"Don't confuse activity with accomplishment" - Bill Belichick

It was a long drive north from Foxboro after watching my beloved Patriots get crushed in the first round of the playoffs. While driving, I was able to listen to Tom Brady talk around the disfunction that ran rampant in the Patriots locker room this past season. He was kind and went out of his way to not throw any of the deserving players in front of the bus. He spoke of the quality and character of the individuals that were on the team. He never said they actually formed a team...just that individually they may have been the best 52 man roster he had ever played with. He went on to throw similar accolades at Bill Belichick and his ability to coach men as well as the game of football. He referenced a season of ups and down that revolved around inconsistency. One practice was perfect, as everyone was dialed in. The next day, half the team would mentally check-out and the practice was pointless. During the interview, Brady quoted Bill Belichick as regularly saying, "Don't confuse activity with accomplishment". Just because the players phisically showed up and broke a sweat didn't mean a single facet of the game plan was being accomplished. Trust me when I say, it showed on game day, all season long. This group of men may have worn the same uniform but they were not a team. Individually they may have worked extremely hard but they most certainly were never going to accomplish the goal set before them.

I hadn't heard Belichick's quote before and for whatever reason it struck a cord with me. In my history managing people and operating hotels, I have encountered hundreds of people that are active or appear to be active and accomplish very little. Early in my career, I spent a ridiculous amount of time, money and energy trying to convince them that there was a better way. For the past ten years, I have made a conscious effort to surround myself with people who see the goal and work towards it. They don't spin their wheels in an effort to prove that they are doing something. They work. Not only do they work but they work "smart". They understand the difference between getting the job done and getting the job done right. At each one of my hotels, they work as a team. Everyone of us understands that there is no single person less or more important than the other.

At my properties, we have the right coaches in place. We have the right assistant coaches to provide the leadership and accountability needed to be a success. We have players that trust in the philosophy of the team and believe by working smart that we will accomplish our goals. My team members and I know that the nations economy has collapsed. We accept that business in our industry is down 10-25%. Instead of accepting a decrease in business and making the cuts necessary to continue operating, we've taken on the challenge and won. We are adding people...not cutting jobs. We are creating business like never before. We don't sit back and wait for you to call...we show up on your doorstep. We know you have choices and we genuinely thank you for staying with us.

So as we go into the year 2010, I have mighty high expectations for my hotels and their overall success. As far as the Patriots go, not so much. You cannot draft or recruit leadership. It grows from within. Right now they need to take a long hard look at what made them successful and start at the bottom up.