The Attitude "Alarm Clock"

When I was a kid my mother used to tell me that someday I'd appreciate what having no responsibilities felt like, though at the time, watching out for our family cat, my trucks and trains and a host of Matchbox toys seemed like a big enough responsibility to me. All too soon came my first opportunity to see what being an adult was really like: I was to grow and sell vegetables to our neighborhood, an idea of an eccentric aunt whose motto was "idle hands are the devil's workshop." The money earned would be my allowance; the days of weekly quarters from mom, and advances on next week's quarter, were over.

At fifteen a girlfriend suggested, firmly, that she would no longer pay for my ticket to the local drive-in movie. Then she promptly marched me off to where she worked, the local Marriott Hot Shoppes. There a tall, imposing and stern-faced fellow, Terry Stone, offered me my first "real" job as a short-order cook in the restaurant's snack bar. More responsibility. Showing up on time. Working versus talking. But it felt good, in the way that the notion of regular exercise, once confronted and actually implemented, can change your attitude toward physical labor. It can, though it doesn't always, particularly if you think it's not worth the effort. Some people work through the pain, the inconvenience, sore muscles, reduced couch time. Some put that New Year's resolution on the pile with all the others.

The same is true of the employees we hire. Hoping that they will succeed we provide them the tools -- and we wait. We wait for the new hire's skills to sharpen, her mind to focus solely on the task at hand. Sometimes it does, and we reward the effort. When her mind wanders, we remind her that "this is work, you know; you can daydream later." Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. That's when we bring out the big guns: "Keep up like this, and you will be out of a job," we say, knowing that only some employees will hear, let alone care about this admonition. Others will not hear or not care. Some are so impertinent they simply walk off the job which may seem an attractive alternative to hearing the words "you're fired."

What separates those who do from those who do not? What single definable characteristic caused the Ritz Carlton hotel chain to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge quality award? How can Crystal Cruises keep up its unparalleled reputation as "best cruise line", winning the Travel & Leisure award, year after year? What inner strength led an adopted child, Dave Thomas, to found and lead Wendy's?

As my grandfather used to say, it's all about mental attitude.

When hiring, promoting, training and yes, even disciplining, watch the candidate or employee's attitude. Some, as we all know, are timid about showing they care; with encouragement, however, they blossom. Others are natural leaders and will pick up every job you throw their way, do it, then ask for the next assignment. Others seem wooden, disinterested, unfocused; this group, needless to say, may not be your best new hires. You're reaching them too late.

All great performers possess an attitude "alarm clock". They know when it's time to add effort and when to let others take the lead. They keep track of important dates and rarely, if ever, miss work. They prepare. They smile, share kudos with co-workers. They participate in performance assessments, offering occasionally overly harsh self-appraisal just to show that they're aware of their shortcomings. When an especially challenging moment arrives -- deciding whether to return lost property, telling the truth about a missed goal -- the "alarm clock" inside superstars rings. It just rings. No prompting needed.

Can we teach employees to possess an attitude "alarm clock?" The subject of much debate, this is. What is very clear, however, is that great attitudes are catchy, and where one resides, others will follow.

Be honest and be well.

Copyright 2008 by Charles A. Conine and Hospitality HR Solutions

Strategic Planning, Part VII: The Hospitality Industry, Rising

Strategic Planning, Part VII:
The Hospitality Industry, Rising

The rock artist Bruce Springsteen, a longtime hero of America's bedrock working class, tells the story of an encounter that changed his life. He was stopped by a fan the day after the 9/11 terror attacks. Looking into Springsteen's eyes, the admirer had said simply, "Bruce, we need you." Though the encounter was brief Springsteen was moved: how could he make sense of a terrible tragedy, one that would define America like none other since Pearl Harbor?

The answer came the following year with the release of "The Rising", a wrenching wail that brought together Americans of all stripes, helping us see that recovery from this tragedy that deeply affected all Americans would require an "all for one, one for all" mentality, a force clearly greater than most of us had ever experienced. Our whole foundation had been shaken nearly apart. "The Rising", at once a guttural anthem, became a voice for many, the song's entreaty, "Come on up for the rising, come on up, lay your hands in mine" an unmistakable call for unity. Springsteen had accomplished what politicans could not: the song became a rallying cry for several generations of Americans.

