Human-Centric AI and the Art of Leadership w/ Ryan Schlimpert
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Transcript
In this episode, Ryan Schlimpert, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Drury Hotels, breaks down how modern technology leaders can drive innovation without losing the human touch. He explores the power of human-centric AI, explaining how automating backend processes creates more space for meaningful, real-world customer connections. Discover actionable wisdom on shifting from hands-on problem-solving to empowering teams, navigating organizational change, and viewing ROI as relentless ongoing improvement.
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Credits: Host: Lisa Nichols, Executive Producer: Jenny Heal, Marketing Support: Joe Szynkowski & Dylan Price, Podcast Engineer: Portside Media
Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. So one of the things I like to talk to talk about is folks that just get it. You know, I think some of the things we talked about, trust, empathy, honesty, all those fundamental things are kinda table stakes for leaders, but I like to say people that get it. It's somebody that can read a room, somebody that can know when to push, when to hold back, somebody that can persuade, somebody that can gather consensus, those sorts of things. So I really like to look for that. It's just people that kinda get a sense of the situation and you feel like can really, be a dynamic leader in that regard. Lisa Nichols
It takes something a little more to lead with impact. I'm Lisa Nichols, author of Something Extra, and this podcast was inspired by our daughter, Ali, whose additional chromosome has shaped how I see people in leadership. Each episode features conversations with inspiring leaders from around the world about what truly defines how they lead and serve others. If you enjoyed today's conversation, please consider leaving a five star review. It helps more people discover the show. And if you'd like to go deeper, my book, Something Extra, is available on Amazon and through other major book retailers. Today, we welcome Ryan Schlempert, senior vice president and chief information officer at Drury Hotels. A decorated technology leader, Ryan has spent his career evolving from a hands on technologist into a strategic executive renowned for modernizing corporate infrastructure and championing human centric AI. Recognized as a St. Louis CIO of the Year finalist, he brings a unique perspective on bridging the gap between cutting edge technology and everyday human experiences. Well, Ryan Schlimpert, welcome to the something extra podcast. I am so delighted that we can make this work today. Thank you for making the time. Ryan Schlimpert
Absolutely. Happy to be here, and, really excited to have this conversation. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. And we're gonna have fun. I told you, it's gonna be fun. So you and I know each other through the IT community in Saint Louis. Ryan Schlimpert
And then some mutual connections here and there as well. Right? Lisa Nichols
Several mutual connections. Yes. That is correct. And just lots of different groups and things like that. And then we're Technology Partners is fortunate to be doing some work with you guys and, love to be partnering with a great company like Drury. Ryan Schlimpert
Likewise. You know, some of the things that we've looked at at vendors and different partners, we're big on culture here at Drury. And so, knowing you a little bit and seeing how you hold yourself and how your company operates, gave us a lot of confidence moving forward. It's been, it's been great so far. Lisa Nichols
It has. It sure has. Well, I wanna go back. I don't wanna spend too much time on this, but I know that you grew up in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Some of our listeners may not know where Poplar Bluff is. Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. Yep. So Southeast Missouri, there's the joke that if you cut off the Boot Hill, then it would make the IQ of both states higher. So I get some funny looks sometimes when I say I'm from Poplar Bluff, but great small town, grew up there all the way through high school, and have a lot of great memories from there. Lisa Nichols
You know, I grew up in a small town too, Ryan. And someday, when I get some margin, I've always thought it'd be so fun to do, like, a little study. I know so many great leaders that have come from small towns. There is something really special. I don't know about you, but when I was a teen area, I couldn't get away with anything, but because my parents knew everybody. Oh, I can go on and on about that because not only was Ryan Schlimpert
it a small town, you know, parents and church all the way through, knew everybody there. And then also, my mom was a third grade teacher at my elementary school. My dad was the principal at my junior high. So I had no hope. Lisa Nichols
You could get away with nothing. They knew everything. That's awesome. And I know that you went to college at Westminster in Fulton, Missouri. The the claim to fame for Westminster, I think, is, like, Winston Churchill. Right? Ryan Schlimpert
Yep. The Iron Curtain speech was done there. There's a great, museum there. There's a piece of the Berlin Wall. It's a statue where they've sculpted out, and it's called breakthrough. So a lot of great history there. But the old gym that Churchill gave his speech in is still the gym that they play basketball in, and I played basketball in. Lisa Nichols
So cool. Well, I've actually had the pleasure of visiting that museum, and I would encourage any of our listeners that are around that area go. I mean, it's really it is a special place for sure. Ryan Schlimpert
It's really well done. Absolutely. Lisa Nichols
I agree. I agree. Well, I know that you got an MIS in computer science, and then you went on to WashU and got a master's from WashU. You are also a big time athlete, both in high school and college. Right? Ryan Schlimpert
