It is necessary for any young executive to sell oneself and make one's presence felt in the chosen arena in today's competitive world, General Manager of Fortune Inn Srikanya (an ITC-WelcomeGroup hotel) Charles Kinsinger said here on Monday.
Delivering a guest lecture organised by the Business Line Club and sponsored by Tata Photon Plus at Dr. L. Bullayya College of Management on ‘Service marketing in relation to the hospitality sector', he noted what counted was one's presence, personality, particularly in the service sector. “Service is something intangible, you can't display it like a product and wax eloquent on its features. Your competitors may provide the same, or similar kind of product or service, but what draws the customer to you is your personality. Put all the zest and creative energy you can muster into the job, and be intelligent about it, the results will follow,” he exhorted the students.
Mr. Kinsinger spoke about his life and career in the ITC group as well as Microsoft. The son of a railway driver from a small village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, he was not sure of what to do with himself after finishing his school (plus two) education, when he heard of a course in hotel management and took a fancy to it. “My father was against it, as he felt ‘hotel management' was just a euphemism for doing the dishes in a big hotel. But my mother, a school teacher, was more understanding and also my brother guided me properly. I managed to go to the UK to obtain a degree in hotel management which fetched me a job in the ITC first and subsequently in Microsoft as a project manager. After serving for sometime in Microsoft, I rejoined the ITC,” he said.
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He also narrated “the most challenging assignment of his career” hosting the then Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, when he spent a week in Kumarakom lake resort in Kottayam district of Kerala. Mr. Kinsinger was the operations manager in charge of the resort at the time.
He spoke of the need to start a change process, get rid of old memories and past traditions, and take advantage of the present opportunities. “You should not, however, jettison the core ethical values in the bargain. Ethics and business do go together, whatever the cynics may say. Otherwise, even if you achieve success, you will not lead a creative, fulfilling life,” he said.
Dean of the Department of Management Studies K.V.S. Patnaik presided over the meeting.
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