A sample of the Lief Hospitality vision book is below. The full book is after the jump…
Lief Hospitality – Brand Vision Book #lifestyle
Starbucks beat us to it. We all need a third place where we don’t have the duties of an office and the responsibilities of being home. A place to congregate, to meet, to socialize. In the UK these are pubs, in American suburbs these are country clubs, and in metropolitan centers these are cafes, streets corners or plazas. Why is it seemingly rare for hotels to be this third place? Why should a hotel’s audience be limited to travelers, who are then pointed out the door by a concierge for an authentic culture experience?
The Great Dictator was Charlie Chaplin’s first non-silent film and he undeniably had something to say. Similar to his past movies: Chaplin wrote, produced, composed, directed and starred in this film – thank you IMDB & Wikipedia. Interestingly enough, this film premiered in October 1940, over a year before Pearl Harbor and the United States’ declaration of war. Talk about making a bold statement. Although this is primarily a critique of Hitler’s dictatorship; I find it equally relevant in a culture heavily driven by technology, with a tendency to lack genuine human interaction.
“We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.”
I reference this clip as ‘humanity fuel’ to pick me up when I’m bumming or let down. Enjoy!
Thanks for watching,
Tyler Elick
Sinek’s approach to business is far from cynical. His concept “Start with the WHY” permeates the business environment and has direct application in leadership, marketing, customer acquisition, hiring, retention, inspiration, customer service, et cetera. I initially encountered his 20 minute Ted talk below, which intrigued me to read his book Start with the Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone. If you are particularly drawn in by the video, you can reference my ‘Key Concepts’ from the book after the jump.
KEY CONCEPTS
1. People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.
Yvon Chouinard needs an “e” in his name and he’s got all the vowels covered. Seriously though, Patagonia has engaged a CSR platform and been “green” well before the words became trite and categorized as marketing. Patagonia’s Common Threads Initiative is a concise embodiment of a brand that is consistently true to it’s core values and had reaped long-term, sustainable success because of it. Chouinard’s book “Let My People Go Surfing” details the growth of his company Patagonia and the underlying foundations of their values and approach to business. I have a forthcoming blog post about the book in more detail, so sit tight.
“Join us! We will be citizens and ambassadors, each with a destiny of our own, but with a common pledge to honor life and nature”
Thanks for watching,
Tyler Elick
PROBLEM: The first DIY project at The Sky Gallery was to bury the 90s frosted glass and sea-foam green wall reminiscent of aged florida, aka. leather-wrinkled Lincoln drivers.
IDEATION: Repainting the wall was a certainty, as there was plenty of natural light and any color would be better than bland, muted seafoam. After considering replacing the glass cabinets with the same wood, I figured why not make do (unadaptive reuse), get my Mick Jagger on, and “Paint it Black”.
I return to this video when I need a reminder to whole-heartedly pursue the passions deeply embeded in my professional life. After all, “If I only scrape a living, at least it’s a living worth scraping. If there’s no future in it, at least there’s a present worth remembering.”
Thanks for watching,
Tyler Elick
Lief Hospitality – Vision Book
Hotels as a Cultural Platform
Charlie Chaplin: The Great Dictator
Start With the WHY
Patagonia: Common Threads Initiative
Spray Paint the Cabinets
Dark Side of the Lens
