as much as we can bring outside opinions in, I think that also is just going to build more creativity within the walls of Goodr. Has there been an outside speaker or company that you brought in in the last few months or year or so that's had special resonance?

33:51Oh, I mean, my favorite was a gentleman by the name of Chris Nickich. He was the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman. And so he was someone I had just been following forever, obviously, because of my sister. it was just incredibly meaningful for me. I was able to bring in my family and my sister and he was just hilarious. He was so much fun. He'd had this scripted presentation but he would go off script every once in a while and you just never knew what direction he was gonna go in. But I think what was really special about him was the relationship between him and his father and his father was there.

34:25And it was clear that his father was really the impetus behind all these things that Chris had done in his life, this belief that his son was not restricted by his disability, but could do anything. And I just loved seeing the two of them. So that was a really, really special talk for me. Let's talk a little bit more about your brand, right? Gooder. Great brands are distinctive. And I love how you're so clear on where you want to be distinctive. You say in your products, in your content, and in your culture. So could you talk a bit about those three? I mean, it's important to state it, right? So everyone's clear on what you're striving for, but it's another thing to really live it and bring it to life day in and day out across your growing organization.

35:08So could you talk about how you talk about that inside, how you keep that in front of everyone, how you get ideas on those three areas? Because I think it's crystal clear, but a lot of companies talk and don't act and it falls apart. You seem to be doing both. You know, starting with as a brand, I think I've never been a part of a brand that from our inception was so clear on who we are and our value propositions. And really, that's about accessibility. And, you know, we really started by focusing on the 5K runner. And when you do that, you're really talking to everybody, you know, and that's really the goal.

35:42Anyone who's active, we really want to be there and be there for whatever joyful looks like for you within your day-to-day life of being active. So I think we've just always been incredibly clear about who we are, what our products, you know, the no slip, no bounce, all polarized, all fun. We lean into the four Fs, fun, functionality, affordability, fashion. So that really gives us this clear, these clear North stars on how to build this brand and how we continue to grow this brand. So that, that in itself is just really incredible. And then in terms of our culture, I think our culture is, even as we've scaled, has really stayed true to who we are at our core.

36:26And, you know, it evolves as we grow, but it's about celebrating the work over the results. I think first and foremost, that's something I always say to people when they ask me what I love about working for Goodr. It really is about celebrating the work. And if you do that, you really will find the results. So I think at our core, that's what always sticks to me about our culture. You know, we talk about having a sharp ax within our walls. It's really important that you show up on time. People are really respectful of that. All very unique things that I just really love about our brand. And I think just genuinely, we just have amazingly creative, hardworking people who love doing great work.

37:07And that's really, it really is a privilege to be a part of that. When you say celebrate the work, you're talking about everything, product design, communication, content, everything. All everything, even to the point where at the end of every year, we have this big celebration. We call it the Flamingo Gala. And we have a Sharpest Axe Award. And we all vote on the team who, you know, whatever they executed and why they had the sharpest axe. We also celebrate what we call the biggest flock up. So we celebrate our failures. You know, it is important to try and fail. And I've been a part of both.

37:44I've received the sharpest axe and I've received the biggest flock up. And I was genuinely happy to receive both. You know, it's part of the process. You have to celebrate all the wins, all the learnings. And that's what's going to keep you excited to continue every day. How do you nurture that culture of having flock ups to be okay? Because you celebrate a big one at the end of the year, but you're probably having flock ups every week. How do you make it okay to have those? I think by admitting your own failures, first and foremost, including, you know, our CEO will get up and say, Hey, I messed this up.

38:20I think when you do that, you allow everyone else to do the same. We also have a Slack channel that's just dedicated to people sharing their failures. And, you know, I think we just try to show that in many ways that it's okay when you're trying to do something good. and inevitably, you know, it's not always going to work out. But as long as the intention is there, as long as you're striving to do something, you know, great, it's, it's okay. It's going to happen. It's part of the process. And you call your, your associates the flock, right? Isn't that your word for the team? Our teams themselves are flocks and the individuals are referred to as flamingos.

39:02Okay, good. How do you keep your content so fresh? Do you have a small group that works out or does everyone do it or what's your strategy? It's becoming more challenging. I think as we scale also, as you start to talk to a wider audience, I think the way you talk to them at different phases has to change a little bit. You know, you have to, we call it internally the absurd-o-meter. And so maybe you're going a hundred percent absurd with someone who's made 20 purchases. But for the first time you connect with someone, you might be 25 % absurd. But really, all the credit goes to our creative team, who's really incredible.

39:39Our copy team, our design team, our content team, they are all storytellers at their core. Initially, when we started the brand, a lot of them were filmmakers and writers, copyright, you know, playwrights. And so you really see a lot of that, I think, bleed into our brand as well. But yeah, it's not easy. And of course, where you're marketing, you know, and social media, for instance, is so different than what we're sending in an email. And so keeping up with all the trends and keeping up with the way that all these channels are evolving is incredibly difficult. But like I said, we do have our North Stars.

