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John Garrett [00:00:00]:
Hey, this is John Garrett. I’m passionate about making work more human, especially in this age of AI. I don’t just host this podcast, I also help organizations put people first. Through my keynote speaking, coaching and what’s your and implementation programs. To learn more or to connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram, I invite you to join the movement at www.WhatsYourAnd.com now let’s jump into this week’s conversation.

Adam Ritchie [00:00:28]:
Hi, this is Adam Ritchie and when I am not teaching people how to ski, in sharing my passion for that sport, I am listening to John Garrett on What’s Your “And”?.

John Garrett [00:00:39]:
Welcome to episode 725 of What’s Your “And”?. This is John Garrett and each Wednesday I interview a professional who just like me, is known for a hobby or a passion or an interest outside of work. And to put it another way, it’s encouraging people to find their “And”. Those things above and beyond your technical skills; the things that actually differentiate you when you’re at work. It’s the answer to the question of who else are you beyond the job title. And if you like what the show’s about, be sure to check out the award winning book. It’s on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble Bookshop, a few other websites. All the links are at www.WhatsYourAnd.com. The book goes more in depth with the research behind why these outside of work passions are so crucial to your corporate culture. And I can’t say how much it means that everyone’s reading it and writing such nice reviews on Amazon.

John Garrett [00:01:23]:
Thank you so much for those. It’s ridiculous how much those matter and more importantly, changing the cultures where they work because of it. And if you want me to read it to you, that’s right, this voice, reading the book, look for what’s your hand on Audible or wherever you get your audiobooks. And please don’t forget to hit subscribe to the podcast. You don’t miss any of the future episodes. I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week and this week is no different with my guest Adam Ritchie. He’s the founder at High Potential Group out of Detroit, Michigan and now he’s with me here today. Adam, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And?”.

Adam Ritchie [00:01:56]:
Thanks so much John. This is awesome. I’m really looking forward to today’s conversation.

John Garrett [00:02:00]:
Yeah, this is going to be a blast. So much fun. Yeah. I have a 17 rapid fire questions though. Get to know Adam right out of the gate. So buckle up. Here we go. I’ll Start you easy.

John Garrett [00:02:11]:
How about a favorite color?

Adam Ritchie [00:02:13]:
Favorite color? I gotta go black.

John Garrett [00:02:14]:
Black. Okay.

Adam Ritchie [00:02:16]:
Yeah. Just every one of my cars have always been black.

John Garrett [00:02:19]:
Oh, wow.

Adam Ritchie [00:02:19]:
I take that back. I had a red truck and I ended up totaling it, so I just swore off anything that’s not black.

John Garrett [00:02:26]:
There you go. There you go. All right. How about a least favorite color? And maybe it’s red.

Adam Ritchie [00:02:30]:
I don’t know, it might be. I don’t know that I have a least favorite color.

John Garrett [00:02:35]:
Okay. All the rest of them are the worst.

Adam Ritchie [00:02:38]:
Yeah, right. They’re all kind of equal playing field. After you.

John Garrett [00:02:41]:
There we go. I love it. All right, you got to have one of these. Least favorite vegetable.

Adam Ritchie [00:02:46]:
Brussels sprouts by far.

John Garrett [00:02:47]:
Yeah, that’s a solid answer. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. How about. Are you more early bird or night owl?

Adam Ritchie [00:02:53]:
Oh, I could be a night owl. I could stay up till midnight, one o’ clock and not wake up until noon.

John Garrett [00:02:58]:
Oh, okay. There you go.

Adam Ritchie [00:03:00]:
Unfortunately, with two kids and a wife that gets up at 3:45, my. My life doesn’t lend for that.

John Garrett [00:03:05]:
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. 345. That is. Wow. That early. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:03:09]:
How about a favorite actor or an actress?

Adam Ritchie [00:03:12]:
If you asked me that question five years ago, I’d probably lean towards like a Denzel Washington. I got really big into Jonathan Roomie from the Chosen. Like, the way that he pulled that. That role off was awesome.

John Garrett [00:03:25]:
Yeah, totally. Both great answers. How about puzzles? Sudoku, Crossword, jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku. I don’t know, whatever you want.

Adam Ritchie [00:03:32]:
I’m a sucker for a good crossword puzzle.

John Garrett [00:03:34]:
Okay.

Adam Ritchie [00:03:35]:
I love those. Or word searches.

John Garrett [00:03:37]:
Oh, yeah. Where the trickiest is when it’ like reverse order and diagonal and you’re like, come on.

Adam Ritchie [00:03:44]:
You’re like, that’s a stretch.

John Garrett [00:03:46]:
Now you’re showing off. Like, this is ridiculous. Like it’s. Yeah, it’s awesome. But yeah, because those are old schools. How about Star wars or Star Trek?

