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March 11 - March 25, 2022
“It’s not the magic that makes it work; it’s the way we work that makes it magic.”
Creating Magic is not about the theory of magic, but the live, on-the-ground experience of an icon in the magic business—Lee Cockerell.
Lee’s approach helps us remember Peter Drucker and his philosophy: “They are not your employees, they are your people.”
Each of the fifty-nine thousand Cast Members is trained to treat each and every Guest with the utmost care and respect. And they do this consistently because they are treated exactly the same way by the Disney leadership: with the utmost care and respect.
Committed, responsible, inspiring leaders create a culture of care, which leads to quality service, which leads to Guest satisfaction, which leads to measurable business results and a strong competitive advantage.
If you want your employees to deliver excellent service, you’d better provide them with excellent leadership.
the customer doesn’t come first; leadership comes first.
We let it be known that managers and executives would be evaluated not only on their bottom line results but on how those results were obtained.
Everyone was now expected to live up to specific values and ideals.
all business problems boil down to leadership problems.
Excellence requires common sense leadership.
Leadership is more than a role; it’s a responsibility.
Being a leader means doing what has to be done, when it has to be done, in the way it should be done, whether you like it or not, and whether they like it or not.
The true work of a business leader, like that of a mother, is to help others to be the best they can be.
“Lee, you can be a fool once or a fool all your life. When you don’t know something, ask questions. Then you’ll be a fool only once.”
Good leaders are humble enough to admit what they don’t know, and great leaders are constantly looking for new information.
Your authority—or what you think is your authority—is nothing without good relationship skills.
being clear about expectations is exactly what leaders need to do if they want people to perform well.
Train and develop your people, and always look for a better way to do things.
Some customers may have the power to insist on exceptional service, but everyone wants it, and everyone deserves it.
all everyone wants is to feel special, to be treated with respect, and to be seen as an individual.
great leaders always focus on others, not on themselves. They hire the right people, train them, trust them, respect them, listen to them, and make sure to be there for them when needed.
“In times of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future.”
When everyone matters and everyone knows he or she matters, employees are happy to come to work, and they’re eager to give you their energy, creativity, and loyalty.
At Disney we defined our approach to inclusion with the acronym RAVE: respect, appreciate, and value everyone.
1. Make sure everyone matters . . . and that everyone knows it.
Your job is not just to make your employees happy but to create an environment that enables them to excel at what they do.
2. Know your team.
3. Let your team get to know you.
Take your responsibility, not yourself, seriously.
4. Greet people sincerely.
“People will not remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.”
5. Reach out to everyone on your team.
Like good parents, great leaders are always available.
Always leave blank spaces in your calendar to accommodate the unexpected, because the unexpected is often more important than the expected.
Most often what people are saying and what they are trying to say are two different things.
8. Communicate clearly, directly, and honestly.
9. Stand up for the excluded.
Make no mistake, anyone who feels left out is left out.
10. Forget about the chain of command.
“We trust you to do the right thing, and we are confident you’ll make the right choices.”
Ken Blanchard, the leadership and management expert. It read, “None of us is as smart as all of us.”
12. Design your culture.
it pays to take care of your people before you take care of your paperwork.
13. Treat your people as you would want your customers to be treated.
Cast Members at Walt Disney World are trained to deliver on these Four Guest Expectations: Make me feel special. Treat me as an individual. Respect me and my children. Be knowledgeable.
If you want people to behave a certain way, model it by treating them that same way.
Ask yourself frequently what you have done to show that everyone is important and knows it.
Create an environment that makes every employee and every customer feel special.
You might hire the best possible people, inspire them, and pay them every cent they’re worth, but if you don’t give them the right framework in which to operate, they can’t perform at their best.
