Senior Care Is a Hospitality Job. Scott Nield Proved It Adds 7 Years to Your Life.

Anthony Codispoti (00:01)
Welcome to another edition of the inspired stories podcast where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they’ve overcome adversity. My name is Anthony Cotaspodi and today’s guest is Scott Neal, president and chief executive officer at Monterey. They are known as Tulsa’s friendliest senior living community, offering a life plan approach that provides independent living, wellness programs, and high quality health services.

Their mission is to give older adults a vibrant lifestyle, complimented by retirement planning and meaningful engagement opportunities. Scott joined Montero in February, 2022, bringing over 25 years of expertise in senior living and hospitality. He has successfully led innovative initiatives focused on return on experience and edutainment, enhancing how residents connect and thrive.

Before coming to Monterey, Scott held various leadership roles in both hospitality and healthcare, always striving to ensure seniors feel valued and appreciated. Under his guidance, Monterey has continued to expand its programs and earn recognition for excellence in short and long-term care. Now, before we get into all that good stuff, today’s episode is brought to you by my company, Ad Back Benefits Agency, where we offer very specific and unique employee benefits.

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To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at addbackbenefits.com. All right, back to our guest today, President and CEO of Monterey, Scott Neal. Thanks for making the time to share your story today.

Scott Nield (02:08)
It’s a pleasure. I’m excited to get to chat with you. Thanks for having me.

Anthony Codispoti (02:12)
Yeah, so maybe let’s go a little bit further further back even before coming to Monterey and tell us where you’re originally from and how you found your way to the States.

Scott Nield (02:26)
I grew up in Scotland, the highlands of Scotland specifically, just outside Inverness, the campus hall, had a ⁓ great family, dynamic. Father was an entrepreneur and former professional soccer player or football player, we call it. ⁓ So I grew up in a very sporting family, ⁓ tried all sports and ⁓

You know, was able to do a couple of them pretty well and came over to the States to play sports and also to learn the business of golf and country clubs. that kind of was my career path for many years before I…

I came into the healthcare component of hospitality about a decade ago. So yeah, I got to grow up in Scotland as a child and America as an adult. So I feel really blessed to have both in my present and past. Yeah, just about 18. So just came over right as 18 and yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (03:30)
And so were you what like late teens, early 20s when the opportunity

And were you coming

over to play golf and learn golf or was there another sport that you were coming over to play?

Scott Nield (03:43)
Both. and soccer as well. ⁓

yeah, tried to try to do both at the same level as my my dad and quite have the talent. ⁓ The gene pool kept getting delineated every generation, but but it’s afforded me to to kind of follow in his footsteps with love of people as well. And so kind of parlayed that into the business, the business part of of sport.

Anthony Codispoti (04:11)
So you were

managing golf courses, clubs, academies. Talk to us about that work.

Scott Nield (04:16)
his lords,

yeah, all of that. ⁓ I got super very, very lucky. ⁓ Often it’s better to be lucky than good, right? And I got super lucky to get introduced to the Harmon family ⁓ and Craig specifically at Oak Hill and one of America’s greatest clubs. at a very young age, he took a chance on me and ⁓ put me into his training program. ⁓

from there, you know, really learned the business of country clubs and golf and teaching. And then from there, probably then to leading my own clubs and at a very elite level of hospitality. So, ⁓ and then from that, it was being surrounded by many captains of industry that ⁓ I was able to ask for help and coaching and…

They wrapped their arms around me and had a wonderful 20 odd years in that world and then kind of fell into the senior living part and yeah, kind of got lucky there too and now ended up in Tulsa. So it’s been quite the journey and 11th different state now, I think, fourth different country. So it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. Yeah, yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (05:40)
bounced around quite a bit. Yeah.

Let’s go back to Craig ⁓ Harmon. What do you think he saw in you? Why did he take a chance on you back?

Scott Nield (05:45)
Hmm.

⁓ I don’t know. ⁓ I think Craig saw passion ⁓ from me. think he also, I have an insatiable appetite to learn. And I think he saw that. I think what’s really being able to keep my career advancing has been ⁓ a drive that maybe some would say is unparalleled. I have a lot of drive.

willingness to learn and therefore succeed. work ethic, I think he saw that too. ⁓ I was raw, I was a greenhorn and thank goodness he ⁓ took a chance on that. So was definitely not because of my experience and talent that he, what he saw, but he saw something and I took advantage of it with ⁓ learning from him and his training program.

Anthony Codispoti (06:46)
And you said as you advanced through your career along the way, you were doing a good job of kind of raising your hand, asking for help, asking for coaching, asking for training. And I think that’s something that a lot of people would benefit from if they were better at doing that. Was that something that somebody else taught you? Was that just sort of innate in you? And what kind of tips would you have for listeners on how to go about that for themselves?

Scott Nield (06:54)
you

Hmm.

⁓ Yeah, so I’ll probably start at the back end. ⁓ You’ve just got to be fearless and unapologetic and great leaders. they do see ⁓ something in you and a passion at least. ⁓ There’s only been a couple in my longer career than some that have said no. ⁓ Most really great leaders will love to impart their wisdom on

on others, especially those that are younger and less experienced. So ⁓ I think you just have to be brave and expect a no, but hope for a yes. And oftentimes you get that yes. ⁓ I think it’s really just, ⁓ it’s having courage, right? It’s having courage to mess up and fall forward.

Anthony Codispoti (08:11)
I want to understand how the transition from being in the golf world to senior living came about. That seems like a bit of an unusual transition.

Scott Nield (08:17)
Mm.

Yeah, but less and less now. think, you know, 10, 15, 20 years ago, was less common today. think it’s people are seeing what the future of the industry is, but also the present, right? We’re moving away from a clinical model into a wellness model. ⁓ And so ⁓ there’s a lot of hospitality in what we do. Quite frankly, what

you’re building widgets today, you’re in the hospitality business, right? So everything we do, and we teach a lot of that in our training here and even in healthcare. You may be a clinical expert, but you’re a hospitality expert at the same time. other than, you know, not having a golf course, we have a healthcare center. It’s pretty much same type of business. You’re in the people business. You gotta know your people to know your business.

