Welcome to How Leaders Lead, where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Ray Scott, President and CEO of the Lear Corporation. Now that's not the Lear Jet Company you might be thinking of. It's the Lear Corporation and actually, if you're listening to this in your car , you might be using one of their products right now. That's because they provide seating and electronic systems to major automotive brands. And by the way, they were just named one of Fortune's most admired companies. I actually had the chance to speak to their global leadership team recently and I was blown away by the culture and by Ray's leadership. And I just knew you had to hear from him too. Now since he took over in 2018, Ray has had to lead through COVID, supply chain issues, inflation, and rising fuel prices. I mean, good grief. It's really been one challenge after another. But Ray hasn't let those short-term pressures keep him from focusing on long- term strategy. He knows how critical it is to keep innovating and planning so they can be successful when those tough short-term situations finally change. He's got some really practical advice for you too. So keep listening and see what happens when you never lose sight of what's next . So here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours, Ray Scott. You know, I first met you when I had the honor of speaking at your leadership conference this past year and I witnessed firsthand just how much your people respected you. So I just had to have you on this podcast. So thanks. Yeah, that was a great day. I'll tell you, I still get really positive feedback from your presentation and just being with the team. It was a really special day for us too. Yeah, we had a little improvise for all our listeners out there. The electricity went out at this hotel we're in. So the team, the LIR team quickly moved, got everybody set up outside within 45 minutes and we just went on with our business. So I was impressed with the way your team responded in sort of a crisis situation. Well, David, you got to see firsthand. I mean, we pride ourselves on managing through all kinds of different situations and that was no different than how we handle ourselves day to day too. So really proud of the team. Yeah, you know, I obviously got to learn about your company and you're a world- class auto supply company. But I have to admit, when I first heard the name of your company, I thought it was Lear Jets. Give us a quick history on LIR Corporation and the business you're really in. That's what everyone thinks first. Lear Jets and LIR Corporation. Actually, I've been with LIR for 34 years. So I've been around quite a long time and you know, LIR, when I first started, was about $600 million in revenue and really trying to find their way. Very creative, innovative company, but we were looking at how we could just in time seat systems for major OEMs or customers around the world, General Motors, Ford , Chrysler, that time, you know, BMW, Mercedes. And they grew through what was a leveraged buyout at that time. And so a small company, management had put their money in the company. So it was treated with a lot of emphasis and focus on cash and generating cash and really growing the business. And you know, back then, David, I was new in the company and to think of it today versus then is like, there was days that I wasn't even sure I get paid. You know, they would actually talk about and I explained it to some of the team members today say, yeah, Friday was supposed to be payday, but if we have cash, we'll pay if we don't have cash. Yeah, you're going to have to wait another week. And so I thought that was normal. I thought that was a lesson. At least I have a job and we're doing a lot of great things. So there's a lot of opportunities through the company at that time because we 're changing so fast. And then to fast forward to today, a $20 billion company that's focused on just in time seating, the most vertically integrated company when we talk about seating to all the major OEMs around the world. And we also supply power distribution and electronic components for electric vehicles and traditional vehicles, the ICE vehicles. And so today, 170,000 employees, over 260 plants worldwide, the leader in both seating and power distribution. So I couldn't be more proud to be at Lear Corporation. It truly is a remarkable company from where we started to where we're at today. Yeah, think about that. You almost like in bankruptcy, now you're on the fortunes most admired list and you're a leader in your industry for sure. You know, when I was just thinking about the auto industry itself, you've got all kinds of headwinds these days. You've got inflation, supply chain challenges, high gas prices. I imagine that's the triple witchy now or for your business. Tell us about some of the things you do to keep your team energized in such a tough environment. You're right. There's been so many different challenges. And one thing that from my perspective, it's about the people and making sure we keep that focused not just on the short term, but focused on the long term strategy and really have that optimistic look on no matter what challenges we are going to be faced with that we have a plan that we know what we're doing. We're putting ourselves in not just a good position today, but a better position for the future and communicating that throughout the company. And you know, when I think back through the