Month: April 2021

A President of a Chemical company BU once said to me, “Shikha, this company doesn’t have a culture of gratitude, of saying thank you.” His sentence hit me like a bolt out of the blue.

Having a ‘Culture of Gratitude’—especially today—is not only important, but critical to a firm.

As human beings, we inherently feel the need to belong and attach ourselves to things, meanings, and people. While this is true, evidenced, and widely accepted in our personal lives, its importance is seldom understood in the professional realm.

The senior executive’s statement not only helped crystalise my thoughts on the topic, but also furthered my approach to understanding ‘culture’ as an integral part of any firm. “The organization should care about me as a person and not just look at me as someone who is serving a business goal,” he said—and that makes you wonder. How does one build a ‘culture of gratitude’ in a firm? Does it stem from the people and human resources function, or does it begin with leaders at the top?

A meeting with a managing director of a renowned financial services organization helped streamline my thoughts. An hour-long conversation with him discussing his career and achievements included his passion for the network and people in his life. He told me how throughout his professional tenure, he held himself accountable for developing, motivating, and counselling people to grow. Not once did he speak about what revenues he had surpassed, what market-cap his company had achieved under his stewardship, what kind of growth rate his business had seen YOY.

Nurturing and building a culture of gratitude manifests itself in happier people, a happier workplace, and stronger people performance. It is a way for the company to communicate to their employees that the value of their contribution does not go unnoticed. It allows the firm to care for the wellbeing of their workforce as an empathetic priority and not just to enhance business agenda and meet goals.

It also becomes important for leaders to keep reminding oneself to respond to human beings per se and not the situations they are in or what they bring to the table. That, in my opinion, will always ace any number of organisational interventions a company may bring in to motivate and bind employees. 

This is what makes a good leader a great one.

I truly believe that all companies—product or services—are as good as their people; and if they can truly carry the responsibility of the people agenda with as much gusto and focus as they do their business numbers and performance, they will move from good to great too.

As a search professional for 22 years now, I meet and connect with people daily. Networking is in my DNA and honestly, it is one of the most exciting aspects of what I do!

Porter Gale very rightly says “your network is your networth!”

Networking is a very social skill and not everyone is good at it or comfortable with it. It may come naturally to some, while others find it a chore. In either case its importance cannot be undermined either in your personal or professional life because of its far-reaching implications. It is something each one needs to and can develop—not just to move their career forward but as a necessary life skill as well.

So, while it is important to network, it is more important to network in the right way.

Building meaningful relationships, definitively adds value to your career. Getting to know other professionals in your field or across industries you may be interested in, in an informal manner over a cup of coffee or sometimes in a social gathering or even while playing a round of golf can help build an enriching, long term relationship. Find common ground and you can end up a ‘bank’ of connections for posterity.

Eliza Stanley says, “To be successful, networking needs to be purposeful, specific, and reciprocal.” This can be done through prompt responses, enabling people to connect with one another or simply by acknowledging their presence in person or on social media. Take a step forward, offer a helping hand, share insights where you can, a non- transactional approach, one that gives more than it takes, can go a long way in strengthening your network.

Building a relationship takes effort and time. It makes sense to keep a wide perspective, look for opportunities but do connect to share insights or thought leadership too because an astute person will be able to determine a genuine relationship. Also, once connected, do not forget to keep in touch!

Being a part of several groups of relevance, virtually or getting a membership with organizations like FICCI, CII, NASSCOM (choose one that matters to you) help in leveraging industry connections which, in turn, aid you to market your brand. But to do this, communicating your strengths, your value, in no uncertain terms, is imperative!

Finally, know that networking is not a chore, you just make it fun!

Networking is not about just connecting people. It’s about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities.” – Michele Jennae

Anyone who knows me well would describe me as a “to the point” person, so let me get right to it. The past twelve months have been horrendous on so many levels for the leisure and hospitality industry. This blog’s goal is very simple; share four pieces of content that I was fortunate enough to read and/or listen to over the past year covering leadership, business strategy, emotional intelligence, empathy, ambiguity, and resilience. Every decision-maker should have this information in their mental toolbox as we enter leisure and hospitality 2.0.  

Masters of Scale Podcast; an interview with Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb (4/13/20)

When the global pandemic emerged, Airbnb was sitting on over $1 billion of host revenue; monies paid by customers and being held for Airbnb hosts for upcoming travel. With a non-refundable policy in place, Airbnb had to make unprecedented business decisions taking into consideration their employees, guests, travel hosts, and investors. This worthwhile listen will provide an inside look at how one of the leading CEOs within the travel industry contemplated extraordinary decisions, pivoted on their business strategy, and maintained a positive outlook during one of the darkest periods the travel and tourism industry has ever experienced.  

Click here to listen to the podcast interview.

Twitter; a message to Marriott International associates from President and CEO, Arne Sorenson (3/19/20)

Over my twenty-plus years of consulting within the leisure and hospitality industry, I have had the fortunate ability to call hundreds of leaders, clients, and friends. To experience true leadership, “watch” (do not just listen) to this video message Arne posted in one of the darkest times in modern history. His genuine concern for the health and safety of his 140,000-person workforce, transparency about what is to come, and the genuine and empathetic delivery brought tears to my eyes. Arne, rest in peace.

Click here to view the tweet.

A Beautiful Constraint; by Adam Morgan & Mark Barden

When it comes to the subject of business strategy, I have found that most mainstream books regurgitate the same concepts, but there are still a special few I come across that are exceptional. A Beautiful Constraint draws on business case studies from diverse fields, including education, automobile engineering, supply-chain management, and memorable marketing campaigns providing recognizable examples of turning constraints into game-changing business opportunities. The tools and concepts introduced in this book provide a very timely construct as we enter the next normal. 

Click here to access the book.

Daily Podcast by The New York Times; an interview with Donald G. McNeil Jr. (2/27/20)

Like most people at the time (last February), I was searching for as much information as possible to prepare and protect my family and business for the impending global pandemic. Donald G. McNeil Jr., a respected science and health reporter for the New York Times, was being interviewed on The Daily podcast; the ominous discussion covered topics that included the estimated mortality rates (2.5% at the time), a slow vaccine timeline, lack of ventilators, and the imminent realities around business shutdown and quarantine. My recommendation in listening to this piece is not to re-hash a horrible moment in time but rather celebrate how far we have come in one year.

Click here to listen to the full podcast.

I hope you enjoy these recommendations and please stay safe and sane.