Page 237 - The New Gold Standard

Aspire, Achieve, Teach
programs are delivered to attendees. Rather than create a train-
ing program based on the efficiency needs of their own business
(such as streamlining processes that make delivery of training
easy for the Ritz-Carlton staff), they instead planned the Leader-
ship Center based on customer needs, designing it from the out-
side in. While it would have been most convenient for the
Leadership Center to require all businesses to come to the head-
quarters of Ritz-Carlton in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and maybe
even force the participants to stay at one of the four Ritz-Carlton
hotels in the Washington, D.C., area, the Leadership Center
staff instead delivers most of their training at the clients’ loca-
tions and tailors their programs to the needs of those seeking the
expertise, without any obligation to patronize a Ritz-Carlton ho-
tel. From the standpoint of external offerings, the Leadership
Center provides services that range from full-day classes for busi-
ness leaders at all levels to specialized and in-depth executive ed-
ucation classes such as the Implementing a Customer-Centric
Culture certification program developed as a strategic alliance
between the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center and New York
University. The center even provides customized coaching and
consulting services to a select group of applicants.
Prior to agreeing to provide intensive coaching services to a
company (thus extending its own service reputation on behalf
of such a company), Ritz-Carlton leadership diligently assesses
the integrity and service reputation of the requesting organiza-
tion. Further, Ritz-Carlton requires the unanimous support of
senior leadership at the client company—particularly as it relates
to that company’s willingness to sustain a commitment to fur-
ther enhance customer service excellence.

C Benefits of Offering Training D
through the Leadership Center

While the focus of the Leadership Center is to positively affect
interested businesses, the process of teaching others has had

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