The biggest piece of advice I'd give to my younger self is all gonna work out in the end. Don't sweat the small stuff.
I took some jobs very early in my career where I knew absolutely nothing about the subject matter, and I did it because I thought I can learn something new. If it doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world. Either way, it was clear that I was willing to take on tough assignments and work through them.
Every day when I come to work, I have two primary focuses. The first one really is my team. What can I do that day to learn from, share with, engage with my team? Because we are a team. Nothing gets done at Marriott International by one person. It all gets done through teams.
I think that the most transformative thing that we've done at Marriott International since I've worked for the company, which has been 24 years, is the acquisition of Starwood. It gave us the size and scale that I think you need in today's day and age to succeed, particularly as it relates to investing in technology and digital. Size and scale matters. I'm a big believer that more choice for consumers is a good thing. You start putting this all together and we are building an ecosystem for our Marriott Bonvoy members in particular so they can have incredible travel experiences. Because at the heart of it, Marriott International is a travel experience company.
And in my new role as president, I put in that kind of bucket of customer partners, our owners and franchisees. We grow through partnerships with third-party real estate owners, and we do that all around the world.
Probably the biggest piece of advice I'd give to my younger self is all going to work out in the end. Don't sweat the small stuff. Stay focused on our people. Stay focused on taking risks and moving in a nimble, quick fashion. We need to stay laser focused on our customers and in particular on innovation, constantly listening to them, iterating new ideas, coming up with new solutions for them. And then as a result of staying focused on our associates and our customers through innovation, we'll deliver results for our owners and franchisees and for our shareholders.