Excellence and Purpose w/ Horst Schulze
Episode Details
Transcript
Horst Schulze, legendary co-founder and former president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company shares how his humble beginnings in a small German village and the mentorship of an extraordinary maitre d’ shaped his lifelong philosophy of excellence, purpose, and high intent. Discover how his famous motto, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen,” became the gold standard in hospitality and
leadership. Tune in for stories, practical wisdom, and the secret sauce behind building world-class teams and relationships—at work and at home.
Guest Links:
- Horst’s LinkedIn
- HorstSchulze.com
- Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise
Credits: Host: Lisa Nichols, Executive Producer: Jenny Heal, Marketing Support: Landon Burke and Joe Szynkowski, Podcast Engineer: Portside Media
Lisa Nichols
Chromosomes. Little strands of nucleic acids and proteins are the fundamental genetic instructions that tell us who we are at birth. Most people are born with forty six chromosomes, but each year in the United States, about six thousand people are born with an extra chromosome, making them a person with Down syndrome. If you've ever encountered someone with Down syndrome, you know that they are some of the kindest, most joyful people you will ever meet. They truly have something extra. My name is Lisa Nichols, and for thirty years, I have been both the CEO of Technology Partners and the mother to Ali. Ali has something extra in every sense of the word. I have been blessed to be by her side as she impacts everyone she meets. Through these two important roles as CEO and mother to Ally, I have witnessed countless life lessons that have fundamentally changed the way I look at the world. While you may not have an extra chromosome, every leader has something extra that defines who you are. Join me as I explore the something extra in leaders from all walks of life and discover how that difference in each of them has made a difference in their companies, their families, their communities, and in themselves. If you like this episode today, please go to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and leave us a five star rating. Lisa Nichols
I'm grateful to have Horst Schulte on the show today. Horst is the cofounder and former president of the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. Well, welcome to the Something Extra podcast, Horst Schultze. I am so delighted to have you on the show today. Thank you for making the time. Horst Schulze
Nice to be with you. Lisa Nichols
Good to be with you too. You are, not to embarrass you, but you are a living legend. You truly are a living legend in the hospitality and luxury hotel world. And I will tell you, your wife, Sherry, is a living legend too, and I know you know this. Horst Schulze
She is truly a support system and a great partner, a great wife. And, you know, and and she is my my whole life, my business life, my personal life, is an example how a great relationship can be of great value to your your success and your fulfillment in life and so on. And, you know, in in marriage in itself, I see marriage, the only God ordained union there is, the most important union. And if we work on it, it can be sensational, and mine is. Lisa Nichols
Oh, That is amazing. Well, you told me you guys have been married for forty seven years. Horst Schulze
That's correct. And still in and still in love. By the way, that is nothing but a decision because after all, our destiny depends on the decisions that we make. Our outcomes depends on the decisions we make. I made a decision to be in love the rest of my life. Once you make that decision, and you're committed to it, you find the answers on how to accomplish it. Lisa Nichols
Yes. I love that. It is a choice. And it's a it's a daily choice. Isn't it, Horace? Horst Schulze
It's a decision. Of course. It's a choice. Everything is. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Yeah. I was gonna ask you about the secret sauce, and I think you just told me at least one part of that. Horst Schulze
Yeah. Well, yeah, the this this secret sauce well, it it it is not only a marriage. First of all, it starts at anything you do, it is what is the what is your high intent in what you decide what you're doing. And in fact and and I I look at it as my philosophy. People, unfortunately, often, all they do in life fulfill certain function. They go to work. They fulfill function. But they have no high intent for their function. You shouldn't we we human beings, we should not fulfill functions without a higher intent. The the function and and some at the same time, as leaders, we should not hire people just to fulfill functions. We should invite them to for a purpose, for high intent. The you know, the the chair in which we're sitting is fulfilling a a function. But we're human beings. We don't do things without a higher intent if it is, if it's going to work, if it is, it is anything at all, or if it's going into a marriage. We shouldn't just get a marriage because that's what you do, and it's it's fun, and it's and no. No. There should be a true high intent. What am I what am is that marriage gonna be in fifty years from now? Mhmm. Once I know that, once I establish that, I can and and commit myself to it. And now I have to initiate what actually gets me there. It's no different than a business. Like like, when I started Ritz Carlton, my intent mind you, there was no hotel. There was a hotel that was being built as a Holiday Inn, and, I was joining that group. I was not an investor with the intent of creating the finest hotel company in the world. Well, once one one side was a decision, I had to decide what do I have to do in order to make it the finest hotel company in the world. Lisa Nichols
I love that. I love it, Horace. It's it reminds me that you kind of start with the end in mind. Horst Schulze
Right? Exactly. Exactly. Lisa Nichols
Start with the end in mind and then work backwards from that. That is really that's I love that. Horst Schulze
Well, that that is exactly it. And and and very definitely and you see all around, people go to work. And I mean, as I I remember talking to a group of employees, in fact, trying to establish for that department a purpose. In fact, purpose. The Bible even said you you will perish without purpose. But, I would talk to those employees about thirty in a room. And I said, what do you want to accomplish with your department? And somebody said, we want to be the best. So I saw I said, does everybody agree? Yes. And so I turned around and wrote it on a flip chart, and somebody behind me said and I said when I wrote on the flip chart the best and said, that's the purpose. That should be the reason you come to work, to make this the best. And somebody behind me said, I come to work to make money. What a what a what a sad thing. And I I turned around and said, who will make more money, the one that will be the best or the one that just will works for Lisa Nichols