Our current economic miasma, while not a 9/11 tragedy, is nonetheless wrenching, and requires a universal response if we are to prevail. Let's face it: We are being forced to reconsider our past ways. The hospitality industry is in trouble.

Luxury of all types seems so out of place, excessive, unnecessary -- some would say, even cruel in an age of rapidly evaporating retirement incomes. Employees assuming their big hotel chain employers would be around forever, have seen pension plans falter, their hours cut, their benefits reduced. Restaurants that served Wall Street and Main Street are either out of business or offering pre-fixe dinners at modest prices. Airlines and restaurant chains alike have declared themselves bankrupted by the spiraling crisis. Seeking clarity in this mess has been daunting, prolonged by an elusive economic bottom that keeps sliding out from under us, nearly by the day it seems.

If management teams were ever called upon to put aside individual differences for a common good, it's now. Does your crisis recovery strategy include duties for every member of your team? Is senior management communicating more often with the line? Are HR staff aware of which employees need help coping with the economic reality that is causing so much upheaval in families? Are employees now more sensitive to guest concerns? Are your products priced at levels to encourage repeat business?

So much can be done when we band together. The industry's leadership has spoken plenty to various trade publications but has been strangely quiet in the mainstream media. It's time for someone to stand up and issue a rallying cry.

Be honest and be well.

Copyright 2008 by Charles A. Conine and Hospitality HR Solutions
Visit us at www.hospitalityhrsolutions.com

Strategic Planning, Part VI: Taking the Reins in Turbulent TImes

Strategic Planning, Part VI
Taking the Reins in Turbulent Times

The word on the Street -- Wall Street, that is -- isn't great. The stock market meltdown and the seizing up of the nation's financial system represent the potential for disaster. There is no guarantee that the proposed government bailout of the mortgage mess announced over the weekend will calm the roiling waters anytime soon. Adding noticeably to the nation's collective jitters: muscle flexing by Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, etc. A Congress lacking direction, the nearing elections -- well, it all makes many fearful that tomorrow's news will be worse.

Over the weekend, as the pundits dissected the past week's unprecedented financial news and handicapped whether Congress will destroy or revive the nation's confidence this week as it seeks to digest the government's $700 billion bailout proposal, I paused. Listening to friends and colleagues bemoan our current fix, I wanted to agree, but for some reason, I didn't.

Clearly, those who hold a cynical view of Congress's ability to inspire anyone, let alone chart a course for an entire nation, are not necessarily wrong when they crankily rant against our national leadership. While it is naive to expect that politics will not be a part of the Congressional review, or that an inevitable delay in a deal with Congress will not hurt the economy further, I wonder: should the nation's business leaders sit on the sidelines while Congress fiddles? Should we call our Congressman? Or should we power forward, mindful of the dangers but unwilling to surrender to the view that life as we know it has been irreparably altered?

For some reason this weekend my mind was replaying a scene from the movie "Midway", a sweeping WWII drama chronicling the improbable victory by outmanned US forces in the first pivotal Pacific naval battle after the cataclysm of Pearl Harbor. In the movie Robert Mitchum portrays legendary American admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey. Laid up in a Pearl Harbor infirmary with a debilitating skin condition Halsey is asked by CINCPAC chief Chester Nimitz, played by Henry Fonda, to name his temporary replacement for the Midway campaign. Who should lead this crucial battle, Nimitz asks Halsey. Halsey recommends Raymond Spruance, a junior officer with no flight experience in a Navy where it is thought that only fighter pilots can command aircraft carrier task forces.

Nimitz winces. "He has no carrier experience," he tells Halsey. "No, but he knows carrier tactics," Halsey counters. Nimitz hesitates.

"Chet," Halsey growls, "you once told me that when you are in command -- command!"

History proved Halsey's recommendation providential. Thanks to good planning and advance intelligence Admiral Spruance's forces pounced upon superior Japanese forces as they steamed near Midway Island. Enemy losses that day were so great that the tide of the Pacific war was strategically altered. From that moment onward the Imperial Navy was retreating.

