This is our regular e-message to people who are interested in leading their lives with passion. We will send you a short note with information, stories, examples, and practical things you can do to lead your life, work, and organizations with passion. You are receiving this message because you have attended one of our presentations, expressed an interest in our work, asked to be put on our mailing list, purchased one of our books, or are one of our friends, colleagues, or associates! If you would like us to take you off our mailing list just reply to this e-mail and type 'unsubscribe’ in the subject field and we would be happy to do so. Leading With Passion We like the term 'leading with passion,’ because it has two very significant, but related meanings. The first suggests leading off with passion. That is, making the very first priority in your life to live, work, and play passionately, and to fully embrace every possible moment. Second, it means that we can lead our organizations, teams, and projects with passion - creating passionate work environments by transferring our own enthusiasm for the organization to all others who come into contact with it.

The Bellman
It's been a long, freezing day. Your flight was late, it took you forever to find the shuttle to your hotel, and you're nervous about the meeting tomorrow. Your girlfriend (boyfriend, spouse, boss, employee....) snapped at you just before you hit security at the airport, where you got both the wand and remembered, too late, that you had worn your steel soled shoes. You are tired, irritable, and feel like life is out of your control. Until you see the bellman at your hotel holding the door open for you.

This is better than kicking the dog. Your dog can run away, but your bellman just has to sit there and take it. So you glare at him, complain all the way to the top floor, and then somehow forget the tip. He's a little less than human, and easy meat for you if the hotel room isn't just right.

If your bellman was Dominic Sedillo by the time you checked out of the hotel you were all smiles, left an inordinate tip, and went out of your way to find the customer survey card so that you could tell management what a great employee they have.

Dominic moved from being a bellman to the front office supervisor at the Old Town Sheraton Hotel in Albuquerque, NM, and employee of the year in less than 12 months. He absolutely loves his work.

Maybe he learned it from his father, who moved from digging ditches to owning three homes and two businesses.

Maybe it's because failure, when it comes, drives him to do better each time and that when his boss needs anything, she knows he would do whatever it takes to learn how to solve the problem.

Maybe it's because he loves the place he works. "Every aspect of this hotel is wonderful," he says. "I love coming to work every single day. I enjoy the people I work with. It pushes me to go forward, and to know that I am recognized makes me want to strive even further than anybody expects of me."

Maybe it's his boss. It's not just promotions, he says, but his managers saying he is doing a good job. "Little tiny things make me enjoy my job and love waking up in the morning knowing I get to go to work."

Maybe it's the customers. He loves dealing with the guests. A bellman is the first person a guest sees and the last person. He or she can mold the entire stay for the guest. Bellmen make very low wages and work off of tips. "In order to make money," Dominic says, "you have to have a wonderful personality." They carry bags, coolers, clean out entire floors. The roughest part, according to Dominic, is to work hard for customers who don't appreciate it. "You can take three loads of whatever and not even get a thank you. That's the worst part."

We asked, "What keeps you motivated when people treat you like a servant?" "What keeps me going is to be extraordinarily nice to them. I have had times where guests have just yelled at me and said I was just the most horrible person that they have ever met in their entire life and my defense was to just be extraordinarily nice to them."

There is not a guest, no matter how upset he or she is, who Dominic doesn't try to (and nearly always does) leave on a good note. How does he do that? "I build rapport with every guest that I come into contact with." He gets to know each guest on a name-to-name basis and by the time that irate guest finishes his stay, Dominic is standing there, holding the door open as the customer leaves a $10 tip and a smile.

Front Desk Supervisor
Within a year of joining the Old Town Sheraton as a bellman Dominic had become a front desk supervisor and employee of the year. Now the bellmen report to him.

His work day starts at 6:50 a.m. The first job is to light the candles and to set the music in order to make the mood right for the hotel guests. Then typically the shift starts out with printing reports about how many people are in the hotel, are arriving, or leaving.

The customers are always right, Dominic says. "No matter what."

Standing behind the front desk you sense anticipation as each customer approaches. Who knows what mood he or she will be in or what problem will need to be solved? Donald Villalobos is helping Dominic behind the desk today. He too started as a bellman and moved to the front desk, which is, he says, a typical job progression. Tiffany Fenolio, the hotel's new PBX operator, is also behind the desk. They have smiles and a friendly attitude as each customer approaches. "We set the essence of the hotel from the a.m. shift all the way to the p.m. shift," Dominic says. They are the front line of the relationship between hotel and guests. "We hear everything from maintenance issues to banquet issues to reservation issues."

Dominic is only 21 years old but he is on his way up the ladder because he loves what he does and he's good at it. He takes risks, "I put myself out there," as he says it. He's self-motivated. "I take pride in what I do and I take pride in myself and I take pride in everyone around me."

Are you willing to go the limit to make your customers happy? Do you take pride in what you do, or are you ashamed of it? People who are passionate about their work will go to almost any limits to do work they can point to with pride.

Some of the reasons Dominic loves his job come from his upbringing and the way he approaches his work. But one of the most important is the work environment at the Sheraton Old Town. "I love everyone I work with," he says, and lists them all – guests, banquet personnel, housekeeping, the kitchen staff, and management. "Management is always on a high note," he says, "and they are always willing to coach. And they don't put you down. Adrian [Sheraton's GM] is one of those people that make folks love what they do."

Comments on This Newsletter

"Wow! Another great newsletter as usual - your passion for this guy really came through!" Jean Block, Non-profit Consultant, Albuquerque, NM

"I thoroughly enjoyed this month's letter. I made a copy of it and gave it to my 17 year old son, who wants to get a degree in Hotel/Motel Management or something related. Thanks for the monthly letters. They always give me something new to think about." Kathy Daniels, Phoenix, AZ

"Another great newsletter - they always make me feel inspired!" Brenda Yager, Public/Governmental Affairs Manager, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Leading with Passion is a regular communication from Michael Kroth and Patricia Boverie. Michael and Patricia have been researching passionate work since 1999, and their book, Transforming Work: The Five Keys to Achieving Trust, Commitment, and Passion in the Workplace, is about the indispensable necessity of passion for personal and organizational success in the workplace.

© Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved Patricia Boverie and Michael Kroth