Using AI to Scale Your Business Globally

Episode 26:  Today, Omar Ayyash, President & CEO of the World Trade Center Kentucky interviews Todd Schmiedeler, Senior VP of Zero Waste Manufacturing, as well as the Founder & CEO of Thumbprint Consulting.  They are going to discuss issues related to using AI to scale your business globally.

Meet Todd Schmiedeler

Todd spends a considerable time thinking about growing businesses, partly in an effort to make sure his own kids have a thriving environment in which to grow and work.  The more global business that being done in Kentucky means people living hear will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience without having to leave for other cities. 

Todd completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Louisville.  He later earned his Master’s degree in business communications, as well as his doctorate in Leadership at Spaulding University.  He worked at the Center for Women and Families, a Louisville, nonprofit organization.  He later worked at Norton Healthcare’s Children’s Hospital and the Norton Healthcare Foundation.  Later, he spent 10 years at Trilogy Health Services.  Four years ago, he launched his own company and also ventured into the waste-to-energy business. 

Todd has become extremely involved in AI, especially from a business process and business growth perspective. 

The Impact of AI

Omar asks Todd to discuss the impact on AI on Todd’s business, as well as the business with which he consults.  Todd is extremely excited about the growth of AI domestically, as well as internationally.  He admits that 9 months ago, he used AI similar to how he used Google and as an administrative assistant.  A friend gave him a copy of The AI-Driven Leader, by Geoff Woods.  It helped bring the potential into focus and now he spends considerable time helping friends and clients to implement AI technology in their respective businesses.

Todd believes most people are significantly underutilizing the power of AI, if they’re using it at all.  He admits he was, at first.  He contacted Geoff and asked how he could learn more.  Geoff was in the process of establishing The Leadership Collective (AILeadership.com), which he later joined.  It meets quarterly in Austin, TX.  It’s comprised of roughly 75 C-Suite leaders from across the world.  Those leaders are incredibly savvy in business and implementation.  It’s, in large part, how Todd began engaging in global business.

Todd disagrees with the adage, knowledge is power.  Knowledge is potential power.  You have to understand how to apply it and how to access it.  By itself, knowledge is only intelligence.  Todd is taking this approach to AI and helping people with their individual businesses. 

The productivity AI offers should result in employees being able to better balance their objectives with their outside lives.  Todd readily admits, he struggles in this area.  He loves what he does, but would relish the opportunity to spend more time with his family, several of whom work with him at Thumbprint Consulting.  AI is helping them tool the business for scale.  They are focused on 10X-ing the business, each year.

One of the people Todd interacts with in The Leadership Collective owns all of the Domino’s pizzas in China.  He’s adding 500 stores per year.  He’s using AI to standardize back-office data and report out all of the key financials, at the individual store-level, and roll them up into a more manageable reporting structure, for problem identification and decision making insights, across 2,000+ locations. 

Geoff Woods notes that AI can be your thought-partner.  You still need to be the leader, but imagine the collaborative impact of AI, at your fingertips.  Geoff has created an AI Board of Directors, based on AI personas from people like Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Jim Collins and other high-performing leaders. 

Todd shares how he uses AI to determine if words he uses in team communications could be misunderstood or misinterpreted by his team.  He has a number of foreign nationals working for him.  Colloquial terms may be challenges for people who do not speak English, natively.  AI is a tool for improving the effectiveness of his communication.

AI is about improving speed, accuracy and the integrity about what you’re trying to accomplish.  On a regular day, Todd asks himself 2 questions:

1.     How can AI help me?

2.     Who should be doing this?

Advice For Global Business Leaders Hesitant to Embrace AI

An important question Todd offers is for leaders to consider, “Who do you want to be?”  Is it about who you’ve been or maybe you’re only interested in becoming incrementally better.  Better yet, if you want freedom of time, relationships and financial, you have to figure out how to scale.  It’s difficult in an environment in which capital is thinning.  The solution is to consider hiring AI staff members, at a fraction of the cost, able to work 24-7 and operating at an extremely high level.

The next consideration involves reading (and learning in general, as he’ll discuss, below).  Todd makes a point of trying to meet specific people about whom he’s read.  This helps to expand his understanding, as well as his professional network.  As a business leader, this is an excellent way to learn how other executives are approaching and leveraging AI in their respective businesses.

Todd Is Extremely Excited about the Upcoming Dubai Trade Mission

Todd has been to Dubai in the past, but can’t wait to see how it’s evolved, since his last visit.  Additionally, Dubai is becoming a significant player in AI and the development of AI-related technology.  He’s already recruiting other executives to participate in this event.

This trade mission is about learning.  It’s important to force yourself to be exposed to different ways of approaching, thinking and applying the knowledge you have.  It’s also about gaining new knowledge through those interactions.  A global trip to a different culture is a perfect opportunity to accelerate learning.  It’s an investment in experiential-learning.  The STEP Grant is available to offset the cost of participating in the 2025 Dubai trade mission.

If you want to actually learn about what’s going on, Todd describes the mission as a curated trip to one of the foremost leading countries and one of the most exciting cities to visit.  Best of all, it’s lead by Omar, whose family still lives there.  Omar can even arrange meetings with potential clients, while you’re there.  We all know how difficult it can be to get meetings with actual decision-makers, especially in foreign markets.  It’s going to be an incredible opportunity. 

Todd’s Personal Philosophy

Omar asks Todd to recount his personal philosophy on how he runs his life, for the audience.  Todd strongly believes in priorities.  He has an order to his life’s priorities:

1.     Faith – because it centers him

2.     Wife – She’s head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the list

3.     Kids & Family – He and his wife have 10 kids (several of whom are adopted and 4 nephews (“it’s less about blood and all about love”)

4.     Best Friends (Cathe Dykstra at Family Scholar House and Lennie Meyer at Norton Healthcare)

The people in the above list are his priorities.  Todd wants to create financial freedom for his employees and friends.  He wants to create relational freedom for people.  Ultimately, he wants to instill the confidence that they can accomplish anything as long as they have the right “who and how.”  Todd describes himself as a who and how guy, before what and when.  The former 2 are strategic, while the latter 2 are tactical. 

Early in his career, Todd admits his 20s where the check-off leadership phase of his life.  One usually doesn’t find contentment and fulfillment in that paradigm.  He later realized it can be a rat race, that you have no chance of winning. 

Todd focused his doctorate servant leadership and change management.  In his interactions with others, he wants to find a way to put others first, so that he might be able to serve them in some way.  That’s his core philosophy. 

When it comes to trust in relationships, Todd believes it’s the ultimate currency.  Without trust, there is no relationship.  He describes how he recently relistened to Stephen Covey’s, The Speed of Trust.  Trust provides the opportunity for exponential growth in both relationships and organizations.  Todd feels most humans are relational creatures.  Generally, the people you hang out with share your values, approach and love for something.  Through the sharing of trust, you deepen those relationships.  For someone to ask for help in a vulnerable area, it’s the ultimate gift.  They have to trust you before making that request.  It’s also the ultimate sign of trust for you to ask that of another person.  When you accelerate and deepen your relationships, you can actually arrive at a point in which you can serve them better. 

To Learn More: 

Website:  www.Thumbprint.consulting

 

Upcoming WTCKY EVENTS:

·      10/13-19/25 – Trade Mission to Dubai 2025

·      11/11-13/25 – International Trade Certification Program

 

The next episode of our podcast will launch on 08/11/25.  Thank you for listening.  Be sure to follow This Global Trade Adventure on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.WTCKY.com/podcast. 

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