Adam Ritchie [00:03:55]:
I gotta go Star Wars. My dad was huge into Star Trek, but I just. I couldn’t. I couldn’t ever really get into it.

John Garrett [00:04:01]:
So there’s definitely a difference. That’s for sure.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:04]:
Yeah.

John Garrett [00:04:05]:
How about your computer? More PC or Mac?

Adam Ritchie [00:04:07]:
Oh, I’m a Mac guy.

John Garrett [00:04:08]:
Oh, fancy. Okay.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:10]:
I just like it when things work and I don’t have to think about it. Like, I have a Mac. I have an iPad. I have an iPhone. I have an Apple watch. Like, it all just works together.

John Garrett [00:04:23]:
I have the chip in my brain. I have that too.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:26]:
I’m pretty sure that’s not far behind.

John Garrett [00:04:30]:
How about as a kid. A favorite cartoon.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:32]:
Growing up, I’d have to go Animaniacs.

John Garrett [00:04:35]:
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:39]:
Or anything on Saturday morning. Cartoon.

John Garrett [00:04:41]:
Okay.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:41]:
You know, I’d sit there on the floor and watch that for, you know, three hours.

John Garrett [00:04:45]:
Right. Yeah. That’s how we. A lot of us did. Yeah. That’s for sure. How about your first concert?

Adam Ritchie [00:04:51]:
Kid Rock and Power Man 5000.

John Garrett [00:04:54]:
Oh, okay. In Michigan.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:55]:
Yep. At the palace of Auburn Hills.

John Garrett [00:04:57]:
Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:04:57]:
Where the Pistons used to play. And then they tore the building down.

John Garrett [00:05:00]:
That’s cool.

Adam Ritchie [00:05:00]:
It was unreal.

John Garrett [00:05:01]:
Yeah. Yeah. That’s pretty wild. How about a favorite day of the week?

Adam Ritchie [00:05:05]:
The easy answer, the softball answer, is always Friday, right?

John Garrett [00:05:08]:
Sure. Yeah. I mean, you still gotta work that day, so maybe let’s go Saturday. Saturday, yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:05:14]:
You’ll learn why later when we get into the. My “And”, right?

John Garrett [00:05:17]:
Yeah, absolutely. No, because there’s more time for your hand on Saturday than on Friday. That’s for sure. How about a favorite number?

Adam Ritchie [00:05:23]:
I gotta go 13 or 7.

John Garrett [00:05:26]:
Okay. Are there reasons or.

Adam Ritchie [00:05:29]:
13 was actually my baseball number when I was in, like, peewee league.

John Garrett [00:05:34]:
Oh, okay.

Adam Ritchie [00:05:37]:
Little. And I didn’t play baseball after that, so I don’t know, I just grew an affinity for the number 13, and

John Garrett [00:05:42]:
No one else likes it, so it’s kind of rebel.

Adam Ritchie [00:05:44]:
Yeah. Right.

John Garrett [00:05:45]:
There you go. I like it. Do you prefer more hot or cold?

Adam Ritchie [00:05:51]:
Cold.

John Garrett [00:05:51]:
Cold. Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:05:52]:
Yeah, I’d rather be. I’d rather be cold. Like, I went to Arizona in August one time, and it was the most miserable.

John Garrett [00:05:57]:
Oh, yeah, you’re gonna explode. He might die.

Adam Ritchie [00:06:00]:
And what you can’t tell, like, either on the camera or through the podcast, is I’m 6 foot 5 and 260. Oh, Lord.

John Garrett [00:06:07]:
Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:06:07]:
I’m not a person.

John Garrett [00:06:10]:
Yeah. I got a lot going on here.

Adam Ritchie [00:06:12]:
Yeah. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:06:13]:
Fair. When it comes to pizzas, you go New York style. Chicago, Detroit.

Adam Ritchie [00:06:18]:
I gotta go Detroit style.

John Garrett [00:06:20]:
Yeah. And the people listening, just so they know, like, Detroit style is.

Adam Ritchie [00:06:23]:
So usually for me, it’s deep dish sauce underneath, not on top. That’s Chicago style. Right. So. Right.

John Garrett [00:06:30]:
And it’s usually square, right?

Adam Ritchie [00:06:32]:
Yeah, it’s usually square.

John Garrett [00:06:33]:
Yeah. Yeah. I love it. And the last one, the favorite thing you have or the favorite thing you

Adam Ritchie [00:06:37]:
own, I would have to say right now, is long story, but we acquired a boat last year, and it is. It has been the best thing for our family, like, just to get out on the water. And, like, we have a strict no cell phone policy on the boat.

John Garrett [00:06:52]:
Nice.

Adam Ritchie [00:06:53]:
So, like, for my teenage kids, it’s like, nope, Sorry. You’re gonna be here, and we’re gonna throw you in the water, so it’s been a blessing for us.

