Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy by Isadore Sharp, Founder, President and CEO is an autobiography that is woven into the history of the renowned Four Seasons five-star hotel chain. Isadore Sharp started out as a builder and ended up as a global five-star hotel management mogul.

Four Seasons built a brand based on delivering impeccable quality and service, and it did so by creating the culture within the company to make it possible while building a globally recognized brand in the process. Its business model is based on these four pillars: quality, service, culture and brand. By following the golden rule, which is to treat others as you would like to be treated, the company must seek out employees first, including front-line workers, knowing that they will take care of the clientele. The company lived the talk. Employees were given the authority and flexibility to make decisions that cared for customers.

Like the most successful brands and companies that were built to last, Isadore Sharp looked at other best-in-class companies to identify products and services that could be transported to his organization. It looked for best practices in other industries and countries. And he paid attention to details; the devil is always in the details. He introduced the concierge service, an idea he borrowed from a European company. He first tried the service in Washington DC, and it was so popular that he introduced it to other hotels. Soon after, competitors followed suit.

In 1968, after his wife Rosalie returned from a spa, she commented that the spa food tasted better, so Isadore did some research to find out what the guests’ eating trends were and what their competitors were up to.

Also after a brief vacation with Rosalie at Canyon Ranch in Arizona, a premier spa and fitness resort, she asked two vice presidents who were overseeing six hotel projects at the time to investigate the feasibility of including spas. Being the first to introduce gyms in hotels, the vice presidents reported that the spa would be a good complement to fitness.

Over the years, the Four Seasons had many industry firsts: bathrobes, shampoo, non-smoking floors, hair dryers, makeup mirrors, healthy cooking, etc. When he copied what was done in other industries and countries, he made substantial improvements.

Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy It is divided into four parts:

Part I: The immigrant’s child

Part II: Starting from the top

Part III: Community and culture

Part IV: A New Approach

Part V: Worldwide Excellence

Part VI: In a league of their own

Part VII: Staying Ahead

And each part includes multiple chapters chronicling Isadore Sharp’s journey and those he interacted with and worked with while building a global brand. Sharp provides many examples to demonstrate what your team did and how they did it. Speak frankly about their successes and setbacks. He supplemented the skills he lacked by hiring the right people. And it allowed people to do their job by trusting and respecting them.

The organization expanded primarily through joint ventures, which were created by building lasting relationships based on mutual advantage and trust. The company had developed such a reputation that deals were constantly being filed, facilitating the organization’s rapid expansion into hard-to-penetrate regions. It includes the expansion process for many of the regions, the problems the company faced, how it solved them, and the bottom line.

To become a global brand in the hospitality industry, there are many things Four Seasons did, some of which are included below.

Things that make the Four Seasons unique

1. Hire local talent and promote from within.
2. Each hotel is unique and captures the nuances of the area in which it is located.
3. Each hotel is better in every way than the one before.
4. They have very unique spas.
5. Hire the best chefs for a first-rate dining experience.
6. Sign long-term management contracts for impeccable service and business model continuity.
7. Hire by personality and train for technical skills.
8. People come before profits.
9. Leaders and innovators.
10. The brand pre-sells the hotel, so potential joint venture partners are constantly pitching opportunities.

Five great ideas

1. Do not make judgments and decisions in a vacuum, also observe how they will affect others.
2. Continual minor improvements, when added together over time, ultimately lead to major changes.
3. Challenges and setbacks are often opportunities in disguise.
4. Offering real value to customers generates benefits.
5. Be flexible, make decisions quickly, and have sixteen opportunities as they arise.

On
Four Seasons: The History of Business Philosophy by Isadore Sharp there are countless examples that can be duplicated for those who want to excel through quality and service. To begin your journey, ask yourself the following two questions.

1. What would customers consider important?
2. What will customers recognize as value?

While i read
Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy, I noticed different similarities between him and
Nordstrom’s Path to Customer Service Excellence. The similarities make perfect sense as both companies compete on quality and service in their respective industries. For those interested in quality, service and entrepreneurship, below are some previous posts for your perusal.

I recommend Four Seasons: The Story of a Business Philosophy from Isadore Sharp because there are so many ideas you can use. And Apple’s Steve Jobs introduced the concierge service at the Apple Store based on the Four Seasons concierge service.