This episode of On Point features an interview with Rob Schneider, Chief Content, Development and Strategy Officer at Learfield. Rob has an accomplished background in corporate development and strategy. He drives innovation and acceleration across the content, data, and digital product teams at Learfield. In this role, he strategizes on how to support growth and development within the sports, media, and entertainment industries.
This episode of On Point features an interview with Rob Schneider, Chief Content, Development and Strategy Officer at Learfield. Rob has an accomplished background in corporate development and strategy. He drives innovation and acceleration across the content, data, and digital product teams at Learfield. In this role, he strategizes on how to support growth and development within the sports, media, and entertainment industries.
Rob currently serves on the advisory boards of Stadia Ventures, Courtside Ventures, and Big Media Holdings. Rob served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, graduating with honors from the United States Military Academy and earned his MBA at the Columbia Business School.
In this episode of On Point, Rob talks about why he commissioned for infantry and how networking was so important to help him advance professionally after serving in the military. He discusses the steps it took to get his career started, including the importance of transitioning to new experiences and executive leadership roles. As well, Rob provides insights on sports and video gaming, and how Learfield is at the forefront of their future.
---------------
“Ultimately, my job here is the same as being a platoon leader in a lot of regards, right. I mean, it's to provide direction, it's to provide resources, to clear the brush so my team can be successful. It's important that I stay close to the business, not micromanage it. But, be close enough to appreciate the challenges that my team has and help build the trust and respect in experience to get things done. Let them know that we're all in the trenches together.” - Rob Schneider
---------------
(1:48) Segment: AAR - After Action Review
(3:53) Rob’s West Point experience
(6:13) Why Rob commissioned for infantry
(7:47) Rob’s experience shifting gears post military
(10:32) Networking after West Point
(11:55) Segment: Situation Report
(16:00) Rob’s experience at Learfield
(17:16) Why Rob remains at Learfield
(18:47) Rob on the importance of transitioning to new experiences
(20:53) Impact of COVID on Learfield
(23:00) How Learfield is approaching esports
(25:33) Rapid fire questions
(27:44) Segment: Standard Operating Procedure
(29:51) How Rob’s West Point experience shaped him as a leader
(32:26) Segment: Giving Back
---------------
West Point Association of Graduates
[00:00:00] Narrator: Hello and welcome to On Point.
This episode of On Point features an interview with Rob Schneider, Chief Content, Development and Strategy Officer at Learfield. Rob has an accomplished background in corporate development and strategy. He drives innovation and acceleration across the content, data, and digital product teams at Learfield. In this role, he strategizes on how to support growth and development within the sports, media, and entertainment industries.
Rob currently serves on the advisory boards of Stadia Ventures, Courtside Ventures, and Big Media Holdings. Rob served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, graduating with honors from the United States Military Academy and earned his MBA at the Columbia Business School.
In this episode of On Point, Rob talks about why he commissioned for infantry and why networking was so important to help him advance professionally after serving in the military. He discusses the steps it took to get his career started, including the importance of transitioning to new experiences and executive leadership roles. Rob also provides insights on sports and video gaming, and how Learfield is at the forefront of their future.
Now, please enjoy this interview between Rob Schneider, and your hosts, Tim Hsia and Lance Dietz.
[00:01:18] Tim Hsia: Welcome to OnPoint. I'm Tim Hsia, class of 2004
[00:01:21] Lance Dietz: and I'm Lance Dietz, class of 2008
[00:01:23] Tim Hsia: and today we're joined by Rob Snyder. Rob, how are you?
[00:01:27] Rob Schneider: I'm doing well guys. Thanks for having me.
[00:01:28] Tim Hsia: We're going to get into our first segment a R or for our non-military listeners after action review. In this segment, we'd like to touch on specifically what other veterans can learn from you, your process, and your journey. Could you please share your decision to attend West Point?
[00:01:42] Tim Hsia: I grew up
[00:01:42] Rob Schneider: in a family where service was really integral to our being by grandmother. She grew up in Nazi Germany. My father escaped from communist, Romania being an American. And all that means in terms of our freedoms was something I had real firsthand experience in terms of what it meant [00:02:00] when you didn't have those things.
