In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s Seth Stevenson chats with Richard Fain, former chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, about Delivering the Wow: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success (Fast Company Press, Fall 2025). Fain explains what it means to “deliver the wow” and reveals how a culture of excellence propelled innovation at one of the world’s most successful cruise lines. He shares how taking calculated risks and empowering future leaders can create lasting impact. An edited version of the conversation follows.
What does it mean to ‘deliver the wow’?
The title of the book, Delivering the Wow, actually came about serendipitously. We were talking about creating an acronym for a cultural norm at the company, and we had the G, the O, the L, and we wanted a D so we could call it “Gold Anchor Standards.”
We struggled to find a D that fit in with all the others. Then someone said, “What we do at Royal Caribbean is deliver the wow. That’s what people need to understand.” And that became the D, and it truly epitomized what we already did.
“Wow” is a term that rolls off the tongue, but when people see our ships, how our crew members work, and how we operate, we often hear, “Wow.” As a result, that became a mantra at Royal Caribbean, and it seemed an appropriate title for the book.
How do you know whether you’re delivering the wow?
We’re big believers in metrics at Royal Caribbean. Measuring things, in and of itself, is an important thing. How do we know we’re delivering the wow? We do it by measuring what our guests think of the cruise.
We are relentless in reviewing their net promoter score and their comments, and we get tremendous comments. We’re very diligent about surveying our employees to ensure that we understand and are incorporating their viewpoint. If they’re not happy, they’re not going to be productive.
We also measure other components that are not necessarily direct indicators but good indicators that we’re actually doing what we should be doing. For example, while everyone focuses on employee engagement, we also focus on the finer details. One of the keys is trust—in your manager and in your supervisor. People don’t quit a company; they quit their boss. If people trust and rely on their superior, we know they’re doing a good job.
How can leaders create successful cultures?
Every organization has its own culture. The first thing to understand is what you have. That means listening to people. It is important to recognize how important culture is.
Everyone says, “Yes, our culture is terrific. This is built into our DNA. This is who we are.” That’s nonsense: You develop a culture with intentionality.
You say to yourself, “This really matters. I have to work on it,” not, “I have to take it for granted,” or “I have to make sure it’s there.”
I’m working on it every day; I’m measuring the progress. I’m deciding what characteristics I want our people to have, whether I want people to operate a business cheaply or I want to operate a business for total excellence. Whatever the goal, identify it and make sure people understand what you’re trying to achieve.
What would you say to leaders who worry that taking big swings could have downside risks?
To somebody who was worried about the risks they’re taking and the downside of those risks, I would say, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It’s not difficult to work in a perfectly safe environment and produce adequate returns, but there’s nothing inspiring about that. There’s nothing that gains you any real advantage, whether what you’re trying to accomplish is a societal goal or a financial goal. You have to take some risks. Risks, by definition, have the potential for downside. But if you don’t take those risks, you get along with mediocrity. In the end, mediocrity always fails.
It’s only excellence that reaches anybody’s goals. Reaching excellence requires a concerted effort, an intentional focus, and a day-to-day thought process. It’s not a series of clever expressions and seven principles of great leaders. It’s a day in, day out focus on your people and on the culture that will make you successful.
How has cruising grown to be so popular?
Cruising has become mainstream, but it’s still not where it should be. We are still an insignificant part of the total vacation market. Yet what I’m proud of is Royal Caribbean’s role in really driving many of the industry’s accomplishments in expanding the definition of cruising.
Cruising began as an evolution from transatlantic crossing—a form of transportation. Yet once you recognize that cruising is a mainstream vacation, it can compete with all the other things that you might want to do. You can do so much on a cruise. One of the things that we have done as an industry, and particularly as a company, is to offer more.
Cruising is no longer just something for older adults to rely on for transportation and nice meals. It’s a full-blown activity that gives you all the options you would expect to find on land, and it also has the mystique of the sea.
What has changed is that we now offer so many things. It’s not, “What should we have for dinner in the restaurant?” On some of our ships, we [now] have 27 different places to go for dinner. The entertainment will compete with anything you would find on land.
Cruising also enables us to control so much of the experience. If you have a vacation on land, you may take a taxi, but you can’t determine the taxi driver. You go to a restaurant, and the experience is whatever the culture of that restaurant is. You have choices, but each is independent. On a cruise, we’re able to have an entire integrated experience where everyone is within the same culture, focused on the same level of excellence. You don’t find that on land.
Risks, by definition, have the potential for downside. But if you don’t take those risks, you get along with mediocrity. In the end, mediocrity always fails.
Can lessons learned from the cruise industry be applied to other sectors?
The cruise industry operates in different milieus, but its principles apply everywhere. We control our product, we ensure the culture is that we are responsible for everything, and we don’t settle for mediocrity.
