09 September 2013: my first day as Inbound Manager
Dear friends,
I am proud and enthusiastic to start this new position. My goal is to bring the Company to the
next step. And all I need is You!
Before to tell you what’s going to change, and how we are going to work, I’d like to explain why
I accepted this new position:
 I’d like to see you happy to come to work;
 I’d like people look at us as an example of excellence;
 I’d like to improve the way we do Tourism, and be rewarded as ‘’the best inbound Tour
Operator in 2014’’ (why Diethlem, Borneo Eco Tours or Amazing Borneo can, and we
couldn’t?!?);
 I’d like to make a winning team, proud of the Company you are working for.
Let’s get started. Let’s change the way we think about our products, customers and
communication.
Fours Seasons, Apple, Ritz Cartlon: all these are examples of extraordinary customer
experience. But what does it mean to provide extraordinary customer experience?
It’s all about communication; in fact, every single decision in our lives, individual or as an
organization, is a piece of communication, it’s our way to say who we are.
How can we help each other to progress, to reach the next step?
At the end of the day, human animals are social animals and we are very survival, depending on
our ability to form communities, to form culture.
What’s a community? What’s a culture?
It’s a group of people with a common set of values and believes.
What’s a country?
It’s a group of people with a common set of values and believes.
What’s a company?
It should be a group of people with a common set of values and believes.
When we are surrounded by people who believe what we believe, something remarkable
happen, trust emerges.
We need trust, and when we are surrounded by people who believe what we believe, and trust
start to emerge, we trust them and they trust us, we are more willing to take risks, we are more
willing to experiments (which requires failures); we are more willing to explore with the
confidence that if we fail, if we turn out our back, those in our community who trust what we
trust, will look after us and help us. We are very survival on it.
We are not good in everything; all of us got straights and weakness and from today our goal is
not to fix our weaknesses, from today our goal is to amplify our straights and surround
ourselves with people can do what we can’t do.
But it is not only based on skills, applications and experience, it is based in what you believe.
Simply being good in something and having somebody else good in what you are not good
doesn’t mean you will trust each other.
The sense of trust comes from the sense of common values and believes.

Example: if you are in KL and you hear somebody with the Sabahan accent, you are best friends in
one second but if you go to Paris and in the MRT you hear somebody from KL this time…one click
and you are best friend.
Because when you are surrounded by people don’t believe what you believe, when you are in a
strange environment you don’t feel comfortable, you look for anyone who shares of the same
values and believes you have, and you start to form a very real and intense bond with them,
simply because they have a basic understanding of how you grow up, the things you care about,
with the life you have back home.
The same is true when we go to work: do we wanna go to work with people who understand
us, who believe what we believe, who have similar views of the world?
Nothing to do with their opinions and differences that we share, that’s good that’s called
diversity that’s called advantages to problem solving which means we can look at things from a
different angle and come up with solutions.
What I mean is why we should help each other at the first place?
What creates that sense of common values and believes? What creates that sense of trust?
We are survival depending on it.
1) So let’s start to think of our values and believes.
Let’s work on our corporate culture and our brand values.
2) Don’t focus on selling staff (or making quotations), let’s focus on building
relationships and try to make people’s life better.
In each task we do, ask yourself: did I do everything possible to create a customer for life?
3) Think of our mission and vision.
Let’s have a clear vision of the type of experience we plan to offer to our clients, suppliers, and
guests.
We are enthusiastic people who want to help others to achieve their dreams.
What’s going to change from today?
1) People first: a manager is nothing without people. Employees are the greatest assets of
our Company. I will listen my team, serve them, learn from them, always support,
empower, reward them and I will make sure you are happy!
2) More communication: a monthly meeting and a every-two-weeks meeting
Create more discussion in order to lead to a better solution, together);
From today, let’s have a daily opportunity for feedback between you and the team.
3) Challenge to think: understand our team mindset, capabilities and areas of
improvement. Challenge the team to think and stretch to reach for more
(every month, reward the ‘’idea who can change the world’’);
4) More innovation: be innovative to be competitive.
But don’t forget that innovation cannot flourish without the open exchange of ideas and
feedback (more communication).
5) More team interaction: let’s work as a team and not as individual.
We will start to work on new projects (villa, wedding,...) as a team.
6) More respect: I will care of you. Your problems will became my problems.
7) Get it better before get bigger: You will be encouraged to improve in one or two areas
as a part of your ongoing personal and professional development
(let’s reward the employee who can have a lecture of an hour about new skills ; for
instance, a research of how to penetrate to a new market, how to improve the quotations,
how to develop a new communication campaign). (for front line employees as drivers and
guides, see pag 68).

8) Listen first: understand the need and desires of the internal and external stakeholders:
employees and customers.
(credo : we value each customer problem as an opportunity to shine. We listen and
respond immediately to all feedback taking personal initiative to make it right).
SEEK FEEDBACK, LISTEN, AND ACT ON THAT FEEDBACK. (start to see a feedback as a
gift). Measure Guests feedback (and ask to the TOP TO a feedback of how we have
managed the peak season – see pag.56)
9) More sharing: we encourage open (and fearless) dialogue with our people and
customers to improve and achieve the highest levels of team performance, procedure
and product.
We will share our ideas, knowledge, mistakes (see incident report - compulsory).
10) Let’s spend more time together and let’s have fun!
11) Let the self initiative be part of our culture
CHANGING HABITS TAKE EFFORT AND FOCUS, BUT IT’S NEVER TOO LATETO
EVOLVE THE WAY WE DO THINGS.
I promise to follow every day the above points.
And if anytime I won’t do it, I authorize you to blame me!
With love,
Albino
09 September 2013