David Kong, Founder, It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast, interviewed by Rachel Humphrey

In this interview, David tells his story as an immigrant, how he progressed up the ladder to become the CEO of one of the largest hotel companies in the world, and how he intends to use his time during retirement to help women and minority groups achieve their career aspirations. He reveals how he took risks, built networks and found champions to achieve his success. Finally, he offers advice he would give to his younger self and to the audience.

Transcript

(Rachel) I am Rachel Humphrey on behalf of DEI A advisors. Over the last couple of days, I have been watching David Letterman's. My next guest needs no introduction and I feel like that is absolutely true of today. But welcome David Kong. 

(David) Thank you. Appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation.

(Rachel) David we are very excited to see what you are doing with DEI Advisors as this next chapter of your life. We're gonna talk about that in a couple of minutes. Before we do, I wanted to just give a personal thank you to you. You've been such a wonderful supporter of me, of my career, and of so many in the hospitality industry. We are grateful for your inspiration and your guidance and really look forward to hearing a little bit more about your personal journey, how you got to where you are today so that we can continue to be inspired by that. Before we get into a little bit about d e I advisors, tell us about your journey to leadership from being born in Hong Kong to serving as a busboy in the hospitality industry to, at the time of your retirement being, I believe, the longest serving tenured global brand president and c e o. Who is David Kong and how did you get here? 

(David) I was born and raised in Hong Kong. My parents fled communism and escaped to Hong Kong in the late 1940s. There they raised a family. I have three other brothers and it was pretty tough for them. Their only goal in life was to work hard and save enough money to send all four kids abroad and so they can build a better life for themselves. I really admired them for that. I came to this country to go to the University of Hawaii. And when I arrived, I had no friends, no connections, and no way back. It's a one-way ticket.  After paying for tuition and rent, I recognized that I had to get a job right away. And that's how I started in the industry as a dishwasher first, and then a busboy. After a while, I begin to wonder…  I remember looking at the restaurant manager and then the food and beverage director and then the general manager and asking myself, why not? And that's how I began to progress up the ladder.  I was working at Hyatt as a general manager. One day I got a call asking me to come to the corporate office to head up the business process re-engineering efforts for Hyatt. At that time, and this was in the early 1990s. Nobody has even heard of business process re-engineering, but I decided to take that job and it launched my corporate career at Hyatt.  From that point, I went on to sales and marketing and then after a while, I went to work for KPMG Consulting. I did that for about a year, and did an engagement for Best Western. They liked it so much that they asked me to work for them and execute the strategy - a consultant's worst nightmare! But anyway, I progressed up the ladder very quickly at Best Western. I had five promotions in three and a half years to become the president and CEO. I was in that position for 17 and a half years as president and CEO. 

(Rachel) That is fantastic. And those of us who have gotten to both follow your career and watch that have been continually impressed with your growth, with your inspiration to others for what you represent for the hospitality industry. And like someone else at this interview right now, you made the decision to retire late last year.  For many people, retirement is a time to sit back and relax. No one would blame you. You've worked hard your entire career. You've received accolades upon accolades, but not you. There is another chapter here of DEI Advisors, empowering Personal Success. Tell us a little bit about what the organization is, what you hope to accomplish, and why the time is right for this in the hospitality industry. 

(David) Yeah. Being an immigrant, I know firsthand the difficulties and setbacks that many of the minority groups face. And for women in particular, you don't see too many women in  high level leadership positions. I've been on CEO panels at different industry conferences, and frequently I'm the lone minority of the whole panel. And this is year upon year that I see that happen. It's just not right and it's not fair. So, I decided that upon my retirement, I would dedicate some time to improving the situation. Now I must say that there are a lot of great companies like Hired and Hilton Marriott, and they are improving the situation. They have a lot of great programs. Wyndham has a “Women Own The Room” program, which is fantastic, and I really applaud all their efforts. The void that I see is really about the person himself or herself and what the individuals can do. For me, it's really about personal empowerment - how to take advantage of the opportunity that will be presented at some point and to prepare oneself for those opportunities. 