Big time is subjective, I guess, but I wouldn't go that far. But, yeah, I played basketball and, football and golf in high school, and then I had two plates and ten screws in my arm from high school football. So decided I didn't need any more hardware and played basketball in college at Westminster. So Lisa Nichols
Oh my goodness. Wow. You know, my husband and I were just Greg and I were just talking about this last night because our grandson is really into competitive soccer. And he's thinking he might wanna pick up wrestling or some of those others. And I'll never forget, Ryan, talking to Kyle McClellan. I don't know if you know that name, but he was a Cardinals pitcher. Ryan Schlimpert
Yep. Lisa Nichols
And he was kinda like you. He played three sports in high school. And one day, we were talking to him, and he said, you know, I really think playing multiple sports made me a better athlete overall. And sometimes now in today's world, it's kinda like it's hard to play multiple sports. Right? Ryan Schlimpert
Absolutely. And we could have a whole podcast on this subject. My wife and I coach our son's baseball team together. I've coached his flag football. I've coached his basketball. He's played multiple different sports, and we've really encouraged that. And with our baseball team, it's a select team. And, you know, we've got some talented kids on it, but we've really tried to keep it open to where people can play multiple sports. And we've seen a lot of kids had to leave other teams because they weren't allowed to play, multiple sports. So that's kids' sports is getting really intense these days, but we've tried to walk that line of giving the kids the opportunity to really grow their their skills and invest in it, but also not go too crazy with it. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. I I completely agree. Well, you know, you you've just had an incredible career. I mean, I think you started, Ryan, as a software engineer Ryan Schlimpert
Correct. Lisa Nichols
Or eight. Ryan Schlimpert
Correct. Yeah. Right at you know, I went to Westminster and wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. I knew I was good at math. I kinda was this good at computers a little bit, but didn't really know what that meant. And so just kinda did the core curriculum the first year or so, and then that really started to understand what that MIS degree meant. It was a mix between business and IT, and I was like, no. I think that could work out pretty well. And so got into that, and then I did an internship at a small software company here in Saint Louis and just really enjoyed that solving problems, and it's almost like putting together puzzles all day being a developer. Mhmm. So I really enjoyed that, and that's how I got started. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. And now you're a CIO. You had a a good stint, I believe, too at Mastercard, right, which is another one of our wonderful esteemed clients. That's a great great place too. But now you're at Drury as a CIO. Let me ask you this. When you were writing code way back then, Ryan, as a software engineer, did you ever dream that you would be a CIO? Ryan Schlimpert
You know, not really. Obviously, just coming out of high school or coming out of college, you're just kinda focused on the role. But over the years, as I as I kinda progressed and was getting more responsibilities and just being more embedded in in the decision making and the team and how that worked. I just started to realize more and more, like, I really like to have more influence and be able to shape the team and shape the budgets and shape the decisions. And that's where at Mastercard, I I've made the decision to go into management, and it was really interesting. I went into management with a team of about five, and we were doing workflow automation for this one division. And then they moved us in enterprise architecture, and we went from five to seventy five in the course of a couple different a couple years, really. And so my career progressed within that. So I decided to go into management, and before you know it, I was leading the team. And so I really changed dramatically just there in a couple years, but I've really enjoyed that ability to be in technology and influence it still and be kind of a techie to some degree, but also have that business and and really that harmony between business and IT is where the magic happens. And so that's what as a CIO, you can really shape that. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. We we say that all the time. We're business people first Mhmm. And then technologists. Right? It's like how technology can move the needle, for the objectives of the business. But can I just ask you a question? So I I do know, like, Mastercard, you got to do a lot of different things. So if there's a listener out there, you know, and and maybe they are in a role, and and they may be interested in something else, Ryan. I mean, did you did somebody come along and tap you on the shoulder and say, hey. You should try this, or did you have the propensity to go, no. I raised my hand. I want to do that. I mean, give some advice to that person out there that's like, yeah. I think I might wanna be in leadership. What would you tell them? Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. Absolutely. I think I'm not the traditional. I'm not, like, had a bunch of mentors necessarily that influenced it significantly, or I didn't have a road map for my career. I think what I did is I just really worked hard and tried to do the right things for the right reasons. And, ultimately, opportunities presented themselves, and then I stepped into it. There was, the biggest move that I made, there was a Mastercard's really good at high potentials and given opportunities and talking to people. So there was certainly support there. And as once I was a vice president over a number of different teams and I really knew that area well, they were like, let's challenge you and give you some more experience somewhere else. So I moved from being over web development and process automation and a variety of other teams to be the vice president of digital marketing technologies. So completely new business, completely new tech stack, completely new everything. And so that was a great opportunity to just challenge me in in different ways, and I think those are the sorts of things people should not be afraid to step into. You know, that was a pretty big leap at the time for me, but I just rather trust that I could do it and, figure it out. Lisa Nichols
