Why I Do What I Do
“Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.”
― E.M. Forster, Howards End
I’m sure you have all heard me say this at one time or another:
'What' I do is inconsequential. ‘Why' I do 'what' I do is what gets me out of bed every single morning; to ensure all of our stakeholders have the best possible journey towards opening their hotel. However, what lights me up more than anything, is when I can shorten someone’s journey via a connection.
We are in some difficult times right now, I know we will get through this. That being said I find myself connecting people I know, and sometimes don’t know, to help people in need. We all have the power to do the same. So, let’s all take a few minutes today and think about how we can help each other. I’ve been relying heavily these days on an incredible platform that a talented friend named Peter Fan built out for the Entrepreneurs Organization on Slack. It took this crisis of COVID-19 to have a world of enterprising individuals at our fingertips, and I'm awestruck at the connections we’ve all made in the past few days to help "flatten the curve" and to help those most in need.
We all have this incredible platform right here on LinkedIn, LET’S USE IT! I once sat on a plane next to Daniel Roth, Editor in Chief at LinkedIn, he showed me a way to graphically visualize our interconnected webs of connection on LinkedIn. It blew my mind. Each person we encounter or have ever encountered has the ability to help change the world.
With the help of other entrepreneurs, I’ve connected suppliers of "Personal Protective Equipment" to the NYC Mayors Office - I did not realize that being in a book club with someone who works on the Mayor’s staff, could have such an impact in such a time of need.
I’ve made another friend, Anjali Kumar, whose husband is a doctor in New York City. He's driving around NYC looking for N95 Masks and Personal Protective Equipment to drop off to hospitals in need. He’s filling up his trunk to help people - CLICK HERE Do you know anyone that can help fill up his trunk? I bet you do.
Enough about me - each of our personal networks has the ability to impact the world in some way - some big, some small. I challenge each of you to use your networks to direct people with products, services, or subject matter knowledge to those people most in need.
The next challenge for me and my network - how do we get all of our adversely affected hotel housekeeping, engineering, and operations staff back to work quickly? I’ll work on that with my network. I challenge you to think and act: “what can you do with your network"?
#hospitality #hospitalityindustry #COVID19 #connections #housekeeping #entrepreneurship
Founder and CEO at Sims Patrick Studio, Inc.
4 年Dan, This is a very inspiring reminder to all of us to reach out and ask how we can serve each other during this surreal and uncertain time. I know there will be some major silver linings that will come out of this hardship with all of the creative hospitality industry brains coming together. Connections with each other is what makes this life so special. Take care everybody and like Dan says, reach out and connect! You never know what the results could be!!
Great stuff, my friend! You always inspire me to be better. Keep it up, and I’ll try to do the same!
Executive Vice President at Rider Levett Bucknall
4 年Great work, Dan!
You were doing this long before there was a global pandemic. Those little blue slips you would write notes on reminding you who to connect where. Always with an eye to ease someone else’s journey. Keep doing you. You make us all better people.
Vice President of Design at Irvine Company
4 年Awesome words Dan. I have been reaching out to fellow design industry colleagues to share some of the lessons I learned in the last recession. Some of them have come to positions of leadership during the recent boom and are uncertain of what to do next. By sharing what we did successfully and what we would have done differently, I think we can reduce fear and help everyone make better decisions. The industry is resilient and we’ll get through this together.