Larry Lewin, a hospitality executive with nearly 50 years in the industry at Hilton, the Sands, Stratosphere, and Hyatt, praises Jesse Ferrell for earning trust across all levels and turning leadership vision into operational reality. He shares a late-night story that shows Jesse's resourcefulness and reliability.
Questions this video answers
1975.
Hilton; the Pepper Mill (northern Nevada); the Sands (today the Venetian and the Palazzo); the Stratosphere; the Riviera; Atlantis (Bahamas); Hyatt.
1997.
About 10 years.
Chapters
Hi, Larry, how are you?
Good. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you. So, briefly, tell me a little bit about yourself and the companies that used to work for.
Well, I've been in the business since 1975, so I've worked with an array of companies ranging from starting out with Hilton. From Hilton, I went to work for a company called the Pepper Mill, which is in northern Nevada. From there I came on back and worked at the Sands Hotel, which is today the Venetian and the Palazzo. From there I went to work at the Stratosphere, followed by the Riviera, then went to Atlantis in the Bahamas, and then went to work for Hyatt as the CEO and went to work in Greece and developed their gaming company in 1997, spent about 10 years with them, and then decided to retire and form what I have today, my own company where I do the same thing as I used to do, but for individuals. And so I do some consulting on operations, some consulting on planning, and really just rather eclectic in my style. But I do everything that I used to do as a CEO for major company.
Great. That's awesome. So you have worked in senior executive positions with major hospitality companies like Hilton and Hyatt and others that you've mentioned. How would you value the services of Jesse Farrell and Jess Talk?
You know, Jesse I've known since he was 16, so I've known him as a child, and I was a child. One thing about Jess is that he is true. And what you need today is as business grows, you have managers who operate your business, but sometimes their vision and their goals stray from what the vision of the entity is. Not that anybody is really doing anything incorrectly. But we all like what we like and think we know what we know. Some people like chocolate, some people like vanilla, some people like strawberry. But a company has to have a vision and it has to be consistent. And as a senior manager, it's difficult to be able to hold everybody together all the time, because companies usually have people who tell you what you want to hear, not necessarily what's going on. Jesse comes on in and does a couple of things. One, he earns the trust of the people that are working, both the line employees and the managers. And he earns the trust of the senior management team. So he can go on into what I call the womb, hear the story, understand whether what we are hoping to connect to is actually being connected to. And then if it isn't, he gives solutions in terms of how we can fix that or how we may have to change some of our philosophies Because. Because so often as a leader, you are saying one thing, you believe that people are hearing one thing. But it's almost like playing the musical chairs when you were a child. When somebody tells a story to one and then the next one, by the time it comes on back, it's not the same story, even though it has the same meaning. But words have a different meaning to different people. So what Jesse does very well is that he is able to transcend from what we think we are saying, what we hope we are saying, to what is actually being said. And then he does even the next most important thing is that he comes up with a solution of how we can make what we had hoped to make happen, actually happen.
Wow, that is great. That was a lot. That was great. How can other companies and senior leaders benefit from utilizing the best gifts and talents of Just Talk?
Well, I think what first has to happen is that you have to let your ego go a little bit. And that is you want somebody to come into your company and tell you the truth. And once you know the truth, then you can mold your business accordingly. And I think what Jess does really well is that he listens. I think that's a very important thing. He listens to senior management in regards to what they're hoping to do and say, but he also listens to the employees and he listens to the line managers. And he's able to bring all of that together and create an outline of how you're going to achieve the success you're trying to achieve.
That's amazing. Do you have any lasting takeaway points from connecting with Jesse Farrell or Jess Talk?
Well, I consider Jesse to be a dear friend, not only to me, but to the family. And I am lucky to have him in my life. But one of the things that the greatest quality of Jesse is his word is his bond. And in life you have family, you have friends, don't have many friends, but you have friends. And that's the only thing you can carry with you. And so not only as a professional is Jesse the best as a friend, I consider him a best friend. And I'll end on just one, one story. When he worked for me in terms of how he operates as an individual, we were at the Sands Hotel and we had a very, very high level player. And he called up about one o' clock in the morning and he says, I want to come in town, but I need a plane. So I called up Jesse at 1 o' clock in the morning and I said, we need a plane in LA in one hour. He said to me, how am I supposed to do that? I said, if I knew, I wouldn't be calling you. He got the plane, the customer came in. Everybody had a wonderful time. But Jesse has never been the type of person of saying, how can I not do it? He only figures out how he can do it. And that's why I think he is great for any company that wants him, needs him, and is willing to utilize him because he is the best at what he does. Great.