Times of turmoil call for decisive action. While fears of defeat will always be with us, the consequences of delay and inaction usually produce inferior outcomes. Yes, some will say let's wait and see what Congress does Is there a stronger alternative?

America's hospitality industry doesn't need a pass from Congress. We need strong leaders who continue to believe in their people, their products and the future, to think strategically and without emotion. If your strategic plan needs review, do it now. Otherwise, let's get the engines fired up. It's time to lead our teams into the uncharted times ahead. Victory awaits.

Be honest and be well.

Strategic Planning, Part V: Exploring Weakness

Strategic Planning, Part V

Exploring Weakness

Labor Day is upon us. With the traditional Fall budget season just ahead, many organizations see this time of year as an opportunity for renewal. It’s a fitting time to continue our discussion of strategic planning.

The strategic planning journey reveals much about the organization. A thorough planning program includes a critical, candid analysis known by the acronym S.W.O.T.: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Saving Weaknesses for last, a brief description of the other elements is as follows:

Strengths are key achievers, processes, products, services and intangibles such as goodwill that together are considered organizational advantages.

Opportunities are desirable outcomes as yet unrealized: an opportunity to be the leader in a market segment, for example, or to be the outstanding service provider in a non-profit community. Opportunities typically flow from Strengths though they can be discovered through Weaknesses.

Threats are actions or exigencies that could delay, inhibit or completely derail the organization’s plan for success.

The two elements of the SWOT analysis that we naturally enjoy discussing are Strengths and Opportunities. Those that take more time to identify and quantify are Weaknesses and Threats. This process yields valuable information about where the organization needs to improve, yet sometimes a planning team just can’t get there. Whether it’s an issue with one or more members of the team or someone’s pet project that hasn’t delivered results, some groups loathe confronting the demon for fear of upsetting a colleague or having to admit that something they worked on isn’t perfect. While understandable such ostrich-like behavior is dangerous.

Weaknesses, whether involving people or strategies, are no less an integral part of the community at large. Discerning the future requires that we see the present, for all that it represents, not just the parts we like. A strong commitment to strategic planning includes being willing to talk about in depth what isn’t working, what may be “gumming up the works.”

Acknowledging publicly what we don’t do well affords us a sometimes surprising corollary opportunity: seeing what the organization would look like when we tackle the weaknesses. Armed with knowledge and freed of the need to keep our weaknesses hidden, we can usually quickly design a workaround that gets us back on track toward meeting our strategic goals.

Be honest and be well.

Chuck-

Copyright 2008 by Charles A. Conine and Hospitality HR Solutions

Strategic Planning, Part IV: I'd Rather Be a Tiger

Strategic Planning, Part IV

I’d Rather Be a Tiger

It is often said that managers maintain the status quo while leaders invoke change. Surprise! Change is not always a leader's preference. In fact, mention change to some in the executive suite and eyes begin glazing over.

The first time I encountered this apparently anti-leader behavior I was surprised. Years later I can’t count the number of times I’ve witnessed otherwise wizened hospitality execs arguing not whether the pace of the company’s change is sufficient, but whether the company should be changing at all. Their lobbying platform: “more of the same” could be just fine for some processes or products, at least for now.

Perhaps, though a static environment, however well reasoned, is generally what you don’t need. As the axiom goes, competitive advantage is attained and maintained by staying ahead of the pack. Why then would change, if truly an engine of innovation, not have such a good reputation? And why, despite mandates for action from a CEO and/or the Board of Directors, would some still argue against change? Why not just get on with it?

My colleague who first uttered the anti-change argument did so in front of his peers at a strategic planning session where, with no small amount of hubris he decried the whole point of us being there: “No one ever has any idea how it’s going to play out,” he said, shifting in his chair. As my friend went on we noticed the CEO fixing a hard stare at him, but this didn't stop him. “We get all fired up about changing this or improving that,” our co-worker continued. “Bigger portions. Smaller portions. With mayo. Lose the onion.” My friend wasn’t finished. “We spend a bunch of money asking ourselves and the guests a lot of questions.” “Meanwhile,” he added, “we have a business to run. And what happens after a few months? The ‘C’ word is forgotten.”

Without exactly meaning to, my colleague nevertheless put his finger squarely upon the problem. The real issue with change is not the change itself. It’s getting the whole team to commit to the process that drives change – and to stick with it. If you’ve been through strategic planning you know that the regimen is rigorous. It sometimes leads to frustrating dead ends, or projects that begin handily enough but lack staying power. The prize for your resoluteness is occasionally … nothing.

The mere mention of change still disturbs some industry veterans. The famed Yoga Berra used to say, provoking laughter, “it’s de ja vu all over again.” For the seasoned hospitality industry executive, he or she has “been there before” and can thus perhaps be forgiven if repulsed by the image of yet another series of meetings that produce firm agreements, a concrete action plan, but little more. If you talk one-on-one they acknowledge their attitude smells of sour grapes but they insist they are not alone in abhorring the, as one former colleague called strategic planning, “colossal waste of time.”

The detached observer sees this apparent conundrum as an opportunity to fix what ails rather than jettison the strategic planning process. When you are one of the participants, however, it’s not so easy to see this patently obvious conclusion, let alone convince your peers of its merit.

Sometimes therefore, lacking a disinterested third party’s coaxing, we agree to disagree, and the choice for the executive team, no doubt to be later handicapped as woefully insufficient, is to do nothing. Quixotically it sometimes takes a stinging defeat – the loss of your great idea to a swifter competitor, for example – to move a timid team even cautiously toward change.

Real change can be the lifeblood of a great hospitality team, creating and replenishing a nourishing vibrancy. This is what I’ve always thought that the top tier of mature brands -- Marriott and Disney come to mind -- do so well, as they must! They recognize that without a rigorously enforced annual planning cycle, old assumptions take root, choking off innovation.

Invariably results will vary according to the intensity of the leadership team’s commitment. Just as one team may be circumspect about change, a competitor is playing hard offense, sizing up the competition, crouching and preparing to devour it. Strategic planning can help both kinds of teams, the timid and the tigers.

You don’t have to say it: like me, I know you’d rather be a tiger.

Be honest and be well.

Copyright 2008

Charles A. Conine & Hospitality HR Solutions

www.hospitalityhrsolutions.com

Strategic Planning, Part III: HR's Role as Strategic Diplomat

Strategic Planning, Part III

HR’s Role as Strategic Diplomat

To better understand how HR has found itself with a seat at the strategic planning table, we look to HR’s first forays into its role as employee advocate, one that it gained as part of its evolution from its days as “the Personnel Department”. Much of what hospitality HR directors learned about advocacy came from defining moments in large, urban hotels where unions had long been entrenched and thrived on the “status quo”.

The rechristening of the Personnel Department as “Human Resources” advocate troubled the unions. Their collective mistrust of management’s motives had been burnished over many years of seeing crude, ill-trained managers mistreating hourly employees. When Personnel became “HR”, and some of the big chain hotels were announcing that henceforth Human Resources would play a central role in union/management relations, the unions wondered, “what’s next?”

HR’s equanimity, instead of being welcomed by organized labor was instead often misunderstood. Union business agents viewed HR’s ascent with alarm, particularly when the HR director wouldn’t back down from a position. Bullying department supervisors and complaining to hotel general managers about “worker abuse” had brought unions credibility. So why would they want to talk with Human Resources?

Not really believing HR’s proffer of cooperation, ironically unions saw HR’s rise as divisive to the labor movement’s goal of keeping the focus on “us versus them.” Who needed someone to forge better relationships, especially if that meant that unions would no longer tell management the way things were going to be?

What happened next was thus not very surprising.

Labeling HR as a potential Trojan horse, a supporter of “scabs” who would roll back hard fought union gains, unions fought back, painting HR first as insincere mouthpieces for management and then, in an insult that really bothered HR, as people who should just be ignored.

What had we done wrong, HR leaders wondered? How could HR find its way out of this thicket and regain employee trust? How would we tame the unions’ annoying habit of taking advantage of every management misstep?

Initially the best that HR could achieve was an uneasy stalemate, and even that often came on the heels of a walkout by an entire shift of waiters. Every time we thought we might have made some progress with a union business agent, he or she would claim we “lied” and the relationship would once again turn frosty.

