Can Do!

You don’t have to live in Fargo or near flood waters to be a victim of disaster. I have learned a lot about disaster and about people in this last week.

One kind of people I had the privilege of working with this last week are those with a “can do” attitude. If three million sandbags need to be filled, they “can do.” If twenty five miles of dikes need to be constructed, they “can do.” If we need to add another two feet to the base and foot to the top of every dike, they “can do.” If their cell phones ring at 3:00AM with an emergency call to action, they “can do.”

Unfortunately, although a small minority, there is a group of people that are comfortable with “somebody will do it.” When the call goes out for action, they don’t really worry because “somebody will do it.” When the radio announces that 30 people are needed to shore up levees at the end of their own block, they don’t worry because “somebody will do it.” When engineers and officials announce that levees and dikes look good, they are relieved that “somebody did it.”

I think that we all work with both of these kinds of people. Hopefully the “can do” people are in the great majority as well. When our disaster is the financial markets and declining hotel demand, we go into action. If desk shifts need to be worked to reduce hourly labor, we “can do.” If every call coming into the hotel needs to be converted to a sale, we “can do.” If every room needs to be cleaned a bit faster with the same high standards to reduce spending, we “can do.” If maintenance tasks normally hired out need to be handled internally to save money, we “can do.” If all of these things and more need to happen to ensure the survival of our company, we “can do.”

Imagine if everyone in our company was a “can do” person. What if every person you and I work with considered it their personal responsibility to do whatever it takes to meet the demands of the guests, our teams and our company? Those are the kinds of people we should choose to work with. Those are the kinds of people that make us better.

I hope that when we all look at ourselves we know that either we “have done” or we “will do” because we are “can do” people.

Please view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcMZ_0guIgE


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I Love A Good Quote

The Area Directors in our group already know that I love a good quote. Many profound statements have been made over the years, and it would be irresponsible to ignore the wisdom they hold. I get daily quotes from a couple of websites and often find that they spark ideas and inspire action. I received the following quote on Monday:

“Peak performers start with potential. We all do. Yet history is littered with the bones of people who never converted potential into achievement. Inherent talents turn useful only when you cultivate them. Training can be dull, tedious, and onerous when it is simply tacked onto your everyday routine. But when it serves a passion and follows a mission, it becomes a practice as pleasurable and full of promise as refining a golf swing or making a successful investment. Top performers do not leave training to chance. Regardless of past accomplishments – which in many cases are formidable – they know they use but a small fraction of their capacities and have a long way to go.” - Anon

Sure this quote is a little long, but its message is essential. It acknowledges that when we hire good people, they all have the potential to be great. However, we need to give them the tools and motivation to convert that potential into great actions.

Our first ever blog entry reflects the first step in this process. We have to hire good people to fill the positions we have open and replace those we have on staff who refuse to convert their potential into great action.

I invite everyone to go back to the first-ever posting to this blog and read it again. I would also like everyone to click on the following link and share the video with your management staff. http://www.eagleschoolmovie.com/

Hire… Train… Inspire… Succeed!

The Value of Good People

It is turning out to be a busy week in Fargo. Much of my time is being spent focusing on markets with declining demand, sliding revenues and that are sure to run short on profit for first quarter. The current situation with the economy and the travel industry weighs heavy on the thoughts and actions of the entire regional team.

Our General Managers are working hard to minimize expenses while maximizing sales efforts. They are, in a sense, being pulled from both ends. At the same time, they are expected to provide unprecedented levels of guest satisfaction to ensure every guest is a possible repeat guest. I appreciate the efforts of all those who continue to step up to the plate and give it their all. It is in times like these that we see what we are all made of.

I just spent a little time with our Senior VP of Operations and saw firsthand how he too is having to make difficult decisions in this tough economic environment. He is working day and night to help ensure we all have that right balance that makes the most of our jobs, our hotels and our futures. What I am working to do with 28 hotels right now, he is focused on for over 200 hotels, as well as the support structure of our corporate staff. He celebrates 25 years with Tharaldson tomorrow, and I would hate to think where we would be without him.

All positions across the company carry a value, and the value of each position is greater today than it ever has been. Let’s not forget the value of the position and focus on what it really is. It’s the value of our people. Every person across the company needs to give 110% today in hopes of providing the same kind of results that a 90% effort would have gotten us in 2007.

Never has the value of good people been greater. Thank you to all who continue to give 110%!

What the heck is a WEBINAR?

The pace of technology in today's world is pretty amazing, If you don't stay on top of what is going on it won't take long before you are on the bottom! I am shocked at how kids easily adapt to all this new technology. Growing up for me there were rabbit ears on my TV, I knew someone in school who heard of someone who had an ATARI Game system, and my fingers would hurt trying to "dial" the number to my local radio station to try to win tickets to NKOTB (New Kids on The Block, but most of you knew this already - admit it!). Today there is streaming movies over the internet, not old ones mind you, new releases! We have no less than 10 phone numbers for a family of 4 and everyone has either an XBOX or a PS3! Heck my two year old knows how to use my IPHONE, not just how to press buttons, but she can look at pictures and watch Dora the Explorer via Podcast, I didn't even know that I had Dora on the IPHONE - and what is a PODCAST anyway?

So here we are in this fast pace world of "I got to have it NOW!" and we learn of a new beast called WEBINARS! Sounds spooky, but it was really inevitable with the way technology was headed to not be able to web conference over the internet. And that is really all it is. It allows your company to not have to foot the bill of sending representatives thousands of miles away to attend a meeting or seminar. It saves tons of overhead and therefore keeps everyone's P&L in the black, OK so not everyone. Imagine that as an employee you do not have to leave your family behind and attend a 3 day seminar in some city thousands of miles away! Did I mention I had a 2 year old? It really is a two fold savior: it is cost effective for your employer and it is convenient for you and your family!

My first Webinar was the one for Infotronics payroll system. I spent that morning learning all about the new system in the comfort of my office. I was able to keep my staff on track and handle any concerns and continued the rest of my day when the Webinar was finished. It was wonderful!
It is the way of the future, it is unstoppable, just like my 2 year old. Oh and by the way, this is my first blog. What the heck is a blog anyway?

Are you Curious? Linda Glick-Garvey is!

As a little girl growing up, my favorite TV programs were Magnum PI, Fantasy Island and Hotel with Connie Selleca. I was always drawn to shows that involved mysteries and trying to figure out who-done-it by the end of the program. In fact, many of you may have heard me say that I always wanted to work in the hotel industry because of Connie Selleca and how the show Hotel took care of their guests and solved mysteries. By nature, I have always been a curious person and liked to figure this out in a logical way.

Curious people will look for new information and always be looking for answers to solve challenges. The challenge before us is making our top line revenue goals. With curiosity, you can seek new techniques to solve this challenge.

This will require involvement from everyone on your staff, as they are ALL sales people. There is no separation between sales and any other department in your hotel. From the front desk upgrading a reservation to a suite for an additional $20.00 to a housekeeper leaving a pleasant surprise that makes a guest feel special and becomes a regular customer. It takes everyone to contribute to the sales process.

We need to explore the growth of relationships between the sales department and operations. It is up to the entire team to re-think how they are going to solicit new business and protect their current accounts. Do you have a shareshifter warboard or target account list hung for all employees to see? You never know when an associate will say “hey, my uncle works at ABC company; they are using the competition for their quarterly meetings.”

Curiosity will have you driving the competitors’ parking lots, engaging their guests in conversation while taking a look around their hotel, asking current guests at your hotel if there is anyone else in their organization that travels to the area.

Curiosity will even make you ask your potential clients some very important questions. What’s important to you when selecting a hotel? Can we book your next group at our hotel?

Are you curious to find that ‘trade-down’ customer? Have you gone after the full-service and upscale hotel guests?

People are still traveling and businesses are still having meetings. Your curiosity will find them and place them in your hotel.

Nothing happens until a sale is made. You can’t produce new revenue unless you are curious enough to go find it.

Advice From My Father

I look at the growing number of unemployed people in the U.S. and it makes me sad as an American and optimistic as an employer. The number of recently unemployed Americans in January was in the neighborhood of 3.7 million. We have to assume that at least 25% of those laid off were good at their jobs and simply victims of the economy. With this assumption, we have 925,000 good employees out there looking for work. Maybe 10% of those employees would be interested in working in the hotel industry. So, we have 92,500 good workers out there who would love to work in our hotels.

Our company currently operates 222 hotels. If we figure that the average hotel has 20 employees then we employ about 4,440 people. I would like to think that 9 out of 10 people we choose to employ are great at their job. This means we may have about 444 employees across the company that aren't in that top 90%.

I grew up in a house where my father owned and ran his own business. As kids, my brothers, sisters and I learned a lot about the time and effort it takes to run a successful business. We also learned a lot about how to find and treat good employees. I recall a time when my father was discussing his decision to hire someone even though he did not have a position open for him. He simply said, "If you have the opportunity to hire a great employee, do it and then make room." His thought was that if someone walked in the door who was better than the weakest link on staff, it's time to replace that weakest link. Maybe the silver lining in this cloud is that we have an opportunity to strengthen our hotel staffs?

With the quick math outlined above, we could have 92,500 good employees out there interested in working harder than 444 people we have on staff in our hotels. Maybe it is time to look at who we employ and make sure we get closer to 10 out of 10 great employees?