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This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. And we love to hear your stories. You're the hour in our American stories. Send them. to ouramericanstories.com.
They're some of our favorites. And one of our favorite recurring types of stories to tell is the story of founders, of people who start things, who have the courage and the desire to do so. And it is no simple thing to do, and we don't spend nearly enough time in this country talking about people who start things. Today, we're going to tell the story of a legend and leader in the hotel world. Horst Schulze.
and how he reshaped how service and hospitality. defined in the business world. standards that have become world famous. Throughout the years, Schultze worked for both Hilton Hotels And Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of the luxury hotel chain, the Ritz-Carlton. in 1983.
Forst is also a Christian and tries his best. to live by his faith. At home, And at work. Here's a story of how he deals with and thinks about. his employees, his company.
and the founding vision. of the ritzcorn. We particularly in our day our industry be higher. Because our industry has over 100% turnover. They're constantly open jobs in a hotel and their jobs have to be filled.
So we so what do we do? We hire. And We said finally, we're not going to do that, we're going to select. We're going to suffer through the open shop until we have somebody who actually fits into it. By the way, we went to the point talking an average of ten interviews before we filled the job, including dishwashers.
But we didn't feel them. And then of course, so we selected, we created a profile around each job category. And then hired against this profile, we know that was the talent really needed for this job.
So that that was the selection.
So we went into major careful selecting. kind of a funny example here is Dorman.
Well After we were working and we interviewed our five top doormen, that they had all One thing in common. Their hobby was gardening.
Now Wow. But otherwise they like to be outside in a dormant but what what would we have done in hiring somebody? We probably would have liked somebody that loves computer work in a room somewhere by himself and we put me in another dorm and vice versa. But so we did selection and then, of course, orientation, and that's a That was one of the keys again of our success. Absolutely, and I'm absolutely zealous about that.
that the orientation when I see orientation being done in nearly every company is totally wrong. what happens most of the time. Most of the time, the new employee, let's say it's a hotel, it could be any company, any business. the new way that comes to work. The b the manager, the department head makes his We are a team speech.
Which is pretty pathetic, it happens everywhere. We're a team here. And then And I'm bought. What is a team? A team is a group of people who help each other toward a common goal.
objective vision. But that's not being given the vision is not the goal is not being given. Just we're a team. And so Bill The new Veda Now after the team speech, the boss said, Now, Bill, work with Joe over here, because Joe knows the ropes. Which is really funny because you're not in a raw business, but Somehow he knows ropes.
and we turn em over. And Joe The Veda that stands nine months in Nostra Robes tells Pill the new Veda. On the way to the kitchen, this company is no good. That's his orientation. What do we possibly expect from that employee?
It's crazy. We did Our orientation. We went so far. As to The first day orientation has to happen the first day. Because that is when people are willing to change their behaviour.
Because the first day of work is a significant emotional event when you can impact behavior.
So we didn't do it the second day, the first day. And So far that when We needed a certain job to be filled and we found an ideal A candidate We offered a job to the candidate, but he couldn't come to work until the day of orientation, but we paid him. The first day it had to be oriented. In the first day we talked about who we are. What is to we How do we treat guests?
How do we believe how do we say hello? Where are we going? What is the dream of this organization? We invited them to be part of the dream. not part of the function.
We hired them and oriented them to be part of a dream, the vision of the company, to be the leader in the service industry in the world in our case. Join this dream. But we connected to the motive of the trip. Also the first day. And here's why we dream about that.
because that will create respect for all of us. We connected ours to them. That creates opportunity for all of us. That creates armour for all of us. That creates, we define ourselves that way together.
That creates more income for all of us.
So that's why you have to join this dream. Adam Smith wrote a book besides Wealth of Nation where he identified that people cannot relate o to orders and direction. And what do we do? We give orders and direction all day long. He said, people can only relate to objective and motive, vision and motive.
There's Adam Smith. And and by the way. Aristotle wrote that in order to be fulfilled in life you need purpose. and belonging. How about The vision is a purpose that we give people.
Why wouldn't he give him that? Here is why, and they can buy in rather than just give him the direction, you tell them why, and bang, they buy in.
So it becomes a total different relationship, as you will, and total different buy-in, and a total, again, total different alignment. Because they know why, they don't know, don't just know. You should because what do some bosses say? Why should I do that? They answer, because.
Wow. That's how we treat human beings, that we treat our neighbours. We cannot get away from the fact. If I'm a Christian, I cannot get away from the fact. I cannot dismiss.
My employees or my customers have not been my neighbours. I'm come on It's kind of Pretty sad, I have to give it at least some time thought. That I have to supposed to laugh my neighbor as myself in that incidentally they are neighbors. And a great job on the storytelling by Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Horace Schultze for sharing the story of the Ritz Carlton, at least one part, which is how to hire and motivate folks.
And he tells a compelling story about how to do so. By the way, his book, Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best. In a world of compromise is a must-read for anybody leading anybody anywhere. And it all starts with vision casting and motivating folks. to do their best.
And my goodness, the other thing, clearly, if you've ever been to a Rich Carlton, is service and service to others and having the mission of the company and the enterprise. serving the customer. And not the customer serving the enterprise. By the way, I love the quote from Adam Smith: people cannot relate to orders and direction. They respond to vision.
And to motive, and no finer words could be said. To hear some of the other Horse Schultz pieces, by the way, go to ouramericanstories.com, including the terrific one about his life story, an immigrant story, coming from Germany to the United States.
Well, to pursue his dream and the Rich Carlton was not only his dream. but the tens of thousands of employees who work there. The story of Horshulty. Here on Our American Stories. Mm.
Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage.
Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S.
and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. Upgrade to elite checking from America's Christian Credit Union and earn up to 3.5% APY.
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