[upbeat music] - Hello, I'm Nido Qubein.

Welcome to Side by Side.

My guest today is connected to two of the nation's most recognizable brands, Sheraton Hotels, and Perdue Farms.

It's that powerful family experience that prepared her for writing more than 1800 syndicated news articles on topics ranging from family business to food, agriculture, environmental concerns, and even women's health.

We're talking to Renaissance woman Mitzie Perdue.

- [Narrator] Funding for Side by Side with Nido Qubein is made possible by: - [Announcer] Here's to those that rise and shine, to friendly faces doing more than their part.

And to those who still enjoy the little things, you make it feel like home.

Ashley HomeStore, this is home.

- [Narrator] The Budd Group is a company of everyday leaders making a difference by providing facility solutions through customized janitorial, landscape, and maintenance services.

- [Announcer] Coca-Cola consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola consolidated, your local bottler.

[upbeat music] - Mitzie, when I think of Sheraton hotels or Perdue Farms, I think of you.

Your father was the co-founder of Sheraton hotels.

Your late husband, Frank Perdue, was the chief executive officer of Perdue Farms.

What a legacy!

- I feel so lucky.

I hardly know what to do with myself.

But I want to use that legacy to share some of the tips that they had, that made them successes and my personal analysis of both men, is they did lots of things that others could emulate.

- Oh, that's wonderful to know.

So, they've done things that you believe other people can do for their own benefit, their own progress in life.

Well give us some of those steps.

First of all, where did you grow up?

And did you have any siblings?

And your father was active in your life?

How did you pick up all these lessons from him?

- There were five of us in my birth family.

And my father was the co-founder and president of the Sheraton corporation.

And he was tremendously involved with us.

He used to have what he called "family business hour", in which after church services on Sundays, he would tell us things about how business works, how stocks work, but would also tell us stories about our ancestors and just sort of give us a feeling for his life and what we could learn from it.

- And did you remember those lessons?

- Oh, tons of them.

- You have?

Give us like, two or three lessons from your dad.

- All right, one of them was, he had a deep belief in that his success came from the people who worked with him, which by the way, that's exactly the same lesson that Frank would have given.

But he felt that, and he didn't use the term because this is a modern term, but that employee engagement was everything.

And he would do everything he possibly could to make the people he worked with feel important, valued, treasured.

And a quick story, he said that whenever he'd takeover a hotel, and usually it would be a hotel that had been in bankruptcy.

Cause we're talking initially the 1930s.

He told me that, the first money that had ever spent on any hotel that he took over, was in areas that the public would never see.

It would be like the employee dining rooms, lockers, showers.

- Really, really?

- And so I said why?

And he said, because people have a compulsion to live up to or down to your expectations.

- Oh wow, this is a strong statement.

- And there was a P.S.

to it.

A leader's job is to give people a better vision of themselves.

And so he felt that by spending the first money on the employees, it was giving them a better vision of themselves, and it was communicating to them how important he felt they were.

- Mm hmm.

- Cool?

- In other words, the environment in which you work, in which you live, can determine to quite an extent, the performance that you bring forth.

- He believed that.

- Yes.

What's another lesson?

- Well, let me take from my late husband.

Frank Perdue, he did something that I've noticed that you do, sir.

Which is, I got to watch him for 17 years until I became widowed.

And I tracked the following, that when he was in a group, unless he was giving a speech, but when he was in a group or with individuals, he would listen 90% of the time and talk 10%.

He'd asked questions, and now at some point I asked him, you know, you're such a wise man, you have so much experience, how come you aren't talking more?

And he said, well he gave me two big values of listening.

One is you're gonna learn stuff.

But second, it makes the other person feel valued and important.

- Yes, yes.

Very much so.

So Frank, the late Frank Perdue, was on television a lot.

That's how we got to know him.

What made him get on television to sell chickens of all things?

- Well, he felt that chickens, there was a huge difference between chickens, that ones that were like plump and fresh, they cost more to produce.

And how do you charge more, unless you communicate with people?

- Explain the value.

- Explain the value.

But interestingly, he didn't want to be in it at all.

