Thinking and actions of hotel owner

I just got back from a retreat, allowing me to stay at a very new Smile Lanna Hotel in Chiang Mai (a boutique resort in the middle of CM city with natural beauty like birds' singing, and huge trees...I couldn't even hear the traffic noise).... no reviewer fees paid for me na kaa!

So impressed with the owner  that it urges me to share with you today.

1. He said he did hire some professionals to manage the hotel but found that those didn't have much sense of service -- professional services go beyond certain protocols to personal touch.

2. He was 'omnipresent' during our 3-night stay -- at the check-in, at breakfast or dinner ka. He helped fry ปาท่องโก๋ (fried doughs) for the guests and recommended what to eat--  leading by examples/ personal actions.

3. The hotel uses local ingredients that are unique and fresh -- local food experiences for self-sufficiency and practical supply chains!

4. The hotel is only recently open for about a year to be challenged by COVID and he manages to keep all the staff in place -- staff's job security!

5. His staff told him they wished to try selling roti and Thai tea in the evening in front of the hotel. Seen the eagerness and readiness, he approved it (and obviously, we saw him there too!) -- staff's voice heard with support!

From the little things I got, it shows clearly how he values customers and staff.....humans high on his priority...what could become more and more expensive in the Robot era mai ka, do you think?

In any case, for now, it was a happy stay during the past weekend ka.

Podcast and Clubhouse

After I wrote about Na Nek, there were a few things happening that I wished to write right away if I had an opportunity ka.

1. Learning from Na Nek.....after ignoring the swear words, as always, I got some good thinking and lessons from him which are as follows: 

• Each specific media type has its own audience and charms so it's hard to adopt or use one's own habits and skills fully onto another (like from TV to Facebook Live in his case)
• When one fails, think of others who could be impacted beyond oneself....Na Nek's caring for others was really good ka. When his company lost money, he decided to close it down while he still had some money to compensate his team for them to find their own paths. Thumbs up to him.
• Generational gaps are seen everywhere but he manages to prove that he's open and ready to listen/help advice them, younger ones have become his fans.....one little thing from a Fulbright alum ka...he said it's tough to manage the younger ones as he couldn't really understand their process so what's best is to assign them to work, let them know he's there to support them as needed, and wait to see the results ka. This alum is only in his early 40's ka.
• Life in leisure could be turned to work once you work on what you love and you know how to link it.

2. Learning from Fulbright alums and from podcasters

• Podcasts have been around in the US for over a decade and it seems that Thailand seems to fully adopt some newer media after about 10 years.
• Podcasts won't die even when Clubhouse has been hot and hit these days.
• Younger kids still prefer YouTube over Podcasts.

3. Clubhouse mania

• The Clubhouse Team is operated by less than 10 people for the world to use ka....how amazing technology and younger ones are na ka!
• It's borderless in many ways, from countries and regions, age and generations to authority and class. 
• It's a good learning platform when managed and moderated carefully while letting the atmosphere be informal.
• For Thais, public figures and influencers draw participants easily even some may not know much about the topics discussed.

Are we, our older generations, up to the newer platforms in our lives? Are we ready to open a room (do it three times to be allowed to open a clubhouse with permission to set our own schedules ka.)

I've been asked to open a room but am still hesitant ka. Want to make sure it has to be in some form for some duration but more importantly, it could generate some benefits lae ka.

Will you be in my Clubhouse if I start one ka?

Swear words

 hope you had a very nice Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day celebrations the ways you liked ka. Mine was awesome ka....full as always!

I've been a fan of the Secret Sauce Podcast and these days felt uncomfortable listening to the recent episodes about Na Nek น้าเน๊ก's life ka. 

I used to dislike him from much earlier days but got to like him better when learning more about his life and thinking ka.....always has some fine and caring thoughts of his about people. 

Normally, the way Na Nek speaks is to talk with some swear words in between. On the first Secret Sauce episode of the three in the series, it was similar yet with more of them....like 'f' word and a story about one motorcyclist told Na Nek off using 'male genital' and then he kept repeating it.