It’s different in a country club in that massive amount of regulation, ⁓ massive amount of capital expenditure on these big, big communities. But the operational aspect is very similar. You’re dealing with people and that’s definitely the most rewarding job in the world is to deal with people. It’s also the most complex and sometimes the most difficult. ⁓

you have to take that into appreciation and into perspective as well. So you’ve got people skills, that’s what people want, especially in their ⁓ later years where you have to show empathy and the ability to provide compassionate care.

Anthony Codispoti (10:05)
So it’s helpful to see those sort of commonalities. ⁓ You’re dealing with people. I think it’s fantastic that you think about what you do now in terms of hospitality. And we’ll get into this a little bit more, but I have to assume that ⁓ the customer experience at Montero is only benefiting from that kind of mentality and that kind of approach.

Scott Nield (10:10)
Hmm.

Mm.

Anthony Codispoti (10:31)
But from your perspective, why make that change? You’re in the golf industry. You probably have lots of contacts in that space. You understand how it works, who all the players are. Were you just ready for a different kind of a challenge, or what was going on there?

Scott Nield (10:47)
Yeah, I think all of that, going through a transition in life, midlife, all of that, divorce, health issues, and just kind of fell into it as well. And kind of got a phone call one day saying, hey, do you want to have you any interest in senior living? And I said, what’s that? But the more I got to talk to the recruiter, the more…

I realized that it would be, ⁓ I think, really good fit, a lot of what I was doing already. ⁓ Getting weekends off was something I never had before since I was 12 years old. So that was just a ⁓ different way of living, a different ⁓ way of thinking as well, which was a challenge. ⁓

And you know, that’s kind of just who I am. I’m just willing to take the plunge and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll figure something else out. That’s the beautiful thing about hospitality, There’s just so many different avenues you can go down and…

That would be one thing I would say to people in general. And I was that way. I was mired in the fear of being one-dimensional for a long time. Well, it’s only country clubs that I know. And then coming into this space, recognizing there’s just so much opportunity. And so I would encourage people to never think they’re one-dimensional. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (12:24)
Don’t box yourselves into one thing. What was probably the

biggest challenge in making that transition from golf courses to senior lip?

Scott Nield (12:35)
having no clue about healthcare. ⁓ Absolutely, that was a massive challenge, but one that I was willing to take on. And another example of I asked a lot of people for help, a lot of people that were willing to coach me and I was willing to study. So… ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (12:38)
You

Scott Nield (12:58)
And it took a long time. mean, it’s such a unique space that it took a good solid couple of years to feel comfortable. the third year, you’re feeling like, OK, I kind of understand this a little bit. But that was a massive shift. And it is daunting. And it’s not for the faint of heart, ⁓ especially in an industry that’s a little bit different than QCare, but also one that’s highly regulated.

And so it’s important that you surround yourself with that talent, And great leaders will make sure that they hire or cast people that are complimenting their weaknesses. And I certainly was able to do that in my first go around in senior living.

Anthony Codispoti (13:46)
So how did the opportunity to join Montrose specifically come about?

Scott Nield (13:51)
Yeah, we were living in Atlanta, ⁓ building a, in a urban environment there. ⁓ Got a call from a recruiter again and said, hey, you know, this, this is kind of your perfect country club model. It’s just in senior living. ⁓ It’s a single site. You’ve got a governance model that’s very similar to what you’ve been accustomed to in the, in the club world.

and you’ve got a chairman of the board that’s not only brilliant, but he’s not changing every two years. So that’s rare. it really was kind of, for me, perfect timing ⁓ and the perfect governance model to be able to really bring my philosophy in senior loving to fruition. And he bought into that. So it was great.

Anthony Codispoti (14:45)
Say more

about that. I want to understand what sets Monterey apart. What is it that you guys are doing there that’s different?

Scott Nield (14:51)
I think we think different. mean, we want our vision statement, which I did not write, but fundamentally believe in is that we want to revolutionize the way people age successfully. And it’s going with a hospitality mindset and not a clinical one. ⁓ Clinical one plays a big part in what we do, ⁓ but it’s just a different way that we want to think and operate. so I…

most CEOs will come with a 120 page business plan and we certainly have that but I believe in just a very simple five fundamental pillars for this type of

business and if you’re best in class in those five pillars you’re gonna you’re gonna be doing something right so our five pillars is obviously fiscal stability right you can have the best people in the best culture but if you can’t pay for it it doesn’t exist and even as a not-for-profit you you make a profit no margin no mission so we do that very very well ⁓ we want to develop our people through through service excellence right so superior service excellence so it’s incumbent upon this labor market to make sure that we’re developing our people

adequately and we’ve got a bunch of really cool programs that we were able to to establish here on that. We have exquisite culinary right it’s the universal language we all have to eat and it’s a very important part of the ⁓ lives of people in general but certainly of those that are seniors and the European model you know you break bread around you six o’clock and you’re there for a couple hours and you’re making fun of each other and

you know, the banter and the pattern and ⁓ that’s.

Anthony Codispoti (16:33)
Breaking bread

at six though, thought seniors, were sitting down at like three or four o’clock. Yeah? Okay.

Scott Nield (16:37)
Yeah, you know, you’d be surprised. You’d be surprised.

Some are at four, some are at six, some are at eight. But yeah, it’s really cool. And it’s not just about fancy five-star dining and fancy sauces, really. You know, we teach here, right, our culinary team, our executive chef, you know, the principal, right? You may not know that this is this person’s last meal. So if you knew it was their last meal, you would make that a piece of art.

Anthony Codispoti (16:42)
All right.

And let’s.

