Tricia Griffith

Do you ever feel stuck in your job?

Tricia Griffith went from crawling under wrecks to running a $22B insurance giant.

In 1988, Tricia Griffith made a call home: “I quit my job and joined Progressive.”

Her mom paused. “Oh, the soup company?”

Tricia laughed. “No, that’s Progresso.”

It was a $19,000-a-year job inspecting car wrecks, crawling under fenders, and calming furious drivers.

But to Tricia, it was more.

“We don’t sell anything tangible. We sell trust.”

That mindset took her from entry-level to the top.

By 2002, she was Chief Human Resources Officer, launching Progressive’s first diversity program.

By 2016, she became the company’s first female CEO.

Her impact? Explosive.

Progressive’s bundled customers doubled.

The company ranked #1 in diversity by The Wall Street Journal.

Fortune named her Businessperson of the Year.

Also, when Progressive announced the closure of Campus One (one of its main office campuses where Tricia Griffith had spent much of her career) she hosted a cookout for 650 employees.

“I can’t lock the door on Campus One… and not have everybody have said goodbye.”

Tricia never forgot the trenches.

“I think it gives me credibility to know how hard the people that I would say do the real work do… I really understand and empathize with that.”