money? There you go. Horst Schulze
You know, if you just work for money, it's no different than a wild animal that forges for food Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Horst Schulze
So that they can have, they have the strength to live and they have the strength and to have young ones the strength to build it then. That's why that's what we are. We should have a higher intend in life Yes. In order to do. Lisa Nichols
I agree. I agree. Well, I wanna talk all about the Ritz Carlton. I wanna talk about how you look at your employees as business partners. We're gonna talk about all of that, Horace, but love for you to take me back to your childhood in Germany. And, you know, what was it like for you? I want to read one thing, and then you can comment on this. This is from your book. Okay. And this was a neighbor that had said something to your mom, said, do you know what your son said in school today? He said that when he grows up, he wants to work in a hotel. You said in your small German town, every self respecting family wanted their sons to aspire to be one of two futures, a technical position, an engineer, architect in a big city, or else winemaking at home. And you said to talk about hotel work was like saying you wanted to be a street sweeper. Where had I, at age eleven, gotten such a crazy idea? Our village did not even have a hotel or a proper restaurant for that matter. To this day, I cannot remember the source of my notion. I must have read it in a book, but I would not be dissuaded. Horst Schulze
That's right. Lisa Nichols
You were eleven years old, Horace. You didn't even have a hotel in your town. Horst Schulze
That's right. I had never been to a hotel. I I as as we say as I say, my my my parents, my mother did not know why I came up with it. I don't know. We we tried to figure out for years as long as she lived, but we don't know. But, yeah, I must have read something. So I insisted on it. So my parents finally gave in and, because I was crying about and begging about it, and they found a shop. They inquired, and they were advised to find a shop in the best hotel in the region. Unfortunately, that was about a hundred miles away. But they found a shop there as a busboy. And my mother took me there, and I lived in a dorm room with other kids. It was my the the the the the first day going there kind of changed my life. My mother took me there, obviously. Yes. My father was working. And, the first one I met was the general manager of the hotel. And he spent five minutes with us, welcome, and, made it I made it very clear, you're here to learn, to become a servant to fine ladies and gentlemen. Our guests are fine ladies and gentlemen, and that's what I wanted. That's what I wanted. They work in a beautiful surrounding with fine people and and so on. So the next person I meet is the maitre d' of the hotel, the head waiter of the hotel, whom I would work for and, an exceptional human being who changed my life. And, of course, when you're fourteen I worked with him when I was fourteen till seventeen, very inform years where you form formative years and but he the first thing he said, two sentences, which believe me, I didn't get it. Went over my head. I was fourteen. Oh my goodness. Lisa Nichols
Right. Horst Schulze
He said, now, tomorrow, come to work at seven AM. If I meant one minute after seven, I would tell you so. Oh. In other words, he made it very clear. We are precise here. When we say something, we mean it. We do things correctly, everything. That's what he meant, and I stood up after a while. I didn't get it there. And then he said, and don't come to work tomorrow. Come here to create excellence in what you're doing. Now that really went over my head because I had assumed tomorrow, the next first day of work, I would wash dishes, clean floors, and so on. That was kind of the assumption I had learned. But excellence, obviously, that didn't mean washing dishes. Well, I learned it meant washing washing. Absolutely. What's Lisa Nichols
And doing them excellently. Right? Excellently. Horst Schulze
That's right. I'm here to create excellence. I You know? And and in fact, working with that exceptional gentleman who also made it always clear, you are not a chair. You're a human being that fulfills functions for high purpose. And our high purpose here is not to serve food, not to serve parish, but to instill well-being in people. When I left there three and a half years later, he said, look me in the eyes. Promise me never ever to go to work. Only God create excellence. And it was a very informative year and and a very important impact in my life, because everything he did truly, it it is I couldn't accomplish that in my life. I do things without thinking often. He didn't do anything without a high intent. I literally mean it. I literally mean it. He was an exception gentleman, exact exception human being, of of a an elegance of times past. He spoke six languages perfect. He he was what you would see maybe in a movie as an exceptional human being. And, of course, he worked in Tales. I mean, I mean, perfect. Lisa Nichols
My goodness. What an amazing mentor. Yeah. What an amazing he really did inform how you've gone forward, Horace, with this this gold standard. I mean, the Ritz Carlton is is the gold standard. I think, you know, before you founded the Ritz Carlton, you founded the Ritz Carlton in nineteen eighty three, but you worked for both Hilton and Hyatt. I mean, you spent you spent seventy years, Horace Yeah. In the hospitality industry. That is that's a long time. How do you, and you've already kind of told me I was gonna talk about, like, your upbringing. How did it shape your perspective on your work ethic in your service? But you've already told me about the excellence piece. What about the work ethic? Because I know you're a you know, you're known for to be a very hard worker among many other Horst Schulze
