| Todd Sanders: | 00:01 | Welcome to the podcast. I'm Todd Sanders, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Chamber. We are honored to have TJ Mitchell here, who is the current chairman of the Valley Young Professionals Group at the Greater Phoenix Chamber. TJ, welcome. Thanks for being with us.
| TJ Mitchell: | 00:16 | Thank you very much. I'm very excited to be here, and hopefully, represent VYP in a positive light.
| Todd Sanders: | 00:22 | I know you will. First of all, we obviously know you have a day job, too. Tell us a little bit about what you do, and some of your background.
| TJ Mitchell: | 00:32 | Sure. I'm an attorney, is the day job, don't hold it against me, though. Most of what I do is, we work with investment professionals, doing securities and commercial litigation. It's interesting. No one in my family was ever an attorney, and the law is oftentimes a profession where you get into it because your dad is an attorney, or your mom was, or your cousin, or something like that. For me it's been an interesting experience, just going into it, and not knowing really anything. Law school does not prepare you for the practice of law, either.
| Todd Sanders: | 01:12 | That's bad news.
| TJ Mitchell: | 01:13 | Yes, and there's been a lot of discussion about reform and everything, making a little bit more practical. It really goes to show how important having mentors in the workplace is. We don't have to go too far ahead here, but that's one thing that I've really enjoyed about VYP, is the relationships, connections I've been able to make through VYP. Some of them have been turned out to be great mentors.
| Todd Sanders: | 01:35 | Native of Arizona?
| TJ Mitchell: | 01:37 | Originally from Central Pennsylvania, actually, State College.
| Todd Sanders: | 01:40 | Far from home.
| TJ Mitchell: | 01:41 | I'm a little bit far from Home. State College, Pennsylvania, where Penn State is located. Both of my parents are Penn State alums, and we moved out here in 2005. I've been out here, I guess, coming up on 20 years, in a couple of years it'll be 20 years. Arizona's definitely home now.
| Todd Sanders: | 01:58 | I'm glad to hear that. Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn't find on your resume, which, of course, we just encapsulated.
| TJ Mitchell: | 02:07 | Probably an interesting thing about me is, when I was an undergrad, I went to undergrad down in Tucson, at the University of Arizona, and I was actually a cheerleader for the U of A cheer squad.
| Todd Sanders: | 02:18 | That's a good one.
| TJ Mitchell: | 02:20 | That's an interesting fact that's not on the resume.
| Todd Sanders: | 02:22 | Thank you, excellent. I wanted to talk a little bit about, you mentioned VYP, Valley Young Professionals. To me, my time at the chamber was something that I felt was really important, but for a lot of the time, it was hard to get right. Now, I feel like we really have the right group of people, and the right program. Why don't you tell us a little bit about the program, and why it's important to you.
| TJ Mitchell: | 02:46 | Sure. Where VYP is at today is in large part because of the people that started it, and because of the current chamber leadership like yourself, that have invested a lot of time and energy in prioritizing the success of VYP. I want to thank you for that. VYP is an organization within the chamber, where individuals from 25 to 39 are able to engage. We normally do roughly monthly events, sometimes more than one a month, and those events run the gamut. We'll do networking type events, we'll do volunteering events. We'll do events out in the community, where young professionals are able to learn a little bit more about their community by visiting a local business, or a utility.
| TJ Mitchell: | 03:37 | That's what I love about VYP, it's not just a networking group.
| Todd Sanders: | 03:42 | Right.
| TJ Mitchell: | 03:43 | It's a way for you to learn about your community by visiting local businesses, by connecting with other young professionals in other groups, in different industries. The diversity that we've worked to have in VYP, both in traditional DE and I fashion, but also diversity of industry, and profession, that's one of the things I value the most about VYP. I can go to an event, I don't want to talk with anymore lawyers, I talk with lawyers every day. I can go to an event, and I can talk to somebody who does pharmaceutical sales, or works in a bank, or something totally
| | | different. That's what we work to foster, an environment where people can have that kind of honest exchange, and meet people that are a little different than themselves.
