Disney Way Featured in the Dowagiac News

Leaders are readers

Published 10:34pm Thursday, March 24, 2011

MeL, the Michigan Electronic Library (www.mel.org) puts a world of information at the fingertips of anyone with a Dowagiac District Library card.

Kathy Johnson became Dowagiac District Library director last March after nine years at Union High School.

From any computer with Internet access at any time, patrons can find millions of full-text articles, books, CDs and DVDs, even practice tests and homework help for students. Free to Michigan residents 24/7, MeL’s resources can help you start or build a business, chart family history, boost hobbies, borrow from other libraries, explore historical photographs, videos, diary pages and documents and tap databases.

MeL promotes classroom excellence with MORE, Michigan Online Resources for Educators, where teachers can enrich the experience they provide when they track down lesson plans, interactive Web sites, videos and podcasts.

“Our library can’t own every good book that’s published,” Dowagiac District Library Director Katherine Johnson told Rotary Club Thursday noon at Elks Lodge 889, “but our patrons can borrow any book in the state of Michigan, with the exception of the Troy library, through MeL. Anyone with an Internet connection and a library card. What an incredible boon this is for people who want to gather information. It’s changed our library and the type of customer we have to be able to borrow any title.” Johnson mentioned a friend who belongs to the Dowagiac library book club. “She’s in Florida and downloaded the title we’re going to be doing in May.”

The library has pamphlets detailing how to download audiobooks and e-books and the mel.org site.

Asked about MeL cuts by retired superintendent Larry Crandall, Johnson said, “(Gov. Rick Snyder) is reacting to federal legislators. MeL is basically funded through the federal government, LSTA — the Library Services and Technology Act. LSTA is some of those discretionary funds we hear about that the legislators have threatened to cut. That’s what MeL runs on, what the state library runs on. The governor’s right. If those funds are cut, district libraries will try to fund MeL some other way. There are several parts to MeL. The first to be eliminated would be reference databases, which cost millions of dollars. The very last to go would be interlibrary loans.”
“We’re small potatoes,” Johnson said. “This is not a big chunk of the federal budget for the incredible good it does for little towns in areas like this. Eliminating it would be devastating. MeL runs beautifully and there’s no graft or dirty-dealing.”

Johnson, introduced by fellow Marcellus graduate Barbara Groner, spoke for Rotary Literacy Month in March, although “every month is literacy month for libraries.” She retired from a 35-year career in education (she has a master’s degree in teaching reading) after working in school media centers at Dowagiac High School (nine years), Niles Brandywine and Southwestern Michigan College.
Titling her program “Literacy, Leadership and Library,” Johnson succeeded Mike Shamalla as Dowagiac District Library last March 1.
“We can all breathe a huge sigh of relief,” Johnson said. “Most of us realize that to be literate, a person doesn’t need to know everything. In the middle ages, literate leaders had to know everything in their fields. If you were going to build a cathedral, you knew Euclid’s book, cover to cover, and that was it, that was all you needed to know. Everything’s a lot bigger now and we all sense that, so if anybody claims they know everything, we know they’re not telling the truth, and those people are kind of scary anyway.”

Literacy “is not just reading, it’s the ability to learn, to sort and to assimilate what we’ve discovered and then to evaluate. Literacy is a lot more complicated than just reading,” she said. “This presentation started with the idea that libraries and literacy have a direct connection. With leadership, I need to know what works in this economy in this part of Michigan. Those of us that are public entities are faced with lots of challenges. To be a good leader in our world right now, I need information.”

Arrayed before her were leadership books published in the past decade and available at the public library at 211 Commercial St., including “The Disney Way” by Dowagiac visitor Bill Capodagli.

She downloaded the “fascinating book” from the digital collection and read it on an e-reader.

“My two favorites are Rudy Giuliani’s book on leadership and ‘Leading from the Middle.’ I didn’t know much about Giuliani and, in fact, I kind of didn’t like him. But I learned a lot about leadership from reading his book. He was the mayor of New York City and took it from high crime, debt and inefficiency to vast improvements in those areas. His leadership was really tested on 9/11. It’s a fascinating read.” Giuliani advocates literacy through his previous disdain for golf. “He hated golf,” Johnson said, “but his son loved it and was always asking him to play. He could not understand what anyone saw in golf. Then it occurred to him that golf was just like anything else. If you don’t really know about it, you can’t appreciate it, so he made it a point to find everything he could get his hands on about the lore, the jokes, the personalities, the skills involved in golf. Finally, it dawned on him that golf was supposed to be fun and it changed his life. He loves golf so much he can’t get enough of it!”

“Leading from the Middle” is a “really good book on leadership, and let me tell you why,” Johnson said. “There’s a restaurant in San Francisco with excellent food and service beyond compare. It’s not fancy, but the ambience is comfortable and it’s a really wonderful establishment. He asked the waiter to talk to the boss to tell him what a wonderful restaurant it was and the waiter said, ‘I’m the boss. Thank you for your compliment.’ “The guy thought the waiter was being flip and was slightly annoyed by the comment, but he came to realize that they did a lot of training. Every person in the restaurant knows that to the public dealing with that person, he was the restaurant, just like in the library when you go to the desk, that clerk is the library. Leading from the Middle is giving employees that feeling that they have a stake in the whole picture. They are the boss and they have a valuable role to play, which is very similar to a theme in The Disney Way.”