Scott Nield (17:06)
Right. And so that’s the, I think a different mindset than, than what’s maybe been in senior loving before. ⁓ Integrated lifestyle and wellness, which I believe is the future of our industry, right. It’s taking our baby boomers who have had a, a country club lifestyle their whole life and have accumulated more wealth than the world’s ever seen. And they spend it. So being prepared for that. And they very much want that turnkey lifestyle.

the cruise ship that doesn’t leave the port. so ⁓ the clinical aspect, the life plan aspect is a component, but they put more emphasis on longevity and their lifestyle and providing that longevity. And then having elite healthcare, right? So those are our five fundamental pillars that we want to be leading, investing class in. And ⁓ that kind of covers, I think, a lot of the bases in the operational sense.

Anthony Codispoti (18:06)
And so what’s the extent of the healthcare services that are being provided on site?

Scott Nield (18:11)
Yeah, so we’ve got what’s called the full continuum of care. So we have independent living, right? Just like living in homes or apartment homes and ⁓ assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing. So we have all the components. Yeah, the fifth component of home care as well. We want people to be living independently as long as possible. And we all want to die in our own bed ⁓ as we fall asleep. ⁓ And so keeping people independent in their home as long as possible is

important to most and certainly important to those that believe in what Montreux is doing.

Anthony Codispoti (18:48)
So in addition to providing all these great services at what sounds like Club Med to me, you’re also going into other people’s homes and providing them the kind of care and support that they need for as long as they’re willing and able to stay there.

Scott Nield (18:53)
Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Yes, exactly. that’s not just, ⁓ that’s been going on in senior living for a long, time. That’s the future of health systems as well. Right? So you’ll be seeing a lot of that coming, you know, having ERs in people’s own houses. It’s just the cost of healthcare has to go that route. So yeah, we’ve been doing that for a long, long time.

You know, what I would say in that regard, right, some organizations, you know, we call our care team, you know, there’s a difference between being a timekeeper and being a care provider, right? And so maybe too often, but getting less, you know, you’re finding people that will just sit there on their phone and wait for something to happen. We’re different here. We train to that where, you know, we want our

our team members that are caring for people in their home to go through our CIPC program and ensure that our residents are getting social engagement, intellectual challenge, physical movement, spiritual fulfillment, and ⁓ emotional wellbeing. And so it’s really creating care plans. We call them CIPC success plans that afford our team to know other people and get them out.

you know, having those dimensions of wellness that will add to their longevity.

Anthony Codispoti (20:25)
And that’s both for the folks that you’re caring for at Monterey as well as the folks that you’re going into their homes.

Scott Nield (20:32)
Yep, yep, exactly.

And also our team members. We want our team members to be living that SIPSE life as well. So we talk about that, we educate that, ⁓ we give a lot of statistics and we give great examples from the Blue Zones of what we’re learning from people that are living long and vibrant and purposeful lives. So yeah, it’s purposeful in what we do and the data supports it. You come to communities like Monterey, on average you’ll live…

seven years longer than you would living at home. ⁓ the data is there to support it. We have the data there. ⁓ And so I like to call Montreal kind of micro blue zone where, you know, you’re if you come in here early enough, it will add to your longevity. Absolutely. Of all the stuff that we’re we’re doing.

Anthony Codispoti (21:04)
Wow.

What do you think

is the key factor in that? Is it having access to that healthcare? Is it mostly that social interaction that’s keeping people engaged and interacting?

Scott Nield (21:30)
Yes, yes and yes. So yeah, number one key factor for longevity, right, is obviously socialization, ⁓ having purpose, so giving people purpose. So you come into a communal setting like these wonderful communities, life plan communities, ⁓ you’re getting that. ⁓ Having purpose, which leads to ⁓ vitality, right? ⁓

We’re the most stressed out nation in the world and so being able to keep us occupied and not in front of that bloody awful TV, ⁓ you know, with different programming, unique programming that can be tailored to, you know, your…

your passions is what leads, a lot of that leads to the longevity factor. There’s a difference between longevity or lifespan and joy span, right? So ⁓ I don’t know about you, but ⁓ I don’t wanna live a long life and not be joyful. ⁓ I’ll take maybe a shorter life and have joy most of that life.

⁓ Life is seasonal, but we also want to have a high score in our joy span as well. So ⁓ we speak about that and that’s the the sipsy part with the emotional health, right? Making sure that we touching base early enough if people are having some challenges or go into a different season.

Anthony Codispoti (22:56)
And I think this is part of what you’re getting at. Like these are important ⁓ things to keep in mind, not only for ⁓ aging seniors, but also people of all ages, right? That social interaction is important at every age, which is why you guys are also focusing on some of these same things with your employees. How does that show up in that employee interaction? How are you guys able to kind of foster that kind of, what do you call it? That social connection?

Scott Nield (23:07)
Holy

Absolutely, yeah.

Yeah, so I think it’s super important that you keep reinforcing what we believe in and we keep reinforcing, know, SIPC and challenging them. ⁓ We have daily scrums and so we speak about that in our daily scrums and ⁓ so we have a cadence every day, start of every shift and it talks about our culture and it talks about, you know, the SIPC factors and we get to talk.

and engage and ask each other, you how you doing? You’re doing a check-in. As Winston Churchill ⁓ said in 1938, you know, have to have the courage to stand up and speak and you have to have the courage to sit down and listen. We encourage our people ⁓ to stand up and speak and say, hey, and I speak to that in day one. So every new team member that comes here, I spend the first three hours of their career at Monterey.

going through their day one class and we speak to that and speak to, if you’re struggling, you need to be able to have the courage to stand up and speak because as much as we want to assume positive intentions, if you’re struggling and not performing, we’re going to assume that you’re either checked out or whatever it may be. But if you tell us, hey, you know what, I’m struggling. I’m… ⁓

just got asked to have a divorce or I just got diagnosed with nothing or my kid just ⁓ had a bombshell that hit them. ⁓ Then we can talk and then we can come together as a community and as a group to rally together and put our arms around. But if we don’t know, we can’t do that. So we reinforce all of those in a multitude of different ways to try to build that community and to try to build that culture of.

hey, I got you, right? Instead of, I think a lot of corporate America is, hey, I got you, right? So same words, two very different meanings. ⁓ So I think we do a lot of that. We do a lot of programming as well. And we come together once a quarter and have leadership meetings offsite and that sort of thing. So to build, it’s not just about.

