Blackfriars' Marketing

Monday, November 06, 2006

How belief in the golden rule adds up to nearly four billion dollars

Today's Wall Street Journal notes that a small private consortium of investors including its chairman and CEO Isadore Sharp are bidding to take the company private for $3.7 billion, a 28% premium over last week's stock valuation of the firm. The investors involved include Sharp himself as well as Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud and Cascade Investment LLC, which is owned by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates.

I've stayed at Four Seasons hotels a few precious times and always relished the experience. But even more powerful than the consumer experience is the way that the company communicates its values to its employees and managers. The entire Four Seasons experience is based upon a single vision statement: to treat others as we would wish to be treated. But the reason this is so powerful, is that it isn't just a paper statement; this vision is taught, reinforced, and rewarded throughout the firm. With beliefs and communication like that, it any wonder they run some of the best hotels in the world?

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