LEADERSHIP —
THE DISNEY WAY
Participant Materials
PRESENTED BY
ROCKHURST AUDIO
CONFERENCE SERIES,
A DIVISION OF ROCKHURST
UNIVERSITY CONTINUING
EDUCATION CENTER, INC.
0707
S O M E T H I N G
N E W
T O D A Y
Copyright 2007, Rockhurst University Continuing Education Center, Inc.
Participant Notebook
Leadership
The ability to establish and manage a creative climate where people and teams are selfmotivated to the successful achievement of long-term goals in an environment of mutual respect
and trust.
Key Learning Objectives
• To identify and explain the key elements of Walt’s leadership definition giving examples
of how each element is present at Disney and at other successful companies
• To suggest an action plan to improve anyone’s leadership skills
Great Leaders
• Establish the vision for the organization.
• Have the ability to focus on being the best by creating something new or reinventing
the old.
• Create unique experiences.
• Solve customer problems.
Action Item No. 1
• Focus on being the best by inventing the new or recreating the old.
• Focus on one or two aspects of your product or service and become passionate about
improving until you are the very best in your marketplace or industry … and then move
on to the “next little thing.”
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Participant Notebook, continued
Manage a Creative Climate
Leadership is not just getting work done through people; instead, it means developing people
through their work and at the same time, having fun.
Two Keys to Managing
1. Develop people. It begins from one’s first day on the job. Everyone must begin by
internalizing the culture of the organization before they learn the skills of their specific
role or job. (The Disney orientation process is called Traditions). The purpose is to
introduce the culture of the organization to the new “cast members” by focusing on the
vision and values of the organization, instead of policies, procedures, or rules.
Note
The development process actually begins before the first day of employment. It starts with
identifying the right people for a job, and communicating the down-side of each job. It
continues after Traditions as well. Replace performance appraisals with development plans.
Instead of looking at past performance and determining what a cast member did well or how he
or she may have failed, sit down and jointly determine what new skills the team member may
need or want to develop over the next year to become an even better.
2. Have fun. Great leaders expect exceptional performance from their teams, but they
give them the development tools to achieve great results and they create an environment
of fun.
Action Item No. 2
Develop your own “cast members.” Start with at least two days of orientation. Begin annual
development planning with regular follow-up sessions. Do this in an atmosphere of fun.
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Participant Notebook, continued
People and Teams
Top Three Reasons Why People Work, Other Than Money
(Fortune magazine study)
1. To know that their work makes a difference for the customer or the organization; to do
work that they view as worthwhile
2. To know that they belong to a team
3. To constantly learn new skills, to become a better employee
Creating a Climate of “Work Worth Doing” and “Belonging to a Team”
Walt was a master at demonstrating to his cast members how everyone’s job, no matter how
small, contributed to the entire show.
• Everyone must know their individual roles and understand the entire vision or message of
the product and how their roles fit.
• Everyone needs to be accountable for their individual responsibilities and understand that
their actions are only part of a mosaic.
Action Item No. 3
Make sure that your team members or employees internalize three things:
1. The theme or mood of your operation; that should include the vision and values
of the company
2. Their individual roles or job skills
3. How they are accountable to the entire team for performing their roles
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Participant Notebook, continued
The Element of Being Self-Motivated
“The ability to establish a creative climate where people and teams are self motivated …”
Action Item No. 4
Make sure you give your employees the tools to succeed, such as:
1. Orientation
2. On-the-job training
3. Development plans
Then, get out of their way and let them find their own greatness.
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Participant Notebook, continued
The Element of Long-Term Goals
“The ability to establish and manage a creative climate where people and teams are selfmotivated to the successful achievement of long-term goals… “
• The number one inhibitor to a successful organization today is short-term thinking —
living for today at the expense of tomorrow.
• Great leaders take every opportunity to reinforce the long-term dreams or visions of
their organizations.
• Long-term does not mean long time … develop your dream quickly and then work at
making it a reality.
Action Item No. 5
Develop your long-term dream and reinforce it at every staff meeting, customer get-together,
stock holders’ meeting, even the company golf outing or picnic. Avoid moderation at all costs.
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Participant Notebook, continued
The Element of Mutual Respect and Trust
“The ability to establish and manage a creative climate where people and teams are selfmotivated to the successful achievement of long-term goals in an environment of mutual respect
and trust …”
• Respect: To revere, treasure, value
• Trust: To believe, build on, look to, rely on
• When leaders exhibit respect and trust, they will receive respect and trust from
their teams.
Action Item No. 6
Treasure and value your team. Trust your people to use their common sense, and trust them in
terms of how they do their jobs. If people know that you trust them, they will rise to levels
beyond their own expectations of themselves.
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Participant Notebook, continued
Seven Organizations That Have Benefited
From the “Disneyesque” Culture
1. The Cheesecake Factory, with 100 locations across the country. Individual stores
generating in excess of $3 million with company surpassing the $1 billion revenue mark
in 2005.
2. Downtown School of Des Moines, Iowa started with 45 students in 1993 today 271 has
over 900 on waiting list; beat national test scores by over two-fold.
3. The international professional services firm of E&Y. Revenues up 78 percent in six years
while their closest competitor was DOWN 5 percent; nine consecutive years named to
Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”
4. Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts had 19 properties win AAA Five Diamond Awards; ten
years on the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For.”
5. Griffin Hospital of Derby, Connecticut moved from near-bankruptcy to the highest
ranking by any healthcare organization; fourth place on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies
to Work For” in 2006, eight consecutive years on the list.
6. John Robert’s Spa of Cleveland, Ohio grew from a four-chair salon generating $100,000
in revenues to over $5 million in revenues, 140 employees, and over 30,000 clients
growing at 1000 clients a month.
7. Men’s Warehouse largest retailer of men’s suits, over 700 stores and 11,000 employees;
four years on the Fortune list.
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Participant Notebook, continued
Recap
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Remember
Keep moving forward — opening new doors and doing new things — because we’re curious,
and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
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Recommended Resources
Audio CDs
The Art of Being Assertive
Communicate With Confidence
Effective Coaching
How to Handle Conflict and Confrontation
How to Handle Difficult People
How to Manage Projects, Priorities & Deadlines
Mastering the 7 Habits (4-program set)
Money Mastery (with software CD-ROM)
Motivation and Goal-Setting
The Power of Persuasion
Manuals
Finding and Hiring the Right People
Learn to Listen
The Manager’s Role as a Coach
Negaholics™ No More
Think Like a Manager, third edition
Books
101 Sample Write-Ups
3003 Ideas in a Box (3-volume set)
Discipline Without Punishment
Fair, Square, and Legal
Lifescripts (with CD-ROM)
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