RECOMMENDED READING {HINT} -The Answer to “How do we become successful” is in this book…..

,     Jason Jennings is one of those people who communicates well both in a speech and on paper. This book, published in the now seemingly distant past (2002), shares “people in successful companies” stories and how they do it.

The examples he quoted remain solid performers more than a decade later and the reason remains the same: the leadership of certain companies are continuously committed to serving their customers profitably, but not at the expense of their staff.

The message is clear, simply stated and yet, unfortunately overlooked by so many organizations. I read this book about 10 years ago and it is as fresh today – so fresh, that I intend to make it’s message into a future workshop.

Contrast the leadership, the teams and success of Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Disney, the New England Patriots and Apple with that of Chipolte, United Airlines, the Cleveland Browns, Sears and many others who have left the marketplace. There are great people at each of the companies/teams in the 2nd listing, but their leadership has not yet learned the lessons of how to make their teams excel!

The answers are in this book and in our minds.

Your comments and feedback are always welcome.

About John J. Hogan

John J. Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO[1] is a career hotelier, author and educator who has held senior leadership with responsibility in several organizations involving operational, academic and entrepreneurial enterprise. He has been affiliated in management roles with Sheraton, Hilton, Dunfey (now Omni), Park Suite (now Embassy Suites), Med Center Inns of America, Best Western world headquarters and independent properties. He taught as an adjunct professor for more than 20 years at 3 different colleges and conducted more than 5,000 classes and workshops in his career as of 2016.

He is Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of HospitalityEducators.com, which was founded in 2010 as a solutions center for hotel owners and managers.  HospitalityEducators.com   completely updated and has been facilitating the Certified Hotel Owners program for AAHOA since 2012, with a participant approval rating of over 97% and more than 1400 certifications to date.

As the principal of Hogan Hospitality, he has provided litigation support, hotel expert witness services and hotel owner support services. He holds a number of industry certifications 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 and as an elected Chair of a major brand Hotel Owners Council.

Specific new services, workshops and keynote topics can be found at johnjhogan.com, including

• WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT HOTEL SCHOOL
• IT’S THE SIZE OF YOUR IDEA, NOT THE SIZE OF YOUR BUDGET
• 2017 HOT TOPICS ON SAFETY, SECURITY AND LEGAL ISSUES FACING HOTEL OWNERS AND MANAGERS THIS YEAR
• 15 TIMELESS STRATEGIES FOR TODAY’S LEADERS

 

He is currently working with his partner Kathleen Hogan and others on several new projects including the HOTELIERMASTERMIND series, an eBook series with Howard Feiertag on hotel sales, two new web sites and a fresh set of Keynote and Workshop programs, hospitality services and columns.

He writes regular columns for a number of global online services, has published 500 columns and 225 blogs for industry publications. He co-authored (with Howard Feiertag, CHA CMP) LESSONS FROM THE FIELD – a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES as well co-authoring the Supervisory Skill Builders from the Educational Institute. Hogan’s professional experience includes over 43 years in operations, service, sales & marketing, training, management development and asset management on both a single and multi-property basis.

He has supported numerous industry boards that deal with education and/or cultural diversity for more than 15 years. He served on the AH&LA Certification Commission of the Educational Institute and as brand liaison to the NAACP and AAHOA with his long term involvement in the Certified Hotel Owner program.

Contact: John Hogan John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com                 602-799-5375

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohnhoganchache/

[1] Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), Certified Master Hotel Supplier (CMHS), Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), Certified Hotel Owner (CHO)

 

One of the best books on thinking I have read in quite a while. Read why!

Why is this is such a   “best book” on thinking ?  The answer is because  it tackles issues or flaws that we all deal with whether we think about it or not AND it provides logical ways to address them through exercises and examples.

Matthew May has authored a crisp book to assist us in dealing with our thinking. May, an experienced instructor and facilitator, understands how to recognize common traps that affect all of us and limit effective thinking in tackling problems.

First the flaws:

1. Leaping – We all have a tendency to look for solutions or jump to a conclusion BEFORE we really examine or think about an issue or problem

2. Fixation – Each of us has some built in preferences or bias that we tend to use without stopping to think

3. Overthinking – Doesn’t every one of us make our own life more complex when we over analyze and sometimes create problems that really may not exist

4. Satisficing – An imaginary word that describes how we too often seize ways to deal with issues or problems that are really very average or ho-hum. We know we can do better!

5. Downgrading – Dummy-ing our understanding of a problem or situation so we can find fast and easy “solutions”

6. Not Invented Here – This may be one of the most understated flaws in global business – if we didn’t think of it, it cannot be very good. Why do we invent problems for ourselves?

7. Self-Censoring – We all have a bit of fear of an idea being rejected, so we don’t offer it

May addresses each of these and suggests alternative approaches to tackle each of these every day issues and problems.

What I enjoyed the most about the book are the case studies with real world people conducted by the author. He also sets 15 different puzzles for readers, and we recognize that we may not know all the answers because we have some of the 7 flaws in our mind set. These are amusing scenarios

A quote by Albert Einstein starts off each chapter that summarize that flaw to be discussed, and this introduces the notion of how we all want to be correct and avoid failure. Yet, we have also learned from Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver and others that we need to make mistakes so that we can improve ourselves and our environment.

Highly recommended!

   About John J. Hogan

John J. Hogan, CHA CMHS CHE CHO is a successful hospitality executive, educator, author and consultant and is a frequent keynote speaker and seminar leader at many hospitality industry events.

He is Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of HospitalityEducators.com, which was founded in 2010 as a solutions center for hotel owners and managers. He is also the Principal of HoganHospitality.com, which offers hotel expert witness services and hospitality consulting.

Specific new services, workshops and keynote topics can be found at  johnjhogan.com , including

WHAT THEY DON’T TEACH YOU AT HOTEL SCHOOL

 IT’S THE SIZE OF YOUR IDEA, NOT THE SIZE OF YOUR BUDGET

He is currently working with his partner Kathleen Hogan and others on several new projects including the HOTELIERMASTERMIND series, an eBook series with Howard Feiertag on hotel sales, two new web sites and a fresh set of Keynote and Workshop programs, hospitality services and columns.

Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA), Certified Master Hotel Supplier (CMHS), Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), Certified Hotel Owner (CHO)

Contact: John Hogan John.Hogan@HospitalityEducators.com /              602-799-5375