“Digital books are happening right now in a big way,” she said. “Dowagiac District Library is very much involved in digital books — both audio and regular text. They can be downloaded to a mobile device. An audio book you can listen to on your iPod while you go for a walk. Or, it could be on an e-reader, an iPad. There are all kinds of mobile devices and we have a very nice collection of digital books. All you need to do is go to our Web site and click on overdrive. Yes, we can borrow any print book in Michigan, but we’re no longer dependent on print. You can download a book for free and either listen to it or read it anywhere on your mobile device. You’re given 14 days before it disappears. There’s no overdues or dog-eaten damaged books. It’s a great deal for everybody.” Of one of those mobile devices, Kindle, Johnson said, “It will only allow you to buy books from Amazon. It will not let you borrow books for free from libraries.”

Leadership Reading List

1.) The Disney Way, Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, 2007.
2.) Good to Great, Jim Collins, 2001.
3.) Leadership is an Art, Max DePree, 2004.
4.) Leadership, Rudolph Giuliani, 2002.
5.) Leading from the Middle, John Lubans, 2010.
6.) In Search of Excellence, Thomas Peters, 2004.
7.) The Knowing-Doing Gap, Jeffrey Pfeffer, 2000.
8.) Partnering: The New Face of Leadership, 2003.

Innovate the Pixar Way Featured in Credit Union Magazine

Dare, Do, Dream - How to innovate like a Pixarian.

By Bill Merrick

March 25, 2011

Pixar Animation’s John Lasseter faced a Herculean task as he embarked on the production of the movie Toy Story 2: How could he possibly make it as good as the original?

Daunted by high expectations and intense media interest in the sequel, Lasseter vowed not to let his standards slip, consultant and author Bill Capodagli told the 18th Annual CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council Conference.

Lasseter took several steps to ensure the quality of Toy Story 2 remained high.

First, he selected employees who were as passionate about the film as he was, and who exhibited these traits:

• Proficiency. People who are very good at what they do and who exhibit remarkable tenacity.
• Depth. People who have a wide variety of interests outside the workplace.
• Communication and collaboration. People who will work with others to achieve a common goal.

“Pixar goes to great lengths to make sure employees are a group of creative people who are, first and foremost, collaborative teammates,” Capodgli says. “That means they try to accomplish a common goal based on a lot of different skills. Team is everything.”

Lasseter also:

• Focused on quality. All Pixar employees were allowed to take four hours of education per week in classes ranging from drawing to self-defense. When asked why accountants should learn to draw, Lasseter replied, “We’re teaching them to be more observant.”

"Quality is the best business plan," he once said.

• Embraced fun. One day, Lasseter brought his son’s scooter to work and rode it around the building. The following weekend, some Pixar staff scoured local garage sales for used scooters and brought several to work the next week.

“The scooter became Pixar’s symbol of fun,” Capodagli says, noting that such efforts boost an organization’s creativity and create a fun work atmosphere.

• Embraced risk-taking. As children, we learn by exploration and discovery: We try something, fail, and try again, Capodagli explains.

“Organizations need to do that,” he says. “They need to embrace risk and try new things, but be able to make adjustments so they ultimately can be successful.”

Lasseter ultimately achieved his goal: Toy Story 2 earned $120 million more than the original and became a classic among animated films.

“Pixar’s ‘dare, dream, do’ philosophy is alive and well,” Capodagli says. “You need to dream like a child, believe in your playmates, dare to jump in the water and make waves, and unleash your childlike potential.”

New Hampshire Business Review Features The Disney Way–Dream, Believe, Dare, Do

NHBR Network; The New Hampshire Business Review Blog – 3/17

If you’ve studied Walt Disney or read The Disney Way, you know that his four guiding pillars were: Dream, Believe, Dare, Do. What great advice for entrepreneurs. What’s important is clarity about what phase we’re in and making sure we launch (Do) after we’ve dared (ask for funding). SafetySpan and Trunity were our entrepreneurial stars at last month’s Entrepreneur Forum and found themselves in different phases of Disney’s famous continuum.

SafetySpan’s dream is to change how we construct buildings, one floor at a time. Doug Leonardi, CTO explained that the SafetySpan Building System is a mesh-like, modular, flooring construction system designed to offer affordable alternatives that reduce waste and lower carbon emissions. Why brand “safe” in the name? For a couple of reasons. For one, they claim to be collapse resistant, meaning that if an earthquake hits, or some other disaster, the floor flexes rather than cracking and collapsing, bringing the entire building down with it. (Does the World Trade Center come to mind?) Secondly, by using a more sustainable material than concrete, emissions are significantly reduced.  Third, a flexible, light weight, honeycomb-like spaceframe can be assembled between steel beams or wall mounts of a building’s interior construction frame. The magic is in the geometric shape, designed by nature for phenomenal strength.

Today, most buildings are created with concrete flooring which is heavy, expensive, and inflexible if the earth shifts. On the upside, concrete is strong, but has a hefty environmental emissions consequences.  SafetySpan’s design replaces concrete flooring altogether. Same strength at half the weight.  It’s modular so that makes it easy to install, manufactur, and recycle.  Each component is based on human scale making it easy to pack, ship, and install. No mixing required. SafetySpan’s targeted applications are commercial, residential construction in addition to temporary buldings for military installations, emergency response shelters, and interium housing for victums of earthquake and natural disasters. SafetySpan’s solution helps architects and civil engineers gain LEED accrediation, based on its sustainable nature (see USGBC United States Green Building Council www.usgbc.org). It’s also a great solution for datacenters with raised floor requirements. Think crawl space for cabelling.