(Rachel) That is excellent and certainly something the industry desperately needs right now. You mentioned your experience in serving on high level CEO panels and the lack of representation of diverse groups there. I've also heard you talk at industry conferences about the triangle effect. The hospitality industry from the entry level up to the C-suite. Can you tell us a little bit about what your observations have been there during your career? 

(David) If you ask people, is our industry diverse? I think just about everyone would say our industry is very diverse. There are a lot of minority folks working in our industry, and it's very representative of our customer base, which is also very diverse. But the truth of the matter is, if you think about the organization hierarchy as a triangle. On the bottom rung, you have a lot of minorities working in those bottom positions as housekeepers or in different back of the house positions and even as the front desk or whatnot. But it's concentrated at the bottom rung. As you move up this hierarchy or this triangle, you'll see less and less representation. One might conclude that the industry is far from being diverse and inclusive if you look at just the upper rung. So that's the situation that we face, and I think everybody in the industry is intent on correcting that because we all recognize that it's just not right. 

(Rachel) And I think you make a good point. It's not a women's issue or a diversity issue. It's really an industry-wide issue that's gonna take all of us working together, learning, being educated, and having conversations to really see that change come about. When you were talking earlier about the different roles that you had leading up to your path to C-Suite, obviously you were going to need to continue to develop new skills, learn new skills. Where do you turn for continuous growth of your skillset personally and professionally? You've been heavily engaged with AHLA, US Travel, AAHOA and other organizations, but where do you look to continue to find resources, to get guidance to develop your skillset. 

(David) I’ve always looked for opportunities to broaden my horizon. I would volunteer to get involved with different organizations or different initiatives a company may have, and that's how I get to meet people and get to learn new things. And that's how I broadened my horizon, and I think that's really important - to be able to continuously learn. I'm a firm believer of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and one of the habits is to continuously sharpen the saw. We have to look for opportunities to do that. And even now I love to read up on things. I love to ask questions, love to have conversations with people, and these are all ways that we can enrich ourselves and have a better understanding of how things work. 

(Rachel) For somebody who's out there listening, how would you recommend that they go about looking for resources that are a good fit for them?

(David) I'll quote another habit, which is to be proactive. Everything is within our control. We are the master masters of our own destiny. If we want to make it a point to sharpen the saw and improve our skillset or mindset or process set, we can do that. We just have to go and seek out those opportunities and that means getting involved and asking questions and reading up on things and taking an interest in things. And one thing we can do certainly is reach out to our networks in the hospitality industry. Relationships are critical both to elevate your own career but also to be successful in most roles. How have you built your network? And again, it's about being proactive, having a desire to want to build a network. I think a question that we can all ask ourselves is when we volunteer a thought, and nobody pays any attention to it. Then moments later, someone seemingly repeated the same idea in his or her words, and everybody thought It's just such a wonderful idea. And you ask yourself, “What happened?” If that happened to you, I would suggest that you look at how effective you have been in building your network because likely you haven't built a good network where people understand where you're coming from and want to listen to you and like you and therefore want to help you. Building a network is extremely important. If we have higher aspirations in terms of our career, I think one of the most crucial things we have to do is find champions and find advocates, and eventually find mentors. 

(Rachel) I love that. And speaking of finding mentors and champions, you have certainly mentored a tremendous number of people in your career, and you also have had mentors and champions. What are some of the lasting lessons that you've learned from the people who have mentored you? If you have a specific mentor, you can think of the type of messaging that you carry with.

(David) One of the most important things can do is to ask for help. The reality is, as human beings, we all have a strong desire to be helpful. We'd like to be of assistance to other people, and it feels flattering if someone was to ask us for help. I know from my own experience people will say, would you help me think about this? Or would you be my mentor in this regard? Regardless of how busy I was at the time, I always said yes because I have a strong desire to be helpful and I think a lot of people are that way as well. It's really helped me and my career in terms of building a network and finding champions. Just as an example, when it was time for me to be considered for the President CEO's role about 18 years ago. I had already built a relationship, a very strong relationship with the board. I have already impressed them with my work, and they like me personally. So when it's time to consider me among different candidates, it was very easy for them to pick me because I already had a relationship with them. They knew they could trust me and they liked what I had been doing. This is how having a network and having champions and advocates is important. 

