Love is a Higher Law
I value the hospitality industry for several reasons.
As a consumer: I'm a bit adventurous in my love for travel and food, and also really appreciate resonant guest experiences where every detail is meticulously thought through. It's the industry that nourishes my personal joie de vivre.
As a student: I'm fascinated by how industries form and evolve - and by the business models that allow them to meet human needs while concurrently achieving their financial and strategic objectives.
The hospitality industry exemplifies this brilliantly: its very purpose is to make people feel valued, welcomed, and at ease, while building a thriving business around this outcome.
As a practitioner: As part of my own professional development, I draw inspiration from hospitality leaders like Horst Schulze, Danny Meyer, and Will Guidara, who have fundamentally shaped the hospitality industry's service culture.
Hospitality is an industry where we see more clearly why it's important that love is a KPI in organizations. When we are the guests, we understand why being truly seen and cared for matters. And while we might not recognize it instinctively, this same need pulses through every industry - from mining to banking to retail and others.
A week or so ago, I had a riveting conversation with a new friend who is a hospitality expert, amongst other things. The discussion was so enriching that I wish I had recorded it to revisit later. He shared something he imparts to his teams, which struck me:
"We have standards and guidelines of course - but they are the foundation, not the destination. If you're working at a coffee shop and have a line of 15 people to attend to, you don't focus first on perfection of the craft - you focus on the line."
Even at the surface, it's a powerful insight. Put yourself in the shoes of the 14th person in that line, trying to get a cup of coffee in time for your next meeting. You'd appreciate that the barista is focused on getting through everyone's orders efficiently enough to also meet your needs.
But this lesson extends far beyond managing a coffee shop line. Guidelines, rules, and standards provide an anchor; however, the spirit of what you're trying to accomplish must always supersede them, accommodating what the rules might miss.
Great leaders care first about people. Ideally, prevailing standards, systems and rules support this priority, but even when they fall short, true leadership stays anchored to its deepest intention.
‘Love as a KPI' posits that businesses should be driven primarily by love for people. If love for people is the foremost thing, everything else will yield to it.
Love is a higher law.
It does not need a policy to be realized - even if there was one, it would be the foundation, not the destination. People being loved through our organizations must be the destination.
What love does need, is leaders who are committed to becoming more loving people. It is through this process that we develop better instincts about when to focus on perfecting the craft or when to simply help the next person in line.
Love transforms our thinking and shifts our focus. The debates become less about interpreting rules and more about always doing good for people based on their unique needs, circumstances and contexts.
That choice will always remain in our hands.
