CHAPTER 10 Building Our Culture ymievemies deisnn to erate the wos bes hotel fempany was ot akenseianly by mont of my tall oul blame them We had ji oe tel od and oly fue that were mit wp fr sale in Canal, wher ame was far fom being a ahold nor We'd he amos compares, each wth hued fbn aml here Twas ang that urs were ging to be the Hest. No wonder thy lah behind my ack Tae how it oked to then. Butt me tae pect sense Because the hts weil beaten in Loon wer amg the wor best the lage ‘es clee If me were ging specialize and aptate oly one las of tel. we shuld uel be eter than companies tha di. So at meting sth ur heaace excites, hen they ake ow we col ting with wal tod hem," are going t win on qual. Quality i far an aay he hie tor incompetitveness” Bat how ae we ping t contra "somone asked We arent ping tots“ think quality cnt & mista (Quality cant ental though elaborate appeal tems, apc ‘stems, or quliy tein. Look tall the cempanies secking quality by sibatng books and tapes to engbyers by runing mation ot emmaniation programs They inv lt of mane, ine aed eri ‘qi iprvement an en pt ate, wih it o sh fo “Link ef these fim ar ing with wht they call quality on trl Beaute tee nt considering how the cute ses it And eo tomers hink rial in erm of we, They buy whatever gives them the meats fr their mae,92+ Comwontry ann Coureme So what do our estes value most? Well, we Koo why they raking sure oe in Loon, Accuing tal ousted fd ‘ack, if cao ur bling ives them Beaty ad comfo. Besse se ire them ames no aoe eve dos. But mot of al cane wee Firing them beter esc than ange ele “Seve, Tm covinnd i ey. Tatugh esce we cand over Sime, in we ding ct in London in any ie ity the weld.” “at every tel company elle servi” they aged. “Lok at ll ie ade slng employees, rea eerie: “ote nigh” Toi, "hey al sian ten dit By hi tana But were going tod i difleely. Do it 0 ite someting wel beame twa T tured to MeDunald’s for sane lessons in sersice, Though eich leant sersing af French ies nd hamburgers alvays made to speci. {ato thes always seting expectations, Meenas had become the sors bigest succese inthe ft business. They did jot sll bape: they sald vale alle ay rend Googe Cabo, president of MeDonalisRestauans Canaan asked if Topline ies dering ‘eisatin {wate 0 ce how they integrate he src component He gr, and pent dy this ning shoal vatching thei ls aclineing io hir ctare Batwa inigaed me mn wth lle fence betwee thei taining and ther advertising ‘mos ver nth, McDonalds changed is TV advising. bt the fl they were sowing ew eres must have en a Teast ie yeas ld 1 srk then that when you have somthing people can det vith, yo dont vet hep eeweting it once its ote it ticks. Out ‘eric rblem, hagh much ore complex tan MeDonlis col er ‘thls hereto tat pate “he et dy dour seir headquarters people“ want oa cae with met MeDonalds and see how they tain people or service" ‘Sethe cme, lok, dite, the aged ane aout As soe ofthe ssi, Lik, they ling hamburger and wer sling let ‘anon. How can you even compe it?” SCaow what we selling” sid. “Tm talking aboot how we sl Bouoine Ovr Cuurune © 93 (ualiy dasa nesewarily meas any Kean ing users ha they expect menting cisomer' expectations every time. Tha peor mses, ie” To nti rer tes hie op an de’ hk le, Bat at cur pet weekly meting fad Ihave hough ike to pore Ia trier o manage eur employer 0 they ie oar cstomers personalized ‘eric, shad Be treating employees the way we expt them oes ur case, Tet them with the sme derstanding me want the 0 fire our gest” And I came up with an expression hat embodied what | ‘aca smethng {had bar, dot hon ere “We aze oly what we dso a we any we ae” ‘Woh te joked abot that. Lele hey were! aking me Ser= ‘oly ikl elie tht time, they thug our inary purpose mas They