John Garrett [00:07:02]:
Yeah. You’re killing their Instagram story reps, though. Come on, now.

Adam Ritchie [00:07:06]:
Like, I know, right?

John Garrett [00:07:08]:
I’m on. Like, come on.

Adam Ritchie [00:07:11]:
Snap. Streaks are going down, cruising around the lake.

John Garrett [00:07:15]:
That’s awesome, though. I love that. That’s so great. And it’s like, no. No cell phones. And here it is. And it’s family time.

Adam Ritchie [00:07:21]:
Yep. I mean, it’s not a great boat. It’s a 93. Four winds, like, but I don’t care.

John Garrett [00:07:25]:
No, that’s great. I mean, they always say, like, the best kind of boat to have is your friend’s boat, so. There you go. That’s very cool, man. I love it. So let’s talk skiing and ski instructor, even, which is next level. But, like, did you just grow up skiing there in Michigan?

Adam Ritchie [00:07:42]:
Yeah. So I started skiing when I was 7. Some friends of ours that lived in the neighborhood just, they were like, hey, we’re going out, going skiing, and. And I’ll never forget that first day I was on snow because I, like, I would go up the tow rope like, a quarter of the way, and then I’d slide back down, right. And then I went up halfway, and then I slid back down, and I went up three quarters of the way. Like, I just kept working my way up the tow rope and just kind of fell in love this. This idea, like, being outside in the winter and. And, you know, when you’re in Michigan or any northern or cold areas, like, if you don’t find something to do in the winter, you’re gonna go nuts.

John Garrett [00:08:16]:
It’s brutal. Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:08:17]:
So, like, my parents saw that, and they’re like, hey, let’s. Let’s get the kids out there and get them on snow. And so I did ski club through, you know, elementary school and then joined a. There’s a small ski group here in. In metro Detroit called Blizzard Ski School. I joined them in middle school. And so I kind of. Every Saturday, my parents would drop me off at the high school.

Adam Ritchie [00:08:38]:
This bus would come pick me up at 7 in the morning, and it would drive me out to the hill, and I’d spend all day on the hill skiing, and then come back, parents pick me up. And so it was just kind of like. It was almost like a camp that ran for, like, 11 weekends. It was great.

John Garrett [00:08:53]:
Yeah, everybody wins. I mean, your parents get some alone time, and you’re out on the hills, and. Yeah, that’s cool.

Adam Ritchie [00:08:59]:
And then I Started racing in high school. I raced my high school ski team. Did fairly well. It was a great sport. Great, great experience and. Yeah, so that’s. I mean, that’s kind of how I got started in skiing. And then through college and, and you know, through the first part of my, my marriage and having kids and all that, I kind of hung the skis up for a while.

Adam Ritchie [00:09:19]:
Just from a priority standpoint. Like, we had a lot of other things going on and went skiing a few times in college, actually. The day we graduated, me and five of my buddies loaded up my dad’s town and country Gold. Town and country, by the way. It was like. So we had this thing loaded down with six dudes and we drove out to Colorado and skied Vail for an entire week.

John Garrett [00:09:44]:
Nice.

Adam Ritchie [00:09:45]:
It was an epic trail. Like, we closed the bar and opened the lift.

John Garrett [00:09:48]:
Yeah, yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:09:48]:
Every day.

John Garrett [00:09:49]:
There you go. When you could back in those days.

Adam Ritchie [00:09:52]:
Yeah, right. Yeah. It didn’t hurt as much.

John Garrett [00:09:54]:
Right? That’s great, man. In the racing, I mean, is it like. I mean, because you see it on the Olympics, of course, and whatever. I mean, it’s. That’s pretty, pretty awesome. I mean, you’re going fast.

Adam Ritchie [00:10:07]:
It was a lot of fun. We in southeast Michigan is not known for its skiing.

John Garrett [00:10:11]:
Sure. Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:10:12]:
Right. We do a lot of things. Great skiing is really not one of them. Like, our local hill has 304 beautiful vertical feet.

John Garrett [00:10:24]:
I love how it’s not 300, it’s 304.

Adam Ritchie [00:10:27]:
304 more.

John Garrett [00:10:28]:
Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:10:28]:
Yeah, that like. And this winter, because the base was a little higher, it’s probably 305.

John Garrett [00:10:35]:
Yeah. You guys got hammered this year, that’s for sure.

Adam Ritchie [00:10:37]:
Oh, man, it’s been awesome. So. Yeah, but anytime we get out there, we get. We’re gonna get out there, right? And it was just kind of like we made it work. Northern Michigan’s got some better skiing, but, you know, it’s still a four hour drive.