Our distinguished panel consisted of Lester Hensley, CEO & President of EMSEAL Joint Systems, Wayne Siladi, PE, Associate Principal, Weidlinger Associates, and Andrew Connolly, Director of Finance for R.R. Keller & Associates. Andrew observed, using the Walt Disney vernacular, “You’re in the dare phase. You need to have more guts and ask for more money.” He applauded the concept, but felt that they should be more bullish and launch SafetySpan boldly. Most entrepreneurs we’ve seen underestimate what they will actually need and tend to be overly conservative financially.

Wayne Siladi, PE shared his firms impressive experience in vulnerability assessment; risk analysis; forensic, earthquake, wind, and blast engineering; soil/structure interaction; and sustainability. Weidlinger Associates’ portfolio includes marquee projects like the Shanghai Port’s International Cruise Terminal (80,000 ton capacity), the Georgia Dome, Jacob Javitz Center, and The World Trade Center Forensic Study after 911. He said, “Interesting product.” He referenced the Buckminster Fuller Institute that published an authoritative article written by SafetySpan’s experts where they noted that earthquake loads in particular raise havoc on large buildings, especially where concrete floor comprise 70% of the building’s dead weight. Seismic activity distributes tensile loads across rigid membranes or concrete floors. When dead weight swings and sways, buildings collapse taking human lives. Ideally, design engineers want seismic activity to “pass through” the building. SafetySpan just might be the conduit seismic experts are looking for.

Lester Hensley, President of EMSeal Joint Systems provides structural and architectural sealing products for construction projects such as span bridges, sports stadiums, high rise buildings, and parking decks. His advice was for SafetySpan to complete all testing of the product. This way ratings and results can be provided to civil engineers and architects. Concrete has been used for commercial flooring for decades; introducing new fabric will cause a seachange and shake up the entire building industry. Once embraced by the engineered product space, LEED savvy civil engineers, and architects, this could be the wave (pun intended) of the future. He felt the number one selling point is that SafetySpan prevents progressive collapse, something concrete can’t do. Like a spider web in a wind storm. (Dream, Believe, Dare, Do.)

Our second entrepreneur, Terry Anderton CEO of Trunity, introduced their knowledge-sharing platform which leverages crowd sourcing, or community based design, knowledge, and problem solving. This approach is trending in e-learning empowering virtual publishing, dynamic textbooks, rich content (video) and breaking news. Trunity has harnessed 1500 scientists to contribute to textbooks delivered on-line through Trunity’s Virtual Classroom. Furthermore, Trunity has been awarded several NSF grants to develop this disruptive solution and is partnered with NASA, The National Academy’s of Science, The Encyclopedia of the Earth and the National Foundation for Science and the Environment. Now the “Do” part. They are working with IBM to deliver a commercial solution.

Our distinguished review panel consisted of Ben Bassi, CEO of CommonPlaces e-Solutions, Bill Horn, Executive and Advisory Board Member of the RIMA Foundation, and Yvonne Simon, Chief Executive Officer, Southern New Hampshire University Online. Ben Bassi kicked-off the panel’s comments by recommending that Trunity focus on a 50:50 educations vs. commercial ratio for applications. He raised the question of “are you selling to universities or professors?”. Remember, universities are in the business of generating revenue for textbooks. Ideally, Trunity and Terry must find a way to make this a win-win for educational institutions, partner with publishers, or compete with them.

Bill Horn suggested that there may be wisdom in approaching new commercial markets such as bio/medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Both publish volumes of information that need to be made available world-wide. He also brilliantly suggested approaching LexusNexis, the global source for legal research data now expanding to universities (law schools) and corporations. The challenges are data related – unstructured data content can have legal and compliance exposures and who is responsible for managing it? These challenges might be overcome by Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization that “develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.”

Finally, Yvonne Simon suggested that Trunity would really make their mark if they focused instead on becoming the replacement for Blackboard, the defacto standard for educational tracking and on-line learning today. She noted that professors need a way to contribute content quickly and Blackboard doesn’t allow this easily, is also not a social learning platform, or open.

Yvonne brought to light a progressive initiative led by Cable Green, Director of eLearning & Open Education for the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). They just adopted an open licensing policy for the competitive grants they administer using “An Expectation of Sharing: Guidelines for Effective Policies to Respect, Protect and Increase the Use of Digital Educational Resources” and “An Evaluation of Private Foundation Copyright Licensing Policies, ... Cable’s passion started as an initiative to drive down the cost of textbooks, many of which are sold in bundles, if you need them or not. Legislation followed and is moving state-by-state in favor of students who can’t afford to shell out hundreds of dollars they don’t have.

Do these trends democratize content, or create a via business model that Trunity can capitalize on? The Dream part is real – now students in Africa can have access to the same information that students in Boston, Manchester, or Durham have. All they need is a cloud and a dream.

In closing, you might enjoy finding out what “Dream, Believe, Dare, Do” blossomed into Disney Corporation - their 10 guiding principles. Or stars to sail by. 

10 Disney principles*:

1. Give every member of your organization a chance to dream, and tap into the creativity those dreams embody.
2. Stand firm on your beliefs and principles.
3. Treat your customers like guests.
4. Support, empower, and reward employees.
5. Build long-term relationships with key suppliers and partners.
6. Dare to take calculated risks in order to bring innovative ideas to fruition.
7. Train extensively and constantly reinforce the company's culture.
8. Align long-term vision with short-term execution.
9. Use the storyboarding technique to solve planning & communication problems.
10. Pay close attention to detail.

