158. Rich Jennings – Be Like Water | Finding Your Authentic Flow

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“The biggest benefit of anything that you can do at work is if it actually impacts how you behave as a human being and it extends into your personal life.”

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.”

“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee

Rich Jennings is the senior executive responsible for all Comcast cable operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Texas, Idaho, and Wisconsin.In his most recent role, Rich served as Comcast West Division Senior Vice President of Field Operations. With responsibility for the overall health and performance of the West Division’s regional operations, his primary focus was on Technical Operations for the division and collaborating to deliver the very best customer experience. Prior to that, he served as the Senior Vice President for the Mountain West Region for eight years.Rich began his career in Telecommunications as an Assistant General Manager with Time Warner Cable in 1993. He became General Manager for small cable systems in southern California and in 1996, accepted the role of Area General Manager for several acquisition properties in southeastern Wisconsin. In May of 2000, he was named Vice President of Operations for Time Warner’s southeastern Wisconsin division. In 2005, Rich joined Comcast asthe Area Vice President in Denver, Colorado, and in 2009 he was named Regional Vice President of Fulfillment for the Freedom Region managing field operations across southern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware and New Jersey.

In 2011, Rich returned to Denver to serve as Regional Vice President of Comcast’s Mile High Region overseeing the company’s operations in Colorado and New Mexico and was promoted to Senior Vice President for the region in 2012. In 2015, Rich was named Senior Vice President for the newly formed Mountain West Region, overseeing operations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Idaho.

In Rich’s 30-year history in Telecommunications, he’s had full operational and profit and loss accountability for the business. His process flow improvements and customer care initiatives enhanced consumer value while creating operational efficiencies. In addition to his attention to the external customer, Rich has a deep passion for personal and team development. With a strong belief in integrating family, work, and community, Rich has a robust history of community service. He’s participated in numerous community and industry organizations over his career which include: the Young Americans Bank and Center for Financial Education (the world’s only state-chartered, FDIC-Insured bank, exclusively for young people under the age of 22), the Urban League, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Junior Achievement, the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), and Women In Cable and Telecommunications.

Rich was named in the “Top 40 under 40” executives in the Telecommunications Industry by MultiChannel News in 2006. He was recognized as an influential leader by Cable World Magazine and was a NAMIC Luminary Award recipient. He has also been repeatedly recognized by CableFax magazine as one of the most influential minorities in cable and top 100 overall leaders in the industry.

In 2015, Rich was honored as Father of the Year by the American Diabetes Association, Colorado chapter for his commitment to his family and the community. In 2017, he was named Mentor of the Year by the Colorado chapter of Women in Cable and Telecommunications. Rich is a Chicago native and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame where he received his business degree with a concentration in Marketing. He has completed executive education programs for Telecommunications through the University of Denver, UCLA and Harvard Business School.

R.O.G. Takeaway Tips:

Be interesting. Have hobbies and outside interests. Invest time and energy in things you enjoy. It’s a differentiator.
Be like water.
Feedback is a gift. Receive and offer it.
Accountability. Focus on what’s right.
Mentor and find a silent mentor. Observe and find you authentic version of their greatness.
Be reflective – Real time and post-game.
Enable two sided conversations

Resources:

Comcast Corporation
Tao of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee
- ”Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. If you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup. If you put water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes a teapot. Now water can flow. Or it can crash, be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee
Musician Patoranking
Musician Beenie Man