Creating Disney Magic

Anytime you get a promotion, especially when you are young, you may face an experience gap. Whether the experience gap is real or perceived, you have to address it.  When I was in the hospitality industry, I spent time as a cook, a banquet waiter, restaurant waiter, and I cleaned rooms. I worked most jobs in the guest side of operations.  Experience and exposure are the keys to overcoming the expe...

Building trust with your supervisor is an art. All of us, well, most of us, want to build enough trust so we get more autonomy and responsibility in our job.  If you want to build trust with your boss, you begin with results.  Bring a project forward, get approval from your supervisor, and then get good results.  When you have a track record of producing results, you will move from getting approva...

At Disney World, we are always on the lookout for good people to become cast members. When we realized some of our best new cast members were referred by current cast members, we made a program out of it.  We had cards cast members could carry. If they ran into someone who gave great service, they could hand them a card with details about applying for a job at Disney. This worked well because peop...

Often, people ask me about how to motivate employees. My answer...you shouldn't motivate employees.  Of course, you should appreciate, recognize and appreciate employees. But your job is not to motivate employees. Your job is to hire the right employees and they will motivate themselves.  Hire people who want to be great. What many think is motivation is really manipulation. Do you think a pizza p...

We come to you live again from the North Idaho Leadership Summit, hosted by St. Vincent de Paul.  The audience asked questions and I answered. Again, we had a series of wonderful questions that lead to a series of candid conversations.  People asked me about picking your battles, creating a culture, diversity, and dealing with employees who aren't working out.  Throughout the questions and my answ...

For the first time, Creating Disney Magic was recorded live in front of an audience.  St. Vincent de Paul of North Idaho hosted a leadership summit with me as the speaker. At the end of the first session, we took questions directly from the audience. When Jody asks me listener question on the podcast, I usually don't know what the question will be. But in this case, people were asking me questions...

During a recent visit to an upscale hotel, I asked the Bellman if there were a second luggage rack available for our room.  "I don't know", was all he said.  Can you imagine? Yes, you probably can because underwhelming service like that has become overwhelmingly common.  Most people will blame the bellman for having a bad attitude, or not caring. But it is not his fault.  Sure, he did have a bad a...

This episode of Creating Disney Magic was recorded in the lobby of the Coeur d'Alene Resort in Coeur d'Alene, ID. It was the perfect setting to discuss customer service.  When you are at a resort or hotel, or anywhere for that matter, and get great service, it is likely the result of training. Sure, there are other factors, like good hiring practices and personal attitude, but for the most part, g...

In this episode, we talk about Jeff Merhige, executive director of Camp Widjiwagan . Jeff applied what he learned in Creating Magic to find new ways to serve better. Jeff wanted to be great, and now the Camp he runs in great. Change like this starts at the top.  Jeff made the decision to move from managing a facility to managing a culture. This is when he began to Create Magic. Now, the changes Je...

When I spoke to the Tennessee Air National Guard, the Colonel surprised me with a challenge coin.  A challenge coin is usually an award for excellence given out by officers in the military.  Over the years, as I have spoken to military units, I have received probably 50 challenge coins. It is an honor to have each one of them, but this coin was different.    When Colonel Smith handed me a challeng...

This episode of Creating Disney Magic was recorded live at the Nashville airport. After 3 presentations in Nashville, we were waiting at the Nashville airport and took the time to record. You will like the fun, conversational feel of this episode. While we recorded, we sat on the shoe shine bench. Sitting up there talking into microphones attracted plenty of attention for people as they passed by....

Have you ever been passed up for a promotion? How did you handle it? If you feel you have been overlooked, there are a couple of ways you can deal with it.  When you don't get a promotion can do nothing. Or you can complain to your friends and family about how unfair it is. Or, and this is what I would do, is have a talk with your supervisor. Ask what you need to do to get a promotion the next tim...

When you start a new job, should you add your personal flavor right away? Or should you sit back and see how the new organization and staff operate?  Personally, I would not do too much at first. Before I start to add my personality and ideas to the operation there are some things I am looking for.  First, I want to understand what the issues are surrounding the new position and organization. Once...

Often, people ask me about time management. It is a common question because I wrote Time Management Magic, and so many people struggle with getting work done.  People are overwhelmed and are looking for an answer. This week on Creating Disney Magic, we answer a listener question better project and time management.  If you are looking for a better time management system, technology is not always ab...

Donald Miller, author of Building a StoryBrand , returns as a guest on Creating Disney Magic to talk about why people are ignoring your brand.  Every piece of marketing you do should communicate how you can help people survive and thrive and do so simply so customers will not have to burn calories to process the information.  Unless your message is aimed at helping them survive and thrive, custome...

Nobody really cares about your story. Rather than hear your story, they want to be invited into a story where they can play the hero. Disney has excelled by inviting people into a story. But do you have to be Disney to create a story people want to be a part of? Of course not. And Donald Miller joins Creating Disney Magic to talk about how your business can build a story around your brand. Don's n...

This episode we celebrate the 150th episode of Creating Disney Magic.  On this episode, we take on two listener questions. We talk about what to look for when you partner someone in business. At Disney, we were clear on what would be involved in a partnership.  The second question is along the same lines. How do you get other businesses, who are your partners, who have different missions and value...

I recently returned from a tour through several countries including Russia, Czech Republic Austria, and Hong Kong.  It reminded me how traveling and gaining a new experience can help you serve people better.  You are never as good as you think you are. Traveling is one way to find out what other people and organizations are doing.  You will find out how good you really are and how you can get bett...

When I was at Disney and someone would tell me they wanted more money, my answer was almost always "yes." But probably not in the way you think.  Here is how I would tell people they could get more money; "There is always a position that pays more than the one you are in. If you want more money, become qualified for the other position.  When you can show us you are capable of performing a job that...

There was a time when I was running Walt Disney World when I was frustrated we were not improving customer service quick enough. At the same time, we were not moving quickly enough to build trust with cast members.  That was when I developed the Disney Great Leader Strategies. You can find the 10 Great Leader Strategies in my book, Creating Magic .  Our Great Leader Strategies moved Disney World f...

In every organization and every business, we have to deal with angry customers.  Some of them are so angry the situation can be hard to diffuse.  When a family saves money for years to visit Disney and something goes wrong, they can get very angry. When a situation got to me, I did what ever I could to solve their problem.  Remember, they are not mad at your personally. They have 10 other problems...

This week a listener asked a question about whether a company should hire employees or contractors.  Sometimes organizations let contractors get away with behavior they would not let performers get away with.  If you are going to use contractors, you need to include clarity in the contract. Outline behavior, appearance, client interaction. Lay out expectations for professionalism and hold them to...

When I was in charge of East Coast Food & Beverage Operations for Marriott, I would stop by a hotel and meet with the waitresses and waiters. I would ask one question, "What problem can I solve for you today?" It was a small question with a big impact.  Often, the problems they needed to be solved were simple. They were not big issues, but the problems were a big deal to the people who could not d...

When you leave a position, you are often asked to do an exit interview. How should you handle it? If you are taking a position in the same company, only tell them good things. Resist the temptation to explain how you could have been handled better, or items that have frustrated you. Tell them you learned a lot and you appreciate the time people gave you. Explain how what you learned in the positio...

How candid are you with the people you care about?  Candor does not show up as often as it should. But you can't have a healthy workplace without candor. If you want someone to do well, you have to tell them the truth with empathy. This is what candor is all about - truth with empathy. You shouldn't tell truth if there is nothing in it for the other person. You can get a reputation for being someo...