Heroes, Hotels and Fishermen

How can you get your teenage son to mow the lawn when Dad has lost his job and there is no money for allowance? How can you inspire an employee to work hard, be engaged, and exceed expectations when a company is faced by a challenging economy?

Look to the heroes.

I had the pleasure of presenting Knocking Down Silos and the Real Human Being (RHB) philosophy to the staff of Skyline Boutique Hotels & Resorts Inc. Mr. Gil Blutrich, President and Founder of Skyline International Development Group Inc. and SBHR, was in attendance at both the Pantages/Cosmopolitan Hotels and Horseshoe Resort talks. Gil has been a successful real estate entrepreneur for over 15 years both in Israel and Canada. He was also the Ernst & Young 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year® Award for Hospitality and Tourism in Ontario.

The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the recession, and Gil is determined to implement a strong culture of sales and service at all their properties. He told me that the concept of third gear (disassociating personal actions from direct reward) is very close to what he believes makes an engaged employee and real human being. In fact, Gil paid me a nice compliment by bringing his two sons to hear the second presentation at their Horseshoe Resort near Barrie, Ontario.

Some of you may know I define a hero as someone in third gear; someone who looks embarrassed when they receive a medal or reward. Companies know it is important to incentivize staff but the truly good guys and amazing women would do their job well anyway because they are in third gear.

After my talk, Gil shared a poignant 3rd gear story with all of us. In the early 90’s, his wife was pregnant with their second son in Israel and they were vacationing at a resort on the Red Sea. While dining at an outdoor café, they realized their 2 year old son Ben was missing. Frantically, they ran around looking for him and saw a commotion nearby. A local Egyptian fisherman had pulled his son from the water and saved his life. There was immense relief and not a few tears. The next day, Gil sought out the fisherman and offered him $2,000 in cash, in appreciation for saving his son’s life. (Gil reminded us that Israel and Egypt had recently fought a war that left thousands dead and wounded.) The fisherman refused the money. When Gil tried to press him to accept (this was almost a year’s salary) the man stated “If my son fell in the water, would you not jump in and rescue him?”

True heroes do what they do, not for a medal or for a reward. They do what they do because that’s who they are. That’s their job, and they would do it with or without a medal. And that’s why we admire them.Sometimes you find them in uniform. Sometimes they work at a hotel. Sometimes they catch fish. Thanks, Gil, for being a real human being and for sharing the story.

About Dave Howlett