Whilst many factors contributed to success, on reflection, the three most important elements were People, Vision and Belief

As I reflect on mastering the art of success in hospitality, it takes me down memory lane to one of the most successful eras of my hospitality career. To me, it was one of the golden eras in IHG’s long and illustrious presence in the hospitality landscape in India spanning over 5 decades, where the region transformed from being a follower to a leader.

We started a journey to transform IHG in India. At the outset, India was one of the underperforming regions in IHG. From there we went on to have an amazing track record to become one of the best performing regions in IHG for three consecutive years. We went from learning from other regions to leading other regions in sharing best practices. Externally, in a period of over three years, we managed to double our portfolio of hotels in India. Needless to say, I had the support of an incredible team that made it all possible. We had a great opportunity to redefine IHG India so to speak, and all I had to do was to awaken the sleeping giant!

The best way to share my thoughts on mastering the art of success in hospitality I felt is to reflect on the journey we embarked on to achieve the success we achieved in India, and to share the key elements that contributed to the success we achieved. Whilst many factors contributed to that success, on reflection, to me the three most important elements were People, Vision and Belief.

The foundation for success was built on having the right people who are committed and passionate about a shared vision. As in the case of the team I had in India, they were passionate and hungry for success. They were willing to go the extra mile to make the region successful. And amazingly, they even put the needs of the region over and above their own needs. As Andrew Carnegie says: "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

The second element that contributed to our success was having a simple vision that everyone can understand and identify with. Leaders at times tend to overcomplicate things. I took the learnings to keep things simple from the story when President John F. Kennedy visited NASA headquarters for the first time in 1961. When he asked a janitor who was mopping the floor what he did at NASA, “I’m helping put a man on the moon!” the janitor replied. Not only was this a very simple and easy to understand statement, but it also showcases the janitor’s pride in how he sees his daily tasks contributing to a larger organisational objective.

Taking a lesson from this, we envisioned a larger purpose that would inspire the team. Our rallying cry was “To make India #1 for IHG and IHG #1 for India”. And boy did we have fun doing it. 

One of my all-time favourite books is ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins, in which he explores why some companies make the leap and others don’t. Based on extensive research, he introduces seven characteristics of ‘Good to Great’ companies. While I have used all the learnings from his book and applied these seven characteristics to achieve successful business outcomes time and time again throughout my career, there is one that remains a true favourite of mine; one that is my ‘go to’ principle; one that has never failed me – the Stockdale Paradox.

Admiral James Stockdale was the highest-ranking US Naval officer ever to be held prisoner of war in Vietnam at the infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ for over seven and a half years. In conversations with Collins for the book, Stockdale said that in all that time, he never doubted that he would get out of prison. Not only was he sure he would be freed, but he believed that he would turn the experience into a positive, defining event of his life. This concept of balancing realism and optimism when facing a difficult situation as key to achieving success was one popularised by Collins as the ‘Stockdale Paradox’: Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties AND at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

This is the third element that contributed to the success we achieved. Not only did we believe that we can and will achieve the success we set out to achieve, but we also had the realism to face the brutal facts of the situation we were faced with, so we were able to build our strategies on a solid foundation.

The three key elements that helped us master the art of success in hospitality was People, Vision & Belief. It worked for us, as portrayed above, and it can work for you too. You need to believe: believe in yourself and your team, believe in a future vision and believe that you can and will be successful.

Based on the author’s book Believe: Helping leaders unlock their true potential.

AUTHOR BIO Shantha De Silva is leadership mentor, hospitality management consultant  and leadership author