Consider how this story applies to your business.

Last week I stayed at the Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana/Orange County, 201 East MacArthur Blvd., Santa Ana, California to participate as a sponsor of the MSP University Boot Camp.

The hotel staff is incredible. The Doubletree, like many hotels, has a notice hanging on the towel rack that states, "Help protect our environment. A towel on the floor says 'Please replace with a fresh one.' A towel on the rack says, 'I will use it again.' Save water etc. (No other instructions.)

Now I want to save water and the environment so my first morning I put my towels on the rack and... like every other hotel I've stayed at, they replaced the towels anyway.

I studied the card. There are no other instructions. My second morning I tried something different. I put my towels on the rack and placed the "Save the Environment" notice on the counter in front of the sink. The result: They did not replace my towels, and furthermore, the person (maybe a different maid) laid out my toothpaste, etc. nicely on a Kleenex tissue. She took pride in cleaning my room.

So this gave me an idea. The front desk people are great, especially one woman whose smile lights-up the room. I remembered to explain what happened to them and made the following suggestions, which could save them thousands of dollars:

1. Re-word the notice to instruct people to place the notice on the sink counter if they plan to use their towels again.

2. Hang the notice on the faucet or put it on the toilet rather than just hang it on the rack so it has greater visibility.

3. Compliment the person who made-up my room.

What process do you have that people are not following which if they did, would result in more revenue or cost savings? What minor, low-cost or no-cost action can you take to achieve that benefit?

Be an intentional leader.