Christopher Randall Of 21c Hotels Saint Louis On Why Diversity Is Good For Business

Strength In Numbers. — Throughout the course of my professional career I have often been the black guy in the room. The weight of carrying the Reputation of every African American in history in my professional space has at times been unbearable, so being able to evenly distribute that wait is immeasurably relieving.

As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Randall.

Christopher currently serves as Director of Community Impact 21c Hotels Saint Louis. Chris is a US Marine Combat Veteran, 9+ Year veteran Law Enforcement Officer, Non-Profit leader and Community Impact Professional, with over 20 years of serving the Saint Louis Community and abroad.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?

Serving and connecting people is my passion. My mission is to help change the world by making those around me the best versions of themselves possible. I am invested in making St. Louis a better place for my mentees, my son, and us all. Growing up in North St. Louis, my father was my role model and supported me in every way possible. More than anything, I wanted to be a part of the military like my father. At the age of 17, I enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. After boot camp, infantry school, and security force training, I was stationed state-side guarding nuclear weapons. I was good at my job and rose quickly, attaining the rank of corporal by the time I was 19 years old. In 2005, I was reassigned to the 1st Battalion and 5th Marines and deployed to Ramadi, Iraq, to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. I loved serving my country, but I realized that part of that was to be there for my family.

In 2006, I returned to St. Louis to uphold my family commitments. While the complexities of serving in the infantry aren’t the easiest to translate to a civilian resume, at the most basic level, I was trained to do two things: shoot and run. Luckily, I decided to bring my talents to the St. Louis County Police in January 2007. My police work brought me to North St. Louis County, and I revisited many of the challenges I experienced growing up in my neighborhood: heavy drug trafficking, lack of trust in law enforcement, gang activity, and frequent street violence. While I knew my work as an officer was making a difference for families struggling to keep their heads high and their neighborhoods safe, something was missing. As a Marine, I had been empowered to be proactive and a creative problem solver — a leader. By contrast, the rules and protocols that govern modern-day policing felt restrictive and reactive rather than proactive.

In 2016, I decided to change course. I had volunteered with Gentlemen of Vision ROPE Inc. for several years, but a fellowship with The Mission Continues organization took my engagement to another level. Gentlemen of Vision is a 501 c3 organization that assists young black men to graduate high school and enroll in post-secondary education. The nationally recognized competitive step team builds character, discipline, and resilience through an award-winning youth mentorship program. I worked side-by-side with the program’s Founder and CEO, leading important meetings and creating a path for the organization to grow and expand its impact. It was work that stirred up my passion. At my fellowship’s close, I was offered an offer to join the mission Continues as a staff member. As a Fellowship Program Specialist, I guided other veterans through the six-month Fellowship Program I went through, helping them to achieve goals and connect their work to service-oriented operations in cities across the west coast of the US. The mission continues to experience some programmatic changes, which resulted in my department closing. Before my departure, I accepted the role of Executive Director with Gentlemen of Vision. I lead campaigns to increase volunteer participation, contribute strategies for a significantly strong donor base, and cultivate strong relationships with local fortune 500 companies. I was contacted by Youth and Family Services to conduct targeted case management and outreach in the Carr Square, Columbus Square, and Preservation Square neighborhoods as a Community Impact Coordinator. These neighborhoods have been affected by years of violence and neglect. Connecting these residents to resources and creating meaningful relationships with community members continued to drive the spirit of service, which burns inside me.

I continued my service as the Community Impact Manager with KSDK 5 On Your Side, The NBC television affiliate serving the greater St. Louis viewing area. As the Community Impact Manager, I was responsible for the identification, cultivation, and execution of branded events. I ensured ongoing relationships with their current partners were both productive and mutually beneficial. I also led and managed their cause marketing and service initiatives, chaired the diversity and Inclusion committee, managed talent appearance bookings, and the local grant distribution for TEGNA Foundation grant funding.

During my time at the station, under my leadership, I conceptualized, designed, and executed the community service initiative at the station titled Project 5. Under Project 5, I was able to grant over $217K in funding, executed 12 service projects, and helped thousands in need across the St. Louis area. For my work with Project 5 in 2020, I was awarded the Missouri Broadcasters Association Award for Community Service. I was nominated for the Community Service Emmy Award for the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. I currently serve as the Director of Community Impact for 21C Hotels, Saint Louis. In this role, I serve as a senior leadership team member, helping to refine the overall 21C experience — inside and outside the property, including developing local partnerships, identifying and investing in local resources, and sharing the 21C Hotels story throughout the community. Each role has shaped me into the professional I am today. With equity and inclusion as my driver, I am passionate about community work and strive for great things for great people.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away, you took out of that story?

