Disney Way in Ottawa County - An Update

FOUR C’S STRATEGIC INITIATIVE UPDATE
The second round of Ottawa Way – Disney Way Customer Service training was completed last week. Bill Capodagli, co-author of The Disney Way facilitated the training and was assisted by Laura Mousseau and Misty Cunningham. A lot of positive feedback has resulted from the training. Each month for the next year another 90 employees will go through the training. A total of 1,100 will be trained.

This phase of customer service training is intended to cause a cultural shift in that employees of all 33 departments, offices, courts and agencies will have experienced the same training and have a unified focus on the County customer service story, vision and customer codes of conduct. I had some interaction with the group by introducing the Four C Strategic Initiative on the first day and history leading to who we are on the second day.

I also sat in the “hot seat” with Treasurer Brad Slagh and Marcie VerBeek, Human Resources Director at the end of the second day to take whatever questions the group had. A very fair question was, “What comes next? Do the employees being trained wait for a year to begin implementing the cultural change, until all employees
have been trained? When will specific customer training tools be developed? Did the leadership really buyinto the training they received in November, because no changes have been implemented? Is it really okay to begin living this customer service vision?“

Great questions! Anyone who has been through the training can begin following the customer codes of conduct immediately. Almost every one of these can be positively impacted by each employee individually. The leaders didn’t implement change because we are working on a cultural shift not the program of the month. I committed to circling back with the leaders to explain some of the concerns expressed and to discuss how this will all roll out over the next year.

We are making one more call for members for the Customer Service Team and will get this group going soon. They will provide a communication link and forum for all who have gone through the process already and will research and recommend specific tools for
customer service. The cultural change will happen as more employees go through the training and practice the
customer codes of conduct.

Al Vanderberg, County Administrator, Ottawa County, Michigan

Bill Capodagli–Caring for Employees

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

Bill Capodagli - Michigan Disney Way Cultural Initiative

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

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.

LAST MINUTE SIGN UP FOR THE DISNEY WAY WEBINAR!

 

Feb. 15^th from 2 – 3:30 PM EST

1. Register:

http://disneywaywebinar.eventbrite.com/?discount=FR2.15.12

2. We’ll send you an invite so you can connect to the webinar.

3. You’ll receive bonus materials and a date for the follow-up webinar for in-depth Q and A…FREE!

Latin Americans United for Progress using Disney Way Storyboarding

Tonight, we will be working with the Hispanic youth in Holland, Michigan to help them unleash their creativity through Storyboarding.  Storyboarding will help them identify and address critical issues they currently face in their schools and the community. We look forward to being involved in preparing these bright and motivated young people to become community leaders, and further both their education and future careers.

In 2006, Michigan Future Inc. released a report in which 4 area Chambers of Commerce formed a coalition to enhance business development and success. The name of the report is named “Strategies for a culturally Competent Region”. It emphasized that diversity is now part of our culture and is key in business strategy and development. The report also recognizes that there is much to gain from the richness of a multi-cultural community. Another key finding of a report from the West Michigan Strategic Alliance indicates that our area needs prepare for a more educated workforce so we will be able to fill a variety of highly skilled jobs. Such dynamics will support success in our region economically and socially. This is exactly what LAUP seeks to accomplish through our Steps to Success and Youth Development Programs.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself

This glimmer of hope came in 1933 from President Roosevelt’s first inaugural address: “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” We baby boomers also remember this call to action from John F. Kennedy. And, we remember Ronald Reagan saying, "I hope I have appealed to your greatest hopes and not your worst fears.” Contrast these positive messages with, “a failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe." President Obama, Feb. 4th, 2009.

The cloud of fear that is hanging over Washington reminds me once again of Dr. Edwards Deming’s teachings. Dr. Deming, known as the father of the Japanese post-war industrial revival, was also regarded by a great many U.S. business leaders as the “father of modern day quality management.” One of his now infamous 14 points for transforming a business was number 8: “Drive out fear. Encourage effective two-way communication and other means to drive out fear throughout the organization so that everybody may work effectively and more productively for the company.”

Dr. Deming, FDR, JFK, and Reagan realized that fear is not a method for motivating a workforce. Throughout our consulting careers, we have seen the damage that fear can produce within individuals, teams and departments. When fear is the motivating force, failure is the results. Employees fail to question, to innovate, to report ineffective and even unsafe processes. Catalysts for fear, whether they be supervisors or policies, must be removed! Deming once said, "The economic loss from fear is appalling!" Has anything really changed?

We witness both political party representatives attempting to jump start the economy with an economic “stimulus” package. It’s clear to us that we are just about to make a trillion dollar decision based on fear. Doesn’t anyone remember President Kennedy’s posture on economic stimulus: “federal government's most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures.” He went on to say, “I do not underestimate the obstacles which the Congress will face in enacting such legislation. No one will be satisfied. Everyone will have his own approach, his own bill, his own reductions. A high order of restraint and determination will be required …But a nation capable of marshaling these qualities in any dramatic threat to our security, is surely capable, as a great free society, of meeting a slower and more complex threat to our economic vitality.”

I do not underestimate the obstacles that Congress will face in enacting such legislation. No one will be satisfied. Everyone will have his or her own approach, his or her own bill, his or her own reductions. Obviously, a high order of restraint and determination will be required. But, those qualities seem to be more visible when there is a major threat to our national security, not to our economic vitality.

The current cover story of Newsweek is, “We Are All Socialists Now.” The article states, “As entitlement spending rises over the next decade, we will become even more French.” Even in these troubling economic times, our GDP is five times larger than France (sixth largest world economy) and three times larger than Japan (second largest world economy). We cannot practice capitalism during an economic upturn and socialism during a downturn. Do we really want the great government “business minds” who have been running the U.S. Post Office, Amtrak, and Medicare to now be running the banks, insurance companies and car manufacturers?

Reagan enjoyed poking fun at the insufficiencies of socialistic systems. He once quipped, “A Russian man goes to the official agency (to buy a car), puts down his money and is told that he can obtain delivery of his automobile in exactly 10 years. ‘Morning or afternoon,’ the purchaser asks. ‘Ten years from now, what difference does it make?’ replies the clerk. ‘Well,’ says the car-buyer, ‘the plumber’s coming in the morning.’”

Fear has no place in private or public sector management. I like French food and wine but certainly not their socialistic political system. Let’s always remember JFK’s timeless words, “The strength of our free economy rests the hope of all free nations. We shall not fail that hope — for free men and free nations must prosper and they must prevail.”