Jessica Garner

I'm a go-getter for sure, but not everything comes easy. I had a manager early in my career, Dan Brock, who really pushed me to my limits. At the time, when I was 21 or 22, I hated him - he made me cry more times than I like to admit. But he sat me down one day and told me he wasn't hard on me because he didn't like me or was trying to hurt my feelings. He said he knew what I was capable of, he knew what I could do, and he was pushing me to my limits because he didn't want to break me, but he wanted me to realize how far I could go and what all I could do and withstand. To this day, I have the utmost respect for that man. Looking back, he pushed me so far - had he not, who knows, maybe I'd still be answering phones somewhere and just kind of like, yeah, this is good enough. After a few no's or things not going my way or promotions not given, I could have just sat down and been like I'll just sit here forever, but I always had Dan in the back of my mind telling me I could do it. I just kept pushing my way through and fighting for what I wanted.

I had an HR manager once who was really hard on me - he made me cry more times than I like to admit. But he sat me down one day and told me something that changed everything. He said, 'I'm not hard on you because I don't like you, or I'm trying to hurt your feelings or make you cry. I know what you're capable of, I know what you can do, and I'm pushing you to your limits because I don't want to break you, but I want you to realize how far you can go, and what all you can do and withstand.' At the time, when I was about 21 or 22, I hated him. But now, looking back, I realize he really pushed me to go that extra mile to get what I wanted. That advice - that someone believed in me enough to push me beyond what I thought I could handle - has stayed with me throughout my entire career.

You know, it's hard. I grew up in a man's world - I was in the steel mill, now I'm in distribution. I've always been kind of in a man's world, and I've just learned you gotta have thick skin. You just ask the questions - don't ever act like you know everything. Ask the questions, stand up for yourself, never let someone put you down because you're a woman. I've stood up for myself many times, but I've also learned to read the crowd. I have some managers where I can be straight on with them. I have others that I can tell they're a little old school, and maybe I need to play a little bit of 'oh, can you explain that to me?' even though I know the answer, just to gain everybody's trust. But you gotta have thick skin, and if that's what you want, you gotta just fight for it. I always say I don't have feelings left because I grew up in the steel mill - there's not much that's gonna offend me or make me cry or hurt my feelings. It's a dog-eat-dog world - you've got to go out there and fight. I knew where I wanted to go, I knew that I wanted to move up, and I fought my way up, and I'm a better person for it. I've learned and grown, and I get more respect that way.