Being there matters...

 My daughter and two granddaughters vacationed with us for two months this summer. These kids, mine and hers gave me a lot of hope for the future. Not so much the one we’re leaving them as the one they’ll create. And I was again reminded that when I started at the Golden Nugget, the boss suggested my title be “Daddy” – because he believed that managers and supervisors should work with employees like parents deal with their kids. Meaning you may have to say no from time to time, but you’ll always love and support them. Meaning your job is to help them be all they can be, even when that takes you more than you expected. Meaning at the end of the day you get them back around the dinner table to review what’s happened and what’s planned. Meaning, employees, like children, are apt to live up to what you believe of them. That belief and support will help them get through the best and worst of times and, no matter what, you’ll always be there for them. Knowing that someone cares is an important component of learning to care for yourself. Be there for your employees today.

 

Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (1912 – 2007): First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Watch for the winds of change...

The easiest thing we can do is maintain the status quo. It’s familiar, doesn’t take much effort, and is often seen as not involving any risk. As in ‘nothing ventured, nothing lost’. Employees like it because it isn’t challenging, it takes no extra effort, and doesn’t involve changing the things they’ve grown accustomed to. But trends and preferences and market conditions change, and your competitors may not have been so lackadaisical. So, what seems safe and easy can be risky, so much so that if left unchecked, it can cost companies their market share and employees their jobs. This happened to the Las Vegas gaming market in the 80s. First, they didn’t see Atlantic City as a potential challenger and when they again slipped into complacency after beating back the Atlantic City challenge, their false sense of security failed to see the challenge of the Mirage. Their failure to invest in facilities and amenities created the opportunity for Mirage’s integrated resort concept to capture the market. But there’s nothing like somebody else’s success to spur the competition to action – six new Las Vegas projects then came online quickly with buildings that emulated the best of the new concepts. While most don’t like change, they know it’s the best way to remain competitive and successful. Keep one eye on the competition and the other on your planning process today.

 

Bob Iger (born 1951): American media executive & businessman who is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company.

Never humiliate or embarrass people in public...

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]

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[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.

Being nice matters...

I know it when I walk into a business, and I bet you do too. The look on employees faces and their body language while dealing with you says it all: they like working there or they don’t, they are well-treated or they aren’t, the company cares about employees and customers or they don’t. It’s in their eyes and the bounce in their step. Most can fake it in the greeting, but not much beyond that. If it’s all good, they’re engaged and engaging; if not, they’re just going through the motions without any real concern for your satisfaction. If they’re not satisfied, they won’t much care if you are. There’s a whole litany of things managers can do to motivate and inspire employees – many can be found in these daily messages, but if you don’t have much time or bandwidth, a simple hello, goodbye, and thanks can let them know you care. Then so will they. But if you’re constantly cranky, distracted, and dismissive they’ll feel it and be dispirited because those are as lethal as a bullet. Political and market conditions have produced an unemployment rate of 4.2% (as of last month) – at this rate people who are looking can find a job. But most managers tell me that they can’t find good employees – put those two together and good people who aren’t treated well and are unhappy where they are will look for a better job situation. Treat your employees the way you want to be treated – the way you want them to treat your customers. Do that and dodge the negative customer satisfaction bullet today.

 

Laura Hillenbrand (born 1967): American author whose two bestselling nonfiction books, Seabiscuit: An American Legend (2001) and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010), have sold over 13 million copies, and each was adapted for film.

Style and service beat size every time...

I broke into the gaming business at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. The smallest casino there at the time. Which became the #1 casino in every category. Size didn’t matter. What mattered was style and service, as it always does. The staff there proudly participated in that style and reveled in the success and notoriety it produced. Like David and Goliath. Like all little guys who refused to let size hold them back. There were much larger properties and corporate egos there and I’m sure some bristled at the Nugget’s success and market dominance. They might have learned from the things we did, but their egos were apparently unable to copy the workplace culture that made it possible. Because success like that means trusting and respecting the front-line staff that makes customer experience and satisfaction possible, listening and responding to their suggestions, and giving them the tools to do their job. A leader’s role is to provide the vision of what a product should be, marshal the resources to bring it to market, build an organization to carry out the plan, and support the staff to create the success. Those employees still talk about how special working there was, and many remember it as the best job they ever had. A culture, I’m proud to say, that was repeated in the other resorts we built around the world. Much to other’s chagrin, the fact that size isn’t the determining factor in success and stature is a lesson to be learned. Whatever the size of the enterprise, inspire and support your employees to make it great today.

 

Thomas Henry Huxley (1825 – 1895): English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy.[1]

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[1] He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Hard work produces the best work...

·       An "Illusion of Grandeur" is when you believe that you have more power, wealth, smarts, or other grand traits than is true. 

·       "Visions of Greatness" refers to the concept of envisioning a future state of excellence, whether for oneself or a larger entity.

 

An illusion of grandeur is often found in a person who thinks they’re always the smartest one in any room. Sometimes they’re wrong, but they’re never uncertain. With a vision of greatness, a common person can help lead others to greatness. That’s all about teamwork. The first is about ego, the second about team. The first may be exciting to be around but the second won’t let you down. You’ll initially love the first in an interview, but probing questions will ultimately guide you to the second. Don’t let the first excite your ego while allowing the second’s humility to underwhelm you. In interviews or interactions, be sure to keep asking them both to tell you more – that’s where the real substance will be found. If you’re more like the second, don’t let success go to your head – be thankful anyone listened and let you get far enough to see your vision become reality. Because one good idea doesn’t confirm greatness. Several, maybe. But even so, we all must earn our stripes every day. People will rather work with someone who is hard working than someone who tells you they are. Because everyone’s shoulder to the collective wheel is the best way to work today.

 

Edwin Louis Cole (1922–2002): Founder of the Christian Men's Network, an American religious organization devoted to helping Christian men and fathers. He published many books and preached numerous sermons relating to men and religion.

Keep on keeping up...

It isn’t easy going from good to great. One of the best parts of working is seeing if you can make something better. Some businesses are generally open about how they do things – like Disney, which is proud to showcase their customer and employee service programs and systems. It’s one thing to go observe, but many won’t take the time and money and focus to implement and continually improve systems they have or see in others. Toyota viewed Ford’s prowess (at its Rouge manufacturing plant) at the time and did what it took to make it better. And better yet, they became nimble enough to keep making on-going changes and improvements as experience, technology, and competition marched on. It isn’t easy to adopt a process of incremental but constant improvements designed to cut costs while boosting overall quality … let alone manage it. But that’s the business world and everyone, no matter what your role, must seek to do some of this within the sphere of their influence. And because it’s sometimes harder to do this from the top – a better scenario may be that managers do this in their individual departments. If that sounds like something that might interest you - search ’Kaizen’ or ‘continuous improvement’ with Google or AI, learn more about it, and see if you can improve something. And then lobby senior management to support your efforts. Don’t overlook organic opportunities for continuous improvement today.

 

Eiji Toyoda (1913-2013): President of Toyota Motor Corporation toasting Philip Caldwell, the head of Ford Motors who in 1982 was visiting Japan.[1]

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiji_Toyoda