Yes. For sure. You know, I you had said something about just doing things with excellence and doing the right thing, right, all the time and just bringing seeing where you could bring value. I will never forget, Ryan, and you may remember her, Bavani Amirthalingam, who was the CIO for Ameren Ryan Schlimpert
Yep. Lisa Nichols
For many years. And I will never forget this. I will never forget Bavani telling me one time. She said, I never, like, worked on building my resume. She goes, I just worked on every place I've been bringing the maximum value. Ryan Schlimpert
And that's I feel like that's my story. You know? I Yeah. I just worked really hard. I was respectful. I I collaborated. And whenever one of my bosses moved on to a different opportunity, they tapped on my shoulder because that made sense at that time because I was there and ready for it. Later on, when I was a director, our vice president left the company, and it was like, wow. You know? But I'm looking around, I'm like, why not me? And I was I was pretty inexperienced. I was ready to be a vice president at that point, but, I've worked hard and put myself in that position where they said, let's let's move forward with you. So I think that's exactly how my career has worked out. So I just feel like if if you put yourself in good positions, you work really hard, then doors can open for you. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. That's such great advice. Such great advice. You know, was there a specific time, Ryan, because leadership is really about people. I mean, was there a specific time that you can think where you're like, oh, this is really it's it's moving more about people. And you already kinda said it. You wanted to influence. Well, you don't influence technology. You influence people to adopt technology. Was there, particular time where you realized that that it was really more about people? And what did you do to, like, level up, I guess, in terms of being able to be a better leader of people? Ryan Schlimpert
Yes. So two kind of things that come to mind. Number one, with all the process automation work we did, it was so important for change management. So I got to to where I was always saying it's people process dot dot dot technology. Because we go into meetings so much and they're like, we wanna automate this and do it this way. And it's like, let's go back to the start here and really map this out. So that really educated me. And then one of the other things is with that team that I kinda grew up on, and we grew up from five to seventy five, and I went from being a developer to vice president. Lisa Nichols
Yes. You Ryan Schlimpert
know, I could jump in and try to fix things myself because I knew everything from the code to the testing to the methodology, everything. My boss at the time kept throwing additional teams at me basically to just max me out so I couldn't go into the weeds. And that's where I really realized, like, I can't solve problems myself. I have to have a team and enable them, equip them, support them, and that's how I'm gonna be successful at this level. And that was really a great it's a very difficult experience. I had multiple different teams, and I felt stretched. And then one of my peers went on maternity leave, and I got her team. And, I mean, I was just burning the candle at both ends. I and that was one of those moments where I just learned I can do more than I think I can. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. Ryan Schlimpert
And I really pushed myself and made it through that, and it really equipped me going forward to know how to delegate, empower, equip, and support versus just figuring it all out on my own. Lisa Nichols
Oh, that is so good. That is so good. And I think a lot of people, Ryan, fall in that trap of doing it yourself. But, really, you got to work through people because you're only gonna go as far as your capacity. Ryan Schlimpert
Right. Lisa Nichols
And we've got limited capacity whether we believe we do or not. Right? Ryan Schlimpert
So Absolutely. Absolutely. I figured that out during that stretch. I was like, I'm gonna need to take a mental break here. Lisa Nichols
Yes. For sure. Well, okay. You've already talked about you've already talked about change management and the business process, you know, transformation that you were going through. You know? I mean, how do you how do you think that you really build trust with the teams during this time of significant change? And I would say we're going through significant change. That is one thing about technology. Right? It's gonna change. You know? But how do you build trust during those times? Because I just know that sometimes I really do believe that the human element is even more important in seasons of change, right, with AI and everything because people need time to kinda catch up. There needs to be more empathy, all those things. Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. That's that's a a deep question. A lot of ways we could go with that one. Trust is such an important thing and such a foundational thing. But I the thing that comes to mind for me is being we've been very intentional about, how we build trust within the team and how we provide avenues for people to communicate and hear it from my mouth at the right time. So, you know, we'll have town halls to be able to just get some of that corporate information. How's the company doing? What are we focused on? That information out. But then I'll have, like, leadership meetings with departments. So myself, my directors, the managers, and really talking about from a leadership perspective, and then we'll have, meetings with the individual teams to really provide just that time as a small group to talk about what are we up to, what do you want me hearing, what questions do you have for me in a more intimate setting. And then, also giving them an avenue to share some of the things they're up to to make sure they see all the great work they're doing, And how you hold yourself, how you support, how you talk through those sorts of things, I think can help build trust. And, ultimately, I just think people can see through anything that's fake Lisa Nichols
