I was listening to an interview with Horst Schulze, the CEO of the Ritz Carlton and he really inspired me to think about our organization.  One thing the company stressed whenever a new person came onboard was that the person was “selected”, not hired.  It made an every day position feel special.  He also made the point that the goal of every team member whenever they came in contact with a guest was to get that guest to return.  That is the #1 objective of everyone in the building, to make the experience so great that the guest cannot wait to return.  He mentioned that every team member is empowered to correct or fix any situation to make the guest happy up to $2,000.  Can you imagine every team member being able to say they have that kind of latitude?  That really takes our motto of it takes two people to say no but only one to say yes to another level.     

• He mentioned that as an organization they have 24 key points / values which everyone in every hotel around the world reviews each day.  Every day they review 1 key point and set a daily goal for everyone that works to achieve that 1 value.  They do this every day of the year, once they get through all 24 they restart from the beginning.  This got me thinking about how we could use some of our SERVE core values and Rules of the Bus on a daily basis for our shift goals.  I think it would be pretty cool to continue building our culture daily by reviewing some of our key points.

Below is a sample of what the next 10 days could look like:

• 1. Core Value #1 is to serve others and to create loyal, raving fans.  Ask the team to give you 1 example of how they went about creating a loyal, raving fan today.  Ask them if they learned a new guest’s name.
• 2. Core Value #2 is empowerment.  We all have the power to make someone’s day a little brighter.  Challenge every team member to try to make someone’s day today.  Maybe it is a surprise and delight by offering 1 guest a free sundae.  Maybe it’s helping a fellow team member to do a difficult task. 
• 3. Core Value #3 is renowned cleanliness.  The store may be clean but does it sparkle?  Ask each team member to make one part of the store “sparkle” and have them show you before they leave for the day.
• 4. Core Value #4 is having a 360 degree view.  Challenge the team to look for a way to help out in another part of the store.  Have them watch during the shift for a time when a certain area gets busy and have them float over to help. 
• 5. Core Value #5 is teamwork.  Tell every team member that before they clock out you want them to tell you of at least 1 time today when they helped out a fellow team member. 
• 6. Create the Wow!  Print out a copy of the Wow! worksheet and have every team member focus on 1 item from that sheet today in their specific station.   
• 7. One of our rules of the bus is to smile.  Challenge the team to try to get at least 3 other people to smile today.  Smiles are contagious and people can hear the smile in your voice.
• 8. Another one of our rules of the bus is to choose a positive attitude.  Challenge everyone on shift to have a positive attitude and set a challenge of no one complaining for the entire day.
• 9. Be grateful.  Encourage everyone on the team to say a specific thank you to someone today.  The more detailed your thank you is, the more impact it has on the other person.
• 10. We should all have the opportunity to learn and grow each day.  Challenge everyone to try to learn 1 new thing today.  Maybe it is the kitchen person learning how to scoop 1 dish of custard.  This only takes a few minutes but it can make people feel more valuable. 
• I think that if we keep our core values and ideals front and center, we can achieve and maintain a culture of greatness.  The more we can challenge each other to continually raise our standards, the better we will become as an organization.