Anthony Codispoti (25:23)
Different emphasis there, yeah.

Scott Nield (25:39)
having a conversation or a focus factor, it’s very much about spending time together as well.

Anthony Codispoti (25:46)
When you’re talking about, you know, sort of traditional corporate America where there’s an obvious focus on ROI, return on investment, and, know, also for you guys as well. But Scott, you guys focus particularly on something that you call return on experience, ROE. How is that different?

Scott Nield (25:52)
Hmm.

Hmm, hmm,

hmm. Very much, right? Because you’re, I think, you know, you, we’re gonna get to the same result just going back a different way, right? And we’re in the experience business, you know, as I tell the team all the time, you know, if you don’t hear anything from me in your day one class, hear this, right? Your job is to create memories. That’s it. That’s all we get to take with us.

just create a memory, right? Scorecard yourself at the end of the day, did you create a memory? And memories are about experiences, right? You’re in the hospitality world, you are on stage, you are here to serve another and the gift that you give to others is a gift to yourself. And so with that, our job is to give you an experience. Now you can have something extravagant, like one of my favorite residents of all time. ⁓ We, 99 years young and I truly loved that man. He was incredible.

incredible

human being, incredible story, ⁓ was World War II, injured in World War II, injured in Korea, one of the first engineers to build Air Force One, avid pilot at 99 years young. ⁓ He went around or wanted to fly one last time. We got a World War II biplane and flew him around.

Tulsa, he came off the plane all upset because it wasn’t long enough and he didn’t fly. So I want to grow up and be that guy. ⁓ but, ⁓ a memory can also be, you know, just giving the power of presence and sitting down with somebody in our skilled nursing who’s really struggling our end of life and just talking and listening. ⁓ that can be a memory for them and you can create a memory at end of life.

Anthony Codispoti (27:28)
Hahaha

Scott Nield (27:49)
And at the end of the day, that’s all we get to take with us. that’s, I think that’s the difference. And it’s a good difference, you know, to have.

Anthony Codispoti (28:01)
You know, as you’re telling that first story about the 99 year young gentleman who you took up in the airplane for one last flight, it reminds me of a hospitality book that I read that many of my guests have suggested unreasonable hospitality, just kind of looking. for people who aren’t, Scott is nodding his head and smiling. He’s like, yep, yep, yep. So this, this is kind of at the core of what you’re talking about. And I, I I’ve interviewed a lot of, you know, people who work in senior care and

Lots of good people and they’re running great facilities. I haven’t heard this kind of focus on hospitality. I don’t think the word hospitality traditionally comes up in senior care. But it’s core to your approach.

Scott Nield (28:33)
Yeah.

No, unfortunately,

Absolutely. And it’s the core to what people strive for and desire, right? We all want experiences. ⁓ And it’s our job to be able to provide that. That’s what leads to vitality. Yeah, it’s about providing care and you need care, but you have a lot more life in you than just having care when it’s needed. ⁓

And that’s the approach that we take. Yes, we speak to that. It’s a fantastic book. He’s a fantastic guy and totally gets people. ⁓ Again, I’ll just keep going back to we’re in the people business. And if you know your people, you can create great experiences.

Yeah, we speak to that, I speak to that, and day one, every recruit learns that language. That is our language. We have our own language. Our language speaks to unreasonable hospitality and what that looks like. So ⁓ yeah, it probably is different, but we pride ourselves on thinking different.

Anthony Codispoti (29:50)
I’d like to explore the word edutainment. This is something that you talk about a lot as a resident engagement approach. Can you define it and then give us a real life example of how edutainment led to a meaningful shift and how residents either interact with each other or with staff?

Scott Nield (29:54)
Hmm.

So, education combines education and entertainment. It’s that simple, right? And what we want to do is we give an experience in both, So, one of our SIPC pillars, obviously, is intellectual challenge. 55 million people in the world are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, with one million added every year. We’re living longer, so that’s only going to escalate.

So give yourself that gift, even if you’re predisposed to Alzheimer’s or dementia genetically, you can slow that down. And so be that continuous learner. That can be something like we’ve got my dad doing word search.

He’s a disciplined guy, so he does it all the time, right? It’s learning a second language, learning the piano, which affords you to use both sides of your brain simultaneously. So there’s so much you can do if you’re a continuous learner to slow down the possibility of getting ⁓ dementia or Alzheimer’s. So we want to do that and we educate on that. But we want to do it. We know that if you’re going to learn…

you’re going to learn better through passion and having a great experience, right? So ⁓ we have, I was just in a resident committee meeting yesterday and they were asking for more intellectual stimulation and guest speakers coming from.

you know, different parts of the country ⁓ talking about different subjects. So that’s just music to my ears, right? ⁓ You asked me to do something like that. We’re going to do it. We bring in docs from the health system next door, St. Francis and educators from University of Tulsa and OSU and OU, entrepreneurs, right? And we also have great, great wisdom inside. know, I think a lot of people forget

And it’s a deep passion of mine is that, know, seniors get sidelined and they often get marginalized and people forget and youth and I teach both my girls this is that, you know, there’s wisdom there. You can you can purchase knowledge. You cannot purchase wisdom. So get around these people who have massive career success, massive likes life success and learn from them. And I made a career out of that. I went to brilliant people that had.

know, unbelievable career success and wisdom. And they were thankfully willing to impart that. And our role is then to cascade that, you know, and push that forward to others. So we want to create an environment where we’re educating, but at the same time, we’re entertaining. And we know that if we’re doing that, ⁓ the recall, the absorption of that information is going to be better.

Anthony Codispoti (32:51)
making ⁓ continuous learning fun for them. That’s really what it’s about, right? And it keeps the brain lit up, keeps those neurons firing. And that helps to stave off that dimension that Alzheimer’s has folks get older. I’d like to hear about Montero’s life care model, because I understand that there’s a financial protection component in this. Can you speak about that?

