Run towards, not away, from the difficult stuff...

One of the executives I used to work with would frequently exclaim ‘nothing comes easy’ whenever we were wrestling with the high quality stuff we were responsible for creating and operating. Things that looked complicated on paper were doubly so in the implementation stage, especially those that hadn’t been done before. As the old Mirage is currently transitioning into the new Hard Rock project, my former Mirage colleagues and I reminisce about the difficulties of building and operating the volcano, atrium, baggage system, and Siegfried and Roy showroom and show (among so many other ‘firsts’ at that property) … those set the stage for so many other extraordinary elements of our other future projects. And I know I speak for countless others working here in Las Vegas who learned that all rising to a great place is by a winding stair. That’s what makes Las Vegas so uniquely great – its many iconic elements from the Strat Tower, the NYNY skyline, the Excalibur, Luxor, and the new Sphere – large scale spectacles that challenge the men and women working to envision, design, build, and operate them. But big or small, wondrous or plain, doing anything great takes dedication, skill, and perseverance. Whatever you work on this year, resolve to do everything you can to make it great. Don’t be afraid to climb that winding stair today.

 

Sir Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626): English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. 

Make sure you care...

All of the companies I worked for during my career and most that I now work with as a consultant have terms like grandeur, excellence, and greatness in their value statements. In most cases, those refer to the quality of their properties and service; I believe that they also could and should apply to the quality of their management team and style. Because at the end of the day buildings come and go, but great leadership leads to great performance and that’s ultimately what the customer remembers. And true greatness in this context, is a thing of the heart. I often write here that the heart of managerial excellence lies in their use of emotional intelligence to connect with employees and set and support a workplace culture of excellence. Combine that with servant leadership and you create models for service excellence. Both focus on employee first thinking and initiatives and those create a customer first mindset in employees that drives performance and profitability. If this sounds like your management style, make a resolution to double down on it this year – that’s the best way to remain competitive in your market; if not, resolve to initiate strategies to remake your corporate culture to achieve the kinds of results that these strategies produce. Start the new year with a resolution to have a culture of excellence, starting today.

 

Roswell D. Hitchcock (1817-1887): Presbyterian Congregational minister, church historian, and Union Theological Seminary president.

Be a person of integrity and honor...

·      Debs was a major historical figure in my college learning – at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, he loomed larger than most.

·      I suggest adding ‘or woman’ to today’s quote because the meaning of ‘man’ today is more limiting that when Debs said this. 

·   For me, I think a better term would be “mensch”, as in: “it takes a mensch to be somebody”.

 

mensch

/men(t)SH/

Yiddish noun (for male and female)

1.     a human being (literal translation)

2.    a person of integrity and honor (interpretive translation)

a.     It's used as a high compliment to describe someone who is kind, thoughtful, honorable, and upstanding.

 

People who lead - the one’s we hold up as role models, must be thoughtful, honorable, and upstanding. I’m not a politician so I won’t make this a statement about that, but as a successful business executive I know the importance of being a mensch when leading others. Of having mensch-like qualities. Employees crave and deserve leaders who have integrity and honor, are ethical, kind, thoughtful, and upstanding, practice open two-way communications, are aware of and understand what their people need, and keep their promises. Those who are quick to praise, love coaching, and lead by example. One of my most important roles was discovering and selecting the people who would be on our management team – from first-level supervisors, managers, department heads, and executives, we looked for those who could be somebody of character, like those who fit the definition of “mensch”. We didn’t call it that, but we did focus on integrity and honor and the soft or management skills needed to provide inspired leadership. Anybody could apply, but only those who could be described as having those qualities found in the definition of mensch (above) would be selected. Men and women alike. Because they were the ones who had what it took to be great leaders. Because we knew that great companies have great leaders who develop great employees. Aspire to be a mensch-like great leader today.

 

Eugene V. Debs (1855 – 1926): American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States.

Prepare yourself...

One last message about making 2025 New Year resolutions – it’s good to start the year with goals. While most of us won’t be world champions at anything, we each can be the best of who we are. Setting goals that you can focus on each day is the best way to prepare for a positive, successful, and/or great year. It’s not about winning something, or losing inches, it’s about getting up each day with a positive attitude, feeling good about yourself, achieving what you realistically can, and leaving things better than you found them. It’s not about making a killing at something but rather making a positive impact. Whether you’re all by yourself or part of a team, this kind of positive, resilient, can-do attitude allows you to start fresh and finish well. It’s not too late to decide where and how to point yourself and what you want to get out of 2025. Don’t do whatever it is for anyone else – do it for you. Easy or hard, long-term or short, big or small. Do it now because if you fail to prepare for the year ahead, you’re prepared to fail. So, make your New Year’s resolution(s) today.

 

Mark Andrew Spitz (born 1950): American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion.

Put your shoulder to the wheel...

Let’s get back to talking about teams (after the last two messages about the New Year).  Collaboration starts long before the action – everyone involved in working together must first go through extensive training, practicing, and coaching. But once the action begins – whether it’s a team sport, business project, or group effort, experience and instinct take over. In sports, there’s a coach on the sideline and a captain on the field – like a leader at work, they make sure everyone is ready. The group then follows the plan, improvises as needed, and does their best to achieve the objective. An example is a restaurant – the employees train individually and then together, they practice getting prepared, they conduct pre-shift meetings to get any updates, and when the guests arrive the cooks and servers and bussers and bartenders act instinctively without much in the way of direct supervision. Because in that situation, collaboration has no hierarchy. Because self-motivation and self-direction kick in. Most teams follow up after a game or shift to review what occurred, learn more about themselves and each other, and adjust as needed. When it’s working you can see it in the flow and participant’s faces. The key to all of this is (1) training and (2) coaching – make sure you do those things to help your team achieve its goals today.

 

Amit Ray (born 1960): Indian author and "spiritual master". He is known for his teachings on meditation, yoga, peace, and compassion.

Happy New Year...

“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” Robin Sharma

 

I’ll be turning 75 later this year and I can say very few of my years have been the same. Sure, I worked for companies for several years at a time, but as I’ve written here in the past, projects that I took on while at any one of them made each year seem uniquely challenging and rewarding. My choice. As we begin another new year, choose to make the year ahead one that will be a unique contribution to your life, starting today.

 

    Happy New Year!

 

Robin Sharma (born 1965):  Canadian lawyer, public speaker, and writer, best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series.[1]

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[1] Photo by Alexis Hunter

Get ready to ring in the new...

reinvent

verb

re·​in·​vent ˌrē-ən-ˈvent 

1

: to make as if for the first time something already invented

2

: to remake or redo completely

3

: to bring into use again

 

Wait no longer: now is the time to make your New Year’s resolutions, setting goals for the coming year. These run the gamut – from fitness and health, to learning and growing, they are whatever you think you should do to become whatever you can be. Many fall by the wayside – either too ambitious or unimportant. People young and old make resolutions big and small. Combined with the coming of a new year, these can be a motivational launch pad for things you’ve always wanted to be. And because you are never too old to reinvent yourself, this nearly universal practice is a big part of ringing in with the new year, the new opportunities, the new possibilities, the new you. And as we look back one last time on the year just passed, be mindful of all you’ve accomplished, be grateful for all that you have, be optimistic about all that you can do, and be thankful for all the people who helped you to get here. So, set your goals and get ready to start the journey to achieve them. Take time to finalize your New Year’s resolutions today.

 

Broderick Stephen “Steve” Harvey Sr. (born 1957): American comedian, television host (Family Feud), actor, writer, and producer.