Who Would Answer Your Call Tomorrow Morning? The CEO's Relationship Map

 

During my years as a destination marketing organization (DMO) CEO, I learned that some of the most valuable assets a DMO possesses never appear on its balance sheet. They aren't buildings, marketing campaigns, research reports, or even the destination's attractions. They're relationships. And their real value often becomes apparent when something unexpected happens.

Every CEO likes to say relationships matter. We attend luncheons, exchange business cards, serve on committees, and shake hands at community events. But I've come to believe there's a difference between knowing someone and having a relationship with them. Here's a question worth asking: If something important happened in your destination tomorrow morning, who would answer your call? More importantly, who would trust you enough to call you first?

I think every DMO CEO should develop what I call a relationship map. Not another contact list or database of names and titles, but an honest assessment of the people and organizations essential to the destination's success. Start with the obvious: elected officials, city and county administrators, hotel operators, attraction managers, business leaders, and economic development professionals. Then look beyond the usual tourism circle. What about school superintendents, college presidents, hospital administrators, public safety officials, neighborhood leaders, arts organizations, nonprofit directors, and local journalists? These people influence the visitor experience, community reputation, and destination development, whether they realize it or not.

The next step requires a little humility. Ask yourself which relationships are strong, which are merely cordial, and which don't exist at all. Does the relationship depend entirely on your personal connection, or does it extend throughout your organization? Do you only contact someone when you need something? Are there community voices you seldom hear because they aren't represented at the meetings you attend? I would pay particular attention to those gaps. Sometimes the people missing from our relationship map are precisely the people we need to understand.

There's another consideration. Relationships should never be measured solely by what they can do for the DMO. They must be reciprocal. A hospital administrator might provide valuable perspective on workforce challenges. A neighborhood association might identify concerns about tourism growth. A college president might see opportunities for hospitality education. But what can the DMO contribute to their priorities? Relationships become meaningful when both parties recognize their shared interests and responsibilities.

I would encourage CEOs to review their relationship maps at least twice a year, perhaps as part of their strategic planning discussions. Identify five relationships that need strengthening and three new conversations worth starting. Don't wait for a funding controversy, public safety incident, major development proposal, or community disagreement to introduce yourself.

One final thought. A CEO's relationships shouldn't disappear when that CEO retires or moves on. Building connections across the staff, documenting institutional knowledge, and introducing future leaders are responsibilities we sometimes overlook.

A destination is a complicated collection of people, interests, ambitions, and occasionally competing priorities. No DMO can succeed by operating within its own comfortable circle. So, tomorrow morning, if your destination needed help, who would answer your call? And perhaps the better question is this: Whose call would you answer, even when there was nothing in it for you?