Turning Point A career-changing moment or experience
Chain of Events
M
y turning point took place over a series of events spanning seven years. It all began with a stay at a Marriott hotel in Atlanta, Ga., in October 2001. I was beginning a two-day training workshop at 9 a.m. the following day. At 4:15 a.m., my wife phoned to tell me that our dog “Hollywood,” died suddenly. We don’t have any children of our own, so we considered Hollywood as our only child. Alex Shane, a hotel employee, helped me through this extremely difficult time. She even allowed me to cry openly at the front desk. She also left a sympathy card on my bed when I returned from my program that first day. As I slowly recovered from my dear Hollywood’s death, I reflected on Alex’s comforting words. I knew I had a story to share … which I did hundreds of times. When I returned to Atlanta several years later, I invited Alex to my program and asked her to join me on stage. She received a well-deserved standing ovation that afternoon. The keynote was video taped, and it became a part of my promotional marketing. Flash forward seven years. My father passed away less than a month before the 2008 NSA Convention in New York. I really was not feeling up to attending; however, I had already paid for everything so I decided to go. I was just going through the motions and not actively participating as I normally would. I was sitting in the balcony for the lunch session when Bill Marriott, CEO
of Marriott, came on stage. Being a Marriott hotel chain fan, I leaned forward and paid attention. I had not looked at any of the breakout sessions, but when I heard Mr. Marriott was doing a CSP/CPAE congruent session after the lunch session, I immediately went to my room and changed from my golf shirt and khakis into a suit and tie. I was the first person in the CSP session. Mr. Marriott arrived early with Mike Stengel, the general manager of the Marquis. I approached Mr. Marriott and shared my story about Alex from almost seven years earlier. He gave me his personal business card and asked me to mail the videotape to him. I live close to his headquarters, so I dropped it off instead. Several weeks later, I received a call requesting my permission for Mr. Marriott to use my story on his Marriott on the Move blog. A few months later, he released his blog with my story and a link to the video on You Tube™. The video has had over 10,000 hits since its release, and I have received numerous calls and business as a direct result.
When I was at an NSA DC Chapter meeting at the Marriott Hotel in Bethesda, Md., in December 2009, I saw Mr. Marriott standing outside. He called me over to introduce me to the GM of the property and recanted the story to him. I also learned that Mr. Marriott told my story at a general manager’s conference for the non fullservice brand properties, and showed my video, “How One Person Can Impact an Entire Team.” My speaking career has been redefined by this experience, and how one person’s kindness can have a positive impact on a business. With 25 years of real-world experience, Gregg Gregory, CSP, teaches organizations how to get their employees to “play nicely together in the sandbox.” His background in real estate, mortgage banking, event planning and production, and radio-TV broadcasting gives him a clear understanding of the different aspects of business and how different people work. Visit http://TeamsRock.com. January/February 2011 | SPEAKER | 35