most recent events and David, you know, I took over the CEO job back in, it would have been 2018, March. And I had these great plans, a great, you know, strategy, you know, knew exactly where we were going. The company was a great position. And then we saw the Chinese declined in production, vehicle production, we saw one of our major OEs go through a strike for multiple months. And right after that was the COVID and then the supply chain crisis and, you know, the inflationary costs that we're dealing with. But you know, through all that, what we've really done is tried to keep it very simple so that the teams could really understand what we're focused on, why we're focused on specific areas and making sure we're managing them day to day. And so I think when you can make it simple, it's very easy to motivate and inspire and help the team out in respect to where we're going to be long term so that there is an end of this. You know, right now focus on what we can control, but long term we're also balancing our strategic initiatives to be in a stronger position. You know, you are a great simplifier and just your mission of your company of making every drive better. I think that kind of really gets people up every day and ready to go. When you had your leadership development conference, Ray, what did you really want to achieve from that? The primary goal was one, getting the team back together. We have not really been as a team in an environment where we can actually network and talk and communicate collectively as a global team. So that was really one priority. But I think equally as important David was making sure we're sharing the accomplishments that we achieved over the past several years. You know, when you get into a situation where every day is a grind and you're working through, it's kind of hard to see the forest through all the trees in some respects that it was appropriate to step back and recognize the teams. And I got asked questions, you know, why are we having this review? Now we have a lot of work going on. We have inflationary costs, remaining shutdown situations or potential shutdown situations with our customers, a lot going on. I felt if we didn't take a step back and recognize the great people of this company, that that could get missed. And you know, there's a number of things that we accomplished that I couldn't be more proud of. And when I was up talking to the team, I don't even think they realized collectively what we had accomplished. We were the first ones early on because of we have four plants in Wuhan that we were experiencing what was going on with quarantine and shutdowns and specific around PPE equipment. And in February of 2020, I looked at the teams because we have textiles. I said, listen, we got to help our employees out. We got to help our teams out and their family members. I didn't realize, I learned more about mass and 95 mass. I never cared to know, but what we had to do was do something to respond to the situation. So we started manufacturing our own mass. Did you do that out of your plants? We did it out of our facilities. And yeah, the first goal was to help our employees out in China. And then we realized quickly that Italy was obviously getting into a situation where we had to help out Italy. And then we realized, listen, we're going to start producing mass around the world for all of our 260 facilities and their families. So we quickly in February of 2020 converted our plants to producing PPE equipment. And then we got in the situation where we took a step back and went into shutdown. We didn't have any real playbook that we could use to really help our plants, not just from a manufacturing perspective, but from, you know, I caught the ability to actually run a play that best protects the people in the manufacturing plant suite. We actually put together this playbook. It was downloaded over 45,000 times. But the intent of that playbook was standardized all of our plants. So we ran, you know, the same across every one of our facilities with the same type of PPE equipment, same type of protocols, the same type of attention to the people to protect them. And so these are just some of the examples, David. But when we came together as a leadership team, I thought it was really important to take a step back, recognize all the great accomplishments, and then look forward to what we're going to achieve as we get through these different challenges. But equally as important, understanding where we're going. You know, hats off to your team, because as I understand that you actually manufactured 11 million in 95 masks, you distributed them to schools, orphanages and hospitals, and your pandemic playbook, you opened up to not just your own company, but to everybody else in your industry and anybody that wanted to take a look at it. What made you have that kind of broad view? What I realized when I read through the manual at that time, I said, wow, this is really incredible. I mean, it's going to help us. Could have been used as a competitive advantage to really get ahead. But I thought, you know, we got to do the right thing here. We got to get this out to companies that are smaller than us. Companies that didn't have the insight weren't familiar enough with what was going on in China several months prior and send it out. And I called our general counsel the night before it. And David, you know, you go through these decisions and it was on one hand going, wow, I