I thoroughly enjoyed the role I played in helping Wynn Resorts open its first casino in Macau. It challenged us to adapt everything we did to reflect Asian cultural dynamics. Central to that was the issue of ‘saving face’, the concept of maintaining one's reputation and avoiding public humiliation or shame. It's about preserving social standing and dignity, both for oneself and for others. It is deeply rooted in the cultural emphasis on relationships, social harmony, and collective identity. That is very different than how US companies deal with US employees. It is about dignity and self-esteem which isn’t quite the same as vanity. We had to train the US managers that were selected to work there how to approach this issue when dealing with employee relations issues. Las Vegas-based managers rarely considered dignity and self-esteem when dealing with employees – that ‘old-west’ mentality finally met its match when the company committed to treating all employees with the kind of respect found when showing concern for employee’s dignity and self-esteem. It made for better managers and a better company. In today’s global economy, we can all learn from cultural issues found in other countries. This concept is critically important as companies try to go from good to great – because you can’t get there without satisfied and happy employees. Wherever you work, remember to respect others dignity and self-esteem today.
Randy Pausch (1960 – 2008): American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University.[1]
[1] Pausch learned he had pancreatic cancer in September 2006. In August 2007, he was given a terminal diagnosis: "three to six months of good health left". He gave an upbeat lecture titled, "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon, which became a popular YouTube video and led to other media appearances. He co-authored a book of the same name, The Last Lecture, which became a New York Times best-seller.