Richard Fain - Royal Caribbean Chairman | How Culture Took Us from $550M to $90 Billion
Description
➡️ Join 321,000 people who read my free weekly newsletter: https://newsletter.scottdclary.com
➡️ Like The Podcast? Leave A Rating: https://ratethispodcast.com/successstory
Richard D. Fain led Royal Caribbean Group as CEO from 1988, growing it from a $550 million company into a $90 billion cruise industry giant. A Berkeley and Wharton grad, he's known for pioneering revolutionary ship designs and sustainability initiatives that changed how the world cruises. His culture-driven leadership style built one of the most innovative and successful companies in global travel. He now serves as Chairman of the Board.
➡️ Show Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardfain/
➡️ Podcast Sponsors
Hubspot - https://hubspot.com/
ShipStation - https://www.shipstation.com/ (Code: SuccessStory)
Square - https://square.com/go/success
SurveyMonkey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/scott
Monarch Money - https://www.monarchmoney.com (Code: Success)
Claude - https://claude.ai/success
Incogni - https://incogni.com/success (Code: Success)
Huel - https://huel.com/scott (Code: scott)
Think Big, Buy Small Podcast - https://link.chtbl.com/B2cH36AX?sid=SuccessStory
NetSuite — https://netsuite.com/scottclary/
Indeed - https://indeed.com/clary
➡️ Talking Points
00:00 – Intro
01:28 – Why Richard Fain Can’t Retire
02:44 – 33 Years as a Cruise Industry CEO
04:55 – The Death of Long-Term Thinking
06:36 – The Inflection Point That Changed Everything
08:18 – Building Culture with Intention
12:35 – Leading Under Pressure Without Losing Culture
15:32 – Vision vs. Intentionality: What’s the Difference?
18:17 – Hiring the Right People for the Mission
21:09 – Alignment Over Consensus
23:46 – Sponsor Break
28:21 – Killing Ego While Leading with Purpose
30:17 – Driving Results Without Burning Out Your Team
35:47 – The CEO’s Decision-Making Framework
38:11 – How to Create True Innovation
42:52 – Inside Royal Caribbean’s ‘Culture of WOW’
46:28 – Sponsor Break
49:21 – Getting Your People to Go the Extra Mile
52:59 – Turning Products into Culture Statements
1:01:35 – Fear Makes People Stupid
1:06:04 – How to Pass the Torch the Right Way
1:12:16 – Lessons from Richard Fain’s Book
1:13:31 – The Most Important Lesson for His Kids
United States