You know, you know, you know, the the the world has changed, and and and and that's good. But at at the time, we worked six, seven days a week. We started early in the morning to late in the night. We worked easy twelve hours a day. In between, we went to I went to hotel school in between. I mean, it it was a different world. Mhmm. And and and and, I mean, I'm I have no regrets for any for a single minute, but at the same time, it was wrong. You know? There was no life other than at work, in particular, as a as kids with pay and and for the honor to learn the the trade, there was no pay. There was a few dollars pocket money, something like twenty dollars a month. And, of course, you had room, food, and Room and board. Room and board, and and everything was free, if you will. But it wasn't I and and done typical German upbringing when you learn your trade. Once a week, we went to hotel school where, where you learn the trade and it technically went and done you you worked went through the day and evening went back to work. Lisa Nichols
You know? Right. Horst Schulze
Once a week. And and there, I and and I tell that story also in the book, but that is kind of impacted my life in a way. One thing that happened there and, is that after two years, the going to a tel school, the the teacher asked, write an essay what you now think about your industry. Well, going back to work that night, I cleaned the table in the corner, and and I literally can see the table. And, in that moment, they they met the they entered the room. I'm not kidding. And you heard those things saying, I've never experienced it. I don't think it even exists, but it did exist. When you enter the room, you could feel it throughout the room. Mhmm. He wasn't he's just an exceptional human being. And he he approached the table. Now remember that the gentleman said you're here to learn to serve to be a servant, to find ladies and gentlemen. That, in fact, was the mantra of the hotel. We are servants to find ladies and gentlemen. Mhmm. Now and I saw the mayor dee approach a table that night, and I realized the guests at that table were proud that he came to them. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
The and and that I never realized that, but I can I real and I realized that moment? Yeah. Guests are proud when it comes to the table. When I contemplated that night my SA that I had to write, I want to write about that. And I realized in that evening, why were they proud? Because he had defined himself as an exceptional gentleman. He was known as such, as an exceptional human being. And I, for the first time, realized I can define myself too. Even if I was a dishwasher for the rest of my life, I still can define myself as a fine human being. And that realization and that thought, triggered my SA, and I named does that SA that night. We are ladies and gentlemen. We're not servants. We are ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen. And if that service is not good, then we sentence ourself not to be ladies and gentlemen. So and I I named the essay, the headline, we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. Now I turned this in a week later, and a week later, I'm going to school. There was a big fuss. The the the the teacher read my essay to the class and other teachers came in. I got an a, the only a I ever had before or after. So because of the big deal, I kept that essay. Lisa Nichols
Right. For every I mean, it's what you say that you're famous. Horst Schulze
Yeah. And then, of course, when you're when I when I started Ritz Carlton, I made that the motto of the company, and it's literally world famous. Everybody in the hotel industry upper upper market knows it. Yes. Yes. And it comes from this essay which I wrote when I was sixteen, and all triggered by the by the air, by the philosophy, by the input, by the by the air that that Madrid created. Mhmm. One human being. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. In in calling your employees, fine, ladies and gentlemen, sometimes we we rise to what is expected of us. Right? Horst Schulze
Yeah. Yeah. Well And I made it very clear. I hire I hire we hire ladies and gentlemen. And by the way, we didn't hire them to work for us. We hired them to join us to make this the finest hotel company in the world. Mhmm. They become part of us. It it it's it's essential for leaders to invite people to join the leader. The leader is only a leader if the leader has a great vision. Otherwise, not a leader. Otherwise, he may he or she may be managers, but they're not leaders. Leading implies that you have a destination in mind. And and, frankly, sadly, and I've really studied that, very few top managers are actually leaders. They may be good managers, but they're not leaders. Mhmm. And I've seen that over and over again. And and, in fact, I met one study of sixty five channel managers that kind of reported to me. And I came to a conclusion that when and it was generous. There were five leaders. The rest were managers. They managed product. They managed people, but they did not invite people to join them in a journey to what a high intent. Lisa Nichols
A high intent. Horst Schulze
My high intent. But, of course, if you have a high intent as a leader, now now my end, I only left Hyatt to join to create this new to start this new hotel company that didn't have any hotels, didn't have any name, which became Ritz Carlton. I left for a dream to create the finest hotel company in the world. But I sat down with my first two colleagues that I hired and said, is that intent good for all concerned? If you lead your destination, your intent has to be good for everybody. In in the case of work, it has to be good for the investors. Otherwise, you won't have a business. Lisa Nichols
Right. Horst Schulze
It has to be good for the customer. It has to be good for the employee. It has to be good for society as a whole. And and we I sat down with them for a whole day. We agonize that. And and, frankly and I'm not trying to sell anybody anything here, but but that's who I am. I I asked myself afterwards, would God approve? So once I establish it's good for all concerned, very definitely, unquestionably, in my in my opinion, God would approve. I, in fact, was painted in the corner. I could not compromise it anymore. Mhmm. I had to go after making the best in the world because I knew it was good for all concerned, and I couldn't compromise it for anybody. Mhmm. Lisa Nichols
That is beautiful, Morris. I love that. Yes. I mean, once you decided that, right, then this is the thing that I need to do, and I cannot compromise Horst Schulze
on For everybody. But because they would have compromised. I would have gone against the investor, against the employees Yes. Against the customer. I couldn't do that anymore. I was it was very clear. And and once that had been established, the next thing you have to do, truly commit yourself to it and then initiate the things that get you there. You have to Mhmm. Identify the things that make you the best in the world and and and and lead your company to do that. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. So they you you set me up. That's my next question. I believe, you know, the things that are gonna get you there. Right? So excellence is one of those. But when you founded the Ritz Carlton, what were those nonnegotiable? Horst Schulze
