How's the fire in your belly....

It’s nice to think that things happen all by themselves: the truth is it takes hard work to make anything happen. After Steve Wynn sold Mirage Resorts to MGM, he bought the Desert Inn and began to plan a new company that ultimately became Wynn Resorts. After all the years he and his team had worked on developing the Mirage Resorts properties you might think that his new company would start up easily: success in that new endeavor, however, was harder than expected. Each and every one of us who worked on starting that new company had to set ourselves on fire: we had to start over and get fully involved with the planning, hiring, and launch of what was in many ways a start up. We had to reignite our creative and collective selves: there was nothing spontaneous about that combustion. When change happens, make sure you’re ready, willing and able to get your fires going again.

Arnold H. Glasow (1905 - 1998): American businessman and humorist.

Help people reach their full potential....

It’s easy to criticize people: but that doesn’t improve their abilities to perform. That’s why effective managers get involved with training their employees: explaining what they need to do, making sure they understand why it has to be done, helping them practice, and coaching them until they’re as good as they need to be.  Those managers lift people upward and onward, encouraging them to do more and be more. Companies that support that also need to make sure those managers also get involved in continuing professional education so they can be better and more effective leaders. In my opinion the best continuing education program for gaming leaders is UNR/UNLV’s Executive Development Program, the Cadillac of training in our industry. There are others and you need to know about them so you can guide yourself and your employees towards the ones that best meet everyone’s needs. Get involved in making good continuing education happen at your company today.

Elizabeth Harrison (1921-2008): Investor, Author

There's no better time than now to get involved....

I

give presentations at lots of conferences each year: participants there get a chance to meet others and learn about the latest best practices. I’m always amazed at how many people attend these events: from all over the world and from companies large and small. So I’m always surprised when clients say the timing is not quite right for sending employees to continuing education programs.  These programs come in all kinds of types - venues, formats, lengths of time, and price ranges; I get it when budgets are tight, but because of the variety of types, timing should rarely be an issue. Sure – the weeks before Black Friday are usually off limits for sales organizations, but there are 12 months in every year during which the best companies reward great employees with the gift of continuing education: that’s part of creating a corporate culture of excellence. Encourage and allow your best people to participate in continuing education so they can be all they want and need to be today. The timing’s always right for that.

Napoleon Hill (1883 –1970): American self-help author best known for his book “Think and Grow Rich” (1937)

One last Thanksgiving quote....

Thank you!

T

he day after Thanksgiving: full from last night’s dinner and already on to other things. Today is traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year as people turn from giving thanks to preparing to give and get gifts. Most people have today off and make it a long post-Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Maybe these 4 days should be spent reflecting on all we have – family, friends, freedom – all the people and things that make a difference in our lives. Take a moment today to tell those you love how much you appreciate all that they mean to you: make this a Thanksgiving Weekend. Wherever you are: take a look around and give thanks for all that you have today.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 –1963): American statesman who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963

Happy Thanksgiving!

Be responsible for who and what you are....

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ynn had a great college recruitment program: called the Management Associate Program (MAP for short), it had nearly 400 graduates go thru the training. It was a direct placement program, meaning the graduates had to choose a division (i.e. Food & Beverage, Gaming, Slots, Hotel, Finance, etc.) and then spend up to twelve months training for a supervisory position in that division. Most of the participants didn’t know initially what they wanted, but we made them choose so that they would get an in-depth experience in one part of our business.  Some switched after a year or two, but most remained in that division and went on to become very successful.  They each had the same general abilities because they were all recently educated but it was those choices that showed who they truly were. Give your employees choices, train, coach and mentor them well, and watch them become engaged in what they’re doing today.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

J. K. Rowling (b. 1965): British novelist and screenwriter who wrote the Harry Potter fantasy series