Becoming the best in a world of compromise
This week, I have been taking notes from Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise by Horst Schulze, Dean Merrill. Schulze created the culture of the Ritz Carlton hotel chains that fueled their dominance in the hotel space. While I have stayed at a Ritz Carlton only once, and found it a bit stuffy, their customer service and attention to detail are undeniable. And the book has so many lessons that are transferable for leaders in any field. Here are a few nuggets:
• "Do with excellence what the customer loves and the money will follow."
• Quoting Albert Einstein, “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there’s no hope for it.”
• Never say “We don’t do it that way here.” After every Thanksgiving weekend, they hold a meeting. What did the customers say? What could we have done better? What can we adjust for next year? Write down a plan and make the changes. Always be innovating. We need to keep telling each other we can do better the next time around.
• Get clear on your vision. Clearly communicate that vision to everyone on your team. Execute actionable plans that align with the vision. DON’T GET DISTRACTED. Energize employees to help.
• Don’t start meetings with numbers. Start with a reminder of your vision or recent examples of stories that reinforce your vision in action. Do we share listener stories?
• Avoid using the word “they” to describe other departments or upper/lower echelons.
• Avoid “customer service desks.” Everyone at the company needs to be equally committed to satisfying the customer. It’s not someone else’s job.
• Now we can’t do this (or can we? See Einstein quote above) but he empowered any employee to spend up to $2,000 to solve a customer’s problem. His example was an employee booking a flight to hand deliver a customer’s left-behind laptop so he had it for a presentation the next day. Wow.
His vision statement for the Ritz Carlton became,“Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen."And it was at one of his workshops that the Chick-Fil-A president was inspired to have his employees say,“My pleasure!”after taking your order (a small move that impresses me every time).
Radio people in general tend to look down on or become annoyed by listeners. What an interesting exercise to imagine how the Ritz Carlton brand might treat our clients, our listeners and our employees. Read the book and have at it!