Page 236 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 5: LEA VE A LASTING FOOTPRINT
powerful, then you realize that the responsible transfer of that
power is a tool that transforms lives.”

External Training:
The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center

During the application process for the Malcolm Baldrige Na-
tional Quality Award, Ritz-Carlton executives were aware that
if they were ever chosen as a winner, they would be obligated to
share best practices with other businesses; a requirement for be-
ing selected is sharing such information during the year in which
the award is conferred. Upon winning the award for the first
time in 1992, Ritz-Carlton shared best practices with compa-
nies in a fairly informal way as interest dictated.
After winning the Baldrige Award for the second time in
1999, Ritz-Carlton leadership could not let the corporate infor-
mation exchange remain nothing more than an obligation. Di-
ana Oreck, vice president of global learning and the Leadership
Center, explains, “We decided to elevate this training opportu-
nity by creating a more systematic way to teach other businesses.
We achieved our objective by opening the doors of our Leader-
ship Center in 1999. From that time onward, interest in our
business practices has been high, and the Leadership Center has
grown steadily. Now we have a catalog of rich offerings, and we
add at least one new course per year since we have a lot of repeat
customers. Many of the companies that come to us have been
through a wide variety of training programs and are seeking
something new, fresh, and timely. As such, we develop our new
curriculum offerings to suit the needs of their businesses.”
Since its inception, the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center has
served individuals from businesses worldwide, including Smith
Barney, Putnam Investments, the Emory Clinic, and Umpqua
Holdings Corporation. The “it’s not about you” principle dis-
cussed in Chapters 7 and 8 is evidenced not only in the course
offerings of the Leadership Center but also in the way those

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