BEYOND NETWORKING: BEING: Develop a Relationship Mindset

Beyond Networking: Being with Ron Sukenick

"The most important single discovery of this generation is that we change our conditions by changing our attitude of mind" - William James

A turning point in developing my relationship mindset occurred about thirty years ago. I was on a plane from L.A to N.Y. to visit my parents. It was one of those midnight specials. The plane wasn’t as full as I am sure the airline wished it would have been, and the opportunity to stretch out across the entire row of seats made itself available.

What happened next I believe literally changed my life, or, at least my attitude about life and the power behind developing a relationship building mindset.

On awakening after a few undisturbed hours of restful sleep, I felt something at my head. Grabbing to feel what it was, I picked up this 5x7 black-covered book titled The Master Key System by Charles Haanel. For whatever reason, somebody either accidentally dropped it at my head, or possibly placed it there for me to enjoy for the rest of my life.

Let’s take a moment to examine some of Charles Haanel’s ideas. The book points out that much gathers more is true on every plane of existence, and that loss leading to greater loss is equally true. Our minds are creative, and conditions, environment and all experiences in life are the result of our habitual, or predominant, mental attitude.

Our attitude of mind depends upon what we think. Therefore, the secret of all power, all achievement, and all possibility depends upon our thinking.

This is true because we must “BE” before we can “DO.” And we can “DO” only to the extent which we “ARE.” What we “ARE” depends upon what we think.

Our attitude of mind toward life pretty much determines the experiences we meet. If we expect nothing, we shall have nothing; if we expect much, we shall receive the greater portion.

The important aspect of this strategy is recognizing how our thoughts are getting in the way, and focusing on relationship connecting, rather than spending our energy on negative thoughts about the relationship or the individual, or what is not working. We are able to focus on gathering more.


Ron Sukenick
Business Advisor / Relationship Strategist / Author / Connector
rs@ronsukenick.com
www.ronsukenick.com
317-216-8210
Check out my Radio Podcast’s
http://www.smallbizamerica.com/beyond


Let's get connected on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ron-sukenick/0/226/20a


“Certified Human Behavior Consultant”
Nominated 2009 "America's Most Influential Business Connector"


For more information, please visit Ron's TNNW Bio.

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BEYOND NETWORKING: BEING: Develop a Relationship Mindset

WHAT BOOMERS WANT: Are You Preparing for Your Worker Shortage?

What Boomers Want with Terri Benincasa, M.A. Ed.M.

According to a report of a recently published joint study by the MetLife Foundation and think tank, Civic Ventures, a worker shortage could develop within 8 years as Baby Boomers choose retirement. There are just too few workers to replace them. That is, if companies don’t recognize now the need to prepare for for this shortage.

The report projects that by 2018 there will be 14.6 million new “non-farm” jobs, plus some new jobs in farming. However, barring any major change in immigration policy or labor force rates, there will be only around 9.6 million workers to fill those positions, leaving a gap of more than 5 million unfilled jobs.

What a difference a few years makes…

So, what’s a visionary leader to do? Heed this early warning and begin your planning for this starting in 2011. (Knowing and understanding early warning signs is part of being a visionary leader.)

• Start by building your knowledge transition plan. This plan establishes knowledge, skill set transfer, and specific goals, objectives, and action plans throughout the company, and is best done with a professional consultant expert in generational issues. This plan also prepares your existing staff for the loss of your most knowledgeable and skilled employees, your Boomers, allowing the company to seamlessly fill those gaps as they begin to open. The ROI is quite impressive, seen in training costs saved over the next few years.


• Keep in mind that although a shortage won’t materialize for years, the gradual loss of Boomers will take place throughout those years, along with the loss of their knowledge and skill-sets if you have no working transition plan. So it will serve you well while not struggling to find replacement employees.


• Use the next 2 years to develop a best-practice recruitment and retention plan, and a healthy company culture (if you don’t as yet have one) -- from promoting leadership practices at all levels of the organizational chart to having a well-developed training program in place for new supervisors (so you can more readily promote from within) -- that gives you plenty of time to make both second nature prior to any shortage. These actions will put you eons ahead of your competition that didn’t take these action steps.
  


• Plan on having a major strategic planning activity (a retreat preferably, and with staff representatives from all levels) no later than 2012, and build this projection and these on-going remedies provided here, into it.

It may seem that looking 8 years to the future is just not a priority right now, but let’s put some additional perspective on this. 2018 is when a shortage is projected to hit full swing which means it will start long before then. And since the best strategic plans for company growth look 5 years out, based on the recommendations above, that brings you to 2017, just in time to be proactively ready for it while your competition is busy reacting because they weren’t prepared.


For more information, please visit Terri's TNNW Bio.

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WHAT BOOMERS WANT: Are You Preparing for Your Worker Shortage?