don't want this to be perceived as we know at all, because we didn't. Very humble. We're still learning, but we did have some best practices. We did protect ourselves and make sure that we talked about what the manual was about. But, you know, do I put it out? Do I give this to our competitors? Do I give it to the supply base? You know, how will this be perceived? All those things were going through my head. But then the day we did the right thing, we did send it out. And I didn't know I had no idea. David, that was going to be downloaded, you know, over 45,000 times. I had so many people come up to me from other industries, you know, if it's a grocery store or a church or a hospital that said, listen, we used your manual. Thank you very much for sharing that. We didn't understand the differences and how you would put different procedures in. And so I, like I said, I couldn't be more proud of the team, but it was something that at that moment, I wasn't sure how it would be perceived. And it was received very positively. And I do think we were able to save lives based on protecting people in the plant. And I stayed all the time, you know, everyone in every situation, we treat our plants like our family. We all work for the plants in the way I look at it. And we got to make sure our plants are running and make sure that they understand exactly what to do in any situation. As the CEO of the company, Ray, I know you've obviously got top to top relationships with your biggest customers. And I was just thinking with all the supply chain issues that are going on, it 's pretty difficult to make everybody happy all the time from a customer perspective. Tell us a story, if you could, about a difficult situation you had in terms of getting the customers' expectations in line with what you could really deliver given the supply chain. Different regions had different levels of requirements. For example, down in Mexico, we could only bring in 80% of our workforce. And they had different status, red, green, yellow on what you could produce. And if you broke those rules, you're going to be shut down. We were very mindful of what rules were in what place and what country. And having those conversations with a customer that's in North America, ch ipping or building and manufacturing out of North America, and then by getting components from Mexico, we're very challenging. And you go through these conversations explaining, yeah, but I'm only unlimited to this output. Well, shut down your other customers and use that output for us. So these conversations were balancing the whole ability to ship parts, but also managing multiple customers out of a facility. And so I'm not kidding. I would get into a conversation with a customer and say, yeah, but 80% is 100% of our volume requirement. Yeah, but then I have to shut down another customer. Okay, we'll shut down the other customer. So it was these conversations around, I have to have balance here. And so they weren't easy conversations because when everyone came back up and we're running, they wanted 100% of their products. And unfortunately, we had to manage and balance these situations. And there's always that you have to have respect and you have to go in. I always say, it's not perfect, but you're going to have to work with us. And so having those open dialogues that I think at the right level are really what can help ease some of those very, very difficult conversations. Yeah, I can tell just by the way, you're talking about, yeah, a lot of them. Hey, you know, because you're listening to this, I can tell you're the kind of person who wants to learn how to lead well. But there's a lot of companies out there who want to take that desire and charge you $500 or $1,000 or heck, even $20,000 to try and show you how to lead. That's just not right. If you want to be a better leader, I believe you deserve to have access to something that will truly help you. And it shouldn't cost a fortune. So I want you to go to howleaderslead.com and start my leadership class. It's really and truly free. And after you take this class, you're going to feel more confident in your role and you'll be on your way to getting big things done with your team. Go check it out at howleaderslead.com. Great. You've got a great reputation for navigating the short-term challenges and then at the same time preparing for the future. What specifically do you do to lead the car, interior industry into the future? Those conflicted times, David. It's like, there's short-term my team's always, I'm in the forecast review is going through. Obviously, we have a mindset of achieving the short-term goals, the poorly earnings, those type of fun things. And then at the same time, we have very, very specific goals and where we want to take the company strategically and some of those investments and things conflict with what we're trying to do short-term. And so it's that balance. And I find in the automotive industry, that's that fear of failure, you can't fail. There's some mentality of every day you're delivering, from quality expectations to delivery to meeting the efficiencies or costs our customers are looking for. Longer term, you have to open up your mind and you have to think and shape it differently. And think about in some respects, displacing yourself or how the world can look five, ten years from now. And so those are two critically different ways of running the business. And so we have individuals that