All posts by Aurelian Anghelusiu

Downward Spiral of Airlines

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Catch Me If You Can?

I am not an airline man and nor will I ever be!  I hate flying!  But the airline business on the other hand is a glorious business, or so it was a long time ago. But, really what happened to the days when the airline industry was all about service? Exceeding expectations?

I’ll tell you what happened. The other day I was flying on a commuter flight (reputable company which will remain unnamed), and I was told that most seats were booked-up but for an additional charge of $9.95 I could get more leg room by sitting in a different part of the plane, or for an additional $19.95 I could sit on the exit row by the wings, and oh and peanuts are $2.00.

So what really happened? You have all these once-upon-a-time companies with great employees and millions of dollars of creative marketing and public relations, yet everyone is missing the forest for the trees? Nobody has the guts, decency or fortitude to stand for what is right? So now that company A is charging $295, then airlines B and C will have to do the same thing so they can be competitive as well. AND, in order to fictitiously make this prices seem cheaper everything else is A la Carte…really? It started with the bag fees, then the blanket/pillow fees on longer flights, the F&B service, and now the auctioning of “prime” seats.

What a shame that a billion dollar industry forgot the basics, doing things right the first time!  If you cannot do it right the first time, when will you have the chance to do it over again? That’s correct – never!

So who really is at fault? Who is responsible?  WE the customers are. We now find it acceptable to wait on the tarmac 6 hours at a time, paying for every little item just so that we can feel good that the overall ticket price was only $99.00 for a cross country flight!

Where will this mentality of “penny pinching” lead this industry? To what end? Rest assured that this “penny wise pound foolish” standard operating procedure (SOP) will only lead to more and more re-organizations, bankruptcies, thousands of great employees losing their jobs. And, why?? Because their employers do not have the foresight to do what is right and their customers have become accustomed to accepting and, dare I say even demanding mediocrity!

Someone once told me: “Take care of the boss and you’ll never be wrong”. If the customers are indeed the “boss”, why not take care of them, provide the right service, the right experience, provide value for money and do it all with a smile!  Show me the airline that does that and I’ll show you the friendly skies indeed!

Here again, friends:  There are two things you can do!  Either you do it or you don’t!”

At Your Service,

Aurelian

Performance vs. Loyalty

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So if it came down to it, what would you choose?  Would you rather have high performing staff members on your team or loyal staff members?  Both you say? What if you could not have both; what if you had to choose?

I have had the privilege of working in many diverse and unique work environments, from companies with corporate cultures of promoting loyalty by accepting mediocrity and conversely in corporate cultures where performance was the only meaningful factor – darned be loyalty!

So what is the right approach?

I “love” this approach that some organizations use of promoting loyalty by accepting mediocrity. In essence they are saying: Hey! It’s OK to only give 75% of what you’re capable of, just as long as you stay loyal to us, just as long as you do not bad-mouth us, just as long as you have our back we will have yours. Well, that’s how communism works in practice. It creates a culture of everyone watching over each other, where workers simply “milk” the system and do what is barely required in order to get by and live a life of mediocrity. This is very sad and disheartening, because companies create worker bees and automatons rather than individual self thinking performers. It’s like in one of those black and white Kafka movies (don’t know what I mean – Google it). It creates an environment of entitlements, of becoming totally dependent on the company, the system and the process!

You may remember that saying of what would you choose: A hundred years as a sheep or a single day as a lion?

On the other hand, the issue with high-performance organizations, is that the corporate culture rewards top performance, but staff teams may feel under-appreciated and that the relationship is not a two way street. In such environments, where you are only as good as your last quota, where the slate gets wiped clean every month or every fiscal period, everything becomes very transient – there is no past but only the future.

Sadly enough, such organizations create environments where the pressure to deliver becomes almost insurmountable. Such companies, can and typically do grow exponentially, but at what cost? Unfortunately, the human one: there is no trust, no loyalty.

Not sure with which of the two scenarios you may identify with. As you may guess I am a proponent of the latter:the top performing culture, albeit with one minor or major (depending on how you look at it) adjustment – APPRECIATION!

