New Energies at Big Five

In very first of these messages in the beginning of March, I talked about the strategy going forward for Big Five, and the three avenues we were using.  The first was Live with Five, including more than 50 video strategy guidance calls and client events we have completed with you in the last 45 days, and the economic webinars when we talked about the metrics to look for in a recovery. I smile when I think that we considered doing a dozen or so originally.

The second was Faces of Five, our portal to invite you to meet our guides from around the world through brief videos and introducing them to you and your clients through virtual events. There is so much intellectual property with our guides, many of whom have advanced degrees, from archaeology in Peru, an MBA in Colombia, a former accountant in Tanzania, a former cricket player in India, and a PhD in Morocco. They are waiting to welcome you and your clients when travel resumes.

The third outlet is Stories of Five that include the message you are reading right now encompass the accelerated product development these stories are about, which we implemented at the beginning of this period. That is what today’s story is about – new products.

Every year towards the end of the year, I sit down with members of our team representing all facets of Big Five from operations, to regional product development, to branding and marketing. We develop a set of company goals to aspire to in the coming year. Every member of our team has a copy of that finalized list. My copy is highlighted in bright colors, ticking off accomplishments as they are achieved.

These goals are well thought out and designed to help us grow; however, not too fast. They are intended to have us chasing the same trophy. We believe our clients and advisor partners are on the same page as Big Five so we don’t need sell them on anything. In fact, our letter from last week, No Gimmicks, reinforces that. These goals are also designed to keep us on task in the face of the unexpected, so as the conditions change rapidly like they are currently, we can prioritize and keep moving forward.

One of the overriding goals for 2020 was launching an alternative energy collection with programs featuring properties working towards energy independence using innovative technologies and methods such as an electric safari vehicle in Africa.

We chose to call this the New Energies Collection because it seems a new energy is rising in the world. We are seeing cleaner air in various parts of Asia, rain where there was a drought in Africa, healing where there was fire in Latin America and Australia. The new energy also refers to people across the globe who are striving to make those energies work for all of us. You can view the first two journeys of this collection in India, featuring one of our favorite properties in India in the Nagarhole Forest, and, in Australia, one of our favorite coast experiences Thala Beach. Coming soon are adventures in Kenya and in the Andean region of Latin America.

Learn more about the New Energies Collection here.