10/22/2026
Last week I attended the annual Buffini Leadership Conference for the third time. The atmosphere was electric, the agenda was jam-packed, and the speakers shared valuable insights. I learned a lot! During the small work group sessions and the larger mixers I had the opportunity to meet agents from all over the country and make new friends and connections.
Horst Schulze is a legend in the hotel world, whose teachings and vision have reshaped the concepts of service and hospitality across industries. He worked for both Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, where he served as President and COO responsible for the $2 billion worldwide operation. Under his leadership The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company became the first service-based company to be awarded the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award — twice. Mr. Schulze recently completed his seminal book “Excellence Wins”.
Juliet Funt is the founder and CEO of a consulting and training firm that aims to repurpose wasteful time into momentum and high-value output. Juliet has served as an advisor to companies like Spotify, National Geographic, Costco, Pepsi, Nike, Wells Fargo, Sephora, Sysco, and ESPN. Her book “A Minute to Think” is a blueprint for revolutionizing work and is taught at the Army War College and Joint Special Operations University. While working with the Air Force, she was initiated with the ride of her life, taking her to 5.2 G’s in a T-38 Talon supersonic jet.
Mike Michalowicz founded and sold two multi-million-dollar companies by the time he turned 35. Confident that he had the formula to success, he became a small business angel investor and proceeded to lose his entire fortune. He started all over again, driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies. Mike is the creator of Profit First, which is used by hundreds of thousands of companies to drive profit, and Clockwork, a method for automating businesses. He has authored numerous books delivering innovative entrepreneurial strategies and leads two new ventures devoted to testing his latest business research for his books.
