Leadership and Human Resources
As the summer season peaks, according to AAA, more people are on the road than ever before, traveling to their favorite summertime destination. Many of these stops now include Indian gaming resorts. In June, I did a Raving road trip throughout the Northwest, visiting tribal casinos near Seattle, then heading south, through Oregon to Northern…
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Employee “empowerment” has been a part of the business vocabulary for a few decades now. The term generally means giving team members the authority and the power to make a decision on behalf of a customer, typically one who has had a bad experience. Probably the most famous hospitality industry example of this is the…
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It’s good business and good for our soul! Long before Wal-Mart greeters, my grandmother, at 75 years old, decided that she was going back to work after being out of the workforce for nearly twenty years. She insisted on applying at Kmart as a greeter (she called it K “mark” – yes, with a “k”).…
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How individual and group leadership will give you a strategic advantage and greater profits “THE MOMENT THERE IS SUSPICION ABOUT A PERSON’S MOTIVES, EVERYTHING HE DOES BECOMES TAINTED.” – MAHATMA GANDHI As a country, we are suspicious of everybody. All you have to do is listen to conversations in the office or on social media…
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How your department trainers can set the stage for success In Part I of this series, we went over four suggestions to improve your basic foundational training, including Casino 101 basics, interdepartmental teamwork, guest service philosophy, and finally, dispute resolution. Next, we’ll move on to tips to help with your departmental training. So now that…
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Coaching and management techniques for your high production teams Janet Hawk Let’s be honest. Leading a player development team is hard work! As a former Executive Host, I admit, we are high maintenance. We spend our days juggling the needs and wants of our guests, while trying to appease management. And to be even more…
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How to groom your team for today’s success while strategically planning to build long-term opportunities I recently attended an event that brought together General Managers from throughout Indian gaming. As a relatively new General Manager, I was excited and anxious to attend, wondering what I might discover that would help me become a more effective…
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Why does “hire for attitude – train for skill” often fail? Because we, as employers, fall short on the “training” part of the equation We are constantly told to “hire for attitude – train for skill.” But do we, as leaders, hold up our end of this statement? It seems more often than not, we…
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And how it applies to all managers out there who NEED to lead by example Toby O’Brien Nicole, showing me photos, exclaimed, “My kids are so hyperactive … they’re driving me nuts! It’s exhausting.” Which prompted me to write this column about leading by example. For quite a number of years, I traveled with Nicole…
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