Leadership Reflection #10: The Snickers Bars That Started It All

If I dig deep enough into my memory, I can trace my interest in business and finance back to a single Costco trip when I was around nine years old.

My parents rarely bought candy while grocery shopping, so when my father unexpectedly filled our shopping cart with large boxes of chocolates and snacks, I was ecstatic. Among the goodies was a giant box of Snickers bars that I immediately claimed as my own!

Instead of heading home, we drove to one of my father's businesses to unload everything. Realizing the candy wasn't for us, I quietly slipped a half dozen Snickers bars into my pockets. I wasn't nearly as sneaky as I thought I was. My dad caught me almost immediately.

What followed wasn't the punishment I was expecting. There was no yelling or a lecture. No grounding. Instead, I received my first lesson in business.

My dad explained gross profit, break-even points, inventory costs, and why every item on the shelves he was stocking had a purpose. He showed me how customers paid for products, how those revenues covered expenses, and how whatever remained became profit, what we got to take home. He explained that if the numbers didn't work, the business doesn’t survive and our family suffers.

At nine years old, I understood only part of the lesson. But something clicked. For the first time, I my dads store as more than a place that sold things. I saw it as a system, an organization, and a method of earning a living for my family. I never tried to sneak out candy or other inventory behind my dads back again.

Years later, while still in high school, I convinced my schools administration to fund a student supply store. I managed inventory, tracked sales, and reinvested profits. In its first year, the store generated more than $3,000, all of which was donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Boise, Idaho. Before graduating, I documented procedures and helped create a transition plan so future students could continue operating the business.

Looking back, I didn't realize it at the time, but I was already developing the skills that would shape my career. Since then, I've had the opportunity to lead operational transformations, support acquisitions, oversee large teams, build financial strategies, and help organizations navigate complex challenges across multiple industries and countries.

But the underlying motivation has remained surprisingly consistent. I genuinely enjoy understanding how organizations work. I enjoy finding inefficiencies, reducing risk, improving processes, and helping organizations become stronger and more sustainable. More than anything, I enjoy solving problems.

When people ask how I became interested in finance, operations, and strategy, they often expect a story about college, business school, or the start of my professional career. The truth is much simpler.

It started with a box of stolen Snickers bars and a father who saw a teachable moment where most parents would have seen a disciplinary one.