John Beaman
Episode 17

Narrator:

Welcome, friends, to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, welcome to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. For all our regular visitors and listeners, you know exactly how this works. For anybody who's brand-new of course, this is how it works. We have a hundred questions and I'm going to begin with the first 10 really quickly that you get to know who our guest is. Then they get to pick from 11 through to a hundred, a hundred being the hardest. And of course, you can't see this, but they're smiling right now thinking, should they pick a hundred or not? We'll see where they go with that or not. And then they can choose anywhere between that and we'll see where it goes. Well, you have to imagine really is that we both have a cup of tea and we're sitting down and we're having a good little chat and that's all it is. It's just a good conversation. So without much further ado, let me dive right in and begin with, first of all, your name and would anybody ever have any difficulty with your name?

John Beaman:

I can't imagine anyone would difficulty with the name of John, although nowadays that's not as common of a name. I think when I was bravely selected with that first name, it was pretty, pretty common. Obviously roots in the Bible and pretty out there. So yeah, this is John Beaman. Happy to be here and look forward to this journey with you, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Does anybody have any problems with your last name or they find it pretty easy, as well?

John Beaman:

They find it pretty easy. I mean, sometimes the spelling, you could throw a double E in there, or a couple of variations on a theme, but the pronunciation is pretty easy.

Japhet De Oliveira:

John, what do you do for work at the moment?

John Beaman:

My work right now, I'm the Chief People and Business Officer. So I, I love the opportunity to work with the people of Adventist Health and all of its associated companies, partners, associations, board members, et cetera.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That sounds quite a lot. You said people and business.

John Beaman:

People and business. And I like the order of those because I think our people do come first and the orientation of our business needs to be to support people. I mean, we are in the business of healthcare well-being and every single one of those words is just a reflection of different ways of caring for each other and our best interest in living our best life. And so, even though there's a lot of business elements, they're really all geared towards how do they support people, whether it's our associates or others.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic. How long have you been in this current role?

John Beaman:

I've been in this current role about three years. So I was talking to somebody the other day that said, "When you're in a role for only two years, you never have to live with any of your decisions." I have now officially gripped that mark and I have to live with decisions, not just that my predecessors have made, but ones that I have made. And it's a true statement. It's a mature statement to know that our decisions do have some longevity to them. And it's a part of our responsibility to make not just good decisions, but also learn over time. How to, if a decision wasn't the right one or if it needs to be changed, to change course.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's really good. So let's get into somebody complex stuff. When you begin your day and you have your first drink of the day, is it water? Is it one of those liquid green liquid smoothies? Is it coffee as a tea?

John Beaman:

The first sip of the day is actually water, but I would say the first drink of significance is usually a nice, warm cup of coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. Lined up close by next to each other.

John Beaman:

I usually have a two cups on my desk. There's the coffee cup and the water. And I do like to start with water. It does kind of refresh after the night there. But yeah, the first drink of significance is going to be the dark brown coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fantastic. Tell us, John, where were you born?

John Beaman:

You know, I was born in the Midwest. I was actually born in Des Moines, Iowa. So like many people I've met even here at Adventist Health, many of us have Midwestern roots. It's a great place to, I think, where many families call home ... where there's an agricultural bent, the Heartland of America.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. Have you been back there to where you were born?

John Beaman:

You know, I used to spend significant periods of my life there. Largely because as the older generations aged out, we would go back and allow them to kind of live in their heritage home during the summertime. So as a kid, I got to spend quite a bit of time there, even though we really moved to Texas for most of my adolescence and childhood. Since I've gotten to the working environment, it's one of those things that, unfortunately you go back for probably one of two reasons. One a funeral, right? I mean unfortunately, that's normally when many of us return to the homeland, or on the other happier side, a family reunion, which those happen probably once every five years when everybody tries to get together and see each other.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's always fantastic. It's always good. Good reasons to be able to gather people together. That's great. So when you were a kid, what did you imagine you were going to be? Did you imagine you were going to work in a people and business?

