#35: Part 2: Fred Ridley, Augusta National Golf Club Chairman—Preserve Tradition and Drive Innovation

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2021

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Here is part two of my conversation with Fred Ridley, Chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to part one yet, stop and do that first. It’s not easy to preserve the incredible tradition of a place like Augusta National while also making sure you’re moving into the future with new ideas. That tension between tradition and new ideas is something we can probably all relate to. But Fred is surrounded by an incredible team that he genuinely loves being around and learning from. And that’s at the heart of how he leads: he puts people before processes. His team members come first, because they’re the ones who are going to make the experience for patrons and players and guests the legendary experience Augusta is known for. They also have the ideas that are going to pave the way forward. Fred shares a lot of strategies for how we, too, can put people before processes. You’ll also learn: The key mentality you need to preserve an organization’s tradition while also blazing new trails Practical tips to speak to the press (or anyone who asks you tough questions) A surprising way to develop your organization’s core values – and why it’s so much more effective than the traditional method One small thing you can do at the start of every meeting that will boost team morale Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0	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.
0:10.2	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.
0:17.5	That's what this podcast is all about.
0:20.2	Today we're back again for part two of my
0:22.5	conversation with Fred Ridley, chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club. If you haven't had a
0:28.1	chance to listen to Part 1 yet, stop and do that first. Believe me, you don't want to miss a minute
0:34.3	of it. Now, it's not easy to preserve the incredible tradition of a place
0:38.6	like Augusta National Golf Club, while also making sure you're moving into the future with new
0:44.2	ideas. That tension between preserving tradition and driving innovation is something we can probably
0:51.2	all relate to. Fred has some great strategies that help him lead the way,
0:56.3	and I have no doubt you're going to find all kinds of good stuff here to apply in your own world.
1:02.1	So here's part two of my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours, Fred Ridland.
1:19.6	You were forced to cancel the April 2020 Masters due to COVID-19. And you had a huge decision to make as to whether to even hold the Masters in November.
1:26.6	What's the backstory on how you came to the decision that the
1:29.7	show could go on? Well, you know, in March, when this was all sort of converging, I remember
1:35.7	getting to the club sometime around the middle of March. Maybe it was about the 10th of March,
1:41.5	maybe the Wednesday of the Players Players Championship, Tuesday or Wednesday.
1:45.0	We had some good counsel. We had some consultants we were working with that were really following
1:49.9	the virus and this progression. And I remember that when I arrived at the club and got settled in my
1:56.9	office, I was told that we probably have four or five days to make this decision.
2:01.9	And after, you know, being in a meeting for a couple of hours, I said,
2:05.9	I think we have 24 hours to make this decision because this is,
	...

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