LESSONS FROM THE HOTEL INDUSTRY: The Evolution of Best Practices in Hospitality and Tourism, Part 2

Lessons From the Hotel Industry with Dr. John Hogan CHE CHA MHS

The first part of this series outlined a number of service management issues I felt would influence the hospitality and tourism industry over the next decade. Recognizing that the hospitality industry in many ways has become a mature industry, that column suggested major areas of research and execution to address those issues in global trends and competitors.

The future is always beginning now.

Mark Strand, Reasons for Moving

Last month I was asked what service management topics I felt would be relevant to focus on to mid-career hospitality and tourism professionals attending a 2-day executive education program devoted to service management.

My response:

The initial step must be to establish program objectives. These should include:

1. Providing a series of industry specific programs and courses for professional development.


2. Linking university hospitality program students and graduates to industry professionals with the executive education series and interaction from on campus programs.


3. Supporting the mission and vision of university hospitality programs by expanding this pilot program over an agreed upon period in support of the mission and vision of the university hospitality program.


4. Increasing interaction between university hospitality program faculty contact and industry executives to facilitate and student success.

Specific service management topics:

• Positioning Competitive Differentiation: Best-in-class hospitality and tourism businesses work and plan to leverage superior guest service to overwhelm competitors. This mindset reflects a strategic understanding that this industry must maintain a sense of personalized attention to keep guest loyalty.


• Addressing the declining profit margins of the traditional product-based hospitality industry through service management via factual data by market and business segments


• Providing interactive group exercises to demonstrate the power of linking service delivery as a pro-active management tool to combat the commoditization of the mature hospitality industry.


• Introducing specific service management tools and initiatives aimed to build guests’ perception from a neutral level of satisfaction to an attitude of loyalty, preference and passion for the total experience.

Many of my articles and columns have addressed variations of these questions, as it has been an important part of my professional experience. Reader comments and suggestions are welcome for inclusion in future publications.



What are you doing at your hospitality business today?

Feel free to share an idea for a column at johnjhogan@yahoo.com anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops, speaking engagements.

And remember: We all need a regular dose of common sense.

Autographed copies of Lessons From the Field: A Common Sense pproach to Effective Hotel ales are available from The Rooms Chronicle site: www.roomschronicle.com, and from www.smartbizzonline.com and other industry sources.

All rights reserved by John Hogan. This column may be included in an upcoming book on hotel management. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

John Hogan, a career hotelier and educator, is a frequent speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events. He is a successful senior executive with a record of accomplishment leading organizations at multiple levels. His professional experience includes over 35 years in hotel operations, food & beverage, sales & marketing, training, management development, consulting, management, including service as Senior Vice President of Operations.

Your browser may not support display of this image. http://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohnhoganchache

Expertise and Research Interest

• Sales Management and training
• Turn-around and revenue management
• Professional Development & Customer Service
• Hospitality Leadership and Executive Education
• Making Cultural Diversity Real
• Accreditation & Developing Academic Hospitality programs

If you need assistance in any of these areas or simply an independent review or opinion on a hospitality challenge, contact me directly for a prompt response and very personalized attention.

As the principal in an independent training and consulting group, John Hogan has served associations, management groups, convention & visitors’ bureaus, academic institutions and as an expert witness. He has managed hotels with Sheraton, Hilton, Omni and independents, and created and launched a blended learning system for the world’s largest hotel chain in his tenure at Best Western International. He has conducted more than an estimated 3,200 workshops and classes in his career, including service as an adjunct faculty member for 20 years at three different institutions.

Hogan’s professional experience includes over 35 years in operations, service, sales and marketing, training, management development and asset management on both a single and multi-property basis, including service as Senior Vice President of Operations in a specialty medically oriented hotel brand for eight years.

He holds a number of industry certifications (CHA, CHE, MHS, ACI) and is a past recipient of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Pearson Award for Excellence in Lodging Journalism, as well as operational and marketing awards from international brands. He has served as President of both city and state hotel associations.

He has served on several industry boards that deal with education and/or cultural diversity and as brand liaison to the NAACP and the Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association with his long-term involvement in the Certified Hotel Owner program.

Service to the Industry and Hospitality Education includes working with the Educational Institute Certification Commission of the AH&LA, the Hospitality Industry Diversity Institute, the AH&LA Multicultural Advisory Council, the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration, the Commission for Accreditation on Hospitality Management Programs, the AH&LA and AAHOA Education and Training Committees, the Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators (CHRIE), the International Hotel Show and the Certified Hotel Owner program for the Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association.


For more information, please visit John's TNNW Bio.

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LESSONS FROM THE HOTEL INDUSTRY: The Evolution of Best Practices in Hospitality and Tourism, Part 2