Saturday Briefing

David Carey

By David Carey   This is the last in a series of eight articles written by Outrigger’s executives in support of our Value of the Week program. Every other week one of our company’s executives introduced the value of the week and shared what that value meant to them. This week’s author is David Carey, Outrigger’s President and CEO, and this week’s Value of the Week is: Aloha—We treat each other as we want to be treated—with love, compassion and dignity. – Ka‘ipo Ho

We are fortunate to have been left with the legacy of Hawaiian values, which have been so admirably enhanced by the multiplicity of cultures that comprise our ‘ohana. Aloha has been one of the core values since the beginning of Outrigger’s journey. As the final value in our statement of values, it is, in many respects, the most important. In our values statement Aloha means:

. . . we treat each other as we want to be treated,
with love, compassion and dignity.

Perhaps more than any other value, Aloha has the most influence on our lives at Outrigger. Even though our values statement is relatively simple on its surface, the word “aloha” is much used and holds many meanings for many people in many different contexts.

It is used as a greeting — a simple greeting to a guest in the hallway, or at the Front Desk, or on the phone. It is used as a way to say goodbye whether with a smile, a hug or just a warm look in the eyes. It is used to describe how someone behaves. We often say that he or she really acted with Aloha. Our guest comments are full of wonderful stories of how members of our Outrigger ‘ohana acted with Aloha. It is used to describe the feeling you get when you are with a crowd or a group where one might say there was a real feeling of Aloha in the room or at an event. Our employee recognition events and ceremonies are a good example, as they are filled with real feelings of aloha.

To me, the value of Aloha describes a way of life and a way of being. For example, one of my favorite bumper stickers is the one that says “Live Aloha.” How we live our lives starts out with values. They are our guides to building relationships with our coworkers, our guests, our business partners, our owners, our communities — and even our own families. We forge those relationships by treating each other with Aloha — love, compassion and dignity.

One of our Ho‘okipa orientation concepts is “Aloha Begins with Me.” We cannot expect others to be loving, compassionate or respectful to us if we are not first demonstrating those behaviors ourselves. It is my belief that if we live our Aloha value every day, our lives become richer and more fulfilling and I know our guests, coworkers, families, friends and members of our communities will be enriched as well.

Aloha!