| Todd Sanders: | 04:36 | It's just become such a success. One of the things that I think was important to us is to also add the diversity of thought to our board. We actually have you now, as you're a full-fledged member of our board of directors. Talk us about that. For us, it's been a win. I think, to have you at the table, engaging actively and bringing a different point of view, has been really good. Where do you see that?
| TJ Mitchell: | 05:03 | I've really felt like the relationship between Valley Young Professionals and the Chamber, obviously we're a part of the Chamber, but at no point do I really feel like we're the little brother that's, "Okay, we just have to have a token young professional group." I really do feel like Valley Young Professionals is valued by the Chamber. One of the ways that you and the Chamber of Leadership have done that is by allowing us to engage with the big board, or the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce main board.
| TJ Mitchell: | 05:32 | Every time I've been able to go to one of the board events and participate, I've found that we've been welcomed with open arms. The other board members, not the young professional board members, but just traditional board members, have been so welcoming, and have really valued just our engagement, and participation. I've found that it has been a wonderful way for us to both feel like we're engaging with the Chamber, and the direction of the chamber, and to provide a different perspective as well.
| Todd Sanders: | 06:07 | I think you really bring a lot to the table, and I think that's why there's such a willingness to have you at the table. Let's talk about your year, FY '23. What are some of your goals for the upcoming year?
| TJ Mitchell: | 06:21 | Sure. I think VYP, the way that leadership works, I think it's probably the same as the regular board, but basically, you run to be vice chair, and you become chair the year after that. Last year, when I threw my hat in the ring to be vice chair, I had three main priorities, three goals. The first one was to facilitate the transition back to safe, in-person events, and transition our programming back to facilitate in-person events.
| TJ Mitchell: | 06:53 | The second one was, I wanted to be really intentional about implementing the feedback that we got from our members.
| | | That's something that, in the past, we would send out a survey or whatever, after certain events, and people would rate their events, and provide some feedback and everything. Sometimes we would talk about it at a board meeting, but for me, I wanted to make sure that we increased our retention. If people are taking the time to go through and provide a survey about why they thought an event could be better, or something they really enjoyed about an event, I wanted us to be intentional about really focusing on that, and utilizing that feedback in our next event. Maybe that event didn't turn out great, what can we learn from that? That was important for me.
| TJ Mitchell: | 07:43 | The third priority is a general idea. I thought that if we implemented the first two priorities, that we would accomplish the third, and that's just really ensuring that VYP is the premier young professional group here in Phoenix. I'm proud to say, that was a little over a year ago that I laid out those priorities. The first one has been accomplished, we've done a great job at transitioning back to almost all in-person events in a safe, and effective way. My wife is a COVID nurse, so I get that whole process. That was not a fun time. We're still mindful about that, when we choose locations, where to host events, and ways that we can do that in a smart way. It's exciting to see, I think, the energy that's back in the room every time we have an event now. We still have people coming back to an event that say, "I haven't gone to an event since before COVID, it's so great to be back."
| Todd Sanders: | 08:42 | You do see that. Let me ask you, I'm impressed with your initiative to take feedback, which is great, but also, to do something about it. What was some of the feedback that you heard, that you said, "We need to change that?"
| TJ Mitchell: | 09:00 | Every year, we do a board retreat. I know the Greater Phoenix Chamber does a retreat as well. Valley Young Professionals do a traditional retreat, you came and spoke at it this year, so you remember. One of the things that we do is, we brainstorm ideas for the next year. What are some programs? We also do an inventory. What are the relationships that the board members have that we can utilize to provide excellent, topical programming for our members? Sometimes it's easy. We'll have an idea, a great idea for an event, and one of the items of feedback that we got was... I'll give you an example.