True loyalty comes not from money, from cushy jobs, from exceeding quotas and achieving results through whatever means necessary – it comes from appreciation! A genuine feeling of a job well done,  that what you do has meaning and purpose and that one is not a number or a quota on a wall – but rather a free thinking individual whose efforts are contributing toward the greater good of the team and organization overall.

So which would you choose? I have always chosen performance over everything – though with some appreciation along the way!

Regardless in which environment you may find yourself in, there are always two things you can do!  Either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian

Hotel Performance

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I thought I’d take this opportunity to start a discussion on Hotel Performance or better yet under-performance!

As owners and GMs alike know, it’s all about that bottom-line. It’s that deadly “tug of war” between operators pushing for the “top line” in the hopes of being able to spend more in order to drive revenues and owners pushing for the “bottom line”, squeezing every penny possible through minimizing spending and capital improvements investments as much as possible.

One of the key performance metrics that I enjoy using, and it applies to hotels, restaurants, clubs and any business for that matter, is a concept developed and perfected by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company –  the Net Flow-Through!  Namely, how much of your top-line dollars, above and beyond what was budgeted, find their way to the bottom line. Owners want 100% and then some, operators would be ecstatic with 30% – 50%, but sadly enough,  if less than 80% of that makes it to the bottom line, you’re doing something wrong.

So coming back to why some hotels outperform and others under-perform? Well, in no particular order, here we go:

1. Marketing strategies across all media channels: print, social, media, in-person, etc. Marketing is not a one-time thing; it’s continuous!  As you may know, it takes 6 months or more of weekly media ads before they start making a measurable impact.

2. Customer/client resolution: how does the staff react to complaints?  How does management react? Are complaints treated with the highest priority?  Are they being viewed as opportunities rather than problems?  I learned a long time ago from one of my mentors, to treat every complaint as an opportunity to do something better and mistakes are good as long as you don’t repeat them.

3. Micro-Management.  If you take a look at organizations that have a culture of micro-management, of mistrusting the staff versus companies that empower their staff to make the right decisions to satisfy the customer, simply do your own research, and tell me, which organizations perform better than the others?

4. Hiring and Training. I know it’s an overused statement, but you are “only as strong as your weakest link”. While H/R has its functions, while department heads are empowered to hire the best candidates for their teams, how often does the GM interview new staff? Never! How could I even say such a thing, you say? “I manage a 600 room hotel, I have 250+ staff members, and you want me to interview every one of them?  You’re nuts!”  I’ve been told that more than once.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting the GM should interview every employee for 30-minutes, but a quick 1-5 minute meet-up will make all the difference. Oh! And by the way, who should conduct Staff Orientation? H/R or the G/M or both? Depending on how you answer this question you know if you have a property that performs or underperforms. Lastly, when selecting candidates, please remember that skills can always be taught but, talents are unique and what truly makes the biggest difference!

5. Cleanliness!  Housekeeping is everyone’s job!  If you don’t have that culture in place, good luck!

6. Financials!  Know your metrics!  GMs should never hate the Asset Manager (representing the owner)… they should be the Asset Manager!

7. Management By Walking Around (MBWA).  This is the key to success! Your staff need to know that you can do their job, that you can help them at any point and that you are shoulder to shoulder with them in the trenches and that you do have their back! Your guests, members, customers need to know who you are and what you can do for them.

I could go on and on, but I won’t. These 7 points should get one started on the right path. Oh, and one last thing: You’re never too big to do the smallest thing!

At Your Service,
Aurelian

Selling & Closing

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Today I wanted to talk about SALES!  Yes! Believe it or not, we are all selling something one way or another.  Regardless of what walk of life one comes from,  we all sell something, whether its tomatoes at the corner stand of the weekly farmers’ market,  real-estate, cars, memberships, etc.

In order to succeed in sales and even in “selling” your point across there are only four steps that need to be taken!  Yes that’s right! Only four!

Step 1: Finding the need, the want, the “je ne sais quoi”!