*The Disney Way, by Bill Capodagli & Lynn Jackson, McGraw Hill, 2007

See you at the next Entrepreneur Forum!

Catherine Blake, President

Sales Protocol International

cblake@salesprotoocol.com

www.salesprotocol.com

EBSCO Reviews Innovate the Pixar Way

Today, many American companies are highly risk averse and are taking a short-term view of business. Greater focus on innovation is needed to make companies more competitive. In Innovate the Pixar Way, Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson discuss how leaders at animation giant Pixar have cultivated an innovative culture. They identify numerous ways that organizations can create their own “innovation playgrounds.” While researching the sources of Pixar’s innovative genius, the authors examined the company’s culture, leadership, teaming, and training. Organizations that are both innovative and profitable require a delicate balance between two very different characteristics: 1) childlike dreaming and 2) task-driven execution. Pixar has been successful at achieving this balance.

EBSCO Publishing is an experienced information solution provider and the largest aggregator of journals and periodicals in the world. In addition to providing resources to support the complete information technology needs of the world’s largest corporations and government agencies, EBSCO is:

• One of the 200 largest private companies in the United States, as reported by Forbes
• A chief resource used in the top twelve ranked MBA programs, as reported by Financial Times
• A leader in providing outstanding information technology solutions for the world’s most-recognized companies and industry leaders for more than 60 years

With a combination of creative editorial, technical, and business skills and operations, EBSCO Publishing provides an outstanding collection of resources. This includes proprietary content, as well as book summaries and reports for learning professionals with selected articles from top magazine and journal publishers.

Dreams: The DIsney Way Fieldbook: How to Implement Walt Disney’s Vision of “Dream, Believe, Dare, DO” in Your Own Company

Posted by overnightmiracle.com on March 11, 2011 by admin

 

Business people around the world raved about The Disney Way and Fortune proclaimed it, “so useful you may whistle while you work.” Now, authors Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson are back to deliver a comprehensive, step-by-step implementation plan based on Walt Disney’s principles outlined in the best-selling The Disney Way.

The Disney Way Fieldbook provides action plans for instilling Disney’s vision into any company, complete with diagnostic exercises, practice sessions, proven advice, and insightful questionnaires. Packed with universally applicable tools and techniques, the book also features inspiring quotes from Walt Disney himself and little known facts about his extraordinary empire.

Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson Reports on The Disney Way Initiative

March 4, 2011 Report to Mayor Lyons and City Council Members: “This past week, I was pleased to be able to participate with over a dozen City employees during the intensive training on The Disney Way that was shared with the Dowagiac Union Schools and Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital at Southwestern Michigan College.  It was especially good to have workers from all departments and all levels of the City jointly practicing problem-solving techniques and identifying ways in which our services to the community can be enhanced. Now the challenge for us will be implementing practices that help us better understand and respond to the customers we serve each day.”

Editorial: Dowagiac Develops its vision with Disney Way Opportunity

 

Published 12:24am in the Dowagiac Daily News, Thursday, March 3, 2011

Rare moments like this don’t materialize every day.

There was that Gwen Brooks poetry reading 20 years ago which spawned a week-long fine arts festival featuring world-class authors, musicians, dancers, storytellers and now culinary artists.

A generation of students grew up believing the way to read a book includes conversing with its creator about where he or she came up with the idea and characters.

Another moment that comes to mind is the new middle school with a Performing Arts Center opened in 2005 by an orchestra.

The Disney Way dangles a different kind of symphony, a complex collection of voices to blend together in a pleasing vision that will be like music in its ability to tell diverse Dowagiac’s inspiring story.

It’s one thing to live here and to know it’s special, but another to try to articulate that across the spectrum of an entire town, from its public schools and community college to service providers at City Hall and our hospital.

Just to look around Wednesday and to see five large tables unleashing and trying to mesh their visions inspires passion for the possibilities and underscores Bill Capodagli’s disclaimer that there’s no instant pudding, just hard work, when it comes to battering down barriers and reimagining entrenched cultures.

Certainly solving customer problems sparks innovation and it was interesting that in the first exercise about identifying examples of exceptional or awful service, 80 percent extolled exemplary examples.

Local imagineers will do well to remember how we got to this point since this initiative was conceived last November in an unprecedented show of cooperation.

This remarkable week can actually be traced to last March with a business and community leaders forum for Dr. W. Craig Misner of Michigan Leadership Institute, gathering information for the Union School District superintendent search which delivered Dr. Mark Daniel to succeed retiring Peg Stowers.

A Daily News column March 29, 2010, headlined, “We need to tell our story to create a climate for success” called for a school chief with exceptional skills and fresh ideas to tell Dowagiac’s story, good and bad, so we define ourselves rather than someone else.

A sense of urgency came from the fact that for the first time ever, Dowagiac finished below state average in 14 test categories. We came across as a mediocre also-ran and the business community knew how hard it would be to recruit for economic development or to sell homes with a school system that across the board ranked consistently in the bottom half of area districts and last in Cass County.

Fair or not, that was reality, even if it’s not the Dowagiac we know, which doesn’t take a back seat to anyone.

The durable storyline that the district is scrappy and squeezes every dollar from limited resources served it well for a long time, but it doesn’t aim high enough for graduates expected to compete in a global economy.