John Beaman:

No. I mean, if you went through the high school, either yearbook or you know... When you're in your senior, in high school, they always ask, or you have to memorialize somewhere, maybe it's in the yearbook, maybe it's in some other publication, what are your career plans? And I said, at the time I wanted to be a medical missionary. A medical missionary. And that was probably a pretty consistent theme. Even growing up was always drawn to how to live a life of service that combined the spiritual and the health side ... the physical health side. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Now, if people were to describe you, would they describe you as an extrovert or introvert and would you agree?

John Beaman:

Well, my guess is they could describe me as an introvert and I probably would agree. I'm somewhere in between. Our friend, Alex Bryan, has a college class that he teaches and I had a chance to join them. And that was one of the questions they asked me. And over my life, all of us have probably taken five or six different personality tests. And mine are always fascinating in that there's never just one slice of it that's just strong. I'm usually high in, at least if it's a four quadrant or four main areas for letters, I'm often pretty high in at least two, if not three. And so I do have... In fact back in... The very first one I remember in high school, I came out as phlegmatic sanguine. And so it was one of those things that I have a little bit of both in me, but I would expect that most would naturally peg me as an introvert. And yeah I would probably agree. I mean that's my most natural go-to, but there's elements of the rest inside of me that can spring up.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I have seen this extroverted side, as well. We may have seen some movies that you've been in.

John Beaman:

Yes, you have. I would even go as far to say, you have a capability of drawing those extrovert tendencies out of it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, it's good. It's good. All right. That's super. Let's talk about some of your habits. Are you an early riser, late-night owl?

John Beaman:

Yeah, no, no. I'm usually up and at 'em. I love the quietness of the morning. It's a chance to reflect a chance to think and even spend some time outside, walk the dog, get a little exercise, all that while it's still kind of still and quiet. And just really start the day off fresh and ready for the turmoil and the chaos that all of us get to deal with on a daily basis.

Japhet De Oliveira:

There is something about the early mornings. Beautiful. I'm with you on that. So what's the first thing, as you woke up this morning, the first thought that you had, as you woke up this morning?

John Beaman:

The first thought I had was today is a fantastic day. Actually, like all others where there's an opportunity to lead in various aspects. So I'd actually say my first thoughts a day was a prayer to help me to lead well. Because leadership, I am fascinated how different it can look. It can look like being in front of people, declaring a message. It can look like this, having a conversation. And, but in many other areas, it looks like just spending time with somebody one-on-one and encouraging them or being encouraged yourself. And today's one of those days, if, as I thought of my calendar, I can see a little bit of all that sprinkled throughout.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. That's beautiful. So then actually, I was just going to go to the last question before I hand off to you. And it was a leadership question. Are you a backseat driver?

John Beaman:

I have some of those tendencies. How's that? I wouldn't call myself an active backseat driver. But there's definitely a line at which I know if something gets beyond it, I'm going to speak up and enter into that run that all of us just love and that's having somebody give us unwanted input along the way. Unasked for. I shouldn't say unwanted, I should say non-requested input. So yeah, there's a line. And I can feel myself approaching it at times.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. It depends. It depends which of my sons is driving the car.

John Beaman:

That's actually well said. Yeah, there is a level. I think what you're calling it, there's a level of awareness and perhaps trust that goes into it. And the trust isn't a bad thing. I think we say lack of trust. Sometimes I think we have an element of trust with every one of our family members if they're driving. There's also an awareness of their maturity in that pattern. And knowing that I need to have some trust, but verify more with some of them than with others.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, no, totally, totally. All right, we are now set and the conversation shifts. So from 11 to 100, John, and you get to choose. Where would you like to begin? Where would you like to go?

John Beaman:

Well, let's start with 11.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Eleven. Brilliant. Tell us about the most adventurous food, meal you've ever eaten.

John Beaman:

Probably the most adventuresome is when I go out to a restaurant, I don't know what it is about me... This is not a meal, but a pattern, the waiter waitress, the steward of the environment will ask me, do you want hot sauce? And I don't know, I'm not too sure if they just look at me and say, "This guy wants to be tested," or not. And I almost always, almost, I mean, there's some times I just don't really do it, but mostly I say yes, and I take what's handed to me and I sprinkle it on whatever delicious food that at one point seemed perfect, but now just cries out for that hot sauce. And sometimes I'm crying afterwards and sometimes it's all good. So I know that's not a ... I've never tried octopus or any of those fancy stories, but the theme in my life is people just look at me at a restaurant, say, "This guy, he wants to try our best hot sauce."

