Practical / useful preaches & slogans – Giovanni Angelini

(GA 2011)

(Used by GA in his many speeches & presentations as CEO)

I. On Basics & Principles:

You just got one body, one mind and one soul. Take care of it well, invest in yourself.
One Team – One Way approach throughout.

Hospitality from caring people – we care.
Embrace in full the company culture: If you don’t believe you don’t belong, don’t waste your time and don’t waste my time.
Define your goals and keep adding new plans at different stages in your life.
Do not try to do everything yourself, delegate the jobs, empower and believe in others, results will come.
Be a leader not a manager: Managers tend to control while leaders look at the horizon.
Determination and obsession to be the best in class.
A successful formula yesterday will not guarantee success tomorrow.
Remember that there is nothing free in this world.
We must do everything possible to exercise our entrepreneurial skills.
Maintain a continuous improvement process and be patient, achieving your financial goals and dreams will not happen overnight.

All owners want their physical investment preserved and for capital values to appreciate through optimum profit performance.
You are the representative of the company in the local community.

II. On Internal Customers:

Full understanding of the fundamentals of our industry and of what we sell:“We sell the two most personal needs for the human body: Food and Sleep”.
Hire for attitude, train for skills.
People make the difference.
Great hotels are made by employees not by the expensive crystal chandeliers or carpets.
We are in peoples’ business.
Lone rangers are out of place.
Engage and motivate people with passion.
A strong subordinate makes you look good.
You will always find qualities that you don’t like in people around you, but the love of the work unites you both.
Arrogance, ego and overconfidence are lethal, never let them control you.
Invest in people development during difficult times.
Compensation: within the top quartile in the industry.
Though times do not last, people do.

III. On External Customers:

Meeting customer’s expectation is not sufficient, must exceed.
Offering a good product or a useful service is no longer enough.
Today consumers are looking for something more that will enrich their lives.
Creating strong-lasting tie with the customers.
Customers are returning because of the special attention & experience.
The hotel industry is constantly evolving, the customer needs are also evolving.
Health, well-being and looking good continue to move up on peoples’ priority.
Loyalty is fostered by service consistency and guest recognition.
Solve the problem on the spot, don’t let it become bigger.

IV. On Directions:

Safety takes priority at all times.
Don’t manage by cost cutting but manage by revenue.
Be a visible role model.
To generalize, we tend to be cost obsessed, bureaucracy laden and over-controlled.
Price is what you pay, value is what you get.
Rules should serve the business, not vice versa.
Challenge the status quo with objective to improve.
We are in business to generate maximum profit, “not for fresh air”.
As business people we are evaluated on results.
No space for non compliance on standards & controls.
Need of change and of continuous improvements or face the worse.
Don’t reinvent the wheel.
More cash than flash.
Controversial: (Not recommend).
You are as good as your last P&L.
Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.

V. On Advices & General:

There is no substitution to hard work.
Is hotel business a commodity?
The role of corporate office is to assist the hotels where the money is made.
Constructive engagement is healthy for any organization.
In our business, operating cost will always increase.
Everyone knows (or think they know) the hotel business.
Our business is not about product features.
We are here for the long term.
Individual owners are more emotionally attached to the hotel than institutional investors – “Public Face”.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst
Don’t swim up-stream at all times
Have faith
Luxury without pretension, the ideal hotel ambiance is a place where you feel comfortable either with your tuxedo or with your jeans.
A person who is hungry will always do well
Thinking out of the box.
Investing: You can’t buy what is popular and do well. The time to get interested is when no one else is.