Well, excellence is no. All nonnegotiable have to be accomplished with excellence. Well, let me put it this way. A great company understands the expectation of their market relative their product. See, it's not about me. It's about the market. So we had careful studies done by Chetty Power, in fact. What is the expectation in the high market segment for an excellent for for a luxury hotel? What is the expectation of experience? Then we determine those expectations. There was, things that you can imagine, for for example, exception cleanliness. Mhmm. So if there's exception cleanliness, I had to say, how do I make sure and what are the processes to assure that I have the cleanest rooms in the industry? If I wanna be the best in the world, I have to have an expectation like that superior to my competition. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
So I I actually created a team to say, how do we create a room that is actually cleaner than anybody else's room? And I know my hotel's room is better cleaner than anybody else's room. I know that based on the process that we created. We we know that the customer seemingly unimportant thing, like, one of negotiate number sixteen. I know the numbers too. Number sixteen was if a guest ask for direction, never point. Take them there. Lisa Nichols
Take them there. Horst Schulze
Mhmm. And and so we developed twenty nonnegotiables, or which were called gold standards or service principles, whatever. I call them nonnegotiables. And, we've made sure every every employee understood them, and then we kept them alive. We repeated them. Once a day, we discussed them. And and or when I called nonnegotiate because I happened to call my early on at that time, my general manager in Shanghai because something happened. And, the general manager said, well, Horace, you don't understand Shanghai. Yeah. Yeah. I said, and I want to. That's why I have you there. But those twenty pounds are nonnegotiable. Mhmm. No matter where you are because that's what Ritz Carlton is. Mhmm. So and so instead of Gold Standard, I call them nonnegotiable. Yes. They cannot be negotiated. Lisa Nichols
Well, Horace, and I'm thinking to myself, it's the feeling that you're leaving with your guest. So I know that I read this somewhere. It may have been in your book or something else. But even when someone pulled up, you know, the people that were helping with the luggage would look at the luggage tag. Horst Schulze
You read it in my book. Yes. You read it in my book. Yeah. Yeah. Well The friendliness. You know, what is the expectation of a customer? The customer wants to have good service. What is service? What is service? And and and, you know, I talked to I'm I'm consult with a lot of people now and talk to a lot of people. And and and many companies I work with that are actually the service industry. When you ask them to define service, they cannot. Service starts to instantly make contact. It it it doesn't matter if that is on the Internet or in person. It doesn't matter. That instant when they contacted us in any form should be an exceptional moment. Mhmm. Excellent. So service starts with the exceptional greeting. Welcome. Not hi. If I say hi to you, I say be equal. Right. But if I say good morning, ma'am, welcome. How are you today? I'm saying I respect you. At the same time, I'm stating though that I'm professional if I said that, if I treat you Lisa Nichols
right. Mhmm. Horst Schulze
The first step of service is a fine greeting. The second step step of service is it's all about you. It's me helping you to make the best decisions about my product. I'm helping you relative to my pro I'm here for you relative my product. And that's the second step. And the third step is for a while. Thank you for allowing me to serve you. That's the moments of service, and and and that first impression, by the way, is an essential one. Welcome. Because behavioral analyst I worked with behavioral analyst in University of Colorado and University of Frankfurt. Behavioral analyst can teach you that when you meet somebody, if you come within ten feet, if you like it or not, they make a decision about you. Mhmm. You about them too, subconsciously. So we made sure that, no, you could not enter Ritz Carlton without people saying in a fine way, looking in the eye and saying, you're important. Not using this word, but look at you and say, hello. You know? We have to understand that that's what it is. People want to be respected. And I I spoke about two years ago to to the classic hotels of America. All the leaders of the fine hotels of America were in the room, the owners and the general managers. Before me, it was a speaker who said to them, forget everything you know. Everything is new. Technology. You if you don't have the technology of today, you're gonna be lost. Everything is new. Forget forget everything you know. Every I mean, she was really on forget everything you know. And I was the next leader next week, and he's saying nothing is new. Because Nothing Lisa Nichols
new under the sun. Five Horst Schulze
that's right. Five thousand years ago, I guarantee you, people want to be respected. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
And last week and this afternoon and tomorrow and in five thousand years. And if this doesn't help you to show them respect and honor and be there for them, this is wrong. This is only to help you to do that which you're here for, which is not new, caring for people. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Yes. Horst Schulze
And Oh my goodness. And and that is what a leader has to lead people to. That's what our hiring employee for, to care for people, not to fulfill a certain function, but to join me on a beautiful journey to be the best in the world for caring for people. Lisa Nichols
Yes. It sounds simple. Yeah. It's not always easy. Right, Horace? It's not always easy, but, I I could not agree more. It really comes down. I say any organization is made up of people. And, you know, I think about you, and I know that you're obsessed over the customer. But when I really, you know, stop and think about you, Horace, you were obsessed over the employee Horst Schulze
Oh, yeah. Lisa Nichols
As well. Your business partners. They were your business partners. Horst Schulze