Japhet De Oliveira:

The best hot sauce.

John Beaman:

And you can tell by the bottle, right? Sometimes the bottle has a depiction of a...

Japhet De Oliveira:

The habaneros.

John Beaman:

Yeah exactly, on that. And they just have like a little happy little chili with a smile on their face. And you've learned which ones that you're going to be in trouble with.

Japhet De Oliveira:

The ones that are going to linger for the rest of your life. Yeah. Yeah. It's good. Good. All right. So after 11, where do you want to go next?

John Beaman:

Let's go to 15.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fifteen. All right. What is the one thing that you always misplace?

John Beaman:

Probably the most is probably my badge at work, you know? Because when you go home, I got a nice place for my keys, nice place for my wallet. I know I'm going to plug my phone in or place it to charge. But my badge, for some reason, sometimes I throw it in the drawer, sometimes it goes into a bag and I verbally wake up and say, "Now where did I put that one last night?" and go around looking for it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's the one thing, as well. I'm trying to put it always in the same spot, as well. It's just much easier. So you don't have to walk around with a bag of shame, the idea of shame. All right. After 15.

John Beaman:

Let's go to 35.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Thirty-five, right, here we go. Share a special interest or unique talent that you [have].

John Beaman:

Interesting. I don't know if I have any unique talents. I do have some interests that probably most people aren't aware of. And the one that comes to mind the most is probably music. And my musical interests are wide and varied from classical to country to rock to you name it. There's probably an artist or a song that I enjoy. And so I verbally like to group them together. And I don't know if it's pretending I'm a DJ. Maybe that's my alter ego is to want to be a DJ someday. I don't know, but I group them together into an experience of sound. And I don't share that with many people outside of my family. And my family probably thinks that I'm just this side of crazy at times with what I put together.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I can now imagine you with headphones on and a little mixing desk.

John Beaman:

Just keep that picture.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's good. I'm going to keep that picture there. We may change that for the podcast. It's great. All right. Which one to go after 35?

John Beaman:

Let's go back to 22.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Twenty-two. All right. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?

John Beaman:

Actually, I mean to right now, just in my current mindset, I'd be right where I'm at. Which is probably not the most exciting. There's definitely days I'd think some far-off place. It's probably right where I'm at. If I had to pick a.... Honestly, the truthful answer, it'd be right where I'm at. If I had to pick a close second, I'm currently reading an article on the history of pizza. And obviously Naples, Italy, is deep in that history. And so there's a secondary visit. I don't know if I'd want to be there for long, but I do have this in the back of my head. I'd love to go visit Naples and try some pizza from the source. Where it started and really try it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I have never eaten pasta as I've eaten pasta in Italy. I don't know. I don't know how to describe it. It's just ... and pizza. I don't know. I mean, I've tried in other places. Maybe it's because you're in the country. I tell you I'm with you. You got to try it. You've got to try it. All right. So where do want to go next?

John Beaman:

Sixty-three.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sixty-three, all right? There we go. Well, John, tell us about a time when you felt lost.

John Beaman:

The first time I can sense it ... Well, probably this is more accurately the second time. But the first one that came to mind was when I was getting to graduate from college. I had no clue what I was going to do. Which was a strange feeling because I got very good grades. I'm in fact, honestly, I was probably top of my class. I don't know where, but I mean, there were solid, solid grades. But I had no clue where I was going to work. Didn't even know what job I wanted. And this is literally like January of my senior year. And like many times in life, first off obviously prayer and connection to God starts to give hope of where you're going. That's often followed up by a person. And I was fortunate that one of my professors was willing to engage in my journey and find a couple of, at least places for me to interview.

