How NOT to Save Sea Turtles... Or, Why Change Management is Important
It was one of the best ideas I ever had. In fact, it was an obvious no-brainer. A slam dunk of an idea that everyone would love. A win-win-win proposition. Pick whatever cliché you want; it was perfect…almost.
I was the GM of a large beach resort on Florida’s Atlantic coast. Our spacious pool deck was situated beachside and we had a pretty cool pool bar and grill right on the pool deck. After watching a viral video online, (one of our generation’s greatest sources of inspiration) I was inspired. The video showed a team of rescuers removing a plastic straw from the nostril of a sea turtle. It was a violent and gut-wrenching image, with a clear message: plastic straws are evil. Like so many viral videos, it was effective. So effective that right then and there I decided that we would be eliminating straws at our beachside pool bar.
The benefits were clear. We would save sea turtles! Plus, we would save money! We would be able to promote it and enhance our brand! We would make our guests feel like they were helping make the world a better place as they sipped their strawberry daquiris! What could go wrong? Who could possibly be against this? Let me tell you…
Shortly after having our enthusiastic marketing team put together the graphic design and signage, our food and beverage director dropped by my office. He was experienced, talented, and had an excellent understanding of his staff. He had come to express his concerns about the new initiative. WHAT!?! Concerns!?!
I responded by eloquently laying out all the amazing benefits. Think of the cost savings! Think of the branding! THINK OF THE TURTLES! He said I wasn’t considering the negatives. He explained that by eliminating straws at the pool bar, we would have unhappy guests. Afterall, a straw is expected in a daquiri. He said unhappy guests would lead to lower tips for the staff. Of course, lower tips would then lead to unhappy staff. He said his staff shared his opinion.
I asked if he wanted to see the rescue video. I told him I understood his concerns, but the positives outweighed them. Besides, if guests were adamant about having a straw, our sign would say they were available by request. We were moving forward and saving the turtles!
You can probably guess what happened almost immediately following the swift rollout of the new policy. Negative guest comments. Lots of them. Interestingly, they all used almost the same exact language. It turns out that, to avoid losing tips, our bartenders had taken it upon themselves to disparage the new policy and to encourage our guests to express their own displeasure. The negative guest comments were followed with “told you so’s” from the staff. The failure was a self-fulfilling prophecy. And, much like the sea turtles, it would not be saved.
Over the course of the first (and only) week of the new policy, I’m not sure we served a single drink without a straw. We didn’t brand ourselves as much more than foolish. And, I’m certain we didn’t save any turtles. The initiative was a failure. But not because it was a bad idea. It failed because I failed to employ some basic principles of change management.
Here are 3+ key action steps leaders can and must take BEFORE implementing changes to ensure the changes don’t end up dying before they even begin:
1. Bring in a diverse group of influencers early. You will need to determine what groups of people your change will affect and then choose representatives from those groups to work with you from the beginning. In fact, this should happen before you ever announce that a change will be made. The people you choose should be those who will be the most influential in the success of your initiative. Think of who your “influencers” are and not just who your “managers” or “leaders” are. Choose team members who have shown in the past they are not afraid to speak their mind or give feedback—positive or negative! The more diverse your group in terms of departments and hierarchy, the more likely you are to have positive influence spread at implementation. In my case, a strong group might have included the food and beverage director, a well-liked bartender, someone from our marketing team and someone from our pool area housekeeping team. Once you’ve identified your team, it’s time for discussions. These will likely be both as a group and on an individual level.
2. Articulate a need. A great leader I knew once told me that before you can ever lead people to a new place, you must first show them why they can’t stay where they are. Don’t be a leader who skips over doing the necessary work of clearly showing the team you assembled in Step 1 why there is a need for change. It will force you to polish your reasoning and to create a concise explanation that will be used when you rollout the changes to a broader audience. It may also show you bigger needs that should be addressed. Had I followed this action step, I may have won over the key players on the food and beverage team. Or, I may have learned at this point that the idea needed more consideration. Either way, this step is crucial. Once your team is as ready for change as you are, it’s time to strategize!
3. Establish a clear vision and strategy. Many leaders begin at this step, and doing so can doom an initiative to failure. This was one of my errors. I was so excited about my vision that I skipped step one and two. However, I also failed to properly complete this step as well. My error was that I thought the vision was enough. I (wrongly) thought the endpoint (eliminating plastic straws) was also the strategy to get to the endpoint. Properly formulated strategies are rarely simple and are never just one step. A fully developed strategy might include feasibility consideration, training plans, opportunities for staff and customer feedback, vendor coordination, new SOPs, marketing efforts, reconfiguration of physical spaces, or a host of other things. Some of that might sound like overkill, but don’t underestimate the importance of a deep strategic contemplation. Once you’ve got your vision defined and your strategy formed, you must over-communicate it to your team.
BONUS TIP: Use “Experiment” language. This is not so much an action step as it is a useful tool during the communication of your vision and strategy. I have found it helpful to frame changes as experiments when communicating them to my team. Doing so can both ease some of the imminent anxiety among those affected by the change and create healthy space to encourage honest feedback about the process. This won't be applicable to all changes. Big, organization-shifting changes, or changes that are difficult to undo clearly can't be called "experiments." But, you would be surprised how many smaller changes can be helped by this simple idea.
Of course, they are many more elements to change management that are crucial to the long-term success of change initiatives; especially if you are dealing with organization-wide or culture-altering changes. However, hospitality leaders would do well to focus on these three steps before implementing changes. You’ll have a better chance of success and, who knows, you might save some sea turtles.
If you need support in the defining the vision, developing a strategy, or implementing changes in your organization, reach out to me at Ted@TedYeatts.com. I've been lucky enough to help several hotels go from ordinary or struggling to award-winning. If you have a big goal for your property, I can help. Book a FREE conversation with me to learn more.
Finally, if you want to watch the video that started this whole thing, you can find it here.