He was actually a very shy man to the end of his days.

- He was a shy person?

Would you call him an introvert?

- Without question.

- Really?

- Yeah, and I'll define introvert.

Introvert is somebody who is not energized by being with people, it costs them.

- [Nido] Yes.

- Well extroverts, of which I would consider myself an example, I love a crowd, it makes me happy.

- [Nido] Yes, yes.

- But Frank was the opposite for me in that.

And so he didn't want to be in the ads, but the copywriter told him, you know, you're the first person ever to advertise a commodity.

And the reason they don't do it, is because whatever you can say about your product, your competitors can say about their product.

- [Nido] Yes.

- They, the copywriters, his name was Ed McCabe said, Frank Perdue, there's one thing that your competitors just can't copy.

And that is, you look like a chicken, you squawk like a chicken.

[both laugh] - They didn't tell him that.

- Oh, totally, totally.

And Frank goes to him- - And the guy stayed employed after he said that?

- Well, Frank thought it was hilarious, but not only that, he agreed with it.

And you know, he just went with it.

And so he agreed to be on, to be part of the ads, but- - Mitzie, that's a crazy thing for a copywriter to say to his boss.

- Well, okay, then you were kind enough to ask me a moment ago for tips?

- [Nido] Yes.

- Another tip from Frank Perdue that absolutely relates to that, he had absolutely no use for yes-men.

The people who argued with him, were the ones who would rise in the company.

And the person who would argue with him so much that, I know this story where he actually, they were at a conference table, and there were eight people at the conference table.

And Frank Perdue and Don Mabe have been arguing all morning long, Frank being the big boss, by the way.

And finally, Don Mabe got so angry that, he pulled his glasses off, threw them in the conference table.

They bounced once, hit Frank in the chest.

And while Don Mabe was watching his glasses bounce and hit Frank in the chest, he also said, "Frank, you should take up hang-gliding."

In other words, you know, something that would a life-threatening.

- Oh my goodness.

Yes.

- Okay, you would think that that guy's time in the company was not long.

- [Nido] Yes.

- Frank treasured that.

He loved people who would stand up to him, and tell him things he didn't want to hear.

- As long as they're substantive and meaningful.

- Well, he valued it so much, that Don Mabe was the person who took over as president, when Frank retired.

- Did Frank then get him a new pair of glasses?

- [laughs] No, I'll tell you what happened.

Hits Frank in the chest, Frank picks up the glasses, hands them to the person on his right, who hands them to the next person, until they get back to Don Mabe.

[Nido laughs] And then, well, there's a P.S.

to that story, which is that Flo Mabe, Don Mabe's wife, Frank and I went out for dinner last night, and they were just laughing themselves sick over that.

Because Frank didn't take offense, he just registered that, you know, this is something really important to them.

- That Don felt very strongly about.

- Yeah.

- Yes.

- These are interesting, interesting points that you make.

Perdue Farms was a large company.

- I think we employ well, it's over 20,000 people right now.

- 20,000 People.

And what was your role in all of that?

Did you and Frank talk business?

Were you involved in the company at all?

You're a people person, you're a great writer.

What was your injection of resource and talent into the company?

- Well, the first part is when Frank and I first got married or actually when we got engaged, he was telling me what his goals were for the rest of his life.

And I think you'll find them, here at High Point University, really congenial because he said he wanted to be closer to his church, his community, and his family.

Is that not cool?

- [Nido] Mm hmm.

Yes!

- Okay, so my role, my biggest role was like, writing family newsletters, having family vacations, getting just, family nurturing.

- [Nido] Sure, yes.

- But then I also was involved in the company, and I was so lucky because coming from a family, who's in the hospitality industry, you know, my view of the world is you solve everything by getting people together and hospitality.

- Yes, yes.

- And you know, it may be wrong, but nevertheless, that was my training.

Well, our first week of marriage, I told Frank, I think we should entertain every single person who works for the company.

And he said, this being 1988, there are 16,000 employees, that's completely impractical.

And I pretended that I didn't understand that he was saying no.

And I was saying, I think we could have them a hundred at a time.

And he's saying no.

