Learn The Disney Way in the Rockies!

Royal Oak Makes Progress in The Disney Way

Royal Oak Reports on The Disney Way

Introducing The Disney Way 3rd Edition!

In the 3rd edition (release date - March, 2016), we feature organizations that are predominantly in start-up mode or have revamped their strategies to become more customer-centric.  The line-up includes six entities that have recently launched their businesses or have reinvented their cultures: TYRA Beauty, zTailors, Science Center of Iowa, Joe C. Davis YMCA Outdoor Center/Camp Widjiwagan, the Grand County Center of Grand Lake, Colorado and McLean County, Illinois Unit (School) District No. 5. There are also three well-established organizations who are striving to continuously improve: ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and California State University, Channel Islands.  Two additional organizations, Flanagin’s Bulk Mail Service and The Village Toy Center, demonstrate how the Dream, Believe, Dare, Do principles apply in a small community business.  And, finally, a case study of how Ottawa County, Michigan, one of the most progressive state administrative divisions in the US, has used each element of The Disney Way as a starting point to create an amazing culture over a period of three years.  

At the end of chapters 2-12 is a riveting example of how one of the featured organizations has put into action the lessons of the chapter.  Chapters 12,13, and 14 are brand new chapters that showcase the following: Chapter 12 - Love - The Real Pixie Dust, which explains the importance of love for employees, customers, products, and yourself; Chapter 13 -  Ottawa County, Michigan -  Disney's Success Credo Transforms County Government is the detailed account of their phenomenally successful customer-centric journey; and Chapter 14 -  Producing a Customer-Centric Culture – An Implementation Strategy is a roadmap for implementing the Dream, Believe, Dare, Do principles in any organization.

Throughout the book, you will also find “Questions to Ask” and “Actions to Take” chalkboards. These will provide you with ideas for living the Dream, Believe, Dare, Do principles and sustain outstanding rewards in doing so.  At the end of each chapter, an Internet link to Chapter Chats with Bill is provided in which co-author, Bill Capodagli, discusses additional insights regarding the materials.

This book tells the story of how passion for employees, customers, and products translate into immeasurable success for Walt Disney and other great leaders.  Their stories come to life through examples of real drive, courage, humanity and a compelling thirst to make a difference within their own organizations.  These leaders possess a charismatic quality that so naturally inspires others to challenge themselves.   In the same vein, they rely on the power of everyone on the entire team to journey together and unlock the future possibilities that they believe are endless. 

Our wish for 2016 is that the inspirational stories in this updated and expanded 3^rd edition of The Disney Way will challenge you to examine your Dream, Believe, Dare, Do results and provide new readers with a framework to soar beyond the limits of traditional management through these four powerful principles.  From entry level recruits to CEOs, from private companies to public agencies, Walt Disney's principles continue to redefine the nature of business in our age and revolutionize the art of management.

Bill Capodagli and the "Ottawa Way"

http://icma.org/en/press/pm_magazine/article/105910

Why Disney Customer Service in Government?

Beautiful Ottawa County is located in the southwestern section of Michigan's lower peninsula. Its western boundary is formed by Lake Michigan and its eastern boundary is approximately 30 miles inland.  

Today the County has a population of 260,364 inhabitants and is the 8th most populous county in the state. 

Why Customer Service in County Government?

Most counties consider customer service as a distraction from doing their real work.  At least in the private sector, competitive forces provide an incentive to emulate the outstanding customer service icons like Disney, Starbucks, Zappos or Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.   So, what difference does it make to have an outstanding Disney-like customer-centric culture in the public sector?  Surely, counties have a monopoly on their services!

Each year, Ottawa County welcomes millions of visitors to its vacation playground. In Holland, people from all over the world come to the Tulip Time festival in the spring.  (It is the third largest such festival in the United States.) Ottawa County's convenient location and rarely-too-warm summer climate have made it a mecca for sportsmen and vacationers alike.  