at the end of it. Ryan Schlimpert
So if you're pressing or you're trying to be somebody you're not, then I think people get that and and sense it. And so just being yourself and, doing all those things I mentioned, I think, can really help. Lisa Nichols
I agree. You know, you just reminded me, and I love this. And you said don't, like, try to impress or, you know, be something that you're not because people can see right through that. So transparency. Transparency, honesty, integrity, all those things are really important. But, Ryan, you just reminded me. And John Maxwell, I mean, obviously, you can see I love to read. Yeah. But I think I've read, like, probably, I don't know, at least eighty percent of his books. But, I'll never forget him. I heard him speak, last year, and he said, you know, if you really wanna impress people, tell them about all your successes. But if you wanna impact them, tell them about where you're you've made mistakes. Yep. And, I mean, I really come to believe vulnerability is really important. I think it creates psychological safety for your team. I mean, how have you, like, have you seen that to be the case as well and being vulnerable with them and saying, hey. You know, I messed up here. I don't know the answer to this, by the way. Ryan Schlimpert
Yes. And, you know, I I love to solve problems. I love to help. And so, you know, you you have that tendency to always have an answer. And, but I I just got out of a meeting this morning where it's a fairly big organizational discussion that we're talking about moving forward. And I just admit it, like, with all the data I have at this time, I think this is the right step. Lisa Nichols
Mhmm. But you Ryan Schlimpert
know what? It may not be. And if we get into it and we don't find the right people or it doesn't work out the way we're thinking, we'll pivot. But I just think little things like that to say, like, I'm not just coming in here telling you I'm a hundred percent everything's figured out, and I know all the answers. Lisa Nichols
Right. Ryan Schlimpert
And so I think those subtle things can go a long way to Lisa Nichols
your point. I agree. And that's culture. It's built one thing at a time like that. Right? And I know you've built a tremendous culture there in the IT organization at Drury. And Drury itself has a tremendous, yeah, for our listeners, I think everybody knows what Drury, but Drury is a wonderful hospitality hotel, privately owned chain. What I remember about Drury, I think this is maybe still the case, Ryan. Tell me if it's not, you get a free breakfast. Ryan Schlimpert
Absolutely. Free breakfast is a big part of our value prop. But also at five thirty, we have five thirty kickback where we give away a ton of food. You could basically make a meal if you want to, and we give three free drinks away. And so people love that. It's going back to the youth sports, we do great with that because a family of four can go stay at our hotels. They can have some free breakfast, free dinner if they want. And, you know, between that, our our plus one service with a great friendly team and our product is is always clean, well maintained, We do really well and excited to share. We just announced today that we won our twentieth JD Power award, and we were just recently named sixth on the list for America's most our com America's company's best for value. And that was six. It wasn't a hospitality ranking. It wasn't a small business mid sized business ranking. It was across the board. We're between, like, Costco and and Toyota, I think. So really excited for that one. Pretty cool. Lisa Nichols
Wow. Congratulations. That is terrific. Well, for our listeners who have not stayed at a jury, please, please, the next time you're traveling, stay at a jury. They do great. And when I say a free breakfast, we're not talking muffins. We're not talking continental breakfast. We're talking the real McCoy. So I love that. Well, I tell you, I'll ask you one more question, then we're gonna take a quick break, Ryan. But what do you I mean, you've obviously hired a lot of people, right, over the years. What characteristics really separate high performing team members, leaders from just average ones in your mind? Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. So one of the things I like to talk to talk about is folks that just get it. You know, I think some of the things we talked about, trust, empathy, honesty, all those fundamental things are kind of table stakes for leaders. But I like to say people that get it. It's somebody that can read a room, somebody that can know when to push, when to hold back, somebody that can persuade, somebody that can get gather consensus, those sorts of things. So I really like to look for that. It's just people that kinda get a sense of the situation and you feel like can really, be a dynamic leader in that regard. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. That's so good. Well, we're gonna take a quick break, everyone, then we'll be right back with Ryan Schlemmert on the Something Extra podcast. AD
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Well, welcome back everyone to the Something Extra podcast with Ryan Schlumbert. So, Ryan, in every room I'm in with technologists anymore and even nontechnologists, AI is the big buzzword, and it's changing everything. I mean, it truly is just changing, the way but I know that you take a very human centric approach to AI. Can you tell me a little bit about what you believe about AI, how you're doing that, the human centric approach, and what kinds of things are exciting you about AI? Ryan Schlimpert
Sure. This is another big one. Right? Lisa Nichols
It is. Ryan Schlimpert
But certainly exciting. I think, generally speaking, I've been saying for a long time, like, this is real. This is not a fad. So for a number of years, we've been talking about with the board, with their strategic planning, with our leaders about how should we be preparing for this, what should we be doing to equip our teams for this, a number of things along those lines. You know, we've been looking at it from a guest perspective and revenue perspective, but also just that internal efficiency and kind of AI for your personal role. So a lot of different things we're excited about. We just launched our chat GPT app, here recently, and that's exciting because hospitality is changing big time. You know, a lot of our guests find us through Google or go to online travel agents or come directly to our website, but now you've got this new layer of AI that people are chatting with to plan their travel. And so we really wanna be at the forefront of that because it's so critical of how people find us. We're having to pay commissions to third parties when they go through OTAs and stuff. If we can get more of that direct, it'll be huge. So we got this exposed and MCP servers and all that fun to to to support that. So that was a big step for us. But in general, I think philosophy wise, I like to say automate everything that is not guest spacing. Right? So any of these little tasky things that we can automate, we've been always focused on that, but now AI is a new tool in your toolkit to do that in different ways. And so continuing to focus on that, and that's where the human centric side. Our plus one service, our jury team is so great. We don't wanna automate. And I think people get focused on putting a kiosk out to save labor at the front desk or putting a chatbot out to, you know, make it a whiz bang thing on on the the website, but then it leads to friction or disappointment. And we wanna automate things that are tasky things to free up our team to spend more time with our guests, and that's where the human centric side, I think, really enabling our team to be great at what they do is ultimately what we're trying to do, and AI is a new tool to help us do that. Lisa Nichols
Yes. For sure. Yeah. I could not agree more. People wanna interact sometimes with a human being. I mean, the human being's the one that's gonna say we are they could really feel, right, how you feel about them as a guest. Right? So Ryan Schlimpert
Right. Lisa Nichols
I think that's so important. And you know that I'm friends with Horace Scholtes. You know, who cofounded the Ritz Carlton, and he would say, no. Don't don't ever put a kiosk out there. You know? Ryan Schlimpert
Yep. It's I appreciate you sharing me that book. I I read his, book that you shared with me, and there's just so many good lessons in it. And what a what a great leader he's been, and just I love the ladies and gentlemen, you know, serving ladies and gentlemen and that mindset and that tone that he set from the top all the way through of excellence. It's just Lisa Nichols
Absolutely. Ryan Schlimpert
It's no wonder they're they've been such a leader in the industry. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. If you haven't I think it's excellence wins. Right? Horace Schulte, it's a Ritz Carlton book. Very, very good. But I I'm with you on that. And when I think about that, we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. It just elevates the dignity of the human being. Right? And it was really how they feel. But I know Drury is doing the same thing. So, Ryan, kudos to you guys, and congratulations on all those awards. You know, how do you think okay. So, Ryan, this is a big question because there may be there may be people that are listening that still think maybe it's some hype. But I heard you say it's not going away. This is not a fad. We always say it's not going to replace the human being. You're always gonna need that human being, but human beings need to learn how to leverage it. Ryan Schlimpert
Absolutely. And, you know, I like to say, we don't know what the future's gonna hold. You know, some of those stuff is is very novel technologies, and how it's gonna impact us years down the road, it's like I'm not predicting that. But I know here in the now, we have more things that we could possibly do that we'd love to get to that we can't. And so if we can use technology to move faster and get more things done and free up our team, like I said, to to be great at what they do through serving our guests and our team, you know, we wanna do that. And so that's kind of the mindset we're taking at this point. Lisa Nichols
Right. Well, what about that person, that listener out there that thinks it's still, like, a lot of hype? I mean, how how could organizations what are little steps that they can do to kinda start, you know, being ready to enable the organization to take on some projects, you know, that are, influenced by AI? Ryan Schlimpert
