Louis Roden - Escapee 925 - entrepreneur success stories
Author: https://www.facebook.com/roblongley
Description: Louis Roden loved his job. He was Director of Organizational Capability at Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Who wouldn't love that?
Date: 2025-01-20T18:22:17+00:00

# Louis Roden

Escapee | 0 |

> Your happiness resides in how you respond to your fear, anger and sadness. Full stop.

Louis Roden loved his job. He was Director of Organizational Capability at Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Who wouldn’t love that? It was a role that allowed him to travel all over the world, visit amazing places, and deliver leadership training programs to engaged hoteliers. Louis believed in the company’s message and truly enjoyed the people that he worked with.

However, the organization began to slowly change – leaders that had earned his loyalty through trust and respect were being nudged out of the organization, with others that did not embrace the seemingly fundamental idea that great culture and enlightened leadership leads to organizational success. “People were becoming a commodity. It’s funny how, when you ‘love’ your job, it doesn’t feel like a typical 9-5. As soon as that love fades, the drudge kicks in.” Louis left the classic corporate life in 2008 and, at the encouragement of those people that he respected so much, he made the leap and began his own hospitality/leadership consultancy. It was scary and thrilling, like an ever-repeating climb and decent on a daily rollercoaster.

## Getting Started

LinkedIn has been a big help getting his business going. “Speaking with other entrepreneurs on matters both simple and complex returned a bit of that morning coffee/ water cooler conversation corporate vibe, regardless of it being remote. One thing for sure, you truly discover who is really in your network, versus someone who clicked ‘yes’ on a connection request.”

Louis took great pride in what he did at Starwood – but now it is different. When they design, develop and deliver a particular leadership or service culture program, and the client is thrilled with both the content, delivery and results, there is no greater thrill and sense of satisfaction and achievement! The other element is the complete eradication of the notion of ‘work/life’ balance. “When you combine doing what you love with doing it outside of the corporate 9-5 world, there is an intoxication that is palpable. I am always working and never working, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. No more ‘working for the weekend’ or ‘thank god its Friday’. I take calls at all hours with clients around the world, weave my personal life into my professional life like a mosaic, not a hard ‘start work/stop work’ regime. Its liberating.”

## Covid Ground Zero

Louis and his team were just hitting their stride when Covid hit. He also happened to be working in Wuhan, China in early December 2019 – in the birthplace of Covid in the month it was likely released. He then took trains to work with other luxury hotels throughout China – Chongqing…a city of 28 million people that is larger than New York City, which most in the west have never even heard of, then on the Changsha, Chengdu, and then finally to Shanghai. “It was right before Christmas, and I remember looking forward and thinking that 2020 was going to be our best year yet! And then the world came apart. But we endured, adapted and soldiered on. We were no longer victims of a corporate downsize nor were we the beneficiaries of corporate charity. It was up to us.”

If nothing else, Covid has taught Louis that perseverance is king! You have to be resilient – take that setback with a big dose of learning and adjustment. Also, don’t sit in the dark and study your pain. “Take the punch and incorporate it all into your next day!
Be tenacious – resiliency is taking the punch, tenacity is getting back up and moving forward after the punch. Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over, get a new perspective. Become a great student of yourself, and engage others in that trip to self-
awareness.”

## What The Future Holds

Looking towards the future, it’s hard not to consider the implications of AI. In Louis’s business the human element is so important. Leadership resides in emotion – management resides in intellect. “I think AI will have a significant impact in the management elements impacting service and other industries. For certain, AI will get better than humans at predicting financial models, setting pricing and fee structures, estimating timelines, etc. But the human and emotional elements that unfold? That is always going to take leadership.”

Louis is likely to be around to see whatever AI does to society. He doesn’t have a plan to retire anytime soon. He believes you retire from things you don’t love doing. At this point, he wouldn’t retire from what he does any more than he would retire from his family or friends. “My work brings me joy – why would I leave that? Financial freedom is different, and that is a road that everyone should be on. As well, my role will certainly morph as I travel through life. But just ‘stop’ and wait to get older. Nah.”

Louis has made more than his share of mistakes along the way. Picking the wrong ownership model (LLC rather than an S-Corp.) was definitely a learning experience. And he’s learned that some things look great on a white board, but not so good in reality. One example was an around the world trip in three weeks working in six different countries.

Currently, Louis is riding the wave of his first book launch. It is called Everything Is Personal. Embracing Stewardship in the Workplace and Everyplace. It is a practical leadership book for anyone. The first launch event was in San Diego, followed by launch events in Boston, Bangkok and London. Book two is already on the drawing board. It will be more service-delivery focused!

Learn more about Louis Roden at https://www.InspireLSC.com

### About The Author

#### admin

Robert Longley is a coach, consultant, author of several books, world traveler and fixer of things. He helps mid-career professionals and entrepreneurs reignite their passion for doing work that matters. He currently is working on a project to rethink the way, and where, we do work.

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