| TJ Mitchell: | 09:44 | We ultimately had an event at the Suns' arena, and it was to show off the Fan Duel sports book. They did a little tour of it and everything, and it was very cool. The event started out, and
| | | we had a networking segment at the beginning. They gave a little talk about the sports book, and we got a tour. However, they broke us out into I think four groups, and staggered us. When the first group came out of the tour, there was no one really waiting there, because the other three groups had already started the tour. The first group comes through, and there was no one there, so everybody leaves. The second group comes out, and there was no one there waiting, so everyone quietly departs as well. I was in the last group, and I show up, and I was expecting that there'd be people there still networking, maybe we'll do an impromptu happy hour, to keep that relationship building going.
| TJ Mitchell: | 10:44 | I come out to the lobby, and it's empty. I'm like, "That was not the goal." That's just one of the things, we got some feedback about that. I personally had my own feedback, in experiencing that. That was one thing. When we have great ideas for events, let's also ensure that we're thinking through the practical ramifications of those events. As board members, our primary responsibility is to make sure that people are getting the most out of their programming. We even did a self diagnosis, and even though we may have been able to plan things better on the front end, the way that it ended up panning out, maybe some of the board members, we should have tried a little bit harder to keep people there, or to provide some way for the event to conclude in a more manageable fashion.
| Todd Sanders: | 11:42 | Let me pivot a little bit. We've recently been talking about workforce a lot, and you hear maybe anecdotally people talking about return to the office, maybe Boomers, Gen Xers, millennials. We always talk about millennials, whether it's good or bad, they're always on the agenda.
| TJ Mitchell: | 11:59 | We're very popular.
| Todd Sanders: | 12:00 | You're very popular. How are young professionals viewing this return? Obviously, your wife didn't get an opportunity to work from home, but certainly, a lot of people did. How are you viewing that? What should business leaders be thinking about when they're looking at return to the office and young professionals?
| TJ Mitchell: | 12:19 | Sure. For me, when the world shut down in March, or whatever it was, of 2020, my position is one where we actually can work pretty effectively remotely. We were able to transition to fully remote, and I was pretty much fully remote for a year and a half, or whatever. My firm this last week actually implemented
| | | a formal policy to try to get some of the attorneys back in the office. We're coming in, it's not super enforced or anything, but the goal is for us to be in three days a week at least. For me, seeing the way that the policy was implemented, and we're a pretty small firm, so were able have some conversations about it, but for me, as a millennial, the best way for you to encourage millennials and young professionals that get back into the office is really to sell them on what the value to them is.
| TJ Mitchell: | 13:23 | If you throw out amorphous words like "Culture, it's good for office morale," it's better for my morale if I'm sitting my sweatpants, working at home. I think the biggest thing is, as young professionals in the first 10, 15 years of our careers, the relationships that we form, and the experience that we're able to glean from working with more experienced individuals, that's really some of the most important things. As young professionals, I can only speak as an attorney, but I assume it's true in other realms as well, you're really trying to learn your craft at that point. Some of that can be transitioned to a remote realm if you guys are on a conference call, but a lot of it, I think, is picked up. My parents have a saying about parenting. We're actually expecting, my wife is going to give birth in January.
| Todd Sanders: | 14:21 | Congrats.
| TJ Mitchell: | 14:22 | Super excited. We're getting all this parenting advice, some requested, some provided without request. One of the tips that we received was, more is caught than is taught. Kids pick up on things, and the relationship between their parents, and seeing how you treat people more than just what you tell a child. I think some of that is true in the workplace, too. I've learned so much from working with my mentor, who's a 75 year old, super experienced practitioner. Just seeing the way that he interacts with staff, seeing the way that he has a call with opposing counsel, I've been able to learn so much more from those small engagements than just him telling me, "This is a better way to draft this contract," or something. I think, the value to young professionals is, you maximize the exposure for those types of learning opportunities if you are in person, and you're making the effort to be in person.
| Todd Sanders: | 15:27 | It's such an interesting answer, because when I asked you the question, I wrote "Culture" down, which tells me I'm on the wrong side of the ledger here. You're right, that is what you hear. "We're worried about the culture." What does that mean? I think, interesting answer, and I hope that some of our leaders are hearing what you've just said, because it resonates.