Scott Nield (32:58)
I’m hearing you.

Hmm.

Yeah, so well, our Benevolent Fund, so we make the covenant ⁓ that if you come to Monterey ⁓ through the Antisphemy Model and independent living and work your way through and you, through no fault of your own, ⁓ deplete your resources, the community, the organization will take care of you for the rest of your life. ⁓ that’s rare. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (33:43)
Wait,

say that again. I don’t think I followed that.

Scott Nield (33:47)
So I’ll give you an example, right? So let’s just say you came into Monterey and we qualify you ⁓ medically and financially and you’re good to come in. And let’s just say something happens. An example that happened to me in Florida, ⁓ one of our residents had the Bernie Madoff scandal, if you remember that, right? And overnight went from a well-to-do individual to indigent.

Anthony Codispoti (33:49)
Yeah.

Scott Nield (34:17)
And so with that, the Benevolent Fund, the community cared and gave him the same lifestyle that he had ⁓ with the community prior with his own assets. And so the fund took care of that. That’s what we provide here.

Anthony Codispoti (34:35)
Okay, that’s what I thought you were saying, but that’s quite generous. How were you able to do that?

Scott Nield (34:41)
We raise money, so we do a lot of fundraising for it and our corpus, we continually need to grow, but we do a lot of fundraising. We have an annual golf tournament last year was at Southern Hills. We’re in the process of looking for another home this year, but we’ll probably be back at Southern Hills the following year. we raise several hundred thousands of dollars each year to try to do that. Our residents are incredibly generous.

⁓ Tulsa is, I believe, the second most philanthropic city in America, first per capita. So a lot of people are willing to put money in their pocket to care for others. And that’s part of our culture as well, is that our residents care for each other and that you never know what may happen in life. Something catastrophic could happen that depletes your assets and we’re here for each other.

Anthony Codispoti (35:38)
That’s incredible. mean, you

know, describing the type of place that Monterey is, ⁓ I’m going to guess that, you these are folks that have, you know, they’re of means. They’ve, you know, they’ve had financial success in life. ⁓ But it’s incredible. And so, you know, that’s important for them to get in. But then it’s incredible that you’re saying, okay, hey, now that you’re here, now that you’re part of the Monterey family, if something were to happen, you know, use the Bernie Madoff scandal where

know, people’s wealth evaporated overnight through, you know, no fault of their own. Like, hey, we got you. We got your back. We’re your safety net. You’re here. You’re good. That’s pretty powerful stuff, Scott.

Scott Nield (36:18)
Yeah, and it,

very, very, it’s something that we’re very proud of. it’s, kinda, you know, it just stems from our founders and, and, you know, our founding family and Warren Foundation and just such a giving family and, and spend millions a year giving back to Tulsa and Tulsans and… ⁓

It’s just been our culture from the get-go. One of the long-time CEOs that was here was ⁓ David Merlet, did a great job in establishing that and establishing that culture as well. And we’ve been able to grow that corpus. And yeah, for those on occasion that have outlived their assets, ⁓ we’ve got their back, like you said.

Anthony Codispoti (37:07)
say more about some of that ⁓ community investment that’s taking place.

Scott Nield (37:12)
⁓ At Montero? Yeah, so at Montero we, again, are number

Anthony Codispoti (37:15)
Yes.

Scott Nield (37:19)
of fiscal stability, right? So the difference with Montero, opposed to other organizations is, you know, ⁓ and certainly the for-profit model, we make a large profit. ⁓ That profit stays here. It doesn’t go to stakeholders. It doesn’t go to shareholders. And we can reinvest that several million dollars a year into upgrading our facilities, our amenities, ⁓ training programs for our…

team members and their kids. So I think that’s the beauty of the not-for-profit model. That’s the beauty of the Montreal model that we are able to keep those dollars inside the organization and just keep moving forward.

Anthony Codispoti (38:02)
And I think that’s an important distinction that a lot of folks don’t understand. You know, they think of not-for-profit. It’s like, okay, they’re losing money. At best they break even, but that’s not what it means. It means, and please repeat.

Scott Nield (38:10)
Right.

Yeah, it means, you know, not for profits, make a profit. But the difference is that profit stays within the organization, hopefully. ⁓

It certainly does at Montero and that’s reinvested into benefiting the two key stakeholders inside these types of organizations, which is the residents obviously who get to serve and the team members as well. And then you add these are Monterey’s, it’s 1.5 million square feet on 104 acres. There’s a lot of stuff going on. ensuring that you can continue to maintain and build and grow and repair.

all of that and so ⁓ there’s a reason and that’s the big reason why you know fiscal stability should be everybody’s number one

Anthony Codispoti (39:05)
So talk about the future of Montero. You’ve got, you know, beautiful property, ⁓ lots of room to grow. Are there ambitions to continue adding to your facilities there?

Scott Nield (39:18)
Yes, ⁓ and we shall. ⁓ We’re in a season of strengthening, so we’re strengthening our operations and our processes and our people, which will lead to growth. And ⁓ I can’t share what that looks like ⁓ with you today, ⁓ but it will live up to ⁓ our vision statement and it will be revolutionary. It’s going to be pretty cool.

Anthony Codispoti (39:44)
revolutionary. And

Scott, you don’t strike me as somebody that’s prone to hyperbole.

Scott Nield (39:50)
No, this this we’ve got plans to do some stuff that’s not been done in senior living before

Anthony Codispoti (39:57)
⁓ Well, okay, so my follow up question I wonder if you can speak to yet then because I’m curious what role you see technology playing in the future of Monterey and senior care in general.

Scott Nield (40:10)
Massive. I mean, that’s just the reality, right? I mean, if you just look at healthcare alone, right? 64 % reduction in nursing enrollment in the last four years, 50 % reduction in people that are teaching those nurses. ⁓ We have a global, not just a national, but a global crisis, labor crisis that I don’t think unfortunately our politicians have a grasp on.