Even again, I like his caring thought and actions but his way of talking could be quite far off.  I was also thinking of Khun Abhisit's nephew for the more seniors to take such similar uses of words less seriously to get to the core messages sent. In a way, it's true ka.

Well! what do you think la ka? 

Could the term 'กาละเทศะ' be deleted from our society as we may not need to observe it as before?

Do we need our society to be part of the platforms for kids and all to learn from good role models we can find much less? 

Should we admit that the world has changed and in the media we could allow such talking to become acceptable?

Should we simply learn that it's there and it's our choice to skip listening to it?

What about how to teach our younger gens what should be proper when talking to the public?

Should I learn to feel less uncomfortable to get the essence from the talk?

Should I shut up and keep working at my little corner dee ka? 

PwC Leadership

 Hello to all ka! Seems it's been my leadership month to touch on stories I've been listening to na ka.

Today, let me share what I've jotted down from listening to an interview of Tim Ryans, PwC US Chair and Senior Partner by David Novak who said Tim Ryans has been 'Leading with Guts' ka.....like quite a few of his ideas ka.

Key takeaways I got na ka:

1. His commitment to address racial injustice in the open with strategies and actions, especially Black Lives Matter, has been significant even with some sharp comments like what he would do could be too risky and that it could 'blow up in his face' plus bear impacts on PwC. It has been since the Dallas tragedy in 2016.  Through his courage and deep listening, he gained true understanding about the burdens Black people have been carrying. He started having diversity and inclusion as the business driver, putting in place some new initiatives like 40 hours of paid-leave participation of his employees to spend in communities on related issues, and integrating diversity and inclusion in every step of business processes (not just recruitment. He spends around 10-15% of his time on diversity matters.

(From Wiki ka....On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Johnson was an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran and was angry over police shootings of black men.)

2. He said 'Courage is to learn from listening with an open mind.' 

3. Leadership is like a bridge building to help people fit in and grow. Leaders have to inspire  people, lead from the front with hands-on support to figure out the problems together.

4. Leaders have to trust others as they can't possibly do everything themselves. 

5. When we make a mistake, own it.

6. Have a moral compass, comprising integrity and courage to leave with legacy as wished.

Anything you like mai ka?

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentine's ka.

Beyond Meat's CEO's sharing

 Happy Tuesday ka, everyone. I seem unable to fix my egroup message to Mondays at all na ka.

Had a zoom class yesterday morning on how to write a statement of purpose and it was fun learning for me ka. I now am able to manage 'share screen' better and found that in a virtual environment, silence isn't golden ka. I'll need to talk more while letting the kids do some quick tests. I also learned that some parents these days still control their kids' future far too tightly from not letting them go abroad to pushing them to work as government officials.

Now comes another CEO I like ka.....Ethan Brown, Founder and CEO of Beyond Meat.

David Novac talks about this CEO as follows: '....Ethan Brown pushes his people with intense loyalty to drive success while delighting his customers with better protein options that don't change why people enjoy meat.'

What I like listening to this CEO na ka:

- Beyond Meat is to help lessen the climate change issues while giving options to those who wish to have delicious meat-like food.....this option can go alongside with some others in the market. He himself used to love KFC and McDonald ka. Lately I heard from the news that his company has collaborated with PepsiCo on food and drink items ka.

- Keep his diverse R&D team (from Iran, VN, India, etc.) energized and motivated by giving one another respect.

- Don't walk around being negative .... some bosses tend to criticize everything about everything which wouldn't do good na ka.

- To stay ahead, be paranoid.... (he said, 'Stay ahead terrified!') let the fear of not delivering what they're trying to do become the best drive to go forcefully forward ka.

-  Like other CEOs, he reads a lot ka. One statement he found on a poster that he likes and shares with his team is, 'Somewhere someone is working harder at your idea than you are!'

What struck you most while reading through this short list ka?