This fantastic interpretation of Flock vs Herd came to me via email from Alan Hyde at the Stamford Marriott.  Each week as part of the Art of Hosting program Alan writes about a different theme.  The learning below could be used across every department and Stamford has seen great success with this.

Keep up the great work Alan and Stamford Team!

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Ladies & Gentlemen,

In keeping with my plan to devote the weekly Art of Hosting theme to a Journey Principle on the first week of each month, this week’s theme is “Flock vs Herd”.

“In the Herd style organization, an employee would simply wait around until his boss told him what to do. There would be one main leader and then a bunch of followers. The leader made all the decisions and the followers would do as they were told. They operated similarly to a herd of buffalo. In the Flock style organization, the habits of the geese are more modeled. Each member is responsible for their own destiny. They make their decisions based upon agreed goals and objectives. Each member is willing to do what they need to do for the good of the team. Sometimes leading, sometimes following, but always the destination as the goal.”

So let’s examine how we might apply this principle to the Art of Hosting. Our AoH cards that we carry reminds us of 3 stated goals – Create Personal Connections, Respond to Cues and Make it Brilliant. Each of these goals requires a Flock mentality and approach. Every single guest of this hotel is a unique individual with a very personal set of wants, needs & expectations and the same is true of all of our employees as well so it is imperative that you utilize your set of unique talents and experiences to interact with our guests and make their stays Brilliant. The challenge is how?

A number of thoughts come to mind for me: be yourself, use your imagination, try something new, step out of your comfort zone, and take chances. Never forget that the Flock vs Herd principle is only one of the ten principles and that it is supported by the other nine, especially number 8 – The Three P’s, which not only empowers you to take action but supports and protects you if you falter. So, in essence, do what you think is right. Take action! Make a difference! And, above all, Make it Brilliant!

I look forward to learning with all of you.

Alan