Hailing from a small German town, Horst Schulze knew from the age of 5 that he wanted to work in the hotel industry. So he got his start, like most of do, as a dish washer. From the bottom rung he climbed his way to the top, traveling the world and working in 5 star hotels along the way. In 1983 he cofounded the Ritz Carlton and set the standards for the service industry going forward.
Schulze joins me to dive into how he got his start and the mentors who influenced him along the way. Then we dive into his newly published book, Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide To Becoming The Best In a World of Compromise.
This is one you surely won't want to miss!
Show Notes
Success quote or mantra
"Whatever it is you want to do in life... Do it with excellence."
In this episode with Horst Schulze, we discuss:
- How Schulze got into the hotel industry, like many of use, on the bottom rung.
- How he learned from his mentor, Karl Zeitler, if you approach everything you do with excellence, no matter what is, you can be important.
- The impact one person can have on another on their career path. Be mindful of your influence on others. You could change someones life.
- How excellence starts with a decision.
- Using constant reminders, like messages on a mirror, to remind you to be excellent.
- How you need to be able to lead yourself before you can lead others.
- Where Horst Schulze got his inspiration to write, Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide To Becoming The Best In a World of Compromise
- How creating an environment where people WANT to do the work, comes from great leadership; not great management.
- How great customer service starts with identifying guest needs then creating processes to meet those needs.
- How to handle guest complaints; with the objective to never lose a guest.
- The 3 fundamental expectations a customer has.
- How to get your people to care for your guest.
- While process is important, it can't shadow a clearly defined vision and mission.
- How too many systems can stunt the human element of creativity and soul.
- Whats most important to your employees.
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Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Horst Schulze for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!
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