We want to be excellent at everything. We want the food, the entertainment, the sports, and the cabin steward to be excellent. We want every aspect to be excellent. The commitment to consistency, this commitment to excellence, has made us so successful.
It’s not accepting that good enough is good enough. That insatiability has proved to be a cultural norm at Royal Caribbean, and that cultural norm has made us successful. Our North Star was to grow to provide a high level of service—of service excellence—and to produce a wide range of activities.
For any company that has the passion for following a North Star—whatever the industry—having everybody pulling in the same direction is key to success.
How can CEOs navigate successful leadership transitions?
The most important thing is to find an exceptional leader to succeed you. We were extremely fortunate to have Jason Liberty [Royal Caribbean’s current chairman and CEO]. He is an inspirational leader who will take the company to new heights. Most importantly, his exceptional leadership and inspirational qualities are key to success. Also, we worked together for 20 years. We learned from each other, and we built on each other.
Finally, accept that a transition is a transition. There’s a new sheriff in town. Do not continue to worry when he or she disagrees with you; disagreements happen. If not, the new leader isn’t worthy of the job.
I look at this very much like my own family. We’ve had four wonderful children. Eight extraordinary grandchildren. Yet when our children went off on their own and started raising their kids, and they made mistakes every day, we had to understand that we weren’t the parents. I’m going to spoil the grandchildren rotten, but I’ll leave my children alone. They’re raising their kids wonderfully. That’s the lesson: When you are the leader, you should lead. That’s important. But when you’re not the leader, you should let the leader lead and help him or her do it well.
The cruise industry operates in different milieus, but its principles apply everywhere. We control our product, we ensure the culture is that we are responsible for everything, and we don’t settle for mediocrity.
What’s the best way for leaders to handle technological disruptions?
Technology is disrupting every industry. For any given industry, it strengthens some things the company is doing and weakens others. It’s no different than any other disruptor. When we made the choice to go to larger staterooms on our newer ships, the concern was that we would make our older ships obsolete.
This goes back decades, but at the time, the mantra was we’d better become obsolete ourselves than have the competition make us obsolete. The same thing is true for technology. This technology offers new ways of doing things, and it’s a fact. An important characteristic of a good leader is to accept facts.
Don’t say, “I wish the world were different. I wish the sun rose in the South instead of the East.” It rises in the East. I’d better adjust accordingly. Technology is here. It’s an enabler of some things; it’s a disruptor of others. Our job as leaders and as managers is to accept that as a fact and ask, “What am I doing with that fact?”
Why is it important for an organization to have a North Star?
The North Star was one of the things that made us so successful. So many people are focused on—and forced to focus on—the short term. What made us successful was that we always knew we had a long-term goal to achieve. Like reaching the North Star, you never actually achieve the goal, and you shouldn’t. It should be constantly aspirational, but you should be working toward it. Every day, you get better. You’re closer to it now, but you’ll never reach it, and that continuous improvement guides every decision you make.
If you focus on the short term, then you will never achieve the longer-term goals. Building a transformational ship requires that you think long-term. It takes five, seven years before your vision is realized.
Building new private destinations takes up to nine years to actually get to where you want to be. And if you’re not constantly focused on that, you’ll never get there. There will be a temptation to say, “Well, let’s not do this, because it’ll hurt this quarter’s earnings or this year’s earnings.” It’s that long-term focus that proved so important at Royal Caribbean. It’s the failure to focus on the longer-term goals that keeps so many enterprises in mediocrity.
Do you have any favorite moments from being aboard your ships?
I am blessed to have had unbelievable experiences. Basically, I get to do what I want and go where I want. But if I were to focus on one moment that had the most emotional impact for me, it would be when we were coming out of COVID.
We had gone for 18 months without being able to operate—zero revenue. People were at home, people were suffering—people were dying. We were the first cruise ship back in the United States. The first ship was the Celebrity Edge. I went to the ship the day before that first voyage after the pandemic.
There were so many people, and each one of them had a story. Everyone wanted a selfie. The tears were just tears of joy, tears of relief. It was an amazing time working with the most amazing people on Earth: passionate, committed, dedicated people.
That time was encapsulated in one comment: “The passengers who are coming on board over the next few weeks are the luckiest people on earth because they’re going to have the best vacation anybody has ever seen.”
If you focus on the short term, then you will never achieve the longer-term goals. Building a transformational ship requires that you think long-term.
If you were to start your career over, would you like to explore a different industry?
Would I ever be interested in working in another sector? Absolutely not. When you’ve been to the top of the mountain, why would you go somewhere else? The cruise industry is such an exciting industry. It offers such opportunity.
Who gets to work with the caliber of people that I’ve been honored and blessed to work with? Who gets to play with $2 billion toys? Who gets to work with the creative minds that I get to? Why would I think of going anywhere else?