Dogwood is a great example of the power of the possible, ignoring naysayers and creating its own climate for success by expectations it defined.

If its visionaries had wallowed in defeatism or flinched in self-doubt at the prospect of inviting a Kurt Vonnegut, John Updike or Norman Mailer here, there wouldn’t be a new generation writing its own books and pursuing fine arts careers in college or an enviable public art collection.

So this may not prove to be instant pudding or low-hanging fruit, but branches will not be out of reach harnessing so much positive energy and maybe a little pixie dust magic in a mutual direction for the greater good. Just getting all these folks in the same room, their hats checked at the door, was no small feat. Isn’t every small town like this?

Capodagli knows better than most they are not.

The Grand Old City, with a strong identity and rich heritage, is different in a good way and has a story that someday will make a sensational book, The Dowagiac Way.

It All Starts with a Dream

Last week, I had one of the most gratifying experiences of my professional career. During a time when everything you hear on the news is so negative…government fighting with unions; unions fighting with school districts; school districts fighting with teachers, I felt like I had been transported to another world. What a breath of fresh air to work with a community that is not playing blame games and not paying lip service to problems. No, they are actually doing something as a unified community to institute change!

A few months ago, I received an email from Dr. Mark Daniel, superintendent of the Dowagiac Union Schools in Dowagiac, Michigan. He had a “dream” for his school district – a way of teaching that was student-centered and had the values of Disney. Soon, I was engaged in a conference call with a team of four leaders from the Dowagiac community: Mark Daniel; Joy Strand, CEO of Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital; Larry Seurynck, President of the Board of Education; and Kevin Anderson, City Manager. This unlikely team that became a steering team all shared the “dream” of improving customer service in their respective organizations, but most importantly, of becoming a customer-centric community. I was amazed at their commitment to one another, and their passion for embarking upon a journey with so many unknowns.

We discussed a way to bring these uniquely diverse entities together to introduce and begin the process of adopting “The Disney Way” principles. In my 30+ years of consulting, the approach I proposed for a community-wide cultural change might have seemed daunting to the team. I know how difficult it is for even one organization to change their culture, so at first, I was thinking that the chances of several organizations coming to consensus on a culture was slim and none. But, as I came to discover…the Dowagiac steering team was more unified than some teams after years and years of development! When Mark Daniel called to schedule dates for our engagement, I felt a rush of enthusiasm about being involved in what was to be the launch of something very special in our great state of Michigan.

We began the week-long kickoff with my 90 minute keynote – “If Walt Ran Your Organization” – that was open to the entire community (650 attended, 10% of the Dowagiac population). The subsequent three days were filled with staff interviews and workshop training in which teams from four entities (school, hospital, city government and the Dowagiac community) worked hard, played hard and discovered many “ah has” together. The energy, passion and spirit exhibited by each of these teams is hard to describe…I wish all communities had a “dream” that touched so many members. Each of the Dowagiac teams is now in full swing developing their own “dreams” with great gusto.

I believe that the change that is taking place in the Dowagiac Union Schools will be the most challenging, the most dramatic, and perhaps the most exciting for the community. You’d have to live under a rock to not know that our nation’s educational process is failing our students…our future! For every TEN high school freshmen entering school this year, only SEVEN will graduate in four years. Of those seven, FOUR will go continue on to college, but TWO will need to take a remedial reading, writing or mathematics class. I don’t know of any business that can survive with an 80% defect rate!

Nationally, the finger pointing continues regarding ways to improve our educational system…blame the unions; blame the teachers; blame the administration; blame the parents; too much spending; too little spending. The truth of the matter is that for over twenty-five years, we have thrown money at the problems, drugged students who have behavioral issues and labeled them as ADHD. But the way we teach – the process – has not had any measurable positive change in the past 100 years. We must attack the process not the people.

The leaders of the Dowagiac Union School District have decided to take a stand for real educational change. Revamping a tired, ineffective process begins with a “dream”...and I applaud what they have crafted:

“Imagine a place where Students have a passion for learning

….a place where the focus is student-centered

…a place where students achieve personal goals

…a place where our whole community is valued

…a place where children work together and learn from each other

The Dowagiac Dream for Education”

This week, I had the opportunity to be part of the Dowagiac Union School District’s presentation of their “dream” to all their employees. I also felt privileged to assist in facilitating customer service feedback storyboard sessions with middle school and high school students. When the students identified the “ideal” classroom as: 1. exploration and discovery; 2. interaction with the teacher and fellow students; and 3. fun, I knew they were beginning to build a great future together…a feat worth celebrating. It reminded me of the Millennium Celebration at World Disney World whose theme was Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand. Certainly, being with those students reinforced my passion for student-centered experiential learning, and gave me cause to celebrate!

My personal “dream” is that other communities will look to Dowagiac as a model of what is possible when fellow citizens from diverse organizations come together to “Dream, Believe, Dare, and Do.” Witnessing an entire community collaborate, break down barriers, and embrace change is what made my week so very special. The three-day workshop experience at Southwestern Michigan College (SMC) was frosting on the cake. Dr. Fred Mathews, SMC founder and CEO of 46 years, was our host and a member of what is now known as the “community team.” SMC is a great example of student-centered education and Fred is an advocate and resource for change in Dowagiac’s educational system. What a delight it was to get to know Fred and share ideas with him!

Keep up the good work Dowagiac! It is really an honor to be a small part of your exciting journey!