[00:02:01] Rob Schneider: At the same time, I've always been drawn to the arts and into creative endeavor. I grew up outside of Woodstock, New York, which as the name implies there, a lot of truth to that. It's a heavy concentration of the creative class. And whether it was service or something more creatively oriented, it's always been important to me to be part of something that's bigger and more meaningful and more impactful than just your typical nine to five job.
[00:02:26] Rob Schneider: Going back specifically to your question, though, in terms of deciding on west point, my decision was really between west point and NYU film school. So two very different roads to go down in life. And I knew I couldn't wake up when I was 40 and decide that that was the time I wanted to join the army. So it was pretty straightforward in terms of what.
[00:02:43] Rob Schneider: To take first, you know, what I didn't really appreciate at the time was how complimentary those two sort of endeavors really are generally when people think about the military, they think about training and rules and rigidity, you know, things not typically [00:03:00] associated with creativity, but in reality, that importance of the discipline, the leadership decision-making.
[00:03:06] Rob Schneider: Uh, that the military instills is because you have to operate in such a sort of high stakes, ambiguous environment with limited and imperfect information and resources. And so I can't think of anything that's more creative than that. So I think set, set me up well for when I got out and returned to my other passion, which was being involved in creative fields, media entertainment, and.
[00:03:31] Tim Hsia: Let's talk
[00:03:32] Tim Hsia: a bit more though, about west point I saw you're a double major. That's no easy feat. I saw that your golden child given the bicentennial class, could you elaborate on your west point experience?
[00:03:43] Rob Schneider: Yeah, happy to. I was a double major. I was a glutton for punishment, but that's to say the least, but it was always about trying to maximize the experience.
[00:03:50] Rob Schneider: Particularly for me at west point, I was probably more academically oriented than military oriented. When I was there. I never had the shiny issues, although I never. [00:04:00] Walk the ton of hours or anything like that. I was pretty down the middle in that regard, but on the academic side, definitely leaned into that.
[00:04:07] Rob Schneider: And frankly, probably going to graduated a semester or two early, if it was just that they allowed for something like that, just based on the amount of credits, but I just had great teachers, great classes, and I just didn't want to leave any rock them for, were
[00:04:20] Rob Schneider: there any mentors or classes or any things that stood out at the time and now looking back.
[00:04:28] Rob Schneider: One of the things I really learned there and then took it to grad school and just really life in general. It's so much more about like the peas. It's so much more about the teachers than the courses. I got way more out of a course that like you read the. Syllabus, you might say, oh, it doesn't sound that interesting.
[00:04:45] Rob Schneider: But then working with a really great instructor, one of my majors was comparative politics. Colonel Jed, that eventually general in Dean was one of the instructors was leading that major actually. And she was amazing Colonel Parker [00:05:00] who taught international relations and just phenomenal class really just taught you how to think.
[00:05:05] Rob Schneider: He was probably the most intellectually challenging class. I took it Westport. And, uh, so it was so much more, I remember them even more than the subject matter, but besides the teachers, it was my classmates. And what they added to the academic experience that I think is pretty unique to west. As well, personally, I breeze through high school, if you will.
[00:05:26] Rob Schneider: And Westmoreland was the first time where I was like, wow, if you work hard, it really makes a big difference in terms of the results you get. And I've never been around people that were as dedicated to what they were doing. Then when I showed up at west point,
[00:05:39] Tim Hsia: uh, a few more Westpoint related questions, just because a lot of our listeners are clearly grads, but also some cadets, which is when you thought about commissioning, why infantry and why DHS.
[00:05:51] Rob Schneider: It goes back to what I said about why be a double major, because if you're in for a penny you're in for a pound, and I didn't know at the time whether I was going to be in for [00:06:00] five years or 20 years or 30 years or whatever, but I knew if I was only going to be in for five and I ended up being in for a little bit longer than that, but certainly didn't make a career in the middle of.
[00:06:10] Rob Schneider: That I wanted to get dirty. I wanted to do what the army really all about, which for me meant the infantry. And then taking that to the further extreme, you know, where's the craziest place you can go straight out. And that's where you're jumping out of airplanes and being a paratrooper. And it was a pretty big shock, I think for most of my friends and classmates.
[00:06:28] Rob Schneider: So both of those decisions because I definitely wasn't the sort of who a guy out there I was in sport and a high end type. And I said, because an or in the 82nd. Um, but it wasn't really about that. To me, it was just about being at the pinnacle of your profession. And for me, that felt like the infantry and 82nd is the best place to go to experience.
