Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thursday, August 16, 2012
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.”
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Bill Capodagli–Featured Keynoter for Manufacturing Innovation 2012
Bill Capodagli will be a featured keynote speaker at Manufacturing Innovation 2012 (MI2012) in Orlando on May 9th. This 4-day event is produced by Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and brings together over 700 manufacturers, industry experts, and MEP field staff to gain valuable information on the latest trends and technologies facing U.S. manufacturers. This event is designed to truly bring the “voice of manufacturing” and “voice of government” to an open, educational and sharing environment that makes a measurable impact on U.S. manufacturing.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Tokyo Disneyland Promotes Self Discovery for Cast Members
In 2010, Toyko Disneyland created a Self Discovery Seminar series that affords cast members the opportunity to explore their dreams; discover and refine their talents; and understand what motivates them to learn, grow and succeed in their careers and lives. What a great morale builder!
You may have read in Innovate the Pixar Way that legendary Pixar director, Brad Bird said, “…If you have low morale, for every one dollar you spend, you get about twenty-five cents of value. If you have high morale, for every dollar you spend you get about three dollars of value. Companies should pay much more attention to morale.”
When people have high morale, they are able to express their creativity and achieve great things. Walt Disney believed that everyone is creative. We all may not be able to come up with the next iPad, Blackberry, or microchip, but almost everyone sees innovative opportunities in the way they conduct their jobs or serve their customers. When we encourage, trust, and reward employees to be innovative in how they do their jobs…the results are amazing!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Make a New Year’s Resolution to Reinvent your Company’s Policy Manual
- Remove any policy that does not add value to the customer, supplier or team member. Replace old verbiage with "work hard and be clever."
- Review the manual for "rules" that hinder the delivery of exceptional customer service. If you ever hear, "We cannot help you because it is against our policy," send up a red flag. Change this verbiage to "Use good judgment."
- Identify any policy that infers that you do not trust team members. Specifically, examine your expense reimbursement policy. One company decided to allow employees to issue their own expense checks. They had guidelines for tax documentation that were followed by all. The result was the elimination of most of the accounting approvals and a reduction in overall travel expense. We have worked with companies in which senior managers have multi-million dollar budgets and are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of product production, yet they need numerous approvals to spend $500 to attend a workshop. Why? That’s the policy!
- Use the words "have fun" in your policy manual. Pixar’s John Lasseter said, ““We worked really hard, but we also had so much fun, and it showed up in our work. We’d goof off,
we’d laugh, we’d work together, and we’d look at
and give feedback on each other’s stuff. And the
creativity just sort of overflowed.”
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
DISNEY WAY WEBINAR–“Creating Magical Customer Service–The Disney Way”
Success isn't magic. It's systematic. It comes from passionate leadership and relentless pursuit of a long-term foundation for excellence. Behind the scenes at Disney is where the real vision begins. Disney excels because of its dynamic commitment to guests and to cast members.
On Wednesday, February 15th (2 – 3:30 PM EST), Bill Capodagli will share enlightening secrets to turn your customers into "guests" and into long-term relationships. You'll see how to foster a fun team atmosphere for your employees - one that energizes their talents and ideas. You'll also see "wow" in action and come away with a renewed passion for the possibilities within your own organization.
Walt Disney’s four-pillared success credo - Dream, Believe, Dare, Do - will work for any organization, any business, any industry of any size. Understanding the hows and whys will allow you to tailor your own pathway to success. You'll also see how other companies have applied The Disney Way with amazing results.
What's worked for Disney can work for you. It's that simple. If you're ready to take your organization to the next level, exceed your customers' expectations, and build a dynamic team…REGISTER TODAY on our HOME PAGE!
Creating Magical Customer Service – The Disney Way is the opportunity you've been waiting for!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Bill Capodagli presents Customer Service - The Disney Way; Live Web & Audio Webinar Item No. 1838303; $179.00; Date: Web Conference 09/09/2011 Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT;www.nationalseminarstraining.com/RockhurstConferences
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
Meet Your Speaker — Bill Capodagli
A serious student of excellence, Bill Capodagli has a thriving success story of his own. The original edition of The Disney Way, which Capodagli co-authored, was awarded the coveted “Best Business Book of the Year” by Fortune magazine and published in eight languages. He is also the co-author of The Disney Way Fieldbook, which provides action plans for instilling Disney's vision into any company, complete with diagnostic exercises, practice sessions, proven advice, and insightful questionnaires. Capodagli also co-authored the popular book, Leading at the Speed of Change: Using New Economy Rules to Invigorate Old Economy Companies.