Bill Capodagli

Dowagiac Union Schools’ Disney Way Initiative

March 4, 2011; To the Dowagiac Community:

We are on our way to Dreaming, Believing, Daring and Doing! Training has begun to begin the process of creating a collaborative plan with community members to prepare our students for the demands of the 21st Century and a global economy. The Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Trustees and I believe all people of Dowagiac should be part of the dream process to shape Dowagiac Schools for the next decade. From my experience exceptional student achievement can be obtained and sustained if a common dream is generated and implemented with community input and support.

The Disney Way initiative will help guide us to ensure high school graduates are ready to enter college or other post secondary training. A plan where students trust through education and training they can make a family sustaining wage. A Dowagiac Dream where students can rise to the rigor of the curriculum because they have significant relationships with adults making the curriculum relevant and meaningful resulting in higher test scores, increased academic achievement, and increased graduation rates.

A 21st Century Educational Plan will be crafted and presented to our community with a target date of August 31, 2011. As superintendent of Dowagiac Union Schools, I can honestly state our Dowagiac Union Schools will improve because stakeholders like you participated in our Dreaming, Believing, Daring, and Doing.

Dr. Mark Daniel, Superintendent

National Seminars Presents Customer Service – The Disney Way with Bill Capodagli, March 8, 2011

Bill Capodagli presents Customer Service - The Disney Way
Creating "magical" moments that earn you customers for life!

Date: March 08, 2011  |  2:00PM ET • 1:00PM CT • 12:00PM MT • 11:00AM PT

Price: $179
Can't break away for an hour at this time? For your convenience, a CD-ROM recording is made of each Rockhurst Webinar. You may choose to purchase the CD-ROM either along with the webinar or separately. The CD-ROM recording will be available approximately 14-21 days after the webinar.

http://www.nationalseminarstraining.com

Event Description:

At Disney, every contact with a customer offers a chance to shine. Disney calls these contacts “Moments of Truth” ... the opportunities to create everlasting positive impressions! And, because the company demands excellence as an organizational absolute, even its fiercest competitors acknowledge that Disney is simply the best customer-centric company on the planet!

Now you can learn how to inspire that level of customer service passion in your own organization by joining us for Customer Service – “The Disney Way”!

Learn the Keys to Dazzling Customer Service in Just One Hour!
Attend this one-hour training session and learn Disney’s formula for customer service brilliance. You’ll gain invaluable ideas that your company can immediately implement to amazing effect.

You’ll also learn insider secrets about how Disney requires – and receives – customer-focused behavior from every employee … from top executives to part-time staff. You won’t want to miss that!

Produce a "Show" for Your Customers and They'll Thank You for It Forever!
Walt Disney knew that every aspect of his business was “show” business, and every moment spent with a customer meant that the employee was “onstage.” By perfecting the art of customer relations, Disney built a record of customer loyalty, satisfaction, and repeat business that became legendary.

Join us and you’ll learn how to capture this enthusiasm for customer service throughout your organization. Your team will learn how to put on a “show” that brings customers back again and again and again!
Disney's Success Can Be Your Success — Don't Miss This Training
So what are you waiting for? Learn how to support your business and your customers with the same level of excellence — join us for Customer Service — “The Disney Way” now!

What You'll Learn When You Attend ...

• Disney’s No.1 unbreakable rule for providing the ultimate customer service
• How Walt Disney’s version of “show” business is the perfect tonic for what ails your business
• Identifying the “Moments of Truth” in your organization and ensuring nobody ever misses one again!
• The hidden – and not-so-hidden – costs for your company of even a single poor customer service experience
• How to use a little bit of Disney’s “pixie dust” to create your own customer-centric organization
• Are you overlooking the first step in creating great service? Find out here.
• How to gain complete buy-in for your new customer service vision and values from everyone up and down the corporate ladder
• 5 keys to creating “magical” moments for your customers

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Dowagiac Officials Learn ‘Disney Way’

Article published in the South Bend Tribune, Mar 6, 2011
Dowagiac officials learn 'Disney Way'
Hospital, government officials seek to improve customer service.
By TOM MOOR Tribune Staff Writer
DOWAGIAC -- It's apparent community leaders in the Dowagiac area are impressed with the way Walt Disney Corp. relates to its customers.

So much so, in fact, a consultant from "The Disney Way Fieldbook" was in town last week to teach Dowagiac city leaders, Dowagiac Union School officials and staff at Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital about how Disney operates as a corporation. The goal, according to city manager Kevin Anderson, is to improve customer service in the Dowagiac area. "It's a way for us to better effectively respond to various constituents," Anderson said.

 

Bill Capodagli, co-author of "The Disney Way" and "Innovate the Pixar Way," was in Dowagiac Monday through Thursday holding seminars about how and why Disney Corp. has been so successful and how others, like those in Dowagiac, can achieve that success. Capodagli describes Disney as the "best customer-centric company on the planet.""We're trying to look at ways they can be more successful as an organization," he said.

The overall goal of the training was to teach the three entities about what customer service truly means.  "It's all about how we can better service our customers," said Mark Daniels, superintendent of Dowagiac Union Schools. "How do we improve?"  For Daniels, the school district's customers would be the students and parents. The city government, meanwhile, would consist of better serving city residents, while the hospital would focus on its patients and community. 

 

Daniels said what is unique about the training last week was it was attended by all three entities, instead of just one. Southwestern Michigan College also had had a hand in the events as a host and helper, Daniels said."People are catching the spirit of this," Daniels said. "People that aren't even part of the training. That's the beauty of having the city and hospital come together with the education system, bouncing things off of each other."