John Garrett [00:10:48]:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, you really gotta want to do it. Then it’s, you know, staying overnight probably and things like that. Yeah, yeah. More logistics and so do you have some favorite stories of, you know, maybe it’s the racing times or, you know, that Colorado trip or whatever. You know, like some that come to mind. When you think back.

Adam Ritchie [00:11:03]:
One of my favorite stories is more recent. It’s. And it’s when I got into instructing because like I said, I kind of hung the skis up for a little while. And then, you know, my kids got to an age like my son was, I think Four. My daughter was. Was two when she was too young to ski, But I knew I wanted to get my son into skiing. I’m like, if you’re going to live in Michigan, you got to be on snow.

John Garrett [00:11:23]:
Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:11:24]:
And I had been talking to my wife for probably five years prior to that, but. Oh, I’d love to. I’d love to instruct. I’d love to instruct. And she was finally like, just get off your ass and do something. Stop talking about it. Go do something.

John Garrett [00:11:36]:
I love it. That’s great.

Adam Ritchie [00:11:37]:
And so I called up the Blizzard Ski School, the one I went through in. And they have been around since the 60s. So this. This company’s been around for a long, long time. And it was funny. The owner. The owners now actually owned it when I went through it. And.

Adam Ritchie [00:11:50]:
And they were like, hey, we remember you.

John Garrett [00:11:54]:
You picked me up every Saturday for weeks, for years.

Adam Ritchie [00:11:58]:
Exactly. So I started instructing, and, like, I went into it. I’m like, I. You know, I feel like I’m a strong skier. I’m a decent skier, but when I started skiing with other instructors, I was like, I got a lot of work to do.

John Garrett [00:12:11]:
Oh, yeah, yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:12:12]:
You know, it’s like, you move that gold post a lot. You’re like, oh, I could, you know, I could control myself, get down the hill. I feel comfortable. And then it’s like, oh, can you do it on one leg?

John Garrett [00:12:23]:
Yeah, Right. Holding the other ski? Yeah, exactly.

Adam Ritchie [00:12:26]:
Yeah.

John Garrett [00:12:27]:
With one eye closed. Like, what? Come on. Like, this is crazy. Yeah, totally. Okay, well, and plus, you had hung the skis up for a while, so, like, you’re coming out of nothing.

Adam Ritchie [00:12:36]:
It was funny. I. I was riding a pair of line twin tips. They were like park skis. Like, I’m really not a park rat. Like, I don’t like doing a ton of jumps. I mean, I will, but I don’t like it. But I had this set of twins, twin tips.

Adam Ritchie [00:12:50]:
This is all I had. And we do these drills when we’re instructing where it’s just kind of like, follow the leader. Right. So you try to stay on somebody’s tails real close. Well, with a twin tip ski, if you look at the back of it, it literally kicks up a rooster tail. Oh, right. Because the back of it is curved up. Right.

Adam Ritchie [00:13:10]:
All the other instructors are like, dude, we can’t follow you. You just keep blowing snow in the face.

John Garrett [00:13:15]:
It’s all choppy. Yeah, yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:13:17]:
That next weekend, one of the other inst brought me a set of demo skis that he had. He’s like, here you can have these, like, but you can’t teach on those.

John Garrett [00:13:29]:
That’s so great. That’s really funny. And, and let’s visit the Atom. When you hung up the skis for obviously justified reasons versus the Atom now where you’re skiing again and obviously life is happening, but you’re able to balance it all and, and all that. Is there a difference to you and what you’re bringing to home and work?

Adam Ritchie [00:13:49]:
Yeah, you know. You know, skiing and ski instructing for me is. It’s rejuvenating. Like I, I get out on the hill, I take a first couple runs by myself. Like, there’s something about like, feeling the cold air just hit you in the face, being able to just lay the skis over and dig into them. And like, it just, it just fills my bucket and fills my soul. It’s just like. Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:14:15]:
You know, I don’t, I don’t ride motorcycles, but I would imagine it’s that same feeling that people get when they’re riding a motorcycle. Right. Just hitting the turns and.

John Garrett [00:14:23]:
Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:14:23]:
So it just, you know, being outside, being outdoors, even in sub below or sub zero weather. Right. It really rejuvenates me. And you know, even my wife notices, like, you know, I come home from a Saturday on the hill and she’s like, oh, you know, I’ve got a new, new pep in my step. Right. New energy. I can run into the week.

John Garrett [00:14:43]:
So you feel alive, you know, I mean, yeah, it’s. It’s bitter cold and it’s windy sometimes and there’s. It’s actually snowing and it’s like, ah, like it’s, you know, type two fun or whatever they call it, you know, like. Yeah, but that’s human, you know, Like, I’m alive. Like, this is great. Like I would never be able to experience any of this without being alive, you know, and it just reminds you of that and there’s that pep in your step, you know, of like, all right, let’s do this. You know, if I’m here, if I’m on earth, if I’m doing this game, then I’d better jump in and play it. That’s so cool that you experience that.

