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Glympse

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I've been playing with this new app...Glympse. It's a GPS location service which tracks your phone as you drive. It's great for giving people a "glimpse" of where you are and how long it might take for you to arrive at your destination...home, work, hotel, etc.

There are numerous possible uses in hotel operations. Perhaps a driver tracking method. Ever wonder when the airport driver will return to the hotel? How about someone making a delivery?

Anyway, give it a whirl. And, let me know how you end up using it.

 

 

 

 

Keep It Simple

If you're about to print new business cards, please consider that most of them will be thrown in the trash...after they're scanned into a contact database. Virtually all OCR software (optical character recognition) has trouble with small print, graphics, colored backgrounds and fancy fonts. So stop worrying about catching someone's eye...it's not necessary. Rather, save them some time and aggravation.

Keep it simple...for technology sake.

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Heaven on Earth

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Sitting here drinking an authentic Mexican Coca Cola (yes, there is a difference) while peering over the top of my Macbook Air at the ocean (I have my priorities)...I came across this little riff from David Wolanski 

I've been working on making changes myself so that mine isn't a colorless cubicle shaped stew pot. Part of it is preparing mentally, and part of it is thinking about how to use the tools at hand to shape something that is my own version of heaven on earth. Bring beauty and encouragement to others. Give of my time talent and treasure to make a heaven here on earth and leave a legacy behind that outlives my time this side of the veil.

Amen...and don't settle for anything less.

 

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What Did You Do to Move Your Organization Forward in 2010?

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Whether you work for yourself or for a company of 5,000...the question is the same. This is the simplest form of the annual performance review. If you're honest with yourself, you can get a lot from the answer. If you think you might cheat a little, ask five or ten other people that are close to you. By the way, the same principle can and should be applied to how you did with friends and family.


Linchpin Meetup Next Tuesday, December 7th in Little Rock

I've agreed to host the second (first one was last June) Linchpin Meetup, this time in Little Rock at the Capital Hotel. Details and sign up can be found here. I attended the last one when I was in Munich...a very interesting group and good discussion.

If you don't know what this is about...read this. Having read Seth Godin's book, Linchpin, is a real plus, but not required. The only prerequisite is wanting to discover new ideas, connect with like minded people and have fun.

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Build a Hospitality Culture...or Die

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This time of year is loaded with lists...of things you should and shouldn't do. This one by Guy Kawasaki may be one of the most complete I've ever read. It's practically a book full of advice given in a few paragraphs. While he intended it for small business, it applies to everyone, big or small.

Not surprisingly, my favorite point is the first one...put likeable, competent people on the front line. Seems like a no brainer. But, virtually every company does exactly the opposite. They let the lowest paid, least experienced talent make the first impressions. This is a culture developed by big business out of desparation...desparation to control every aspect of a customer interaction. Unfortunately, it often backfires. That's why small business is making a strong comeback, using hospitality...meaningful interactions and personal relationships...to build a loyal audience of raving fans and stealing market share in the process. Yes, there's plenty of stumbling in the process. But, who cares, as long as the customer is happy and there's enough in the financial tank to open tomorrow.

The smaller the business, the easier it is to put your best people on the firing line. It just works out naturally. The coffee shop owner is the barista, the the innkeeper is at the front desk, etc. But, as your business grows past one or two it becomes exponentially problematic. We're taught (in business school and by experience in other large companies) that when you add staff, you need to add managers to manage them...to control what and how much the group produces. We're taught that this is actually the coveted spot in the organization, first to manage front line workers, then to manage managers and so on. So, as one gets "smarter", they move further and further away from the customer. The irony is that as we move away from our customer, we actually get dumber. A dumber organization with more layers, i.e., overhead...how smart is that?

So, what to do...

The extreme would be to put the highest paid, most experienced group up front. But, this is financially challenging and organizationally ineffective, especially as you grow. The reality is that bigger means there's more administrative stuff to do. Here's a compromise. Make sure that more than half, closer to two thirds of your management (assuming they're the most competent and likeable) spend more time on the front line with their staff than in an office or cube. This means two things need to happen. Non-customer related work needs to be reduced or shifted elsewhere. If it's non-essential to building a loyal fan base, let someone else do it, i.e., outsourcing. Secondly, build a hospitality culture by hiring people who want to be near the customer. This is the hardest part. Odds are, you're not going to find them in the traditional places...at business school or at a large firm. So, if your priority is to build a hospitality culture (it should be), stop looking there. That means you'll need to either grow your own or find some in small business. Small business produces the most likeable and nimble talent on the planet...out of necessity. They either serve the customer remarkable well or they die. These people can infuse your company with the hospitlaity culture you need to be front line focused. Likely, they'll also be the ones that don't follow rules well or know how develop a fifty- page strategic plan. But remember, your customer isn't buying those things. They're buying likeable people who can quickly solve their problems. So, please get some.

 

 

 

 

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Who Are You?

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The first thing you should figure out about a new employee is not what they can do...but rather who they are.

Most employer-employee failures happen as a result of culture misalignment, not the inability to do "the job". So, ask yourself why job descriptions are largely task oriented, why interviews focus so much on experience and why we spend so much time showing someone how to do it. Instead, spend more time getting to know what makes someone tick, understanding their world view and what their dreams are...this is the stuff that counts in the end.

 

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In Between

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We put a lot into figuring out how to improve things for guests. We spend an enormous amount of time on comfort, the meal, the meeting experience and the sales transaction. Not at all a bad thing. But, it turns out that what happens upon arrival and departure is often more important than what happens in between. Essentially, you get one chance to say hello and good bye. Fail in either of these and it's probably a lasting and underwhleming impression.

Treat someone like you genuinely care about them when they show up and when they leave and you'll be doing something different than your competition and vastly improve your chances to make a friend. So, find your best hosts, greeters and personalities and have them train everyone else in the organization. Those that don't make the cut...well, they don't make the cut. You need to draw line somewhere.

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Sorting

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When we show up somewhere, at the movie theater, bus station, hotel or a hospital we want our problem solved. Not the other guy's problem. We are looking for personal attention to our concern or desire. Of course, most of the places aren't set up that way. They make us stand in line at the hotel front desk, the bus ticket counter, the grocery check-out line or take a seat in a crowded waiting room. Generally, we all have the same problem or request...register at the hotel, buy a bus ticket or groceries, or we're sick. But, one step further and our needs fragment quickly. One person is at the hotel for a meeting, another on vacation. One person is taking the bus across country, the other to a town an hour away. My child has a broken arm, yours has the flu. Yet, we're all stuffed or channeled into the same place. Why?

Because it's easier for the business...that's the only reason. It would be better (much better) for you and me if someone met us at the door, quickly understood our problem and began solving it...not the other guy's. That means they would listen sort. Going to Cleveland? That requires some additional planning and time...you go there. Jonesboro...no problem, it's our most popular trip...an express ticket option is available here...done. You're here because you feel like you have the flu?...go into this special area (quarantined) with other flu like people. Broken arm? Right this way to Xray.

In business, we have an inherent problem up front, at the sorting point. We bottle neck it. We often combine the least experienced talent with a "process" to solve it..bad combination, for the customer anyway. A better way is to put a lot of energy, time and talent into solving the sorting process. Painful at first, but extremely effective long-term. This is not an area to follow someone's lead. You need to define your own method and category. Southwest did it with open seating. You can too.

One tip...a self-check in kiosk or self check-out scanner is rarely the answer...an intelligent person is.

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Forgettable Work

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July, 1998...that's when I drew my line in the sand. That's when I (and my bosses) decided I wasn't going to do any more work that wasn't meaningful. It was then that I worked my last "job" (managing the hotel pictured above) where I was paid to show up and manage what someone else had concocted. I decided to start doing things that mattered, to help create stories that would outlive me.

Pretty much all the work I had done to that point was forgettable. Fifteen years of progressive hotel management...nice hotels, great locations and of course I met some wonderful people along the way.  But, by most accounts my work was pretty standard. I managed assets, processes and people. I didn't create much, I managed what someone else created. And, by traditional measurements I was successful. I received regular promotions, pay raises and more and more responsibility. With each occurence I was fulfilled...or so I thought. It wasn't until much later that I recognized I wasn't really making much of a difference. It wasn't until my last traditional hotel management assignment that I understood the path I was on...and it wasn't for me.

If you're anything like me (and you might be if you're reading this), your wired to do something other than follow a plan that someone else puts together. You're more likely to dream up your own plan, put together your own team and act it out. You're willing to live or die by it, knowing both the risks and the rewards.

If you're not like this, I encourage you to consider this seemingly risky and obscure path...just for a moment. Consider that when it comes to making a difference, enriching people's lives, giving your children and grandchildren a story to tell, forgettable work is not an option. Only legacy work counts. The other stuff is window dressing that eventually fades away.

Go out and create some legacy work...pretty please with sugar on top.

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Powerful Marketing Message

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Picked up this nugget from Seth's latest post...

"marketing involves effectively communicating a story about benefits to (and among) the people who will appreciate them"

That's it in a nutshell...all the rest of the stuff you hear about marketing is fluff. Of course there's a lot that goes into it. But, that's called work. Best get busy.

 

 

 

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Choose Hard

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Choosing hard is important. Hard defines you...much more than easy. No one remembers you for going through the motions...writing a work schedule, sending a store bought birthday card or mowing the lawn (unless you're in a wheelchair). Hard shows the rest of us that you care enough to do something meaningful and follow-through. Even if you fail, the act of trying matters. It shows the world you make tough choices, are willing to put some skin in the game and that you'll slug it out to be better than average.

The key then is to define hard in your category...to be the one everyone else points to as the measuring stick. Whether you own a restaurant or are a freshman in college, defining the standard of hard has the same effect...you get noticed.

Some to get you going...

Lindsay Clark...the anti resume
Howard Hughes...flying an airplane that couldn't be flown...Spruce Goose
Nelson Mandela...almost 30 years in prison to end South African apartheid
Dean Karnazes...50 marathons in 50 consecutive days


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Awaken Possibilities...the New Grind

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As a boss, you have a choice...hire Labor to produce what you want, exactly how you want it. Give them a road map, and mandate they work as hard as they can to get you there...first. For this, you need Labor that values the trade-off between pay and the grind more than the idea of directing the outcome. Generally, you need people that are asleep...at least while at work. If you're lucky, you'll survive and get that 3% margin, enough to hang on for another year.

The other choice is to hire people who care about your idea and are emotionally engaged with the outcome...people that are awake. Your job isn't to direct what these people do everyday, but to keep them awake...energized and ready to take on new possibilities.

Choosing the first path is dangerous. Not just because of diminishing returns associated with increased efficiency, but because the robot labor supply is also shrinking. While you can still find a fairly large group of rule followers willing to trade eight hours of being bored to tears for a paycheck today, this group is dwindling. Labor is figuring it out...they don't have to settle. They can get paid for for something other than working in a box...they can get paid to think...and to lead, even if their tribe is a group of one. In the process, thinking will become more valuable than doing.

As more and more of your competitors choose the latter...what's your choice really?

Awake...the new order, the new charge...the new grind. Best get started.

Happy Labor Day

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It's Not Our Fault...I Don't Trust You

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One of the takeaways from my trip to Zappos headquarters last month...they give every customer the benefit of the doubt. Not some people or when the burden of proof has been met. But, every customer, unconditionally. They do the opposite of what most companies do...if there's a hint of a problem, they assume it's their fault, not the other way around.

Since most of their sales have shifted on-line (like so many other businesses), many of the people that call-in to Zappos have a concern or an order question (at least that was my impression from my time in the call center). And, if Zappos handled these people like most companies, there would be a vetting process to get to the bottom of every situation to guard against unnecessary discounts and refunds. In turn, the call experience would be just as expected...a royal pain in the butt, too long, unsatisfying and more likely down right aggravating. Perfect if you're in the business of average. Thankfully, Zappos is in the business of happiness. So, they simply act that way. They trust you.

Of course, many companies use clever disguises to give you the impression someone cares...a 24 hour support line, a handy "e-mail us" option or even "live chat". I recently had trouble with my Garmin 405CX running watch. So, I called Garmin support, twice, because the first time when I heard my wait time was 35 minutes I thought there was a glitch...there wasn't. I decided on the email option, made my way through the myriad of toggle options and drop down boxes, described my issue and off it went. Moments later I was greeted with an email (see below)...we aim to respond to you within 3 days. So, 35 minutes on the phone or 3 days for an email which will likely just lead to more email. Hmmm, do you think Garmin really has my best interest in mind? Do you think they trust me?

Trusting your customer is required if you want them to trust you. You don't get to do it part time and expect a dividend. Sure, by going into it with blind faith you're going to get burned sometimes. But, not nearly as bad as if you're worried about always being right.

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Why Are You Doing It?

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Companies spend a lot of time, energy and money answering this for themselves. They hire consultants, develop mantras and mission statements. It's the latest thing in a meaningful, self-reflecting, find your true north sort of exercise. They used to call it branding.

A more important question and answer might be...what are you going to do about it when you find our you're not doing it?...whatever the it was when you defined it in the beginning. Let's say for example you set out to "make people happy" because the "make a profit" answer sounded too shallow and self-serving. Question is...what are you going to do when people (both your employees and customers) tell you they aren't "happy"? Are you prepared to stop or change course...180 degrees if necessary? Would you do whatever it took to get realigned with your core values? While codifying your "why" is important, I think it's equally important to understand the likelihood that you will need to change or scrap the idea altogether. Otherwise, it's just some fancy words in a handbook...perhaps a big lie.

Actions always speak louder than words. 

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How Do You Do You Provide Exceptional Customer Service?

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I saw this question on LinkedIn...

How does your hotel provide exceptional and memorable customer service?

Here's my answer...

It begins with careful reflection on why you do what you do. When you're an innkeeper because you simply enjoy caring for another...you've found the key and most often lost ingredient. Any other purpose defines you as something else and moves you away from hospitality in it's true and root form.

You succeed as an innkeeper (notice I refrain from using hotel manager) by focusing on the meaningful delivery of service...not just the technical components of that service. Checking people in quickly might allow you to achieve productivity goals, but it can erode or destroy a warm, authentic welcome.

Use these filters for every decision...

Does it feel residential?
Does it feel familial?
Does it feel genuine?
Does it feel hand crafted?

And lastly, try to do things that are harder, not easier. Odds are, the guest will benefit.

Of course, there's a lot more to it than that...like hiring the right people. But, this is a good place to start.