Sure. I mean, I and and there is certainly some hype out there, and and even the big model provider leaders have come out and kinda said, yeah. We kinda got this wrong. All white collar work hasn't evaporated overnight. So there is certainly some hype out there, and I think, you know, that there's always that Gartner hype cycle, and I think we're going through a little bit of that. But I think it's real. And and I think in terms of what you can do, you know, we're thinking about, like I said, that kind of AI for you or that personal productivity side of it. There's a lot we can do to just educate teams, encourage, show and tell of what's working across the organization to get those light bulbs going off so people can say, you know what? Okay. I got some use cases that that could apply to me. And so we're doing a lot of things like that. And and I think those subtle things are very powerful. And then, you know, on the IT side, there's certainly a lot more we can do around envisioning how do we architect for agents and how do we really enable our business teams to get at our data in even better ways than we have been able to in the past. Instead of a Power BI dashboard, you know, can they just chat with our data and really get drive to the deeper insights? I always say that our from a data analytics perspective, that without the insights, you know, our business teams are operating in the dark in historical gut feel and just your experience. And so you're kinda wandering around in the dark, and you do okay. But as as you get them more data, you turn up that dimmer switch so you can start operating in the light of the day. And I think that's a powerful concept and what we're continue just to try to get more and more of those insights to our business team so that we can operate in the light of day and make great decisions and propel our business forward. Lisa Nichols
That's a great way to put it. I love that. Well, I know, Ryan, that you talk about the importance of the CIO, CFO relationship. Ryan Schlimpert
Absolutely. Lisa Nichols
Big on that. Why is that partnership so critical? Ryan Schlimpert
Yes. So, a, just all the initiatives within the accounting and financial space around data, around financial and automation and all that, it's great to have that relationship. But more broadly, that support for the the investments and the very various initiatives that we need to really do to drive technology. Like I said, I love the concept of we're here to ultimately make our teams be great at what they do through the smart use of technology. And that partnership with our CFO is really critical to get the support and understanding of why are we doing these things, how can they really drive the business forward, what's the ROI. And so it's it's very important relationship for sure. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. I agree. I totally agree with that. So, Ryan, you you've already mentioned this, like, at the beginning of the podcast about, like, not be having to learn how to work through people. Because if we are trying to do everything ourselves, then, you know, we're gonna we're gonna max out. Right? We've got just so much capacity. And you talked about empowering your people, equipping your people, and I wanted to find out, like, when you talk about empowerment, what does that look like on a daily basis? What are the tactical things that you do to make people feel empowered? Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. So one of the things that comes to mind is just I've been on teams in the past that I took over that every decision had to go up through management, and then the management team would talk to the business team and it would go back down. But you really need that those teams at the grassroots level working together at a high level. So I've always encouraged to trust the team to go have those conversations. We even go so far some time as to have, like, our accounting team from supporting Workday and all that is sitting with the accounting team in that area. And and so you're saying, hey. I trust you to be in there really understanding their problems, being with them on the day to day, and being their partner. And I think that sends a loud message. Other things I I've always remembered boss told me one time, like, if you were writing a paper or putting a presentation together and you bring it to your boss and he marks it up left and right and basically tells you to rewrite it and does all these things. Over time, if that happens every time, how much effort are you gonna put really to get it right the first time versus just going and be like, let them do it? And I find times like that where a testing leader might go in and test after everybody else does it and catch everything that was wrong. So that what signals it saying I don't trust you? So you've really gotta let people run and trust. And then if if you stub your toe, you learn from it and correct into the future, and you gotta find those times where you don't wanna stub your toe in those critical moments that maybe you do need step in, but you can't do it all the time. You've gotta let people run. Let them figure those things out and learn over time, and then they take that accountability, and have that pride and that ownership that this is on me. And I have responsibility, and I'm empowered to go do this and get it right on my own. Lisa Nichols
Oh, that's so good. That is so good, Ryan. You remind me of another John Maxwell quote. Ryan Schlimpert
Oh, yeah. Lisa Nichols
Says you don't you don't lose. You don't win or lose. You win or learn. You know? And when you make mistakes, you learn from those, but sometimes the mistakes are the things that really cause you to learn. Absolutely. Think? I mean, if you do stomp your toe, I guarantee you the next time you're gonna be a little bit smarter about it. Right? Absolutely. I really I love that. But if you have somebody that's gonna come in and rescue you, I mean, why why work to get it right? So that's, that is really good. Well, you know, Woody okay. We we've already talked about trust, so I'm not gonna go there again. But, you know, there's things that can erode trust really fast. Our mutual friend, Pete Hogan, Ryan, that you know Pete too, he told me one time, he said, trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets. And I love that quote. What are some of the things that can really erode trust quickly that that maybe our listeners need to really pay attention to and make sure you're not doing those things? Ryan Schlimpert
The first thing that comes to I go back to those comments about being genuine and authentic. And Mhmm. When you're doing sort of passive aggressive things, like asking probing questions that might make somebody look bad, but you're trying to appear like you're being on the up and up, I think those are things that bleed through too, and it just really undermines trust. I know that in my past, I've experienced people that you can just tell in meetings they're there to progress their own agenda. Lisa Nichols
Oh, that's a good one.Ryan Schlimpert
Basically, trying to come up with the answer that makes them look good versus the answer that's right for the organization or for the team. And I think those things undercut trust very quickly. And, again, people perceive those things. Even if you can't put a finger on it or call them out because it's they're doing it in a smooth way, you know, I think Yes. Those sorts of things really undercut. Lisa Nichols
That's so good. So good. Well, I know that you're, coaching Jackson's. You already said that. You and your wife both are coaching his baseball team. I guess it is. You know, how has coaching, like his sports and stuff, really translated into what you're doing at at work? I mean Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. I I think there is a lot of parallels. And Yes. I think that's one of the good ways as a good leader is more like a coach than a disciplinarian or than a director. But I it's interesting, especially with these boys. We've coached them from, you know, when they were little and now thirteen u. Just finding the right moments and in understanding how every team member is different. So we've got some kids that you can really give them that encouragement and get into them a little bit, and they're like, okay. I got it. And others that you really gotta pull to the side and be like, give them a little bit of confidence boost and talk a few things. So I think that individuality and understanding that everybody needs different leadership from you is a big one. And then also knowing the timing. You know, if if after a game, they just got their butts kicked, it's like you come in with a big thirty minute speech about how they need to do better. It's like, that's probably not landing very well. It's like they're tuned out. They're disappointed. Lisa Nichols
They're already disappointed. They're already feeling badly about themselves. Right? Ryan Schlimpert
So I think that's one of the thing that as great leaders know when to push. So I would say one of the hardest thing about parenting and coaching is when to be empathetic and when to push, when to really be have high expectations and demand the best out of them and when to be understanding and give them a little, room to breathe. And that is such a challenge with kids, and I think that that's the same in business as well. And there's a time to really hold your team accountable and demand excellence, But there's also times to understand that they're doing everything they can do, and you you need to give them some grace. Lisa Nichols
Yeah. That's so good. And I completely agree with you on that. It's it is difficult. Well, what keeps you grounded outside of work, Ryan? Ryan Schlimpert
Oh, I would say my wife and my thirteen year old, for sure, they keep me grounded. You know, just my parents and friends, a lot of great great relationships, and, people that know me from from many years ago. And so, I think that's easy. And growing up in a small town to your point, like ifthere's no reason in I'll use a Poplar Bluff term, I guess. No reason to get big for your britches or or too much of yourself. Yeah. And so I think the the wife and son are probably the two that bring to mind because you can think something and then come home, and then you're just one of them. Lisa Nichols
Right. Exactly. That is so funny. Well, let me ask you this. When you think about your legacy, Ryan Schlepper, what do you hope people say about your leadership? Ryan Schlimpert
That's deep. I think I just hope people appreciate me and look at that I was there for the right reasons to drive the business and the teams and the individuals within the teams forward in a positive way and ultimately brought people together and and made great things happen. I think that's in a nutshell. I look back at my upbringing with great parents that, were good people in the community and did the right things for the right reasons. And, you know, they've celebrated fifty years of marriage a couple years ago, and it was just so cool to see that legacy. And so kinda similar feelings going through my brain as you asked that question. It's just Yeah. People look back that you did the right things for the right reasons, but did a lot of good and helped a lot of people. Lisa Nichols
I love that. That's perfect. Well, I have a little lightning round for you. Alright. Okay. So besides the book Something Extra, what is one book that every leader should read? Ryan Schlimpert
I think one of the ones that I always loved is the Good to Great and the the sequel to that. I think there's so many great lessons in those books, that I've taken away, so I encourage those for sure. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Oh, that is yes. If you haven't read Jim Collins' Good to Great, and he's got, Built to Last, he's got several books out there. But, make sure you pick that up because I totally agree with that. How about the best leadership advice that you've ever received? Ryan Schlimpert
Oh, man. You know, sometimes I get the best, and it's not advice, but I've learned the most from some of the bosses that I wouldn't wanna emulate. Lisa Nichols
You know? Right. Ryan Schlimpert
That's what comes to mind right now, but it's Lisa Nichols
I've seen Ryan Schlimpert