Daniels said the district is looking down its entire line of employees, from custodians to administrators, to try to improve overall service: "Coming together and agreeing regarding the way you see the delivery of services and your outcomes," he said.
Daniels said the next step is to go from the story-building stage to the story board and putting the plan in place. "We're very excited to be able to work with other people in the community and pick each other's brains," Anderson said.

 

Capodagli said he was impressed with the leaders in Dowagiac.
"I'm impressed with their enthusiasm and energy and commitment," he said. "There's a lot of hard work that has to be done developing a customer-centric culture. For any organization, it's hard work. Anyone from the board room to the storage room needs to embrace the message and that commitment."

Staff writer Tom Moor:
tmoor@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6234

Dowagiac Union Schools Create “Dream for Education and Students’ Ideal Classroom”

Last week, Bill worked with several teams in Dowagiac, Michigan, all of whom are in the process of developing their “dreams”; creating their values; identifying barriers to success; and planning their implementations of The Disney Way principles.  They learned the technique of storyboarding and were thrilled at their progress using this powerful and flexible tool.  Superintendent Dr. Mark Daniel is a great champion for the Dowagiac Union School team; yesterday, he sent the following heartfelt message to Bill along with their word-smithed “dream” (to be posted soon!):  “… I appreciate your guidance during the past week.  We did have our Aha!!! Without your facilitating it, we would not have reached it.”  We applaud you, too, Dr. Daniel for being a role model for others in the field of education!”

Innovate the Pixar Way featured in ShiftTheParadigm.com

Innovate the Pixar Way – Business Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Corporate Playground details the principles by which Pixar cultivates an innovative corporate culture. Their box office results and timeless movie classics (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monster’s Inc., etc…) created in their brief history speak to the success of their model.

The book highlights a number of principles about fostering an innovative culture that not only applies to the business world, but can be applied to one’s personal life, even to raising children.

A brief sampling:
1. Avoid shortcuts. As Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter has said: “Quality is the best business plan of all.”

2. Maintain a childlike wonder and interest in the world to foster creativity.

3. Dare to take risks. As J.K. Rowling once said: “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you lived so cautiously that you might as well not lived at all – in which case you failed by default.”

4. Don’t just meet expectations of others, fulfill their dreams. A lofty goal indeed, but when you’re able to touch someone’s life in a meaningful way, whether it’s a family member, friend or customer, your satisfaction and the person’s satisfaction soars.

 

5. Surround yourself with the best and help them establish a shared
purpose.

6. Establish an environment of mutual respect and trust to create a
positive, self-motivated, achievement focused culture.

7. Shake up the status quo by doing something out of the ordinary –
recharge your batteries by going to a park, a museum…Commit to doing something audacious every day.

8. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate. Celebrate successes. Even celebrate failures when something is learned or a smart risk was taken. Celebrate doing!

9. Never accept good enough. Walt Disney coined the term “plus-ing,” which referred to looking for ways to continuously make things better.

10.  ____________________________________________________
(intentionally left blank so you can fill-in a best practice that will drive
creativity and innovation into your life; a best practice that you’ll commit to implementing within the next 48 hours!)

© Shift The Paradigm Enterprises, LLC; www.ShiftTheParadigm.com

Innovate the Pixar Way Featured by ExpertResume.com

What's Next?

By Sandy Prock M.Ed., JCTC, Co-Owner of www.ExpertResume.com

“Oprah Winfrey failed as a news reporter.” - From “Innovate the Pixar Way” by Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, page 77

Consider this, if Oprah can fail at something, lose a job and end up with an even better job - Why not you? However, if you recently lost your position you may not feel so great. If that is the case, don't worry, it’s normal if you feel down or depressed. Why? There are many reasons, and many of those are personal to you. However, there are common reasons for all of us. When we lose something, anything, it is a normal human feeling to feel depressed. This is part of our grief process. The process of healing and getting beyond your feelings of depression is to accept how you feel - and the sooner the better. There is a process of recovery. Knowledge empowers you.

A friend of mine recently told me her story of how she lost her job and found an even better position. She said losing her job felt as if she lost a huge chunk of her family. She felt adrift, lost and her heart ached with deep pain. She felt alone in her pain and confused, very confused. Her supportive husband listened. However, one day she decided she just needed to sit with herself, in the quiet and just be with her pain and loss. She described her experience as if she were on a train. She rode the train of her feelings passing through a dark and painful tunnel. She emerged feeling literally relieved and free – with her “mojo” reignited. She admitted that she continued to have ups and downs; however, now she felt in charge. She learned a life lesson. Paying attention to her feelings untangled her confusion. Every dip in her feelings allowed her another opportunity to practice what she learned. She emerged feeling stronger, clearer and more capable than ever.

My friend then dove into her job search – full time. She spent eight + hours a day, learning everything she could about herself and the job search process. She devoted quality time and re-imagined her life. My friend decided to take this time to see if there was anything, she might want to change in herself or her new job. She re-evaluated the kind of job and environment that she wanted. She took tests, daydreamed and listened to her deeper Self. Her great job loss became a bridge to greater self-knowledge that led to a new idea; why not land a job even better than her last one. Why not land a job more suited to her personality, something that would not just bring home a paycheck, but give her life greater meaning and more fulfillment. She decided to view this job loss as an opportunity - No small accomplishment!

