The Sacred Bond of Trust And Never Being Disagreeable.

Many years ago, whilst working for royalty, global leaders would often visit my employers and talk politics at the highest level.  Their conversations will remain private and kept in the strictest of confidence, abiding by a sacred bond of trust, which I will honour and take to the grave. From time to time, I would be asked for my thoughts and opinions, I would always be guarded knowing I could never articulate at the same level of those I served. My responses would always be sincere and humble. I would never give the impression that I was a gifted statesman. My role was always to care for the people I served and not to irritate them with my opinions.

As hoteliers, estate managers, butlers, and household professionals, we have evolved over many centuries into professional people carers who have learned to control what we say and do, to channel ourselves into a personification of a superhuman being, without apparent fault.  We are expected to be highly knowledgeable, to know facts and make exceptional recommendations.

We have gradually become the image of what you see today, we have professionalised our behaviour knowing we are the ones who must control everything we are responsible for.  That includes being careful with our choice of words, not to hurt feelings or to be disagreeable, no matter how innocent we believe we might be.

We can used language as a sophisticated tool to inspire and influence great meaning and understanding. When we simplify our words, we can be more universally understood but in the wrong hands, words can also procrastinate conjecture, spread doom and gloom and become dull and boring, especially if too many words are used, when sometimes, less is more.   

Today, we must be careful with what we say, we live in the dangerous digital age, where every fact can be cross referenced and doubled checked. We are saturated with online information, and everyone has access.  We are expected to be experts in everything and must acquire our knowledge through personal experience or through quality recommendations.

When we have a position of moral responsibility, we should never abuse the trust to overly influence and shape someone else’s mindset. Sadly, it takes a lifetime to develop a reputation and a second to ruin one. We encourage development of critical thinking, openness and transparency but urge caution on sharing personal experiences connected to politics, religion and conspiracy theories which must always remain private.   Even when we are pressed to give comment, anything we say, might be disagreeable, cause offense and devalue our intentions.

On closing, we are responsible for preserving the past and nurturing the future. We must avoid anything that might harm our continual success, we should steer clear of anything that could dilute the quality of the people we endeavour to inspire.