The prolific best-selling author has nearly three decades of expertise in management consulting and corporate research. As managing partner of Capodagli Jackson Consulting, he brings dynamic managerial experience and graduate-level teaching experience to the firm.
Ever practical, Capodagli's style is also passionate and hard hitting. He is currently the most requested speaker in the United States on Walt Disney's original success and leadership principles. This webinar is a rare opportunity to hear directly from Capodagli.
“This book is about the real magic: Stimulating and harmonizing the collective energy of your people.” — Ken Blanchard, best-selling author of The One Minute Manager.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
DISNEY WAY COMMUNITY TURNING DREAMS INTO REALITY!
We are delighted to announce the first Disney Way community in the State of Michigan! Congratulations to Larry, Mark, Kevin and the entire team in Dowagiac!
LETTER TO BILL – AUGUST 31st
“Hello from Dowagiac…Last night Mark laid out the Educational Dream for Dowagiac…
In short, you laid the groundwork for exciting alliances heretofore unknown. Imagine, the School Administration is moving into City Hall to share space and services----the potential is unknown but vast. Here is a link to the Daily News. Enjoy, you are at the root of it all.”
http://www.dowagiacnews.com/2011/08/31/%E2%80%98dream%E2%80%99-would-remake-dowagiac/
Kind Regards,
Larry Seurynck, President
Board of Education
Dowagiac Union Schools,
Dowagiac, Michigan
Dr. Fred L. Mathews, chairman of the SMC Board of Trustees and a member of the Disney Way community committee, congratulates Supt. Dr. Mark Daniel on his presentation.
By John Eby
‘Dream’ would remake Dowagiac
Published 11:56pm Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Months in the making, since “Disney Way” author Bill Capodagli immersed Dowagiac Union Schools, City Hall, Southwestern Michigan College and Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital in the customer service principles of Dream, Believe, Dare, Do, Superintendent Dr. Mark Daniel Wednesday night unveiled the “Dowagiac Educational Dream.”
The vision crafted since February is to create a “one in 100” district for the 21st century and a Dowagiac renaissance.
Daniel, his remarks prefaced by “When You Wish Upon a Star,” delivered a multi-media presentation brimming with engaging video elements about which he spoke.
The vision, which could take until 2015 to be fully realized, starts this fall with the administration leaving the Wolverine Building and moving into City Hall and follows a path that will definitely blaze a new trail, including moving high school students to the middle school, with construction of a two-floor addition in back to separate juniors and seniors from younger students; converting Union High into a districtwide grades 1-5 building offering consistent reading recovery to all students; and saving only Justus Gage as a districtwide Great Start center for kindergarten and preschoolers.
Patrick Hamilton, Sister Lakes and Kincheloe would join the Wolverine Building in jettisoning overhead and investing in energy conservation that would make the undertaking financially feasible to swing.
Voters will be asked to consider a bond issue in the spring of 2012, school board President Larry Seurynck said afterward.
Of course, the revelations studding the end of Daniel’s presentation came after a careful, comprehensive hour of aligning Dowagiac with best practices in modern education, such as Project-Based Learning designed to engage students, interspersed with Gov. Rick Snyder explaining the directions in which Michigan, poised for a pent-up recovery after years of shrinking, is moving.
For months district leaders have been consumed with creating an education culture, from bringing in new Steelcase furniture to show how classrooms have evolved from teachers as sages on the stage at the front of the room who are listened to to pods which move quickly into different configurations so students face each other and can interact, with teachers more guides and mentors who decide how to weave in such elements as video and social media.
Traditional classrooms discourage the engagement central to preparing for jobs in the workplace which stress collaboration, communication and problem-solving rather than memorizing facts gleaned from old-style lectures.
“Smart” classrooms like Dowagiac desires are only “a three-iron shot” away at partner SMC, Daniel noted in the DMS Performing Arts Center, completed in 2005.
A third of traditional classrooms are occupied by teacher space, Daniel said, which is opened up to avoid distraction from learning in modern new tech facilities.
Daniel, starting his second year with Dowagiac, said we live in a market-driven system and need to match the quality of living here with a top-notch educational system which will attract employers and investment and “will take all of us to make happen.”