| TJ Mitchell: | 15:51 | I'm not saying culture is a bad word.
| Todd Sanders: | 15:53 | It is a little amorphous, right?
| TJ Mitchell: | 15:54 | It is amorphous, and I think it's been co-opted in some ways just as an excuse to get employees back into the office. Some firms, employers, are really intentional about developing a cohesive culture, and they take great pride in that. I think it almost does them a disservice when other employers who maybe don't really focus on that just say, "Oh, it's for the culture, come back in." I don't mean to say that culture is a bad word.
| Todd Sanders: | 16:26 | No, it's been a tagline. One other thing I'd like to ask about is this term, maybe it's becoming part of the cultural norm now, quiet quitting. And a lot of folks, young professionals, seem to be doing that. I don't think it's necessarily what it sounds like, but do you want to talk a little bit about that?
| TJ Mitchell: | 16:46 | Yeah, and when talked before about just opportunities, I think for young professionals generally, this movement of quiet quitting, maybe people got very comfortable working remotely, and realized, "If I'm working remotely, I'm able to do a little bit less." Conversely, sometimes if an employees feels like they're not being appreciated, or they're not being respected, they might say, "Why am I putting in the extra effort?" Sometimes, it can go both ways. I think, with this movement, it really does provide young professionals an opportunity to raise a hand, and show that initiative. It's interesting how, some of it I think is generational, but I've found that a lot of people that are in an older generation than me seem to appreciate so much more. I don't know if they have low expectations for millennials, "Oh, they're not engaged," but it's almost a catch 22, or a strange situation.
| TJ Mitchell: | 17:53 | I think the opportunity is there for young professionals to raise a hand, and to try to get involved, and also to have just a dialogue with their employers, if they feel like they're not being appreciated for whatever reason. I've worked at two law firms since I graduated law school, and I think both of those firms, the leadership in those firms, if you actually go to them with a concern, or a question, or you have a suggestion, people care. I think maybe millennials, or people in general just might be hesitant to raise a hand, and to engage in that dialogue. I think it's worth having.
| Todd Sanders: | 18:33 | It's an interesting point, the idea that the millennials are bucketed. I always tell people who disparage millennials, "Come
| | | to the Chamber for a while. There are a lot of millennials there, and they're nothing like what you're describing, they're just not. They're just people. They work really hard, and they're really good at what they do." You have a daughter or a son on the way, probably thinking about things more globally. What's Arizona's biggest opportunity, and what's our biggest challenge coming up?
| TJ Mitchell: | 19:07 | Sure. First of all, I don't know if it's a son or daughter. We are going to wait.
| Todd Sanders: | 19:12 | Good.
| TJ Mitchell: | 19:12 | We're going to do a full on surprise.
| Todd Sanders: | 19:15 | My parents waited.
| TJ Mitchell: | 19:16 | Okay.
| Todd Sanders: | 19:16 | Obviously, it worked out.
| TJ Mitchell: | 19:17 | Yeah, there you go. We're super excited about that. I think there's opportunity and challenge, and sometimes, they go hand in hand. The Valley has seen such a robust growth, really over the last decade, but continuing through COVID. I was just reading some statistics, I can't quote them for you, but just the number of individuals, professionals... this particular study was white collar professionals. Did they come into a state, or did they leave a state? What was the net thing? I think Arizona increased by like 56%, or something like that. California was a great reduction, New York was a huge reduction as well. Some people fled during COVID, and found ways to work remotely, and whatever else. I see that as an opportunity in some ways, Arizona has always been a state of non-natives.
| TJ Mitchell: | 20:17 | Myself, I came from Pennsylvania, a lot of people come from other places. When people resettle here, they're looking to make relationships. Speaking from VYP, I'm very excited about it, because we're seeing a ton of people that just moved here, coming in from different areas, even within the state, just coming to Phoenix from somewhere else. I see an opportunity there.
| TJ Mitchell: | 20:41 | As it relates to challenge, this is a little above my pay grade, but I think the water issues are going to be huge. Just seeing the Central Arizona project, and how they were working through the different decisions and settlements that came out three
| | | weeks ago or something, that's probably going to be a challenge of a generation. I know we've got great people working on it.
