Week 37: Business Rules & The Hospitality Exception – #AlphaFemaleFriday

Week 37: Business Rules & The Hospitality Exception – #AlphaFemaleFriday

“ WEEK 37 / 133 – 133 WEEKS TO SUCCESS ”

When my peers who were not studying hospitality or hotel and restaurant management in college would ask me what studying it was like, I would explain to them that to major in the vastly diverse field of travel and tourism was like studying business—except with more smiles, hugs, and wine. Heck, I even took a wine class my senior year and learned all about Swirling Your Glass 101. Suffice to say when I came across the chapter of Lois P. Frankel’s book in Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office on the mistake of feeding others, I couldn’t help but finally reach a point of disagreement with Ms. Frankel.

Up until this point, I would say her business savvy advice had been spot on. Once I read this chapter, I agreed more with the exceptions to the rule rather than the rule itself. In fact, Lois herself even points out that, just as with every rule, there are always exceptions, and there was a case where Lise Dewey from Universal Entertainment would encourage her employees who were seen as abrasive or domineering to put a candy dish on their desks. This would be to add a simple, atmospheric touch to an otherwise cold personality.

I’ve found that those who are working in the hospitality industry, whether they’re my colleagues putting heads in beds or the friendly airplane stewards on Swiss who give us free chocolate at the end of each flight, tend to fall more in the “warm” category than the “cold” category. It comes with the territory of being a successful person in an industry where our next paycheck is based on not only our business prowess and industry knowledge, but also on emotional and social intelligence quotients. Basically, how well we can get along with the people we work with and who we want to serve.

Let it be clear that I am not saying that we should all be the office Betty Crocker, but I do believe that, in fields such as hospitality where people and their desires should be the forefront of that field to determine success, using food or feeding others can be used as a method of networking or teambuilding. Beyond feeding others or sharing food being a business strategy, I think it is one of the greatest life pleasures to share with family and friends. As Anthony Bourdain once said, “you learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.” There’s no other way I’d rather learn about someone than over great wine and a great meal.

Cheers,

Kelly

@AlphaFemSociety tweets by @KellyRGonzales                                                                                

About:

Each week, I take a tip from Lois P. Frankel’s book, Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office, and explore how each of these tips affect myself and other women in similar positions on the road to becoming the women we want to be. There are far and few between who are a few steps behind me, and many more who are far advanced. I found that Lois P. Frankel’s advice applied to novice, intermediates, and experts alike. It helped me see that I was already doing right, served as a reminder to keep on doing what I was doing and how to keep that momentum going. The book also showed me areas where I could improve, and gave realistic tips to jump on board. There are a total of 133 tips, and explore one tip per week in a program I call: 133 Weeks to Success.

Join the movement using the hashtag #133WeeksToSuccess with posts which are posted every #AlphaFemaleFriday.