Let them know you care...

This is what I was talking about in yesterday’s message – how you can’t be competitive with bummed out employees who are disengaged. In addition to all the good things you need to do to treat them right, the best of them all is to catch them doing things rights. You’re most likely (or you should be) teaching them how to do things right and coaching them as they practice getting it right. After all that, and while you’re doing all the other technical and administrative stuff on your list of daily to-dos, make time ( put it on your calendar so your phone reminds you to get up, walk around, get engaged, keep your eyes open, and catch your peeps doing things right. Nothing big… just eye contact and a heartfelt thank you.  Or fist bump. Or whatever’s your natural way of letting them know you’re there and care. That was a concept we figured out in 1987 at the Golden Nugget with housekeeping attendants. They thought we thought their’s was unimportant work, maybe because we didn’t make a big deal of the hard work they did every day. But when we started catching them doing things right, thanking them, and backing that up with simple rewards, morale skyrocketed, absenteeism became manageable, and turnover plummeted. All because we let them know we appreciated their efforts. That ah-ha moment became the gist of a new approach to employee relations. I’ve told this story many times before, but it never gets old. Nor do simple acts of appreciation and encouragement ever lose their impact. Try it today.

 

Charles Robert Schwab Sr. (born 1937) is an American investor and financial executive.[1]

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[1] The founder and chairman of the Charles Schwab Corporation, he pioneered discount sales of equity securities starting in 1975. His company became by far the largest discount securities dealer in the United States. He semi-retired from the company in 2008 when he stepped down as CEO, but he remains chairman and is the largest shareholder. As of 2025, his net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $11.2 billion, making him the 203rd richest person in the world.

 

Manage by walking around...

 

Pay attention to your employees. Because if you don’t, you’ll be left with dispirited, unmotivated, unappreciated workers who won’t be able to compete in a highly competitive world. 

·      Don’t take my word for it – ask your peeps if (A) they are happy at work and (B) if they think you pay enough attention to them (meaning you treat them good – as in (1) good communications, (2) good listening (to their input), (3) good training, (4) good recognition, (5) good engagement and (6) good pay and benefits.  

·      Both A and B should be yes; a no to either is a no to both. 

o   And about all those good things you’re supposed to be doing:

§  If 1-5 aren’t all good, then they’re not going to be as happy as you want and need them to be (and they want to be); 

§  Then they’l probably be looking for more of #6, or they’re just going through the motions, or they’re looking to leave. And none of those are good for the organization and its competitiveness.

So, pay attention, walk around, talk to them, maybe give them that little 2-question survey, and make sure they’re not dispirited, unmotivated, or unappreciated today.

 

Frances Hesselbein (1915 – 2022): American businesswoman and writer.[1]

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[1] She was the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, from 1976 to 1990, and the president and CEO of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Non-Profit Management, the Leader to Leader Institute, and the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute, which later became the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership.

Build your knowledge and understanding ...

I know we shouldn’t live to please others, but it’s an ingrained urge that’s hard to control.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look after our own needs. I get what today’s author means about educating ourselves and fulfilling our dreams and destiny – most people work on that every day. But that word "Edify” – it means to instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious knowledge, or to uplift one's understanding or character. It can also mean to build up someone's knowledge or understanding in general. That pretty much sums up personal responsibility – and I think it should be a class that young people start to take in middle school, with add-ons through the end of high school. Woven in there should be career coaching with presentations by job experts, to start to give them an overview of the opportunities that exist. This relates to a story I saw in the news: America may not have the workers to fill all the jobs that the politicians are trying to lure back to the US. After two generations of kids being directed towards college, we now have to start highlighting the good jobs that non-college bound kids should consider and the vocational and technical training that exists. Building character is rooted in part in creating opportunities for people to strive for. Improving your knowledge and understanding is the best way to fulfill your dreams and destiny today.

 

Octavia Spencer (born 1970): American actress and winner of an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

We got to live together...

They say that music imitates life… it can also define it. The music of the 60s and 70s stretched our understanding of who we were and what we thought about the world around us. I suppose that’s true of every generation, but that’s when the music shaped and changed me. When people from everywhere and every walk of life came together. That was the lens I looked through when I entered the world of work and, interestingly, that shaped my thinking when creating workplace cultures in those workplaces. Didn’t matter who we were or what we believed outside of work, when there we were of one mind and objective: to keep the promise of service excellence. For sure there was a hierarchy, but on the floor, we were all everyday people pushing in the same direction. That’s the wonder of a workplace – it was true back then and that’s what you should aim for today.  

 

Sylvester Stewart (1943 – 2025): American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer better known by his stage name Sly Stone.[1]

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[1] He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development of psychedelic soul and funk with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia, and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s.

It's Elementary....

I think it’s common that people see things but don’t observe them. We live in a world of soundbites and snippets, often hearing and seeing only what someone wants us to see. Who watches an entire sports game anymore when the highlights reel shows us the biggest plays of all the games in less than a minute. What’s missed is the strategy behind scoring, the drama of missed opportunities, the nuance of a play, and the emotion of the moment. We may see customers and their transactions - those are the snapshots that record any discrete moment. But observations over time capture the personalities, preferences, behaviors, and expectations that put context to each frame. Teach your employees to see things while coaching them to observe all the colors and sounds that explain what they see. Poker players do this extremely well – watching the players and not the cards. The best customer service people hang back and let things play out, for better understanding and results. The pace of life and work is too damn fast, but the best results often come when we slow things down. That part is in our control. Practice the art of observation today.

 

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930): British writer and physician who created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887.

Learn what you need to know...

Today’s quote seems a bit harsh, especially in these politically charged times. But backing away from that, all this means is that people need to think for themselves. To do that they must read, listen, and learn what they need to be able to make up their own minds. Not so much to be defensive as to be certain of their own thoughts and beliefs, to be able to hold their own in a conversation, and to feel good that they truly believe something rather than helplessly following an uncertain crowd. In the context of work in a service business, this means understanding what service is required and why, asking and learning about the company’s objectives and seeing how what you do fits in to that construct, and to come up with service strategies and techniques that work for you. So that making eye contact and smiling makes sense and is not just done by rote. So that your personality shines through because you really understand what, why, and how. Because leading is positive and following, often mindlessly, is aimless and sometimes meaningless. And whichever you choose, shows in you face, eyes, smile, and body language – one is bright, the other dull. Make it your business to know what you need to know so that you can affirmatively and confidently do what you need to do today.

 

Ayn Rand (1905 – 1982): Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which she named Objectivism.

Be a critical thinker...

Change is all around us. Always. Leaders must be prepared for change and prepare their employees for change.  By maintaining good two-way communications to help surface ideas and allow dialogue to discuss issues and solutions. By listening to front line employees who see where changes may be needed and encouraging their engagement and creativity. Successful change depends on the ability of employees at all levels to think critically and solve problems creatively and effectively. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas. It involves questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, and synthesizing information from various sources in order to form a well-reasoned judgment. Critical thinking is foundational because it allows people to assess situations accurately before deciding on a course of action. Everyone is responsible for thinking critically and preparing for change today.

 

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 – 1963): American politician who served in both houses of Congress before being elected the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Respect yourself and others will respect you...

The first person you should support and be loyal to is you. Be the best you can be and respect your accomplishments. That takes self-awareness, self-discipline, and humility. 

·  Self-awareness: the ability to understand your own thoughts, feelings, and actions, as well as how they impact yourself and others. It involves recognizing your strengths and weaknesses, understanding your values and motivations, and being aware of how you are perceived by others.

·  Self-discipline: the ability to regulate your own behavior, actions, and decisions to achieve goals, even when faced with distractions or temptations. It's about making choices aligned with long-term objectives rather than succumbing to immediate desires. 

·    Humility: Being humble means having a modest view of your own importance, recognizing your limitations, and being willing to learn from others. It's not about having low self-esteem, but rather having an accurate self-perception and valuing the contributions of others.

I’ve found that employees with these qualities are often respectful, considerate, curious, and willing to learn. They have high potential. ReThey’re the reason to have a promotion from within policy. Keep your eye on employees like this today.

 

Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born 1930): American actor and film director.

Make. the most of your opportunities...

The old-timers say that last winter here in the mountains was like the ones of their youth. Where it was not uncommon to go to bed with stars so bright and awaken to snow up to the windows. Total snowfall last winter measured more than 20’. In print that doesn’t seem like much, but its impact can be seen in the collapsed roofs of buildings that my father used to tell me he remembered as a kid. Our past is made up of images and memories that have shaped our lives – so much so that I find myself staring at the barns, homes, buildings, and stores that collapsed under the weight of that snow. Structures that had outlasted multiple generations. We hope the same will be said of our work and reputations. Because when we’re gone, those are most of what remains. In that context, everything we do everyday matters, in the moment and in the aggregate. At my age, those remembered actions are what I see when I close my eyes. Overlayed now by those collapsed walls and roofs. We don’t want to get near the end only to remark about the could haves and should haves of missed opportunities.  The moral of this story: just do it … because there’s no telling which of our actions will outlast us. Make the most of the opportunities you have today.

 

William James (1842 – 1910): American philosopher and psychologist, one of the most influential philosophers who is often dubbed the "father of American psychology."

Hang around...

Whether a superstar or supervisor, people are always looking at what they’re doing. Their lives are always on and they’re never off the record. Unlike the fans and paparazzi that chase after famous people, employees quietly watch their supervisors and managers, listening to their words and watching their body language, looking for alignment and consistency between the two. And everything said is amplified and examined – more so when interactions are few. That’s why effective leaders spend a large part of each day walking around, listening more than talking, taking the individual and collective pulse of the staff and culture, and engaging with the business of the organization. They never look through a keyhole without finding someone looking back. Being a role model, town crier, and poster child. Resulting in improved two-way communications, an excellent understanding of what’s happening and what people are thinking, giving and getting feedback and suggestions, and boosting morale. And subtly reinforcing interests in promotion-from-within. All because they’re out of their offices and walking around. I made a habit of spending half of each day on the floor, in the kitchens, visiting other offices, and hanging out with employees. Promoting trust, respect, retention, and loyalty. Creating a culture of excellence. That’s what happens when you’re out and about with your peeps today.

 

Judy Garland (1922 – 1969): Award-winning American actress (The Wizard of Oz and 46 other movies and shorts) and singer (Over the Rainbow, on one of her 10 albums).[1]

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[1] For more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Garland

Slow down and focus...

I’ve been staring at my garage for the past 3 weeks, trying to get my head around getting things organized. I’d move one thing and then get overwhelmed by the countless things left to move. I’d spend an inordinate amount of time touching things that had a history and get lost in the reveries rather than focus on the objective. I just couldn’t get my head around this project. For Father’s Day, my daughter offered to help – nothing casual about the offer, she organizes spaces that people like me have let get out of control. As I watched, I learned that the keys to her methodology were focus on the objective and don’t quit. Like laying out the countless boxes, bags, and cups fills with screws … and then sorting them all into separate containers, until they were all accounted for. And along the way, discard, rusted, bent, and miscellaneous ones that had past stories but no current purpose. And just like that I realized that the gift she’d given me was understanding there is no other quality so essential to success as the quality of perseverance. It’s a real treasure when the people you love (or who work for you) help you see and learn something new. Like my Father’s Day gift: slow down, focus, and persevere – that’s the best way to organize and achieve your objectives today.

 

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (1839 – 1937): American businessman and philanthropist.[1]

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[1] He became one of the wealthiest Americans of all time after founding the Standard Oil Company in 1870. In his retirement, he focused his energy and wealth on philanthropy, especially regarding education, medicine, higher education, and modernizing the Southern United States.

 

Stand on your own two feet...

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe in; what matters is that you believe in yourself. Meaning: educate yourself, know who and what you are, and have faith in yourself. You’ll get tested by others telling you what you should think and do, by the avalanche of news and information, and by the pull to conform – that’s when you must trust your instincts, stay true to your values, and live the Golden Rule. Whether in life or at work, others will rely on you to be a full partner – pulling your weight, listening, being thoughtful, following what you want, and being true to yourself. Especially at work – that’s where and when focusing on objectives and doing your part matters. Because having faith in tomorrow means having faith in ourselves today.

 

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 – 1963): American politician who was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected president.

Be honest...

When you’re good, there’s a desire to tell others; that’s understandable. And while we generally don’t appreciate people who brag and boast about the things they do, it’s natural to want to talk about the good things we do. But when it comes to integrity, ethical people don’t have to tell people they’re ethical. Their actions speak louder than words. That’s because integrity – doing what’s right, is readily apparent to everyone involved. Especially in business. They see it. They know it. They appreciate it. And it's unimportant to anyone not involved – so there’s no need to talk about it. This isn’t something that a publicist or branding expert can affect – neither slick advertising nor any amount of whitewashing can change what people see and hear. Especially, again, in business. If you’re a leader, at any level, make sure you say what you mean and mean what you say, that your actions match your words, and that you keep your promises. Do that and your peeps will tell others how righteous you are today.

 

Shaquille Rashaun “Shaq” O'Neal (born 1972): American former professional basketball player who is now a sports analyst on television. He played for 19 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is a four-time NBA champion.

Always exceed expectations...

It would be nice to live without expectations… but from experience, that’s easier said than done. Because we all have expectations – when we go out for a meal, shop online, walk into a retail store, or deal with each other at work. When paying for goods and services, we have every right to expect service employees to perform at or above our expectations. And the best way to make certain that happens is for those managing them to leave nothing to chance. Meaning hiring people that like what they do, being clear about how they are to perform, and showing them what success looks like. Doing this will help ensure that leaders and customers are never disappointed. But more importantly, employees can focus on providing their best, knowing that they’re prepared and won’t be second-guessed. This all takes a little extra effort, but it’s worth it – because nobody should be disappointed today.

 

Sylvia Plath (1932 – 1963): American poet and author.[1]

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[1] She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for The Colossus and Other Poems (1960), Ariel (1965), and The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel published shortly before her suicide in 1963.

 No

Empower your people...

We draft job descriptions and develop job training programs as if that’s exactly what we expect our employees to do. Realistically, those only outline the basic guidelines of the job and should be used to (1) familiarize applicants with what the job entails, and (2) provide new hires with the outline of what they need to learn. Effective managers then use those to develop role plays to help their new employees practice to gain competence and confidence. After than, the best companies turn their employees loose to find ways to inject their personalities into the job, so it feels natural and personable. Managers should then challenge these employees to find if they can do it better; if they can, encourage them to do better. Continually. You should then consider regularly holding meetings with all employees to show them how the position is evolving so that they too adopt these new best practices. But here’s where I think it gets tricky:   those job descriptions should continually be updated with those improved policies and practices so that subsequent new hires start there. And then they too will face that same challenge at the conclusion of their training. It’s a formal ongoing process that takes full advantage of each new employee’s fresh set of eyes, excitement, and ingenuity. Make sure every new hire gets the benefit of training, learning, and growing into their new positions today. 

 

Robert Louis Fosse (1927 – 1987): American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in the twentieth century.

A little preparation goes a long way...

Leaders often preach the importance of thinking before you act. When serving guests, that means listening and determining the situational needs before acting. That prevents doing something that was unwanted or unnecessary. But there are other times when employees must act quickly on emergency situations for which they’ve been trained – like in a fire or electrical outage. When a fire alarm goes off, employees must be trained to go to assigned posts, to recite practiced scripts, and provide aid getting everyone to a safe location. Or if a guest is choking and a Heimlich procedure is needed. Or the lights go out and guest checkout must be handled manually. These, and many other kinds of situations occur in every business, making it imperative for management to create a list of emergency situations, define exactly what the policies and practices are related to that type of event, train all employees how to react, and have regular refresher classes. That way, at certain crucial moments, like an emergency or an unplanned opportunity to serve, employees can act first and think later. Be sure to craft that list carefully and explain it fully so that employees know when to act first. Don’t think these kinds of things can’t happen to you – it’s better to be prepared for the unexpected today.

 

Edmund Valentine White III (1940 –2025): American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer, and essayist.

Stop, Look, and Listen...

The service business is rough – we expect employees to put the most into and get the most out of every customer interaction. It’s not what you do, but how you do it that counts. Think about the best interactions you’ve had with a food server, bartender, retail salesperson, or call center agent in the past year. The best ones stick in your mind because they are attentive, always smiling, make lots of eye contact, look like they’re having fun, and leave you feeling good. The worst ones are obviously just going thru the motions – they don’t want to be there and the look on their face and the body language they use are loudly shouting that message. It’s like this: it takes the same amount of time and energy to do something right or wrong, meaning if you don’t do it right it’s because you don’t want to. Ok – there may be times when someone’s not into it – maybe they’re sick or distracted by personal issues: that’s what paid time off is for. Because, if you can’t do it with feeling – don’t.  Make that the standard and let your employees know that those are the expectations of the job.  Then it’s up to each employee to have the integrity to reliably live up to the standard of doing it with feeling today.

 

Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; 1932 – 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was one of the first country music artists to successfully cross over into pop music.

Bad service can ruin someone's day...

I am still upset and angry – bad customer service can do that to you. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to hear about historically great brands cutting service practices and expenses in search of positive quarter over quarter financial results. Putting pressure on employees and diminishing customer experiences. Long term, loyal customers want to stay that way – don’t embarrass them or yourselves by making employees do what they clearly know could create a service problem. If you want to change practices or cut expenses, ask your front-line employees how to do that. The best leaders listen to their people and their customers before making changes to products and services. In the end, good customer service costs less than bad customer service – doing anything that could potentially lose a customer can become a slippery slope. Stay engaged with your employees and customers to make certain you provide the best possible customer service today.

 

Sally Gronow, Customer Manager at Welsh Water

I'm sorry...

I didn’t write or post a message yesterday – it’s only the 2^nd time in all these years that’s happened. I was travelling and a poorly handled situation caused my trip to take 12 hours longer than expected – time when I would normally be writing and posting. It happened on Southwest, an airline I fly enough to have earned 1,000,000 reward miles – you might assume from that I’m a fan of their unique customer service practices and style. But yesterday they failed (for the first time in my experience) to make the effort to make a bad situation acceptable. I know from my years in the gaming business that in the service sector it’s hard to make a “no” into what’s perceived as an acceptabe situation. They used to be able to do that, but yesterday they didn’t. Empathy and a smile work better than wagging your finger – figuratively and literally. I was stunned initially, but today I’m disappointed. Because something that’s been so unique for so long, and what’s turned great customer experiences into extreme loyalty, may be changing. For the worse. For the bottom line. There are too many examples where something like that turns into a slippery slope for an industry-leading company. Without making the effort to create win-win customer experiences in the best and worst of service efforts, your team’s skills are nothing more than what you could have done but didn’t. Put in the necessary time and effort to make things right today.

 

Angela Lee Duckworth (born 1970): American academic, psychologist, and popular science author.[1]

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[1] She is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies grit and self-control. She is the founder and former CEO of Character Lab, a not-for-profit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development.

 

Use training to build competence and confidence...

When researching best practices for opening The Mirage, most every company we researched stressed the importance of training employees. About how to do their new jobs, the company history and culture, and meeting guest expectations. Especially in an opening where there aren’t others to learn from. That part of the opening plan was projected to cost an extra $10M, or approximately $2000 per employee. At less than 2% of the overall cost of that project, that sounded reasonable. But it was still $10M that hadn’t been originally budgeted, so we were nervous taking the proposal to the board. Until one of the directors asked what we thought the cost and impact would be if we didn’t spend the money. They knew intuitively that the competence and confidence of the staff was going to be the difference between success and failure. Like most leaders, they were naturally cost conscious and demanded that we outline clear objectives, plan and budget carefully, and create a method for measuring the return on that investment. The metrics we chose were guest satisfaction and staff retention – both exceeded our wildest expectations. Businesses big and small are complex and face stiff competition. The best hedge against both of those is a well-trained and motivated staff. That’s where you’ll want to spend your money today. 

 

Derek Curtis Bok (born 1930): American lawyer and educator, and former president of Harvard University.

Don't shy away from a good challenge...

I’m fairly conservative, normally averse to risk. But that contrasts with the crazy, far-fetched ideas I came up with and developed during my career. Most were out of necessity because of (1) the unbelievable volume of activities related to recruiting, onboarding, and training during pre-opening and (2) managing large employee headcounts post opening, both of which forced us to look for new efficiencies of process and practice. Fortunately for me, computer technology was advancing at the same time as I was identifying these challenges. We came up with lots of ideas – some were ahead of the development curve, but others helped spur some exciting leading-edge stuff. We were a laboratory for Infor, Vurve, and PeopleSoft development; with all three, the timing was right, and the results were game changers:

·  With Infor (at the time they were Infinium), we collaborated in the development of business intelligence tools for HR and pioneered paperless HR forms that anchored nascent self-service applications.

·    With Vurve (at the time it was Recruitmax), we were the first to leverage technology to collect, process, and track employment applications for every position

·   With the help of PeopleSoft developers, we created the first completely paperless HR environment (processing, retrieving, and storing data from applicant, employee, and manager self-service applications).

Of course, we tried lots of other ideas which, when moved forward like chessmen, were beaten because they weren’t feasible or practical. But that never stopped us from continuing to push forward successfully with others that ultimately worked out. I suspect everyone is faced with issues of necessity – big and small; when that happens, don’t shy away from trying to find new and effective ways to deal with them today.

 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832): German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language.[1]

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[1] His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary, political, and philosophical thought in the Western world from the late 18th century to the present. A poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre-director, and critic, his works include plays, poetry and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour.