Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Best Buy
Save it for the POD: HUBERT JOLY
About Hubert Joly
Hubert Joly, former chairman and CEO of Best Buy, has been discussing his philosophy that business should serve a purpose beyond profit. In a recent interview, he stated that "the exclusive excessive focus on profit, that's not working" and argued that companies should be "a force for good." He described his belief that the purpose of a company is not to make money, but that the best organizations perform simultaneously on "people, business, and finance" dimensions, starting with the people imperative. Joly recounted how during his tenure at Best Buy, the company redefined itself "not as a retailer, but as being in the happiness business, enriching lives through technology." He described a personal transformation from seeking to be the smartest person in the room to becoming a more compassionate leader, and said that studying with Catholic monks and other CEOs led him to view work as "a noble calling to serve others." He also shared an anecdote about asking his executive team to bring childhood photos to an offsite, where they discussed their life stories and how they wanted to be remembered.
Transcript (34 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
Q
Quinton0:07
So we just started. Welcome to the podcast. My name is Quinton, I'm 14 years old. Everybody knows me on Productions. This is called Save for the Podcast. To the right of me I have Gavin.
G
Gavin0:17
I'm 12 years old.
Q
Quinton0:20
And we have a special guest today. His name is Mr. Joly. How you doing today?
H
Hubert Joly0:25
I'm doing great. It's so nice to meet both of you and I look forward to our conversation.
Q
Quinton0:28
All right. And by the way, they don't call me Mr., they call me Hubert.
H
Hubert Joly0:32
Sorry about that. Mr. Hubert? No, just Hubert.
Q
Quinton0:37
All right. Would you like to introduce yourself too?
H
Hubert Joly0:42
Introduce me? Would you like to? If you... why not. Okay, so my name is Hubert. I am married with two kids. I am from France and I'm very happy to be here.
Q
Quinton0:52
That's nice. Before I start, I want to know, do you guys live in France or you just guys just from there?
H
Hubert Joly0:56
We live in New York City.
Q
Quinton0:58
Oh, I want to go there.
H
Hubert Joly1:00
Yes. And we've spent... before that we spent about 12 years in Minneapolis.
Q
Quinton1:06
Oh, each? Just me? Okay. All right, would you like to start off with the first question?
G
Gavin1:11
All right. So Hubert, first off, you were born in France. Can you briefly explain your upbringing and how you eventually ended up in the States?
H
Hubert Joly1:17
So yes, I was born in France 63 years ago in a family of three brothers. So think about my mother who had to raise four young boys. That was quite the task. And quite early on I had dreams of moving to the US. You know, for one thing you have to understand is for many people outside of the US, the US is this world of opportunity. Now we know that sometimes it's not true, but I was attracted by the idea that there was great opportunities in the US. And so eventually I ended up moving to the US. And you believed in it? I believed in it. And eventually I moved to Minneapolis. That's the story.
G
Gavin1:54
So was it like a main job or profession you wanted to pursue when you came here?
H
Hubert Joly2:01
So my move was job related. And when I moved to Minneapolis, I moved to Minneapolis to become the CEO of Carlson Companies, a great Minnesota company. And that's how I moved here. And then a few years later I had the opportunity to move to Best Buy where I spent eight wonderful years.
Q
Quinton2:20
Okay. Yeah. Um, on your website, hubertjoly.org, among many professional awards, one that stood out to me was you were top 50 management thinkers by Thinkers50. How does it feel to be considered a top management thinker in the world? How do you attest that acknowledgement to?
H
Hubert Joly2:37
So Thinkers50 is a bit like the Oscars of management. You know, there's a Nobel Prize, there's the Oscars, and for management there's Thinkers50. So being recognized by Thinkers50 was a great honor. I think the basis for that recognition was a book I wrote called The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism that advocates the thought that business can be a force for good. Business can be more than for profit and that business is about pursuing a noble purpose in the world, doing good things in the world, putting people at the center and treating profit as an outcome and not the goal, which is something that many people now believe in. And the book is really, if you will, a manual to help people who are keen to move in that direction and want to lead that way and provide some helps and some tools to move in that direction. So that's probably why I was recognized.
Q
Quinton3:41
Before we continue, I wanted to... before, do you have any questions for us that you'd like us to answer about the Tech Center or anything?
H
Hubert Joly3:49
Yes. So tell me about your connection with the Best Buy Teen Tech Centers. And would you... you know, is that something that's helpful? Is that something you should do more of?