How can one sell something if there is no need for that one thing? Even in the few cases where there is indeed no need for something, we can then create a need – but more on this another time.  One needs to do an assessment of sorts, find out what the prospective buyer is looking for and why? Why are they looking to buy a car, a house or a membership at a fancy gym or golf club?  Ask those questions that let the individual open up about their deep-rooted needs, wants and desires – get personal.

Step 2: Match the need with your value-added proposition

Once you know why they are in the market for something, simply introduce your product or service and describe in detail how it matches their needs, wants and desires.  For example if you’re selling running shoes and your customer told you (step-1) that they wanted to find a superior product to help them run outdoors without causing them shin-splints and such, then you can introduce your product, as for example: “Glad to hear that! We have exactly what you need! Our xxx running shoe has the best traction in the industry, its low, light and firm support give you the support and grip you need to excel on your run…”.

Step 3: Overcoming objections, negative feelings

One must be ready to overcome any objections the buyer might have: too expensive, not enough time, not ready etc.  BUT, frankly, if you did your homework in steps 1 and 2 then step 3 should be a breeze as you would have a value added counterpoint to anything the buyer may come up with as an objection.

Step 4: Close the sale!

You’d be surprised at how many sales efforts fall through because the sales person does not ask for the sale! One cannot forget to do that.  Using action driven approaches like: Can we get you started? Did you want them gift-wrapped? Ready to move in? Will ensure that all the work you did in steps 1-3 is rewarded by a signature on the bottom line as they say.

Like I always say: either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian

Dress Codes

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What should I wear?

I am certain we have all heard this question over and over again and we’ve even asked ourselves this question countless of times.

I  remember how, many moons ago, at a fancy downtown hotel, the mayor of the city was turned away from a restaurant for not wearing a jacket and not wanting to make use of the hotel/restaurant “loaner”. Soon thereafter, hotel chains like the Four-Seasons Hotel Co., started sprouting all over the world with their revolutionary approach of casual elegance and allowing jeans in their restaurants and lounges. A far cry to where we are now, with trendy and boutique like venues where, literally, anything goes!

You still have country clubs that frown on “improper” attire. Jeans are still not permitted in close to 90% of private clubs in the country! You still have the “older” generations fighting with the “younger” generations about what is and what should be.

Truth of the matter is, dress codes do work!  Yes! That’s right – I said it!  BUT, now more than ever, there is a time and place for everything. Here’s a fun exercise to try out: If you have the flexibility at your work place, dress down for one week, heck even for just one day and observe how your work habits change: more casual, more relaxed, more likely to cut some corners, more laid back. Then, for the next week or even just a day, dress up, full business attire to the tees: notice anything different? More serious at work, more punctual, more “business-like”?

What about when going out for drinks and dinner?  Does food taste different when you’re wearing jeans and a T-shirt or when you’re wearing black-tie?

It really all comes down to one of my favorite topics: perception, and the fact that perception is reality! The way you dress gives not only a perception about you to the outside world, but even more importantly it gives a perception of yourself to the one that matters the most, you!

I have found that in the hospitality world, one should not dictate to the customer what one should wear, but rather focus on creating and fostering an environment and ambiance where a customer’s needs and wishes are mirrored by the staff and environment.  Society has changed dramatically in the past 50 years and continues to change exponentially; the me-me factor is more and more prevalent.

Some people say that the customer MUST be taught/educated on how to behave, what to wear and how to experience their life.  I’m a firm believer in the concept of live and let live and things will work out on their own.  You want to honor yourself and loved ones – dress up next time you go out – not because the restaurant is fancy but because you want to feel fancy and self-respected. You want to relax and dress-down after a whole week of wearing suffocating ties and jackets – then do just that, dress down and be yourself. Just try to be in tune with the fact that perception is reality and the question will always be: whose reality do you want to live?

There are two things you can do: either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian

Profitability

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Let me ask you a question:  why are companies in business? Or better yet, what is the purpose of a business?  To make money! And, sadly that is why so many companies get it wrong.

It doesn’t really matter what line of business a company is in, but anyone that is totally focused on making money will soon be out of money!  As Peter Drucker  once said, the purpose of a business is to create a customer.