considera emplye perforate a fanction of ules and su vision NetuallyU oun lame them too mach. Tat the way it then in just about every stor of sine, Mont anager had been tesined under a sytem thal asin mst employees don’ work hare than tiny have; thy ha be driven by the eat othe tik. Now ‘es turing that prevalent se of management upside doe, eving ee He whe were conideed expendable ad cme ist Iwas a compete tumarand in atte, her and prac, ‘Giving our easomers mare value than ayone ce, Sgured, weld en sure th in return they weal give ws pot, Rd ur Landon tl al proven tlasively iva hat wat on pect valued ost ws Traurig all our manager in al our hotels west ng with this So atl my sits oa ur tel hep ett ur ai ef speror eric: fcusing employees at evr level-and, hoped, management — Conon Sinple compelling pre: pleasing customers ‘Webalsome costes response, a eat eng 1 ge us gow. I 1976, we opened a tel in Montel, Le Que Sains, ulin pares hip wi Berar Herman of iy Parking In 1977, ih one oft wo Target real esate developers, the Reicha fri, ought = hotel i Oxon, then, the flowing Year, hotels i Tonto and Edmonton. ‘Wesley had tls i Vancoer and Caley so thee were no moe94 © Communtry ano Coerene naan cies bg enough seperate Tocotnae o row vithout lowering quai, we would Ive to go fr broke in the major Teagrs an American make el by competitors several une ines [aking bck, gust I shold have ben nine We were ton becar itl company bevy weigh dw with det taking on he Go athe far ndstry on tei own tar Weon ave en age He 14h Though the United States was th wars bigs marke, ey for (Canaan eter, ad eepie tne idea ar pts cold ao emerson. But botl history ap recent experince Blterd my confine. Two Yeats ete ou decison wo enter the Amrican marke, Jack Hog, a fend of oo os exces, hl elle rm Sat, “Te Cit in San Frais coning up foal” heat "Arey interested?” Though Uh i singe hotels abays wot oidering “Ye” Ti “we're” ‘Then Be down and ook ive, The Clif wa dy rdw, bt ithad a gel asin. Ad Sa Fra cisco rest city: [thoup th deal hd potenti in partetship ih emi Hern, we hough he lik and began ort ough re ‘orton can cost as mck or martha bug fo serach ‘Then the flowing ya, hear face ori U.S. deal he Rie nly contempt the American market then Cartan in Chiugp—a nebo btrancil probe, When the word asd that ie omer intended to change its management nt of the ‘pete companies net pounding on tide. Ae lite wpa Cana, 1 dda think we had much of chance, cae hs weld be ‘he mat prestige hotel bul in Americ in hee devas. Neve es, went down fr what tamed ata beak of interview And pr Ips becwse a a persona appt with Tam Klstnick th CEO of Uta Tnvesiment and Develgment Company, and peta because we olered twhuy 225 percent intrest, me pi ‘The ite Caron ge une ection ot tel pests and te Alevleers begat bring ux del. So it fed ese wh oar competion wa llerng Hold nah rated an empice oS. highway fist hah ta Sioa whew a th een ged mst mannan | poomn Ryl ida oye Tented or Tilson secby meee nee td myn fans teri Be th enh ip en mi! pr it ‘hen detail om the ight pili othe sft it ea il ay bine apices ih 30 tasers ol “Why dant you evn instead f late?” they aed. oleate in Se of ik? Most people cn tel he dfleence.”CHAPTER 11 Selling Our Culture nceivng a winning stato of sersce hd been relative sy. Selling ic interallygeting i acres tall the hel marae: and supervise, design staf, pocharing pple, and engineers proving excodingly int. We ned ‘wget down tte fot ine lr, besa, tenes, water cok Imuskeepers and disbwashen, the lowest ad in mst compen ‘the Iastmtvated people, bt the aes wha would mak er bredk fe Ata meeting of ll general manages, It he, “Our aston line relationships crcl: Costes sel se otal oyu They in ‘erat lat soley wih ou font line, thee neve joni layers, that come disppsints the cntmere we mata ifetime patrons hey ecoe expats. But when our employees ee then re them, naw what they wat and provide ik they erate a yal ester whose refer and long-errepet snes can cen rn wel int i fue. Thatta cycle of succes, dependent enti on juno employes, “Thats going to be your tanagecial challenge: reaching aur gol af ‘ning the bes, dan to the bates of our pyraid—netinating cut lovest-pid people ato thrown eae themes a 9 ine functionaries, bat as company cians creating our ester base “So we cart go on mechansing service hough rules a eon it by supeision We need employrs able ard wing to espa on heir ‘mn owhtever cme up employees wha can seco, a even aie ste problems. That means delegating authority well a espsiiy™ "ens tht det go over bo well and I elie re len what seunc Our Cutrors + 99 os acing lant managment trarund, ne that would oertiroy the euro concept hata cepary isa machine: that management i ofesin bse solely on lagi ans emotion, that labor att be ontlled at an set be enhance and tht an atmephere fear td ansety x ror practi than one of enoyment. Tor moa of eat mangers and supervisors, it was les proces of lean than ler ing hich ch me dfa “That meeting brought ame othe magia of what woud be o te done ope fl ental fjusior employees: he oles of ma ‘gementat ms ofouratls woul veo change me deeply ingrained habits, fr like managers alst everywhere then, mos that bosses were mode give rer. They igh talk abot teamwork, bt wha they relly waned wa a worfrce th di what we el efering ony rb Tens them Ye what wa ded ws wrknce tha willing and in edit sled ito probes as they ase For several ers, Ltoued cartels llng management at ever eve ‘in various ems, “Remember we ea’ change employee behavior whan ‘changing os We hve o have enployes who think for themacves and seta i wh can remedy serie alr on the spot, Weve aking the ‘ose the company’ interest as their own and to vluntay take respons ii, Wee aking then, nfl ob sl managers “Soe yur epsin check, and et the people wo werk fr yo hie ecause they the people who Know our asemers best he peopl we depend on lead te vay Wo loagee“Do at Lay” 'Do a Ida “That mens every employe" emphsie. “A doorman can pease the eustome with asl new warsf welcome, bt ones wer a il he fc. Or if we keep an excetv wt nei hi Uunderesr fr is only suit to cme back Som a one-urpesing, we ‘ould ova tine cstner woth hundreds of thousands of della No atl however spend lnk god to amene wwe day tha ined” Sime angers ner! lng because hey agreed and believed my meth ols cold yi esl. Other thought feu gols wood disheanen and fast employes. Bat La sue um my experene tht he op site waste that wally pope ty tive upto expectations, Woking100 + Commusiry anv Cusrues oly with peopl fall walks, people the btm a vel the tap ha found hat people, emotional fel much the same boat sok They derive the nt ation fom ing the best hy ean “Sut” ldo nage, nr employees may have to arth i, cet rik, and earn frm stakes, But fw belee in them, hes wil Believe in thnselves, be lapier and more proce, and therefore ore accel "Almost evry employee" al posted ot, "ows mor about sae par of out work than we managers do, and if we build got relaians theyll let ws know when they thik wee mong And the more op pe foeers we can develop, te mie chance we have of wining The at track fr slfevlopnentinclaes helping ter develo.” But some Gils nd uprsn die ik tht ea, either They ide want develop bots sutures who might become rivals thes sill so employees aa cast “Tha st an accounting mirage,” [told hem, “The Boks may shor tha employes represent the les share of expense. They dant shoe that they ao ear the ages share of revene. Or ht lngterm sence ‘employes are orehoues af customer kool, ole mals for new hires, and vines ose improvement alin cur best souce ‘nde value. I mplgecs re ell ding thi jb hey eat ent afer tee onc eee ‘Many of our managers pai considerable ateton oer ube age ete comer or noge win the company hw our enplages tn their manager, which I comidered equally inpxtan, oe witout com plete appt Between opal btn, complet rapport with ou eum 1s was impossible ‘On isis to every hotel, met ad talked 0 al ou nanages tryng 6 Jnde How well each was developing aed matting sala visite te ack ofthe ont and led otic mployes, ppl ho fn tink a terms ut” and “hn” —and “ier dona ean ur compeitn ur eusomers These were he people whos actions would dei if we wom ost eunrer, an Ti et the fling at al them cre ax such as they shoul. Talked a sce of ou oder bande wd been ith efor yas. They confirmed my ble hat Isnt geting though t ll our manages Sime managers, they ad. ere ging employes inaction aT had rogues, ae a thei own. But n pase they were leering ot Ad Incase of thi coi af ttre, ome of hee employes sere tl acting the way they away ba ‘eventually hd to adi tht my pep talks ween’ woking dt now how many managers were coking fl motivation an! he vial nits fw of information but ven a ew delinquent were 0 ay: Full eecveness mean ating sro t eveyone All or five-star ‘mpetion gave excell erice some ofthe line. But we'd never be blew esublsh a words repuation wibut consistent super seater ey ey lel Med a ert eae 1 it of pou and had employees, he inevitable elf god and bad Jenses.Evenne had ave 2 cmos pape Manageme ere wa my singe biggest problem. Uemember ‘young bilder working side by side with my re, digging ihe, Pruring corte in the ain And when Thad leave, ey would oon orking a iT were il there owing 1a ah in them aed titel ther cmon see "his nthe tude ta ao be estahed thought Four Ses cm, motte bse on ata valves rnp ent tr, Uslss we coud ealtvat thee alin some employees woud fave mach concer othe company: they'd become selconcenel and sel pruetive. How many Tule ues but ven fe wa ma. ‘Trt hugho th company ws imperative. Actions speaker — ‘nd ch elearee—then words. [could tell employees how deeply we «ered abut them, bat it woul’ gp oer unless contre hy heir man- tee. Employes are aa betwaicers. Everything thr bess td dolls employes tes el concen thir eal ol ries, a ‘ales Aad within a day orto, the dialing ences are hnown ght tha el Ta cmp wed all ave fe abt service the way Ray Krk, had of MeDonais werd, fl about bambugers Explaining why his com ny led competitor around the weld, Krk had ad, “Weak the a Dorper mre seri thn they do. iran, henoat ea hats soe ut ll ou agers al ore sd tabow belein ato by everyting thy dhe dso made gua and ost boron cancers. We alll 6 commit ores to walk the same line we ed. ‘And although service was soy proving, me weeding hat yt. elation ad he tine given to ine ere CHAPTER 12 The Golden Rule years endeavor 1 create within the company a clinate conducive to tpgade serie, an atte and mosphere that woul ge junior employee sme sto et on tet ‘or, become slciatselemotvt, and selfconl Sue ht ere ipevig special the any the ew ung a ‘gr we ad ght in but ceria ot all An even oe aging tel oud taish reptation, "hype we could inence al our peopl, especially thse thet, ‘at, in 190, Ltn out of ime, Exell in serie eal at be a event it had oboe a compare habit. Tul nied team Be. ing casita superior serie, cold no Inge tale some mane rs saying “The ate he vals we Lieb.” eers saying in ees Foret ‘We couldn hae me mel sending down mite signal, Values, a1 sani mee company payhic cre. With vale in commen we oul’ devel company rs And without it we co com ‘munca We nul’ be irae My frst move was obvious: plant hgh the smpary, op bt tom, a sense of purpose But int we needed «writen ce ales tha ‘oul bring ual eter, spel otoeveryone hw me expected tem 2 something give ur areernce pt em which lou peopl ald ‘st themes “Doe thi del this decison, this aco, square ith ur aloe eae of curse, that sme pace fall compas had ethical redo that elfen heir acl operation. Eery yea in thei104 + Cowwunry ano Centon smu reports they'd declare, “Our pple are ar most important se* then igre tie peopl the rest fhe year Thad however omene knoweigesble wh ely lived asd our ete fering Dg Hal: Dafne worked othe keting tnd advertising agesy we hed at ies. Nowe aloe was or averting {nd pbc elas rach. And whenever needed sen anineligie ‘nese nto bi with efence—a ws ding Dou, youkoow ne hve an implicit operating policy 1 want o make it plc entre gots ara. A ts aly about ithe olen Rules ‘simple that. But Twat expand to people will lead what ‘tsmean and talk abo i.” (See the Four Seasons Mission Statement, ize 204) ‘Working wih me, Dag summaized our goatee, od icin ina fal edo bed on the Caden Rk: "Do unt hers you wuld ave the do nt 0 Tics thi ith Rone and my sons, who were supportive. Net unk to Joh Share, ecead in erm at oa ogee fi. Tet John othe For Settee Sheraton, whet he war manager on ee Uy Carel 1 Hike him, aie hin, and ied i o manage to Calpry fel, Then pt hin in chuge oon tes, mt portant ecusiton, the Rit-Carkon in Chicago Job wasp aod Str, ‘ten outspoken and became ltd be of get wc ome at endqua ter | prameted him a vice presen of pation. te did’ ke what et ding e woul hie a 30 “on approved the ake, “Who ele will yi hin? Cetin real ur nage though they might say they da.” “Thats OK," Lei. "We do need everyone's opinion. Weve ot ing tacit yet, wT jus ping alk abot i ‘Sohn an took tou ar bls, tating with he nna he Pak ln Houston, Every hotel had planing commit, apd these were the people Ime ith abut ight siting orally aru able, ‘vegan ies,” hem. "Isat an experimen, nd stating veh you? handed each of tho 899 “Read this” I said, “Give it se ought ‘Tue Goiwen Rue + 105 ‘When they'd all rad ied something sul, grade schoo sal, ssid "Wool each f you read, ou lod,» pro thi, then ell us what ‘yu thnk ess and what ou feel sou ‘They kei embarassed ut they each ok aun. When heya ea ald ai, "Now lat alka it Wh do yo think? Isthatoething you can live with? Sothing you wold per ‘Sothey ake abot i nd could ee it was ad for sre to anaes. ecase what we were talking about was supponing thei fellow workers, tua everone blow them ith itegriy and epet, which same of ther speirs did't do. When {prese fraser, sre a her ited, "No, you relly wort be able o dota, Ou bese andthe people ‘ee wrk with—that tthe way sme a hem et. “no sid, "Bat en you doit? Are you prepare wo wrk is ‘When tai es, the talk ase up, and ameone ake, “What ppensoprple who do ive wp oh” "Tgp they ave oleae” Trplie "You mean anyone who des go lng with his wil be ou?” i sail “This wha se any. Anybody who ds belive iat anyhdy dene in wen thogh most of ou tel ike that, {bb Sarpe wat hough the ones {mised "adn sins about al hat wold have o he changed Conandens lio ised that bases ae made oie oer would have olan to ‘svn ad sport enplayes we al on thie om. Autor wo de eel n potion for arbaity would ned tear the esol thant ‘eget. Number cnmches would have to consider lings a well x facts, And abaugh we mae some hed all ths, we stl aang, ay og Tn very aes, we phe esponsibility dowomand, fom our corporate lice ur GMs o department heads ro ine the holy ey est whom we gave authority make mast decisions they felt were ede sin gest Sinltaneualy became an evangelist, preaching the goa of ervice very our of every day an ven ip vey helena etating it clarthingi developing ity job was ating emelayes at every level