HR chiefs approached these early union/management struggles with admirable patience, considering that the typical HR director had not been schooled in how to deal with labor unrest: though some in the big city hotels had plenty of background in listening to the problems unions seemed to create, most HR directors were either new to labor relations or had limited authority to discuss or resolve employee grievances.

HR’s impatience with the slow pace of progress in union/management relations grew more intense and eventually, some HR directors were given a little rope to explore ways of defusing union/worker angst. In my case this experience proved challenging, to say the least.

Not long after I had won a limited authority to engage the unions I was summoned to a meeting with a local union president and our labor attorney. The union president proceeded to excoriate me for my “holier than thou” attitude and my “ignorant interference”. He threatened a work stoppage if I didn’t back off.

Two weeks or so went by. I implored my general manager for answers: What had I done? I asked. He would only say that he thought I’d been a little too aggressive.

Ordered to stay out of the union’s way I nevertheless remained convinced that all of our lives would be more peaceful if we could forge better relationships with the union business agents.

I tried another tactic. The next time that the business agent for our hotel strode into my office, prepared for a fight, I offered her a seat, and then asked The Question: “Why are you doing this?”

We sat there for a moment in stony silence. Then, as if a light switch had been flipped, the agent’s face softened, and she managed a thin smile. “Management,” she began with a long sigh, slumping in her chair, “cares only about itself. The workers be damned.”

Thus began for me a real relationship based on understanding and ultimately, trust. This union advocate was not perfect, nor was she always right. But her advice, cooperation and “take no prisoners” negotiating style taught me much about what really matters to hospitality employees.

Be honest and be well. -- Chuck

Copyright 2008 by Charles A. Conine and Hospitality HR Solutions

www.hospitalityhrsolutions.com

He Offers a Roadmap Out of Sales and Profit Hell

If you are spending money with an organizational consultant, you are not alone. Everyone it seems is on the hunt for fresh perspectives on how to reverse the current industry slump.

Issues that in the past sounded straightforward enough – build top line first, then work on your costs, etc., etc. – are not so simple now, not with eggs costing 100% more than a year ago, fuel at $4.50 a gallon and climbing or, in the worst sort of tone deaf irony, many state legislatures piling on new and evermore business-defeating proposals to legislate employee wages and benefits.

Today’s times are challenging our commitment to our principles, our employees, our vendors and your guests. Are we and our teams living our core values? Is our mission statement reality or is it a box checked off on someone’s to-do list? Does our management team have a laser-like focus on returning business to the good times, no matter what it takes? Better: Is every manager charged up and ready to find the answers? Perhaps you need a little encouragement to get all the way there? Meet Jim Sullivan, whose teaching returns your investment with interest.

Why is listening to Sullivan like putting money in the bank? For all the years I’ve watched him Jim has eschewed the esoteric, favoring a simple, direct approach that restaurant operators appreciate. No skin-deep “cum-bay-ah” sessions for Sullivan; he’s too busy fielding all the good questions his ideas generate. Having sat through more than one over the years I can attest that Sullivan’s training workshops pack a fast-paced punch. He gets that his clients are busy and he won’t insult them by wasting their time.

Jim’s website displays this motto: “common sense at work.” The site, www.sullivision.com is built that way -- eclectic, easy to navigate and chock full of serious offerings. The focus is on energizing and leading today’s restaurant people. These are teachable, scalable programs, precisely what companies sharing Sullivan’s sense of urgency are seeking.

A key reason for Sullivan’s loyal following: his books, tapes and seminars are not about him – they’re about the industry’s basic people challenges and how to address them. Sure, he’s charming and industry smart. But Jim Sullivan is more than that: he’s a bit of everyman. In fact, the very best thing about Jim is that he remains an optimist, undiminished by personal politics, hyper-ego or insincerity.

Jim’s latest book, available on the website, is “Multi-Unit Leadership - The 7 Stages of Building High-Performing Partnerships and Teams” . It’s a gem. True to his economy of style Sullivan has penned an easy read, a “first this, then that” approach that’s unapologetic and direct. More importantly the advice serves as a roadmap to pull the industry out of Sales and Profit Hell.

If we don’t need roadmaps now, we’ll never need them.

Be honest and be well. - Chuck

Copyright 2008 by Charles A. Conine and Hospitality HR Solutions

www.hospitalityhrsolutions.com