are very focused on execution, the tactical play day to day. And then we have teams and I, you know, I've separated those teams that are much more focused on where the business is going to go. You know, not chasing parts, but chasing the future as far as where strategically we can go. And what I've learned is those are two different talents. And so setting those teams up independently, looking at how we can, you know, drive sustainable materials, how we're going to drive thermal comfort solutions for heat and cool , how we're going to drive electrification with empowered distribution. Those teams are really set up to position us long term. And so I think having that balance is very important, you know, and having the right skill sets, the people around that that have the right capabilities is equally as important. When I started at Leer Corporation, six hundred million dollars, you know, not making money, trying to drive free cashflow today, where we actually have doctors within the organization that are set on your anthropometric measurements, your bio readings, your, the heat and cooling elements. So I mean, the sophistication and technology where we're seeing the future of the auto space, particularly around seating and electrification are critical. And that type of talent is required with the execution. You know, tell us about smart seats and what we have to look forward to down the road. Well, like I said, I've been in seating for 34 years and I still get in a seat today that has 24 different features and I have no idea how to work it. So I'm comfortable. And so I'm in that position. You know, we started in looking at what I believe is the future is a smart seat . It's an intuitive seat that I believe, you know, based on your own measurements to build getting a seat that will set it up for comfort for you. And the technology is there. We have incredible software engineers have been working on the ability to change the seat dynamically as you ride. And so there isn't this positioning my wife's in the seat. One moment I'm in the seat, the next moment, it doesn't fit me right because we know over time your body will change dynamically. You know, as you come home from work, you're slouching, you come in the office, you're more ready to go. So how do you change the seat that it's much more intuitive? So, you know, that's one that we're working with our customers on that I think is a great solution. I think also a big one is the whole HVAC area where you can heat and cool the occupant. You know, David, I would love and I say this, there's times I got the HVAC on, it's highs go go, and then other times I got as lows and go for heat. I just rather the environment read my preferences. I want my body temperature at X degrees regardless if it's 90 degrees out or 20 degrees out. You know, I don't want to go through that process. I want, you know, that to be something that's more intuitive and also the draw on the battery is significant with the HVAC as opposed to heating and cooling the occupant within the seat. And so we've been developing all these different technologies and acquiring the right companies to vertically integrate those type of capabilities that when you walk in, very similar to everything we walk in today from your devices at home to your phone, something more intuitive, something smart. I think the flexibility within the environment too is changing where you have much more flexible architectures with seating. And so, you know, we have this powered rail system that allows reconfigur ability within the vehicle to give consumers the ultimate flexibility to reposition their vehicles. And so there's a lot going on. I think standing still and thinking about how it is today will be that way in the future is absolutely the wrong approach. You know, couldn't be more excited about sustainable materials, recyclable materials. I mean, that is the future and we're all over it. And like I said earlier on, you have to get the right talent in that can think differently. You brought up materials in my research. I understand one of the innovations that you have right now is actually coming from a baby crib. Tell us about that. Right now today, we manufacture foam products for seats and it's, it uses different chemicals and so I put a big emphasis on replacing TDI and MDI in the seats. And environmentally, it's staggering the amount of CO2 emissions and waste that we can take out of the systems by replacing those different chemicals. And so the team has done a remarkable job on different alternatives. And right now, yes, we are working on a breathable, more flexible, recyclable material that I believe is significantly better from a comfort perspective, but more importantly, is much more environmentally friendly. And so we're pretty close to really getting that out. You know, we're working with several customers today on the applications and the technical specifications and testing. But I do see that the world will change away from these products that we're producing today to much more environmentally friendly products. And we've looked at every different products and you're right. But now the application is used in baby mattresses for the reason or breath ability. I want to get more into how you lead, but I want to shift gears and put it into reverse. And yes, that is pun intended here. You know, where'd you grow up and tell us about your neighborhood? Yeah, I grew up in a Flint, Michigan. I couldn't