John Henry Felix—Chairman, President and COO of HMAA—and winner of the 2012 Pacific Edge Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award, shares with us his perspectives on success in business and the importance of giving back to one’s community.
How has the Pacific Edge Magazine Business Achievement Award impacted your business?
It was a great honor to receive Pacific Edge Magazine’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. Since last year’s gala, HMAA has significantly expanded its online and social media outreach. Pacific Edge’s insights on engaging new and upcoming businesses and professionals has proved helpful to HMAA as we broaden our social media presence while building alliances with key community leaders to offer cutting-edge, value-added services to our members.
Since receiving the award, what are some new initiatives your business is undertaking?
Over this past year, HMAA has brought together 13 leading health, wellness and safety-related organizations to form Wellness Alliance Hawaii. It is the first coalition of its kind committed to achieving a healthier Hawaii by sharing health-related information and services with HMAA’s approximately 40,000 members. Wellness Alliance Hawaii is a great complement to our Wellness for Life Program and Business Alliance Hawaii, both value-added services for HMAA members designed to help employers save time and money and help employees get and stay healthy.
What do you attribute your success to?
Much of my success has come from my lifelong desire to serve the community. I believe success in business is inevitably linked to what you do for your community. Giving back – an essential element of the “servant leadership” I described in my acceptance remarks last year – is not only fulfilling to the people who do this, but also infuses the companies that make it an integral part of their DNA with the kind of energy money can’t buy. Furthermore, it repays those companies in heightened community esteem and, ultimately, in healthy business results.
What is one piece of advice you would give young professionals?
To paraphrase a very savvy exponent of servant leadership, the best way to be a leader is not to fight your way to the top, but rather to help the other members of your team get to the top. Helping your employees achieve success is much more important – and much more profitable – than simply trying to get the most work out of them.
What is your favorite part of your job, what drives you to do what you do?
The thing I like best is knowing that what I do is helpful to others, to my community. That’s why I have been a lifelong volunteer for organizations like the American Red Cross, March of Dimes and Boy Scouts. It’s no coincidence that the business I’m in is health care insurance – it’s something that makes people’s lives easier and less stressful.
Who is your business role model and why?
My business hero is Dr. Roy C. Kelley, one of the last true entrepreneurs of Hawaii. At age 28, I served as his Executive Vice President of Outrigger Hotels, then known as the Hotel Operating Co. of Hawaii, which included Edgewater, Reef Tower, Reef, their related hotels and commercial properties. Dr. Kelley designed, built and operated his hotels and was truly hands-on with his endeavors. He taught me everything I know about business and I shall forever be grateful to him.
For more information about the 2013 Pacific Edge Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award, please visit http://www.pacificedgeawards.com/categories/. For more information about HMAA please visit http://www.hmaa.com/.
