Episode 84 – EMI Perspectives: Laura Waldman

Jason Risley: Welcome to TRSA’s Linen, Uniform & Facility Services Podcast. I’m Jason Risley. In this episode, we focus on TRSA’s Executive Management Institute, better known as EMI, one of the industry’s premier leadership-development programs. Joining me is Laura Waldman, vice president at Superior Linen Service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a fourth-year EMI student preparing to complete her final year in the program.

Laura shares how EMI helped her transition from a career outside the industry into an executive leadership role, the value of the relationships and industry network she has built along the way, and the practical lessons she’s brought back to Superior Linen Service. We also discuss the unique blend of professional education and personal development that has made EMI such a respected program throughout the linen, uniform and facility services industry.

Whether you’re considering EMI for yourself, evaluating leadership-development opportunities for your team, or simply interested in hearing how the next generation of talent is preparing to step into leadership roles, this conversation offers valuable insights into the lasting impact of the program.

Jason Risley: I am here today with Laura Waldman, vice president with Superior Linen Service in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thanks for joining me today, Laura.

Laura Waldman: Thanks for having me on, Jason. I really appreciate it.

Jason Risley: We’ve seen a lot of each other lately. We just saw each other in Nashville, Tennessee, for the Next-Generation Executives Network Workshop. What did you think of this year’s workshop event?

Laura Waldman: I loved it. I thought Nashville was a really fun city. I loved going to the minor league ballgame. I thought it was a great time to hang out on the patio and get to chat with everyone in a less formal setting than, you know, a meeting usually is. I had a great time.

Jason Risley: It was a nice space for everybody to network and catch up with each other at the baseball game. I thought Damus did a really great job of bringing a lot of energy for his portion of the workshop the next day, and Matthew from Performance Matters added a lot as well.

Laura Waldman: Yeah, I thought the two of them brought a lot of great content to that meeting.

Jason Risley: Moving on from the Next-Generation Executives Network, you’re also going through the EMI program at TRSA, and you’re in your fourth year heading into this year, so you’ll be rounding out your final year in Chicago. How has the EMI program influenced your professional development?

Laura Waldman: I’m part of the family ownership of this business. Despite growing up in the business and working here every summer, there’s a real big difference between working in the plant. You know, I tied a lot of bundles, I jumped a lot of routes. I left and had my other career and when I came back, it was in this executive role. So I was really starting from square one because I didn’t have any experience at that sort of executive level decision making or how to interact in the industry in that role. So I had been back for all of three weeks when I went to EMI, and I knew basically nothing. But at EMI, you have this tailored course material, and you have this really intensive situation where you’re together for a week with all these other leaders from across the industry. Everyone there wants to grow, wants to learn and build networks. You have this great learning experience from the course material, but then outside of that, you also have the opportunity to build these relationships with all these other folks that are here. You really get to learn quickly about, you know, the scale of the industry from folks with different perspectives, different

operators, suppliers, different regions and you really get to learn a lot very quickly while you’re there. So it was really helpful for me, especially coming in so fresh.

Jason Risley: You talked a lot about the relationships that you gain when you’re going through the EMI program. Is there any way that the program has influenced your personal development as well, as professionally?

Laura Waldman: Yeah, and because EMI is around the anniversary of my start date, every year I take the opportunity to look back and reflect on what’s happened in that previous year, what I’ve accomplished or how my own role has been able to change within my organization. Every year, EMI for me is like a benchmark of how much have I grown and how much have I developed? And you mentioned the relationships. I think one of the most important things to me is when you get to see these same folks year after year, it’s almost like summer camp. You know, you get to see your friends again and you know so many more people, you get excited to go back and see them every year. Those two things together have been really important for me as I’ve transitioned and become more solid in this industry.

Jason Risley: Have you been able to develop a network outside of Superior Linen Service throughout the industry by going through the program?

