We need to ditch talking points. I can feel Amy Friedman (Profiles PR) side-eying me as she reads this. I have, on more than one occasion, diva texted her the morning of a televised interview asking simply “what are my talking points?” I crave the safety of having them floating around in my brain somewhere (in fairness to her, they’re almost always floating around my inbox in an email that I previously read and disposed of). I suspect by now that she knows the contents of the message before opening it and that her first thought is probably, “why do I even bother?” She then sends me some on-brand, thoughtfully crafted, easy-to-digest bullets to guardrail the conversation, not to limit me, more to establish a perimeter. Then I get on camera and immediately hop the fence. I’m the worst. But, so far, it hasn’t ruined us. Not yet, at least. 

In 20+ years in hospitality I’ve always had a “why” brewing just below the surface.  It was never hidden.  Anyone who was paying attention would’ve noticed it and anyone who ever asked knew what the mission was.  “Let’s hand the next generation of hoteliers an industry that’s more fair, more inclusive, more just, and substantially more impactful than the one that we walked into on our first day.”