Leadership Lessons from Laos

Recently, my wife Lori and I visited the country of Laos.  We spent our entire time in Luang Prabang, a beautiful part of the country situated along the Mekong River.  We had the opportunity to see temples and nature, enjoy local food and take in the culture.  We stayed at a great place that had some of the best guest service I have ever experienced.  In general, the service throughout the town was good and people were nice, but the Mekong River View Inn staff were outstanding and did not compare to any other place we had ever stayed, anywhere.  On our last day I had a chance to speak with the owner of the Inn, a Swedish national, who was a lifetime hotel industry expert.  He had worked in the hotel business in France, started his own in Sweden and now built and is growing a beautiful guest house in Laos.  I asked him what his secret was to have such an amazing group of people working for him; so happy, energetic, genuine, committed and effective.  He listed six points in a subtle, natural, yet crystal clear way:

1.       Trust: Trust people. They may lose it, but you must always start with trust.

2.       Responsibility: Let your staff make decisions.  Give them power to make their own choice and stand behind them in that decision.

3.       Mistakes: Let them know it is OK to make mistakes.  "If I make mistakes, they should be able to make mistakes.  It’s how we learn.  If we aren’t making mistakes, we were are not trying hard enough!"

4.       Respect: Treat people with respect.

5.       Mission: “Always do right to the guest” Having a simple and clear mission allows everyone to work together and strive towards a common goal, it is critical.

6.       Skills/Development: Cross train your staff to be able to take on more, do more, help each other, get the job done, all towards creating a great experience for the guest.

When asked how this approach differs from other leadership styles in Asia, he shared his perspective and mentioned, “If a leader is not telling their team what to do, they think they are not ‘leading’".  In addition to his point, I believe many leaders do not embrace, practice or understand the importance of the list outlined above.  The thoughts he shared were not scripted, they came from deep within and were casually shared off the top of his head as he stopped by our table at breakfast to say 'hi', see how our stay was going and answer my question.  It was evident that these qualities were simply ingrained in his managerial style.  Needless to say I was impressed and learned something from a very wise and successful person.  You can read books, articles or watch videos, but nothing beats seeing first hand, the intangible spark of a great leader and the positive impact they make on those around them.

A beautiful temple in Luang Prabang

A view of the Mekong River

Waterfalls and a great hike, just a day trip away

Seasonally made bridge of which you pay a small fee for a 'roundtrip'

A beautiful sunset spot near our Inn

Lao Airlines propeller plane to start our journey back to Hong Kong

Sometimes even the wrong train can take you to the right destination...

Last weekend Lori and I went to the movie The Lunchbox, an excellent film that takes place in Mumbai, India.  The story touches on the power of fate and connection of two people in very different situations, yet both going through a difficult time in their life.  These characters connect through a mistake or rather as the director of the film puts it in a recent NPR interview, a miracle.  A powerful line in the movie that stood out to me was "Sometimes even the wrong train can take you to the right destination."  This concept can be difficult to accept in life, especially when we think we know what the outcome of something should be.  But what a beautiful thought, what if we let go more and at times let fate take us to our destination?

Lori and I had a chance to re-visit India for the first time together last week since we have moved away from the country.  It was an emotional return for the two of us.  So many good friends and colleagues to see, many of which welcomed us back like family.  People from work, old neighbors, I even saw my barber, all so excited to see us.  I only hope we get a similar warm welcome when we return to Minneapolis!  We were fortunate to be able to attend a good friends wedding in Chennai, seeing the beautiful Hindu ceremony and taking part in an important part of the local culture.  

During the trip, I reflected on our move and life in India and how it was in fact the 'right destination' but a few events that led up to the opportunity may have felt like 'the wrong train'.  Before being in my current role, I had applied for a job in another area of the company, interviewed through multiple rounds and ultimately was turned down in the final round, I was so disappointed at the time.  Yet, I had an opportunity to interview for the area I currently work in and if I would have been offered the original role, there is little to no chance the India destination would have happened and an even lesser chance of the Hong Kong stop.

I really connected with this film because it was so well done, yet simple.  I find myself reading a lot of content online after watching a movie that I enjoy.  I appreciated a specific line in the NPR interview from the director (as this concept is something I am looking forward to, even many months before our return to the US).  His comment was regarding the inspiration for making this film as he said "I grew up in Bombay, but I moved to the States when I was 18 to study. When I was growing up, my mom would send my dad a lunchbox, but I didn't think it was unique or special or interesting.  When you leave and you go back, you see things that you didn't see before."  

We are now in our third year abroad.  I recently told my sister, year 1 was amazing, year 2 was similar with many things annualized and year 3 we have started to find ourselves a bit homesick.  We are still greatly enjoying our time away, but also looking forward to our return.  We have obviously been home several times since we moved, however we haven't been back for much more than a couple of weeks at a time.  Upon our move back to Minneapolis, I'm interested in what I will see differently and the new destinations that lie ahead.

Congratulations Rohit and Sandyha!

Lori and I sporting our Indian attire.

The Hong Kong skyline on a clear and sunny day.

A small boat in a quiet harbor.