Laura Waldman: Oh, absolutely. We had, when we came in, there were a few other individuals that were a similar stage to me, you know, within their first couple of years or just a few years in the industry. We all ended up together in year one and we’ve got a group text, you know, we check in on each other every once in a while. And you start to see these folks, some of them are operators and you see them at production meetings or other industry meetings. Some of them are suppliers. You get to learn that way from people who support the industry as well. I just love getting to see those folks again a couple times a year. It’s really awesome.

Jason Risley: Have you been able to take any practical knowledge from EMI and apply it to your organization? If so, can you give an example of how?

Laura Waldman: Absolutely. I think, especially in year one and year two, there are a lot of scenarios, a lot of situations that you get to walk through, and you just kind of build your comfort level in dealing with some of those situations. When something happens in the office, oh, you know, we’ve seen this before. It’s not completely fresh, you at least have some idea of how to approach the situation. And then in year two, we had these projects where you can bring ideas like challenges that you’re working with in your own companies and work on these challenges with other folks who also think that’s a challenge worth addressing. You get a lot of idea generation, a lot of brainstorming, problem solving from other people in similar situations. And you can bring a lot of those ideas back with you, you know, to your day-to-day.

Jason Risley: So each year has really brought something unique and valuable that you’ve learned that you’ve been able to bring back to the organization.

Laura Waldman: I agree. And I think one of the cool things about EMI is that because each year has a different focus, you’re able to really cover a wide range of topics. So you can get the introductory management stuff from year one and a little bit more advanced in year two. There’s a lot of personal development and personal history stuff in year three that is incredible really to go through. And then, you know, the more challenging situations that I have coming up in year four, I’m really looking forward to it. It covers just a huge breadth of information in the training.

Jason Risley: What do you think the return on investment is when leadership chooses to send their teams through EMI?

Laura Waldman: I think, obviously, EMI at its base is just a really great training program that’s tailored for our industry with a lot of content that we need in our operations, but a lot of it is also that network piece. Now I have a group of friends that I can call for help if I need anything, or I can call to discuss issues or to get ideas. That relationship piece is a huge part of it for me. I think having that relationship, in the same way that a cost group or something else we have in the industry might provide that relationship and build that trust and give you that network of people you can reach out to if you ever need to.

Jason Risley: As a leader at your company, is there any thought of sending more members of your team through the EMI program?

Laura Waldman: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve had a great experience and I want to continue to participate in the program as much as I can. So this year, we’re going to send my associate director of sales. He’ll be starting year one. I think he’s really looking forward to getting into the program and getting to expand his industry network as well.

Jason Risley: Oh, great. So you’ll bookend the years basically. He’ll be in year one and you’ll be graduating in year four this year.

Laura Waldman: Exactly, we’ll get him started going this year.

Jason Risley: What does EMI offer that no other program does, in your opinion?

Laura Waldman: One of the great things about EMI is that because it’s so tailored and each year has a different focus, we’re able to really spend a lot of time going in depth into these topics in a way that’s more advanced than you would be able to get from sessions at a conference, which are more limited time. You can really dive into the material and spend time working through it with your peers. One of the cool things I think about EMI is that year three piece that really focuses on your personal self. You learn about yourself a lot going through that program. I think that’s a really cool thing, especially there’s a lot of folks who haven’t had the opportunity to do work at that kind of depth before. I think it’s great, a lot of people get a lot out of that program.

Jason Risley: What is the importance of EMI to this industry?

Laura Waldman: EMI is, it’s like a source of pride in the industry, where now that people know that I’m in it currently, there’s a connection, even with folks who aren’t in it currently, like former executives or former leadership who have been through it, they say, oh, I was in EMI five years before you and that. So there’s a connection in it and a source of pride that of people who have gone through that program, there’s a big sense of importance around it. And I think that’s pretty cool.

Jason Risley: Yeah, there’s a really large alumni network that you can connect with at different TRSA events or different industry events.

