Early in my career, I ran French’s French Fried Onions, the ones in the classic holiday green bean casserole. On my first plant visit, a line worker about my mom’s age asked me what I was going to do to turn the business around.

The plant ran overtime from October through December, and that pay gave many families a good Christmas. The year before, the holiday promotion had fallen short, and the workers lost the hours they had counted on.

That question changed how I saw the job. Someone’s livelihood depended on getting the marketing right.

So my team and I dug into the numbers and built what we called a “reminder strategy”: remind people at the holidays to make the green bean casserole, and give home cooks new recipes for the rest of the year. That next year, factory sales grew 48% and those families had a great Christmas again.

I’ve never forgotten that question. Whether you make a product or provide a service, people are counting on your marketing and business results. That’s why I’ve chosen to spend this part of my career helping founders. It’s the work I find most rewarding. I bring the same approach every time: understand the problem, build the strategy and stay with it through execution.

Fun Fact: When I first started working, I planned executive conferences for a global company’s top leaders, which once meant racing Matchbox cars against Mario Andretti. (He didn’t win.) These days, I’m kept busy by two parrots: Charlie, our caique, and Patrick, our rescued Senegal parrot.