So, why should this County, with all of its considerable assets, be concerned with customer service?  Al Vanderberg, Ottawa County Administrator, said, "we owe great service to our citizens, our employees and it’s good business….”

For example, when a new business locates within a region, the impact on employment is: (1) a direct impact from the jobs provided by the business itself; (2) an indirect impact if the business buys production materials and services locally; and (3) an induced impact or multiplier effect from the flow of wages spent by new employees, which may provide new jobs in other businesses and in turn the spending of those wages--on and on.  San Jose State University Department of Economics reports that the regional employment multiplier ranges from 1.28 – 3.67.

That means that if a business locates within your county and provides 100 new jobs,  a range from 28 to 267 additional jobs will be created to support the new business.  So if a visiting executive has a good customer serve experience with your county, it certainly may help their decision to locate there, but if they have a terrible customer experience in your county, they will likely choose another place to put down roots. 

 

As part of a total company-wide improvement effort in 2010,  Al Vanderberg began an Ottawa Way Customer Service Initiative.  After reading The Disney Way, Al contacted Bill Capodagli to help Ottawa County adopt a Disney-like customer service culture.

The Journey Begins

In the fall of 2012, Bill Capodagli began working with Al and his Customer Service Steering Team.  The Steering Team is comprised of the key leaders from 33 departments.  The first step was for the Steering Team to understand and become totally immersed in the Disney Way Experience through a series of workshops.

  

During the initial presentation and discussions, Al and his team came to the realization that although the 33 departments ranged from law enforcement to social services, the same Disney Way Experience Model should drive them all.

 Front-Line Management Buy-in

The next step to implementing The Ottawa Way Customer Service culture was a 3-day Leadership Workshop for approximately 100 first-line leaders. 

  

Becoming “customer-centric” is not an activity to be “checked off” during an annual strategic planning process or meaningless performance reviews.  An organization-wide cultural change driven by top management is required for success.  Ultimately, the Dream/Vision, Values and Culture of the organization must be embraced by all employees for the transformation to be realized.   Front-line leadership must not only embrace the new culture they must believe that they have ownership in its development and results. 

The Roll-out

Upon completion of the Leadership Workshops, Al mandated a 3-day Ottawa Way Customer Service Training for all employees.  For the ensuing year, approximately 60-100 employees participated in the training on a monthly basis. You may be asking, “Why does this training need to be conducted over three days?”  A well-trained presenter could deliver the principles in less than a day.  However, if it was that simple, countless organizations would be as magical as Disney!

When employees arrive at the 3-day training, they do so with a set of values that has been ingrained in them over the course of their employment.  Now they are expected to embrace a new set of values, yet they need time to realize that the old values are no longer the best for the organization as a whole.  Through a series of exercises and discussions over the three days, most employees embraced the new values.

The “Hot Seat”

During the afternoon of the second day of the Ottawa Way Customer Service Training, participants experience the “Hot Seat.”.  Al Vanderberg and two of the Steering Team department heads become the “Hot Seat” panel.  Participants are invited to ask the panel any questions pertaining to the Ottawa Way Customer Service Initiative or County operations.  

The purpose of the “Hot Seat” is two-fold.  First:  Top leaders being available, displaying candor and demonstrating support to employees; Secondly: Establishing trust and open communication between top management and the work force

“Brain Trust” Follow-up

 “A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas” – Ed Catmull, President of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios

The key to any cultural transformation is frontline leadership.  Their diligent commitment to embracing a shared set of values, attitudes and behaviors is absolutely essential to creating a customer-centric culture.

The Ottawa Way will continue into 2015 with a newly created Leadership "Brain Trust" comprised of 15-20 leaders and a facilitator.  The leaders will complete a Customer Service Implementation Questionnaire with the goal of achieving excellence in categories such as Elements of the Customer Experience and Removal of Barriers to Pride in Workmanship.

Congratulations to Al Vanderberg and his entire workforce for staying the course to achieve "Disney Way" customer-centric cultural excellence!