be more proud and fortunate to have grown up in Flint. And I know Flint has a reputation for a lot of different reasons and a lot of the different challenges that Flint has been faced with. But you know, Flint was the early start where General Motors, birthplace of General Motors, obviously, we had the sit down strikes in Flint back in the 1930s. And it's a very hard working city. Obviously, they've been through significant challenges ups and downs. But the people of Flint are incredible. And I learned quite a bit just growing up in Flint about being humble, remaining humble. My parents were very young when they had me. My mom was 19 years old. My dad was 20. My dad was working, trying to put himself through school. So we didn't have a lot of money. And so I do recall, you know, I used to live on a Olympic-Totten Dort in what probably is considered the projects. It was subsidized living. And we had to move from there. I know because it got a little rough. And I think my mom got tired of me getting into disputes with other people in the neighborhood and sometimes coming home a little beat up. But, you know, we did move, but, you know, I remember growing up in really tough neighborhoods. What advice can you give others who aren't exactly born with a silver spoon? Take on challenges others won't. You know, it's something I've learned that stressed and helped me grow. And you know, you put yourselves in uncomfortable situations for the reason to grow. And I've always found that if I'm always working in a situation where it's helping me grow, those are the greatest things that I look back on as an opportunity. I don't think I recognize it at the time. And give you an example, you know, I was 34 years old. My wife had her master's degree. She was very successful in her own career. We had two young kids, four and two at the time. I was asked if I'd be willing to move over to Sweden to take on a business that wasn't doing well. And I knew that I should have, that was a problem when I was the only one raising my hand to go, David. I was like, why doesn't anyone else want this great opportunity? You know, I said, I got over there and I vividly remember staring at the ceiling going, man, did I screw up? This is too much. The individual that was replacing his job was getting fired that week. I was on the ground in Trollhot in Sweden. You know, we weren't sophisticated yet with expats and how to get people on the ground. So there wasn't a lot of people helping me out. I remember I had, we were moving into his house and he's getting fired. I'm taking over his house and his job and he's still trying to get his stuff out while I'm moving in and then to go in the office and there's a, you know, a number of things that were going on with shutting down the customer, losing money, employee retention. Boy, I stretched myself and at the time, like I said, in the moment, I was like , this is the biggest mistake I've ever made. What have I done to my family? I vividly remember staring at the ceiling going, what are you doing? Why did you do this? And it wasn't until years later in Long Story Short, you know, we were able to work the business. It actually turned around successful with a lot of hard work, but I really learned a ton and getting through that assignment and then coming back was five years later, I realized, boy, did that change my leadership style? Did it change who I am? Did it stretch me beyond who I am? So I do tell anyone looking for advice is that you've got to put yourself in uncomfortable situations and sometimes you can't even think that you can do that type of job or be successful, but when you are, it's so gratifying and so rewarding and it has helped shape me. Ray, I know you've said you like to surround yourself with people that tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Give us an example when that happened and how you handled it. It does take some work and one thing is I think you have to create the right environment that where people feel comfortable, that they can talk openly and that they're heard. And you know, I've been in different points in my career where I felt like I'm in a conference room or in a meeting where I'm reluctant to say something because you can be criticized or somebody's going to give you a quick feedback on why that's not a smart way of looking at it or whatever reason. I mean, we've all been in those situations where you want to give your honest assessment, but you don't feel comfortable. So I think creating that atmosphere where it's okay to open up and talk in a very trustful environment that you feel like you're being heard. And so that does take some time. There's examples where I've sat and means where I think one individual is being a little bit too hard on an individual for their opinion and I have to kind of shut it down, but that's unacceptable. That's unacceptable. Everyone has an idea. Let's just hear it out and then we'll make a decision because there are times I 've actually, David, I feel like I have this answer. I got it. I know it. And then when I hear the team and I listen to them very objectively and hear their different thoughts and ideas, I've changed. I've moved 180. And so on the same side, when you feel like you're not getting somebody's straight up opinion, you got to call them out a little bit on that. And we call it the yes, no, maybe answers. I'm not sure what the answer was. I think you're trying to wait to see where I'm