No question about it. You're trying you're trying to do that without employees. Exactly. And and it it and it works. You know? Mind you, when I was running with Scott, we were our hotels were the leader in every location you were. Mhmm. And and, you know, so we were the true leader everywhere. And and and and when when I left this garden, I created Capella. And guess who's rated number one in the world now? Capella. Capella. No. And and because not because we're so smart. It's because we we apply those principles, the principle of caring for for the customer and and and the principle that employees that we need employees who want to do the job. Leadership is management is create an is understanding what the customer wants, is creating processes, system controls, and so on to deliver what the customer wants. That's good management. Leadership is creating environment which the employees want to do it. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
And and so I I believe in in in in certainly my my service will be better if my employees want to do that. And and in order for them to want to do it, I have to invite them to a purpose. Lisa Nichols
Right. To a higher intent. Horst Schulze
And And give them and it's it's nothing and it's a it's a moral thing to do. Even Aristotle, three thousand years ago, said human beings to be fulfilled in life need purpose and and belonging. So what I'm offering my employee is a purpose and belonging to an organization, belonging to a group that that strives to be excellent. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Oh, it's so good, Horace. Oh my goodness. I have so many more questions for you, but we do need to take a quick break, and then we'll be right back with Horace Schultze on the Something Extra podcast. AD
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So welcome back, everyone, to the something extra podcast with Horace. It's been such a delight to have him, and we've talked about so many different things. But, Horace, I was reading the acknowledgments, and you thanked a lot of people. Yeah. And this touched my heart because at the end, you said, I love you all. Horst Schulze
Oh, sure. Oh, don't don't do. I mean, don't and I'm you know, when I left, where it's called, and my Sherry, my wife, convinced me it's time to retire. I was actually traveling two hundred fifty days a year, and it was time. And besides that the painting was painted, it was done. After nearly twenty years, it was done. Mhmm. So, Sherry picked me up with the children in the office, and we left. And, and, you know, the sadness leaving wonderful people behind and and passing and there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there there now in department head position at or started as an assistant waiter and were now banquet manager and and and so on. Very moving. Very moving. And and you pass by them, and you know they are the one that created the image. Mhmm. I was in an office somewhere. Plenty of things are working and teaching. Yes. But it's a doorman in bucket or in or in Berlin or in in Philadelphia or in Shanghai, for that matter, that created the image and the busboy and the maid and so on. And if you don't love them, my goodness, who are you? Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Yes. Horst Schulze
Look look back about this beautiful journey starting with the first hotel and the pay and the pains and and and everything and the and the setbacks. But but at the same time, they haven't been rated number one hotel company in the world ongoing and in every location number one because of beautiful people. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
I wasn't there. Believe me. In fact, I have to tell you that every I I did open every one of the first fifty Ritz Carlton hotels. I didn't go there to drink champagne. Well, I did that too. But I went there to orient the employees and help teaching and training at the very beginning. And, you know, I I before I went there, I always said a little prayer to myself, that I hope that I impact the people positively for their life because that is one of the great honors to be a leader. Yes. That you have the opportunity to positively impact the life of many people. Mhmm. That was I walked into openings with that intent, and and so and you feel connected people. And when I went into that first meeting when all the employees sitting there, nervous, the first day of work, which is a significant emotional moment, and then you get involved. Here comes our founder, our leader, our president, and they're kind of nervous. And I walked in usually and said, my name is Horst Schulz. I'm the president and founder of this company. I'm very important. Yeah. And you could feel the shock going through the room. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Horst Schulze
And I said, yes. I am. But as a human being, so are you. No human being is more important than the other human being. So let me tell you right now, my philosophy is you're a human being. You're important. And as as far as the shop is concerned, well, let's see how important the shops are. If you don't show up and we own the hotel and we don't wash dishes, we have nothing. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Check Horst Schulze
the beds. We have nothing. If you don't, we have nothing. So your job is important. And by the way, if I don't show up, nobody will know. Lisa Nichols
If they're doing their job right. Yeah. The dishes are still getting washed. The beds are still being made. Horst Schulze
I and I was well known that I would say that after a while, they they knew already. It came it whispered through that I would say that, but it's true. Isn't it true? My goodness. So even on love, and what the heck is wrong with me? Mhmm. Well the people that that create my image. Why what's wrong with me? Lisa Nichols
Absolutely. I could not agree with you more. You know, it's going back to the second greatest commandment. Let's just talk about the bible for a minute. That's right. Because I I know that faith is really important to you, Horace. It's been front and center for you and Sherry and how you've led and how you've led your life. But the second greatest commandment is love your neighbor. Horst Schulze
That's right. And I mean but but, you know, even even look at you said faith. I mean, let me just say so. Nobody get nervous about talking about faith, guys. That's a decision. That's that's all that that's all it is. It's another decision. Mhmm. I make the made the decision to Yes. For faith. Okay. Yes. So this that's all. And and that's all. And and some people make decision not to do that. I mean and it it's up to you. It's up to you. But I Lisa Nichols
Free will. Horst Schulze
I want it for for I'm free will. Lisa Nichols
You know? Yes. Free will. Horst Schulze
Yeah. Well, Lisa Nichols
I know that there was a a really tenuous turnaround situation that you were that you were a part of at the Pittsburgh Hyatt. And I read about that, you know, but I think, you know, I think in the end, it was your love for the people, even the people that were picketing outside. Right? Because I think you had said to your staff, said, go and take them nice warm cider and sweet rolls. Horst Schulze