Pixar Brings the Magic of Walt Disney Back to Disney: Part 2 - True Love

by Bill Capodagli

President of Disney and Pixar Studios, Ed Catmull, and John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of the Studios have scored the highest accolade for Disney Animation – Best Animated Feature Film – with their smash hit Frozen.  This is their first such award since it was created in 2001.

The overall message in Frozen is that an act of true love conquers all.  In the final moments of the film, The Snow Queen of Arendelle – Princess Elsa – accidentally freezes the heart of her younger sister, Princess Anna.  Sadly, unless Anna’s heart is thawed by an "act of true love", she will become frozen forever.

A few scenes later, Anna realizes that her beloved Prince Hans is ready to kill Elsa, and refuses to let this happen.  As she hurls herself between the two to save her sister Elsa, she instantly freezes solid.  Anna’s decision to sacrifice herself to save her sister is indeed an "act of true love."  At last, Elsa’s pain turns to joy as Anna begins to thaw right before her eyes! 

Early in Pixar’s history, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter had made a decision that may have sacrificed the very existence of Pixar.  During the creation of Toy Story, their partner, Disney (this was prior to Disney’s acquisition of Pixar in 2006) wanted Woody to be sinister and the movie to be darker.  Remember back…this was Pixar’s big break!  Until Toy Story, Pixar was struggling to keep its doors open.  The project was the opportunity of a lifetime…Disney would produce, co-finance, and distribute the film.  

Based on Disney’s demands, John and his team began to make the film darker and darker.  Then one-day, John said he realized that he wasn’t making the film of his dreams and that he was allowing the Disney executives to steal his passion.  Finally, John and his team decided to push back and challenge their demands.  When the Disney executives realized John’s indignation, they told him to pack up and move his entire team to Disney’s Burbank Studios.  But, John begged for just two more weeks to fix all the things that the Disney executives felt were wrong with the film.  John and his team literally worked around the clock, but they resurrected the original storyline.  Disney was truly amazed, and the results were magical! 

In the same spirit as Princess Anna, John threw himself in front of the Disney “bullies” in order to save the story of Woody and Buzz that he wanted to tell.  Without that act of “true love”, I doubt that Pixar would have been able to produce their string of phenomenal blockbuster hits, nor would they have had the opportunity to bring the magic back to Disney Animation with the Academy-award winning Frozen. 

Pixar Way Keynote with Bill Capodagli

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1774610

Bill Capodagli–ESKOWORLD Keynote Review

http://www.flexpackmag.com/articles/85846-eskoworld-2013-exceeds-expectations

Ottawa County, Michigan Learning The Disney Way

http://impact.mlive.com/jenison/print.html?entry=/2013/05/the_disney_way.html

Funeral Business Advisor Reads The Disney Way

http://www.funeralbusinessadvisor.com/?p=7419

PIXAR KEYNOTE REVIEW

Bandon, Oregon COC Director Julie Miller:  "Capodagli is a skilled speaker who offers big-business perspectives that work for any size business."

Bill Capodagli–Caring for Employees

http://o.canada.com/2012/10/02/1003-disney-fakery/

Bill brings The Disney Way to the “Mountaintop” this Friday–join in!

http://www.mountaintopuniversity.com/eBlast/08_15_12/event.htm

Disney Way Dream Retreat Sample Reviews–ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions

“I worked for the Dominion Virginia Power for 29 years with most of that in management. This retreat was by far one of the best ones I have attended! Thanks!!!”

“Mr. Capodagli provided a lot of insight and he gave a different view on how to look at things. Also, the stories of what made/makes some of the companies referenced from the book (The Disney Way) successful, gives me something to aspire to within our own company. I want all of our clients to know CFS as the greatest in the business just like the Four Seasons is known in their industry.”

“I enjoyed the storyboards.  Although this was a similar activity to the Affinity Diagram, I think the storyboards work better because there is discussion allowed amongst the group.  It was amazing to see how we all identified the same issues/barriers within the organization.”