(Rachel) I love that. Absolutely. A friend recently introduced me to the concept of a personal board of directors. She said, Rachel, every woman especially, but every person should have a personal board of directors. The people that they turn to, whether it's to help them. Overcome a challenge to celebrate, a good thing, to get them through a tough time.  I know you have relied a lot on your support system throughout your career. How do you identify the people that make up your personal board of directors and in what times do you reach out to them the most? 

(David) I think personal board directors is a wonderful term. For me when I think about a support system, I have been married for 47 years now. I have a very loving and understanding wife. She's my better half in so many different ways. She brings sense to my disappointments, and she has a way to be the loudest champion when things go right, and she's just so thoughtful, understanding, and helpful in so many ways. So that's a support system that I rely on at home, which is really important. The other one is the team that you've built around me. I remember in March, 2020 when the pandemic first reared its ugly head, there was so much uncertainty.  All of us were worried about everything - our professional life, our personal life. We don't want to get sick. And we also worry about the health of the company. There was just so much stress because of the uncertainty. Knowing that I could count on my team, who are all very capable individuals who have been with me for a long time, is reassuring. It's comforting and gave me the strength and courage to endure and eventually prevail from the pandemic. So that's another layer of support system that I count on. And then of course, you have to always manage up. Having a board of directors that you can also count on; being aligned in terms of the strategic intent of the organization, and always in sync in terms of what we want to do and how we want to do it. That's also an important layer of support network. So when you think about support network, you have to think about a multifaceted approach.  

(Rachel) I think that's great and I have had the pleasure of spending some time with your amazing wife support system and can clearly see that as well, which leads perfectly into the topic of work life management. We talk about balance. Is it really balance? I'm not sure that it is. I think some of us manage better than others. But what have been some strategies? Obviously your role with Best Western and your commitments throughout the industry have you on the road a tremendous amount of time. That’s an incredibly difficult lifestyle for anyone. How have you managed to really find some sort of relationship between a career and a personal life outside of the career? 

(David) Yes. I remember coming up the ladder, I used to be so upset because I wasn't able to attend my kids’ recital or important events at school. My daughter was running cross country, but I couldn't watch her. There were so many regrets. But upon reflection, now that I'm retired and my kids are grown, my daughter is 40 years old now, and we have frank conversations and I ask her about that and she said, “Dad, you did your best.” She has no regrets. I have no regrets. And we had a great time. She remembers fondly the good times that we've had together.  When you think about balance, you think it's even, but it's not, it doesn't need to be that way. It's just whatever works. And as long as you are putting in the effort, you're trying your best, and you've satisfied your conscious, then that's fine. And I think kids are very resilient and they have a way of making things work and they have a fair understanding, especially when they get older. They certainly get it because my daughter now is in the same situation. She has three daughters, and she works full-time and her husband works full-time and it's really hard to balance things. That's why I think that the word balance really isn't a suitable follow up to the work life phrase. 

(Rachel) I love that and I think that makes perfect sense. And I think that you're right. We pick and choose what's really important to be at. Try to be at what we can. But I do think they're resilient and they do, as you mentioned, start getting it from the other side. Let's pivot a little bit to the opportunity to take risks. Every successful leader is going to have to take risks at some point in their career. How do you evaluate risks when you're faced with them? And do you have any examples? Maybe one that you've taken that was either successful or unsuccessful in what you learned from that.

