THE SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE

I think we all have at least one thing in common……the search for significance. I believe that we would all like to think that our time here on earth was worthwhile, that the life we lived mattered and that we made a difference. 

My grandfather was the janitor of an elementary school for 47 years. He was perhaps the most influential person in my life. To some, the vocation he chose might seem insignificant, but I know otherwise. When my mother brought me to his funeral as a young man and I saw a line of people stretched around the block where the services were held, I assumed that there were numerous wakes and funerals going on at the same time as my grandfather’s. I later learned that was not the case. 

As we stood in the reception line and heard words of encouragement from hundreds of people, I learned that the life my grandfather lived had mattered to many people. Students, teachers, parents, grandparents, neighbors, family and friends all had accounts of how Alexander McKean had made a difference in their life. 

Wow! What a life lesson. It was hard for me to believe that this soft spoken, gentle spirited man could have made such an impact on so many people. 

My grandfather taught me many things, but 3 quotes stand out; 

1- “Wherever you are, be there” 

2- “You ought to get a good education so you can get a job in the shade”  

3- “Life is a journey not a destination so before you go too far from home, you should take time to look at the map [the bible]”  

As we search for significance, we should be mindful that others are watching and that we have an opportunity to make a difference in their lives.

 

NO REGRETS

My grandfather used to say, “the older you get, the faster time goes”. That didn’t make sense to me as a young person but it sure does now.  Time is the great equalizer. In a sense it is also a form of currency since we get to choose when, where and how we spend it.

Time is a gift. It is given equally to each and every person. Rich and poor, educated and ignorant, strong and weak—every man, woman and child has the same twenty-four hours in each day. We have done nothing to deserve, earn or purchase it. Others can try to redistribute wealth but they can’t redistribute time.

As we look at annual measurements of time we find 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds.

There is no way to slow time down, turn it off, or adjust it. Time keeps marching on. You cannot bring back time.  It is a perishable commodity. In hotel terms, time not used as we intended is like the hotel room we didn’t sell last night….we will never get another chance to rent it. Nor will we get an opportunity to recapture the time we wasted yesterday.

In banking terms, yesterday is a cancelled check, today a blank check and tomorrow a promissory note. We may try to plan ahead and try to pre-block time, but we really have no guarantee that we will ever get to experience it.

Time is one of our most precious possessions. We can waste it. We can spend it on ourselves or as good stewards, we can invest it in a manner which will make a difference in someone else’s life.

As I approach yet another mile marker, I am determined to try to be more intentional with my time. Care to join me in my attempt to have no regrets?

 

SPIDER-MAN, BATMAN AND THE SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE

I am convinced that we all have at least one thing in common, the search for significance. We would each like to think that we made a difference with our lives and that we will be missed when we are gone. Most of us are under the illusion that the doing of authentically great things is reserved for a chosen few. Heroes. Martyrs. Saints. But not them.

But what if our greatest thing is not to save the world as Spider-Man did again in the recent movie version, “The Amazing Spider-Man”. Not to go out in a blaze of glory so to speak, but instead to routinely utilize the gifts and talents that we were given? Not to win back Gotham City like Batman did yet again in “The Dark Knight Rises”, but to stay on course with a less than spectacular life that honors God?

It has been suggested that we should think of the 24-hour blocks in each day of our life as bank-fresh bundles of a hundred $1 bills. Our challenge each day is to spend your life. You can't bank it. You can't save it. You get a fresh handful of life currency each morning, and any unspent dollars evaporate before tomorrow comes.

You spend life assets when you mentor a new employee who is struggling, listen to someone who is upset, or volunteer to help someone catch up.

You are honoring God when you are generous with your hard earned income to help someone who has lost their job, a family that is being drained by long-term illness, or by being active in the ministries of your church.

My all-time favorite hero, Jesus, once said: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this, all shall know that you are my disciples, by the way that you show love one for the other” (John 13:34-35 ).

Our earthly reward comes from that distinctly warm and special feeling we get from helping others, especially when we can do it anonymously.

Remember, you have today's life capital in hand. Invest it wisely in small increments of unselfish acts and in doing so, you will find significance.

WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE THERE

One of my favorite Hotel Equities’ value statements reads, “Wherever you are, be there”. In today’s hectic world of electronic over-load, this is easier said than done. Between work and family time, our attention span is constantly under attack by interruptions from cell phones, emails, Facebook, texts, tweets, HD-TV, computer games and other such high-tech attractions.