[00:06:49] Rob Schneider: Uh,
[00:06:49] Tim Hsia: a number of our listeners are transitioning veterans and we love to hear cause cause Lance is going to talk about what you're doing now. Can you talk about your transition experience from the military? [00:07:00]
[00:07:00] Rob Schneider: Yeah, again, I had a very specific thought about what I wanted to do when I got out. And that was about being in the media.
[00:07:09] Rob Schneider: Uh, and actually, frankly, I'd forgotten about that as a cadet and serving as an officer, because you're pretty focused as you need to be at the task at hand. And it really sort of thinking about it when I was deployed, uh, to Iran just being exposed, we were really in the war. We had a lot of documentary, film makers and other types of folks attached to us.
[00:07:29] Rob Schneider: And that's where we got the gears turning against. And when I came back, I, what can I do to see if this is something that I really wanted to do and being stationed down at Bragg, I wasn't too far away from duke. And so started taking some filmmaking classes. And that's where I discovered that, okay, you know, the creative stuff, I'm good at it, but where I really excelled was helping everyone else get their projects in on time.
[00:07:51] Rob Schneider: It was like being able to manage the more operational business side of the creative process. So the next step for me is, okay, I do really want to. [00:08:00] In, uh, the media field, but it's probably for more of a business perspective than truly being the guy behind the camera or writing the script or something of that nature.
[00:08:10] Rob Schneider: And so that's why I went to business school versus film school. Although I went to business school in New York, cause I knew I wanted to be close. To a school that had a film school that was close to the entertainment industry, because the other part of the transition is really just getting out there and networking like crazy because it wasn't a pipeline.
[00:08:30] Rob Schneider: It's not like going to investment banking or consulting where there's a pipeline and especially a pipeline. Grads and an officers and folks from the military. So I just had to start knocking on doors and people, they did not put two and two together about why the military and why media made sense. They didn't get the things I touched on earlier about the fact that like the army actually just sets you up to be creative because you have the biggie when you're dealing with life and death and MDU situation.
[00:08:59] Rob Schneider: So it was [00:09:00] networking. It was finding grads that I could reach out to, and they were very helpful to me. And once I got a couple names on my resume, really set me on my path. So w we'll click
[00:09:11] Tim Hsia: before Lance's section on present day, Lance and I have definitely benefited from the, um, use ML long gray line network.
[00:09:20] Tim Hsia: And you talked about networking. Are there any west point grads that helped with that?
[00:09:25] Rob Schneider: Oh, definitely my first job, which I had while I was still in business school with, uh, John Sabina's, a 96 grad, I was having informational interviews with everyone, grads and non grads alike alumni for my business school, et cetera.
[00:09:41] Rob Schneider: And I think it was within like five minutes of the conversation with John where he's like, do you just want a job? And I was like, yes, please. And he brought me on board. The NBC at the time was owned by general electric, who obviously has a great pipeline for military recruits. So that's how. Entered in and ended up at NBC as part of a [00:10:00] larger, a GE relationship set me on his way.
[00:10:02] Rob Schneider: And then unfortunately there isn't that many grads in the media and entertainment space. I socialize with some Naval academy grads here and there as well. They've been helpful as well because at the end of the day, when it's all the same, it's all the same brotherhood. I
[00:10:15] Lance Dietz: feel like we can spend a lot more time on your background and in the military, Rob, but let's head into the next segment.
[00:10:20] Lance Dietz: This is what we call the sit rep or the situation report. And this second. We'd like to dive in to what you're focused on now, your experience since the military and how you're transforming the future of society and the industry. And I think your background since the military is incredible, like it's been across media, across strategy, across corporate development, across private investing.
[00:10:43] Lance Dietz: So if you don't mind. Could you give us just a little bit of background in terms of how you landed at Lear field and what the path was since the military,
[00:10:51] Rob Schneider: it really started at NBC, as I mentioned, and working more on the monetization side of media. So further refining that [00:11:00] down, finding out where my strengths were, where my interests were.
[00:11:03] Rob Schneider: But also where the opportunities were. And I loved working there and I was working there while I was in business school, but my intention was to work there. Full-time afterwards trying to find a full-time position there. And to a T everyone I spoke to in senior positions at NBC were all fantastic. We're like we do things in a certain way.
