Perseverance is the Key to Achieving Success - Michael O’Keith Smith
While Michael Smith played a significant role in managing the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he was equally instrumental in rebuilding the Hyatt Regency New Orleans and other infrastructure in the city. It may have taken five and a half years, but Smith put in the work to research, develop and execute a plan that completely revitalized the city of New Orleans.
Tell me about how you approached the difficult task of rebuilding the Hyatt hotel after Hurricane Katrina.
“The experience of rebuilding was really eye-opening. Once in a while, you’re going to meet somebody who can make a big difference in your life, personally and financially. I had the opportunity and autonomy, at the ground level, to meet and work with Chris Robinson, from Little Rock, Arkansas, who owned the two office buildings adjacent to the Hyatt. He had a plan to buy the hotel from the previous owner and rebuild it, and he wanted me to help.
“I shared all of my ideas with Chris for reimagining the Hyatt. Then, I combined my own market research with Hyatt’s market research, and developed a detailed business model. I had to convince Hyatt to do it because I was trying to go from 75,000 square feet to over 200,000 square feet. Hyatt allowed me to stay here and oversee the programming, the restaurant concepts, all these different things. That’s all I had to do because I wasn’t running the hotel for five and a half years! The few people who knew about what I was trying to do told me, ‘Do what you want to do. If you fail, fail fast and keep moving. Shift the paradigm.’
“Then, we had to secure the money to do everything. The financial crisis hit but we worked through it and kept repositioning and reimagining the hotel plan. I pulled from local, regional and national examples and finally presented the business plan to the owner and his partners. I believed wholeheartedly in the plan and they believed in me!
“We built the new hotel and we opened in October 2011. It was the last place in the city to come back after the hurricane. We were the headquarters for the NCAA Final Four, the Superbowl and the NBA All Star game, and it became unbelievably successful. I think that the process of rebuilding the Hyatt Regency New Orleans could be used as a case study on success at various business schools around the country. We built it, we sold it, everybody made a lot of money on it. We had a dream and a vision, we did the market research, we built the business model, and then we were able to execute it because I was given the latitude to keep enforcing it and driving it home when nobody knew what it was.
“The hotel became the center of the universe for the city. The city was critical to our success. Because we were Ground Zero during Katrina, the city gave us every concession, every pilot program, the stake supporters. They wanted us to open and everyone was helping me because of the support we gave everyone during Katrina. They’re still talking about the deal we got!
“Once we reopened, I served on the board that facilitated $3 billion of economic development centered around the Hyatt, including the design and construction of a brand new $1 billion world-class airport, and the sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art. These accomplishments demonstrate that I possess the perseverance and fiscal responsibility to overcome adversity and achieve success. These are the things that make you proud because you know that you were a part of it. You work the puzzle…you were a piece of the puzzle but you also helped put the puzzle together.”
Thank you for sharing, Michael.
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.
