Sammy Dacanay - Chip Conley: Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chip_conley_measuring_what_makes_life_worthwhile.html

The TED talk I watched was said by Chip Conley. He is the founder, president, and CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality. The description of the TED talk is what caught my attention. It said that Conley adapts Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to a business model based on happiness. Although most business/company owners focus on making money, Conley speaks about how these owners should focus on the happiness of their customers rather than solely on making money. This would make various businesses more successful in so many ways. He has learned this from one of his first employees and the King of Bhutan. The woman working in his hotel was so happy to be working as a maid because she was far away from her home and was helping those who were also away from their own homes. She worked her hardest to please the guests and build relationships with them, and this resulted in increased loyalty rates from their customers. A few years later, Conley went to the Himalayan Peaks and spoke with the King of Bhutan. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was brought up and the King responded with, “Why are we so obsessed with gross domestic product when we should be interested in gross domestic happiness?” Conley thought deeply about this and worked to instill happiness in those he would work with.

As mentioned before, Chip Conley is the founder, president, and CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality – California’s largest independent hotel company and America’s second largest boutique hotelier. He received his BA in economics and MBA at Stanford University, and at age 26, with no industrial experience, he bought his first motel in San Francisco. He turned this motel into a unique “rock-n-roll hotel” – the first of his many unique hotels in the United States. The reason I believe Chip Conley is so successful is due to the fact that he does not only care about how much money he makes. He cares about the happiness of his customers and works to establish relationships with these very customers. He finds more success in establishing close relationships and loyalty from whom he obtains business.

Only about two years ago, my mom started her own company in the Philippines, and she has been very successful. She now has 6 six stores and is working on opening two more this year. After watching this TED talk, I immediately thought of my mom because my mom does not put all of her focus on how much money she makes, but rather her relationships with her employees and customers. After high school, I will be majoring in Business Administration at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. I’m not entirely sure what kind of internships I would like to take part in, but I know I would like to get the chance to experience one. Working in the field of my future would provide me with much experience and teach me many things I will need to know if I want to be successful in that field. My goal is to either own my own business or take over the company my mom has successfully built. Whichever one I choose to embark on, I know that I will work to instill happiness in those I encounter because this will allow for more success in all aspects of the company. I especially liked Chip Conley’s quote: “[People] who know what to count. We count numbers, we count people, but what really counts is when we actually use our numbers to truly take into account our people.” I believe these are the kinds of people we need in our world.