Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, has come a long way from the housekeeping department of the Houston Marriott.At the start of a tour of duty in Vietnam, Sergeant Roger Dow kept some distance from his men. He believed it was the way to establish leadership; his squad quickly dispelled that notion.
Someone must be on patrol 24-7, and Dow was in charge of the schedule. A soldier pointed out that Dow didn't have any patrol duty of his own.
"I thought as a sergeant I was supposed to be the boss, which meant not having to do what the rest were doing. I realized the message I was communicating and took the 3 a.m. post," explains Dow. "Although I was scared to death, this turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life." He was forced to lead in an environment where everyone's life was at risk.
Dow was a recent college grad and being drafted to serve in Vietnam was a constant, all-too-real possibility. Those fateful papers arrived as he was working at the Houston Marriott. "I can picture that envelope. In it was a letter that read, 'You're part of the greatest fighting force in the world. Your induction is in 30 days.'"
Dow enrolled in paratrooper school and was soon jumping out of planes. He then joined a 12-week training program that earned him the rank of sergeant. "In normal circumstances, it would take much longer to achieve this status, but I was able to become a sergeant in just three months," says Dow.
As he was immersed in the hostilities of the jungle, Dow was pushed so far out of his comfort zone that it was incomprehensible. "I was stretched further than I've ever been stretched in my life, but that's when you grow. We can all do a lot more than we think," he says.
Meetings and Incentives War ZoneDow never expected the industry he holds so dearly, the travel industry, to become a war zone of its own, but that's exactly what happened at the end of last year after the AIG brouhaha. As president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, Dow was once again leading the troops. The U.S. Travel Association rallied the industry and unleashed the "Meetings Mean Business" campaign defending meetings and events. And then, there was that meeting with President Barack Obama in March, pretty impressive for this self-proclaimed Jersey boy who admittedly "stumbled" into the travel industry.
"We were not sure with whom we would be meeting until President Obama walked into the room," explains Dow. "It was a pleasant surprise. It was even more pleasant that it was not a drive-by handshake. He sat down and was engaged for a solid 30 minutes."
At the forefront of the discussion was the role that travel can play in strengthening the American economy. "He listened very carefully, and I felt that he understood the importance of meetings and events and international travel," says Dow. "He clearly understood our message that travel is a solution that will help turn the economy around."
Getting His Toes WetDow got his toes wet, literally, in the hotel world when, as a college student, he got a summer lifeguard job at a 250-room Marriott in Saddle Brook, NJ. Back then, there were only six Marriott hotels in existence; today, there are more than 3,000.
A casual conversation with Bill Tiefel, the hotel's general manager, led to Dow's stellar 34-year career with Marriott. It wasn't easy for graduates to land jobs during this time as employers didn't want to invest time or money when most were eventually drafted into the war.
Since Dow was already a Marriott employee, he had an edge over the competition. "I remember Bill telling me I had a bright future and that one day Marriott would have 100 hotels," Dow says. Tiefel, who went on to become Marriott International's vice chairman and chairman of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, promised to help Dow, who was interested in a job outside of his home state of New Jersey.
"Bill arranged for me to get a job in a new Marriott in Houston, in the housekeeping department, because he said my knowledge about cleaning pools would help," explains Dow. "I was the assistant director of services and was in charge of supervising housemen and maids, scheduling, and ordering supplies. I also did whatever was needed to get this hotel opened, including cleaning bathtubs and setting up rooms."
As he sat in the company cafeteria with colleagues from the housekeeping department, he was intrigued by a group of gregarious, well-dressed executives at a nearby table that he learned were part of the sales department. "I asked a coworker what they did and decided that was the job for me," Dow says with a chuckle.
He shared his aspiration with all who would listen. "As luck would have it, I came back from my Christmas break and found I would be joining the sales department and making $5 more a week," he says. Unfortunately, his sales career was cut short when he received those draft papers.
After serving his country for two years, Dow returned to Marriott, this time working at its Philadelphia property. "I thought the world had passed me by. The guy who replaced me in Houston had become the director of sales and marketing, and I was once again starting from scratch."
Not one to shrink in the face of adversity, Dow persevered as he worked at Marriott properties in Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Denver, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Prior to taking over the helm of the U.S. Travel Association, he was senior vice president, global and field sales, leading Marriott's 10,000-person worldwide sales organization.
The Big RewardThe driving force behind the Marriott Rewards program, Dow calls this his biggest accomplishment. "I saw what the airlines were doing and thought it may work with hotels. I went to Bill Marriott, who was always open to new ideas, and he agreed we should give it a try," says Dow. "The first two years, I had peers trying to kill this idea a hundred times over. They called it a high-cost, ineffective program. I stuck out my neck on this one, and fortunately I had the support of the big guy. Once it got its legs, it took off like gangbusters. Today, Marriott Rewards is a multibillion-dollar enterprise within an enterprise." By the time other hotel companies started similar programs, Marriott had a two-year head start and two-and-a-half million people enrolled in the program.
The "big guy," is one of three people who have had the biggest influence on Dow. "I learned a lot about leadership from Bill, who is someone with such high values, who was so hands-on and involved," says Dow.
Then there was Uncle George, a salesman in the aircraft industry who treated carwash attendants with the same respect as his friend President Richard Nixon. "He had this way about him that he would sit and listen to you like it was the most exciting thing he ever heard and he wanted to know more," explains Dow. "He taught me how to treat people, all people."
Rounding out the trifecta is a good friend named Tom Peters. "I've learned from him that when you deliver a message with passion, it makes such a difference versus, 'Here are the facts ma'am.'"
He feels the best leaders are those who create an organization where their constant presence isn't necessary. "You're in trouble if, when you take your foot off the gas, everything comes to a screeching halt. A successful leader sets the direction and knows things will get accomplished either with him or without him," Dow says.
Dow stayed true to this philosophy during the Association Masters, one of Marriott's biggest customer events. His daughter's Communion fell on the same weekend. "I contemplated missing her First Communion and then asked myself what I was thinking. I opened the event on Thursday and explained to the crowd why I'd be absent the rest of the weekend. I got so many positive calls and letters saying they supported my decision and appreciated I was putting my family first," Dow explains.
Today, 62-year-old Dow lives in Potomac, MD, just outside of Washington, DC, with his wife of 30 years, Linda. The two have a 26-year-old son, Blake, who lives in Chicago and works as a consultant for Accenture, and a 23-year-old daughter, Devon, who recently graduated from Georgetown. He has encouraged his children to try many different things. His son worked at a bank in Nairobi, and his daughter spent a summer living in Spain.
"A secret to success is having lots of experiences and being exposed to lots of things," explains Dow. A paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, where he received the Bronze Star, and a Bachelor of Science recipient from Seton Hall University, where he was senior class president, and captain of the wrestling team, Dow makes this statement with know-how.
Originally published June 1, 2009For more ideas, tips, and tools for better meetings and events,
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