Company culture central to business success, CEO says
Published: February 26, 2010
Students should investigate company culture when seeking jobs after graduation, a CEO said Thursday at the Price College of Business.
Colin Reed, the head of the Gaylord Entertainment Company, said graduates should pick a company that cares about people.
“That is a company that’s growing, not (deteriorating),” Reed said. “And it’s not an organization that’s focused on the almighty dollar.”
The Gaylord Entertainment Company operates numerous hotel and media companies and is a long-time benefactor to OU. Reed has been chairman and CEO of the company since 2001 and president since 2005.
Establishing a culture of support and commitment is the key to success in this struggling economy, Reed said, and establishing this support requires the maximum effort of everyone on board.
“When you build the right culture in an organization, you can deal with basically anything that’s thrown at you because every one of your people are committed to the cause,” Reed said.
However, Reed said, building the right culture in an organization doesn’t happen overnight.
“This is not something that you can do by standing on the top of a mountain and say ‘Hey you guys and gals, we want you committed to the company,’” he said. “You do it by literally spending years before that building the right culture in the business.”
Reed, who served as a member of the three-executive Office of the President of gaming company Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., got into the hotel and casino business at an early age and was named chief financial officer of a big hotel in London when he was 27, he said.
“I wasn’t born into affluence and wealth,” Reed said. “I lived on the other side of the railroad tracks.”
In his youth, Reed worked in London for five years in an investment banking business. That’s when he started making money, he said.
“When I was doing my accounting studies I was poor, really poor,” he said. “Then I got into the hotel and casino business and I’ve been in the hotel and casino business for 35 years.”
In recent years, Gaylord Entertainment Company has relied on its company culture to succeed, Reed said.
“We’re very fortunate. We got a good culture and we got good management in our business that is on top of things,” he said.
Reed also said he believes Gaylord Entertainment Company has stayed successful in this struggling economy because it has a good connection with its customers.
“Our customers love our company. They believe that we care about them and that we’re not just there to extract money from them,” Reed said.
Choosing the right company to work for is key, he emphasized.
“If you work for an organization that’s cares about people and you’re a good individual — you’re a reasonably ‘starved’ person — you’ll get watered and you’ll get nourished to be able to grow and expand your areas of influence,” Reed said.
Comments
artieatgrapevine 1 year, 11 months ago
I live in Grapevine TX near the Texan. I have known several people that have worked and still work for the Texan. The employees are called "Stars". I don't have enough room here to go into everything that has gone on with the employees but Gaylord once being an honorable company has become the laughing stock of the hospitality business. Collin Reed lost millions until Robert Rowling became the majority stockholder. Mr. Reed talks big about his employee relations but he could not be more detached. The Texan makes money because of the best sales staff in the nation that was in place prior to John Imaizumi becoming GM and the vibrant location in spite of the wretched management. They keep the executive offices locked because they have such a bad reputation in the community. Imaizumi the GM has surrounded himself with unqualified yes people, several of which he has sexual relationships even though he is married with children. His behavior is common knowledge throughout the hotel and local industry. Many many qualified people that once believed in the "Stars" concept have been fired when one of Imaizumi's snitches found out they disapprove of his behavior. GET has spent hundreds of thousands paying off lawsuits brought by bogus terminations. I once held several thousand shares of GET stock but when I learned the real truth I sold out and reinvested elsewhere. I suspect Mr. Reed is still there because he is too expensive to terminate. It is truly a shame the Gaylord name is associated with such a despicable group of individuals. I strongly advise people coming out of college intending to join the hospitality industry look at one of the other major organizations. Look at he companies with a low turnover. I think out of the original 1500 some odd people hired by the Texan there are less than 25 left. I thought when Mr. Rowlings came into the picture something other than the almighty dollar might take priority. That is what makes Colin Reed's comments in this article so ridiculous. Do Not believe anything Colin Reed says.
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