Be Where You're Feet Are.
May 15, 2026
Be Where Your Feet Are.
We landed at LAX yesterday, and within ninety seconds of stepping off the jet bridge, I heard it from somewhere down the concourse:
"Welcome to LA. If you need help with anything, let me know."
I turned, expecting a mayor's voice piped through the PA system. Instead, I saw an actual human being smiling, making eye contact, and saying hello to strangers as they walked past.
His name was Ray.
Ray used to work in healthcare, where he told me he "provided different services to help people." Now, in retirement, he volunteers as a greeter at LAX, providing a different kind of service in a new uniform but with the same mission.
I walked over and thanked him. In the middle of one of the busiest airports in the world, where most people are heads down and rushing past each other, Ray was doing something genuinely rare. Ray was humanality, that simple and radical act of making another person feel seen.
It took me right back to my Ritz-Carlton days. We had a name for what Ray was doing. We called it a warm welcome, and we trained for it the way other companies train for compliance.
Here's what I've learned in the years since:
Most people get greeted. Almost no one gets welcomed.
There's a difference, and that difference is the line between a transaction and a relationship.
Think about the last hotel you checked into. Did the person behind the desk look up and make eye contact, or did they ask for "ID and payment" without ever taking their eyes off the screen? In that moment, you were processed, but you weren't welcomed.
The warm welcome is the moment someone walks through your door, joins your call, or enters your space, and you make them feel like the most important person in the world. Because in that moment, they are.
Standing to greet someone, offering a beverage, pulling out a chair, or putting the phone down are small acts that signal something much bigger: I see you. You matter. Nothing else right now is more important than you.
This isn't just hospitality. It's leadership, sales, parenting, friendship, and the foundation of every relationship that lasts.
And it starts with five words: be where your feet are.
Three ways to practice it this week:
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Before any meeting, close every tab. Whatever email, Slack, or browser window is open is competing for the attention you owe the person in front of you. I do this before every keynote because I don't want anything pulling my focus away from the people who showed up.
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Stand up when someone enters your space. It's a small physical signal, but it completely changes the energy of the encounter. Try it once today and watch what happens.
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Replace "How can I help you?" with "Welcome." Help is transactional. Welcome is relational. Lead with the human first, and the help will follow.