Adam Ritchie [00:15:19]:
It’s always fun to like, push yourself, right? Like again, we don’t have that big of a hill, right. There’s not a lot of terrain to work with. But I always try to find like, new lines, try to find new ways to, to ski something. Right. Can I. Like, we have a mogul run that actually is pretty decent. So it’s like, okay, let me ski the troughs. Let me see if I can ski over the tops.

Adam Ritchie [00:15:40]:
Let me see if, you know, like, I try to mix it up a little bit. Just say, like, okay, how hard can I push myself? Even though we’re only 300 vertical feet, right?

John Garrett [00:15:49]:
Yeah. But I mean, yeah, like you said, it’s a challenge, you know, it’s fun, it’s an adventure. That’s really cool. And so do you feel like any of this is a skill set that translates to work or any part of this beyond the pep in your step sort of a thing?

Adam Ritchie [00:16:03]:
Yeah, absolutely. So. So in my day job, I’ll call it, in my work life, I’m a leadership consultant and business consultant. So a lot of the things that I do, both on the snow and off the snow are really about, like, those light bulb moments for people, like, trying to give them a new perspective, a new talent, a new skill set that sets those light bulb moments off to say, oh, that’s how I do this. Right. And whether it’s leading people or turning the skis right, like, that’s always been a through line for me, is really kind of connecting people to, you know, what’s possible.

John Garrett [00:16:40]:
And it’s also neat, too, because you get to experience it and see them come alive in it, you know, where, you know, like, sometimes if it’s speaking, you leave and you don’t really know what happens or what someone does with it. But when you know it’s the coaching or the consulting, like, I’m in here with you, my sleeves are rolled up. And then when you see it click in them or you see it click in that ski student. All right, here we go. And then they feel like, wow, this is so awesome. And you’re like, yeah, there we go. You know, and this just level one, though. Just.

John Garrett [00:17:07]:
There’s more like, you know, like you didn’t finish.

Adam Ritchie [00:17:09]:
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, right. Welcome to the right party. Yeah, exactly.

John Garrett [00:17:15]:
Get you to like, yeah, you’re over here now. Okay, now. Now we can go, like, now let’s cook, you know, like, type of thing. That’s funny. That’s cool, though, man. That’s. Yeah, because I mean, it’s. It’s a one to one.

John Garrett [00:17:27]:
I mean, you know, it’s coaching business people in that sense versus coaching people physically. But there’s a lot of mental to that as well, I would imagine on the skiing.

Adam Ritchie [00:17:34]:
Oh, there’s a ton of ton. There’s a ton. And actually I had a. A mom of one of our students, so she was, you know, mid-40s. That was like, hey, I want to learn how to ski. Right? Because I want to start keeping up with my kids. And actually, we ended up launching a whole, like, keeping up with the kids program.

John Garrett [00:17:48]:
Oh, that’s a great idea. Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:17:50]:
Not from this particular instance, but we just started getting people that are like, hey, my kids out here skiing. And I’m just sitting in the bar, like, yeah, I’m here. I might as well go skiing. So anyway, this mom was. I had her on the bunny hill. She was just so tense. Tense. Like, you could just tell.

Adam Ritchie [00:18:04]:
Like, everything was, like, tight, intense, and she’s way in the back seat of

John Garrett [00:18:09]:
the skis and all terrible for skiing.

Adam Ritchie [00:18:11]:
Oh, my gosh. All terrible. Yeah, like, everything. So we went in for a break, and I kind of sat down with her. I was like, all right. So you just seem like everything is so tight, intense. And I know you’re a yoga instructor. Like, I know you’re flexible.

Adam Ritchie [00:18:24]:
I know you’re strong. Like, what’s going on? Right? And so we just kind of started having a conversation. I was like, well, are you afraid of falling? She’s like, like, not really. Like, I don’t feel like I’m going to get hurt. I’m not going to that kind of speed. She goes, but what I am worried about is getting up. I don’t know how to get up off the snow. And I see all these people laying on the snow, just struggling, trying to get off the snow.

Adam Ritchie [00:18:45]:
So after lunch, we went outside, and I did, like, three different drills with her. I’m just getting off the snow. And she, like, after that, she just opened up and was like, all right, now I know, like, if I go down, I know how to get up. It was just like. You can see this physical, like, release of, like, tension. And she started listening more. And, you know, it was. It was awesome, but it just.

Adam Ritchie [00:19:07]:
It just reminded me of, like, it could be something that we take for granted that somebody else is just locked in on. You know what I mean? And that’s in the business world, that’s in the skiing world. It’s in everything, right?