“This building (DMS) itself, there’s so much value here,” Seurynck said after the meeting. “The resources here we can share — the auditorium, the gym, the common spaces, science and music labs. Those are all spaces we don’t have to build. Instead of having hallways, you open those up to 30 feet wide and each hallway becomes a technologically-rich media center. Classrooms have glass walls teachers can open to become part of the common area. Students migrate from a classroom out into the media center where they have fiber optics.”
Even Aug. 31 a Dowagiac delegation toured Rochester, Ind., Community High School.
“It’s really exciting,” Seurynck said, “and we could do these things (financially) because we’re not building a new library. (The added high school wing) would be, if you were standing back at the soccer field, at the left side of the building. The addition would have a second floor, built onto this building. Busing wouldn’t change a lot. Right now, we bus kids from behind Hale’s out to Kincheloe and from the south end of the school district, out past California Road at Indian Lake all the way up to Sister Lakes. Society has changed and gone away from the neighborhood school. Justus Gage isn’t a neighborhood school anymore. We don’t have huge clusters of students who can walk to school. All that was done when we redistricted to balance the number of kids.
“The problem with that is you’ve got two first grades out at Kincheloe, two first grades at J Gage, two first grades at Pat Ham and one first grade at Sister Lakes. Some have 19, some have 27 students. Not optimal class sizes” like could be accomplished in a central DUHS location. “We’ve got bubbles coming through the district all the time,” fluctuating from 105 to 125 or 150. “It’s very inefficient. And when students come to high school there’s a lot of variation in their preparedness because each building has a different strength.
“With all the kids in one building, you could have best practices for each grade and align your curriculum so that all are learning the same thing and hitting the same benchmarks at the same time in the same year. Right now, for our special needs students, we lose a day a week for travel. By consolidating, we can have higher quality people in touch with our kids for a greater period of time. The benefits just go on and on. The high school, built in the Sixties, is pushing 60 years old” and needs major upgrading. “It would be $3 million to $4 million just to put in a new boiler and it has only 900 amps. We’d take the efficiencies and using those to pay some of the freight. We’ve been working intensely with architects for four to six weeks. We’re analyzing putting a high-efficiency system in the high school, be it geothermal,” which would also provide air conditioning.
“How much do we save on energy? Then we take that money to pay back what we borrow in low-interest money from the state. It’s making improvements to the district now,” including lighting, “that will save energy, and earmark those savings to pay off debt. Dowagiac’s board leadership the last 10 years has been forward-looking, which puts us in a position to survive. We made a conscious decision between hunkering down, hanging on and hoping things get better or spending some of our fund equity in a calculated risk to make improvements that will bring more people to the community and jobs. When we hired Mark, the community fathers sat me down and said in no uncertain terms that they couldn’t recruit business because the schools were not performing, so we hired (Daniel), a guy with a vision who knows what it looks like. (Former president) Randy Cuthbert said he was the only guy who knows what it looks like and he had national model schools (in Indiana). There’s so much potential.”
“Classrooms should look very different today than when you and I were in school to create an educational culture and environment,” Daniel said. “We have some buildings that have been well-maintained,” but due to their age, “have some major needs. We are at a crossroads.
“Central office will be shared services with City Hall. We have to start thinking in that mentality and start finding ways to reduce expenses and costs, but still expand learning. I’m excited about going to City Hall and I’ll tell you why. Because it’s about community. We all share in this, so why shouldn’t city government be sharing education and technology. We already share fuel. We don’t even know” what other possibilities there might be, “and that’s exciting. I’m looking forward to working with City Manager Kevin Anderson and talking about what we can share — software, computers, copiers and on and on. One elementary center channels all resources into that facility. A 6-12 building? Do students who walk out of this pristine building, do they really want to go over to 9-12” at DUHS?
Chris Taylor-Alumni Field would be retained, the superintendent indicated.
“At the same time, we’re going to have to put dollars into some of our structures. Union High needs a whole new HVAC system. Why is that not AC yet? The boiler and pipes are at their life expectancy after serving their purpose well. That needs to be revamped. The new design would add on (to DMS) on the west with a second floor for 11th and 12th graders. I come from a national model school where we had seventh through 12th graders. There is extreme power when you have 11th and 12th graders for your younger students to model. Maturity in the building, you can just see it rise. Respect. Trust. Responsibility. It ramps up in a healthy way. At the same time, you need to make sure you don’t have a constant interaction with your younger students. Architects — (DUHS graduate) Scott Winchester — looked at a flow” which segregates students as they enter and exit.