Oh, whenever picketing. Oh, yes. Sure. Sure. Well yes. Yeah. Okay. Let me be very honest and frank. Yes. They went they went picketing for for a ridiculous reason. The union the union in Pittsburgh at that time, mind you, that was a mid seventies, was ridiculous, to be honest. Now if the if you hear me, unions there, I'm sure by now you have become a little bit more normal. Every everything was a strike. Everything was a reason for a strike, and they were, very powerful in town, and extremely difficult. And then they went in the beginning, before they got to know me, once they got to know me, we had a relationship. It worked. It worked. Mhmm. But they they went on a strike again for a silly reason. They're now they're outside striking, but it was wind that was very cold. So I said to my man, hurry hurry up outside. Hot cider, tea, sweet rolls, whatever you may have out there, hot chocolate, serve them. Now to be honest, I had an auditorium. I want to take care of our people, but I had another motive. I knew being Pittsburgh that having a strike, a few minutes later, that would be the the the TV cameras would be there. So I was outside and he said, how come you serve those people? I said, I love them. They're my employees. Mhmm. Even though they don't understand, there's a misunderstanding here. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
And I felt that, but I had ulterior motive, yes, to be honest. Lisa Nichols
But it all worked out. Horst Schulze
Oh, yeah. Oh, we we turned this hotel around. It was an it was a lousy hotel when I came there. Within within a year and a half, it was the number one hotel in town. And and and it was good that I the president said I'm said for a reason that I that I got a promotion to the worst hotel in the company. You know, the worst hotel, you can only go up. So I became a hero in the company because and and and three years later, I was a vice president over ten hotels because it was such a success. The worst hotel became excellent. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Yes. Well, that should give our listeners hope. That should give our even no matter where the organization is today Horst Schulze
Yeah. Lisa Nichols
You can put those principles in place. You can put those nonnegotiables in place, and Yeah. It can be turned around. I don't know many people that can do it in a year and a half Yeah. Course, but, you know? Horst Schulze
Yeah. Well, again, a lot of people, a lot of good, lot some luck and so also, but you need that too. But, you know, you you have to anything can be accomplished. Mind you, people went to the moon. Come on. Why wouldn't we be able to turn around our business around? We have to see, why did it end up the moon? Because that was the vision. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
That was the destination. That was the high intent. And once you know your intent, then you will find the answers how to accomplish it if you really look. If you and if you the model of real leadership and, you know, again, there are so many managers who force things to happen and are successful. But leadership is something higher where you truly align your employee. There's a word that everybody uses today. Nobody knows. Truly align your employees behind the objectives. They understand they understand the objective of the company. They have shown they know how they will benefit from those. They know the motives of them. You communicate. They're part of your company. Don't call them part of your company. And, oh, I I heard that. Oh, yeah. Our employees oh, they're in this. And I go and talk to hundred employees. Not one of them ever know the division of the company. Mhmm. How are they part? Right. Part. You you know, you you have to if you the model of it is you have a higher purpose, a vision. Then, you have to commit yourself to it. And then you have to say, what do do I have to start doing in order to accomplish that person, that that purpose? And then you have to keep focus on it. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Horst Schulze
And that's where people break down. I learned that. Believe me. Lisa Nichols
I agree. Horst Schulze
They may have a vision, but it's a pipe dream. And when they see a problem, they make excuses. There's no one you you stick to it. In spite of anything, you fall down in the mud. You stand up and keep on going to what your destination. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Horst Schulze
I mean, you have no idea. Nobody can comprehend the difficulty in Pittsburgh. Nobody can comprehend it. I mean Mhmm. Honestly, in in the with with at the time, you need in the beginning, after a year, they were nearly on my side because, a, I didn't give up. Mhmm. I was relentless on it. B, they start to understand I wasn't there to exploit anybody. I was there to create something excellent for all concerned. And if you stick to it, people will sooner later understand you. You you cannot lose. Yes. Keep focus. The a a a a leader has the inner fortitude to keep focus on the vision no matter what the difficulties are. Lisa Nichols
That's so good, Horace. Well, it just and it reminds me. You'd mentioned going to the moon. And I love that story of JFK when he was at NASA, and he was saying to, talking to a janitor, what are you doing? And he said, I'm putting a man on the moon. Horst Schulze
That's right. Speaker 3
You Lisa Nichols
know? Relentless about that focus and making sure everybody understood their role. Horst Schulze
And exactly. And see something higher in what you're doing. Don't don't just give up there. It is the the old story that probably everybody has said before when you we go for work, then there there there is somebody working and he and he's putting stones on top of each other and said, what what are you doing while I'm putting stones on top of each other? And the next one is doing the same thing, and he asked, what are you doing? He said, I'm building a wall. And he asked the next one, the next one says, it stops doing it. They're all doing the same and says, I'm building a wonderful cathedral. Yes. What is your high intent? Mhmm. Putting bricks on top of each other, or are you creating a cathedral? Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
I mean, we are human beings. We should see something higher and not just fulfill a function. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