I am not detracting from net-flow-through, from the art and science  of managing the P&L.  By focusing on solely making money, companies lose focus and truly don’t see the forest for the trees. It can’t always be about cutting costs to the bone, increasing prices to the point of gouging the marketplace and, it has to be about more than that.

Here’s an example near and dear to my heart!  I think that we can all agree that banks for the most part are gouging their customers. From ATM fees, to all sorts of other banking fees, whether online or not, we all know that banks are in it for the money and they are raking it in!  Yet, at most banks, you can never find a pen to fill out your deposit slip, or if you do find one it’s usually on a chain. At the amount of money that they’re making, wouldn’t it be more sensitive and customer oriented to simply give pens away? Through economies of scale and large volume ordering, one can get decent pens for 1-2 pennies each - so wouldn’t it make a great advertising strategy to have the bank name and website address on the pens?  But no, banks will typically not do that; they’d rather spend 1000 times more in all sorts of campaigns whereby one would get $100.00 for opening an account with a certain branch, etc. instead of having their customers and visitors feel appreciated.

Anyway, as I always say: There are two things you can do! Either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian

Managing Sideways

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Today I thought I’d share some insights on management.  I think we all know what management is and I bet that 9 times out of 10 times, when one thinks of management one thinks of supervisors and subordinates, task planning, etc. To manage a team is to plan, organize, coordinate and assess activities and objectives.

I bet some of you have also heard about the art of managing upwards (i.e. your boss) and the importance of properly, efficiently and effectively managing the relationships with those above you on the food chain (sorry meant to say corporate ladder).  But we’ll save this topic for another time.

I am also willing to bet that most of you have not heard of the art of managing sideways, and this is what I want to talk about today!

The art of management is not to dictate what needs to be done but to team-build, and collectively plan activities, coordinate and provide support in order to achieve the objectives in the most efficient and effective way.  I can already hear some of you say: But that’s leadership!! No it’s NOT!  Leadership is the art of inspiring and motivating someone to do more than they ever thought they could.  Leadership is JFK going to a “janitor” (aka sanitation engineer) at NASA and spending time with him/her instead of the program director. Leadership is giving more attention to the line-staff in the “trenches” than the department heads. Leadership is the answer when JFK asked that janitor what his job was and the resounding reply was: “my job is to put us on the moon”! That is leadership – where everyone on the team feels like they’re contributing to the mission and things could not be achieved without their input.

Now, in terms of managing sideways, this is the art of providing lateral support and service without making it apparent that you’re actually managing the processes.  Remember the art of management is not for one person (the boss) to look good at the expense of everyone on the team, but rather, to make your boss look good while the whole team looks good as well!

For example, instead of telling your coworker: Bobby – could you please do this, I’m swamped with this time sensitive project…(now you’re bossing your peer).  You could say: Bobby – anything I can help you with? Once I’m done with this time sensitive project I’ll be able to help you with XYZ! By the way, how do you do this?  Can you show me quickly? And so on. Now you’re offering help while asking for help as well, except that when you’re asking for help you’re actually empowering someone to showcase their strengths while you get to achieve your goals.

Please do not misunderstand. Managing sideways  is not about fooling others and tricking them into helping you, it’s about you making your coworkers realize that their priorities are just as important to you as to them, and that Together, Everyone does Achieve More than on their own (T.E.A.M). Managing sideways is about empowering people to showcase their skills, their strengths and making everyone realize their value to the team overall!

So next time you’re at work, give it a try, and let me know how it works for you!  I for one know that I would not have had the success that I have had to date, had it not been for using the three types of management approaches in an interconnected way!

As I always say: there are two things you can do – either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,

Aurelian

The Meaning of Hospitality

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One of my favorite quotes goes something like this: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” .

So what is the meaning of this word?  Where does it come from? Is it related to Hospice?  Or to Hospital? Or both? Well, in its purest form the word hospice, hospital, hospitality come from the Latin word of “hospes” which has the meaning of hosting a guest or stranger and/or “hospitium” meaning guesthouse.  As we all know, a Hospice is a place where one can receive “end of life” care for terminally ill patients with a focus on quality and comfort of life instead of cure, and hospitals, on the other hand, focus on cure and health, with one leaving the hospital in a better shape than when they came in, hopefully.