John Garrett [00:19:21]:
Yeah. I mean, because. I mean. Yeah, the first step is, oh, are you afraid of falling? And she’s like, like, not really. I’m afraid of the next step after. And you’re like, holy crap. I didn’t even know you were going two or three steps. Oh, I’m afraid of a bear coming out and eating my left leg.

John Garrett [00:19:35]:
You’re like, what are you talking about right now? Well, if this. Then this Then this. And it’s like, what? But unless you sit down and just open up and meet them where they’re at, which is the same way as a leader in business, I gotta meet you where you’re at, because I don’t know what’s going on in your head, like, what silly stories we all tell ourselves. And then when you find out, you’re like, oh, okay, well, let’s do that. And then all of a sudden, everything else just gets in line. And that’s beautiful, man. That’s so cool. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:20:02]:
Yeah. I mean, in Colorado, like, whenever I go, like, these kids are just flying around. Like, it’s just like. They’re like gnats. I mean, they have no poles. They’re just flying. They’re going 100 miles an hour, going all over the place. And you’re, like, trying to struggle to, like, you know, just make it down and also not run them, any of them over.

John Garrett [00:20:21]:
But they’re amazing because they just have no fear and they’re just letting it rest and it’s cool to see. So does the skiing side of you come out when you’re talking with clients or throughout your corporate career, have people known that about you?

Adam Ritchie [00:20:34]:
Yeah. So I’ve been teaching for the last eight years, and it’s definitely been talked about a lot in, you know, the companies that I’ve worked at or the, you know, the people I consult and things like. Like, I. I have no shame in bringing up the nice ski instructed. You know, it’s just. It’s a. It’s a fun way to connect with people. And they’re like, oh, my gosh.

Adam Ritchie [00:20:53]:
Yeah, I ski. Or I learned how to ski in high school and never since. And I’ve picked up private lessons just from, like, conversations in the office. Like, hey, I would love to learn how to ski. Will you teach me?

John Garrett [00:21:06]:
Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:21:07]:
Okay.

John Garrett [00:21:07]:
That is kind of what I do. Like.

Adam Ritchie [00:21:09]:
Yeah.

John Garrett [00:21:10]:
When I’m not here.

Adam Ritchie [00:21:10]:
Yeah. So most. Most of the time, those are like, all right, I charge in beer. We’ll go out and hang out on the hill. But the apres ski is what we’re here for.

John Garrett [00:21:21]:
You might be losing money by charging in beer. I mean, like, they’re probably kegs. Kegs of beer. Now you can’t. Yeah. No, but that’s awesome. And, like, was there ever a part of you in your brain? Because so many people are, hey, I shouldn’t share that side of me. Or it has nothing to do with my job or, you know, people are going to judge or whatever.

John Garrett [00:21:38]:
Like, was there ever That I don’t

Adam Ritchie [00:21:40]:
think so, you know, we’re human first and employees second and like your whole message about, like discovering or, you know, what you’re in telling the world about it, and like, it just creates that human connection that I don’t think a lot of companies focus on. And so, like, that’s always been a mentality of mine of like, look, I’m. Yeah, I’m a leadership coach, but I’m also a ski instructor and a father and a husband and, you know, like, all of the things. And so it’s never been a hesitation of mine to like, oh, I don’t want to tell anybody because I’m worried about how they’re going to respond. Right.

John Garrett [00:22:16]:
Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, there’s so many things, I mean, like we talked about earlier, just going on in people’s heads that, you know, they play out this narrative of what they think is going to happen. It’s all fear based. It’s all scary scarcity, mindset. It’s all that. And, and, yeah, and I mean, it’s. I like to tell people, like a dice, you know, like one die where, you know, just because one number is up doesn’t mean the other five disappeared. You know, you’re still the father, you’re still the ski instructor, you’re still, you know, whatever all these other pieces of you are.

John Garrett [00:22:42]:
Even though the work side of you is up, it doesn’t mean that the others are gone, you know, and abandoned. But that’s how a lot of people think is, nope, I’m just a one thing, and that’s all I am. And it’s. No, you’re not. Like, you’re. You’re pretty awesome, and I want to see that. And where does life flow through you most? And that’s skiing. I mean, hands down.

John Garrett [00:23:02]:
Like, I mean, your wife sees it, your kids see it, like you know it, and that’s okay. Like work sometimes it does, but skiing every time, it does, you know, and so make sure that you do the things that allow life to come through you and to feel alive and to have that human experience and be it. It’s beautiful, man. Man, I love it. That’s so cool. So do you have any words of encouragement to anyone listening or a leader that’s maybe on the fence of should I care about my people or not type of thing?

Adam Ritchie [00:23:34]:
Well, that’s an easy one.

John Garrett [00:23:36]:
Yes, I sort of lobbed you that one. But, you know. Okay, that was a bunny hill moment right there.