That's under And, suddenly suddenly, the leader has to have that. And he has to has to connect and align his or her people behind it and give them purpose too. You know? Again, Aristotle said, you need purpose and belonging. So that means people who work for me, I have an obligation to give them purpose. Mhmm. If people need that to be fulfilled. Lisa Nichols
Right. That's so good. That's a mic drop. That's a mic drop. Well, you you've already mentioned it, but you did go on to found, Capella Hotels. I think there's what, maybe twelve or Horst Schulze
Yeah. Now we know that twelve now. Twelve now. The the thing was I have to tell that that story because, I as I said, my wife picked me up. We're tired after traveling so much, and then and, you can only do it. They have a great union at home. Otherwise, you couldn't have done it. And, great wife, great family, and they picked me up, and we went home. We had a weekend. And on Monday, I said, Sherry, I'm gonna do it again. Now to be honest, I have never seen her that annoyed. Lisa Nichols
I cannot imagine her being annoyed. Horst Schulze
How dare you after Trump? How dare you? You you are you retire for a weekend, and and and I said, well, I realized she's right. I said, I'm I'm I'm sorry. You're you're right. I was just thinking what I did wrong in my years in my last twenty years. I would like to do it better this time. And, and, I just and a couple of days later, my wife came to me and said, that's who you are. You go on, but don't do it too much, and I will support you. Mhmm. And, you know, I started Capella. I wanted to frankly, I wanted to build an ultra luxury chain. I built a luxury chain. And, of course, there were all ultra luxury hotels in the world, but no chain. I want to be the first one to build an ultra luxury chain. Mhmm. And we did that with Capella, which is now the highest rated hotel company in the world. I sold it a few years ago, a couple of years ago. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
But it is now rated number one. And Ritz Carlton was for about the last eleven years when I was running, it was rated number one. Now it's Capella, and it is an ultra luxury. The difference is simple. We have we do know more than hundred rooms. We don't take conventions. We we give food there is for example, there's no check-in time, no checkout time. There's no hours operation. You tell us what you want for service, and we take it. We call you beforehand and say, what do you want in Singapore when you come here or where? Lisa Nichols
Very personalized. Horst Schulze
Very, very individualized. Mhmm. Of course, the the the millennials in our studies, the millennials say, do it my way. They want much more personalization than people in my generation. I I would still go to if I go to a if I would go to a McDonald's, I would say number one. The millennial will say number one, but no no tomatoes, two slices of pickles, no mayonnaise, and individualization. And so we can totally respond to individualization. I cannot do that in a five hundred room with Carlton. Lisa Nichols
Right. Horst Schulze
I cannot do everything. But but in a Capella, I can call you and say Mhmm. What you need, anything you want when you come here. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Yes. Well, thank you. Because I was gonna ask you, what's the difference? So you just answered that question for me. So Horst Schulze
thank you. Of course, necessarily, there is another difference. We have to charge more. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Right. That's the other difference. Horst Schulze
No choice. Mhmm. Lisa Nichols
Well, you know, Horace, your book came out in twenty nineteen, Excellence Wins. Here's the subtitle, a no nonsense guide to becoming the best in a world of compromise. Horst Schulze
Yeah. Yeah. Lisa Nichols
I would highly, highly, highly encourage our listeners go out and get this book. Horace, how do you and you had even said it earlier. You said maybe in the beginning, the intent and the vision was this, but over Horst Schulze
time Yeah. People run into prime you know, people run into problems. Mhmm. Find excuses. Wait a minute. If you really had a high intent and really questions that, is it good for everybody, you are the excuses that I find are issues to overcome, not issues to make excuses with. I I allow me to give you an an example so it's understood. Mhmm. In a typical manager, I pay I I'm arriving in a town, and the manager picks me up. And a true little story, I don't wanna mention bad voice. Otherwise, the manager picks me up. That's normal in a limousine, and he go you go to his hotel. And I asked him on the way, the right there, what what is your intent with the hotel? You see, I'm division is clean. It's been a sub. We want the best number. But this what is your intent in this location with your hotel? And he said, if I had a bigger bigger ballroom, if my restaurant was on the second floor, if I would be closer to downtown, he made excuses for a vision he didn't even have. I visited a couple of days later, a very similar hotel, a very similar city. Manager picked me up and just asked the same question. And he answered me my intent with the hotel was check me out within a year. This will be the pride of the city. He had an intent high intent. And you could fill in the hotel and in the action. Now the manager, the one that I saw first, he was a pretty good manager. He managed. Mhmm. But he didn't lead to a higher intent than his people. The satisfaction when he made an emperor survey was nothing in comparison to the other and so on. Mhmm. But, you know, one was a leader and one is a manager. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
The problem is and we we we we we see it in our society and and and everywhere. We have a we have a we have a leadership crisis. I consequently made a study of sixty five general managers. And I tell you, I was generous to find that there are five manager five leaders and the rest of my managers. Mhmm. I was generous. Right. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. It's fine. Well, we need to change that. I know that, you know and this this might be something that you, would wanna tell our listeners about. I know that you're expert in residence with Arch and Tower. Horst Schulze
Yeah. Well Lisa Nichols
you share principles of excellence, and Yeah. It's a master class. Horst Schulze
Yeah. Yeah. It's a master class we do. And, of course, I I do a lot of consulting and speeches Mhmm. Truly a lot. I'm on a few boards. I'm I'm helping, I kind of I'm I'm that means they're giving me an office, and I I share secretary. And, I consequent and and and I kind of mentor them. They're doing cons great consulting, great stuff, great young people. I mean, it's fantastic. And and so that's what I do and helping them. And and I feel great because they're young and enthusiastic in helping others. Mhmm. I I myself do consulting and Lisa Nichols
