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 "I would be traveling 60 to 70%
of the year," said the Hong Kong-based CEO.
Riley joined the parent company, Jardine
Matheson Group, in 1993. But since early March,
he has been forced to navigate a new normal in
which three-quarters of his hotels were closed
at some point. All but two have since reopened.
He is optimistic, stressing the need to stay
nimble and relevant ahead of an eventual
economic rebound. For example, Mandarin Oriental
partnered with The Oberoi Group in India in
September to offer loyalty program members
benefits across both companies' properties.
Riley spoke to Reuters about the life
experiences that shaped his leadership choices
in 2020. Edited excerpts are below.
Q. What did your first job teach you?
A. I was working at a bank in the center of
London as a foreign exchange clearing clerk
after I left school. It taught me not only that
I was quite good with numbers but also how easy
it was to make a serious mistake.
I made a mistake in a transfer into someone's
account that resulted in a loss of $10,000. As
an 18-year-old in 1980 or 1979 that was an
enormous sum of money. I had debited it rather
than credited it. It was fixed, but I had a
couple of nights when I was sleepless, wondering
what I had done.
Q. How do you maintain work-life balance?
A. I exercise everyday one way or another, and I
do my exercise - whether it's running, swimming
or playing tennis - during the mornings so
events during the day can't interfere with it.
I also maintain a series of interests that don't
relate to work. I'm chairman of the Royal
Geographic Society in Hong Kong.
Q. What's the best piece of job advice you've
received?
A. However happy you are in your job, always
make sure that you are aware of market
opportunities and other jobs you could be doing.
Keep in touch with headhunters. When you're
conscious of what other opportunities are out
there, you'll have a sense of how good your job
is. It helps you maintain a reality check.
Q. Do you have advice for someone starting out
right now?
A. Now is a terribly difficult time to be
actually starting work, but we can always use
this time to improve, to attain greater skills
and train further.
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 Think about how you can enhance
your competitive advantage and positioning with
skills, so when the market does start to come
back you are in a robust position.
Q. Do you have any new work habits?
A. The main one is that I'm losing my sight.
It's happened over the last 12 to 18 months. I'm
largely blind now and can't read. Being able to
use amazing technology like iPhones that can
speak to you, or that you can use to dictate or
record means I can do anything.
Q. Do you have a favorite business book?
A. I don't believe in business books. I love
reading history. I think I can learn more from
reading about Napoleon's retreat from Moscow or
the writings of Cicero than I can from reading
business books.
Reading about great leaders like Churchill or
Napoleon is incredibly valuable and insightful
in terms of understanding the present, and also
reading about great mountaineers and exploration
leaders and how they achieved their ends.
Q. What advice do you have for those who are
trying to navigate this changing world today?
A. Believe that there is a future. We're going
through a temporary change and there will be
some consequences. The issues we're facing at
the moment may well stretch on but they will
pass. It's crucial that people don't lose their
self confidence and business energy and passion.
Q. When one can travel freely again, where will
you go first?
A. For business, it would be to each and every
one of the Mandarin Oriental hotels, to make
sure they're still in a great place.
Where would I most like to go for leisure?
India. I would like to travel around and enjoy
the sights and sounds and colors and smells of
India.
(Editing by Lauren Young and Richard Chang)
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reserved.]
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