⁓ But it is going to play a massive role. University of Tokyo, three months ago, just introduced its first robotic nurse. ⁓ all of that is going to play a massive role. AI is just ⁓ escalating at a crazy rate.

AI is going to be a massive player, especially in the higher levels of living already is cameras that can ⁓ have AI checking people’s gates. So we know that if the gate shifts even a quarter an inch, that’s a precursor for a fall. So we’re going to be implementing that into our cameras throughout the organization. ⁓ So it’s just going to play a massive, massive role. For a while now, we’ve had servery servers that are automated.

that serve residents meals. ⁓ You know, we’re close to having a third generation that can go up elevators and have a whole different bunch of sensors.

Anthony Codispoti (41:37)
when you say serve meals,

is this just sort of like, like a moving tray that sort of like brings it from one room to the other? Yeah.

Scott Nield (41:45)
Yep, and

straight to your desk and yep, it’s… ⁓

I wouldn’t say it’s revolutionary yet, but I think it’s pretty much getting there. ⁓ There’s just some great stuff. We’re blessed to, and I’m blessed to be able to have access to St. Francis Health System, ⁓ their innovation labs, and so I’m on that committee. And so we get to see what, you know, an industry that’s probably about 10 years ahead of senior living, we get to see that and utilize, you know, that information, I think, much sooner than most.

So ⁓ to answer your question, ⁓ that’s why I said integrated lifestyle and wellness. It’s lifestyle and wellness with technology. That is the future. That is what our future resident is absolutely not just expecting but demanding.

Anthony Codispoti (42:39)
So one thing you mentioned that was really cool is using cameras that have AI embedded that can detect even a quarter inch change in someone’s gait because that’s an early indicator that someone may fall and have a serious injury there. What other, can you maybe even just pick one specific way that.

Scott Nield (42:49)
Mm.

Hmm.

Anthony Codispoti (43:01)
you see AI is going to be very helpful in your environment in the near future or maybe even a way that it’s being used right now that would surprise a lot of people.

Scott Nield (43:12)
Yeah, our performance improvement team and collective, you know, they’re spending a lot of time. I’m spending a lot of time talking to our IT partner. It’s just we’re going to be able to automate. And this is the challenge, right? ⁓ But this is where the opportunity is moving from or moving to a hospitality mindset, right? A lot of things are going to be automated. ⁓

a lot of departments are going to be automated, which will not require human involvement. ⁓ But it’s still a human space, right? And you you’ve got, we will soon have humanoids that will be able to be kind of your, your butler and your caregiver and your best buddy, right? But you’re touching a cold piece of metal. ⁓

it’s going to do a lot of great stuff, but it’s just not going to be able to be that human experience. And we know even like we’re talking, right, ⁓ that if you can have… ⁓

let’s just say from a psychologist and it’s online versus in person, your neurons fire a slower speed, right? So that engagement is ⁓ super important. And so I tell my team all the time, be a hospitality expert and you will have a job for life, right? Master, we call it here, RDD, leadership, Rigor, discipline and detail.

Get your rigor so good that you have mastered your craft and you will have a job for life because there’s a lot of jobs that are going to be automated. Some say between 30 to 40%.

of current job market will be automated. So that will put a lot of folks scratching their head and having to reinvent themselves. So ⁓ that’s gonna come down the pike. That is coming down the pike. You’re seeing communities now that have reception desks that you’re talking to somebody from Mexico. ⁓ It’s automated, it’s AI driven. ⁓

Sales is another example. ⁓ RIT folks are telling us a lot of that role can be reduced 35, 40%. So ⁓ what we’re seeing today, five years, you won’t even recognize.

Anthony Codispoti (45:41)
So we’re not there yet, right? So present day, still need a lot of people in lots of areas of the business. And the labor market is tight, as you’ve said, you know, we’re in crisis, not just nationally here in the US, but globally. What are some things that you’ve tried and found success with at Monterey when it comes to recruiting good folks? And then once you have someone that’s really good, how do you hold on?

Scott Nield (45:46)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, great question. ⁓ I’m a believer in behavioral science. ⁓ We have ⁓ a program that we use called Predictive Index that all new team members are coming in. So it kind of…

⁓ affords us to get to know who these people kind of are, ⁓ some of their tendencies and their behaviors. ⁓ We have ⁓ programs, we’re currently building out a 180 day onboarding program, so we’re not just having a one day and saying, hey, here’s Monroe, have at it, go figure it out. So we’re doing that. We have a Montreal University program that we use that we utilize our

residents wisdom and create programs for ⁓ our team members and their kids so it’s not just about 40 hours of CEUs that you you learn how to know what a toxic sign looks like on a bottle but anything from you know learning for their children how to select their first credit card and what that means and what the rates are to ⁓

being able to have their child or a team member that ⁓ doesn’t have a ⁓ high school diploma getting their GED. So we have residents that help them with that. So it goes through a whole plethora. I think we’ve got about 44 modules built out for there. The goal is about 400.

⁓ And then we’ve partnered with ⁓ other great institutions. We’ve got ⁓ University of Tulsa that’s got every college represented as an intern now and we want to make sure that we get their top talent and they don’t have to leave Tulsa. They can come here and they’ve got about 80 different disciplines that they can pick from here. You can be a CEO, you can be an engineer, you can be a CNA, you can be a chef, you can be a server, ⁓ you can be a maintenance tech, you can be a… ⁓

memory care specialist, right? There’s so much on offer here that you don’t have to just go and sit in a cubicle and not have passion.

Anthony Codispoti (48:17)
What’s

the extent of that training? Is it sort of like foundational? Like here is kind of an introduction to what it would be like to sort of advance in that, or are they able to actually get a degree or a certification in that field?