Q
Quinton3:57
Love to. I'll start off. So I came to the Tech Center. My mom had found a Facebook post about the Tech Center in late November, early December, somewhere in between there. And I remember I was walking here, it was snowy, cold, I didn't know how to get inside of here, nothing. And then James, yeah, James, it was this guy, giant James, works downstairs. I had seen him walk into his car. Hey, do you know where the Best Buy Teen Tech Center is? He showed me this and I just liked it ever since. Me and my three brothers, we came here and they stopped coming though. But I'm like, I like it. It's something I can do here. I can build a name here. I know it's something I can do. And I seen a studio. I know I like working with music so I got into that. I know how to do a lot in the studio. I started, I asked, can we do a podcast? Can we do certain stuff? And then the opportunity to work with the Reach Festival that I heard about, I wanted to do something with that too. I want my name to be a part of something big or something like that. So I started doing it. And then my friend Gavin, we went to school, I went to school with him before I had graduated. When I graduated eighth grade, I started going to the pool and I seen Gavin. We had already went to school but we grew closer through the pool. So I seen him, I'm like, hey, want to take you... let me take you here. You can build your name like I'm trying to build mine still. You can try to build your name here. It's a way to, you know... and ever since then he been coming with me. It's just my friend.
G
Gavin5:23
Yeah. So like he said, he introduced me to this place and ever since I'm at Chucky here, he had let me do a podcast and I just liked it more and more ever since because I knew it was a way, like he said, I can get my name out in the community and I can just do good things for my community and everybody around me.
H
Hubert Joly5:47
Good. That's the idea. We get joy from doing good things to other people, right? I'm so glad. All right, let's continue.
Q
Quinton5:55
So at the Capri Best Buy Teen Tech Center, our computers and banners say they are powered by the Joly Family Foundation. For members like me, could you explain what that really means?
H
Hubert Joly6:06
So the Joly Family Foundation, so when you are an executive in the corporate world, you make some money. And with my children, we agreed that some of the money I had made would be given away through our foundation. And so one of the key focus areas for us is education. And we love... when I was CEO of Best Buy, we started the Best Buy Teen Tech Centers. And when I stepped down, I thought that we should continue. So the Joly Family Foundation helps build and maintain a number of Teen Tech Centers here in Minneapolis and now also in New York.
Q
Quinton6:49
So you only work with Best Buy Teen Tech Centers in Minneapolis and New York? Yeah. Okay. Um, well that just brought me to my next question. Um, what made you want to invest in this Tech Center specifically, in this specific location?
H
Hubert Joly7:03
So first, the desire to invest in the Teen Tech Centers, you know, at Best Buy we thought that because we could mobilize a number of tech companies, we could help, you know, teenagers learn technology skills and get a platform to move forward in the world. It was a, you know, learning skills is what, you know, can move you forward. And so that was the basis for that investment. I'm glad that you guys are connected to the Teen Tech Centers and finding ways to take advantage of the equipment, the tools, and the capabilities. And then Capri here, when with my team I talked about funding a Teen Tech Center, they recommended this location. Of course, North Minneapolis is a place that, you know, has got wonderful people but it's been historically challenged. And so bringing the technology to the North Side felt like the right thing to do. So, and then today I'm of course thrilled that, you know, we've had the opportunity to visit the location and meet with the two of you gentlemen.
Q
Quinton8:07
Okay. So would you say your main goal was to help the younger generation?
H
Hubert Joly8:12
Yeah, that's my goal in life now is help the next generation and equip teenagers with the skills that are going to allow them to move forward in the world. So it's to provide opportunity. When you've been fortunate to receive a lot, then you have an obligation to give back. Yeah. So one day your turn will come.
Q
Quinton8:33
Yeah. Thank you for that. Soon. Um, would you like to ask the last question?
G
Gavin8:37
Um, last question. Do you plan on investing in any other Tech Center locations?
H
Hubert Joly8:42
Yes. So I'm thrilled to know that in the Minneapolis area, I think there's nine Teen Tech Centers and Best Buy will continue to support them and invest in them. And I think that the next frontier for us is going to be New York City. So if you've got friends in New York City, the Best Buy Teen Tech Centers are coming to New York City. I think today there's only a couple and I think we'd like to build more.
Q
Quinton9:05
All right. But that's the plan. Thank you for visiting us and we'll see you next time on Save for the Pod.