My stumbling - Four Seasons founder dances with uncomfortable conversations
In 1980, Isadore Sharp ("Issy") had his hotel managers in a room and had them read the vision for Four Seasons. (here) After a conversation and most saying "yes" (timidly) to the vision… someone piped up.
"What happens to people who don't live up to this?" (i.e. is this a cute marketing document?)
Issy responded: "I guess they'll have to leave."
Issy was originally a small town builder in Canada. He grew up in the construction industry. Issy's parents were Polish immigrants with humble starts putting up apartments and single family homes in Canada. He got into the hotel business in his early 30s as a side hustle. He built a hotel for a friend and started operating it. After a couple years of dabbling in the hotel industry he had quickly accumulated ten hotels. Ten non-cohesive but profitable hotels. They were doing well. They were busy.
In the mid-1970s, Issy declared a bold vision. He wanted to be the BEST hotel chain in the world. Everyone including his wife, Rosalie, thought he was crazy. How could someone take a random group of hotels spread throughout Canada, U.S., and England to create a cohesive world class company? They were probably thinking… leave the "world-class" to the Ritz.
For years, managers let Issy talk and quietly did their own thing at their respective hotels. Mediocrity was pervasive. Status quo and egos were ever present at the hotels. The hotels were making money. The hotel managers were "good" at their jobs.
Simply stating the vision of being the best hotel in the world was not enough. Issy wrote down the vision and the values. He put a clear line in the sand for people to decide if they were in or out.
Issy realized what you tolerate is what you get!
Issy admits in 1980 when he did this it was the hardest moment and chapter of his life. But it was also the moment his vision became possible. Issy made the leap to make the priority from competence to values.
Issy writes, "Values, as I saw it, were company's psychic core. Without values in common, we couldn't develop companywide trust, And without trust, we couldn't communicate. We wouldn't be believable."
Issy realized that the vision and values would undermine him if he didn't make a stand. He writes, "Better to not profess any values than to not live up to them." Issy didn't want to be a fraud so he made it very clear where in bounds and out of bounds were.
From 1980-1985, Issy was an evangelist (and assassin) to get the middle management to buy in or get out. In 1980, he had first on his list those who viewed the vision and values as "kooky" off the bus. As Issy reflects on the culture change, "Management credibility was my single biggest problem." Issy realized that he'd never reach his vision with allowing some people to stick around that didn't buy in: "we'd never achieve consistency with a mix of good and bad employees.
The middle management was the lead domino to achieving the vision. Issy shares why it was his strategic focus: "Employees are natural boss-watchers…everything their bosses say and do tells employees their real… priorities…Unless we could cultivate these values, some employees wouldn't have much concern for the company…" The middle management was the pinch point to creating the environment for the front line team to serve the customers at the world-class level.
Issy was on a five year mission of transforming bosses into leaders, commanders into communicators, and cops into coaches. Here are some of the incredible phrases he used with his team before they made the turn into the best hotel in the world:
"We can't change employee behavior without changing ours. We have to have employees who think for themselves and act on it."
"So keep your egos in check and let the people who work for you shine. Because they're the people who know our customers best, the people we depend on to lead the way."
"Commanders who believed that bosses are made to give orders would have to learn to advise and support employees who act on their own."
"What we believe about people, positive or negative, is self-fulfilling, and it's fundamental to workforce attitude and motivation."
Issy became masterful at keeping people accountable and extraordinarily consistent in his messaging of what is required to be world-class.
Issy didn't have a magic wand. He danced with uncomfortable conversations to get people to where they needed to go.
Onward,
Matt