Thanks to SCN and Kym Reinstadler for a Great Interview!

http://scnforyou.com/the-disney-way-another-option-for-you/

The Disney Way Webinar Happening in May

Event Details:

Who: Disney management expert, Bill Capodagli

What: Creating Magical Customer Service - The Disney Way Webinar

Where: On-line

When: Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 from 2:00 - 3:30 PM EDT

Cost: $49.00

Sign up: http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco - Learn how to implement The Disney Way Customer Service Model in the comfort of your own office or conference room.

For additional information: Contact Lynn Jackson, Producer, dreamovations@aol.com

Bill Capodagli - Michigan Disney Way Cultural Initiative

http://www.dowagiacnews.com/2012/04/25/it-takes-whole-community-for-real-change/

Disney Way Webinar…May 16th, $49.00; Register today!; http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco

WHAT:

"Creating Magical Customer Service - "The Disney Way" Webinar is a convenient and affordable way to learn how to attract customers and gain their loyalty. This is the signature Webinar in a series based upon the bestselling books: The Disney Way (a Fortune magazine "Best Business Book") and Innovate the Pixar Way. The Disney Way has the distinction of being the only book on Disney to have been cited in this week's New York Times article: "In Customer Service Consulting, Disney's Small World is Growing."

For over thirty years, management expert and bestselling author Bill Capodagli has benchmarked the Walt Disney Company, and assisted scores of organizations revamp their customer service standards; leadership practices; and innovation processes using Walt's original credo for success.

In "Creating Magical Customer Service - The Disney Way", Bill Capodagli brings to life the "Dream, Believe, Dare, Do" Disney Way principles -- the foundation of a commitment to creating customer experiences that are second to none. Bill presents solid ideas, tips, and problem solving techniques to produce great results. Along with webinar co-host and creative consultant Ken Freestone, Bill invites participants to ask questions and get real answers in this engaging "learning lab" style webinar experience.

WHY:

Walt Disney's "Dream, Believe, Dare, Do" credo is a powerful foundation that will support any business, drive any team and guide any leader to newfound levels of success.

WHEN:

May 16th, 2012 from 2:00 - 3:30 PM EST

HOW:

We provide a link to sign on to megameeting.com on Windows, Mac, Linux, Ipad and Android. For smart device apps, search for megameeting mobile.

EASY SIGN UP:

http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco

The Disney Way in the New York Times

The Disney Way has the distinction of being the only book on Disney to have been cited in this week’s New York Times article: “In Customer Service Consulting, Disney’s Small World is Growing.” http://tinyurl.com/c729kfp

Clearly, The Disney Way is changing lives. From Fortune 500 companies such as Volvo to small organizations such as YMCA’s Camp Kern, the Disney Way’s culture of excellence in service is coveted by those who want to be the best in their fields.

You, too, can learn how to offer Disney-style hospitality, attract new customers and gain their loyalty…and you won’t even have to leave your office!

Join us for the “Creating Magical Customer Service – The Disney Way” Webinar on May16th for only $49.00: http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco.

We are proud of our competitive advantage…a proven track record of implementing Walt Disney’s Dream, Believe, Dare, Do principles with organizations; 30+ years of experience in delivering excellent consulting, training and keynote presentations; an expert unbiased account of the development of both the cultures of Disney and Pixar; and affordable training for all.

Roy Disney once said, "When values are clear, decisions are easy."

Do all of your employees understand the organization’s mission and values AND how their roles fit into the entire “show?”  It’s imperative to define job scope and guidelines for performance.  One of our clients created performance guidelines for all employees. These guidelines did not define procedures, but rather identified areas of known failure or ideas that were tried in the past, but failed. As long as employees avoided repeating past failures, they were free to exercise their own initiative and creativity, make decisions and achieve results that were in line with the organization's values. Rule of Thumb: Go heavy on guidelines and light on procedures.