And I'm saying, I bet we could start in six weeks.

No, that's way too soon.

- [Nido] Yes.

But eventually six weeks later, we did start entertaining.

Every single person who works in the company, a hundred at a time, three times a month, and Frank.

- Entertain them for what, dinner?

Lunch?

- Dinner.

Dinner.

- Wow, really?

- Yeah.

- Not in your home?

- In our home.

- In your home.

- In our home.

We had a great big buffet table set up.

And Frank was so good at these things, because among other things, he would, you know, he's the head of the whole thing.

He's the person whose name appears on your paychecks.

He would stand behind the buffet table, and he would wait on his employees.

In other words, he was just a total egalitarian.

- Yes, he was a servant leader.

- Yeah, and then at the end of these evenings, he would take questions from the group.

- I see.

- And at the very end, and he'd say it in different words each time, but it would all always boil down to, you know, he's looking out at his employees, a hundred of them, and he'd tell them, I know the company wouldn't be what it is today without you.

- [Nido] Without you, yeah.

- Thank you.

- That's awesome, yes.

You went to Harvard.

- I did.

- And George Washington University.

What did you study at Harvard?

- Government and economics.

- And at GW?

- I have a degree in public administration, which by the way, was a super thing for me to have that background in management.

To be able to watch what Frank did.

And see how, you know, how it played out and how it didn't.

- How it works.

Yes, yes.

And then you went on to write, and you had a syndicated column for 22 years in 20 plus newspapers.

What did you write about?

- Oh, 420 newspapers.

- [Nido] 120?

- 420.

- [Nido] 420 newspapers!

So you, for 22 years, you were syndicated everywhere.

What did you write about?

- Oh, for the most part, I wrote, well, the column's title, I worked for Scripps Howard, was the Environment and You.

And I had a secret for success.

Which is, I wrote upbeat stories.

I find the environment, you know, there's a lot to be terrified of.

- [Nido] Mm hmm.

- But I wanted people to love the environment.

And so, I would tell stories about people who were doing great things, that others might copy.

And so if you read one of my columns, you'd end up thinking, oh, I could do that.

Or, oh, you know, you're a kid, I should major in, you know, something scientific so I can have this kind of job.

- I see, so you were inspiring people to action somehow.

- I wanted to.

- Through the written word.

And where did you get your ideas?

How does one write a column, was it a weekly column?

- Weekly column.

- How does one write a weekly column?

I mean, you have to have tremendous discipline to assemble the information, sit down, write it, edit it, and so on.

Tell us about the process of how you did all that.

- Okay, for how to pick things, I always felt that I had 50 things I could be writing about.

And so the real problem was to narrow it down.

- [Nido] I see, yeah.

- And then to find somebody who was a world expert on it.

And it was so cool.

Oh, lucky me.

You know when I call up and ask for an appointment with doctor famous scientist and say, I'm from Scripps Howard and I write the Environment and You, you know, they always answer my calls.

It was the coolest thing in the world, but it did mean that I could get some really, pretty important like Nobel Prize winner people to write about.

- Yes.

And to learn from, and to be associated with.

How did that start?

They start by writing in a single newspaper.

- Well, I started out because, as you can clearly tell by looking at me, I started out as a rice farmer.

- Rice?

- Rice.

The stuff you might eat with chopsticks if you were in Asia.

- Rice farmer, okay.

- Okay, as a rice farmer, I learned that there were all sorts of stuff about agriculture.

- You don't mean that literally.

- Oh no, I do.

I, you know, I used to walk through the paddies and I had rice farms.

- So that prepared you perfectly for writing a column, right?

- Well, here's why it did.

Because I started out writing stories about agriculture, particularly food and agriculture.

And people are interested where their food comes from.

And I used to have a rule that every column I wrote, if you read it, you were gonna save time, money, or nutrition.

You know, I wrote it to be useful.

- [Nido] I see.

- But then one day everything changed, which is, I had a funny thing happen.

I was newly married to Frank, and we're talking 1988, and I'd gotten an invitation to speak.

Well, I wasn't a professional speaker at that point.

And I felt so honored to be asked.