John Beaman:

And that was a blessing because I honestly, I didn't do any internships, right? So all this wonderful message that I give to our interns, I'm grateful that they are more thoughtful and more focused on their life than I was at that time. Because I had not done any internships, hadn't done any of that and I had no clue in five months where I was going to be.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's deep. It's a huge pivotal, transitional moment. Beginning of college, end of college. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. It's good. It's good. All right. Where do you want to go next?

John Beaman:

Well, let's go straight to 50. We'll just split it right in the middle.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Fifty it is. Share about who has influenced you professionally.

John Beaman:

Again, I love the role that people play in each other's lives. I have had at least three people that stand out just dramatically over my career. The first one was a CFO that, that I worked with in Chicago. It was my first job really outside of internal audit. And the person had a dramatic influence on me on how to take a job professionally, how to really give it 110%. And it's a characteristic that I try to teach others because it's not really in a textbook. It's a part of character, but it's also one that I do believe sets you up to be aware of where God wants you to be and how to be successful when you just bring your full self and give everything you have to something every single day.

John Beaman:

And that's what that person taught me. The second person, ironically, I grew up working in Adventist systems and I decided to try myself in a for-profit environment. Really wanted to give that a shot and was blessed to work for a CFO over the region, the geography there, who was a Christian. And we spent drives ... First of all, he, he didn't like to fly. And so when we would get the hospitals, we would drive. And so we're talking three-, four-hour road trips with the regional CFO, really good chance to know him, but also to talk about faith and how he incorporated faith as a professional. Which I think many of us who grew up in any faith may struggle with that at times, because we have a spiritual connection and there's church and whatnot, but separately, we often have school or work.

John Beaman:

And this gentleman helped me understand how to bring those together and be more of a unified person in how I come to work every day. And it was really dramatic. And then here at admin itself, there's probably at least two or three people in the last 10 years here in Roseville that I can point to and tell stories of how they taught me how to care for people or how to again, now not just bring my own best self, but to think of what's best for others, whether that's team development or the entire organization, and really broadened my view of how any one person can truly make a difference in the lives of many, many people.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. That's beautiful. I think we actually are always made up of great people who invest in us. Yeah, that's fantastic. Fantastic. Great. All right. Where do you want to go after 50?

John Beaman:

Seventy-five.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Seventy-five. All right. Here it goes. Do you remember the first item you purchased with your own money and if so, what it is and why did you buy it?

John Beaman:

Well, probably like many people, the first item of significance, I mean, I'm sure I went to the candy store, right? But the first item of significant was my first car. And it was kind of my own money, but basically my family said, because I got essentially not a full scholarship, essentially a full scholarship to college, they had saved up and said, "You know what, because you got these good grades and were able to get a scholarship, we're giving you some of the money that we had set aside for college." So it was a fantastic gift, fantastic. So my choices to use weren't like Corvette, Mustang or Ferrari. We were talking, at the time, a Pinto. This would be pre-Hyundai. There's nothing wrong with those cars. It's just the cost I'm referring to. My first purchase was this Isuzu Impulse. And just a normal teenage boy, it had like this alarm system, tinted windows. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. And looking back, obviously, I think, what was I doing? I mean, it was somewhat practical, but really not. I could've made a much smarter...

Japhet De Oliveira:

The tinted windows probably did it.

John Beaman:

Exactly. Exactly. So that was the first item of significance.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, beautiful. Beautiful. All right. Where do you want to go next?

John Beaman:

Let's go to 95.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Ninety-five. All right. Actually, this speaks to something you had mentioned a little bit earlier. So tell us about how you see your faith and life intersecting.

John Beaman:

Yeah. Again, I think it is one. I mean, it's probably the easiest way to say it. And it's something that I think that's a, for most of us, a learned awareness. Some people naturally, I think, get the fact that we are intended to be whole people and all these elements truly fit together. Probably the rest of us, many of us learn, have to learn that because we intentionally or unintentionally segment, right? We go to church. Check, good. Got that going on. We go to school. I can leave math. I can leave my math book at school. And the reality is all those things do fit together into who we are and how we're a person. And really to be a great leader at work, we need to bring our full selves because that's the authentic-ness that I think others yearn to see in each other.

John Beaman:

There's plenty of pseudo, fake, facades I think we deal with. I mean, entertainment, even though I love movies, I love music. Some of that's authentic in nature because there's an artist behind them, but ultimately they're still not the deep resonant, authentic-ness I think we all really enjoy when we get to work and get to know somebody. And I think that's why learning how to be oneself and bring that to work makes us more successful and makes us better people to work with. And ultimately the company has better success.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. John, we have time for final two questions. What are the two numbers?

John Beaman:

All right. Let's go to a hundred.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You want to go to a hundred? And then you've got a one more number after that. All right. Here we go.

John Beaman:

Yeah. We're going to end on an easy note, man. I don't want to end on a hard one.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. Well then let's go. Just so you know this, not everybody does the a hundred, so you know, all right. Fair enough. Here's the question 100. Tell us about one question that you just don't want to answer.

John Beaman:

Good question. I think there is a question around the greatest highs and lows of one's life that becomes so personal. That often is the question that I don't want to answer and then maybe others, as well. I mean, because it's easy to, on the high side to, to jump to the day you got married or had your first child or the low point of when you lost someone or maybe when you made just a tremendous mistake. But I think if we're real with ourselves we also know there's things we have done that we really don't want anybody else ever to know because in our mind they're the lowest of the lows. And I think that on the flip side, sometimes the joys we experience may also take us to a place that we don't share as often, because that also is an intensely personal thought, right?

John Beaman:

To have someone know what really brings me the ultimate joy, I think, also exposes something of ourselves that we share or don't want to answer without, I'd say, with the exception of very few people. Often our spouses, hopefully, is one that we do want to answer that question for. But for many people, it's one we often stray away from. And I know I do. So to answer your question, that's where I wouldn't normally go.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So if I were to kind of like break that down just a little bit further, would you say then, John, that you're saying that defining true joy for you is the question that you would not want to have to answer?

John Beaman:

Yeah, I think so. Which is probably an ironic statement based on everything else I said.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's a deep ... Yeah. Yeah. Because for people who don't know John, and for people who do see John all the time, if you work at Adventist Health and you get to see John all over the place here, you would know John is a person of joy and you'd know he's a person who actually brings joy to meetings and to work and to life. And so that's an interesting contrast. It means that weighs on your soul. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that, John. That's a deep side. All right. Your last moment of question then, you said you wanted to go lighter on this. Which number would you like to go on?

John Beaman:

I'll go back to 12. I think we did 11 then I jumped.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah you did.

John Beaman:

I'm assuming 12 is light enough.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, no, no, it's great. Let's go to 12 then. So here we are. What is your favorite movie or book of all time and why?

John Beaman:

Oh man. Awesome. Okay. I like adventure movies and if I had to pick one that stayed with me, I can go to one of the more recent ones, but to me also, if I had to say favorite it's one that's kind of stuck over the years and was really influential and stuck with me. Probably Raiders of the Lost Ark. And it just brings together a little bit of everything, adventure, comedy, even a little romance mingled in there. And it's a great example of how those come together to create an experience, honestly, that you can sit and enjoy and just get lost in a story that takes you to a different physical location, but also gives you a smile or two along the way.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's a pretty amazing classic. I would add to that, John, that I resonate deeply with that particular one. I did try, as well, to name one of my boys Indiana Jones, but I did not succeed. He is Jonah, my youngest one. And so he made me go by Jones a lot of the time, but no. No, I love that. I love that. There's something about that. And I think actually that speaks volumes into you, as well, as a person who enjoys adventure and brings adventure with your work and your life, both your faith and with your experiences with people, as well. So thank you so much for taking the time, for risking this entire journey, as well. And for everybody who's listening, nobody gets to know what their questions are. They just pick these numbers. And so nothing's edited. It's just as it is.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And it's actually what a conversation should be. So I want to encourage all of our listeners to do the same thing with your friends. Connect, share your stories and your experiences with each other, because the more you do that, the stronger you actually are, you influence others, they influence you, you grow, and you're blessed with it. I want to encourage you to do that. God bless you. Look out for each other. And again, John, thank you so much for your time.

John Beaman:

Thank you, Japhet.

Narrator:

Thank you for joining us for The Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health for the Office of Culture