I confess that on a beach vacation this week to Amelia Island, Florida with my family, I struggled with being torn between answering emails and participating in conference calls and being with the kids as they enjoyed 5 foot waves crashing over their heads. Truth be known, I know where I should have been more.    

Author Tim Connor gives us some helpful insight on how we can “enjoy the ride” a bit better. He says, “Imagine that you have the opportunity to take a trip across country. You can stop wherever you’d like and spend however long you want. Are you going to focus solely on your end target and simply speed there? Or are you going to let go of the need to arrive at your destination at any particular time and enjoy the scenery, the people and places you see along the way?”

Each day you and I have the opportunity to go on a “cross-country” trip, a once in a lifetime, twenty four hour adventure that will never be repeated. How do you wish to spend your time? By enjoying every minute and stopping to savor every unique opportunity, or by simply focusing on your goals and being caught up in trying to achieve them?

Today, we can reach any realistic goal we set for ourselves. But how we do so will determine how enjoyable and memorable today will be. The runner who only looks down at the road will surely reach his/her destination, but won’t have the same experience as the runner who watches the road as well as notices the sights, sounds, and smells around them”.

Today, make an effort to enter into a conversation with a stranger or long time friend, take notice of a formerly unnoticed or not yet studied facet of nature, or join in with family and friends on your journey to tomorrow.

Today’s Goal: Try to be “in the moment”. Enjoy the journey. Be there.

THINGS WE NEED TO FORGET

Did you ever walk into a room and completely forget why you came in there?  I hate it when that happens.

There are some things that we need to forget, that would be healthy for us to forget. Here they are;

1-Yesterday’s Mistakes

In his book "ENCOURAGE ME", Chuck Swindoll has a chapter entitled, "The Fine Art of Blowing It". It begins like this, "It happens to every one of us. Teachers as well as students, cops as well as criminals, bosses as well as secretaries, parents as well as kids…..pro ball players, politicians, and preachers. What? Making mistakes.

If we are not careful, the enemy will remind us of our mistakes to be played over and over thus limiting our capacity for growth.

2-Yesterday’s Hurts

If you deal with people, one thing is certain; they will disappoint you. Sooner or later someone is going to misrepresent you, lie about you, abuse you, slander you or hurt you.  So, what are your options? We actually have 3;

a-We can harbor resentment

b-We can try to get even, or
c-We can forgive and forget

The healthiest thing we can do for ourselves is the latter,

3-Yesterday’s Possibilities

We all have known people who are simply unable to operate in “today” because they have been unable to break ties with what “could have been” or “should have been” in their past. They struggle with an “if only” mentality. If they are not careful they will spend the rest of their life blaming their spouse, parents, business partner, friend, or God.

Too many people are dissatisfied with life because they have had an expectation that just hasn’t worked out .We can’t live on yesterday’s promises or yesterday’s dreams.

4-Yesterday’s Sins

Billy Graham once said that 60% of all mental patients could be released if only they could learn to accept the fact that they had been forgiven. Many people are carrying the burden of guilt from a past mistake, a moral failure, a poor decision or a sin so horrible that they do not believe that they can be forgiven by man or God.

One truth worth remembering is, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”…..[1John 1:9]

THE EASTER BUNNY, THE TOOTH FAIRY AND THE LOTTERY

A JetBlue pilot went “bonkers” on a recent  flight from New York to Las Vegas and had to be kept from re-entering the flight deck. Clayton Osbon is unfortunately one of America’s most famous pilots these days as a result of this incident. He was said to be ranting about religion, 9/11, Iran, Iraq and terrorists prior to having been restrained.  According to JetBlue’s CEO, up until this incident, Osbon had always been a “consummate professional”.

College campus shootings appear to be happening with frightening regularity. It seems that everything is not as it once was. People seem frustrated and stressed out. Is it because our level of trust in our political leaders in this country is at an all-time low? Is our “moral compass” as a nation broken? What is true and who can we trust? Are we suffering from a lack of heroes and role models in our lives? Is it because nothing is sacred anymore?

A few weeks ago three people are said to have won the largest Mega Millions jackpot in history. The odds of winning the prize of over $650 million was estimated to be one in 176 million. Probably about the same odds of being hit by lightning twice in the same day. One of the 3 winners now said that she shouldn’t have to share her winnings with her co-workers, who claim they all agreed to pool their tickets and split any forthcoming bounty.

Have you ever wondered what happens to people after they win the lottery? I have read that for many of them, the story doesn’t end well. I know you’re probably saying to yourself something like, “but if it were me, things would be different, I would be generous with my winnings and I wouldn’t allow myself to be negatively influenced by the money”.

So why is it that for some, winning the lottery may be the worst thing that could ever happen to them? Could it be that their priorities are out of order? My grandfather used to say, “If you don’t take time to set priorities [goals] for yourself, you become susceptible to the priorities [goals] of others and as a result you may end up one day in a place you didn’t intend to be”. Much like the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, winning the lottery may just be a false perception of reality.

So what’s the answer? Could it be that the bible is still a relevant source of truth and in fact worthy of our time and consideration for our journey through life?

My family and I had the joy of celebrating Easter together recently. I am thankful that the tomb was empty on that Easter morning some 2000 years ago.

LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES

Someone once said, “If you are not making any mistakes, you are not trying hard enough”. Truth be known, I hate to make mistakes. I guess it’s the perfectionist or perhaps the over achiever in me.

Everyone makes mistakes. The bible is filled with stories of people’s mistakes. My grandfather used to say, “We should learn from the mistakes of others since there’s a good chance that we will not live long enough to make them all ourselves”.

I recently made an expensive [$278] mistake and got a speeding ticket. To make matters worse, it happened while only ten miles into a scheduled 350 mile car trip. I was upset with both myself and the [over achieving] police officer who informed me that I was going 74 mph in a 55 mph speed zone. For those of you who are familiar with I-285, the perimeter highway which encircles Atlanta, who goes 55 mph on 285?  If you did, you would get run over.

The famous author and motivational speaker Dale Carnegie, is said to have had a file folder in his desk drawer entitled "FTD".  It stood for “Foolish Things I Have Done". Whenever he did something foolish, he would dictate a record of it to his assistant. He confesses, however, that on occasion he was so embarrassed by his stupidity that he was ashamed to have her know it.  He would write it out in longhand and slip it into the file himself.

I just finished a book entitled, “How Do You Kill 11 Million People?”. As you may have guessed, the title refers to the approximate number of people who were killed at the hands of Adolf Hitler and his minions during the Holocaust period. The book asks its’ readers some important questions including how do we prevent a reoccurrence of such a horrendous event. As philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Like most things, learning from our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others is easier said than done, but we all know it’s the smart thing to do.

READ BETWEEN THE LINES

People  are funny.  They sure do have differing opinions when it comes to making choices.  Someone once said, “Opinions are like belly buttons; everyone has one”.

As a youthful GM, I once made the decision to allow my staff to select their own style and color of uniforms.  After numerous attempts at a consensus, to no avail, I ended up having to make the choice of uniforms myself.

Some years prior to that, when I was a young and inexperienced management trainee at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, I was given the assignment to help solve a lingering problem.  [As a side bar, management trainees at a hotel are like the “Mikey’s” of the management team…..remember the “let Mikey try it” commercials?].  There was a Quality Assurance [QA] Committee at the hotel which was comprised of several representatives from all employee groups, including at least one from each department and each shift.  It was determined that the number one complaint, according to the employee suggestion box, was that the food in the employee cafeteria was not satisfactory and was impacting employee morale.

With my new assignment freshly in hand and with a somewhat naive but enthusiastic approach to my new challenge, I proceeded to poll the vocal rank and file.  I had created what I thought was a well- prepared questionnaire and asked as many of the associates to complete it as possible.  I made it a point to receive input from associates from each of the three shifts as well as from participants of each meal period.  Finally, after two weeks of polling and close to 300 opinions out of a pool of 650 associates of the 1012 room hotel, it was time for the compilation of comments and for the report of my findings to the QA Committee.  I’ll never forget the confused look on their faces as I reported the two top employee comments:  Number one was  “the food stinks” and number two was “the portions are too small”.

After much deliberation and discussion, I made my recommendation to always allow associates the choice of having hot dogs, hamburgers and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches available as a food offering at any time throughout the day or night.

Negative comments declined by 30% following the implementation of the new menu choices.

I guess the moral of the story is…When you ask for people’s feedback and get conflicting comments, read between the lines.

THE GLOBAL SOAP PROJECT

I am very proud of the efforts Hotel Equities and its associates have put forth in giving back to the communities in which we operate hotels.  Samaritan’s Purse, InStep Global, Habitat for Humanity, the Children’s Miracle Network, the Salvation Army,  the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy and Life Lessons over Lunch are some of the ways our team has contributed to name a few.

I would like to bring your attention to another worthwhile cause which HE participates in and contributes towards, the Global Soap Project. I met Derreck Kayongo approximately two years ago at a fundraiser event at Georgia State University. Since that time, I have had the pleasure of introducing Derreck and his ministry to several HE groups including at our General Manager’s Quarterly Meeting, our monthly Coaching Staff meeting and our annual Chief Engineers Conference. Each of these groups has embraced Derreck and his ministry and remain committed to help him reach his vision.

The Global Soap Project [GSP] takes used soap from hotels and re-manufactures it into new bars of soap which are then distributed throughout less fortunate countries and to under privileged people to help prevent death from disease. Derreck and the GSP were recently recognized on television as one of CNN’s Heroes. You can go to www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/ to learn more.

I am hopeful that you have had the opportunity participate in the act of giving recently and that you have experienced a sense of joy which is beyond normal.

ABE LINCOLN AND HOPE

I must admit that I get discouraged sometimes. My discouragement typically comes from within, from my fears. Fear of failure and fear of letting others down are often the stimulants. I gain strength and wisdom from reading about how others handle their fears. The bible and in particular the book of Proverbs, is often the source of my strength. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that the book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. I try to make it a point to read one chapter each day.

Another source of solace comes from reading biographies. Someone once said, “We ought to learn from the mistakes of others since there is a good chance that we are not going to live long enough to make all the critical mistakes ourselves”.

I love reading about Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln lost more elections than he won. Can you imagine his discouragement? He was known to suffer from severe, incapacitating and occasionally suicidal depression. Before he was elected president in 1860, few would have predicted that he would become one of the best chief executives in our country’s history. Similarly, few would have guessed that his two minute Gettysburg Address would become the most famous speech in American history.

The one word most often used to describe Lincoln’s life was persistence. Why is persistence essential to one’s success? Perhaps because the old adage, “Quitters never win ; winners never quit” is true. What is the secret to persistence? Hope. If we believe that future rewards outweigh current sacrifice, we will pay the price to persevere. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” [Galatians 6:9].

TEBOW MANIA

Tim Tebow, the former University of Florida and current Denver Broncos quarterback, has been nothing short of phenomenal since winning the starting job several weeks ago. Tebow, the son of missionaries has seen the sale of his jersey soar in recent weeks in a show of affection from his fan base. However, not everyone is a Tim Tebow fan.

Tebow’s delivery of the football to his receivers does not conform with more traditional, successful quarterbacks. He has been widely criticized for his unorthodox throwing style and his recent success has been labeled by some sports commentators as nothing more than a fluke.

Tebow is as known for displaying his faith in public as he is for his football prowess. He often kneels after touchdowns and points to heaven. He glorifies God at every opportunity, particularly during interviews held immediately after games in which his team has been on the winning end. It is then that when first given the microphone that he professes, “I would first like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ”. Most interviewers become extremely uncomfortable and are quick to change the subject to focus on game related topics.

Critics such as former Denver quarterback and  current football commentator Jake Plummer, consider such public demonstrations of his faith to be inappropriate.

I am a Tim Tebow fan. Not because he is such a great quarterback nor because I particularly like the Denver Broncos, but because he has become somewhat of a “lone warrior” who is a fellow Christian who has become a faithful “servant underdog” deserving of my support.

I find it interesting that with all of the problems that our country faces today, that a follower of Christ who wishes to publicly show his affection to his God, would come under such attack.

I pray that the God of our founding fathers continues to show us His grace instead of His wrath, which we more readily deserve.

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2011

As 2011 draws to a close amidst the lights and gala of the holiday season, I would like to acknowledge and thank each of you, our associates, coaches,  team leaders and participants, board members, vendors, franchise partners, family and friends who have helped make this year extra special.


In spite of one of the worst economies in many of our lifetime Hotel Equities saw our portfolio grow by more than thirty percent. Thank you for your continued dedication and support.

May the beauty and memories of the holidays inspire gratitude for yesterday, joy for today and hope for the New Year to come.

Coach Fred

WOW, WHAT A RIDE!

As we close out another chapter in the life of Hotel Equities [HE] entitled 2011, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the many accomplishments and milestones which our team realized this year. Here is a brief summary of some of our achievements:

We added 19 hotels and will close the year with 42 hotels in our portfolio. Our revenues will top $61 million. HE will close the year with approximately 1,000 associates in our growing HE family.

We added another state and now have hotels in the six states of GA, FL, NC, VA, AL, and LA.

HE held our first annual Maintenance Chief’s meeting at The Lodge at Simpsonwood which was a huge success according to all attendees. This event was hosted by Phil Bullard, our Facilities Coach.

We hosted 30 classes with approximately 900 students in attendance at Hotel Equities University. We renamed and re-launched the Foundations Class [formerly known as Culture Class] and will hold 7 classes this year.

With the help of our Training and People Development Coach, Nancy Curtin Morris, we re-launched our Management Development Program which will see its first class graduate in July of 2012. Eleven extremely talented individuals qualified for the first class. A new class will begin every 6 months in order to keep pace with our forecasted growth plans.

We saw one of our hotels, the Hampton Inn in Okeechobee, Florida receive the Connie Award, named after Hilton founder Conrad Hilton. The Connie Award is the highest award a hotel can receive within the Hilton family of hotels. Our Okeechobee hotel was one of seven honorees out of a total of 2100 hotels in the Hampton franchise system.

Hotel Equities received its 10th General Manager of the Year award this year when Troy Moser walked across stage as the recipient of this prestigious honor at the annual General Manager’s conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Troy is the GM of the Fairfield Inn in Lumberton , NC.

We completed another successful year of operating three training hotels for Marriott: the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott in Dunwoody, GA; the TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Kennesaw, GA; and the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Alpharetta/Milton, GA. Kudos to our training hotel GM’s Kenny Silvia, Cailin Riddell and Mike Poe and their staffs as well as to our Training Manager, Ken Ramsey.

We successfully completed the renovation of our corporate offices which included the addition of 10 new work stations to accommodate our projected growth plans.

Our coaching staff completed another year of hosting Life Lessons over Lunch [LLOL] which included a career transition training opportunity for those individuals who are unemployed in our neighboring community of Dunwoody, GA where our corporate office is located. LLOL hosted approximately 1500 people who were in work-place transition this year.

InStep and our corporate chaplain, Rev. Greg Smith, conducted mission and leadership training trips to China, the Philippines, and Costa Rica. InStep and other non-profit organizations continue to receive support from the corporate tithes of Hotel Equities. Greg also hosts the 24-hour prayer line which is available to all guests and associates of HE. Greg visits our hotels regularly, prays for our guests and associates, and is available to those who may be in need of spiritual counseling. Through our Chaplain’s program HE has distributed more than 10,000 Purpose Driven Life booklets and Journey Books. HE is one of ten sponsors for the Atlanta Hospitality in Ministry Prayer breakfast which saw 400 in attendance this year. 

HE GM’s and Coaches packed more than 150 shoeboxes for the Samaritan’s Purse organization’s Operation Christmas Child.

In 2012 HE will serve as a doctoral study program in corporate chaplaincy for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

This year we hosted approximately 850,000 guests in hotels either owned and/or managed by Hotel Equities, many of whom heard the often stated HE-favored phrase , “Thank you for staying with us. We know you had a choice. Thank you for choosing us.”

HE sponsors a weekly on-line Bible study for HE women hosted by Ruth Kornegay with 36 participants. Ruth continues to host the HE e-mail Prayer Chain with approximately 50 HE associates participating.

We donated hundreds of pounds of used soap to The Global Soap Project, a ministry which accumulates used soap bars from hotels and re-manufactures them into new soap bars which are then shipped to countries with under privileged people to help prevent disease. The Global Soap Project was one of 10 finalists of CNN Heroes in 2011.

Several of our hotels will end this year ranked among the top 10% of their respective brands. Two of them will end the year amongst the top 5 hotels of their entire respective brand.

HE associates continue to be invited to serve on several hospitality boards throughout the industry.