[00:11:25] Rob Schneider: You got to wait for someone to die or retire before you get promoted the guidance they were giving to me that if I was at your stage of life, all the rest of it, they were like, go off and try something a bit risky, or try to go where there's tailwinds. And I really took that to heart. And especially at the time, this is 2008, 2009.
[00:11:44] Rob Schneider: The convergence of the media industries and the technology industries, we're still pretty nascent like relatively nascent. And so I focus my attention really at that intersection and was lucky enough to find a job in advertising [00:12:00] world within a subsidiary of WPP. That was really at the forefront of what's called programmatic advertising, which was really.
[00:12:09] Rob Schneider: Those annoying ads that choose to follow you around the internet, but Hey, it was great business still is. And ultimately what we were doing was helping make ads way more relevant for folks. And that has gone through a lot of evolution over the last decade or so to deliver on that promise and evolve beyond just following you around on the internet.
[00:12:31] Rob Schneider: But the moral of the story is. That being at a place where there's just rising tides allowed me to get experiences in terms of business growth, in terms of corporate leadership that I never would have gotten, going to a more established firm first. And really you have to take advantage of those opportunities.
[00:12:50] Rob Schneider: You can't just sit there and let it happen to you. But being in that environment, It was just so energizing. And so that, that set me on a path where, you know, as part of a business unit there that [00:13:00] grew tremendously and ended up then going back into the larger corporate ranks within WPP, where at the end of my run there, I was leading a global corporate development for a subsidiary called group M.
[00:13:12] Rob Schneider: The largest media buying agency in the world. So one out of every three or four ads that you see on television or on your phone, or wherever is bought by someone that works for group M. So that was a great opportunity working for a company that had offices in 95 countries around the world and 40,000.
[00:13:32] Rob Schneider: Or so people and it was great, but what I was missing was, again, just more ownership of what I was doing, the impact that I could have as an individual. Of an industry that you know, is more team and mission oriented in a purposeful way. Not that group I'm in WPP. Weren't great. They were fantastic. And I grew up there, but Lear field, which is the largest multimedia rights holder in college athletics.
[00:13:58] Rob Schneider: So really any way that [00:14:00] you can monetize, like if the NCA. Is the back office administration of college athletics Learfield is really the front office, the front door to how fans buy tickets, buy merchandise, how sponsors engage with fans. We have the largest business units in all of those areas. And so I had an opportunity to come here and run strategy, corporate development, as well as many of those businesses, you know, And over time, I've run just about every business unit within the organization.
[00:14:29] Rob Schneider: But right now I'm focused on, in addition to strategy and corporate development on all of our media efforts, all the content that we create and distribute, and ultimately our direct to consumer engagement. Right. No. I
[00:14:43] Lance Dietz: mean, it's just so incredible. Like you spent right, like eight years or so at w a P P if I'm correct.
[00:14:50] Lance Dietz: What? I mean, I think that's pretty atypical nowadays for a lot of people coming out of the military and going to business school, going to two to three years that [00:15:00] consulting or finance or at a startup and bouncing around. I'm really curious. What kept you there for that long? Was it. The team. Was it new responsibilities?
[00:15:11] Lance Dietz: Just curious why you stayed and how that was.
[00:15:16] Rob Schneider: I mean, I've always been someone that like tries to commit to something. That's why I didn't want to go consulting or banking or anything else because I, you know, most of those jobs tend to only be two or three years in a lot of cases. Obviously people make careers there as well, but I had a lot of folks.
[00:15:29] Rob Schneider: Two or three years out of business school calling me up, trying to get a job in my industry that I had two or three years before. So, you know, having that focus and it's fine if you don't and you're still trying to figure things out, but I did have an inkling of what I wanted to do. So just jumping right in, made a lot of sense to me, why I stayed was certainly the team and I had great mentors within the organization.
[00:15:51] Rob Schneider: That looked out for me and helped me. Uh, so that was a big part of it. And many of them had moved on, but shortly before I left, but it was also the opportunities. It was a big [00:16:00] organization. I had a different job every two or three years within that organization of increasing impact and responsibility. So again, very fortunate in that regard to have both mentors within the organization, as well as just the opportunity to continue to grow and evolve within it.
