Steve Wynn Runs His Business

On Thursday, Karen and I arrived in Las Vegas for a long-planned rendezvous with my daughter Heidi (here for a Microsoft geekfest).  We've been to Vegas many times (most recently two years ago for our daughter Kristin's marriage to Jeremy) and this time we knew we wanted to stay at the newest hotel on the Strip, the Wynn Las Vegas.

We wanted to stay here for several reasons.  First, Steve Wynn is personally responsible for modern Las Vegas.  He build the Mirage in 1989, kind of as warm up for the spectacular Bellagio in  1998.  We've stayed at the Bellagio several times and thoroughly enjoy the experience. 

Second, I saw Wynn speaking about the new hotel on the Charlie Rose Show a few months ago.  He'd made a huge personal bet on the hotel's success, and discussed his philosophy of its development and close oversight of the project.  He articulated his approach to the hotel's design, saying that his goal was to imagine the experience of a guest from every possible vantage point and make that experience as visually pleasant as possible.  This was particularly poignant, given that Wynn suffers from retinitis pigmentosa.

So, we eagerly looked forward to staying at the Wynn, and we have not been disappointed.  The place is simply beautiful in every aspect.  No detail had been overlooked.  I have been especially impressed by the subtle impact of the building's curvilinear shape.  As you can see here, the sweeping curve means there are no straight line corridors in many of the building's key spaces (room floor hallways, shopping promenades), making for a very pleasant experience, with none of the mild background nausea that accompanies spending time in a circular building.

Anyhow, I digress.  Yesterday morning Karen and I decided to have a quick breakfast and explore the property.  After a couple of hours of ogling the diamonds at Graff and the beautiful Louis Vuitton store, we needed a cup of coffee.  We ducked into the Café Coffee Shop, and in front of us in line we see:

Steve Wynn!  Cool.  Gettin' coffee, signing the check himself.  That was pretty neat.

So, he sits down, we get our coffee, and sit down at a table right near his.  He's in deep conversation with the blond woman in the photo, talking about items she's showing him.  His visual impairment is obvious as he haltingly reaches for things she hands him, but he clearly can see what he's holding, making comments about everything. 

Suddenly, a fellow steps up to the table and begins to speak with Wynn, saying something about having a bad experience at check-in.  Wynn looks up, listens for about 30 seconds and says, "sit down and tell me what happened."  I captured the scene:

The conversation went on for at least ten minutes, with Wynn animatedly reacting to the fellow's (polite) distress, clearly concerned that the customer was not pleased with how things had gone.  I was impressed.

When the customer got up to leave, a young woman approached Wynn's table.  "Uh oh," I thought, "this is gonna get old."  As the woman reached the table, Wynn and his two associates were deep in conversation.  She stood respectfully at the tableside, awaiting an audience with the great man.  The business conversation continued; the woman stood silently.  At one moment, we overheard her say, "I'm from Idaho..." a reference to something the blond associate had mentioned earlier.  But the blond was in a hurry, eager to conclude her business and move on.  She turned to the young woman at tableside and said, "I'm sorry, I can't speak with you now...."  Undaunted, the woman handed Wynn a business card and said, "I'm an artist and I'm interested in..." 

She hooked him!  Wynn, a renowned art collector,  said, "Really?  What do you do?"  And they were off.  The woman described her work as the blond fidgeted, looked impatiently at her watch, and fidgeted some more.  Wynn, remarkably, says, "Sit down!" to the young artist, now aglow with the headiness of the moment.  Again, about ten minute pass, with the blond finally interrupting the artistic conversation by saying, "Steve, I really have to go.  I'll see you in your office later."  She departs, and shortly thereafter, so does the artist.

So, what does this mean?  Here's a billionaire hotelier, art collector, entrepreneur, doing business in a coffee shop in the middle of his hotel's casino, taking time to speak with two very different people.  One, a disgruntled guest, left with a smile and a handshake.  The other, a flattered artist, with a moment she'll remember forever.

This, my friends, is the way to run a business, whether that business is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, or a corner store.  Personal connections...it still all comes down to personal connections.

Tags: Steve Wynn Wynn Las Vegas

Comments

[Kull]

WOW!!!

What a great encounter. Question is did YOU hand him a business card and tell him you were going to him crazy props on your blog?

[BLAUGRA]

did he know you were stalking?

seriously, his accessibility and graciousness are amazing.

I remember when we was getting our hair and makeups done at TI for hours, and all the employees there were going ga ga waiting for Wynn LV to start hiring so they could go work for him because he was a boss with class. They said working for Steve Wynn is the best gig in Vegas.

[Laura]

Well, I agree that Mr. Wynn was very gracious to the two people who approached him to his meeting, but don't you feel that he was perhaps a bit disrespectful of the woman with whom he had a business meeting? He wasted about 20 minutes of her time. If I were in her shoes, I would consider this appropriate only if my meeting with him was also impromptu. If it were a scheduled meeting, I don't think I'd be impressed that he allowed such interruptions.

[Tom]

Intersting point, Laura. You have implictly identified one of my strongest biases: listening to customers and possibly interesting new connections comes first. Seems to me that scheduling this kind of meeting in a public place (and here we're making lots of assumptions) make interruptions likely.

[Sam]

I personally at age 19 am a huge admirer of Steve Wynn. Yes Mr. Wynn is a great business man and even better visionary but the thing that sets him apart from others in his realm of business is how he speaks with candor and truthfulness. Listen to the man speak and money has not changed him, he is a humble individual who treats people like "people" and not pawns. I story I read not to long ago shows this. A boy was in the lobby of Wynn and had a bike with training wheels on it (his father bought it for him while in vegas for the weekend) "don't ask me why" Steve happened to walk through the lobby and concerned that the training wheels may leave marks on the floor asked politely if he may observe the tires of the bike. The kids dad said "who the hell are you" and steve replied "I just work here sir sorry for any inconvenience" when all of a sudden a man in line turned to the boys father and said "hey buddy, thats the man that built vegas!". This to me shows that Mr. Wynn hasn't lost sight of the fact that people are most important. I am saddened that Steve is at the age that is he, I may never be able to meet him, but I can say even a few minutes in his company would be life changing. I respect all that he has gone through endured in taking over for his father, dealing with the ransom of his daughter and having shots taken at him over his marriage, above all Steve Wynn is a man of persistence, perseverance.

[Brisbane Hotels]

I can only see the Wynn in the television, I have dreamed for a long time now to stay just for one night at the Wynn.

[need cash]

Whenever I am in Vegas on a business trip, I always stay at the Wynn Hotel. I like the services they offer and it is close to some restaurants.

[boracay island philippines]

I have admired Steve Wynn's determination and hard work with regards to running his hotel. I have been a guest at the Wynn hotel every time I go to Las Vegas and always will be.

[house plans]

Everytime I read an article about this man, I always have high respect for him. the way he runs his hotel is truly inspiring.

[Dive Boracay]

Two thumbs up for this guy. I have made him an example to my employees every time I do inspirational speeches. He really inspired me.

[decorating fabric]

I love how this guy runs his business. I want to follow in his footsteps and run my business with the type of style he has in running his own business.