Scott Nield (48:32)
Yeah, not a degree because that’s not what we are. We’re not an educational institution, but yes, they’ll get a Montreux certification ⁓ and it’s more about life skills, right? So we want to be able to ⁓ partner and we will. make that covenant. We make agreement with our new team members coming in and walk hand in hand with them in that we are. We’re going to push you. We’re going to push you hard to be the best you can be.

professionally and personally. And so it’s not just, you know, we just care about you as a team member, we care about you as a human. And so taking that human centered approach is important for us.

Anthony Codispoti (49:12)
That’s great. I think that’s what we touched about on this earlier, Scott, is that so many people, they’re looking for purpose. And here I am, present day, in how I fit into this world. But I want to know that there’s opportunities for me to grow. I want to grow in where I fit in in Monterey. I want to grow as a person. I want to improve my skills. lot of people, income, I want to advance my income. And it sounds like you guys are

Scott Nield (49:19)
Yes.

Anthony Codispoti (49:41)
you know, making the foundation for a lot of this available.

Scott Nield (49:45)
Yeah, and even if it means that they go on to success outside of Monterey, as long as they keep advancing, right? We’re cool with that. ⁓ I’ve got a number of people that worked under me and through my training programs and all that does, right? They’re making more money than me. Some of them, you know, they’re doing great. And with that, you build a network, you build a training program. And I know I’ve not really a lot of my leadership.

recruited in, I didn’t really have to have a recruiter do it. It was a part of that network. And so we want to continue to grow that ecosystem and have that talent. But if it means that you have career advancement outside of Monterey, then we celebrate that. But we also know that they were trained right. And maybe down the line, they can make a call like a few have done and say, I got a person that needs to, that can do what you’re asking to do at Monterey. ⁓

at that level, elite level. And then we don’t have to go through all the rigma. We know we’re getting somebody that’s being trained properly. So that’s what I learned from Craig Harmon and really tried to model my career around that as well, your responsibility is to grow and nurture and care for people. At same time, the benefit from that is you know they’re trained really, really well.

the golf world who doesn’t want to go work for Craig Harmon at an OKL Country Club right so hopefully we can create that model here.

Anthony Codispoti (51:15)
That’s terrific.

All comes full circle. ⁓ Time for my favorite question, Scott. I would like to hear about a serious challenge that you’ve overcome in your life. So it’s personal or professional, how’d you get through that and what did you learn?

Scott Nield (51:18)
Yeah.

okay, there’s so many I could go. I, I, all right, I’ll be vulnerable here. ⁓ so, ⁓ I’ve had some health challenges in my life and, and, I’ll go back to my tenacity and I’ll go back to my drive. ⁓ was having some significant health challenges, and, ⁓ a divorce at the same time and,

And with that feeling really, really sad. ⁓ A bit of the martyrdom. ⁓ I had a lot of sadness ⁓ to have to deal with. And a young early teenager that’s having to see all of that. was hard. It was very hard on her and her family. ⁓ But, you know, not giving up, not giving in.

just fighting through it inch by inch, day by day. ⁓ Ability to overcome, going back to that, having the courage to stand up and speak. ⁓ I brought in my executive team and told them all this, and obviously they could see some physical changes taking place, but I had the courage to let them know, and I asked them straight up, I’m not gonna be at my best for a while. Can you support me? ⁓

can you have my back? ⁓ This organization needs you to have my back and I promise I’ll reciprocate ⁓ when we get through this. ⁓ And they were terrific ⁓ and they had my back and we got through it. But I will say, ⁓ you know, you’ve got to have the courage to stand up and speak and know that.

you can get through this and you shouldn’t get through it alone. ⁓ And where we are today compared to where we are, in great shape, but also knowing that there’s a lot of teaching in those moments, right? And the teaching for me was never give up, never give in, give more to people than you wanna ⁓ take from people. And I think that was the beauty of my mindset ⁓ that was…

really recognizing in my 12 hours, in my workday, I made it about everybody else’s problem and problems and not my own. And ⁓ that gave me, I think, greater health, built my immune system back up. And ⁓ then the teaching was, that’s the greatest gift you can give to yourself, right? It’s serving another.

It was at night that I had to worry about all my problems and I didn’t like that very much, but you get through that. And so ⁓ for my advice and my encouragement for others is at your weakest moment, at your hardest point in life, the power of prayer works and that ⁓ if you give more than you take, people will be willing to.

to give you that goodwill. ⁓ I’ve had it blessed. Ironically, it’s the best and hardest thing to ever happen to me.

Anthony Codispoti (54:57)
You know, and the other component of that story there that I really appreciate, Scott, is the value of you raising your hand and admitting that you were hurting. You were hurting physically with your health issues. You were hurting emotionally going through the divorce. And those are the times when for whatever reason as humans, I think our natural reaction is to sort of like withdraw into ourselves.

and to suffer in silence and try to pretend like everything is okay when it’s not. And for whatever reason, the way that we’re wired, those are the hardest moments for us to reach out and connect to people. But it’s the best medicine that exists. And your ability to do that, and we talked about this early in your career, like, hey, I rose my hand, I said, I wanna learn, I wanna grow. And that’s great.

But doing it when you were in that kind of strife ⁓ is so challenging. But how rewarding it was for you, I think, is the lesson that everybody listening needs to take from this.

Scott Nield (56:09)
Yeah. Yeah, I think, you know, you’re going to be judged most at your worst moment under duress, right? And again, how are you going to show up? That’s really it. You know, how are you going to show up in your worst moments? You show up hurting people, hurt others. Are you going to be that? That’s the easy route. Or are you going to show up and continue to want to give even when you don’t have a lot or feel like you don’t have a lot to give? ⁓

And in return, there’s a lot of other people that will give you the true beauty of humanity. And I was afforded that gift. So ⁓ yeah, just show up, control poise, make it about everybody else, not you. And ⁓ in that regard, you’ll come through it. And a lot of people want to walk by your side going through it as well.

Anthony Codispoti (57:03)
What advice do you have for folks that maybe they’re listening right now and they’re in the throes of something. They’re in the midst of something really hard. And what they need to do is raise their hand and ask for help. And they just don’t know how to take that first step.