40:17And I think that always gives us a place to work from. So that is really helpful. Just curious, are you back in the office? Are you hybrid? How are you managing that? Yes, we've been back in the office since, oh gosh, I think three years ago, we got back in the office. So pretty quickly after COVID, I think it's incredibly important. It's a huge part of our culture is connection. So that Tuesday and Thursday, everybody's in the office. We have our all hands on meeting every Tuesday. We call it Tuesdays with Carl. And so that is a point where we're all able to really connect, share our wins, share our failures, just celebrate together.

40:54So we've been back in the office for a while.

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42:01Let's move to the creative brief. And I've heard you talk in another venue about how challenging it is. You have found that in the past to give direct feedback. And sometimes it doesn't land for a variety of reasons. A lot of people have that challenge. So I'd like you to talk about your evolution and what you've learned about helping ensure that direct feedback does land the right way with every person who you deliver it to. Well, one, I'm a firm believer that, and we say this internally, clear is kind. And so being transparent as quickly as you can and having direct conversation, I think is incredibly important.

42:37I think that's how we set people up for success. And I really do care about people. And so I want to make sure they understand whatever it is that whatever feedback is that needs to be given, that they're clear on that. Approaching feedback sometimes looks different based on the person. And, you know, we work very closely together. So you start to understand your coworkers, whether that's in person, whether they want to, you know, a quick slack. So everybody looks a little bit different. We also talk about the Enneagram. I don't know if you're familiar with the Enneagram. Say more. It's a personality test.

43:10And we all take it, get pretty familiar with everybody's personality, the way they receive feedback, the way they want to receive feedback. And you try to leverage that a little bit as well. But at the core of it, I think for me, it's just being as transparent as possible, as quickly as possible, and giving that feedback. And also creating the space to receive feedback is really important as well. That's how you build trust. I've heard you talk about already in this interview, the importance of preparation, but I've heard you also talk about the importance of professionalism, those two concepts.

43:43So could you talk about any rituals or practices you have that help you stay sharp in those two areas? I think for me, it just goes back to practice. I think that's with running, that's with work, as many reps as I can get in on something so that by the time I show up, I feel ready and confident. the feeling of not being prepared is just the worst for me. So it's really about getting as many reps as possible, practicing everything, practicing my craft, practicing, you know, running, whatever it is, I am a practice person. And so that's what really helps me feel like I can do my best. And I hold myself to a high standard.

44:25I hold my team to a high standard. So I expect everyone to show up prepared. What model sunglasses will you be sporting this summer? Probably a couple of pairs. Cause I'll have five. Well, for the race itself, I'll have five days. So I'll probably have a change of glasses every day, but when I'm on the trails, I like a low lens. So something that's going to let me see kind of in the shadows as well. Yeah. So SkyMall shoppers is my favorite. It's an aviator style lens, but it varies. It's, you know, if I, if I need a lot of coverage because there's a ton of sun, like at that water, then I might wear more of a wrap, but I tend to go for a low lens on the trails.

45:04So you exercise and run to keep you in balance and to help you be a better leader. Is there anything else you do besides the exercise to keep you creative and fresh and sharp? Are you a big reader, podcast listener, moviegoer? Tell us about your other things you do to stay sharp. I mean, I love film. I still love film and I don't go to the theater as much, but it's still a passion of mine. Watching at home now is typically when it happens. I love to write. It's something I actually need to make more space for. I think I haven't done as great a job of that recently, but that's something I really aspire to get back to because I really enjoy writing.

45:45And then I think something that's just always inspiring for me is spending time with my family. I find that to really be grounding for me. So as often as I can see my parents and my sister and my other siblings, I find that to be incredibly grounding. And that, you know, that calming force really helps me be creative as well. What are you watching now in terms of film or series? Right now I'm watching you on Netflix. I just started that show. We tend to rotate films, but my show right now I'm watching is you and I just finished White Lotus. So I've loved that show throughout its duration. Oh yeah.

46:19You should watch Friends and Neighbors now with Jon Hamm. It's kind of a white Lotus type, but a little bit heavier. I saw the preview for that and I really like him. So I'll have to check that out. So what was the first brand you remember as a young girl being cognizant that it was something different? When I was looking back, I think Gatorade for me, I remember this commercial, you know, I grew up playing soccer. So I remember the Mia Hamm Michael Jordan commercial, which was, I think, anything you can do, I can do better. And so I love that. I loved that they were willing to put Michael Jordan alongside the best athlete in the world.

46:53But, you know, I'd grown up. My dad had put me on boys teams when I was a kid. So I never thought that you couldn't compete. And so it was great to see a brand validating that. I think Nike, too, was always highlighting, you know, women athletes, the women's national team. I think, ironically, you know, you've seen a lot of female athletes push back against the brand because, you know, what they were doing outwardly that didn't necessarily match how they were treating their athletes internally. But I do remember just those two, two brands leaving an impression because they were really celebrating female athletes.