My friend hired herself full-time, got up every day, dressed, and went to work – for herself. She did her homework, researched companies, and prepared herself for every interview. She adopted the attitude of student and became a wise and confident job seeker. She was now the CEO of her life. Her confidence spoke volumes. She even volunteered at her favorite charity a few hours a week, while finding time for fun, family, and friends. She eventually accomplished her dream and landed a job she likes even better than the one she lost. If she can do this, so can you! 

Marion Woodman, a noted Jungian Analyst and author said, “It takes great courage to break with one’s past history and stand alone.” Remember how you faced past obstacles. In addition, learn new ways and you are on your way. Consider accepting where you are now, pain and all, learn, grow and consider landing your most fulfilling job yet. Consider what will make you happy. Consider what will fulfill your soul. Consider what will make you feel more whole, more yourself. Climb more fully into “your skin” and be more of you. Be courageous, let go of the past and stand up and be counted.

Think about Oprah Winfrey failing as a news reporter. Think about my friend. Maybe this will help you put your job loss into perspective. I am sure you have heard many stories like these, including how Einstein’s teachers told him he was not too bright and would never amount to anything. Lincoln failed many times. PIXAR, the famed animated movie company, who continually produces one mega hit after another, has learned to embrace failure, learn from it and move forward. Why not you!

The wave of the future for all job seekers is to be more like free agents/entrepreneurs. When you adopt this perspective and learn everything you can about your job search and go after your new job with everything you have, you will have gained a lifelong skill that will benefit you for the rest of your working career. Consider joining the ranks of the great and be on your way to your better future. Be the CEO of your life and your career development.

Make sure your resume, cover letter and other job search documents represent you well. They must be well written and formatted to catch the attention of your future employer. Get noticed. Land your new job.

If you have any questions about your resume, cover letter, or other job search documents, please feel free to call Bob. We welcome your questions. Bob and I wish you the best in your career development.

Sandy Prock M.Ed. (Master’s Degree in Education –Vocational Guidance and Counseling), JCTC (Job and Career Transition Coach), Co-Owner of www.ExpertResume.com

Bill Capodagli’s 2011 CUNA Keynote

18th Annual
CUNA Marketing
and Business Development Council Conference
Wednesday, March 16 - Saturday, March 19, 2011
Las Vegas, NV

Dreams and Dreamers: How to Innovate like Walt Disney and the Pixarians

With Bill Capodagli, Dreamer, Castle Builder, Storyteller

Sponsored by Third Degree Advertising

Session Description

Pixar is the benchmark of innovative success. With numerous Academy Awards under their belts, they keep breaking the mold on creativity and taking it to the next level. From Toy Story to Up, Pixar never settles for what they’ve done but continues to look forward to the future.

Bill takes you on a tour of the most innovative, creative organization in the world. You’ll learn how to look at the world through a child’s eyes (and why it’s important). You’ll learn how to believe in your team... how to jump in and try something different... how to create your own corporate playground... and more.

Among the Key Points You’ll Learn:

• The Dreamers
  Walt Disney and the Pixarians
• Dream Like a Child
  Where did the creativity go?
• Believe in Your Playmates
  Collaboration in the sandbox
• Dare to Jump in the Water and Make Waves
  Try, Learn, Try Again
• Do Unleash Your Childlike Potential
  Make a Dent in the Universe
• New Beginnings

Bill Capodagli’s Disney Way Keynote in Dowagiac, Michigan

Don’t fire Tom Sawyer

Published 10:37pm Monday, February 28, 2011 in the Dowagiac News

 

Bill Capodagli ended his introduction to The Disney Way at Dowagiac Middle School Performing Arts Center Monday night with the tale of the bully Tom Sawyer, who with proper training became a valued 30-year employee.

Through his keynote, Capodagli stressed developing a “Dowagiac dream” collective vision this week in partnership with Dowagiac Union Schools, Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital and Southwestern Michigan College would take hard work and perseverance because there is no “instant pudding.”

“When Disneyland was being built” in the 1950s in Anaheim, Calif., the consultant recalled, “there was a boy of 10 or 12 who worked in the mailroom. Whenever a package arrived for Walt, this young man made it his job to deliver it. One day, the young man said he didn’t want to work in the mailroom anymore, he wanted to be Tom Sawyer on Tom Sawyer’s Island. You’re casting the role tomorrow and I wish you’d consider me for the part.”

Disney suggested the move to his vice president of casting, so the youth was hired.

Within a few days, the executive barged into Disney’s office.

“That Tom Sawyer you hired,” he sputtered. “We have to fire him.”

Walt wondered why.

“That little boy has literally become Tom Sawyer,” came the response.

By that he meant the Mark Twain story in which Tom found ways to exert his influence.

“He’s beating up all of your guests as they come onto your island,” the vice president warned.

“This kid’s a bully.”

Disney became uncharacteristically upset.

He pulled his employee into an office and said, “You don’t understand what we’re trying to do. That little boy is being the best Tom Sawyer he knows how to be. Our job is to make him the best Tom Sawyer for Disney. Now go out and do your job.”

“That story was lost for over 30 years,” Capodagli said.

“It was told at the boy’s 30-year recognition dinner with the Disney organization, by the vice president, who came out of retirement to honor his 30 years of service. How close they came to losing a valued employee of over 30 years.

“It seems so easy, but it gets so hard. All we have to do is train the daylights out of our people, give them the tools to succeed and get out of their way so they can become the best employee, teacher or nurse that they know how to be.”