And then, you know, to my surprise and heart, and this wouldn't happen to a professional, but it happened to me.

I saw the flyers that they were putting out about what Mrs. Frank Perdue was gonna speak on.

And I was gonna speak on the environment for Earth day.

What do I know about the environment?

I'm going to die.

I'm going to die.

So I went to the library and read everything I could about the environment, and interviewed people.

And finally, I had enough to give a talk on, but in the process of giving this talk, and studying like crazy to be able to do it, I decided I'd rather write about the environment than anything else I can think of.

And so I made a proposal to Scripps Howard, can I write about the environment instead of food and agriculture?

And that was at a period when people, there weren't a whole lot, I didn't have a whole lot of kind of competition.

They bought it.

- They bought it and that was it.

- [Mitzie] And that was it.

- It's interesting that, that this came as a result of a serendipitous moment, in other words, it was not carefully planned, strategized, it wasn't part of your career path, or your goal list.

It just, one thing led to another, nothing happens by accident, but it almost happened really serendipitously.

You were speaking, this is the subject, you learned it.

And then you became a columnist, syndicated 420 newspapers talking about the environment.

- Yeah, it was not planned, but it was the best thing that could have happened to me because I mean, I simply fell in love with the environment and, let's protect it, and nurture it, and take care of it.

- And you went on to write books, Mitzie, you've written a number of really good books.

You've talked about your dad.

You talk about your late husband.

What drove you to write the books, and what are some of the things that stand out in your books that would be very beneficial for anyone to learn?

- Oh, like which to answer first?

What drove me to write books?

I have wondered if some people just might have a genetic need to write, because I almost feel as if my fingers itch if I'm not writing.

- [Nido] Yes, yeah.

- Or communicating in some way.

- Do you write on the computer, or did you write by hand?

- No, computer.

- Computer.

- But for why I write, I'm not sure I can explain, other than I really feel alive and wonderful when I have this feeling that I'm communicating something that might be useful to people.

And so both in my columns and the books that I write, it's always, what can I do to be useful?

And I thought, boy, do I ever have a treasure trove of stuff that I learned from my birth family, and from my family by marriage.

And one of the things oh, that I so want to communicate to everybody is to me, a family, when it's high functioning, it's an engine for happiness, for identity, for it is all good things.

When a family's not high-functioning, and by that, I mean, maybe they've got problems with drugs, alcohol.

Endless surreal- - Conflict, personality conflicts, et cetera, relationships.

- Yeah, I mean that's, I've had people tell me that when those are going wrong, particularly in a family business, it permeates every hour of every day, the sadness, the anxiety.

And I thought, but I have the extreme blessing of having watched two high functioning families, which they are, I mean, the Hendersons have been in business since 1840 and the Perdue's since 1920.

I have seen some of the things that they do, that help keep families together.

And I'll give you the biggest one.

- Yes.

- This, what I'm about to describe, comes from I've lived an experience, so I know it's true, but it's also academic experience.

There's a professor at Emory University, Georgia, who studies, what makes a family high functioning.

And her research tells her, that the more families spend time together and know their stories, the more high-functioning they are.

And.

- And why is that?

Because they, they relate to each other?

They have more in common as a bind?

- Let's see for why that would be.

I think you can get your identity from many different sources.

I mean, some people get it by spending, which I don't admire.

Some people get it by service, but one of the biggest sources of a positive identity is getting along with and being influenced by your family.

- [Nido] Yes.

- And just to quote some other research.

This comes from Joe Califano, a long time ago, head of health and human services.

- Yes.

- And he's very interested in what keeps members of families from substance abuse.

- He headed a family foundation for many years.

- Yeah.

Well, his research says that if you have five or more meals together, in the course of a week, it's no guarantee, but it's enormously protective against substance abuse.

- But Mitzi, I mean, let's be real for a minute.

The world is flat.

People travel everywhere.

Business is demanding.

Competition is greater than it's ever been.

You wonder how Frank would respond today, to what is going on.

There are generational differences.

Young people look at things quite differently perhaps, than their elders or their parents.

You see, you know, bicoastal families have one over here, one is over there, the traveling, travel is easy.