But what is the underlying connection or the common denominator? Service of course! And this is what makes this industry so special. Service does not mean being subservient to another but rather being of service to another – providing something that is missing, an amenity, a product, a benefit, you name it – something that will leave one better off after the fact than before. But, still, what is service? Or better yet, the lack thereof? Well, it’s the customer that comes into your restaurant, and waits patiently while the wait staff do everything except greeting him and taking their order. It’s the customer that comes into your store and has to wait while your sales clerks finish telling a joke among themselves. It’s the person that has to park several blocks away from your business because your staff has taken the best parking spots upfront and so on.

I could write a whole Encyclopedia Britannica on service and still not be done, but, as long as we can remember that hospitality = service and service = hospitality, and that you cannot have one without the other. Lastly, when it doubt, the golden rule always works: “do unto others as you would them do unto you”

We’ve all heard the saying that “to err is human and to forgive divine”…I am of the opinion that “to want/need is human and to serve sublime”.

Like I always say, there are two things you can do!  Either you do it or you don’t!

At your service,
Aurelian

Check Mate

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Do any of you play chess?  It has to be one of the greatest strategy games of all times.  My father taught me chess – he was a champion player.  Wish I could say the same about myself but alas, no luck there!  One thing I did learn is that there are so many comparisons between chess and everything that we do in life, both personally and professionally. Mainly, the risk-reward and consequences of decisions.

To be a good chess player and to be successful in life, you must always be 5-7 moves ahead and considering all the various outcomes and possibilities of each one of those moves!

When was the last time when you decided to accept a role that you thought about your next 3-5 moves in the future?  The ripple effect in taking the job at hand and the impact it will have on your long-term path?  What about deciding on whom to select for a key opening that you have in your organization? Or discharging a key staff member and the ripple effects that it will have?  I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the point.

Don’t have life, work and everything else give you a check-mate!  Think ahead and always be prepared to act not only in the present but 3, 5 and even 7 moves ahead that way you will hopefully never have to deal with a stale-mate or worse a check-mate!

Like I always say, there are two things you can do: either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian A.

Talent versus Skill

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If given the choice would you hire someone based on their skill level or their talents? I can hear many of you say that one must hire on skill, the more skilled a person is the less training they will require, the quicker they can start taking care of all the various problems and challenges.  I can also hear some of you faintly saying, hire talent, skills can always be taught but talent is innate.

Therein lies the challenge!  As managers and leaders we tend to focus on the easy way out, the path of least resistance, hence we look to hire highly skilled individuals that would have a perfect fit for whatever role we’re looking to fill in the organization. But, is that really the best course of action?

Don’t get me wrong, skills are crucial and I am not belittling them, but there is truth that skills can almost always be taught.  If you have a strong training program, SOP manuals and the like you can teach anyone to do almost anything. Talent on the other hand?  Talent cannot be taught; at the most it can be improved upon much like polishing a diamond in the rough, as they say.  Talent is what people are born with; it is a natural ability which is not acquired through any effort whatsoever.  A person with talent for a particular job almost always receives intrinsic satisfaction when their talents are maximized!

Here’s a simplified example:

A person with very strong analytical, administrative and organizational skills is hired to work the Front Desk of a hotel.  Yet, they don’t have a talent to be service driven, to be around people, to be thriving on human interactions. Would such a person succeed in their job?  Most likely yes, but will they thrive?  Will they excel? Will they be happy?

Conversely, a similar person with a similar skill level BUT with an innate talent for being in social interactions, service driven, thriving on human contact and interactions, is assigned to a back of house function such as Accounting, would such a person succeed in their job?  Most likely yes, but will they thrive?  Will they excel? Will they be happy?

Have you ever done a job or held a role where this applied to you? Do you know what your talents are? Are you happy and ecstatic going to work every day? Think about it!

Yes, hire skill but always choose talent over it!

There are two things you can do: either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian