In the consulting world, one runs into all kinds of unpredictable environments at remote sites, especially hotels and trade centers. As in every market, one finds far too many people “just doing their job,” phoning it in, as one might say. As a visitor, and even a client, trying to make something happen can be met with active or passive resistance, for any number of excuses.

Recently, Trident Leadership hosted a multi-day leadership/battle-ready team event for an incoming executive team at a hotel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The hotel, The Chattanoogan, is an impressive facility, a contemporary, four-diamond hotel, with respectable meeting facilities. A very nice place. But something happened there that I found remarkable in this day and age, and I think it is worth noting here on The Trident.

I arrived well early, as usual, to set up the audio-visual equipment, and address any issues that are bound to arise before the client team arrived. In military circles it is referred to as “friction,” that mysterious force that makes the simple things difficult. Upon my arrival, everything went smoothly. The team was professional, the building beautiful…a fine start. But do you know what impressed me most?

There were a couple of gentlemen who had set up the room before I got there, and were on hand at my arrival to make any changes I requested. Done. But then, a few minutes later, I was in the conference room by myself, setting up my computer when one of those same men stepped back into the room again to check in on me.

“Have you got everything you need? Can I get you something to drink? How about a Coke?”

Okay, hold the phone.

I do not think that this was the General Manager of the hotel trying to make an impression. This was one of the guys who had set up the meeting room with tables and chairs. Now, let me not sound dismissive of the folks who do the real work around facilities like this. But, over the years, I have run into far too many folks whose mission was “doing what they had to,” and no more.  And they typically work in very average and unimpressive businesses, whether answering phones, or otherwise. So let me be clear about this: it was this action by this one team member, which defined my impression of the Chattanoogan and, more specifically, the team there.

Later, when I was giving the coordinator a bit of feedback, I told her that I was impressed with the team, that it was very professional. The meals were excellent; the gentleman who served the group both nights was out of this world outstanding. When he saw me coming down the hall on the second day, he called me by name. Looking back, it may have been him who checked on me and offered me the Coke, and I just didn’t know it yet.

All that matters is this: my perception of this place as a worthy, professional facility a cut above was etched into stone when a staff member surprised me with a suggestion that maybe I would like a Coke…and not flat Coke out of the fountain in the bar, which costs nothing, but an ice cold Coca-Cola in a can, with a glass of ice. No short cuts. Do it right. Be decisive.

I could preach on this for days. The building is beautiful. It was not the building. The food was excellent. It was not the food. The folks at the desk were helpful and courteous. It was not the folks at the desk. The meeting room was very nice. It was not the room. Those things are nice, but they are expected to be nice, and inexcusable when they are not. Therefore, they are probably going to achieve no more than “par.” Now, par can still be pretty impressive in some cases. But we talk about leadership, and leadership does not like “par.” Instead, we prefer to talk about something that lands squarely on Loyalty. “Par” won’t get us there. Excellence can…maybe…if we can define excellence in the mind of the customer. But here is where so many fail, because the only definition of “excellence” that matters is in the mind and heart of the guest or client, and it will differ with each person. In this case, excellence was defined in that one action by a team member. It defined the entire organization. These are the people you want to work with.

Hospitality is Leadership in Action
It occurs to me why we see so many of the traits of good leadership in a person or an organization which really excels in the hospitality business. It’s the selflessness that is required to do it well, and the focus on accomplishing an end, taking immediate decisive action, showing innovation, and rallying as a team toward a common objective. All of these things must happen on the fly and, therefore, the team must truly be battle-ready to work this way effectively.

And the result of all of this is, well, you really enjoy your stay.

Excellence to Our Customer Predictable?
So often it is the unpredictable that makes the decisive difference in the heart and soul of a customer or client. To borrow again from the restaurant theme, all of those things above…the building, the room, the front desk…those are controllable, predictable things…those are “menu items.” But it’s often what is not on the menu that wins loyalty time after time. That much we can predict with great confidence.

A Lesson in Service
Now focus on the action, not the item. What that one gentleman was doing, when he suggested that I might like a drink, was not reacting, but anticipating. He was showing leadership…hospitality. He was focused not merely on what I needed, but on what I might enjoy. And, BINGO. Therein lay the difference between service and hospitality, between waiters and servers…a focus on accomplishing and not just doing. We call it Initiative. How do you get it? And will you back it up, or are you terrified of it because you’re not in control?

It suggests that he had the freedom to improvise, decide, and act. You must, if you are to anticipate and make things happen. In other words, he had the freedom to deal with real people, and the desire to do so. I hope you are following the business lessons here, because this is so simple, yet its ramifications are enormous. This, in microcosm, is a snapshot of why some of today’s businesses, fueled by passion and team-mindedness, are running off and leaving the old school behind.

Every member of the team that I encountered was very professional. But it was that one simple action, at a time and place where it was not even necessary, that sealed the deal for me, and which defined my impression of the place and the team that brings it to life.

Benchmark Hospitality International: What Lies Beneath
When I run across a business that seems to have something on the ball, I try to learn more about them. Well, I discovered the force that lay behind that gentleman’s action. It is actually a company called Benchmark Hospitality International. This remarkable team manages and coordinates events in properties around the world. The building known as The Chattanoogan, one of the properties they manage, is actually owned by the city. But the experience…the life…is provided by Benchmark. They fully organize and support corporate events and meetings such as ours…and in some beautiful locations. An interesting example of what makes a business a business.

But Benchmark is particularly interesting to us in terms of leadership, because of its fully-developed culture, complete with a remarkable training and development program for its team. Reading through their literature brings back some very clear memories for this author and, from what I read, they’ve got it right. More importantly, what I experienced in that building in downtown Chattanooga tells me they’ve got it right. I encourage you to visit their website and, once you have ogled their stunning resorts, read up on their Career section and you will find an entire world waiting behind the curtain.

All of that fully-developed corporate culture of “Building Futures” for their team members, their clear focus on hospitality, and all that they communicate and indoctrinate into their team…resulted in one person offering me a Coke when I least expected it. How many times could this occur each day? You’ll never know unless you’ve got these guys out on the front lines looking for and creating opportunities.

A battle-ready team brought its full arsenal to bear on target, on time, and achieved a decisive victory, at that one little moment of truth that didn’t even exist until he created it.

The little insignificant things can communicate volumes about an organization. I have no doubt that any guest staying that the Chattanoogan would experience hospitality of a refreshingly professional level. And I say this, not because of the Four Diamond status.

Isn’t it refreshing to experience a place that really executes? How important a lesson is this for teams to understand that it could be anything little thing that earns loyalty from a person? We cannot afford to sit back and expect the “menu” to do our jobs for us.

Secondly, everything else must back him up. If the lights don’t work correctly, or the coordinator is curt, or the food bland…then that one team member is out beyond the front lines in no-man’s land, with no support. And he cannot win alone. Nor will he keep trying.

And for managers, how important is it for our front line folks to believe that they are there to anticipate and take action, without having to second guess? I know plenty of accountants and managers who would have vapor-locked at increased “food cost, food cost!”  “Who did you ask before you give away food?” Those folks have value, but should never be placed in position of command in business, especially in the hospitality or service industry.

This is a job for Leadership.

And to Benchmark, I would say, congratulations and well done.

Press the attack!