Adam Ritchie [00:23:44]:
Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was. Yeah. I think you Know, I think, like, the leaders that I have seen do it well are the ones that lead with empathy and recognize that. I loved your dice analogy, right? Like, recognize like, I’m holding a dice in my hand. And yes, I expect the work side to be up while they’re here, but I cannot forget that the other five sides exist, right? And so if they show up to work one day and they’re just. Just not feeling it, like one of those other five sides is taking a hit, right? And it’s like, okay, hey, let’s uncover that. Like, hey, John, I noticed that you’re.

Adam Ritchie [00:24:24]:
You’re feeling a little off today. Or it seems like you’re feeling off, like, what’s going on, right? And on the employee side, like, opening that up, you look at, like, Patrick Lencioni puts it the best, right? With the tr. The vulnerability based trust, right? Being willing to open up to the people that you work with, knowing that there’s no retribution coming.

John Garrett [00:24:46]:
Right?

Adam Ritchie [00:24:46]:
Like, somebody’s not going to throw this back in my face that my mom’s in the hospital or that my grandma just passed away. Like, those are the conversations that make us all human. And I think we need to lean into those a lot more than we do.

John Garrett [00:24:58]:
Absolutely. I love that so much. Man, that’s so perfect. So perfect. So before I wrap this up, though, since I rudely peppered you with rapid fire questions at the beginning there, let’s turn this around. Make this the Adam Ritchie podcast last. Thanks for having me on. So, yeah, so I’m all yours.

John Garrett [00:25:15]:
I’m in the hot seat.

Adam Ritchie [00:25:16]:
Awesome. So, all right. Are you a skier?

John Garrett [00:25:19]:
So not really. I grew up for part of my childhood in elementary school was in southern Ohio, so we probably had 295ft of a hill. So. Sugar Hill. Yeah, Sugar Creek Ski hill. I skied there a lot, and then nothing for a long time. Then I moved to Colorado and I picked up snowboarding. But I only go like.

John Garrett [00:25:40]:
Like, I don’t know, once or twice a year. Like, I’m not a regular. And I do snowboarding because both ankles are on the same axis. You know, skis, there’s XYZ axis. Like, you could. Both feet could be all kind of whatever, and I don’t need to break knees and ankles. Snowboarding, I’m actually okay at. So I’m like, all right.

John Garrett [00:26:00]:
Like, yeah, so. So there’s. That’s the super long answer. Like, I should have just said no. And you’d be like, well, then I don’t have any other questions. I’m Unfollowing you on L in. We are done. Like, this is it, right?

Adam Ritchie [00:26:17]:
That’s awesome. So you mentioned you’re in Colorado, right?

John Garrett [00:26:20]:
Yeah.

Adam Ritchie [00:26:21]:
What’s. All right, what’s the closest ski slash snowboard hill for you?

John Garrett [00:26:25]:
Probably Steamboat. It’s still a good hike. I’m up in Fort Collins. So which is north, which doesn’t make sense, but, like, to get to the mountains, I would have to go back down to Denver and up I 70. Or Steamboat is a little more zigzag through the mountains and get over there. There’s a small one outside of Boulder, but I’ve heard it’s pretty icy, so I. I don’t go there.

John Garrett [00:26:48]:
I haven’t been there yet. So probably Steamboat, I would say.

Adam Ritchie [00:26:52]:
I love it. All right, so what is your And? I’m sure you’ve probably gotten everybody ask you this question.

John Garrett [00:26:56]:
Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah. Definitely not snowboarding. Like, I’m okay if I didn’t do it this year. I’m like, I’m good. Because, like, this year’s been so light out here with the snow, so I haven’t even gone because I’m like, well, I don’t want to. Gonna drive all the way. And then, you know, and it’s not cheap.

Adam Ritchie [00:27:12]:
Not. No.

John Garrett [00:27:13]:
I mean, you have a boat and ski. It’s like, good Lord, man, do you just hate money? Like, what’s wrong with you? Like, why are you. No, I’m teasing.

Adam Ritchie [00:27:22]:
Why do you think I started instructing.

John Garrett [00:27:24]:
There you go.

Adam Ritchie [00:27:25]:
It’s a tax write off, brother.

John Garrett [00:27:27]:
Yeah, exactly. Now it’s all. It’s business expense. Come on now. Yeah, yeah. College football, though, for sure. Huge college football fan. Go every year in person, like at least once.

John Garrett [00:27:39]:
And then I also love going to concerts. Just it’s super cool Experience concert you went to. The last one was Ben Rector. He’s great. Like, people are like, who’s Ben Richter? I’m like, you’ve heard his songs. You just don’t know. It’s Ben Rector and he’s so talented. And then he brings along some friends and they’re people you’ve never heard of.

John Garrett [00:27:58]:
And you’re like, how have I never heard of you? This is crazy good, you know, type of a thing. Yeah. So that was the last one. It’s been a couple years.

Adam Ritchie [00:28:06]:
Where was that one at?

John Garrett [00:28:07]:
That one was actually in Milwaukee. Flew. Yeah. To Milwaukee to see him in a theater up there. I used to live in Milwaukee, so it’s kind of fun to see some friends and stuff like that. Too.

Adam Ritchie [00:28:17]:
All right, so. So you said Ohio, Milwaukee, Fort Collins. Where. Where else have you lived?

John Garrett [00:28:23]:
Oh, yeah. So I was born in Arkansas, and then my dad was in the Air Force, so we moved all the time. So then we moved to outside of St. Louis, southern Illinois, and then New Jersey, South Jersey, and then Washington, D.C. and then Dayton, Ohio, and then the Azores, which are islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. And we were there for two years. And then St. Louis, the southern Illinois again.

John Garrett [00:28:49]:
Yeah. And then after that, went to college at Notre Dame and then lived in St. Louis, in Milwaukee and Indianapolis and New York City, and now, yeah, Colorado. So that’s awesome. Yeah. So I’ve been around. Like, I. Like, some people are, like, really, really stuck to.

John Garrett [00:29:05]:
Like, if you talk poorly about your town or your city or whatever, and I’m like, well, you know, there’s good and bad. Like, I don’t. I’m good. Like, I don’t care that people are like, oh, I hate. And I’m like, well, I didn’t invent it. Like, it’s not like I built Colorado. Like, you know, like. Like, if you say something bad about my book, okay, now we’re fighting.

John Garrett [00:29:22]:
But, like, you know, but, like, you can dog. I don’t care. Like, it’s all right. Like, you know, I could also move tomorrow. I’m good.

Adam Ritchie [00:29:29]:
That’s awesome. All right, so can I ask one more question?

John Garrett [00:29:32]:
Yeah, absolutely. It’s your show. Like, who am I?

Adam Ritchie [00:29:35]:
What inspired you to write the book?

John Garrett [00:29:36]:
Ah, inspired me to write the book. I was like, how do I talk to Adam Ritchie? Like, how do I ever. People like, who’s Adam Ritchie? I’m like, I know he’s out there. No, what really inspired it was I speak a lot, and I would have people come up after saying how much it resonated with them, because it’s a deeper soul level kind of a thing that you can’t unhear. The seed is planted, and it’s gonna. It’s gonna germinate at some point. And so. But some people, it’s immediate.

John Garrett [00:30:07]:
And then they said, my manager, my leader, my whatever needed to hear this. They weren’t here. Do you have a book? Because I’m gonna try and tell them, and I’m probably gonna screw it up. Up. And I said, yeah, you’re probably right. You will. But no. So eventually, enough people asked, and I was like, okay, I guess.

John Garrett [00:30:24]:
I guess I need to write a book. Clearly, there’s a, like, message receipt. Like, you can only hit me in the face so many times before I’m like, okay, got it. Write a book, you know, type of thing. And that’s what I did. And, yeah, it’s been really cool to see how it’s impacted people and the difference it’s made. And, I mean, the fact that, like, you got a copy from someone, you know, that it’s like, holy cow. Like, this is nuts.

John Garrett [00:30:46]:
You know, like, it’s beyond the Kevin Bacon, you know, degrees of separation, you know, type of a thing. And it’s awesome, you know, stay at home parents saying that it impacted them because their kid went away to college and they forgot who they were through that whole journey. You know, people in corporate, of course, you know, they forget who they are. People are about to retire. You know, I don’t know what I’m gonna go do. Like, all these things and it’s like, well, you know, you’re a job title and. And ski instructor and ballroom dancer and like, what are those things that just light you up and just get a little bit into it? You don’t have to go full speed into it, like, fly to the Alps and go down the triple black quadruple diamond, whatever. I don’t know what, like, you know, you just got to just go to this bunny hill, like, that’s it.

John Garrett [00:31:33]:
Like, just go a little bit and it’ll feed your soul just the same. Well, thanks so much, Adam, for being a living example and being a part of this move movement.

Adam Ritchie [00:31:41]:
This has been awesome. Yeah, I appreciate you having me on and I appreciate the work that you’re doing.

John Garrett [00:31:46]:
Well, thanks, man. That means a lot and everybody listening. If you want to see some pictures of Adam on the slopes or connect with him on social media, be sure to go to www.WhatsYourAnd.com. All the links are there, and while you’re on the page, please click that big button. Do the anonymous research survey about corporate culture, and don’t forget to read the book. So thanks again for subscribing on Apple podcasts or whatever app you use and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread that who you are is so much more than what you do.