Laura Waldman: Absolutely. All of those folks are excited to talk about it once they hear it. So you can tell that’s something that sticks with you and you carry it with you while you’re in your career.

Jason Risley: Seems like it really has an impact on people’s professional development, but then even, like you said, there’s that personal piece that you focus on in year three that a lot of people seem to get a lot out of that year as well.

Laura Waldman: Absolutely.

Jason Risley: In closing, let’s do a rapid fire round of maybe in five words or less, if you could give me your thoughts on each of these areas of EMI. What is one thing that you least expected out of the EMI program?

Laura Waldman: It really was the depth of the personal relationships you form. You know, I was looking forward to meeting people, but I didn’t really understand or wasn’t expecting how good of friends that I would, friendships that I could develop during this program.

Jason Risley: What’s one thing that everyone should be sure to pack when leaving for the EMI program?

Laura Waldman: Within my small group of peers, every year we end up playing cards and we sit outside at the deck and it was Uno for a couple of years. There’s a lot of trash talk, you know, we’re hanging out, whatever. So I would bring cards to EMI as a little afternoon activity.

Jason Risley: Who knew the Uno games got so competitive?

Laura Waldman: You know, there’s a lot of competitive people in this industry.

Jason Risley: That’s true. What’s the most fun part of the program?

Laura Waldman: I think hanging out together after the graduation dinner, you have this whole week where you’re very busy all week and you’re learning and doing. And then you have this big dinner where you get to recognize everybody. I think a lot of people get a little emotional about it and it’s really cool. And then after that, everyone, we just hang out, we talk about the week and what we’re going forward to, and stay up a little late, you know how it is. But it’s fun. It’s just fun to be together with everybody.

Jason Risley: What’s one thing that you learned that you’ll never forget?

Laura Waldman: I learned a lot of lessons from the year one instructor, Kent Baker, who I know passed earlier this year, but I think he was just a really, a cool individual, extremely intelligent and knowledgeable person who was really willing to give back to education. He had a lot of lessons baked into that program that everyone who has ever met him, you know, remembers Kent Baker in some way.

Jason Risley: Yeah, Dr. Baker had a wealth of knowledge and he really was involved with the program for such a long time. He’ll definitely be missed.

Jason Risley: What’s one thing you’re most looking forward to this summer?

Laura Waldman: I’m looking forward to seeing our new place that EMI is going to be in Chicago this year. I had a great time in Maryland and have a lot of fond memories attached to that place, but I’m really looking forward to seeing our new place in Chicago and what it’s going to be like.

Jason Risley: It’s exciting. You’ll close out your EMI experience in a new venue in Chicago this summer. That’s the last of the questions that I had for you. Do you have anything that you wanted to add about the EMI program that you think we didn’t cover?\

Laura Waldman: I would just advocate, I think it’s a great program and I think everyone should, everyone in the industry should do it. It’s so fun. The relationship building is so great. You really do learn a lot. If it’s at all possible, I’d recommend setting the time aside. I think it’s really worth it.

Jason Risley: Laura, thanks again for talking with me and sharing your experience at EMI.

Laura Waldman: Thanks so much, Jason.

Jason Risley: That wraps up our conversation with Laura Waldman, vice president at Superior Linen Service in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Laura’s experience highlights what makes the Executive Management Institute such a valuable investment for both participants and their organizations: industry-specific education, practical leadership training, meaningful personal development and a professional network that lasts well beyond the classroom. As Laura shared, EMI isn’t just about gaining knowledge. It’s about building relationships, sharing challenges with peers and developing the skills needed to lead the future of the linen, uniform and facility services industry. If you’d like to learn more about TRSA’s Executive Management Institute and other professional-development opportunities, visit trsa.org. Thanks for listening to the Linen, Uniform and Facility Services Podcast. Make sure you subscribe on Apple iTunes so you don’t miss an episode.