Come Rain or Shine

Back in the late 2000's, one of the promotions we ran at Disney was The Year of a Million Dreams, a promotion in which theme parks guests could be selected to win one of many prizes. The idea centered on smart marketing and while I'm more an operations guy, I learned some beneficial marketing strategies along the way. As leaders in business, we can't shy away from quality marketing and promotion....

I used to think attitude was everything and that positivity was the greatest way to overcome adversity; however, after recently speaking at a Junior Achievement conference in Cordova, Argentina, I've adjusted my thoughts. While attitude is a key ingredient to conflict resolution, it's important we take our 'can do' attitude and apply it to other measures of leadership (i.e. organization, punctuali...

As leaders, we like to think big picture and big change, measuring our worth by accomplishment and how many we inspire. But in business, often the greatest effect we have doesn't occur in one motion. Rather it's the accrual of valuing the small things…those seemingly insignificant opportunities to honor a partner, a colleague, a client, a mentee, etc.  For example, finding a way to integrate a cus...

When it comes to the four keys, one of the common themes in each is proactivity. To be proactive, a leader must anticipate change and engage challenging situations as they happen. Often we assume the maturity of a leader is based by how he responds to conflict; however, I submit the maturity of a leader is better captured by how he prepares for the possibility of conflict. As I discuss in this epi...

As the job market continues to saturate, more and more companies are focusing on their internal culture. By 'internal culture', I mean a comfortable, charismatic environment aimed at attracting and retaining the best talent.    While many view this concept as setting and reaching goals, an internal focus goes well beyond the bottom line. For instance, if an organization wants to emphasize a strong...

We are so busy it often leads to poor one on one meetings.  Usually, we get together and just work our way through as many topics as quickly as we can. We only cover the surface of any of those topics and don't make decisions or have conversations of consequence.  Instead, use one on one meetings to go deeper.  Once a month, pick a specific topic and only discuss that one topic. Nothing else. One...

To keep a team operating smoothly, you need to understand the balance of recognizing and rewarding individual performance and team performance. You get what you reward, so you have to find a way to show both individual and team performance are important. To go along with this, you have to understand the difference between a problem and a dilemma. A problem has a solution and a dilemma is something...

As leaders, sometimes the hardest challenges we face involve employees resistant to guidelines and/or change. We understand most people are honest, but to avoid complex disciplinary situations, we create value structures based on those who abuse the system rather than those who follow it. In these scenarios, it can be easy to convey expectations in broad terms; however, if our approach to negative...

Have you ever been called into an office by a boss not knowing what the meeting was about? Perhaps you've worked in a position for years only to find yourself directionless wondering what it would take to reach the next level. If you can relate, I want to encourage you to see the connection between standing and shortlist. In corporate culture, our status plays a significant part in our performance...

On this episode of Come Rain or Shine, I am going to answer a series of questions from someone who took part in the Disney College Program.  When new people come into the organization with new ideas, how do you share your experience without dampening their enthusiasm or coming across as negative? When new people join the organization, you should listen to any idea. If you don't they will be less l...

Recently, my son's soccer team won the Florida 2A state championship.  After they won, I took a step back to figure out how this team made it all the way to the final and won. There were many good soccer teams in the state, so what was special about my son's team? The team did not have a star player.  The team won because every player contributed and filled in when and where they were needed. Each...

After previously discussing the power of empowerment, I want to talk about ways we can inspire through role modeling.   In life, anyone can be a role model. From a senior executive to a janitor, if quality character is in place, the stage is set for role modeling. The question is: How do we integrate that character into accountability? When we're doing something right, are we willing to instruct o...

After previously discussing two modes of decision-making, I want to talk about ways we can empower our work cultures.   While making decisions is hard, inviting others into the process can be even harder. As leaders, sometimes, the only responsibility we want to assume is what we can control. We think if a job is to be done well, it must happen on our terms, on our watch, our hands on the plow. Un...

You can find out more about the Leading Your Kingdom Cruise HERE . 

Today I want to talk about two modes of decision-making. The first mode is situational decision-making. Here it's important to employ quality standards, whether they are the four keys (i.e. safety to efficiency as previously discussed) or something similar. Furthermore, you want to make sure you're not relying on intuition alone. The tighter your checklists on the front end, the better your on the...

Today I want to talk about remote workers and how to manage them within our realms of influence.   As technology continues to advance, so is the need for alternative workplace solutions. With most job functions now doable from home, many companies are employing remote positions to help recruit a wider array of talent. The problem is while morale can be boosted through locational conveniences, the...

After previously discussing the value of common cause, today I want to talk about what training is what it should look like in today's work world.   Before we train new employees, it's important to know the difference between training and development. With training, the emphasis centers on technical skills; with development, the core focuses on personal and career growth. Understanding this dichot...

After previously discussing the value of checklists, today I want to talk about the importance of common purpose.   For most employees, understanding function isn't hard. As long as you learn and do your job, all will be well in the work world, or so they think. However, there's a huge difference between knowing your role and knowing your purpose. As business leaders, we should be mindful if we wa...

After previously discussing technology and its impact on work culture, in this episode, I emphasize the power of checklists.   While checklists may seem like a monotonous topic, they are vital to ensure quality assurance when compliance processes are involved. Even when the necessity is in doubt, checklists can safeguard procedures against unforeseen challenges, boost corporate accountability, and...

After previously detailing our last foundational key to corporate success, on this episode, I discuss technology and its impact on work culture. Regardless of what key (safety, courtesy, show, efficiency) we sustain, the common denominator is our intent to improve the quality of business. In a technologically dominated day and age, this has significant ramifications. For instance, it's important t...

After previously discussing the third key of show, in this episode, I rejoin the podcast to discuss our fourth and final key, efficiency. While making the right decision is important, understanding the order of those right decisions is just as, if not, more important. Like safety, courtesy, and show, efficiency does not exist in a vacuum. As such, whatever requires our immediate focus must exist u...

After previously discussing the second key of courtesy, in this episode, I rejoin the podcast to discuss our third key, show. Once people are safe and secured in a highly courtesy environment, it's important to focus on infrastructure.  First impressions are important as they cement the memory for most people. Accordingly, staying in character, paying attention to maintenance and cleaning issues,...

After previously discussing the first key of safety, in this episode, I rejoin the podcast to discuss our second key, courtesy. While safety comes first, having guidelines and setting behavioral expectations for courtesy is important. Like safety, courtesy should never be compromised despite the fact courtesy can have different meanings to different people. Accordingly, how corporate guidelines ar...

If you've ever wondered what Disney considers its greatest quality control measure, safety, far and away, tops the list. After previously unveiling the four keys Disney uses to create magic (i.e. safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency), in this episode, I discuss the relationship between safety and culture as well as performance and awareness. No question, we live in an increasingly distracted wor...

At Disney World, we used Four Keys to engineer a great experience for every guest. Safety Curtesy Show Efficiency We call them the four quality standards. These standards give us a way to put behaviors behind our concepts like "creating magic" or "creating an escape for guests". With the quality standards in place, it gives our leaders and cast members a frame work on how to make decisions. With t...