From five dollars to a billion – learnings from an international hotelier’s success
Internationally acclaimed hospitality veteran, hospitality management consultant and leadership coach, Shantha de Silva announced the launch of his first book: ‘BELIEVE: Helping Leaders UNLOCK their true potential’. In its very first month, the book ranked #1 on the Amazon Australia Best Seller list.
Derived from his remarkable 35 years of global hospitality experience successfully leading regional businesses for one of the largest hospitality companies in the world, Shantha’s book condenses a wealth of wisdom and piercing practical insights into seven simple but powerful steps aimed at inspiring, motivating and challenging leaders to discover the extent of their own capabilities.
“Today’s leaders, and those who aspire to be tomorrow’s game changers are all too aware of the fact that we are increasingly surrounded by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. We can’t know for sure what tomorrow holds, but one thing that we can be certain of is that it will be different to today.”
So, what can we do today to help us stay relevant and responsive? “What I have learnt from my own experience and from many great leaders in business is simple: we need to believe that we can and will succeed, but at the same time remember to face our current reality. This book guides the reader through this process, motivating them through real life examples and inspiring stories. This is my attempt to pay forward to inspire others, so that they can realise their true potential, and at the same time be an inspiration to others. Ultimately, the only person that stands between you and success is you,” de Silva said.
Shantha began his career in hospitality at the Hotel InterContinental Colombo, Sri Lanka’s first-ever international five star hotel. He quickly rose through the ranks to head up many regions where he was responsible for over 100 hotels in operation and under development with an annual turnover of nearly 1 billion AUD and the direct leadership of over 8,000 associates.
His passion for the community saw him serve as Chairman for a Government sponsored programme for the employment of those differently abled in Singapore, where he initiated a national recognition programme that received the patronage of the President of Singapore and led to the development of Centres for Training & Integration to support the job readiness of those differently abled across industries in Singapore, creating 1000+ job opportunities.
New York Times #1 bestselling author and Thinkers 50 #1 Executive Coach and the only two-time #1 Leadership Thinker in the world Marshall Goldsmith had this to say of de Silva’s book: “An amazing resource for leaders who are searching to unlock their true potential! Shantha provides practical steps, accompanied by real life examples and inspirational stories, that will help encourage and bring out the best in leaders.”
‘BELIEVE: Helping Leaders UNLOCK their true potential’ will be will be available internationally on amazon. The book will also be available in Sri Lanka on www.books.lk. For more information visit www.shanthadesilva.com.
Photo Captions
Believe 1: Shantha de Silva, author, hotelier, hospitality management consultant and leadership coach
Believe 2: Amazon Australia Best Seller – ‘BELIEVE: Helping Leaders UNLOCK their true potential’
