CEO Interviews in New York City

CEO INTERVIEWS IN NYC

I have spent the last week in New York City at the National Speakers Association 2008
Convention. For me, one of the highlights of the convention was a special session open only to Certified Speaking Professionals (CSPs), an earned designation which only 4% of NSA members have achieved in their speaking careers. In this session we were privileged for 75 minutes to be able to ask questions of the CEOs of JetBlue Airlines and Marriott Hotels.

Of course, we were all concerned about the future of the airline industry and travel, so many of the questions began there. What most impressed me about the entire session, however, was the openness, articulateness, and character of these two very powerful men. Not only were they very honest in their comments, but they also had a wonderful sense of humor which is vitally necessary to lead any company today, I believe. They were able to laugh at themselves and to share some of their failures, which, of course, ultimately turned out to be learning experiences and certainly made them seem very “human” to all of us.

In his book “Good to Great”, Jim Collins states that one of the primary characteristics he found in all the leaders whose companies had survived as “great companies” over the years was humility, and that quality was profoundly evident in both of these gentlemen. They did not purport to have all the answers, and they both expressed again and again how important their PEOPLE were.

Bill Marriott, for example, visits 300+ Marriott hotels each year. That very morning, he said, he had already visited three of them. He wants to talk to frontline staff, experience what customers are saying, and to really see for himself what is going on in each facility. He encourages associates to call him by his first name, and he is always ready to reward excellent service. He truly is “managing by walking around!”

David Barger, the CEO of JetBlue, shared some amazing actions he has taken to show his belief in his people. First of all, because they are making cuts in expenses and staff, he has chosen to take a 50% cut in his own salary, something unheard of in executive circles! Also, when other airlines are asking their pilots to take pay cuts, JetBlue has RAISED their pilots’ salaries, knowing that they are some of the most important people in the company.

Much of my own work is in helping organizations achieve extraordinary customer service, and one of the principles I always share is that leaders MUST be contagiously enthusiastic about their people and the importance of the work they are doing. That was certainly evident with both of these leaders.

The other principle I share with leaders is that all their employees will be watching what they DO, not what they say, and again, both of them exemplified in their specific ACTIONS how important their people are to them.

What an amazing gift of their time and management style they gave to all of us! I have long been a fan of Marriott Hotels and will continue to be an even more loyal customer after meeting Bill Marriott. And as for JetBlue, they will be my “airline of choice” whenever my destination allows. However, even more importantly, my belief in the American dream and in the goodness of powerful leaders in our country has been deeply enhanced. Thank you, Mr. Marriott and Mr. Barger, for giving us new hope in the future of our world.

Blessings,
Barbara

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A LESSON IN GIVING

A LESSON IN GIVING

“Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life – not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving-not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness-not by our seeming greatness.”

William Arthur Ward

When I was traveling several weeks ago, my friend and I took a very late night shuttle from the airport to the hotel to pick up my car. As we arrived in the parking lot, I happened to look down on the floor of the shuttle and discovered three wadded up $20 bills. Since I thought they belonged to my friend when she took money out to tip the driver, I did not say anything until we were in the car headed home. When she went into her purse, she found they were not hers.

The next day I called the hotel, explained the situation, and asked if anyone had reported money missing. Then I waited several days, and when I did not hear anything, I began to think about what to do with that money that would benefit someone else since it did not feel right to simply keep it myself.

I have been trying to teach my little grandchildren, ages 7 and 10, about giving, so several years ago as part of their Christmas present, I adopted a child in Haiti in each of their names. I chose a child of the same sex with some of the same interests so that they could write back and forth and share small gifts with them. When Gavin, age 7 at the time, got the first letter from his new friend telling him that they did not have running water or electricity, his horrified comment was, “You mean they don’t have X-Box?” It has been a wonderful learning experience as they have begun to realize how people in other parts of the world live, and they have made friends with someone from an entirely different culture.

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MONTANA GIRL FRIEND’S TRIP JULY 2 – 9, 2008

MONTANA and MANDORLA RANCH – July 2 – 8, 2008

In February I was asked to be the opening keynote speaker for the Travel Learning Conference in Baltimore, and through that experience, I became friends with Mara Dellipriscolli, the founder of the organization. Because of a tight budget, she offered me a week at her B and B ranch outside of Missoula, Montana, this summer as part of my speaking fee. Since my kids were all busy with other plans, I decided to have a girl friend’s week to celebrate my 65th birthday. This is our story:

The attendees:
Annie Gourley from Belfast, Ireland, my parttime condo neighbor in Sarasota
Penny Davoren from Chicago, IL, my former next door neighbor in IL
Nancy Cobb from Western Springs, IL, one of my traveling friends
Barbara Sadek and Nancy Woolever from Alexandria, VA, friends from the Society for Human Resource Management
And Annette Dubrouilllet from Morris Plains, NJ, a speaker friend

The girls at McDonald Lake

(My daughter, Erin, had planned to be with us, but just a few days before leaving, she was asked to audition for the TV show, “Project Runway,” which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity since she has just graduated in Fashion Design. By July 9, she needed a 5 minute video, photos of all her creations, her portfolio, and a 10 page application finished, so we decided that this was her first priority. We really missed her, though. BTW, please keep her in your thoughts. The actual auditions are July 21 – August 21 and then filming starts in September. We are all pulling for her to make it!)

All of us who came are very different and have different lifestyles, ages, interests and marital situations. Only a couple of people knew each other ahead of time, but we all shared a similar spirit and joie de vivre, and everyone truly enjoyed everyone else…which is amazing when you think of seven very strong women who did not know one another before, being all together for 24 hours a day for 7 days and not having any issues.

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