Family Familiarity: Leaders are accessible, approachable, and caring. First name-basis becomes order of day. Amazon.com mirrors this on their web site that literally calls a customer by name and outlines suggested purchases based upon customer’s buying history. How might you move beyond a web connection to create a higher form of conversation?

Family Honor: Management trusts employees. Time clocks are rare; remote work common. At Miller SQA, a division of Herman Miller, factory employees keep their own hours on honor system. At AES, a utility organization, cross-training is so prevalent that employees trust each other to perform a task when called upon.

Family Fairness: Pay for performance, evenhandedness, promotions from within and merit-based rewards. An example is Custom Research. This company won a Malcolm Baldridge Award. Only 50 employees could attend a celebration in Florida. The organization—from president down to clerical—drew names to see who could attend.

Family Fun: Humor is shortest distance between people. Families play together. At SW Airlines, they have ice cream parties on spur of moment. Malaysian Airlines offers dance and music concerts staffed by employees’ talent. The options are endless. Customers are also included in “the fun”.

The trust test is passed or failed on a daily basis. Retaining employees and customers are more likely if retention becomes a family affair.

© 2000 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright.

Fifty high school volunteers were fed dinner and then served as guides taking children through both floors. The hotel staff dressed in costume and worked haunted house, a dozen carnival games, movies, arts & crafts, and a storytelling session.

The town mayor, Arlene Mulder, greeted guests in her best Minnie Mouse dress. The hotel's in-house production company, The Meeting House, festooned fixtures with cobwebs, built sets, and created special effects. The children were bug-eyed with delight and amazingly well behaved for all adrenaline rush that comes from make-believe and "treats".

Did parents love it? You bet! No worry about rain, darkness, safety, or dangerous play.

And what about hotel's paying guests? I can only speak for myself. The tiny clowns, brides, animals, spooks, power rangers, Alladins, lion kings, cowboys, and cowgirls carried me back to a time when I played outside at dark, carried flashlights with Mom & Dad, and warmed my cold hands with hot chocolate. The twins who appeared as oreo cookies, miniature Charlie Chaplin (even to his walk), and youngster who came as a quilted bag of M&Ms assured me that creativity and innovation were not dead.

There are lessons to be gleaned from Hilton's experience. What might you do to involve employees, community, and untapped resources that could generate short, mid-term, and long terms gains? Or are people with budgetary controls concerned more with what they'll lose rather than what they will gain? What would it take to see possibilities rather than problems?

As for me, I think I had better call now for my next Halloween reservation. This first-time event is, I'm sure, destined to become an annual treat.