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Glaze and Grit
Glaze and Grit
Michelle Schumacher: Chief Financial Officer at Stoneridge Software (Episode 02)
Michelle Schumacher is a BOSS. Her leadership expansive. Michelle is a thoughtful and diligent leader while being a very active community member and an amazing mother to two beautiful girls. Michelle serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Stoneridge Software, overseeing the financial and IT teams. Prior to Stoneridge, Michelle’s previous work experience included leading teams at Microsoft and Eide Bailly. Michelle’s leadership extends into industry and community, serving on numerous community-driven organizations.
The other day, we went to a friend's house in new Ulm, Minnesota, and we were riding bike and I was riding with my eight year old and there was this yard and I said, Oh, Libby, look at that yard. It's full of sprouted dandelions. She goes, mom, that's ugly. That's a field full of wishes. And I thought, Oh my gosh, how awesome and how true it gets, just taking that lens and flipping that to the field full of wishes. And, and I just got goosebumps and I, I had told her, I said, Olivia, I just love that. That's the way that you look at the world. That's a field of wishes and I'll tell you, I was driving around this weekend. And I, that's all I could see in the fields where there's Daniel lines as well.
Speaker 2:This is Jesse, this is Janine. And then it's Leyland grant. We're on a journey to share the real story. Michelle is a boss. She is amazing. We work with her. She's just one of the executives on our leadership team. And by the way, which is also really cool. We have four women on our executive team out of eight executives.
Speaker 1:And I think what's even more empowering is the way that they handle it. Every interaction when they're at work, like we have some of the strongest, most innovative and inspiring women leadership at Stoneridge. And I cannot wait for the rest of our listeners to just get a quarter of that from Michelle and to just see the greatness that she shows up every day that we get to see how's it going? Good. I think I need to remind my family to be a little quiet or hold on. They're all making dinner because it's seven 30. So why not in the true spirit of glaze and grit? Um, we are hanging on tonight. Well, thanks for coming on. Yes, absolutely. Michelle, like we just stated before, we're just super excited to have you on the show, obviously, Jesse and I found you to be such an inspiring, amazing leader. And what better to have you kick off our first guest, which is awesome. I know you grew up in Fargo, North Dakota attended high school in Fargo, South. And then after graduation made your way to the university of North Dakota on a music scholarship, you said music was your life in our earlier discussion. So what drew you to music? Yeah, you know, I actually don't remember where it started, but it was always something for me that gave me an outlet to, to just have something that was a passion, right. To work hard and, um, to really try and get better at something. And in the spirit of, you know, I was growth mindset
Speaker 3:Putting that time and that effort in, so, so in high school I got a music scholarship to U N D and went up there and started as a music major. And that lasted for about two classes. Uh, until I learned that you have to sing to be a music major and all that, you have to be good at it, but you do have to sing. And that was a absolute no-go for me. Uh, so I ended up changing my major about two classes into college and did accounting, but I did stay in play in the wind ensemble with the music majors and the saxophone quartet and played in the marching band for a while, until I slammed my instrument in my car door and decided that was enough of that. Um, you know, I grew up in Fargo, as you mentioned, my family owned a bakery, so my dad was born in Germany. And when his family moved over to the United States, my grandpa started working at the bakery. And, um, for folks that are from Fargo, um, the name of the bakery was quality bakery. And it was around for over 90 years before we closed it. So just a long history in the Fargo area. And, you know, that really taught me the importance of work ethic and the importance of just really sticking to something. And, you know, I remember working there as young as I can remember. I started there for a little growing up with my dad, growing up with my grandpa and eventually my stepmom, um, on the bakery with them. So just really something to focus on and, and continue to just learn and get better. And actually right before I jumped on here, I was pulling my saxophone back out. I kind of took a little while when, when I had kids and my daughter now is at the age where she is, I'm going to start playing in bands. So we bought a new saxophone. So I've been pulling that out and playing it again.
Speaker 2:[inaudible]
Speaker 1:You mentioned something that's interesting. I think a lot of college students experience that they go in thinking that they're going to start one major. Then they realize that that's not exactly where life is taking them. And that switch can be a pretty hard decision and kind of scary. How did you handle that change in deciding where the wind was taking you next?
Speaker 3:You know, it's actually interesting. I don't remember making the change. I remember very vividly that I was not going to sing, so that sticks out just clear as day, but I don't necessarily remember why the switch, but I do remember that talking back to work ethic, accounting was one of the hard, harder majors. And I think what drew me to it was kind of the challenge of it was really a you drop out or you make it class, right? Your generals, you had to take an accounting course. And just thinking that he, this is going to be a challenge. I'm going to try to do it. I remember that pretty clearly. And then going on to do, you know, 150 credit hours that are needed for the CPA exam and trying to fit that into four years versus five while doing music was something that it was a lot of fun, but a lot of work,
Speaker 1:Clearly you love challenges, which would make your first job out of college was at a big four public accounting firm in Minneapolis. Can you share a little bit about your journey there and where that took you on your next steps?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, so I actually interned with a big four, um, my, between my sophomore and junior years in college, and then decided that that's where I wanted to work when I got out of college. So moved to Minneapolis, lived there for a couple of years and worked for price Waterhouse Coopers in downtown Minneapolis, which was, you talk about hard work and preparing for that. Um, big four public accounting is definitely something that you need to be prepared for hard work, but I also think it's two of the years that I learned more than I learned anywhere else. And it was just really, really cool. And I loved working there. I still have so many, so many great friends that are from that time that actually went on to be great friends today and funny enough small world. Um, I work at Stoneridge today and one of the gals that I met at Pricewaterhouse became our maid of honor in our wedding and is now a client of ours at Stoneridge. Not having anything to do with me just happened to be a Stoneridge client, those friendships carry on both work and professional and just really awesome. We moved back to Fargo when my husband and I got engaged and we just wanted to be closer to family and stayed in public accounting and went to Eide Bailly where we both worked for a number of years and learned, learned a lot.
Speaker 1:Was it intimidating, stepping into a big four?
Speaker 3:So I remember going and having these meetings with business people that I have no idea what's going on. Right. And you have those conversations and you hope you sound okay and you don't really know. And so, yeah, I mean, it was, it was, it was definitely like that, which actually was a great experience. Then when I had a few years under my belt and was able to go back and help other people, because you really quickly forget how hard it is, right? You, you get there and you learn and you go back even just a couple of years and remember how much those folks are learning. And it's just a set of empathy that you can share with them.
Speaker 1:One of the many things Michelle, that is incredible about you is your passion for volunteering and serving on numerous boards that not only impacts our local community, but on a state and national level as well. The boards you've served on include the North Dakota CPA society, Y WCA Cass, clay, university of North Dakota department of accountancy and the finance committee for the United way of Cass clay. What drives you to give your time, your energy and resources to the community in this way? Yeah.
Speaker 3:Volunteering is, is a passion. I love it in so many different ways. I wouldn't say any volunteer experience has provided the same thing or given back to me the same things as, as another one, what really started that passion was back when I worked at Eide Bailly, I did a lot of audits that were for nonprofit groups. And, and what I really learned pretty quickly was that a lot of nonprofits obviously want their money and their resources to go back to the community. And it's often hard to afford a financial mindset on staff. And if you do it, maybe someone that's maybe newer out of school or potentially more of a bookkeeper type of person versus strategic thinking. And so I really learned quickly how much value that that skillset could bring to the mission that these organizations have. And it just became just enlightening, right? It start, it starts off small. You know, people always ask me, well, how do you start volunteering? How do I get in? Because it seems so daunting, right? And it starts really small. Like for me, it was junior achievement. I was a classroom volunteer when I worked for Pricewaterhouse, I started out and I went into high school classes and taught people about resumes and it was three hours a year. It wasn't anything crazy. And then when I moved back to Fargo, someone at junior achievement in Minneapolis had heard, I was moving back to Fargo and called the director and said, Hey, one of our volunteers is moving and we had just kicked up junior achievement in Fargo. I started volunteering here and then ended up on the board of directors there over time. And then things just start to kind of move. At that point. You meet people and you learn about things that you're passionate about in the community. And, um, one thing tends to lead to another. And again, it's all starting just with giving to something you're passionate about. And over time people understand where your skill sets are and how that can benefit. And those things just balloon and grow. And what you'll find is I get so much more out of it than I put into it.
Speaker 1:Michelle, two of your many accomplishments include graduating from United ways, 35, under 35 program and receiving your American Institute of CPA leadership Academy certificate from the CEO and board president. You stated you didn't think those were possible. Why is that?
