I was first introduced to this idea of helping each other by Shannon Derrick, CMP with the Wyndham Hotel Group. At the time, he was the President of the Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International. He was making presentations as one of our industry leaders during the most challenging period of the Great Recession. He challenged all of us in the industry to do business with each other to get us out of our tough times.

I am going to use his same concept to challenge all of us in the hospitality industry to work together, to do business with each other and to help one another in 2012. After all, we are in the people business and our success is all about our industry relationships and working together. We can call it ‘industry friends helping industry friends’.

How will this work? We need to be better listeners and do a better job of understanding what our current customers, potential customers, vendors and industry partners need or are concerned about. Then, from our relationships and network of industry resources, we need to take action by asking ourselves:

• How can I help?
• Can I introduce them to someone that can help solve their challenge?
• Can I introduce them to someone that needs their product or service?
• Do I need their product or service?
• Would partnering with them enable me to grow my own business?
• Do I have a product or service that can help them?

The best form of helping each other is a word of mouth referral. The more you refer others, the more you will be referred. With that in mind, we need to be willing to help others and to ask for help from others when we need it. There are many in our industry that might be able to help or may be interested in the product or services you offer.

“Asking for help does not mean we are weak or incompetent. It usually indicates an advanced level of honesty and intelligence.”

Anne Wilson Schaef

Finally, this concept can also be used in our personal lives with our friends and neighbors. Instead of just being a good friend who listens, be a friend who listens and takes action to help them solve their challenge.

In order to ensure a successful year, let’s focus on helping each other- ‘industry friends helping industry friends’ in 2012!