[00:16:17] Lance Dietz: Moving a liter field and taking on that role, executive leadership team, w like you talk a little bit more just about how you thought about that process, like in terms of a transition to a new opportunity, how you weighed, who you'd be working with and for, and what you'd be doing. And were there any people that you called upon any grads, I guess specifically that you sought advice from, as you were thinking about this new option?
[00:16:41] Rob Schneider: At the end of the day, whether it's the courses you take or who you work with, um, as people say, you don't leave jobs, you leave bosses, uh, you leave people. And again, that's not why I left Rubin necessarily at all. I love the people I was working with there, but it was an organization in change. And what really attracted me to Lear [00:17:00] field.
[00:17:00] Rob Schneider: First of all, it was the opportunity was the ability to create. Something was such a great foundation like college athletics, and really take a lot of the advances that I had seen and been a part of around data and analytics and media and advertising, and apply that to this business that frankly hadn't had to evolve.
[00:17:20] Rob Schneider: Uh, in the way that say newspapers had, because very few people probably walk around the airport with a New York times shirt on, but they definitely walk around with their college colors. It's just a stronger foundation for a media business, which is really what it is at the end of the day. So I thought I could bring a lot of in, hopefully I have a lot of impact of the organization, but at the end of the day, it was about the people and it was very clear that they, from who they were to the values they have.
[00:17:47] Rob Schneider: That they were as close to the military, as I had seen from the perspective of, again, mission and purpose and team, one of our core values as a company is to love and serve others. What kind of [00:18:00] company do you hear has the word love in their value statement? And so, you know, you can look at it and maybe it's a little hokey, what have you, but it really speaks to the fact that there's this real personal element and attachment to the way they approach business.
[00:18:13] Rob Schneider: And that's something that was really attractive.
[00:18:16] Lance Dietz: That's super interesting. You joined in late 2018 and then a pandemic hit not too long after that. A couple of years after that, I'm curious. And it was a huge impact sports live sports pro sports, probably Lear field, significantly curious, just what that was like being a few years into the role and how you managed to lead the team and the org through
[00:18:42] Rob Schneider: that.
[00:18:43] Rob Schneider: It was tough. I mean, there's no other way to say it on so many different levels, you know, date, the impact of our business out of the equation. It feels somewhat trite to even talk about it in the context of everything else that the world has had to gone through. In the course of that, having said that there are, there certainly were some silver lining as [00:19:00] well.
[00:19:00] Rob Schneider: Thankfully, a lot of the things that specifically I had come on board to do and build a team, uh, but with the new people, as well as people within the organization to do was to. The fan experience when there's no games or if there is games and there is no fans in stands, certainly, you know, it's not a nice to, it's a need to, in terms of evolving that fan experience.
[00:19:22] Rob Schneider: So all of the things that we were already working on. We went from crawl, walk, run to run, skip, jump, teleport, something like we were, you know, moving fast, but still moving in the same direction. We weren't going left and now we're going, right. It just pulled everything forward in terms of what we needed to do as a company, what the industry needed to do for themselves and for their fans.
[00:19:45] Rob Schneider: And so I think as tough as the, um, last couple of years have been, it's also from a business perspective, mind you, I think it's set us on a path that will return some significant dividends, right?
[00:19:58] Lance Dietz: It's pretty incredible as you [00:20:00] think about the future. I know you've done a lot in the e-sports in gaming world too.
[00:20:03] Lance Dietz: As of late the past year or two, just given kind of the transition or the intersection that's happened in between traditional sports and gaming. Curious if you can elaborate on some of the stuff that you're doing in that world now and that space and how Lear field is sort of approaching e-sports and games.
[00:20:19] Lance Dietz: Yeah.
[00:20:20] Rob Schneider: So gaming has been definitely one of those areas that's been pulled forward. We were thinking and dabbling in e-sports prior to the pandemic. But again, it was an area that got greatly accelerated as a result of it. It was an area where we're participating from home was a definitely possible. And so we were able to put on competitions tournaments.
[00:20:42] Rob Schneider: In the midst of the pandemic without losing a beat. And so, you know, in the course of what's now been just a little over a year and a half. We launched a, what is now the largest collegiate e-sports in the country called level. Next, we have official partnerships, obviously with all the schools that we already work with, which is [00:21:00] about 85% of the power five schools out there, but as well as all the major publishers.
