JPMorgan Chase and Co. CEO Jamie Dimon visited Birmingham Monday, as he and company executives make their way through five Southern states.

The trip takes them to different Chase locations to see the operation up close, and Dimon said it’s integral to his management style.

As part of the trip, he sat down for a short interview, giving his views on management, business and the future of America.

Related: Why the CEO of the world’s largest bank is in Alabama

This interview has been edited for length.

What have you seen on your tour?

America is not quite that divided. You go to all these places, you know, racially not that divided, economically not that divided, economically, Democrat-Republican, not fighting all the time like you see on TV. They’re kind of trying to make life better for the people here, whether it’s infrastructure, schools, etc. etc. Whenever I travel, I pretty much see that.

If you look at America, like Warren Buffett said, “Don’t bet against it.” Basically, what he’s talking about it is always ends up kind of doing the right thing, it’s always innovating, it’s always growing, it’s always expanding, and it’s not this flip-flop back and forth you get from major media. So if you say, are you going to make a major investment in America, I say absolutely. That would be true almost every place.

What do tours like this do for you?

I believe if you’re going to be a good CEO, a good leader, you have to get out. You go to a lot of corporations, and they’re too busy to do that. “I don’t have time for that.” … I think they make a huge mistake because you learn through every single trip. Hanging out with branch managers. You hear one or two really good questions, and they’ll follow up on them. We take notes…You get customers, you get governments, and you get local press, which tells the story, whether or not we like it exactly. … We have fun, which I think it part of life too. When we get the tellers or loan officers and branch managers on the bus, we give them beer and immunity…

But we want them to speak up. Literally, you could not offend me by saying, why did you do this? Sometimes when I’m with senior management, they’re offended. Like they’re twisting in their chairs. I watch them. But I’m saying, “Your people are telling you what we can do better. That’s a gift.” I have a chance to be better. When people complain, I also say, different from other people, not whether they were right or they were wrong, were they partially right?

What’s the secret to longevity in what you do?

Personally? I love what I do, I try to take care of myself as best I can. On these trips, we leave a little bit of room for exercise in the morning. But it’s basic stuff. Take care of yourself. It’s your job to take care of yourself – your mind, your body, your spirit, your friends, your soul, your family, and if you don’t, you won’t have longevity. As a company, we can help you as best we can, with flexibility, if you have a drug problem, we’ll help you. But you have to do what’s best for yourself.

What would you like to see happen in America?

(In my letter to the company this year) I made a long list of things – I took some grievances, which I think there are lot of legitimate grievances. I think the only way you take them on is acknowledge them. There’s immigration and regulation and certain taxation. Education, income inequality. If we don’t acknowledge these things, you can’t fix them. Then once you acknowledge them, forget Democrat-Republican. What fixes them? People always assume it’s going to be one thing or the other. I don’t assume that. There’s positive works everywhere, education, infrastructure, even health care. We may take a few policy positions on healthcare this year. Who owns the data? Why don’t people publish their prices? Some very basic stuff that might push the system on the way to improvement.