When I sit down with people on Rise to More, I am always looking for more than a good résumé or an impressive title. I want to understand who they are when they walk into a room. I want to know what kind of energy they bring to other people. I want to know whether their success has made them more human or less.
That is exactly why my conversation with Florian Riedel stayed with me.
Florian is the general manager of Four Seasons Minneapolis, and on paper alone, his career is extraordinary. He has been with Four Seasons for three decades. He started busing tables in London. He has worked in eight different hotels around the world. He helped open one of the most important hotels in Minneapolis at a time when the city needed belief, vision, and steadiness.
But what you notice first is about Florian is how he makes people feel.
He is one of those rare people who is fully present when he speaks with you. He does not make you feel like he is rushing to the next thing. He does not make you feel like he is scanning the room for someone more important. He is warm, calm, attentive, and genuinely interested. In a world that feels more transactional by the day, that kind of presence stands out immediately.
And it made me think about something I have been noticing more and more. We talk a lot about luxury. We talk about excellence. We talk about leadership. But maybe the real luxury now is not opulence at all. Maybe true luxury is being with someone who is actually there.
That is what Florian understands so well.
He shared that when he first interviewed with Four Seasons in London, he immediately felt something different. He was applying for a job busing tables, but instead of treating him like a body filling a role, they wanted to know him. The interaction was warm. It was personal. It was human. The other interviews he had felt transactional. Four Seasons felt relational. Thirty years later, that moment still seems to define the way he leads.
That part of the conversation struck me deeply because it reminded me how much people remember how they were made to feel, especially at the beginning. Before achievement. Before titles. Before proof. People remember whether they were seen.
So much of what we call leadership today is actually performance. It is polished language, strategy decks, and status. But when you listen to Florian speak, what becomes clear is that his leadership is rooted in something much simpler. He listens. He pays attention. He cares. And he does not see those as soft skills or extras. He sees them as the work.
He told me that when he hires people, he is not primarily looking at technical skills. He is looking at energy, attitude, curiosity, and whether someone knows how to connect. The rest, he says, can be taught. You can teach someone to work the front desk or serve in a restaurant. It is much harder to teach someone how to be warm, how to care, or how to bring good energy into a room.
That is such an important lesson, especially for people who are always waiting until they are more qualified, more polished, or more prepared before they step forward. So many women, especially, have been taught to believe they need one more degree, one more certification, one more stamp of approval. But what if some of the most important things you bring into a room are not listed on a résumé at all?
What if your attitude matters more than you think?
What if your willingness to learn matters more than perfection?
What if the way people feel around you is part of your gift?
That was one of the strongest threads throughout our conversation. Florian has built a remarkable career, but he did not build it by forcing every door open. He built it by showing up fully, staying positive, and taking opportunities when they came.
In fact, one of the most memorable parts of the interview was when he shared advice he received very early in his career. He had gone to his general manager in London and said, essentially, I am doing everything right. I am studying. I am working in multiple departments. I am learning. I am ready to be a manager. And his boss told him something that stayed with him for life: give one hundred and ten percent, stay positive, and take opportunities when they come.
That was it.
Simple. Clear. Not glamorous. But powerful. And he has lived by it ever since.
There is something refreshing about that in a time when so much advice is overly complicated. We are always looking for some hidden formula. But often the people who rise are the ones who show up, bring good energy, and say yes when life opens a door.
Another part of Florian’s story that I loved was the season when he and his wife left Four Seasons and moved to Tuscany to open a restaurant. He had always dreamed of doing it. He loved food, loved cooking, and wanted to know what it would really feel like to build something of his own. So they did it. He worked in the kitchen. She ran the front of house. They made beautiful food, worked incredibly hard, and learned just how difficult the restaurant business really is.
What I appreciated about that part of his story was not just the romance of Tuscany, though of course that is lovely. It was the honesty. He did not speak about it like some glamorous entrepreneurial fantasy. He spoke about it as hard, meaningful work. They did not make much money. The margins were thin. It required sacrifice. But he needed to do it, and he is glad he did.
That also feels like an important reminder. Not every dream is meant to become your forever. Some dreams are meant to teach you something. Some are meant to get something out of your system. Some are meant to deepen your respect for the people who do that work every day. Sometimes doing the thing matters, even if it leads you back to where you started with a deeper understanding of yourself.