at and then you'll land on where you think I'm positioned or where my thoughts are as opposed to saying, "Hang on here." Let's go back to that. Specifically, what do you think and why are you thinking that way? And so forcing individuals to come to a meeting or a, you know, it's some type of discussion with strong opinions that they understand, they know what they want to do, and then they're ready to communicate that. And I think having a very inclusive and diverse group of people really helps. That's one thing I've learned is, you know, through my career, you know, sitting in a room where everyone thinks exactly the way I think is not the way to lead. We'll be back with the rest of my conversation with Ray Scott in just a moment. As you've heard us talk about, Ray isn't afraid to take on the challenges others won't because he knows that's where all the good growth happens. That's the same career path that Marvin Ellison followed on his way to becoming CEO of Lowe's. Would you believe in every new role in Marvin's career, he has taken over for someone who's been fired or forced out? Listen, if you want to distinguish yourself as a leader, you've got to be willing to tackle the tough assignments like Marvin has. I've had a lot of tough assignments and I learned early on that the best way to move forward is sometimes to take assignments that no one else wants, that no one else has attracted to, that people are looking frowned upon because they don't think that there's a pathway to success. But when you don't have sponsors, when you don't have an Ivy League education, when you don't have mentors with influence, results matter. And so I'm taking a lot of those tough assignments because I want to demonstrate that I can lead. I can listen to my entire conversation with Marvin, episode 28 here on How Leaders Lead. You say, Ray, that diversity is very personal for you. Tell us a story that really affected your commitment to diversity. I talked a little bit about going to Sweden and that was one of the most challenging experiences of my career, but I grew more there in that time than I have through any other time in my career. And I remember, you know, I first got to Sweden and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I'm the American, I know what to do, we're going to run this business, we're going to get back on the tracks and be successful. And so I had a mindset of how he's going to lead. And I had no respect for the Swedish culture or the people and maybe their understanding of how you motivate and inspire. And so I was getting grievances written up against me every single day from the Works Council. And because they have a white collar, blue collar union. And so I was like, what are these grievances? Well, I'm not letting people participate. I'm not letting people's voice be heard. I mean, it was, I think I may have had the record for grievances in a short period of time. Just taking this back, well, I don't really care. We're going to run this. It's not successful. I know how to make it successful. And so what I realized was, I gave you another example was I called in, we had a great program manager in Sweden. And I called them in and I said, listen, I want to promote you in charge of all the program managers. You are a great leader, an exceptional leader. And generally they're all kind of reporting you anyway. So I don't promote you. He goes, I don't want to be promoted. And I go, what do you mean you want to be promoted? And he's like, I have everything I want. I'll still do this job. But I said, no, no, you have to manage it. There has to be a hierarchy. I want to make sure you're responsible. I go, you get a car. I go, everybody wants a car. You get a company car. Because why do I want a car? I go, because you get to come to work in a car. He goes, I have a bike. I'm like, give a bike. I go, well, OK, but it rains here all the time. He goes, Ray, there's no bad weather. There's just poorly dressed people. And so I'm like, OK, so you're going to get more money. I want more money. I'll be considered different than my friends. I'm like, OK, so then he started negotiating vacation time as opposed to a raise. And what it made me realize was I was very one dimensional when I went to Sweden. This is how you lead. This is how you motivate people. And it's different. And so now when I communicate, it doesn't matter if I'm communicating Germany or Asia to Sweden, you have to have respect for that the diversity of thought and inclusion in different ways, because it's not one way to motivate or inspire. That is a major passion. And obviously, one of my goals at Lear is to create a much more diverse, much more inclusive company, not just because it's the right thing to do, because you get much better results. There's no question about it from my experience and what I've seen. It's interesting, Ray, you've been in this company. I think you said 34 years. What advice can you give to someone in terms of how to climb up the corporate ladder? Because you're a great example of it. One thing, I see a lot of people chasing dollars. I go to a company because I get to make more money. That's how I have to climb up the corporate ladder is to take as many jobs as I can. And particularly today, it's funny, I talk to the younger generation, David. And I say, yeah, I've been here 34 years. And they look at me like, what did you do wrong? It's not common to have individual state of company for a long period of time. It's kind of known that you have to bounce and get different experiences to be successful. And that is one way of achieving maybe results. But I think it's more about listen. You find a company that you fit and that you belong and that you're being treated with the certain amount of ability to be empowered and get results the right way. And I always say, listen, if you're happy within that and then obviously you want to grow, it gets back to that taken on challenges others won't. And it's interesting, I have a lot of individuals who come to me and say, hey, I listen, I want to be a VP in five years, if I'm not a VP in five years, I'm unsuccessful. But there's no clear path. It says if you do this for a year, then you'll go here, then you do this for two years. I think it's more about looking around and taking on challenges that others won't. I do think it starts with, do you like the company, your end, do you fit? Is there the right amount of flexibility and empowerment to achieve your goals? And if that's so, then you start working on, how do I take on those challenges that others won't? - You know, Ray, this has been a lot of fun and I want to have a little bit more with you here before I let you go. I want to do a lightning round of questions. So are you ready for this? - I'm ready. - Okay. What three words would others use to best describe you? - Oh, I'd hope that they'd say that I'm humble. There's humility with who I am and that I've never really forgotten where I've come from. - A lot of people would say that I'm very competitive. I think I compete on every single level, not just from a business perspective, but personally. I hope the last one is just that candid and honest that I speak my mind in a very respectful way, but you're going to get a lot of honesty from me. - If you could be one person for a day besides yourself, who would it be and why? - I'd love to be my kids. (laughing) I think they got it made. Now I would take a moment in time and I think about this quite a bit and David, you probably do too with sports is like what would it be like to be Tom Brady winning one the Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in that moment? You know, success over time is recognized over a longer period of time for someone in the business world. In that type of setting, all that hard work, all that dedication, all that commitment, in some respects is recognized in that moment. I mean, how cool would that be to be in one of those moments? Now you could pick the US Open, you could pick anything Super Bowl, I mean, to be an individual in that type of moment that recognizes all their accomplishments on a particular time, that would be special. - That would be, I agree. What's your biggest pet pee? - Just be honest, be truthful. - What's the first car you ever drove? - My first car was a Chevy Nova, 1976 Chevy Nova. - If you got in your car and you turned on the radio, what would you hear? (laughing) - Probably Billy Squire. (laughing) So you got your undergrad, I believe, at Michigan, and you got your, your masters at Michigan State. So when those two teams play each other, who do you root for? - It'd be Michigan State. My two boys went to Michigan State and graduated and my daughter's going there this fall. So, you know, where my dollars are going is Michigan State. So, and I'm usually sitting around watching the game with them. It would not be a pretty sight if I'm sitting there wearing mazes and blue in front of them. So, I respect their college and where they went. And we really have a good time as a family, but be Michigan State. - What's something about you a few people would know? - I think, like I said earlier, how competitive I am. I get a little bit too competitive with things that, you know, from how I sleep, you know, to how I maintain my health to cornhole. It gets a little bit, a little bit much. - I think my family would probably know more about that than anyone outside of the bicycle of trust. In your life, you know, you talked about Tom Brady, what it'd be like to win that Super Bowl. What's a, it can't be real moment for you. - When I got the CO job back in 2018, you know, it's, you're working hard to get the job. And then when you get there, taking a step back thinking about, okay, is this real? You know, and okay, it is. Now let's get busy, but, you know, that was a really special day in my life. And I remember David, you know, the board told me they were going, listen, it's a very lonely job. And I'm like, what do you mean it's a very lonely job? I got all kinds of people around me, 170,000. Boys, this is a real deal, but you get into those real moments when you're like, okay, well, you know, the decisions stop here, this is where you got to make the decision, those are the lonely moments, but that would probably be a surreal moment. I also know the thing. My family, I mean, and I think about how fortunate I am, I love my family and, you know, my kids, and every time they achieve something from getting engaged to a job or something like that, I really have an emotional moment to kind of take a step back and say, wow, this is really cool stuff. I mean, to have the gang that I have that I surround myself with, they make me take a step back and think about how fortunate I am. You know, I understand you started dating your wife when you were in the eighth grade. Talk about a partnership. What's made your marriage work all these years and how do you make the