The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company [Hardcover]

Even if you've never stayed at a luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel, you are likely to know of the hospitality chain's sterling reputation. Few companies enjoy such powerful brand recognition; after all, the word "ritzy" has become part of the English vocabulary. Incredibly, no one ever wrote a corporate biography about The Ritz-Carlton, and its secrets of success and service, until Joseph A. Michelli took on this project. He details the five principles Ritz-Carlton employees follow to create a memorable, or "wow," customer experience. He shows how the company's leaders teach the "Ladies and Gentlemen" on its staff to live its mission and precepts. Michelli uses quotes and examples to illustrate every point (and is still supporting his position long after the reader's neck is sore from nodding in agreement). Yes, it really is all that. getAbstract believes this book offers any businessperson a valuable case study in excellence and service.

I had to read this book for a case study presentation for my MBA Organizational Behavior class, and I must say that it was a pleasure reading it.

It offers a deep inside to the Ritz-Carlton successful corporate culture, explaining the fundamental steps in creating and nurturing the caring and engaging attitude displayed by the Ladies and Gentlemen of Ritz-Carlton when serving the Ladies and Gentlemen that stay with them.

This book is very easy to read, it's full of the wow stories that help to illustrate the way the culture works. If you want to get a glimpse on how a corporate culture focused on high quality of service functions, i would strongly recommend reading this book.

As a frequent guest of Ritz-Carlton throughout much of my life, I can personally attest to the validity of its reputation for superior guest service in all respects. In fact, such service is consistently of such a high quality that guests take it for granted. Founder César Ritz observed long ago that "people like to be served, but invisibly." I agree while presuming to suggest that the "Ritz-Carlton experience" becomes visible whenever I stay elsewhere.

What we have in this volume is a rigorous and comprehensive examination of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company that, to the best of my knowledge, has not previously been provided. Joseph Michelli seems to have had almost unlimited access to its senior corporate executives, hotel managers and staff members ("the heart of the house"), and of special interest to me, its Leadership Center headed by Diana Oreck, vice president of global learning. Michelli observes that "From my perspective, the Ritz-Carlton [customer] experience is reflected in leadership committed to unrelenting quality, respect for all of the company's staff encounters, and oddly enough, also a great spirit of candor." Individual initiative is not only encouraged but indeed expected at all levels and in all areas in fulfillment of The Motto, "Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen."

As I read this book, I was reminded of what retired CEO Herb Kelleher says when anyone asks him to explain Southwest Airlines' competitive advantage: "The intangibles are far more important than the tangibles in the competitive world because, obviously, you can replicate the tangibles. You can get the same airplane. You can get the same ticket counters. You can get the same computers. But the hardest thing for a competitor to match is your culture and the spirit of your people and their focus on customer service because that isn't something you can do overnight and it isn't something you can do without a great deal of attention every day in a thousand different ways. That is why I say that our employees are our competitive protection." He could have just as easily been explaining Ritz-Carlton's advantage in another highly competitive industry in which others also have excellent locations, superb facilities, state-of-the-art technologies, haute cuisine, etc.

The framework of Michelli's narrative is based on Ritz-Carlton's five principles that any organization (regardless of its size or nature) can establish and then sustain, creating a "gold standard" of its own: define core values and refine by leveraging continuous improvement; empower people with authority as well as responsibility through trust in their ability and eagerness to live The Motto; "It's not about you" (i.e. focus on serving associates as well as guests); deliver WOW! (i.e. a "thrilling customer interaction," especially when problems develop unexpectedly, as they i vitably do); and "leave a lasting footprint," an enduring legacy of great service for generations to come. Michelli explains with meticulous care how any other organization can to create its own "gold standard." Consider this statement by Ed Staros, co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company:

"We have not created the ultimate experience. It's still out there. It's that magic carrot we keep trying to approach. If you can come to work every single day focusing on how much better you can be today than you were yesterday, you will draw nearer to that carrot. You might never touch it, but you'll get one step closer."

Throughout the Ritz-Carlton organization, top to bottom, perfect service is a never-ending journey of continuous improvement rather than an ultimate destination. Michelli inserts dozens of real-world incidents throughout his narrative that illustrate that this journey proceeds one guest at a time.

For example, because members of the Ritz-Carlton staff are fully empowered, the Ladies and Gentlemen in Dearborn learned that a 13-year old champion figure skater, Natalie Salazar, had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma and her chemotherapy treatments proved unsuccessful. She was told by her doctors that she was going to die. Her biggest regret was that she would never be able to go to her high school prom. Technically, she was not a guest. However, according Laura Guitierrez, area director human resources, here's what happened. "We hosted Natalie's Prom in our ballroom, and it was attended by 18 classmates and 7 of her championship ice skating team members. Our audiovisual technician was the disc jockey, our IT technician was the photographer, our banquet director provided security, and everyone pitched in to make this an extras special event." Prince Charming guided her down the red carpet to her favorite song, "Sweet Escapes," and the room was fully decorated with photos of Natalie and her classmates from kindergarten to eighth grade. She danced every dance and ate her favorite foods. She died on September 20, 2007. The seamstress at Ritz-Carlton who made her prom dress also made the dress in which she was buried later. Michelli suggests that "While many other companies support members of their community, the Ritz-Carlton culture of service routinely delivers caring such as that provided to Natalie's family." And this is but one of several dozen real-world situations that Michelli cites, not an isolated incident or rare example.

Fortunately, thanks to Joseph Michelli's exceptionally informative as well as eloquent book, other organizations can now learn about the unique culture of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and then apply (with appropriate modification) the core principles that continue to serve as that culture's foundation. And thanks to the Leadership Center, their leaders can gain a broader and deeper understanding of how service excellence and the quality of their own commitment to it can achieve a substantial ROI, not only in terms of dollars but also in terms of the lives that are enriched within their own organization as well as the lives of those whom they are privileged to serve.