47:28And now I get to be a small part of that, a very small part of that leading a sports marketing and partnership team, because we, we do partner with a lot of female athletes, female teams like ACFC, which is the women's soccer team out in LA. So it's really exciting to continue to champion female athletes. What brands are you admiring now? I mean, when you get together with your team, what kind of brands do you say, ah, you know, love what they're doing. We should learn more about that. Are there any that come to mind? Yeah, we talk about Crocs quite a bit. I think just the turnaround they've had as a brand has been really exciting.

48:04I think it's a brand we'd love to really collaborate with. They've had a lot of fun with what they're doing. And so we've really love their brand. I think brand I bring up a lot, which because we have these limited additions within our offices is crumble cookies. I just, I just like that they've created this urgency around their product because you have these sort of limited. And what's fascinating to me is people actually love to talk about how much they don't like the cookies. And that just creates so much noise for that brand. And I think it's so fascinating. So I bring them up quite a bit.

48:38They've done some fun packaging recently, which I enjoy, but I think they've been an interesting brand as well. My UCLA daughter brings them home a lot. So we cut them into fours, which helps a little bit. Now there's a topic trending now on the influence of siblings on us. And you've talked about your sister already, and there's a new book out about the sibling influence and how in many respects, it's more powerful than the influence of the parents. So I read a big synopsis of the book last weekend and it made me really think I'm one of six. So and my wife's one of 11. Oh, wow. So yeah. So siblings were a big part of both of our lives.

49:17So you've talked about your sister a couple times in the show about her influence on you. What do you think that has been that has been lasting and also vice versa? And if there's other siblings that you have that you think, you know, have had a remarkable influence, I think it's a nice note to end on. Yeah. So I'm the oldest of four. I have my sister, Jessica, who has Down syndrome is two years younger than me. And then I have another sister who's six years younger and then a brother who's eight years younger. So incredibly influential on my life. I think one, when you're the oldest child, you know, where you land in your family obviously has a lot of influence on the way you do things.

49:52So I was always the one standing behind all the kids, counting heads, making sure everybody was still there. Parents like to joke about the fact that I probably didn't trust them, that I was in the back, making sure everybody was in a straight line. So, you know, I carried a lot of that stress and also was just always making decisions, you know, where what we were doing, where we were going. So I tended to be the person that was sort of influencing what direction we were going in, just being the oldest. But with Jess specifically, she's had a massive influence on my life. I think the single biggest influence on my life.

50:29And I think, you know, when I really drill down on like what that is specifically, I think it's just that, you know, I can't give anything less than my best. You know, when you're, when you're with somebody who, you know, wasn't given every ability to do what we're able to do on a daily basis, then there is no excuse for me not to just give my best. So I think that's probably the biggest influence she's had. And then, of course, just inclusivity and really caring about people and understanding that we all come from different places and that every voice is important. So, you know, I do my best to model that, but I am certainly not as as great as she is.

51:10Who's been the most inspiring person in your life? Is it your sister or someone else? Oh, definitely my sister. 100%. Well, Kelly, this has been a wonderful chat to kind of kick off the summer. Thank you for taking the time. Brand's amazing. I think your team's amazing. You're amazing. So thanks for sharing this hour with us. Deeply appreciate it. That was my conversation with Kelly. This was all about sports and being a CMO. So we're going to make our takeaways to be training tips and takeaways from this marvelous conversation with Kelly. And the first takeaway or tip is growth doesn't come in your comfort zone.

51:43Kelly talked about that, how that principle applies in her running and how it also applies in the marketing and being CMO at this high growth brand gooder. Second takeaway, it's all about preparation. We must have talked about preparation five or six times in this short conversation I have with Kelly. When you're prepared, you perform better. When you're prepared, you relax. When you are prepared, you are more creative. And when you are really prepared, your axe is sharp and you're ready to go. Kelly talked about how she likes to go in Monday, all ready to go. Her axe, the metaphor for being sharp, her axe is sharp and she's ready for the week, whatever it brings.

52:18Third takeaway, don't get overwhelmed. Don't give up. Manage the moment, whatever you're in, whether it's a long business week, it's an ultra marathon, it's a 10 mile run, manage the moment. Don't get overwhelmed. You'll get through it. It's a principle that she lives and it helps to get through very tough situations. And bonus takeaway, there's a lot about community in this conversation. Find your community. It helps enhance your life. It helps enhance your performance. Kelly finds her community in running. She finds a great community at her work. And this is a really, really strong principle.

52:50one reason this woman is such a great CMO. That's it for this week's episode of the CMO podcast. As always, I would be grateful if you shared our show with your friends, along with subscribing and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. The CMO podcast is a Vive original production. The views and opinions expressed by podcast speakers and guests are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of our sponsors or its personnel, nor do our sponsors advocate or endorse any individuals or entities featured on the episodes.