“We’re going to have to expand the cafeteria,” Daniel explained. “This building was designed to expand and the governor said be smart in the way you spend your funding because you’re probably not going to get more unless you’re achieving, and you need to figure out shared services. I salute the fiscal management of this district. Most districts are talking about how to weather the storm rather than growth or opportunity. That’s not a way to be ready for the prosperity that’s going to happen in Michigan. Michigan is among the major states in the country primed for economic growth. It’s going to be different, but it’s going to come back. Advanced manufacturing with technology, which we get from SMC and our Van Buren vocational school.”
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
London’s Bute Coaching Adopts The Disney Way
“I read your book The Disney Way, Revised Edition: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney. And thought this to be a fantastic book that gave great ideas and examples of real businesses introducing/maintaining the Disney ethos.
As a small company (less than 10) we have taken some of the ideas from your book, revised them to suit us and currently their is a definite shift in us as a company and I believe this is impacting our delivery in a very positive way.
I would like to thank you for this book.”
Margo Manning Account Director; Bute Coaching Ltd
Based in London, Bute Coaching Ltd comprises a highly experienced team of professionals who have worked in diverse backgrounds including: IT, financial (including investment and retail banking), legal, insurance, pensions, retail, surveying, property development, accounts, construction, education and many other industries.
Friday, March 18, 2011
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*:
- Give every member of your organization a chance to dream, and tap into the creativity those dreams embody.
- Stand firm on your beliefs and principles.
- Treat your customers like guests.
- Support, empower, and reward employees.
- Build long-term relationships with key suppliers and partners.
- Dare to take calculated risks in order to bring innovative ideas to fruition.
- Train extensively and constantly reinforce the company's culture.
- Align long-term vision with short-term execution.
- Use the storyboarding technique to solve planning & communication problems.
- 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
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
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
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Innovation in the Disney Stores!
The 4,800-plus square foot store's floor-to-ceiling remodel now features multimedia technology, interactive storytelling and Disney Store exclusive merchandise that bring Disney's most beloved characters to life for families in the local community. Naturally, the latest and greatest technology is integrated throughout the new store to create magical moments for guests.
And, there’s a "Pixie Dust Trail" that leads guests through the store and to major interactive elements as they enjoy a Disney-themed skyline and surrounding magical trees which are programmable with changing colors, images, and music set to an array of Disney themes. The new store is organized by franchise neighborhoods anchored by “hero fixtures” so it easy to seek out your favorite character or theme of interest.
The new store concept features an interactive kiosk with touch screen that leads the guests into an animated experience in shopping, viewing video clips, perusing articles and checking out in-store events. This technology also allows Disney to share news with customers via email, Facebook and Twitter.
And….how cool is it to have a theatre in a Disney Store? Guests can pick from a selection of pre-loaded content that will be updated regularly and can view a variety of Disney entertainment, sneak-peek previews, music videos and more. The theater will also be used for exciting in-store events including reading time and scavenger hunts.
As you may remember from reading The Disney Way, one of Disney’s great success stories (once upon a time!) was the launch of the Disney Stores. What began as theme-park shops where customers could buy Mickey Mouse shirts and other Disney memorabilia developed into a place where not only a wide array of merchandise was available, but also tickets to Disneyland and Walt Disney World could be purchased. In the mid 80s, former Disney employee Steve Burke (now COO of Comcast Cable Communications) convinced the management to open a mall-based chain of stores. For over a decade, Disney Stores maintained strong sales, but then the mounting cost of sales and operation and the loss of key executives who had driven the Disney Stores to success lead The Walt Disney Company to convert Disney Stores into a licensed operation.
But since Bob Iger assumed the leadership of Disney in 2005, many good things have happened such as taking buying back the Disney Stores. Bob has said that the Disney Stores goes beyond offering Disney merchandise...it’s all about reinforcing the company’s core businesses. Recently, Bob told the New York Times, “Our brand is so powerful because of our heritage. But you’ve got to innovate, and not just in terms of what is new today but what will be new far into the future.”
Legacy is one thing, but Innovation is the key to Disney and Pixar’s continued success!
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