PROLOGUE                Walking in from the cold and rainy parking lot, I wonder about my rule that we all have to park in the secondary lots and leave the close spots for our guests. I say good morning to our night auditor and walk to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. As I carry my coffee to my office, I hear an explosion coming from the Sales Department. I run down the hall and come face to face with a woman walking toward me. I notice two things: There is a car in the hallway of my hotel, and the woman is holding her panties and wearing nothing. Maybe I should have been a detective. I put my jacket around her and ask, “Are you hurt?”                 “No.”                 “Where are your clothes?”                 “In the car.”               The car, a small Ford sedan, is actually in the hallway fronting the Sales Department. One wheel, raised in the air, is slowly turning. Stepping over plasterboard, strips of aluminum and glass, I shut the engine off and look through the huge hole in the wall. I notice a pair of men’s slacks, a shoe, shorts, and a jacket, but no man.   Excerpts from Pages 11 & 12         Then Tracy, the director of sales and marketing, walked up with a gentleman  whom she introduced to the Duke people as the speaker for the seminar, Dr. Mark Spencer.  I recognized immediately that he did not want to be at this party. He was not nervous; he was bored.             I walked over to him.  "Hello, I'm John Battaglia, the general manager of the Diamond. Welcome. I bet you'd rather be doing anything but this."              He laughed. "You hit it right on the money. I come to these things because I'm expected to. I would rather be out on the interstate counting cars."              "What are you going to be teaching tomorrow?"              "Reality Check for Leaders."              I looked away. "Oh," slipped out.              Spencer smiled. "You're thinking it's another dog and pony show."              "No, I'm sure it's special. Duke Energy wouldn't waste the time of twenty-five of it top people if you weren't good. I'm sure what you have to say will help these Duke people. I wish I had something to help me motivate my people to get better results and meet the goals of our organization."              "Organizations don't have goals, John."              "That's right. It's the people in organizations that have goals."              "Isn't that just using different definitions of the same thing?"              "If you believe that your organization has goals, you must be disappointed a lot."              "Well, I'm sure your approach works fine for the big corporate types, but I deal with a different kind of organization with really different people problems," I said with more defensiveness in my voice than I intended.               Just then Harrison Motley, the conference coordinator for the Duke Energy seminar walked up. "John, I see you've met Dr. Spencer."               "I sure have and we were having a discussion about whether his theory would work in the hotel industry."

Excerpts from pages 15 and 16 Knowledge and experience equal good instincts.           Since it is still early, I decide to read some parts of the book to get an insight into his ideas about motivating people for improved results. I get a cup of coffee and open the book. I am immediately drawn to the paragraphs describing Spencer's thoughts on the latest theory to "solve all your management problems."           He writes that every year consultants, professors, and assorted human resource development professionals teach the latest theories of management and leadership. I know that those theories change almost every year. The reason for the change: They do not work. Why don't they work? Spencer says that almost all of these theories ignore the basic elements in motivation; and motivation, positive or negative, equals good or bad goal-oriented behavior and results.           He is right and I want to know what the answer is, given the constant pressure to improve results. I do know that while all seminars promise to teach a way of getting things done with people, and most provide a method that might work, the result is always the same. Two weeks after I return form such a seminar, the same old people problems are still here.           What may seem like an answer to our people problems in a seminar become nothing more than short-term fixes that do not last.  I end up feeling as if I have wasted my time. Others I know feel the same way.           Boy, does my mind wander. What does Spencer have to say about solving people problems? I read on.           He writes that there are three elements to successful long-term motivation. When people do not behave the way they are expected to, then a leader or manager (or husband, wife, anyone) should look to these three elements that influence the difference between expected behavior and real behavior.           While I have been convinced for a long time that people only pursue personal payoffs (PPPP), Dr. Spencer adds the points of clarification necessary to bring the idea full circle. He is convinced that to motivate people it is necessary to understand important elements that determine how they behave in their interactions with others and the situations they encounter in everyday life.           As I continue to read, I learn that Spencer thinks in terms of what he calls Performance Elements;                     1.     People pursue only personal payoffs.                     2.     Rewarded behavior is repeated.                     3.     Perceived skills and individual interest drive results.

Excerpts from Pages 215 and 216           The SISP has helped me separate my skill and interest levels into an easily remembered chart. RESULTS                                                                         ACTION High Interest / High Skill   -------------               Capitalize High Skill / Low Interest----------------               Analyze Low Skill / High Interest----------------               Strengthen Low Skill / Low Interest-----------------               Circumvent           The results of the profile provide me with a way to gain an understanding of the real levels of skill and interest I have in various functional areas of a hotel. Dr. Spencer says that he has become increasingly convinced that spending time on improving areas where no skill or talent exists, if there is not a deep abiding interest, is a waste of time. For me, hotel maintenance is one of those areas. I am dangerous with a screwdriver. Look out if I get my hands on a hammer. Devoting time and energy to learning the elements of an air conditioner compressor would be a waste of time. Without practice and hands-on experience, my knowledge would dissipate in a short time. Furthermore, with me, a little knowledge can be dangerous.           On the other hand, my lower-than-average interest and perceived skill level in accounting could be a detriment to my stated career aspirations. I’ve gotten by so far with a lot of hard work and by taking the time to understand the Matrix management system of accounting.           I can hold my own with any general manager when it comes to analyzing my departmental profits and losses, expense reports, and staffing guides. While recognized as one of the consistently accurate budget preparers, I nevertheless hate every moment of the tedious, slow, and, to me, unrewarding process known as the yearly budget. Those facts lead me to the most insightful aspect of the SISP, my results in the Operations and Leadership portions of the profile.           The most interesting, if not confusing, part of the profile results is the revelation that I may not have an interest in either a district manager or a VP of Operations position. For my generation currently working in the hospitality business, an individual’s career path is clearly defined. As an employee in the hotel business, I am expected to start at a line level position and work my way up the corporate ladder.