Excellence Wins
A no-nonsense guide to becoming the best in a world of compromise
Or Hospitality as a Verb
You may not know his name, but I’ll bet you know his hotel. He penned the priceless creed that drives the hotel’s high standards…
“We Are Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen”
Still not sure of the iconic hotel and the man behind the creed?
Horst Shultz is the co-founder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel company, and his book, “Excellence Wins,” was a massive win for our company leadership meetings. “Why is that?” you ask. Mr. Shultz helped us to see the business we are really in. We are (you are) in the hospitality business.
Hos·pi·tal·i·ty (noun): the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.
Yes, Google says that hospitality is a noun, and I get it because that is what our work creates. But read that definition again and tell me if that doesn’t sound like hospitality is an action – something we do. Hospitality is about what we do for people (guests, visitors, or strangers).
Our promise of creating ambiance and beautiful spaces is NOT for the building or facility! The facility has no feelings. Duh. Friends, our work of gorgeous plants and planters is for People. Plants are for people.
As I said at the beginning, “We loved the book, and you will too,” therefore, we want you to have a copy (details to follow).
Each month, we agreed on a chapter we’d read. At our leadership meeting, we’d each share the sections that impacted us the most. Then we’d ask how we could implement that idea at Interior Plant Scapes.
Our biggest takeaway was from Chapter 8, Why Repetition Is A Good Thing.
Horst shares his take on building company culture: his “conscious system that is diligently pursued” – the 24 Service Standards. In his hotels, one of these standards is repeated…get this, every day, in a short stand-up meeting, before every shift (three shifts a day).
Our team loved this so much we collaborated and created our own version. The Interior Plant Scapes Service Standards are based on our Creed, Mission, Vision, and Core Values (click to see on our website).
If you’d like to have a copy of our Service Standards, click here.
Then if you’d like a copy of the book Excellence Wins, please send an email to Kirsten at kirsten@IPSplants.com, and we’d be delighted to bring you one.
You and your team will be inspired to bring an excellent spirit to your work – your work with, for, and through people. That, my friend, is hospitality as a verb.