[00:21:05] Rob Schneider: So as an example, EA was a founding member. Of level next with us and we are the official home of all of their national championships. So we've done two national championships for Madden NFL. We're about to do the first college national championship for FIFA, but we've also run national tournaments with, with rocket league and some other titles as well.
[00:21:28] Rob Schneider: So it's really been exciting to see. Intersection between the traditional college sports fan, but also the e-sports fan bringing in a whole new demographic of, uh, folks that may not be watching football or basketball on the weekend, but are still really proud to represent their universities. And it's been great to give them that opportunity to do so and to provide fans with a new experience.
[00:21:54] Rob Schneider: We're
[00:21:54] Tim Hsia: going to move on to the next segment, but before we do so I'll do some rapid fire, quick questions, given your love [00:22:00] of film and content. Um, favorite movies.
[00:22:04] Rob Schneider: That's so broad. I can go in so many different. How
[00:22:07] Tim Hsia: about just a few and you have to start with non-military ones and then some military ones,
[00:22:13] Rob Schneider: uh, non-military movies that I'm a big fan.
[00:22:17] Rob Schneider: You know, it's everything from it's so eclectic from probably not uncommon. I mean, I grew up on. All of the great eighties movies. And I think they informed so much of who I am, whether that's star wars or John Hughes movies, or what have you. And being able to experience that with my kids now is really fantastic, you know, watching the unis with them for the first time.
[00:22:39] Rob Schneider: So those may, maybe not the best movies of all time from. A cinematic perspective, but a movie that stays with you like that is definitely at the top of my list. If you want to look at the more higher quality cinema, I mean, how do you go wrong with Lawrence of Arabia or citizen Kane or something like that?
[00:22:57] Rob Schneider: On the military side, red Dawn, [00:23:00] top of my list. That's probably why I joined the army. Some people may say top gun. Yeah. I mean, love all those movies, patents. I mean, the list goes on one more movie
[00:23:09] Tim Hsia: related. How about sports ones given what you do.
[00:23:12] Rob Schneider: Sports ones and so many good choices there as well, but I'll keep it brief.
[00:23:17] Rob Schneider: I'll say field of dreams, but that at the top of the list,
[00:23:20] Lance Dietz: um, I thought for sure, you'd say space jam with LeBron,
[00:23:23] Rob Schneider: Rob the new one. Yeah. Especially the new ones.
[00:23:26] Tim Hsia: Well, I'm personally a Rudy guy. We're going to move now to the next and third segment, the SOP or standard operating procedure in the next segment.
[00:23:33] Tim Hsia: We're going to talk about the personal routines habits and words to live by that have been instantly. To your success? What routines or habits do you have from the military or west point that you still had here to?
[00:23:44] Rob Schneider: Yeah, that's a good question. Let me think about standard operating procedures are included.
[00:23:48] Rob Schneider: You don't
[00:23:48] Tim Hsia: wake up and do PT at, uh, five or
[00:23:50] Rob Schneider: six every day. No, no, I know. I wish I did, but ultimately my job here is the same as you being a platoon leader in a lot of [00:24:00] regards, right? I mean, it's to provide direction. It's a to provide resources, to clear the brush. So my team can be successful. It's important that I stay close to the business, not micromanage it, but be close enough to appreciate the challenges that my team has and help build the trust and respect in experienced.
[00:24:21] Rob Schneider: Get things done. Let them know that we're all in the trenches together, but otherwise no day is really the same other than I guess the fact that they're all busy, you know, apart from that, you know, I think it's also important to carve out time, to think of reflect, look for news and experiences outside of your direct industry.
[00:24:39] Rob Schneider: I think you can get very myopic if you don't do that. So trying to integrate those elements of spending time with your team, but having enough time to take a step. Easier said than done. That's what I try to incorporate on an ongoing basis. There is no nine to five and that, that certainly has been no truer than over the last 18 to 24 months.
[00:24:58] Rob Schneider: In terms
[00:24:58] Tim Hsia: of your west point military [00:25:00] experience, how do you think that's shaped you as a
[00:25:02] Rob Schneider: leader? Beyond the. Yeah, touched on. There's definitely a lot of lessons that I use all the time in the business world, from my time in the military. I mean, you know, going back to the 82nd, just the rule of L GAAPs little groups of paratroopers, making sure that people understand what the mission and the task is.
