All posts by Keith Thompson

People leave leaders not companies

Career

Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of people in the hospitality business. While our retention rate is very high, we will on occasion lose someone. In every case, I take that as a shortcoming on my part for not having built a foundation strong enough to keep them. Since we started Hotel AG, we have lost one broker and one staff member. We moved two other staff members over to our sister company called Pipeline Social Media Solutions. The broker we lost left us in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis, and the other staff person left us to be a full-time mother.

I believe that people leave leaders and not companies. Sure, money is a factor, but I feel that money as a reason to leave is down on  the list as compared to the stability of the company, the vision of the company and the openness of its leaders. People want to be where they are valued and where their opinions matter.

I have seen some leaders that lead from a position of arrogance or fear. As far as I can tell, people do not stay long term with those kind of companies. Everyone wants to know the plan, know how to achieve the objective, and know that their leader is as committed as they are. People don’t like closed doors and locked files, or a leader that is slick with limited moral values. People like real people that have been where they are and treat them with respect.

Even children like to know where they are going and how long it will take. Ha. When my daughters were young, they wanted to know where and how long; it seemed once they knew this, that they were much more content and happy. It is like playing basketball without a goal at the end of the court. It doesn’t matter how great you pass or dribble, but it only matters how you accomplish and achieve the objective.

The college football semifinal payoffs were yesterday, and this is the first year that the BCS had a playoff between the top four teams. All other years, the national championship game was based on the opinions of the judges as to who were the two best teams. If the national championship game in two weeks was based on the “opinions” poll, neither of the teams that are going to play in the championship game would have made it. I hate sports where it is based on a judge’s opinion if you should be the winner or not as compared to sports that are based on who scored the most points and nothing else.

So in summary, I believe people stay with companies that have leaders with a vision and the ability to share that vision with the employees, brokers and partners.

Happy New Year. KT

Great story about not quitting

Life

I read this story and thought you would like it as well. It’s about not giving up on your dreams.

A jobless man applied for the position of ‘office boy’ at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then gave him a test: clean the floor. The man passed the test with flying colors. “You are hired,” HR manager informed the applicant, “give me your e-mail address, and I’ll send you the application for employment, as well as the date you should report for work. The man replied ” I don’t have a computer or an email!”

“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an email, that means you do not exist. And we cannot hire persons who do not exist.”

The man was very disappointed.

He didn’t know what to do. He only had $10 with him. Once that is spent, he won’t have any money to buy any food. He went to the supermarket and bought a crate of tomatoes with his $10. He went from door to door and sold the tomatoes in less than two hours. He doubled his money. He repeated the operation three times and returned home with $60. He realized that he can survive this way. He started to go everyday earlier and return late. He doubled or tripled his money every day. Soon, he bought a cart, then a truck. In a very short time, he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles.

Five years later, the man became one of the biggest food retailers in the U. S. He started to plan his family’s future, and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan. At the end of the conversation, the broker asked him for his email address. The man replied: ‘ I don’t have an email.’

The broker was dumbfounded. “You don’t have an email, and yet have succeeded in building an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an email?,” he exclaimed.

The man thought for a while, and replied, “an office boy at Microsoft!”

KT

Silent night

Family, Life

The song Silent Night is one of the world’s favorite Christmas songs. It depicts a peace and stillness in our lives that we all are looking and longing for. The image is of the baby Jesus asleep at night without a care in the world and fully and completely at peace. It is about the wonder of that moment and what it must have been like in that manger. The song is not just a beautiful melody, but in my opinion, is about the inspired words that were penned by Frank Xaver Gruber in 1818. It is a song that also tells the story of how you are God’s child and how he wants that kind of peace for you and me. He wants our trust in all things, and he wants us to cast our worries to him. He wants us to sleep in heavenly peace, without strife, stress and cares of this world. He wants us to truly trust in him.

It might be worth reading these 1818 lyrics again this holiday season.

Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant, tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, Holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth
Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Silent night, Holy night
Shepherds quake, at the sight
Glories stream from heaven above
Heavenly, hosts sing Hallelujah.
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born.

I trust your Christmas is at peace and with joy. KT

Forgive me

Life

I was in a parking lot of a store a few hours ago and as you may guess, I was in a hurry. I was also thinking about business: why we didn’t get hired on this or that deal, and why was this buyer not doing this or that.

Basically, I was having a moment of stress, unforgiveness, strife and cynicalness. Ha. That probably never happens to you I am sure, but for me, I was worked up in a lather and talking to myself. It is funny how you can always say the right thing at the right time with the right meaning if you are rehearsing it within your own mind.

Well, here I was with all of that going on in my mind, and as I was going into a store, I saw a young man and his wife; the young man was on crutches because he had lost a leg. It literally stopped me in my tracks and made what I was feeling go away and just dissipate. I was sick to my stomach at myself for not being full of joy and grateful for what God has done in my life.

Maybe after reading this you can step back and acknowledge how blessed you really are because I did a few hours ago. KT

My friend Joe

Career, Life

Joe has been my friend for many years as well as one of my clients. He is 49 years old, from New York, and you can hear him talk a block away. He is one of the funniest guys I know. Yesterday I called him to tell him I was looking through our business’ database and sorted for the word “ugly” and his file came up. We had a good laugh.

Please pray for my friend Joe. He is waiting for a heart transplant. He has been in very poor health for several years, and he has had a number of procedures to correct his heart issues. Today, he has a mechanical apparatus that keeps his heart pumping, and he told me that the power pack is about the size of a football. He will have his heart transplant in Tampa when that call comes in. He and his wife are simply waiting for the call.

When we spoke yesterday and he was telling about his status, I got real still and real quiet; I knew in that moment that we were going to talk about salvation. I ask the Lord for the words to come fluently out of my mouth and be seasoned with his grace. I asked Joe if he was a Christian, and he said yes to the best of his knowledge he was. He said he was a Catholic, but believed he was a Christian. The words that came out of my mouth at that moment had to be from God because what I told him was so simple and so true.

I told Joe that it doesn’t matter what the name on the church is or if you check this box or that box or attended this meeting, etc. All that mattered was that he believed in his heart that Jesus was, and is, the son of God and that he died on the cross and was raised up again for our salvation. I also told Joe that there is not some magic set of words that you have to say, you don’t have to meet the pastor at the front of the church, you don’t have to do anything except believe in your heart the above statement is true.

Our call together got quiet, and he thanked me. I told Joe that if he needed me at 3 o’clock in the morning, that I would be there for him and his wife Cindy.

Sometimes in life and in business, you have call or a moment that you will never forget. For me, I will remember yesterday’s call for the rest of my life. It was one of those moments that will stay with you, and you are so glad that you boldly shared your faith.

Please pray for my friend Joe because he is struggling in life and needs to be lifted up. KT