Boy, That Was Some Good Green...

Blog #3

Rancho Margot

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

It seems today in our world of tourism, we are fixated on the abundance of trends. Just like the latest fashions from Marc Jacobs or Mr. Ralph Lauren, it seems that the masterminds behind the latest trends in travel are becoming the fashion rockstars of the tourism industry. It is becoming more and more apparent that the word green is no longer a color, but could be argued as a belief, a lifestyle, a message, and to some extremists, even a religion! For the focus of this article, let’s just say green echoes the words sustainability, renewable resources, and conscious thinking. Never has a trio of these words defined so perfectly the trends that are occurring at the Hotel Rancho Margot, Lake Arenal, Costa Rica.

Over the past summer I had the chance to experience the sights, sounds, smells and culture of the ‘Pura Vida’ lifestyle in Costa Rica. Particularly, this trip included a three-night stay in the middle of the rainforest. No seriously, this hotel is completely off the grid and is so sustainable, even recycled newspaper tends to get a little jealous. One of the major aspects that make this hotel operation not only practical, but successful is the management team. Rancho Margot was first designed to be an organic farm, but after a few pitched tents from friendly expats and outdoorists alike, it quickly remodeled itself into becoming a fully sustainable ecolodge. I mean fully sustainable in every sense of the word. Practically everything that is utilized throughout the ecolodge is made onsite of the property or somewhere within the general region of Costa Rica. This is important to note since green tourism was made a national policy in Costa Rica. Everything from the bar soap, to the benches were made on property. All of the daily food for guests and workers are derived from Rancho Margot’s organic garden, cows, pigs, and chickens, which make’s way for the ultimate in healthy dining.

There have been many definitions to the concept of ecotourism, and many corporations and hotels alike have utilized this concept of not only ecotourism, but similar catch phrases like sustainability, and going green to jump on the green train. It is important to distinguish particular entities that simply claim they are sustainable, but simply lack in the actual substance otherwise known as “greenwashing.” Let it be known that Ranchot Margot clearly stands as a living and visual definition of what it means to be sustainable.

One key aspect to note about the background of Rancho Margot is that it is family owned and operated, which can ultimately ensure a stable work environment. Additionally, some of the philanthropy that Rancho Margot includes would be it’s reforestation, ranger station, animal rescue and reintegration center, and it’s future developments for a on site school for local persons of Costa Rica. Keeping in mind that there is no actual requirement for any of these good works to be in existence, but when talking to Frederick Sostheim who is the Director of Operations, he simply replied, “It’s the right thing to do.” Perhaps many lessons can be learned by taking one trip to this fabulous place. Lessons about sustainability and organic farming, or deeper lessons about one’s self and attaining or restoring that balance of harmony with nature. Not too many hotels and resorts with 1,000 count sheets and convey the magnitude of that message. It is important of visiting the property, to take a tour by Fredrick of the Ranch to fully understand and appreciate all the innovative technologies and projects that are occurring and in progress at Rancho Margot.

Resource:

Sostheim, F. (2006). Rancho margot. Retrieved from http://ranchomargot.org/

Book Review on Management !

Blog #2 Assignment:

On Becoming A Leader

By, Warren Bennis

The author of this book is a Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California as well as a consultant to a variety of multinational companies and governments that span the globe. In addition, Warren also sits as chairman of the board of the Kennedy School’s Center for Public leadership at Harvard University. Through this article, we will discuss the major hotspots of his book, which include the characteristics of a manager vs. a leader and what differentiates the two. What is often missing or overlooked in the common workplace is the managers art of leadership. Aside from the “corporate clichés” of management that echo words such as micromanagement, promoting synergy, and scheduling, it is the ‘how’ that plays a big role that ultimately brings out the x-factor of leadership among management. The overall objective of this review is to provide a guiding light and relight the match of leadership and let it burn the candle of management to provide for a more successful and balanced manager.

In chapter 2 of Bennis On Becoming A Leader, the majority of the chapter deals with a manager vs. leader and the distinct differences between the two. Bennis describes the importance to develop and implement leaders, not managers. Personally, the way I distinct managers from leaders is that manager’s ideas tend to be scripted over rehearsed, and monotone compared to that of a leader who’s ideas and tendencies are fresh, innovative and based off inspiration and motivation catered through this idea of a guiding light. Through the areas of the manager, the leader, and the intervention between the two, let us begin to understand what makes these certain ideas tick.

Among the list of what differentiates a manager from a leader on page 39 of the textbook, I’ve decided to choose three that stuck with me the most. First one being “The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.” The second is, “The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.” The third and final is, “The manager maintains, the leader develops. It is these three ideologies that differentiate a manager from a leader. The manager’s tendencies tend to be structured and read from a book. Oftentimes throughout the jobs I’ve had in the past, the managers words were not heartfelt, they’ve always seemed as if it followed a structure from a corporate policy rather than an actual meaningful, insightful and developmental methods. According to the international journal of project management, “Today’s project managers may not be equipped or trained adequately to handle complex projects even though significant efforts have been put into professionalizing project management and providing an ever growing number of project management education courses based on the traditional project management tools and techniques.” (Mengel 2008) This shows how the majority of managers are missing this “x” factor and to me I believe that is where self-reflection, inner-voice and independence come into play once again.

A leader already has these qualities, I believe a leader contains all the aspects of a great manager but has that x-factor that brings inspiration and progress to the table. Granted managers and leaders can both be successfully applicable pending on the type of work. For example, a General Manager for a winning professional baseball team, we would aim for consistency and sticking to the script so the qualities for the manager would be most applicable here. However a General Manager for a marketing firm, one would search for a leader with management qualities, keeping your head on the horizon and adapting effortlessly to change in trends.

I believe the main factor that differentiates a manager and a leader is experience within diversity, experience within adversity, and learning from experiences to fuel independence and self governed thoughts while maintaining this guiding vision. Anyone has the ability to become a manager or a leader. Same goes with the fact that a manager can become a leader, it just takes experience within these three criteria and reflection upon them.

Let’s not think that a manager is lets say, “better off” than a leader, or vise versa, but rather think if a having both management and leadership skills coupled together is the importance of management in a profession. Warren Bennis book opens new light to the term manager, and should be on the shelf of any aspiring, existing, future leaders and managers for tomorrow.

Works Cited:

Mengel, T (2008). Preparing Project Managers to Deal With Complexity-Advanced Project Management Education. International Journal of Project Management, 26, Retrieved October 9th, 2009, from http://www.sciencedirect.com

Bennis, W (2003). On Becoming A Leader. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books