Your reputation is a reflection of you...

Never underestimate the importance of your reputation. Or take it for granted.

 

We are 

   Judged by

      What we say and do.

There are no do overs for

   These – they remain forever.

 

I’ve always felt that an employee’s record, if truthfully documented, should be shared for a bona fide reference check.  Emphasis on truthfully documented. What we do and say should follow us around – that would be a powerful motivator for good behavior, performance, and attendance. That would be the ultimate accountability. Of course, I realize that for a reference check companies are currently only allowed to confirm and employee’s date of hire and separation, and last position held, not why they left or whether we’d rehire them. The fear of legal challenges has forced companies to create policies to restrict this sharing of information. Realistically, if you know someone at another company, this information may be (and often is) gained through those back channels. So, why not let our work – good, bad, or indifferent, speak for itself? Let those whose work is good proudly share it; if it's not, their pride should motivate them to improve it.  Stand up for personal responsibility and accountability today.

 

Astrud Gilberto (1940 – 2023): Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter who gained international attention in the mid-1960s for her recording of "The Girl from Ipanema”.

Be an optimist...

To me, things are always looking up. I guess you’d say I was an optimist.

 

Be proud

   Of your positive

      Outlook on the life

         And times you enjoy.

 

Optimists almost always see the glass as half full.  Instead of half empty. They think positive thoughts through good times and bad. Even when they’re uncertain, that positive attitude gets them through. There were times when opening hotels when we were worn out, and the road ahead seemed long – in my head, all we needed to do was take a break, look on the bright side, and keep at it. That’s why hiring for attitude is so important – it’s what you need to rely on when the going gets tough. You can’t look down or think you can’t continue – keeping your eye on the objective helps clear your mind. You can’t be rigid in your thinking – staying flexible helps you find a way forward. You can’t be negative – being positive helps motivate others. It becomes a source of pride – this “I can” attitude. It’s infectious – others feel it and are inspired by it. It keeps everyone going. The sense of achievement – however small, is like a rainbow at the end of a storm – it inspires you to come back again and again. Look up and find that rainbow in everything you do today.

 

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889 – 1977): English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films.

Be ever so simple...

It was such a simple idea: recruit college graduates for a growing company. And it became a marvelous program.

 

Fresh ideas

   Meshed with

      Experienced pros.

         It changed a company

            And shaped an industry.

 

We called it the Management Associate Program – MAP for short. The goal was to fill up to 10% of our total management positions with college recruits, leaving a much larger percentage for regular internal promotions. Room enough for everyone to grow. And hoping that the new 10% reinvigorated the other 90%. Golden Nugget was expanding – building the Mirage and hopefully others). It worked beyond everyone’s expectations – the company’s and the recruit’s and their colleague’s. The first group of recruits started on June 12, 1989 – one of them, a friend for all these years, wrote me again yesterday, as he has every year, to thank me for that initial opportunity that changed his life. And every year I write back to thank him for allowing me to be a part of something so simple that produced something so marvelous. The more than 300 men and women who became Mappers during a 12- year period changed so much about our company and the entire gaming industry. They’re now leaders everywhere. Don’t ever think that something is too simple to make a difference: if it’s a good idea, it will succeed. Be ever so proud of the simple things you do today.

 

Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (1831–1919): British novelist and teacher.

Be as good as you can be...

Nobody expects you to be perfect… But you should strive to be as good as you can be.

 

Being committed

   To being your best

      Is the best anyone can

           Ever expect you to be.

 

The problem with trying to be perfect is that you’ll never achieve it. And you’ll make yourself unhappy and unfulfilled. I once told an interviewer that I wanted to be the best HR professional in the world. Thinking back on that, I now cringe, knowing that was an incredibly unrealistic thing to say. In hindsight, I should have said that I would hope to be a wise, just, thoughtful, and fair HR professional. Maybe I should have said I wanted to be a good person, one who others could rely on for good advice, coaching, and inspiration. Each of us should strive to be as good as we can be in everything we do. That’s a worthwhile goal. One we can be proud of achieving today.

 

Carl Ransom Rogers (1902–1987): American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (and client-centered approach) in psychology. 

Build a culture people can love...

People that love their work act it and show it. In everything they do. Every day.

 

It’s obvious

Who they are.

Make sure you let

Them know that you

Know and appreciate them.

 

I believe there are people who naturally love what they do.  But I also believe that managers can foster a culture that people love to work in. And it’s in that kind of work environment that employees find satisfaction. Those managers communicate clearly and effectively – policies, instructions, and general information. They listen closely – to what employees have to say. They make sure employees know what to do and why – because they explain things to them. They see themselves as coaches rather than disciplinarians, helping employees discover and achieve their goals. And they catch their employees doing things right – setting a positive tone. A tone employees love. And love to work in. Find the people who love their work and create a culture that supports them and fosters that feeling in others who may be prone to that. Don’t leave this to chance: be curious about what they think and like, eliminate obstacles that prevent them from doing their jobs, and provide them with everything they need to be productive. Make it easy for your employees to fall in love with their work today.

 

Sister Lauretta (Mary Lauretta) Thompson (1914-2014): After 44 years as a Coesfeld Sister of Notre Dame, she joined the Notre Dame de Namur community for the next 35 years. 

Get excited about making something new...

Once I got the software development bug at Mirage and Bellagio, I was passionate about pushing the envelope farther.

 

·      One thing

·      Led to another.

·      And each left me 

·      Wanting to do more.

 

In the 4 years after the Bellagio opening, the state of software, network, and internet development made things eminently more possible. For Wynn Las Vegas, we designed a completely online applicant capture and tracking system that could automate and analyze every step of the hiring process. And then we decided to make the rest of HR paperless – from onboarding to separation, and everything in between. We hired developers from PeopleSoft and challenged them to develop software that would use all its features. The most exciting moment came when we opened the application line at midnight on November 1^st. We weren’t certain what would happen – nobody had tried taking applications online for hourly positions prior to that. At the appointed hour we held our breath and waited – at first, nothing happened. But then the first application came in, then more, and at the end of 24 hours we had more than 12,000 applications; in the following 5 weeks, 120,000 more were received online. We were over the moon that we’d created something that wasn’t’ there before. If you’re passionate about something, don’t give up on your dreams. Make them into something new today.

 

Neil Gaiman (born 1960): English screenwriter and author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, and audio theatre.

Jump with confidence...

Sometimes you don’t know where your ideas might take you. Be prepared to follow wherever they take you.

 

·      Ideas come at 

·      All times of the day.

·      Don’t let them get away.

 

Most great ideas include a leap of faith – following your instincts into the unknown. Case in point was the first paperless idea I had: right after the Mirage opened, the debrief included the difficulty handling 55,000 applications. They were filed and retrieved up to 10 times each, and often got lost or misfiled – we decided to seek technological alternatives. We checked with Xerox and Microsoft, and both had no interest in that kind of project at that time. We networked with colleagues and friends and discovered a new product called Jet Forms – you filled them out online and the data was mapped to appropriate computer files. That led to a 5-year effort that was like jumping off a cliff and then building our wings on the way down. It resulted in Bellagio’s system that allowed all 90,000 applicants to enter their application data into 100 computer terminals and that data stored in a new applicant tracking system that we built. We had no idea when we started what that end solution would be, but we kept at it until we finished. The best ideas are often unclear at first and then worth the effort when finished. Follow your ideas passionately today. 

 

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012): American author and screenwriter. The New York Times called him "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".