Tripp Walsworth

Now you’re in the hot seat. (laughs) Let’s just start with some stuff about you. Tell us a little about your hobbies, your interests, what you like to do when you’re not at work.

I think, you know, one of my favorite hobbies is of course to play golf. I really just like to be outside. I’m pretty active. I like to work out. I have a pretty strong friend group here in the Kansas City area, so just hanging out with them: playing pickleball, being outside, running, walking.

I like to read as well. I like to read fiction. I like the work/life balance and I really try to capitalize on a work/life balance. Whenever I’m not working or in the office, or in meetings or traveling for work, I like being outdoors or hanging out with my friends and family.

In high school, you played basketball, right? And you’ve been a golfer. Do you have specific memories from those days? And I was curious if you feel athletics has helped you? What lessons have you learned?

Absolutely. I think for basketball, I was fortunate to play with a lot of really good athletes who are playing in the NBA or playing professionally right now. One of the biggest lessons basketball taught me was hard work. Just about how if you come in and have the mindset of wanting to work to get better, really wanting to improve, the sky’s the limit for you.

I mean, there’s always going to be people who are smarter than you, or bigger than you, more athletic, but if you have the right mindset and mentality of wanting to work hard, the sky’s the limit.

You played against (NBA player) Michael Porter, right? Did I remember that right?

I did. Yes, I did. So, my high school team, my senior year we played against Michael Porter’s team and ended up losing by 2 points for the state title. But I actually made it into Sports Illustrated. There’s a picture of me and Michael Porter, like diving for a basketball and both of our legs are intertwined. So I guess that’s kind of my claim to fame when it comes to Michael Porter.

Back to your original question, I could spend our whole time talking about all the lessons I’ve learned from golf. Golf really just resembles the game of life. It’s more like you could hit a good shot and get a bad break or hit a bad shot and get a good break. It’s just how you respond. And everyone’s going to fail. It’s how you respond to that failure and how you get up from that failure. You’re gonna make mistakes, but how do you grow and not make that same mistake again.

You competitive with your dad when you guys golf?

Extremely competitive. Even my sister. But yeah, every time my dad and I play golf, we’re trying to beat each other. He told me so growing up, whether it was ping pong or golf, he said I’m going to try and beat you every time so that you know, when you beat me the first time, you’ve officially earned it.

So have you started winning against him?

Oh yeah. (laughing) On ping pong, it’s not even close. On golf, it’s close. We go back and forth.

Did you ever want to play professional golf? Follow in your dad’s footsteps in that sense.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I wanted to play college golf. But I really had that hard conversation around my sophomore year in high school where it’s like, it’s not working out. I think that’s what made my dad and I bond even closer, having those difficult conversations. But it was probably some of the best advice and best news I ever heard, especially as a high schooler, because it really kind of put that weight off my chest of trying to live up to those expectations.

It loosened me up. I actually think I got a lot better after that, ironically. (laughs) But just wanting to be like him is a very common theme in my life. Being a good basketball player, a good college golfer, wanting to be a good athlete. But now, once I’ve graduated from that, it’s wanting to be just like him from the business side of things as a leader.

Did you always think there would be a time you would want to come home to your family’s business? Can you tell us about the process there?

When I graduated from Mizzou, there was just a lot… I mean, it was in the middle of COVID. There were a lot of unknowns, a lot of uncertainties. If you take a step back a couple years, around my sophomore year of college, I kind of started the mindset that I wanted to go out and do my own thing. I wanted to prove myself. So I had initial conversations with my dad, saying, hey I think the insurance industry could be a good fit for me. I could learn a lot.

With how Lockton operates, it’s more of how to help and promote from a business perspective. More of the consultant route. It was a great opportunity for me to learn the fundamentals of business, see how businesses operate and do things. And my dad was always on board with me wanting to do my own thing.

When did you know the time was right to come to Walsworth?

I always knew in the back of my mind that Walsworth was a great opportunity. However, I didn’t want to rush into it. I really wanted to make sure that I was fully ready and that my dad and my grandfather were fully ready for me. We started having conversations about nine or 10 months ago. But it just wasn’t the right time. I think I needed to develop a bit more.

So what was the impetus now versus a year ago?

There were a couple really big opportunities for me at Lockton that I wanted to see through. Dealing with, you know, multi-billion dollar general contractors and me being able to present to their executive suite and legal team and risk management teams. I feel like, for me, I wanted to get those opportunities of being comfortable as a young professional presenting and talking to more experienced, extremely talented executives. I felt I needed that opportunity for me to potentially get to a leadership role in the next 10 to 15 years.

It sounds like you’re going to be going through a process where you’ll be visiting the company’s different facilities, learning about the company as a whole. Are there specific areas where you’re really interested in diving in?

For my time at Lockton, I was not on the sales side. I was more on the account managing and account servicing. I think I have a good background in client servicing. I think seeing the sales side of things, especially having been on the yearbook staff in high school, is very interesting to me.

Also really understanding just how the plants operate. The whole operation, the presses, everything. You know, you see them walking through very briefly, but I think seeing more of the operations side of things will be interesting. I want to learn everything. I’m going into this really new, really eager to learn about the company from a holistic perspective, really just trying to dive into the weeds on everything.

You mentioned you were on the yearbook staff in high school. What lessons did you take from that experience?

I learned that I’m not artistic. (laughs) There were a lot of good lessons and the biggest lesson was deadlines. In the yearbook world, there are key deadlines you need to hit in order for the yearbook to be delivered on time and for those seniors get the book at a reasonable time.

Growing up, what were your perceptions of this company? And how has that changed?

I think my two main perceptions of the company are really just around family and community. I think community is probably the biggest perception whenever I went up to the Marceline and Brookfield area growing up. Going to Walsworth picnics, you really get that community.

My dad did a good job of not really ever bringing business home with him. He really didn’t talk about his day-to-day that much. Same with my grandfather too. But I remember going to Marceline and going to the plant and I remember Stanley’s kitchen and all the good meals that he would cook. And still cooks.

How are you and your dad similar? And your grandpa. And how are you guys different?

I think we’re more similar than different. We’re all extremely competitive, extremely motivated, extremely family-oriented and extremely community-oriented. But my whole family are very emotional people. But you all probably know that. (laughs)

What’s one thing about you that most people might not know?

I’m pretty much an open book, but I do like history. I’m a little bit of a history nerd. Hence, that’s why I love to read the Ink book. I can’t put it down. I really like American history, world history. I just love all aspects.

It looks like you’re drinking something from a mug. Are you a coffee drinker, tea drinker, or none of the above like your dad and grandpa?

(laughs) Yeah, my dad has never had a cup of coffee. I didn’t know my grandfather has never had a cup of coffee. I’m the complete opposite. Yeah, I love coffee. It’s funny because my sophomore year of college I went on a trip to Central America. And that’s how I started drinking coffee. And I just drink straight black coffee. There’s nothing fancy to it.

And if I had a mug, what would I put on it? Honestly, it would probably just be plain because I love my coffee plain but it’s one of the first things I look forward to. I probably drink two or three cups every day. But only in the morning. I can’t drink it in the afternoon. Because then I might stay up all night.

So you graduated right around the start of the pandemic. Is there anything that stands out as something you missed out on because of that time?

I think the easy answer is graduation (from Mizzou). I never walked. But I mean, I feel like through the pandemic, my family got closer. My friends, we got closer as well. My mom probably misses out on me walking (for graduation) more than I missed it.

But in replacement of that, I remember coming home for a couple months before I graduated, and my sister was already home, and as a family we really bonded. Which was good because we hadn’t been together much as a family with my sister being gone for school and traveling, and I was traveling being in school and over the summer having an internship. I have such great memories of us playing cards every day, playing golf, being outdoors, we got a puppy, so there were a lot of great family moments for us.

Any ideas we haven’t covered or thoughts you want to express about the future of the company?

I’m just very excited and very happy to get going with this new role. I’m going to ask questions and I’m really open to learning everything. But I also want to try to add value as much as possible and as early as possible as well. I really want to help continue this company and continue the legacy and help us grow.