Technology is easy and so on.

Do you believe that families today are having those kinds of times, having five meals together around the dinner table?

- In the course of a week?

- [Nido] Yes.

- I think it's something to aim for .

And for those who don't, you know, there's a price to pay if you don't do it.

Which is, I mean, you want your family to, enjoy being with each other, to get together for like.

- To support each other, to be there for one another, yes.

- So if, and I think I'll be among the first to concede, that it's difficult, but I can't think of any better investment in time and effort.

- [Nido] Yes, yes.

- Father ran a company that, Sheraton employed 20,000 people, and yet he still took the time once a week to spend an hour with us, just.

- Talking about life and business.

- Yeah, I mean, mother used to describe what father was doing as recipes for living.

You know, he's a captain of industry and yet, he still took the time to do this.

Frank Perdue, oh my gosh.

The amount of time he spent on his family.

It can be done.

It takes effort, conviction.

- Yes, commitment.

- Commitment, but to repeat what Frank told me, when we first got married, his goals were, let's see if I can repeat them now.

Family.

- Yes, church, community, and family.

- Yes, so Mitzi you've you've written books.

You've had your column in 420 newspapers.

You grew up in a family where your dad was a big shot.

The CEO of, co-founder of Sheraton hotels.

You were married to a man who was an introvert, but he was on television.

He made the impossible possible.

He served a hundred, you and he, served a hundred employees every week at a dinner in your house until you got all 16,000 of them served.

You've done a lot of things in your life of meaning, and substance, and significance.

What's next for Mitzi Perdue?

- Well, I'm spending, it feels like 18 hour days in an effort to do something about human trafficking.

And human trafficking for people who aren't familiar with it yet, just by definition, it's people who are forced, maybe through, threats of death, or starvation, or whatever else to work, and they can't leave wherever they are.

And there's 40 million modern slaves today.

And so what I want to do with the rest of my life is, you know, I'm not gonna solve the problem, but I want to be part of the army of people who are working to carry out the United Nations goal of eliminating slavery by 2030.

- Mm hmm, through awareness, and action, and initiatives?

- There are two things that we've been doing fairly successfully, so far.

One is, you've mentioned that I'm a writer.

I've written more than a hundred articles for, and had published, in organizations like Psychology Today, The Association of Foreign Press Correspondence.

You know, there are about five organizations that I write for.

And the contribution that I can make by writing is, I interview the heads of different anti-trafficking organizations.

And I asked them, what can people do?

What are the signs of slavery?

And then, you know, I can amplify their message.

And so, you know, I can't change the world, but I can help people who are changing the world.

- Yes, of course.

- The other thing is I have this wonderful thing.

And if anybody wants to join in on this, please contact me.

But there's this wonderful thing where people have made donations to the charity that I'm involved with to win this fight, and when we give a $20,000 check to an organization, like I'll give an example, it's out of Pennsylvania.

But it's an organization called North Star Institute.

We give them a $20 check, $20,000 check, that comes with a string attached.

You have to match it.

They were able to raise $60,000 from the impetus of this 20,000.

And there's another one that's coming up on the 30th.

And this particular one, oh, you know, they earned the 20,000, but they tell me they're on track to raise 100,000 from this initial gift.

- So this is compounding in magical ways.

It's clear to me that what's keeping you going is a passion that you exude for doing good, and a commitment to light a candle wherever you can.

It's clear that you're planting seeds of greatness in many organization, with many people.

We thank you for your leadership.

And I particularly thank you for joining me today on Side by Side.

Thank you, Mitzie.

- It's been a complete, total, overwhelming joy.

Thank you.

- [Narrator] Funding for a Side by Side with Nido Qubein is made possible by: - [Announcer] Here's to those that rise and shine, to friendly faces doing more than their part.

And to those who still enjoy the little things, you make it feel like home.

Ashley HomeStore.

This is home.

- [Narrator] The Budd Group is a company of everyday leaders making a difference by providing facility solutions through customized janitorial, landscape, and maintenance services.

- [Announcer] Coca-Cola consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola consolidated, your local bottler.