Creating an Environment of Innovation- Pixar Style!

Hats off to business-application software market leader SAP’s chairman, Hasso Plattner, for his innovative approach to new product development. HANA, SAP’s new real-time business in-memory technology, will process complex business calculations in seconds that previously took hours or days. The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Plattner hopes to put his main competitor, Oracle Corp., on the defensive. When HANA was announced in 2010, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison called it “wacko” and said he wanted to know the name of SAP’s “pharmacist.”

In 2010, SAP launched the HANA pilot program and has pledged to grow to over $25 billion in revenue by 2015 on the back of HANA. In 2011, SAP posted revenues over $18 billion, up 14%. SAP’s 2011 profit of over $1.5 billion is more than double the net profit in 2010. Today, Mr. Ellison may indeed be searching for the name of SAP’s pharmacist!

In my opinion, the real story is not the technical details of this new software…it’s in the approach SAP co-founder and chairman, Mr. Plattner, used to develop HANA. Rather than calling on his army of in-house research-and-development engineers, he recruited a group of university students from Germany. In 2006, he formed a team comprised of three doctoral and a handful of undergraduate students to study in-memory technology. In a city outside of Berlin, he converted an abandoned railway building into “the villa” with red couches, flat screen TV and a foosball table. Mr. Plattner sketched a diagram of the new database model on a white board and told the team to build it. By 2007, they were ready to unveil their prototype, and by 2009, they had a working model.

The lessons we can learn from Mr. Plattner’s approach at SAP parallel the ones we write about in Innovate the Pixar Way:

· Become a prototype junky

· Develop your own “skunk works”

· Dream Big

· Use a planning center

· Find a customer or supplier to help test and refine your product (SAP tested their prototype in partnership with P&G)

· Support innovation in schools

Each year, Mr. Plattner continues to recruit a group of 6-8 students to conduct research. Kudos to Mr. Plattner and his innovative approach to new product development!

By Bill Capodagli

Spring Fever in January is Contagious!

The leaders of The Disney Way implementation in Dowagiac understood very well the integration and interplay of Dream, Believe, Dare, Do in their cultural change efforts.  And, now, after a year, they are on DO!!!

As you envision a Dream, Believe, Dare, Do implementation in your own organization, think in terms of a holistic approach and never give up.  Dowagiac is a great role model for any community who aspires to live The Disney Way.

http://www.dowagiacnews.com/2012/01/11/spring-fever-in-january/

Make a New Year’s Resolution to Reinvent your Company’s Policy Manual

1. Remove any policy that does not add value to the customer, supplier or team member. Replace old verbiage with "work hard and be clever."
2. 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."
3. 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!
4. 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.”

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!

Disney Way Changes Dowagiac Michigan–Review of 2011

Schools top local story

Published 8:49pm Tuesday, December 27, 2011

 

Dowagiac will remember 2011 as the year devoted to devising a five-point educational dream to reinvent the school system.
The goal since February has been to build a “one in 100” district for the 21st century that will drive a Dowagiac renaissance.

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 Aug. 31 unveiled the Dowagiac Educational Dream.

The vision, which could take until 2015 to fully realize, started Oct. 17 with the administration move from the Wolverine Building into City Hall. The solution is to create three buildings housing five separate schools — a pre-kindergarten to first grade school housed in the same building as a separate school for grades 2-3, each led by an instructional leader/principal, an early education specialist and a math and reading development specialist. The two schools would share the gym, cafeteria, art and music rooms and support staff.
A second building would house fourth and fifth grades.

The Dowagiac Middle School campus, opened in 2005, would support sixth, seventh and eighth grades with a separate high school for grades 9-12, again sharing common areas such as the gym, cafeteria and Performing Arts Center.

Three buildings, Patrick Hamilton, Sister Lakes and Kincheloe, would join the Wolverine Building to jettison overhead and invest in energy conservation that would make the undertaking financially feasible when voters weigh in early in 2012.

The five points that, thanks to Disney storyboarding with focus groups, reflect beliefs of the school board, administration, faculty/staff, parents and community, include collaboration, differentiated instruction (students grouped by interests and their level of understanding to build upon their accomplishments and to engage them in learning), literacy and early childhood initiatives so 100-percent of third graders read at grade level), technology and Smart Boards and grade levels grouped together through all building transitions to encourage long-term relationships with faculty, continuity in extra-curricular activities (sports, clubs, arts) and student (opportunities for college credit at SMC).

Dowagiac’s new fall festival, Under the Harvest Moon, is well-received and coincides with the opening of Foodies Fresh Cafe.

Springsteen Realty merged with Cressy and Everett in February.
Cass County hired its third administrator, Charles Cleaver, after interviewing five candidates at the Council on Aging Feb. 12.