people that are just trying to get ahead. They leave a path of destruction behind them and are just pushing down walls. And I took away some things from that. Like, I'm a people pleaser, so maybe I need me to be more assertive with a vendor or with a partner or with the team at certain times. But, man, I also learned that's not how I wanna operate No. On the whole. So I think that's a good one. And then I think that kind of being an authentic leader, like I've talked about a few times, I've had some advice around that that I think is just foundationally important. Lisa Nichols
Good. Good. Good. What about, do you like to travel? What's your favorite place that you've ever traveled, Ryan, that you can think of? Ryan Schlimpert
Oh, man. We do like to travel. You know, been been to Europe, Greece, all around Europe on a backpacking trip out of college, been to South Africa and Costa Rica and Lisa Nichols
Oh my goodness. Ryan Schlimpert
Just went to Hawaii this year, and I was up in Canada for a fishing trip that I was talking about. Best play I did a three week camping trip as part of my junior in, college where we learned about the ecosystem, the people, the environment, everything for a semester, and then we traveled for six weeks, three weeks camping. And that was just such a cool because we got to trip because we got to go behind the scenes at the Belizean Zoo. And, so that Belize trip was a really memorable one. Lisa Nichols
Oh, that is cool. Yeah. We love to travel too. I love seeing new cultures and learning from the people and just seeing the beauty of the world. It's just, really special. Ryan Schlimpert
With our thirteen year old being at that age where it's like he can really absorb and start to appreciate things, we're trying to do more of that with him, and it's it's a really fun time. Lisa Nichols
It is fun. I've got a friend, that was the CEO for Dayspring, and his family, what they their their goal, their big audacious, hairy vision is to visit every national park. Ryan Schlimpert
Wow. That's cool.Lisa Nichols
I think that's kind of a cool goal, but with the whole family. You know? And he's got adult children now and everything, but I just think things like that are really, really cool. Well, what about this? What is one thing that you're still trying to improve as a leader? Ryan Schlimpert
I think just what's the right level of strategy in pushing things ahead versus kind of being complacent or, I guess, just kind of keeping the business running to the level that everyone's happy. For certain areas, you know, AI, it's like, should we be going faster? Should we be pushing harder? Should I be asking for more resources? What's the right level for our company at this time? I mean, that is such a hard thing for me. So I I think finding that balance is something I still really think about. I think about constantly, I'm thinking about how do I help the team get better. I love the concept of you've got to, when you're cutting things, you've got every now and again step back and sharpen your blade. Lisa Nichols
Yes. Ryan Schlimpert
So I am always talking to the team and, you know, they get exhausted with me, I think, sometimes. But we, of course, wanna keep the business business initiatives moving forward and our business teams happy, but we've gotta find ways to always sharpen our blade so that we can do more next year, and we can do things faster faster, smarter, better. And so that's something that I'm always just striving for. Like, what's the next thing that we can do to get better with our methodology, with with our expectation setting with the business, with our partnership with the business, with our use of technology and tools? I think there's a that's an evergreen process for sure. Lisa Nichols
Amen to that. There's always something to improve. Isn't there, Ryan? Ryan Schlimpert
Absolutely. Lisa Nichols
Always something. Keep growing. Well, this is called something extra, and I would love to hear from you what you believe is the something extra that every leader needs. Ryan Schlimpert
Yeah. So I touched on the the people that just get it already. You know, those people that can really understand the friction behind the conversation, read the dynamics. So I won't touch on that one again. But the other one I think that goes hand in hand with that a lot, and it's kinda just what we talked about, that people that exhibit significant intellectual curiosity, They don't assume they have all the answers. They're constantly learning, asking questions, looking for ways of improve to improve, and I I've always had fun with this. I heard a long time ago the definition of ROI, it's not return on investment. It's relentless ongoing improvement. And so that concept that the best leaders never arrive. They keep growing, adapting, and helping the people around them do the same. And so I really think that's something extra to make you a dynamic leader. It's that combination of people that just get it, like I talked about before, and then that ROI. Lisa Nichols
I love that. I love that. I'm so glad that you mentioned that. I'll remember that as well. Well, Ryan, this has been so much fun. I so appreciate you making the time to be on the show, and I know that you're gonna help our listeners. So thank you so much for building into other people, and, I believe that's what this conversation's gonna do. So thank you. Ryan Schlimpert
Well, thank you. It was a it was a lot of fun, and just I appreciate you and just the joy that you bring to every room that you're in and the way that you hold yourselves and the way that you lead, tech partners. Just really admire that. And so appreciate you having me. It's an honor, and it's been fun. Lisa Nichols
It's been fun. Alright. Have a great rest of the day, my friend. Ryan Schlimpert
Alright. You too. Announcer
Something extra with Lisa Nichols is a Technology Partners production. Copyright Technology Partners Inc. 2019. To learn more about this week's guest, check out the show notes at tpi dot co slash podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, consider leaving us a review. Thank you for listening to Something Extra. 