Scott Nield (57:21)
Yeah, one I would say give yourself grace, right? You’re gonna be harder on yourself than probably anybody else. So give yourself grace. Don’t beat yourself up. We all have hard moments, weak moments. We all have downfalls. We all make silly decisions. ⁓ But you have to start somewhere and find somebody that if you have nobody which

I have hard time believing you have nobody. First, go to God. ⁓ Never be let down by God. I mean, not beyond your time, but he will be there for you. And then the other is maybe just think outside the box, right? Go, even though you may not attend a church, go talk to a pastor, ⁓ talk to a colleague that…

you admire or you feel like has some wisdom and empathy, ⁓ take the chance, right? What’s the worst that can happen, right? They think you’re an idiot, okay, then next person, right? ⁓ You will find that person and you will find there’s so much beauty in this world. There’s so many lovely, positive, caring, kind people. Somebody will just be there and don’t be frightened to be rejected. ⁓

That’s just another opportunity for a door to be opened.

Anthony Codispoti (58:46)
What’s your superpower, Scott?

Scott Nield (58:51)
It’s funny how we asked that. That’s the first thing I ask or one of the first things I ask and everybody’s day one. So we go through kind of what’s unique about you all the way down to the last thing I ask is, know, if you could be a superhero, who would it be? Or if you could have a superpower, what would it be? I think mine is passion. I’m passionate about.

just life in general, but people. I love people. I got that gift from my father. My father has never met a stranger. And I think passion can overcome a lot. Talent and ultimately, you know, think character as well is super important, but I have a lot of passion for people, a lot of tenacity, a lot of drive.

That’s taken a pretty average guy to overachieve a lot in sports and in career. So ⁓ give yourself that gift. Work super hard, right? Hard work. Never, ever will steer you wrong. So I think those are kind of…

I don’t know if that answers your question, but that’s definitely characteristics of suit me in the test of time.

Anthony Codispoti (1:00:08)
Perfect answer.

Now I have to ask about the wall behind you. And for folks that are just listening to the audio of this, ⁓ Scott’s got at least 16 different framed objects hanging on the wall behind him. And so I have to ask, what are those? What’s in those frames?

Scott Nield (1:00:32)
So that’s my quote wall and that’s my ability to move from perception to perspective every morning when I get to walk through that door and get to see much smarter people than me bring their wisdom and it’s also an opportunity for me to just bring peace but also ⁓ bring stability to me. I’ve got, yeah, I think there’s.

20 quotes, from, I may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I am this team’s double shot of whiskey to a fulfilled human being doesn’t need to break down anyone. build you up. Sometimes you have to be hard on people, but it comes.

Anthony Codispoti (1:01:16)
Wait, sorry, sorry, Scott, read

that one again a little louder. As you’re turning away from the mic, it’s hard to hear from.

Scott Nield (1:01:20)
Sure. It says

a fulfilled human being doesn’t need to break down anyone. They build you up. Sometimes you have to be hard on people, but it comes from a good place. And then you’ve got great teammates hold each other accountable to the high standards and excellence their culture expects and demands. So there’s 20 that, you know, all they’re all from, you know, ⁓

Nelson Mandela to Tupac. So you name it, we’ve got it.

Anthony Codispoti (1:01:55)
You

quite the span there. That’s great. How about a book or a course or another resource that you might recommend to our listeners something that’s been really helpful for you?

Scott Nield (1:01:57)
Yeah.

so many. ⁓

Greatness, it’s an expensive book ⁓ and it’s an easy read, but it’s a great book. Joy Span, right? I think for those that are in our space or certainly those that are maybe midlife ⁓ and kind of looking at a second season in their life, Joy Span, I think is a very good book to read. ⁓

Yeah, there’s a ton of Unreasonable Hospitality. It’s a very good book to read. yeah, let me… ⁓ If you want a really interesting read, Dan Browder is an interesting guy, but Red Notice, kind of a guy, the investment banker that went into the breakdown of the Soviet Union and… ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (1:02:48)
good suggestions.

Scott Nield (1:03:04)
really really interesting fascinating my wife’s from belarus so grew up in soviet union so that’s a fascinating book especially with the geopolitics that are going on over there right now ⁓ yeah the only guy that ever took on putin and and won

Anthony Codispoti (1:03:21)
He’s still around to talk about it, huh? Scott, I’ve just got one more question for you. But before I ask it, I want to do two things. Everyone listening today, just pause for a second, open up that podcast app you’re using right now and hit the follow or subscribe button. I want you to continue to get more great interviews like we’ve had today with Scott Neal from Montero. Scott, I also want to let people know the best way either to get in touch with you or Montero. What would that be?

Scott Nield (1:03:22)
Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, we have a website. It’s a pretty cool website. can reach me or Monterey and learn more about Monterey through our website, monterey.net. You can email me at snield at monterey.net and you certainly can call Monterey and they’ll direct you to my office. But yeah, if people have a passion and they have a passion about people and senior living.

Call me.

Anthony Codispoti (1:04:18)
All right, and we’ll include that phone number, the email, the website address, and the show notes for folks. Last question for you, Scott. A year from now, you and I reconnect, and you are really excited. You are celebrating something big. What’s that big thing you’re celebrating one year from today?

Scott Nield (1:04:37)
stronger a year from now than we were yesterday or last year. We just keep strengthening our growth, our wisdom, our desire to serve another. ⁓ That’s really, know, again, I I’m not a big, I didn’t grow up with baseball, ⁓ but ⁓ I like the game and, you know, I think championships are won through base hits. ⁓

We’re in a season at Monterey where we want to get our base hits and I’m a season in life where, you know, it’s just building good habits, which establishes great standards.

Anthony Codispoti (1:05:19)
Terrific. Scott Neal from Montero, I want to be the first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us today. I really appreciate it.

Scott Nield (1:05:27)
It’s a pleasure being with you today. Thank you.

Anthony Codispoti (1:05:30)
Folks, that’s a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us today.