Chuck Clarke served in the interim when Terry Proctor left after two decades.

The “round house” on M-51 South was torn down.
Firefighters from area departments spent all day Jan. 23 batting a blaze which devastated Edward Lowe Foundation headquarters near Cassopolis. Fire March 3 destroyed the Glenwood landmark Drake’s Little Super northeast of Dowagiac.

Union High launched the 10th Interact club in Rotary’s 57-club District 6360 led by charter President Lauren Krueger Oct. 23.

Marissa Tidey was crowned Michigan Apple Queen for 2012.

Pokagon Band’s Four Winds Casino bet its second location, on Red Arrow Highway in Hartford, will hit the jackpot.

“Little Four Winds” opened Aug. 29, adding 400 jobs to Van Buren County from 12,000 applicants.

The New Buffalo location is expanding with another 250 hotel rooms in a nine-story tower, a multi-use event center and a Hard Rock Cafe opening this summer.

Dr. Nathan Ivey, Southwestern Michigan College’s first president from 1965-68, addresses graduates during the 44th commencement ceremony May 7.

Jimmy Keys, 31, was unanimous selection as Dowagiac Firefighter of the Year after losing his life in a Valentine’s Day crash in South Haven.

Deputy Fire Chief Dale Hutchings retired in June after 34 years with the city and was succeeded by Guy Evans.

Classic boat museum opens in Cassopolis. Cassopolis June 15 debuted a “destination” boat museum. Mahogany Outfitters Classic Boat and Auto Museum, 980 E. State St., contains room after room of vintage boats often trailered behind classic cars from the same year and fills the former Hayden-Beardslee Ford dealership.
It is a companion piece to the 1948 Sinclair gas station replica overlooking Stone Lake downtown which also grew out of Dr. Roger Pecina of Afdent dental clinics and his hobby.

Premier Tool and Die Cast Corp. plans a $3.2 million expansion in Dowagiac expected to create 179 jobs by resurrecting the former ICG plant across Paul Street as a new zinc and aluminum die cast and assembly operation, it was announced July 5.

Cass County Council on Aging conducted a $350,000 campaign for a Dowagiac Senior Center adjacent to City Hall.

Russom Park garnered $600,000 in state grants in December thanks to a cooperative effort between Dowagiac and Silver Creek Township.

Three of five Keeler Township board members, 26-year Supervisor Bill Kays and Trustees Don Blackmond and Patrick Daly were recalled Aug. 2 in a close election precipitated by their decision at the annual meeting to contract for five years with Coloma

Emergency Ambulance, which spelled the end of Sister Lakes’ service.

Dowagiac welcomed Belgium’s 58-member Maasmechelen Concert Band, which performed Aug. 9 in the Performing Arts Center.

SMC hosted a movie premiere Oct. 28 for Debra Tolchinsky’s “Fast Talk,” which makes debate a metaphor for the hectic pace of our lives.

Dailey Church in LaGrange Township turned 125 years old in August.

Leah Sovine is installed as Dowagiac postmaster Sept. 16.

Dowagiac author Michael Collins March 26 publishes his seventh novel, “Of Uncertain Significance,” and Sept. 8 receives the grand prize at the Deauville American Film Festival in France.

Eighty National Guard soldiers with “Charlie Company” (C Troop, 126th Cavalry) deploy to Afghanistan Sept. 24 after a farewell at Union High School.

SAVE THE DATE–WED. FEB 15th, 2-3:30pmEST–NEW WEBINAR: Creating Magical Customer Service–The Disney Way!

Stay tuned for details on registering for this exciting new webinar!

LAUP’S Storyboard Success

Here’s an example of the power of storyboarding.  Last evening, there were 16 LAUP (Latin Americans United for Progress) high school students in Holland, Michigan who answered the question, “What is the IDEAL high school experience?”  (They did this on their own time!) They prioritized using the following method:

Red Dots:  Most important to them

Green Dots:  What their school is doing well

Blue Dots:  What their school needs to improve

In less than two hours, these exceptional students identified more than 200 ideas.  Their next step will be to storyboard actions applicable to selected items that were important to them and need improvement. 

As a nation, we are failing to engage our students in true critical thinking, problem solving, and creative learning experiences.  It’s refreshing to see that these LAUP students are proactive rather than complaining about their lives and school experiences. These teenagers take time out of their busy schedules to learn the skills that our educational system is ignoring.

Hopefully, the school administrators will review this process and the amazing results and recommendations that will be forthcoming.

We are proud to post this wonderful storyboard! Thanks to LAUP director Roberto Jara, and his talented and dedicated students for an enlightening evening!