Speaker 3:You know, I think just like anyone, you always do the what ifs or it's someone else. It's not me. It's often really easy to skip over those type of things that seem too big for you or too big for your life, because it's hard. It's scary. You know, the chances of me getting in might not be that, that high. And so I had those feelings just like everyone else when I applied for both of those programs. And it's just back to that, self-doubt of is this for me? Am I really the person? Right. And what I've found is T take a stab at it, right. If you don't make it the first time and you don't, maybe you don't get it at all, but every time that I've applied for something and not gotten in, I've learned something really awesome out of the process. So just really trying to take that mindset and looking at what am I going to learn? What am I going to grow? Even if maybe that end goal isn't exactly as I envisioned it, what did I learn along the way? And sometimes that can be hard to see. And sometimes maybe you don't see it until later, but what I've found is even if it's that particular experience, maybe I didn't learn that time, but when I go back and apply for something in the future or do something in the future, it always comes back and, and reminds you and helps you to grow. So just keep trying and don't give up and don't doubt yourself is what I would say. Really great advice. Well, I remember
Speaker 1:Michelle, we were at a retirement party, a coworker retirement party. I was in a moment of feeling completely inadequate in my job. And I'm feeling great as a mom, as a friend, just the pressures of just trying to juggle it all. And I remember sitting next to you and thinking, you know, she's incredibly intelligent. She's always on her game and a very demanding job you're involved in the community. You're raising a family. And by the way, you look great coming from YouTube, that's a pretty, pretty big compliment. So, and in a moment of just frankness, you know, I asked you, how do you manage it all? And I remember you said to me, I don't. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I actually didn't really realize this, honestly, until I started thinking about this podcast. I have two really, really good friends that are both awesome parents and awesome. And the messiest sense that I will tell you that I am as well and awesome at their jobs, just in both, in both ways. And I do kind of a side note, but that's one of my pieces of advice is find your tribe, right? Like these are the people that will help you through the days where stuff just isn't okay. And I asked them, I said, what is it about me that you guys, you know, kind of my message, what, you know, you guys see me in every light that there is. So what are things that you think about? And they said you you're real. And I don't know that I necessarily realized that before, but I think one of the things that's beautiful about life is that it's really messy, right? Like I love the coldness came from someone that I worked with at Microsoft. And it just continues to make me chuckle is when those days get super crazy, which, you know, in the world today, it feels like almost every day, just to pause and say, this is what it's like to have it all. And it makes me laugh because it's so true. Right. Hey, you're in the midst of just something bonkers. So you step back and then you think this is what it's like to have it all. I'm so lucky that I have a job. I'm so lucky that I have kids that can make a mess in my house. Now, granted, today, I'm not feeling that way, but I try to feel that way, right. Is I'm super, super lucky to have all of these things that are causing this chaos. The opposite side is I'm alone. Right. And I'm by myself and I don't have all of these things. So just really looking at the thankful side of it. And like I mentioned, I have an eight year old today. That's left everything like Hansel and Gretel on our trail. So it's been a little bit of a challenging evening, but again, that's the beauty of it. And I think about the days when they're not here and it's going to be when it's hard,
Speaker 1:Michelle, what you just discussed made me think of another quote that you shared with Jesse. And I, I truly believe the difference between hardship and adventure is simply perspective. And you could really hear that resonating through almost every word you just said. What about that quote really speaks to you
Speaker 3:That actually, you know, if I think about kind of what I by, I would come back to that quote as being it. And it's not necessarily that that's been it for me forever. You know, you, you talk about all the things that go well, and you just ask the question on, you know, how do you handle things that don't, and in one of the things that maybe hasn't gone ideal over the last number of years is, um, I received a cancer diagnosis in 2016. And you know, that was, it was super hard, right? You hear that word and you just panic. It's it's, I've got little kids. Are they not going to grow up with a mom what's going to happen and got so hard that there were days that I actually had to call my mom in the middle of the night and have her come over and sleep next to me because it just was the only thing that calmed me down. I was having major panic attacks in the middle of the night. And I remember we had a Disney cruise scheduled for a few days after that diagnosis that we had been planning for for so long. And I didn't want to go all of a sudden a trip that I had been just dreaming of. I had zero interest. All I wanted to do is get to Mayo and find out how bad it was going to be. It was really just, just a really challenging time and really hard to find those positives. Even though I try to be a person that looks for the silver lining is there's just certain things in life that that's really, really hard to do. And I remember opening a CaringBridge posts from a gentleman that's about my age that worked at Microsoft that had some major health things come up and it was a really, really sad deal. And his sister posted this quote that said, I truly believe the difference between a hardship and an adventure is simply perspective. And something about that quote, my whole mind shift changed. It just flipped from being, Oh my gosh, what's going to happen to, you know what, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna figure out what comes next. I'm going to take it as it comes. I'm going to take one step at a time. I'm going to be okay. And, you know, there were still days that were hard. I'm not going to say everything flipped to, to Rosie, but it certainly gives you just a different lens on things. And, and I I've really tried to live by that in days that I find that I'm getting down or I'm nervous about something. You know, when I first started at Stoneridge, like getting up in front of the company was tough. And I'm not someone that generally gets terribly nervous about talking, which I'm sure is a shocker to everyone, but I was right. And it's taking it even in those situations and saying, this is an adventure, right? Maybe it's not comparing to a hardship, but this is going to be an adventure. And it just, it ignites something different, right? It's an excitement. Um, and it really came true the other day. Uh, we went to a friend's house in new, old Minnesota. Um, and we were riding bike and I was riding with my eight year old and there was this yard and I said, Oh, Olivia, look at that yard. It's full of sprouted, Danny lies. She goes, mom, that's not ugly. That's a field full of wishes. And I thought, Oh my gosh, how awesome and how true. It's just taking that lens and flipping that to the field full of wishes. And, and I just got goosebumps and I had told her, I said, Olivia, I just love that. That's the way that you look at the world. That's a field of wishes. And I'll tell you, I was driving around this weekend. And I, that's all I could see in the fields where there's Daniel lines is it's a field of wishes.
