Popsicles, Promotions And Powerful Moments!
The Magic Castle Hotel in Los Angeles has none of the luxury or glitz that you might associate with a hotel in the land of Hollywood. And yet, surprisingly enough, it is among the highest rated hotels in LA on most travel sites. How come?
Turns out that people who have stayed there can't help but talk about one unique feature. The hotel's popsicle hotline. It's a little red telephone mounted on the wall near the swimming pool. You pick it up and the voice at the other end asks which flavor of popsicle you'd like to have. You take your pick, and in a jiffy, a butler arrives with a fancy tray and your favourite popsicle. All for free.
Kids love that. As do grown-ups. It's not unusual for kids to tell other children who may be unaware, about that wonderful popsicle hotline. The Magic Castle Hotel may have remained completely unknown had the Heath brothers - Chip and Dan - not written about the popsicle hotline in their new book 'The Power of Moments'. As they see it, our memories and impressions of people and places are influenced more by standout powerful moments than by the overall average experience. And that might explain why despite standard rooms and facilities, the popsicle hotline makes the Magic Castle hotel an experience to remember.
Maybe leaders and organizations should draw inspiration from the Magic Castle hotel, and create their own versions of the popsicle hotlines. Enable powerful, memorable moments that knock the socks off their teams and their customers and make them say, "Wow! That is so cool!"
The Magic Castle Hotel could have spent a lot of money on say, refurbishing rooms, or making the lobby a little snazzier. But it's unlikely that any of that would have helped the hotel stand out. But the free popsicles create moments of delight and memories to cherish. And that makes all the difference.
Reminded me of a time in my own career many years ago, when I was a Regional head. I got a call from the CEO's office. As you might expect, when the CEO's assistant tells you the boss wants to speak with you, you instinctively begin to wonder what the problem might be. But on that particular day, the CEO had something unusual to say. He wanted a favour. He wanted me to buy a saree for gifting to a friend's wife. Could I please do that? The CEO was known to be a tough taskmaster, someone who was extremely principles-and-values driven and a request like this one seemed strangely out of character. I said I wasn't really very good at buying sarees - but would take my wife's help with it. But he insisted that I just go by myself and pick up the saree. And then he said "I want you to buy a really nice saree, right away, and go home, give it to your wife and tell her that her husband has just got promoted!'
Wow. It happened several years ago. And like any career, mine too had it's ups and downs and moments of joy and despair. But you can tell how powerful moments helped shape the memories.
Time then for you to create your own moments. Make that promotion announcement special. Create your own popsicle hotline!
