In this concise 7‑minute interview, Professor Pete Alexander hosts Lisa Ryan, Chief Appreciation Strategist at Grategy, to discuss practical ways businesses can retain top talent. Lisa explains her role in helping manufacturing and skilled‑trade organizations use low‑cost, simple appreciation tools—especially the sincere expression of "thank you"—to keep employees engaged and loyal. She highlights the financial advantage of retaining existing staff versus recruiting new hires, and addresses the modern challenge of work‑life balance, noting the 24/7 connectivity of smartphones and the need to foster family‑like workplace relationships. Lisa recommends fellow speaker Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity as a future podcast guest. She shares personal advice that genuine acknowledgment of employee achievements outweighs focusing on negatives. The conversation concludes with a brief anecdote about her first job as a teenage waitress and provides her contact information (LisaRyanSpeaks.com, Lisa@GRATEGY.com). The episode ends with directions to find the podcast on various platforms.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
My name is Lisa Ryan. I am Chief Appreciation Strategist at Grategy here in beautiful Cleveland, Ohio, and as a keynote speaker, I work with organizations to help them keep their top talent from becoming someone else's.
Lisa, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
I love working with the manufacturing and the skilled trade associations that I work with, primarily because it's a conversation of bringing— of finding ways to not only bring people back into manufacturing and the trades, but giving the people, the participants there, some some simple, easy tools that don't cost a lot of time or take a lot of money, but they can keep the people that they've worked so hard to bring on board. Mm-hmm.
And it's so cost-effective to keep the people you already have versus trying to go out and get new ones. Wouldn't that be correct?
Absolutely.
Yeah. Question number 3: I hear from other business leaders that staying in a good work-life balance for them and their team members is a challenge. What are your thoughts?
We spend more time in the office or at the plant and with the people that we work with probably than we do with our own families. And because of this thing that we have now with the smartphone, we're basically on 24/7. It's not like you could cut it off like back in the day when we had that thing called an answering machine. So we have to find ways to nurture those relationships at work, to give people the opportunity to to create friendships, to bond, to create a family-like environment, because otherwise you're not going to keep them.
Mm-hmm. I couldn't agree with you more. Question number 4: What other successful business leaders like yourself should be on my podcast?
Probably Debbie Peterson. She is also a professional speaker. She has a company called Getting to Clarity, and she really helps you sort out your life and moving forward. And she's developed some really great strategies to help people do that.
Mm, great. Thank you for that referral. I'll reach out to her. Question number 5: What insight or advice would you like to give to other business leaders?
Connecting and engaging with your employees is a lot easier than you think. It comes down to two simple words, and these are two words that you have been hearing since you were a little kid when it comes to expressing appreciation, and those two words, of course, are thank you. And you have to be sincere, of catch your employees doing things well and sincerely acknowledge, applaud, and appreciate their efforts. Because so many times business leaders focus on what's wrong— we missed a deadline, we didn't make production, we didn't do this, this wasn't right— and when business is going well, you just kind of ignore it because, well, that's the way that it's supposed to be. But if instead of focusing on what the bad things are, you focused on what your employees are doing well and give them the opportunity to do that more often, you are going to have a more loyal, committed, and engaged team than you would, you would otherwise.
Wow, that is so insightful, and I will say thank you for sharing that.
You are very welcome.
And question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
My very first job, I was a waitress working at Randall Park Mall in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. It was a company called the Greek— let's see, it was Coney Island and it was Greek food. I was 14 years old. I lied about my age because I needed money to basically buy clothes and shoes.
I love the fact that it was Coney Island but it was Greek food. I mean, it's like, what?
Yep.
I love it. Well, Lisa, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
They can first of all go to my website, which is LisaRyanSpeaks.com, or just send me an email to Lisa@GRATEGY.com, as in gratitude and strategies mushed together.
Love it. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
