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FranklinCovey On Leadership

Robert Sanchez: Turning Failure Into Competitive Advantage

FranklinCovey On Leadership

FranklinCovey

Business, Management

4.6 • 215 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robert Sanchez, chairman and CEO of Ryder System, explains how a 90-year-old company stays relevant by deliberately embracing disruption. He walks through Ryder’s shift from a truck rental brand to a diversified transportation and logistics partner, detailing the strategic choices behind narrowing geographic focus, expanding asset-light services, and investing in technology. Sanchez also shares how leadership mindset shapes culture—especially the importance of giving people permission to try, fail, and learn without fear. From building trust across a 50,000-employee workforce to institutionalizing “important but not urgent” strategy work, this conversation offers practical lessons for leaders managing complexity, legacy businesses, and constant change. Listen now to explore how disciplined strategy, innovation, and a tolerance for failure can drive long-term performance. FranklinCovey’s world-class learning solutions—delivered Live-Online, On Demand, or Live In-Person—are designed to build exceptional leadership skills and enrich your culture at every level of your organization. To learn more, email us at info@franklincovey.com, visit franklincovey.com, or call us at: 1-888-868-1776

Transcript

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0:00.0

letting people know that you're allowed to fail. It doesn't mean that everything you try is going to work.

0:06.2

I tell people, I expect most of what we try is not going to work. It's okay. That doesn't mean that,

0:11.8

you know, you did something wrong. We try different things because that's how you grow and that's how you learn.

0:18.7

That's how you can win in the marketplace.

0:21.4

So I think the first thing was changing the mindset that if I try something new and it

0:25.4

doesn't work, I'm going to lose my job.

0:27.3

So giving people the comfort and the confidence to step out and do something different,

0:33.6

I think is a big part of that culture.

0:40.9

Hello. I think is a big part of that culture. Hello and welcome to Franklin Covey on leadership.

0:43.9

I'm your host, Will Hodling.

0:45.7

Today's guest is Robert Sanchez, the chairman and CEO of Riders Systems, a leading

0:50.8

transportation and logistics company, with more than 50,000 employees, hundreds of thousands of trucks, and over 13 billion in annual revenue.

1:00.0

Robert has been with Ryder for over three decades and has served in roles as CFO, C.O, CIO, and other senior leadership positions before becoming CEO 12 years ago.

1:12.1

Under his leadership, Ryder has transformed from a fleet management company into a broader

1:17.8

transportation and logistics company.

1:20.3

In today's conversation, we'll discuss many of the incredible strategic shifts that he's

1:24.9

led at Ryder, how he's built a people first and safety first culture,

1:29.2

and the lessons that he's learned as a leader along the way. Robert Sanchez, welcome to Franklin

1:34.2

Covey on leadership. Thanks, well, thanks for having me. Excellent. So this morning, I was on my

1:40.0

traditional morning run, preparing and thinking about today's podcast and no joke a rider truck drove by

1:45.7

it was not the iconic yellow that i remember from my youth but i saw the kind of big white rider truck

1:50.9

and it was a sign from above about how important today's conversation will be um so i want to start

...

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