| Todd Sanders: | 21:05 | You weren't at our event, just recently a water event, and that's exactly what they talked about. I think you're on to something there, and I do believe that we will supersede that, and continue to grow. We're going to go ahead and finish up with a quick lightning round. I really appreciate you spending so much time with us.
| TJ Mitchell: | 21:23 | Of course.
| Todd Sanders: | 21:24 | You have heard these before, so maybe we'll throw a little bit of a curve ball at you. First Job?
| TJ Mitchell: | 21:31 | First job? In and Out Burger.
| Todd Sanders: | 21:34 | What'd you learn from that?
| TJ Mitchell: | 21:36 | If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean. Those In and Out workers work hard.
| Todd Sanders: | 21:44 | They're amazing.
| TJ Mitchell: | 21:45 | I was always put on buckets. Basically, I was in the back, peeling the potatoes and everything before they come out. They probably put me back there because they're like, "He's ugly, we don't want to engage with clients or anything." Those are such hard workers. I just learned throughout that process more about the service industry. I treat people in the service industry very differently, because I see the hard work that goes into that.
| Todd Sanders: | 22:12 | I think the pandemic taught us, there are no unimportant jobs. There just aren't. We found that out, didn't we?
| TJ Mitchell: | 22:18 | Absolutely.
| Todd Sanders: | 22:19 | You love your job now, but what would be your dream job?
| TJ Mitchell: | 22:24 | My wife and I, we love wine, and I've always thought, "It'd be really cool to open a winery." Actually, up near Cottonwood and Sedona, the name is escaping me, but there's a college up there that actually has a viticulture program. You can learn how to make wine and everything. I guess that's a dream job. Maybe more realistically, maybe being in-house council or something for a winery.
| Todd Sanders: | 22:58 | There you go.
| TJ Mitchell: | 22:58 | That might be an easier transition than having to learn the whole process.
| Todd Sanders: | 23:02 | That might be a good combo, right?
| TJ Mitchell: | 23:03 | Yes.
| Todd Sanders: | 23:03 | You never know. Probably the options would be nice, too.
| TJ Mitchell: | 23:06 | Yeah.
| Todd Sanders: | 23:06 | If not Arizona, would it be Pennsylvania? Where would you live?
| TJ Mitchell: | 23:10 | That's a good question. My wife is from Northern California. We do love the water, and the beach, and everything. It might be Southern California, maybe a San Diego area. I wouldn't mind living near Tory Pines, because you get the city discount, and you can go play a great round of golf for pretty cheap.
| Todd Sanders: | 23:32 | Probably good wine, too.
| TJ Mitchell: | 23:33 | Yeah, absolutely.
| Todd Sanders: | 23:34 | Excellent. Final one, who is your role model?
| TJ Mitchell: | 23:37 | Role model? I'm going to give the corny answer, but it absolutely is my dad. He worked to put himself through Penn State in three years, started up his own insurance company, sold that to MetLife, and has just busted his butt his entire life to provide for me and my sisters. I'm so thankful for everything that he and my mom did to provide, and give us the opportunity to succeed. I know it's corny, but he's absolutely my role model.
| Todd Sanders: | 24:03 | Actually, that's the right answer, and you'll know that when you're a dad in January.
| TJ Mitchell: | 24:07 | Fair enough. I appreciate that.
| Todd Sanders: | 24:08 | Thank you for spending so much time with us today, it's been a real pleasure. Thank you for your leadership with our young professional groups, and our group, and the board of directors.
| TJ Mitchell: | 24:19 | Of course. Thanks so much for having me. For anyone listening out there, if you have any employees 25 to 39 that you think would benefit from our programming, please have them reach
| | | out. It's a great group, and we're always looking to accept new people.
| Todd Sanders: | 24:33 | You heard it your first. Thank you.
| TJ Mitchell: | 24:35 | Thanks so much Todd.