While serving as a police officer one day I was called into my supervisor’s office, I was berated and chastised like a child would be. I’m a marine, so being chewed out for absolutely no reason was not a foreign occurrence, but it was frustrating. I was being yelled at because my captain at the time believed that I had not written any tickets or made any arrests for months. This information was clearly inaccurate as I had made arrests and written tickets daily. To make a long story short, I presented copies of my arrest sheets and my tickets to him and asked for a transfer to a different unit. That transfer led to the shift in my entire professional career, and if it wasn’t for that very brief moment of chaos, I would not be where I am today. So even though that moment was wildly upsetting, it placed me in an opportunity that changed my life forever. So sometimes we have to understand that we will not understand everything that is happening to us, but we have to trust the process.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts…”~ Sir Winston Churchill. From the beginning of my professional career, there have been people who have attempted to judge me on my mistakes and not my successes. There are a lot of missteps on the zigzag, jagged, and uneven road to success. I have had my fair share. But that quote has often reminded me that I am who I am not because of my mistakes, but despite them.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?

Ben Randall, My Big Brother. Ben has been my best friend, confidant and mentor in all parts of my life. We were not amazing academic students. He blazed a trail and set an example of what it meant to work hard, and improve the lives of those around you through setting standards and achieving goals. Ben leads others and creates strong relationships. It was the example I needed to let me know that success in a field where you are the minority is possible. Coming from the neighborhood we came from, he did not have to choose the life path he chose, but he did not only choose a better life for himself. He chose a better life for me, and my family.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

21c Museum Hotels is a different type of hotel to say the least. From breath taking art to decadent food, to the most welcoming and inclusive environment to rest your head, 21c is not your typical hotel. We are a contemporary art museum with a hotel. I tell you I have not experienced a stay as unique as 21c. The art museum is open 24 hours and day/365 and is free to the public. Never had I thought that I would ever see art as special as I’ve seen in 21c’s.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?

All 21c Hotels are special, unlike any other hotel in or around them. But our property will be even more special. Our property will have a focus on Community and Social impact, leading with a concept we like to call #ImpactHospitality. Impact Hospitality is hotels using our property as a catalyst for change in the communities that we are seated in. From who we are spending our money with through our vendors, to helping to give back to our communities through philanthropy and service. We are excited to bring Impact Hospitality to the Saint Louis region, and to communities abroad to learn from our example and influence.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’ve used my success to influence the youth that is in the youth mentoring program that I serve with gentlemen of vision. I tried to show to the young men that I am just like them, and that they have the same opportunities that I have had.

Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Strength In Numbers. — Throughout the course of my professional career I have often been the black guy in the room. The weight of carrying the Reputation of every African American in history in my professional space has at times been unbearable, so being able to evenly distribute that wait is immeasurably relieving.
2. Destroy the silos! — Too often those of us who live here in America live in structured silos. We are often surrounded by those who have same taste, interest, belief as ourselves. Diversity gives us all the opportunity to see things from different perspectives outside of the one that we were raised in.
3. Diversity creates better outputs — Diversity adds flavor, Improved thought processes and creates better outcomes. The world is not a monolithic society, and as business leaders are outputs whatever they may be should represent everything that our world entails.
4. Diversity Connects people to your brand — When people feel intimately connected to your product, they will naturally be more connected to your brand. A diverse team would naturally create these types of outputs. It will not feel forced, Like a table full of white executives figuring out how to appropriately market their company for Black History Month, but it will feel intentional & appropriate.
5. Diversity attracts diversity — When people see a string and intentionally diverse team they are more attracted to come serve with you. It causes relief to your hiring teams and attracts a strong and committed workforce.

What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?

Put productivity to the side and focus on quality. Quality of life for your employees and quality of your product. When people enjoy where they work and who they work for the quality of their output skyrockets.

What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?

“He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted.” Lao Tzu Teams that lack the essential element of trust are not really teams at all. In my professional experience I have witnessed how trust plays a key role in creating mission success and the operational tempo in working relationships. Trusting your team also means that you must trust yourself to do the right thing, make the right decision and not second guess what you are doing. If you do not trust yourself how can others trust you? Good faith in yours and your teams’ abilities, coupled with confidence and accountability is a great formula to develop trust in yourself and small working teams.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this :-)

I love the business acumen of Kareem “Biggs” Burke. He’s a man of his word, wise beyond his years. I really connect to all the content he posts. I’d love to enjoy a burger with him.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can always follow what we are doing on the property at www.21cmuseumhotels.com/stlouis or you can connect with me on LinkedIn or www.randallcb.com

Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.