(David) Taking risk is important, especially when you're progressing up the ladder. I remember many important risks that I've taken in my career. I mentioned jumping from the comfort of being a general manager living in a hotel – taking the elevator to work and ordering room service for dinner. Jumping from that kind of lifestyle to working in the corporate office where the vice presidents are a dime a dozen. That's a hard adjustment. That's a big risk that I took taking a job that nobody really knew how to do. And it's very ill-defined because what’s business processor engineering, what does that really mean and how do you go about doing it? And I also took on the risk to build the database marketing capabilities at Hyatt. This was back in the early 1990s. Nobody's even heard of database marketing. Database? What's that? But I was able to build a data warehouse, set up the data modeling capabilities and began database targeting, segmentation and doing one-on-one marketing at that time. It gave me great experience, but that's a risk that I took on. Going from Hyatt to becoming a consultant was a big risk but it paid off in a big way. I don't think I could have been successful at Best Western if I hadn't been a consultant because it's such a dramatic difference going from Hyatt to Best Western. If I hadn't been a consultant, I wouldn't have been able to do that job. But if you look at my five promotions in three and a half years to become CEO, it's because of all the risk I've taken, which had given me such a diverse foundation that when it's time to be considered for the role, nobody has the kind of knowledge base and skillset that I had. And if you look at what I was able to achieve with our team at Best Western in the ensuing years, how we transformed the organization, that's also because of all the risks that we have taken along the way and the risks that we continue to take in transforming the company. So I think if you want to build a successful career, you have to be thoughtful about taking risks.

(Rachel) That's one of the consistent things we hear from people who have risen to that level at the C suite and are successful. That is having knowledge of every working part or different roles in different opportunities that may have been well outside of their skillset or a comfort zone, but allowed them to then have that whole package that was needed for that role. When you're taking risks, they're not always going to be successful. But also, sometimes you're going to stumble upon obstacles you didn't even know were out there. What are some of the strategies you use in overcoming obstacles, and what would you recommend for people who are faced with a different type of challenge than maybe they've seen before?

(David) When we face challenges or suffer a  setback, we have to ask if it's something that's within our control or influence or it's outside of control and influence if it's within our control and influence. Again, be proactive. Be constructive in how you think about things. I remember when we tried to split Best Western from one brand to three. Best Western was a single brand for 50 some years, and we proposed splitting it into three different levels. You can imagine the pushback I received from the organization. That's a tremendous challenge. And my predecessor who tried to do that actually had to leave the company as a result. So in that situation, I basically asked myself very constructively, what are all the things that I could do to overcome this challenge? And I listed them one by one. Some of them are related to individuals, helping them overcome their fear and anxiety about that change. Some of it is helping to paint a picture about what the future looks like and why we should go down this path. And then some of it is how exactly are we going to do that without compromising the organization? If you think constructively, there are always things you can do to overcome whatever challenge you're facing.  I would suggest that don't let the challenge overwhelm you. You just sit back and look at it very clinically and try to figure out what exactly are the challenges? Break them down one by one and then come up with a plan and address them one by one. 

(Rachel) That is great advice. I think that's something that I follow as well. I like to have facts and information and then try to address from a solutions standpoint. Over the last few years, maybe even decade or so, we've heard a lot about developing a personal brand, perhaps even having a personal brand statement - Who you are, who you want to be known as. What is David Kong's personal brand statement? 

(David) That's a tough one because it has evolved over time. As I become older and hopefully wiser, I began to realize that what I was striving to be known for is actually not that important. I remember coming up the ladder and in my first GM's job, for example, I want to be the best GM. I want to be the smartest guy at the table. I want to be the most successful and this and that. But that's shallow in many ways. Now I realize that as I look back and I ask myself, who are some of the people that I admire the most? I have to say it's my parents because they went to Hong Kong with nothing and their whole goal in life was to just work hard and save enough money to send the kids abroad so the kids can have a better future. That's the kind of personal brand that I like to have. It's not about being successful. It's not about being smart. All that is good, but it's very shallow. Nobody will remember you because there's always someone that's smarter. There's always someone who's going to be more successful. But if you're kind, you are compassionate and you're always helpful, people always remember that.  The way that you treat people is how they will remember you. And especially during the pandemic I experienced it firsthand. Kind words go a long way, especially when everyone is facing such unbelievable challenges and difficulties. My personal brand when I am not around and people talk about me, I would like them to say he's a very kind and considerate person. 

(Rachel) I can tell you, I don't know anyone who would say that David Kong's personal brand is shallow, so I can guarantee you that part and I think you would find more than a kind person when people are talking about you. You mentioned how that personal brand has changed over time. And when I'm on panels and talking with audiences, one of my favorite questions is, what advice would we give to our younger selves? And I love hearing it from other people because I do think that reflection is an incredibly important part of personal growth. I'm curious what you would tell your younger self. I also want to add one little aspect of that, though I have noticed that my advice to my younger self in the nine months since I retired would be completely different than the answer I used to give, which was very authentic at the time. So I'm curious what you would tell your younger self, but also if that has changed at all with the perspective you now have in this new chapter of yours. 

(David) Yes, for sure. That perspective has definitely evolved over time as well. I think if you asked me, the advice I would give myself when I was a general manager, I would have probably said you’ve got to work extra hard and you've got to do this and that to be more successful, which is understandable and there's nothing wrong with it. But in keeping with the personal brand discussion, I think the personal advice I would give myself is take time and smell the roses and take time to help people along the way because if nobody helps other people, what would this world become? That's why I want to do what I do right now - to pay it forward and make a difference in terms of helping other people become more successful. I realized that in the last few years when I was CEO that if I can help those around me to be more successful, the rest would take care of itself. And sure enough that's been the case. I'm very proud that when I left, we had several strong internal candidates as CEO, and in fact, one of them did get my job. And I'm proud of that because I was able to make a difference in people's lives that way. So the personal advice I would give to my younger self is to find ways to make a difference that would help people.

(Rachel) I think I started off this interview by telling you've made a tremendous difference in my life and in my career as well, and I know that you have for many others. As we are getting ready to wrap up, I wanted to see if you had any final advice. Again, thinking about the mission of DEI Advisors to empower personal growth or personal success. Tell me any piece of final advice you would give to those watching as to what they can do to really empower their own success? 

(David) As a minority, and I know some women feel this way, sometimes I feel like the world hadn't been fair to me and there's so much injustice and I haven't been treated right. It's natural to have those feelings when things don't go right for us. But keep in mind, nobody likes to work with people with a chip on his or her shoulder, that is not constructive, and nobody likes it. When things don't go right for us, don't try to blame it on something else. Instead, let's be constructive about what can we do about the situation. Change your mindset. Instead of being angry and depressed or frustrated, change the mindset to what can I do about the situation. Be constructive!  I wish I had done that in earlier years . 

(Rachel) I think that's great advice and definitely something nowadays where people are reflecting a lot more throughout the pandemic and other times. What else do you want us to know about DEI Advisors? What you're going to be doing, what the organization is going to be doing? 

(David) We hope to use DEI Advisors to collect a lot of learnings and perspectives from industry leaders, people that are successful. We want to collect their thoughts and perspectives and practices, and share them with everyone to stimulate thinking and empower oneself. As I was trying to say earlier, there are opportunities all around us. The question is, have we prepared ourselves to take advantage of those opportunities? The one regrettable thing that I've observed is frequently the opportunities knock, but the person isn't ready for it - whether it's in terms of skill set or knowledge base, or otherwise not being prepared for that role. Even if a person is successful in getting that role, that person eventually fails because the foundation hasn't been set. So I like to use DEI Advisors as a way to motivate ourselves to get ready for those opportunities. It's about personal empowerment - what we can do to enrich ourselves to prepare for those opportunities.

(Rachel) I think that's really powerful advice and the industry certainly is ready for it. No one better to lead that than you. I know that you've spoken a little bit about DEI Advisors on some panels and when accepting some awards recently, but this is your first opportunity to talk exclusively about it. I am incredibly grateful and honored to be able to participate in that with you and also in DEI Advisors with you. I feel like I've just had a chance to sit down for 30 minutes and talk with a friend about all of the wisdom that you can share and that I have continued to learn from throughout the course of my career. David Kong, thank you very much. 

(Rachel) Thank you. The feeling is mutual. I have the utmost respect and admiration for you as well, Rachel. You are a self-made woman. And look at all that you've accomplished. My deepest respect for you and I've really enjoyed this conversation. And I hope those that tune in would also find the inspiration that I was talking about, empower yourselves to become more successful.

(Rachel) Thank you so much, David. 

(David) Thank you.