work-life balance thing happen? We've been together since high school and she's a special person and I'll tell you, I think it's that flexibility, you know, how we've made it work is having an open mind. You know, she's been great. She's, like I said earlier, she's done some great things to really allow me to be successful. And I think she's incredibly successful with all philanthropic work that she does today and she keeps extremely busy really helping out the community where, you know, we live. And so I think having that balance where she's doing the things that she loves and I'm doing the things that I love. And as far as maintaining that type of balance between life and work, I think, listen, it just works its way out. I know I can't prioritize everything and I tell everyone at Lear, listen, you have to focus on family. You're not successful. If your family's not successful, if you don't feel successful at home, it is very difficult to come into the workplace and be successful. And so there's times when I find myself and prioritize things in the family that are above everything else. You know, I got a story when I was younger. One of our CEOs was, it was work, work, work, you know, and family was in some respects second, but I was always prioritizing certain things. I wouldn't miss my son's football games as a senior. I knew there's other games I missed, but there's certain games I would not miss, or certain events I would not miss. And, you know, I'd get ridiculed from my peers and even some respects from my boss on, listen, you're not committed to work. It was later in life that that individual come back to me and say, you know what, I know I gave you the raspberries and probably shouldn't have, but you did the right thing. I wish I would have focused more on the family than I did, but it was at that moment, but it took a lot of hardship in making that a priority and dedicating myself to very, very specific events that I would not miss, despite whatever else might be going on. And I think my family recognizes that, and I think that's the way you really have to manage it to have some balance in your life. Because like I say, listen, if you're not happy and your family's not happy, I promise you that's carrying over the workplace. And so you have to just make sure you're balancing appropriately. - Last question, Ray. What's the one most important piece of advice you have for aspiring leaders? - I think that you have to make sure you're getting results the right way. And I've said this over and over again with the team is that you're gonna have to continue to drive. And I think the second one is you're gonna have to kind of stretch yourself. You know, you gotta put yourself in uncomfortable positions if you really wanna grow. I think everything else you're gonna have to work through, but those are the two things I really talk about when I'm sitting down with people saying, "Listen, this is what I recommend that you look at." - Ray, I wanna thank you so much for taking the time. Congratulations on the tremendous company that you're building. And, you know, I can't wait for some of these new seats to come out. You're right though. I am one of those guys where you have all this technology in the car and I don't know how to use it. You know, so I want the, you know, you're getting this smart seat that can take for me. I can't wait for that. - You got it, David. We'll get you one. I'll let you see it. It'll be great. (silence) - You know, talking to Ray, I'm really struck by his sense of balance. Balancing tough industry realities with what his clients need. Balancing his family with his responsibilities at work and balancing leers short-term goals with their long-term strategies. And that last one can be really tricky. How many times have you had to set aside a big picture project because some issue cropped up and you had to go deal with that instead? It's really tough when that happens. I've been there too, but you can't let those immediate pressures dictate your days. No matter what your role is, every leader needs to spend time planning for what's next. I actually had a plaque on my desk that said, what's next? This week, I want you to ask yourself what you need to do to keep the future top of mind for you. Protect that time and do what you need to do to make it a priority, no matter what else is happening. So do you wanna know how leaders lead? What we learned today is the great leaders never lose sight of what's next. Coming up on how leaders lead, just in time for your March Madness bracket, I'm talking with ESPN's number one basketball analyst and the number one analyst in college basketball period, Jay Billis. In my career, it has been less about flash and more about substance. I've stuck to the substance of the job rather than the flash of it because I think in today's world, you can get caught up in being an entertainer instead of honoring the job and saying the right thing at the right time in the right tone. And that's what I really think my job is. - So be sure to come back again next week to hear our entire conversation. Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of How Leaders Lead, where every Thursday you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. I make it a point to give you something simple on each episode that you can apply to your business so that you will become the best leader you can be. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (buzzing)