Going extra mile can pay big dividends

Profile | Rauf Malik

Rauf Malik wakes up every day at 4:45 am and runs 12 kilometers on the treadmill before starting work at the Shanghai Marriott Hotel Changfeng Park, of which he is general manager. The routine has become habitual. It clears his head and sets him up for the day ahead.

Instead of shutting himself away behind closed doors, he mingles with associates and chats to customers. The idea is to create a family-like environment, he says. This is something he has found to have a special resonance in Chinese culture.