Right. Horst Schulze
Individually, independently. Yeah. Lisa Nichols
Anybody would be lucky, seriously, Horace, to have you on their board, to have you consulting with them. Horst Schulze
It it is it's really fun because the I I don't take hotels, by the way. I don't accept hotels or hotel companies. I wanna do different because it's all the again, it's the same. What does the customer want? How do I create a processes? How do I align my employees? What are the process? I mean Mhmm. If I if I have a hardware store or hotel, it's about the customer. So the customer feels good. And the hummus in that hardware store don't make these customers feel good. Lisa Nichols
It's true. Yes. That is so true. That is so true. I've got two more questions for you, and then I wanna talk about something extra. Okay? So, Horace, how would you what would you say to your fourteen year old self? Horst Schulze
Oh, wow. Wow. I would right now, I would tell him the mistakes that I made not to do them. That's a lot. Go out and and and for by all means, no matter what, they are be honorable. Be honorable. Have integrity. Because one day, you are wake up one morning like I did and you look back at your life and you're eighty. And you said, oh my gosh. Eighty cannot be true. I'm old. Wow. And then the next but the next thought for me was well, but that's great. Not everybody makes it here. But then I look back at my life, and you cannot avoid look back at life. You cannot avoid, but you see yourself. And you see yourself when you were not as good as you should have been. And I was born that fourteen year old. You don't want to look back at some of the stuff. Lisa Nichols
I heard once someone say that when we look back over our life, there will be disappointments because sometimes things don't go the way that you Horst Schulze
Regret. Yeah. Lisa Nichols
Wanted them to go. There's things that happen that are sometimes out of our control. Horst Schulze
Yeah. Lisa Nichols
But you don't wanna look back with regret. Horst Schulze
Yeah. Lisa Nichols
And there's a difference. Right? But Horst Schulze
Yeah. That's right. And and and and I could easily warn my fourteen year old self what to avoid and what not to what to go for. You know? It's kind of an interesting thought. Lisa Nichols
Yes. It is. But when I think about you, Horace, I mean, the you are you are a living legend. You truly are. And at the end of your life, you're gonna look back. And and I think the thing that you know, you're gonna be known for a lot of different things. But one of the things that you're gonna be known for, I think, is your love for people and your care for people. Horst Schulze
Yeah. And, Thank you. Yes. And Yeah. Lisa Nichols
You had said that. How you know, you did you pray that prayer. How can I make a positive impact in this person's life? Horst Schulze
Well Lisa Nichols
And if we approach every day like that Horst Schulze
Yeah. Yeah. Well well, I by the way, I it's funny. I still do that in every speech that I make that I I pray that somebody gets it and some that I make a positive impact in somebody's life in that speech. You know? What other intent should you have when you walk into a speech? You know? Lisa Nichols
Absolutely. Horst Schulze
That they like you that they like you, I don't go there to be liked. I go there to give you something. Lisa Nichols
To make an impact. Right? Horst Schulze
Impact. You know? Lisa Nichols
Yes. Agreed. Well, let me ask you something. This is called something extra. I ask every guest this question. What do you believe is the something extra that every leader needs? Horst Schulze
Well, I I kind of addressed that very, very much in our conversation. You're not a leader unless you have purpose and vision. You're not a leader. You may be working. You may be good manager. But if it is not very clear what is your purpose, purpose and and and then you need and and I kind of set a model. And then you need the inner fortitude to keep focus on a purpose. If that purpose is clearly of of great integrity and value for all concern. It's not a purpose that is really of value unless you identify, not just simply answering it. I actually spend a day with two people. A day we met T shirt and say, is it good for the the investors? And we said yes and no, but it's not and and tell we agonize about it. But once you know that as a leader, that's what then you have to have the inner fortitude to go forward. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. That is good. Horst Schulze
And and, Anna, the other thing that you have that you have to have as that you you must have in in life. Forgive me. And as a as a man, be a great leader for a great marriage. Ask your wife, guys Guys, get over your macho ness and ask your wife how you can be a better husband. Lisa Nichols
Oh. Horst Schulze
And no. No. It is the most important union you have. And, you know, and, guys, all the work we all the hard work that they effort that we put into work, let's spend ten percent of it at our on our marriage. Another marriage message. Lisa Nichols
Great advice. Sorry. Great advice. Horst Schulze
Sorry. I came up with that, but I had to. Lisa Nichols
Of course. I completely agree with you because at the end of your life, if you don't even have someone to share Horst Schulze
Wow. Lisa Nichols
Things with right? I mean Wow. What what good is it? Right? Horst Schulze
So What good is it? Lisa Nichols
What good is it? And, Horace and Sherry have a beautiful, beautiful marriage. And as Horace said, you know, they they're madly in love with each other. And, I think that that is something that we all should aspire to. Horst Schulze
Absolutely. Absolutely. And and, again, it's your decision. My goodness. And after your decision is that what I'm gonna do about commit yourself. What are you gonna do about And work on it. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Horst Schulze
Everything. Lisa Nichols
Agree. Horst Schulze
Everything is a decision except Lisa Nichols
Everything is a decision. That's right. Your life is a collection of decisions. Right, horse? Well, horse, this has been so much fun. I have loved every single moment of this podcast episode. Thank you so much for making the time to be on the show today. I cannot wait for our listeners to hear hear from you. Horst Schulze
It's a real pleasure. Thank you. I'm honored to be with you. Announcer
Thank you for listening to today's show. Something extra with Lisa Nichols is a Technology Partners production. Copyright Technology Partners Inc, two thousand and nineteen. For show notes or to reach Lisa, visit tpi dot co slash podcast. Don't forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen.