Play large on life's stage...

I’ve often told the story that when opening the Mirage, we spent nearly a year studying dozens of companies that had opened something new. The #1 thing we learned was the importance of training employees – formally planned, professionally designed, and skillfully conducted training. Not a haphazard buddy training, but one facilitated by trained trainers who know how to teach skills and processes, could explain why things had to be done a certain way, and were capable of coaching employees through a practice regimen.  That, they told us, was the best way to set people up to perform at the highest level. We wanted the Mirage to be not only successful, but the best. And that’s what happened. Because we were confident that it wouldn’t be the building that won over the guests, but the staff. With service excellence. Performed by proud and skilled employees. What we did there was like a play: it wasn’t the length, but the excellence of the acting that mattered. People like to perform at those high levels, to meet the challenge of excellence, and to shine in front of their colleagues and customers. It’s the same in every business – large or small, and with any task – big or little; give employees the tools they need, the training to use them, and the license to do their best, and they will. Let your employees put on an award-winning performance today.

 

Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (4 BC – AD 65): Known simply as Seneca, he was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome; a statesman, dramatist, and in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.

Wear your reputation on your sleeve...

Those who know me know I’m a dog lover – I even joke that I was a dog in a previous life. Since living in Las Vegas, we’ve had 17 dogs and cats and all of them have had the same Veterinarian. One who sends birthday cards to, exchanges text messages with, and calls to check on our pets. He’s given us his personal contact info in the event we need anything. When checking out after an appointment, the receipt and meds are placed in a bag with our pet’s name printed on it. Our concierge medical doctor (who we love), doesn’t treat us humans that well. But I get it: the world is full of pets and Vets vying to take care of them – it’s a very competitive profession and our Vet does these extra things to win our hearts and loyalty. Loyalty that’s spanned 39 years, several moves by us and his practice, and countless solicitations by other Vets and their clients. But we’ve stayed true blue because they know that their reputation is plainly printed on the bottled essence of their behavior. Everyone has a reputation, and it’s tied to the things they say and do. It takes forever to build a good reputation, one based excellence. And not much time to lose it when you cut corners and take others for granted. Whatever you do – make it your best today.

 

Logan Pearsall Smith (1865 – 1946): American-born, Harvard and Oxford educated British essayist and critic. 

Excellence must be intentional...

My wife was operated on in Las Vegas’ Mountain View Hospital last week. It was an incredibly good experience – from pre-registration, check-in, the operating room staff, nurses in recovery and on the floor, and check out. It was so much better than the other 4 hospitals we’d experienced in the past several years that I went in search of finding out why. 

·      The first thing I noticed was a large graphic in the main lobby that said We Show Up – for our patients, for our communities, and for each other. When I pointed to this, a nurse proudly told me that management is there for them and that inspires them to be there for their patients. Engaged managers inspire employees to be engaged.

·      Another graphic spelled out iCARE – Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence. Lots of companies display their values, but far too few live them every day, in every way. The best way to measure these is by being a customer: we found compassion and respect in every interaction and felt like everyone really cared. 

o   Service is too often superficial and perfunctory – it’s easy to spot that phoniness and there was none there. Genuine smiles, concern, and caring - they were never too busy to happily go above and beyond. Hospitality in healthcare was on display throughout our stay and it was abundantly obvious that excellence is a continuous process there and not an accident. 

It doesn’t take any extra effort or time to be thoughtful, caring, and thorough; as a leader or customer, when you see employees anywhere doing that, take time to compliment and thank them today. 

 

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931 – 2015): Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007.

Service excellence starts with you...

As I write this, I’m on hold with an off-shore call center for a major technology company – it’s my 4th call to them in the past 2 weeks, this one to cancel my subscription.  It would take too long to describe the run around I received during the previous calls – suffice it to say that’s why I’m trying to cancel. This experience is compared to a call I had yesterday with Apple support getting help with setting up a new computer. One call, no run-around; one agent who promised to help me and spent the next two hours working through multiple problems to resolve all my issues. I grew up with Land’s End and Zappos, companies that did all their business online – with happy customer agents and excellent service. That’s why I like and appreciate Apple. And that’s why I am so frustrated and disappointed with those that don’t (and don’t get it), because once you experience excellence (and know it’s possible), you will never be content with mediocrity. Excellence can be achieved – with proper staffing and effective training, by letting employees be themselves, empowering them to take care of customers, and proving in everything they do that they truly value their customers. I’m on hold, waiting to cancel because of the service, not the product. Apple is a shining example (like Land’s End and Zappos) that customers can be thrilled with both products and service. There’s nothing more important that keeping your promises and providing excellent service. Every company is in the service business. Every leader is responsible for producing excellent service. Make sure you do that today.

 

Thomas Spencer Monson (1927 – 2018): American religious leader, author, and the 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Excellence starts with you...

I was fortunate to work for a company that was known for service excellence. But excellence isn’t something you can demand of the workers expected to produce it… they have to want to work and produce at that high a level. And that begins by creating a workplace culture that nurtures and reinforces that:

 

Ø  Where trust and respect go both ways – just like the Golden Rule says.

Ø  Where people are informed – in training, coaching, and feedback.

Ø  Where good deeds are recognized – inspect and reward what you expect.

Ø  Where employees come first – as in servant leadership.

Ø  Where awareness and caring count – as in emotional intelligence.

Ø  Where everyone pitches in and is aligned – teamwork produces great work.

 

These are the management philosophies and practices that create the kind of culture that makes people demand excellence of themselves – because they understand it’s the right thing to do for their colleagues, the company, and their customers.  Note, I said “their” customers, because in that kind of culture they own the customer experience. And the proof is seen in the quality of the goods and services that are produced. Managers at all levels need to realize and understand this – their actions make or break the kind of workplace environment where excellence thrives. Demand that of yourself today.

 

Emmitt James Smith III (born 1969): American former professional football running back who played 13 years as a member of the Dallas Cowboys and is the league's all-time leading rusher.

Reflect on how you got to where you are...

Like most, whenever I move to something new (school, job, city), I hang back to get a ‘lay of the land’. And to see who’s already there and knows some of the local history. When I started in the gaming business, I broke in in Atlantic City – a new job, in a new industry, in a different part of the country from where I grew up, and I naturally gravitated to Golden Nugget colleagues to learn how things worked. In addition to spending time with my boss Boone Wayson (who grew up in Steve Wynn’s father’s bingo business), I spent a lot of time with the company’s Security and Surveillance directors who had been New Jersey State Police Captains; their stories lent color to my new surroundings and work. By the time I moved to Las Vegas, I knew a lot about the business but not how things worked in Sin City. I was sent to meet long time Nevada gaming execs and their stories added much needed background about the work here. They were gracious with their time and advice and one, an old-time HR guy who’d worked for the Dunes when it was run by reputed mobsters, told me not to drive home the same way twice (now that was scary). But the people I worked with – Steve and Elaine Wynn, Bobby Baldwin, Marc Schorr, Billy Weinberger, and Charlie Meyerson (a one-time bookie and World War II hero who was a longtime casino host at the Mirage), and countless others, told me much about how the business operated here. While I’ll save their stories for another time, suffice it to say I was given the benefit of being able to stand on the shoulders of giants. And that’s the best way to learn how to be good at what you do. Never pass up an opportunity to learn from others, to put things into context, to learn about the other players, and to gain insights into how and why things are the way they are. With that, you can become a more competent, confident, and effective teammate today.

 

Sir Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727): English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment that followed.

Let your corporate culture show who you are...

·       Corporate culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, behaviors, and practices that characterize an organization, influencing how employees interact and perform their jobs.

 

Hiring the right people sets the tone for a company’s culture – we looked for people that were optimistic, flexible, and resilient at Mirage and Wynn Resorts and it showed in their commitment to each other and service excellence. Training them to be competent and confident shows a commitment to their well-being and career – and it showed we cared. Providing management training to the mid-level of the hierarchy shows employees you’re focused on their treatment and overall satisfaction – employees stayed because they trusted and appreciated their direct supervisors. Empowering employees to have a say in their work shows you trust them with the keys to the place – and they treated it like they owned it. Always explaining why gets people in on the decision-making process – that’s why they were engaged. Making sure that internal communications matched the caliber of how you communicate to the external world is critical – ours was focused, spoke with one voice, used all available channels, and made sure they were informed first. And catching people doing things right proves you are fair and interested in excellence – it was our #1 focus and employees appreciated it. Creating this type of culture gives employees a reason to be committed and loyal, to work together, and to do what’s best. Because it isn’t just one aspect of the game; it is the game. Work to make yours a culture of excellence today.

 

Louis Gerstner Jr. (born March 1, 1942): American businessman (McKinsey & Co., RJR Nabisco), and best known for his tenure as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM.