S6 E15: The Power of Tenure in Your Career and Company with Rob Diplock

The Inspire Podcast

In this episode, Bart meets with Rob Diplock, Senior Vice President at Kumon North America, the sixth-largest franchise in the world, to explore the value of long employee tenures. Rob shares his personal journey with Kumon, who has become the employer of his entire career. He discusses the advantages of remaining with one organization—for both employees and employers—and the unique challenges that arise from spending your professional life in one company. Rob reflects on how workplace trends have shifted, whether long-term careers still offer the same benefits, and what companies gain—and risk losing—with employee retention. He closes with insights and wisdom for people considering a long-term career with their current organization, highlighting how to grow, stay fulfilled, and make a lasting impact. Learn more by visiting Kumon here: https://www.kumon.com/ca-en/ and check out Rob's book recommendations here: 1-The Lessons of History:https://www.amazon.ca/Lessons-History-Will-Durant/dp/143914995X 2-Leading by Alex Ferguson: https://www.amazon.ca/Leading-Learning-Years-Manchester-United/dp/0316268100 3-40 Years with a Whistle: https://www.amazon.ca/40-Years-Whistle-Lessons-Field-ebook/dp/B07PXXK39G Show Notes 00:00 - Show intro 00:33 - Welcoming Rob 01:06 - Why have you stayed so long with one company? 02:35 - Japanese company/culture 04:04 - Bart lists off stats about employee retention 05:40 - The pros and cons of staying in the same organization 07:33 - Forge lasting relationships 08:14 - Bringing your authentic self to work 08:44 - New roles and titles come slower 09:27 - The longer you stay, the more important growth becomes 10:10 - Advantages for the company with retention 12:21 - A team of company experts 12:46 - Breaking down silos 13:36 - Common shared experience and alignment 14:55 - Bart talks about his experiences on retention 16:17 - People stay by default... 17:15 - The COVID example 18:49 - Slow-moving, conservative culture 19:02 - A new culture of innovation 22:29 - Advice for people mid-career 24:51 - Focus on what you're great at, etc. 25:19 - Advice on dealing with high turnover 26:09 - What pushes employees and what doesn’t pull them in? 27:17 - Mission-driven businesses 28:22 - Can't go wrong focusing on the mission 29:02 - Book recommendations from Rob 30:43 - Will you stay with Kumon till you retire? 33:29 - Important to be growing yourself 33:57 - Thank yous 34:11 - Outro