[00:25:20] Rob Schneider: If people truly internalize that and understand the why you don't have to micromanage people, you can let them go off and prove to you. You know how smart and creative and talented they are. And so that's really, you know, informed my, uh, leadership style. I think a lot of folks that haven't had experiences like the experiences I had in the military, or as confident to do things like that.
[00:25:44] Rob Schneider: But you have to be confident in your people, but you have to give them direction as well. I think some other sayings that I've taken into modern life, a slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. There's another great one, too. I think in the business world, people can tend to run and trip and [00:26:00] stumble over themselves and taking that pause to think things through not overanalyze them, but just taking that quick, like chance to center yourself before you move forward is so critical because the goal is still speed.
[00:26:13] Rob Schneider: It's not to be slow. It's to be fast, but if you act in a chaotic way, you end up just slowing yourself down and that's as true. In, uh, the business world as it is when you're clearing a room and then just, you know, things like 80, 20 planning to execute, it's important to, to plan. You know, when people think about the military, oh, you spend all this time planning and planning and it's like, no, you've got to spend your time practicing and executing.
[00:26:39] Rob Schneider: You learn so much more when you're actually out and doing things. I'm not saying you don't plan. You have to at least think through the basics. Like they say, no plan survives first contact. So it's about getting out there and building that muscle memory and understanding the leading indicators. So you can pivot, but it's not over analyzing things, especially nowadays you just have to move so [00:27:00] fast and have to be able to pivot so quickly.
[00:27:02] Lance Dietz: Let's move to the next one, which we call giving back the part of this podcast and for the listeners. Like currently in the military, somewhat recently transitioned and some are building their careers in this space. And Rob you've been in Tim too. I've been a bit of a mentor to me as I was getting out of the military and into my role in sports.
[00:27:20] Lance Dietz: I'm curious if you have any advice or how you think about quote, unquote, giving back as you've gotten to the place that you are now and ended up in a pretty premium position to be a mentor to others or give a lot of advice. So curious how you think about
[00:27:36] Rob Schneider: that. Yeah. I mean, I, I don't think there's anything that's more.
[00:27:39] Rob Schneider: Important to do on the whole is just to give back again. I've been very fortunate in my life and my career to have people that have looked out for me. And I always try to make it a two way street. I mean, the mentee, you should be giving as much as the mentor to have an ideal relationship in different ways, but nonetheless, it's definitely an [00:28:00] experience that's enriching for both parties.
[00:28:02] Rob Schneider: I think earlier in my life at west point, things like that, I probably didn't take advantage of. As much as I could or should have. Certainly now it's something I take a lot of pride in and pay. If anyone listening to the podcast and ever has any questions or, or comments or any way I can be helpful.
[00:28:20] Rob Schneider: Reach out because most of the best things that have happened to me, again, both in my life and my career has come through the people that I know, um, more so than in the way that I've been able to help them first and foremost, you know, the great thing is I've always come from those engagements. Yeah, I
[00:28:35] Lance Dietz: think, and I could be getting this wrong, but I think the way we met, actually, it might've been a cold outreach from me to you on LinkedIn recognizing the west point background and the sports stuff, I think.
[00:28:46] Lance Dietz: Really an amazing piece of the long gray line here, especially in the civilian world and corporate world now, too. Unfortunately, Rob that's all the time that we have, we could go for hours, but I'm staring at a snowstorm right now and how to lock the hatchets down. [00:29:00] But thanks so much for, you know, the time your background is really interesting.
[00:29:04] Lance Dietz: Incredible. What you've built as a career post army is just super interesting. So excited for the listeners to hear this. And yeah, thanks again for making.
[00:29:13] Rob Schneider: Yeah. Thank you guys. I mean, really a tree and for you guys to include me in this, hopefully this was helpful. And like I said, if there's anything I can do for you or any of your listeners, definitely let me know.
[00:29:24] Rob Schneider: Thank you, Rob.
[00:29:26] Narrator: Um, point is a production of the WPA O G broadcast network. Please take a moment to rate and review the show and join us each week for a new episode. Thank you for listening.