Valuable advice from the past year

Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of attending conferences both in and out of hospitality, where I always make it a point to sit in on a couple of the seminars.  Often – and it never ceases to amaze me – I’ll find myself frantically trying to keep up with my chicken-scratch style of note-taking as many of the speakers are including some remarkable and valuable life advice into their presentations.

Regardless of the industry, some of the best words of wisdom are from conferences or the popular early-summer commencement speeches. In the spirit of establishing my New Year’s resolutions, I have a tradition of reviewing 12 months of these “insightful seminar notes” and reflecting on them. It’s something I look forward to every New Year and would like to share a few that resonated with me – and hopefully, for you, too. 

• Always listen to your inner voice.
• Provide a level of decency and kindness, even when no one is looking, even if it seems small or inconsequential, and the rest will fall into place (i.e., Honda’s touching “Acts of Kindness” campaign).
• Sales is problem-solving: When you understand that, you don’t need to spend hours networking, schmoozing or building your personal brand. Simply understand what your customer needs help with.
• When you are in your rocking chair many years from now, be sure you have a good story to tell.
• Take control of your mornings. You can always determine the time you start each day, but in our industry, it’s hard to control when your day stops.
• Aim high and uniquely. Say thank you to people and really mean it. Ask for help when it’s needed. And put your phone away at the dinner table.
• Breathe.

C’est la vie 2018 and a happy, prosperous New Year to all!

Sherri Scheck-Merrill, vice president, Amenity Services, Tustin, California

•  Share this page