When Four Seasons called and invited him back, he was ready.
And thank goodness for Minneapolis that he said yes.
Our city has been through a lot. The past several years have tested businesses, hospitality, leadership, and public confidence in ways few could have predicted. Opening a luxury hotel downtown in that climate could have gone very differently. But Florian did not see the hotel as just a hotel. He saw it as a place to bring people together. He and his team were intentional from the very beginning about creating something that felt welcoming, warm, and part of the community.
That matters.
Luxury can sometimes feel exclusive in the worst way. Beautiful, yes, but cold. Impressive, but inaccessible. What Four Seasons Minneapolis has done differently is create a space that feels elevated without feeling arrogant. It feels polished, but still human. That does not happen by accident. That happens because someone at the top decided that what they were building would be about people, not just presentation.
And that, to me, is where this conversation becomes bigger than hospitality.
Because what Florian is really talking about is culture.
He talks about supporting his team, listening when things go wrong, creating an environment where people can learn without shame, and making sure employees feel cared for first. He said something so important: hospitality starts internally. When people feel supported, they naturally care for others better.
That is true in hotels, but it is also true in families, companies, friendships, schools, and communities.
People who feel seen are more likely to see others. People who feel respected are more likely to offer respect. People who are led well often go on to lead others well.
This is how culture is built. Not in grand speeches, but in daily interactions. In how a mistake is handled. In whether someone feels safe enough to ask a question. In whether a leader hides in the office or walks the floor.
Florian was very clear about this. In difficult moments, he does not retreat into strategy alone. He clears his calendar and becomes more present. He walks the hotel. He talks to people. He listens. He believes leaders need to be with their teams, not removed from them.
We are living in a time where many people are hungry for exactly that kind of leadership. Not louder leaders. Not more performative leaders. Not leaders who always have the perfect phrase for social media. We need leaders who are calm, visible, thoughtful, and real.
We also spoke about the future of luxury hospitality, and his answer was one I keep thinking about. He said luxury has changed. It is no longer about marble floors and chandeliers. It is about emotional connection. It is about understanding what people need and making them feel cared for.
That is true far beyond hotels.
The future belongs to people who know how to connect.
Technology will continue to change the way we live and work. AI will shape many industries. Efficiency will keep improving. But none of that replaces the deep human need to feel understood. In fact, the more digital life becomes, the more valuable true presence will become.
That may be the real edge in the years ahead.
Can you listen well? Can you read the room? Can you sense what someone needs without making it all about you? Can you create safety, trust, ease, and warmth?
Those things are not small. Those things are not secondary. They are becoming the difference.
At the end of our conversation, I asked Florian what advice he would give to someone who wants to become more successful, more respected, more like the kind of person others genuinely want to be around. His answer was simple. Listen. Stay curious. Build relationships. Learn something every day.
I think that is part of why he is so beloved.
He is accomplished, yes. But he has not become hardened by success. He has remained open. Interested. Human. He takes his work seriously, but he does not take himself too seriously. That balance is rare, and it is beautiful.
There are many ways to define excellence. We often define it through achievement, recognition, status, and visible success. But after spending time with Florian, I found myself thinking that excellence may be something quieter than that.
Maybe excellence is how you greet people or how fully you listen. Maybe excellence is building something beautiful without losing your warmth along the way. Maybe excellence is making people feel like they matter, whether they are a guest in a presidential suite, a job candidate, or someone who walked into your office unannounced.
That kind of excellence does not just elevate a hotel. It elevates a city and the people around it. And it reminds all of us what is still possible in a world that so often feels rushed, distracted, and impersonal.
I left that conversation feeling grateful. Grateful for leaders who are steady. Grateful for people who bring real humanity into places that could so easily become transactional. Grateful that Minneapolis gets to claim Florian as one of our own.
And maybe that is the real takeaway.
In the end, people may remember the hotel, the title, the brand, the success.
But what they will never forget is how you made them feel.
Four Seasons Hotel in Minneapolis - https://www.fourseasons.com/minneapolis/
Connect with Florian HERE.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jasnaburza.substack.com