Speaker 1:Thank you for, for sharing your story and a struggle that you went through and something, I mean, the reason Jesse and I started glaze and grit was for exactly what you just discussed, because I can see myself, I see you stand up every day in our meetings and our, this bright light in our office and are so inclusive of our teams and just always bring this light and brightness and fun myself, not knowing anything. I would have never guessed that you had been through that struggle or had those days of questioning, or even have those days when you didn't want to get up and be in front of the team. It's just shattering those perceptions of seeing the person as the whole person, everything that they bring to the table. So just really thank you for sharing that little piece of your story with us. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me. It's, it's very, very fun. And, uh, you know, we talked about looking good at the office. My new thing is, um, I'm going to try to bring yoga pants back. You know, we've been working at home. I think it's a pretty good style. So I'm hoping that when we get back to the office, that it's our new thing,
Speaker 1:Michelle, you know, we've gone through from starting off to getting your music scholarship, all of your amazing stepping stones in your career. Now being the CFO at Stoneridge software, did you think your life journey thus far would wouldn't lead you to where you're at today?
Speaker 3:It's, it's actually interesting because I am a, I'm a big planner in so many ways and, and I love to be organized and plan everything, which has kind of changed since having kids. I still love it. I just don't get to do it as much. But you know, when I think about career in life, I have North stars and I have things, you know, I, I was on a work towards kind of what's that North star, but I try not to get too planful and too stressed out about what comes in the middle. And my approach really is if you treat people with respect and you make choices that are grounded in integrity, that those things are going to come in in those things that are going to bring you in the direction that that you're meant to go. And so did I think about it? Not, not really, but I didn't know that my North star was somewhere like here. And so I didn't know what path it would be to get there. I didn't know when it would be, but I always just tried to make choices that brought me closer to that. And so I'm excited to see, I will say, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but I sure love it here. And I love continuing to grow and being at a company that we just do new and different things all the time and stay challenged. And it's just, just really exciting. And we have a team of people that has those same values, which I really believe is key to being successful together. So
Speaker 1:What is the season in your life taught you?
Speaker 3:I think not to take things too seriously, you know, I try to, I try to laugh when things go crazy, know there's definitely stressful days and there's, you know, it's not all roses all the time, but just really trying to enjoy the crazy. And, and I think once you give yourself the permission to realize that everybody's in the same boat as you are, it may be different. It may not look the same, but we're all trying to figure it out. It's just a relaxing feeling, right? Or you just feel like you kind of let this weight off your shoulders is there's a lot of social media and there's a lot of things out there that you can compare yourself to, which is great. Like it's great that there's people that have good things going on, but there's also other things, right? And, and not thinking that you have to be only those things. It's, everybody's got struggles. They all look different. They come up at different times, which is really to embrace that. And again, find your people, the friends that I have to bounce, those crazy things off are lifesavers. It's anywhere from my kids doing this to how would you approach this hard situation at work? And having those people that just get you in and out, it's just a game changer. I can't even stress it enough. And you know, you might not have that person right now. And that's okay. You know, it's look for people that have something in common with you because chances are those people are looking for someone just like you. And I listened to your story, Jesse and Janine on your first podcast. And it seemed something just like that, right? Where one of you noticed the other one and you ended up reaching out and you found each other. So it's not that you have to have this friend from junior high, that you don't have it. You're never going to find it. It's realize that everybody is like that. And everybody just longs for someone to be their person. And they look for those people and really embrace, embrace them and, and learn from them. I love that. Be their person Mattel. Thank you so much for sharing your journey. You are very welcome. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining us for this episode of glaze and grit. If you enjoyed this episode and want to continue on this journey with us, please like subscribe and leave us a review. Now, Jesse and Janine.