Thank you for your continued dedication, support, and efforts on behalf of our company. You inspire me to want to grow more and to continue to attempt great things for God. May He receive the honor and glory. Coach Fred

CHARACTER AND THE TRUTH

Honesty recently cost a family $50,000. Eleven-year-old Nate Smith shot a hockey puck 89 feet into a 3.5-inch hole in a board laid over the mouth of the goal. For this remarkable feat, he won $50,000 from contest organizers. However, his twin brother Nick was supposed to take the shot; his name was on the ticket that Nate used. No one but the family knew. They could have pocketed their money and kept their secret. But their father, Pat Smith, chose instead to notify contest organizers. The promoters then decided not to give the money to the Smith family, donating $40,000 instead to youth hockey leagues in Minnesota. What was Pat's motivation? He wanted to teach a lesson to his sons: "They learned that honesty is always the best policy, and you can never go wrong telling the truth." His strategy apparently worked, as Nate responded, "Some people wouldn't tell the truth, so it's cool that we did." By contrast, consider the story of a frontier preacher and his two sons who found a stray dog and decided to keep it. The dog was coal black except for three white hairs on his tail. One day they saw an ad in the local paper for a lost dog that fit their stray perfectly, including those three white hairs. With the help of his boys, the preacher carefully pulled out the three white hairs. A few days later the owner heard that the preacher had a dog like his and came by. But he couldn't find the three white hairs, so he had to give him up. Later the preacher wrote, "I kept the dog, but I lost my boys." Their names were Frank and Jesse James. Character has consequences. Attitudes become thoughts, which become words, which become actions, which become habits, which become character, which determines destiny. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that "character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think." Abraham Lincoln agreed: "Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." What would others say about the fruit growing on the tree of your character?

I MISS BOBBY COX

It is rare to find leaders who are consistent winners. Bobby Cox is one of those rare finds. He was instrumental in the Atlanta Braves winning 14 consecutive National League Division Series titles {excluding the MLB strike year of 1994]. Yogi Berra, one of my favorite baseball player’s and philosophers once said, “You can observe a lot by watching”. We can learn a lot from a leader like Bobby Cox.

Here’s what I observed by watching Bobby;

1-Nice guys make great leaders……Bobby was considered a player’s coach who always “went to bat” for his players. In doing so, he also won the distinction of being tossed out of more games than any other Manager in MLB history. I think it’s a good thing to want to protect your player’s and to want to take the heat and suffer the consequences for having taken that stance. It has been said that “nice guys never win”. Bobby has proven “them” wrong since according to most of his player’s, Bobby was a nice guy. And in being such, he was rewarded by extra effort from those who played for him. His teams benefited and they won.

2- Not everyone wants a boss, but who doesn’t want a coach…….No amount of abuse can make an ordinary employee/player into a terrific performer. Just because you carry the title of boss, doesn’t mean you have to be demeaning and act like you have all the answers to all of the questions. You can ask for and listen to the opinions of others and then make a decision because you have to, because you are the boss, and that’s what bosses must do. But in doing so, you can make a decision that is properly balanced on behalf of all key stakeholders and one that is in the best interest of the team.

3-If you believe in the people you lead, they will believe in you……If your employees are doing their best, always back them and let them know you believe in them. Bobby, in my opinion had one of his best years as Manager in his final year in 2010. After the team suffered several injuries to key players and everyone thought the season would become a total lost, Bobby and his team fought on throughout the season nearly overcoming the impossible to compete for the Division Series title right up until the very end.

4-Extraordinary leadership can inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things……On paper, Bobby didn’t always have what appeared to be the best team in the division. But their performance on the field left people scratching their heads since they performed beyond everyone’s wildest imagination.

5-If you look for the best in others, you will often find it…..Bobby was a positive person who brought others up, unlike many managers who are negative people who bring others down. He could see the good in most situations. He had remarkable fortitude to succeed and the proper amount of patience in order to see things “play out”. He was a great communicator who was friendly to everyone he came in contact with. And, his door was always open to his players, coaches and anyone else who needed to chat.

If we treat our employees like Bobby Cox treated his players, we too can be a treasure and be remembered as someone special. And be missed, just like him.

WHAT IF STEVE JOBS HAD NEVER EXISTED?

"America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein" said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his tribute to Steve Jobs.

As you know, the 56-year-old founder of Apple died this week. President Obama paid tribute: "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it." Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thanked Jobs "for showing that what you build can change the world."

A colleague who worked with him for 17 years picked up that theme: "Try to imagine today's society if Steve didn't exist." What would be different? Technologists have composed a list of his unique contributions:

Making computers accessible to non-technical people with MacIntosh
Reinventing the music industry with iPod and iTunes
Revitalizing animation with Pixar
Reinventing the personal communications industry with iPhone
Changing the way we consume media with iPad
Changing the way software and hardware are sold
Forever altering the language of computer interfaces
Building Apple from nothing into the second-most valuable company in the world.

If he were responsible only for the MacBook, or the iPod, or ITunes, or the iPhone, or the iPad, his death would be global news. That he led in the creation of all five justifies the consensus that Steve Jobs was a true genius.

Reading these tributes sparked this question for me: What if I had never existed? How would the world be different? If I died today, what headlines would the event generate? Have I done anything unique, or significant, or lasting? Have you?

Absolutely. We exist for a reason. God didn't make us because the world needed another human. Our planet is home to 6,966,778,621 people as of this moment; it didn't need one more. I'm not here because we were running short on hoteliers. You and I exist because the Lord of the universe wanted us to exist. We are his unique creation. We possess gifts and capacities which no other person has been given in precisely the same way. We have a calling and purpose which no other person can fulfill.

The world will miss Steve Jobs. One day it will miss us as well. In the meantime, let's run our race well.



Excerpts from the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture by Dr. Jim Denison

SWIMMING NAKED

These are tough times. In spite of its sustained attempts at recovery, the U.S. economy is still struggling. Unemployment remains close to 9.5%. Consumer confidence remains shaken by the continued weakening of housing values which represents much of the wealth accumulation of the middle class.

As for the hotel business, we are trying to get traction and to return to a state of normalcy. The challenge in this recovery is in trying to grow rate. Demand is attempting to come back and, in some markets, we are beginning to get traction with our mid-week business travel patterns. Leisure still remains “iffy” due to the uncertainty of gas prices and continued pressures on spendable income. We are hoping to avoid $4 per gallon gas prices this summer which some areas have already seen for a few weeks in late spring/early summer. We remain hopeful that people will not again “stay-cation” this year but, will instead, venture out and enjoy a much-needed vacation break.

As for Hotel Equities, we have been extremely fortunate. We have managed to stay buoyant and have added 15 new deals so far this year through mid June. Some of those deals are new development projects which we will not see come out of the ground until financing loosens up and the money supply is more plentiful. Construction prices are creeping up as material costs continue to climb. Many of our new deals are third party management assignments as the demand for our award winning management services remains high. During this time of uncertainty, owners and lenders seek quality hotel operators with proven management systems and solutions to help them weather the storm.

I love what Warren Buffet said about what occurs when inexperienced management teams face turbulent times… “ You can tell who is swimming naked when the tide goes out”.

As for the hotel business in particular, all boats float similarly during various tides. In other words, all hotels are impacted by similar economic swings. The reason why we are busier than most companies is, in my opinion, due to a “flight to quality” which we are experiencing in our industry. These times of turbulence and uncertainty have given Hotel Equities an opportunity to excel and be recognized for its award winning approach to operational excellence, while consistently delivering on our commitment to exceed the expectations of our three key stake holders; our guests , our associates and our investors.

To all of our great Hotel Equities’ team members……Thank you for helping us not swim naked.

IT'S A PLANE

As I write this, we are in the midst of celebrating Memorial Day weekend 2011. I can't help but be reflective of the sacrifices of our veterans in order for us to be free. I have come to learn in my life that freedom is not free, in fact it is costly.

As mentioned in an earlier blog, I was the Resident Manager of a 744 all suite hotel in Miami, Florida during an interesting time in our country's history, the late 60's and early 70's. In addition to hosting the major candidates of both the Democratic and Republican party's national conventions in 1972 [see earlier blog entitled "The best room in the house"], and having a red phone on my desk which went straight to the White House [see earlier blog entitled "Answer the phone"], our hotel played a major role in the re-indoctrination process following the release of the U.S. POW's at the end of the Vietnam war.

The "red phone" rang in early March of 1973. The coordinator at the other end asked if I could do our country a favor. Of course I said yes, wouldn't you? He said he was in charge of transporting some American POW's back to the U.S. and that he wanted them to have a period of re-indoctrination back into civilian life before they were released to visit with their families. Since I had recently completed my 6 year military stint in the USMCR, he asked if I could gather some trusted staff and friends to play "host" to the recently released former prisoners of war. He said the assignment would include some engaging conversation, some recreation [golf], and some dining and social event gatherings.

With only a few days notice my staff and I immediately went into "emergency event" mode. For you non hoteliers, that means "do everything you possibly can to avoid a major crisis while pulling off the nearly impossible" mode.

The first night we hosted a cocktail party out at the large pool deck which surrounded our salt water pool [there was a fresh water one as well]. Things appeared to be going well as the former POW's enjoyed specially prepared "light on the alcohol" cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Then, all of a sudden all heck broke loose as a gigantic 747 airplane filled the sky which had just taken off from Miami airport took a flight path which led it to fly directly over the hotel at a climbing but still lower than usual altitude. As its engines roared overhead, I heard shouts of "it's a plane"! I then couldn't believe my eyes as almost all 22 of our honored guests dropped glasses, plates, food and whatever else they were carrying at the moment and dove under the tables and chairs which surrounded the pool deck.

I was certain that we had thought of everything, the music, the specially prepared food and drinks, the hand-picked guest list, the casual conversation rehearsal, the "private party" atmosphere but not this.

Unbeknownst to us, the former POW's were apparently quite used to this routine and practiced it regularly whenever unidentified aircraft flew over their prison camp. Amidst a few muffled chuckles they gathered themselves. Each wore a rather sheepish and somewhat embarrassed facial expression as everyone tried their best to get things back to a normal, less awkward state.

Well, all of our guests survived. The rest of the evening and the following two days were rather uneventful and our VIP guests left the hotel having had a slight taste of how the world had changed during their time in captivity. Are you thankful for your freedom?

THE DASH

Have you ever visited a cemetery for the sole purpose of reading the tombstones?

You can tell a lot about a person by his or her tombstone. Jim Denison tells about one of his favorites in a recent blog. He read an inscription on a tombstone while he was visiting in New England which said, “I told you I was sick, Elizabeth.” Above a grave in Burlington, Vermont reads these words: “She lived with her husband for fifty years and died in the confident hope of a better life.” Another reads: “Here lies an atheist; all dressed up with no place to go.” And yet another one from Springdale, Ohio reads: “Here lies Jane Smith, wife of Thomas Smith, marble tomb stone cutter. This monument was erected by her husband as a tribute to her memory and as a specimen of his work. Monuments of the same style are $350. For more information call 515-5155”

Christine and I went to Italy for the first time in 2009. While we were there we made an attempt to look into my family heritage. We learned that the records of the town of Isle de Liri, where my grandfather was born and raised, were destroyed in a flood back in the late 1920’s. Since my grandfather and grandmother had come to the U.S. in 1906, their recorded information had been destroyed as well. The young man at the town hall office suggested that we visit the cemetery which was located high above the town in a remote but dry place. We found numerous tombstones bearing my family name. It was an experience which was both emotional and heartwarming.

Have you ever noticed that virtually all tombstones have the year of the person’s birth and the year of their death. Between those dates sits a dash which when you think about it, represents their time here on earth or in essence their life.

One thing we all have in common is the desire to have made an impact during our life. I don’t think anyone cares to leave this place without believing that they had made a difference. Some people are more intentional about that than others, but the fact remains that we all only have a rather short time to make our mark.

People living now have the benefit of modern medicine and as a result are living longer. I read a story recently about a centenarian who was asked about the benefits of living to be a hundred years old. She smiled and said, “There’s very little peer pressure.”

Regardless of your longevity, what’s your dash going to say about you?

MY WORST NIGHTMARE

Did you hear about the thieves who reported themselves to the police? They were trying to break into an office building a few days ago in Cologne, Germany when their elevator became stuck. They couldn’t get out, so they finally used the elevator’s emergency phone to call the authorities. Firemen freed the two men and they were immediately arrested.

I know the feeling. When I was working at my first hotel, a high-rise hotel of 29 stories, I found myself stuck in the elevator on the 25th floor. I remember having to talk myself into remaining calm. Since I was the Assistant Manager [MOD} on call at the time , I didn’t think it would be too cool if I lost my cool. I too was rescued by firemen, but fortunately not arrested.

Have you ever been stuck in an elevator? If so, perhaps you had a similar experience.

I’m not a big fan of all the seemingly frivolous laws that our state and national representatives enact for us to live by but, whoever decided on making it a law to have phones in elevators did good by me.

I sleep pretty well most nights but when I do have a nightmare, it is most often about being stuck in an elevator in a really tall building.

I’m glad hotels don’t have a 13th floor. That would just add to my weirdness about lifts.