Creating Disney Magic

Maintaining high standards can be a challenge in any setting. It becomes even more difficult when you have a large company, are dispersed geographically, or work with franchisees or independent distributors. In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, Lee Cockerell explains how you can maintain high standards in these situations.  Lee also reminds us that average is a dangerous place to be for compa...

Recently, Disney began to allow facial hair. Through guest surveys and rigorous examination, Disney realized an old policy had become a tradition. Facial hair on cast members did not tarnish to Disney image, or change the positive feelings guests have for cast members.  Traditions can get in the way in families, business, and your personal life.  In business, some policies are still in place only...

If you have ever been to Disney World and made a retail purchase, you probably noticed how well the cashier treated you. Rather than going through the motion, a cast member working in retail engages customers and adds to the overall Disney experience.  This week on Creating Disney Magic, Lee answers a listener question about how Disney achieves such a high level of excellence in retail sales.  The...

In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, Lee Cockerell shares about his relationship with Al Weiss, who was Lee's direct supervisor at Disney World. The great relationship Lee had with Al allowed them to partner together to become more effective in getting work done.  Lee shares examples of how you can partner with your boss to make sure you are effective and getting the right work done.  The key...

In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, Lee Cockerell shares how a relationship Lee built at Marriott led to an eventual job offer at Disney.  Relationships and connections you make early in your career can have an impact on your career years down the line. Don't be afraid to meet people, no matter your job or level in the organization. Introduce yourself to executives and managers.  Be the best...

Lately, it seems we hear about a new tragedy every day. Even Disney World, the happiest place on earth, is not immune from tragedy.  In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, Lee Cockerell talks about how to deal with tragedy and how to move on once it has happened.  If a tragedy happens at your organization, tell the truth. Don't try to cover anything up. People can forgive you if you tell the tr...

Do you ever find yourself wondering if it is time to leave your job? Do you wish it was Friday, even though it was only Monday morning? Showing up every day to a job you don't enjoy and where you are not appreciated can be tough.  If you want to have a great life, you will have to take a risk. Most satisfaction in life comes on the edge.  Still keep doing a good job at your current job while you l...

We have many examples of customer service stories in our lives. Most of them are bad. In fact, we probably have come to expect poor service. There are times when we get service so good we want to share the experience with others.  In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, we share examples of great customers service. Watching for examples of great service will help you understand how you can provi...

Employees have personal issues. Sometimes those issues will require time away from work and with that, a transition back to work.  In this episode, Lee Cockerell discusses how to handle employee's personal issue. He begins by explaining how to work with an employee who is returning from time away from work due to anxiety. Lee also examines the importance of a proper rhythm with work and personal l...

If you have a student in your life, this episode of Creating Disney Magic will provide insight to help them interview and prepare for their first job. Lee offers ideas to prepare for an interview, how to conduct yourself during an interview and focusing on the basics to stand out from other interview candidates.  Lee also discusses ways teachers can create magic in the classroom.  If you are a tea...

"If you want your time to count, you must count your time." - Kary Oberbrunner If you want to do the most important work and have the most impact, you need to have a difficult conversation with yourself. You need to understand what you are doing that your shouldn't be doing anymore. You need to come clean about the hard thing you need to do that you are trying to avoid.  You need to examine the ha...

Should companies be involved in community service? At Disney, there is a culture of helping the community. Cast members work hard and put in long hours and then give their time and money to improving the community.  Whether it is the company as a whole or you as an individual, you can improve one life or an entire community by contributing time or money to a worthy cause.   In this episode of Crea...

If you have met Lee Cockerell in person, there is a good chance he handed you a bookmark. The bookmark is a promotion piece that includes information on all of his books.  The bookmark also includes Disney's Seven Service Guidelines. Lee explains the guidelines and the idea behind each one.  These guidelines can be used in any organization to create magic. You can also create specific guidelines f...

If you have a bully in the workplace, it is going to have a negative impact on productivity and employee morale.  As a leader, if you have a bully in the workplace you have to address it promptly and directly. Nobody has the right to intimidate another person.  Even if you are the boss, you have no right to damage the self-esteem of another person. You have to stay on top of the situation until yo...

In this episode of Creating Disney Magic Lee answers a listener question about leading a discouraged team.  If you take on a leadership role with a team that has had a tough time with the previous leader or feel discouraged, you have to be deliberate about how you leadership tenure begins.  Spend time listening. Spend time with each member of your team. Discover what the problems are, what has dis...

It is not uncommon for someone to leading people who are older than they are.  This situation can cause pushback; people may feel the boss selected the wrong person, you could now be supervising someone who didn't get the job, or people are skeptical about your age.  Address the situation early and directly. Be open and available to answer questions. Help people understand performance is what matt...

At your organization, you are putting on a show every day. Everygreat show has two performances going on simultaneously; onstageand backstage. Consider seeing a play at the theater. The onstage show isobvious. You watch the actors, see the props, and hear the music. Backstage, though, there is a crew working just as hard to makesure everything goes right with the performance. You may notdirectly w...

It is common to wonder how to motivate employees and maintain high morale. But the truth is, you don't motivate people. People motivate themselves. Your job is to create a culture where people are excited. When people are excited about the work they do, they inspire themselves. Your job is to create a culture where people are excited. When people are excited about the work they do, they inspire th...

Whether you are in government, a religious organization, or running a corner gas station, customer service issues are all the same.  No team will work unless the group is flexible, professional, and willing to work together.  Be willing to compromise, be patient, and build relationships.  Always keep in mind, your job is to take care of the constituents. Focus on what is best for the citizens.  Th...

At Disney World, metrics and measurement are crucial to the operation. Cast Members are aware of what is being measured and understand how they can contribute to improvement.  If you don't measure, you don't know if you are doing a good job or a bad job. And you won't know how to improve performance or guest satisfaction. Without knowing the numbers, you can not make clear decisions.  Disney measu...

Customers want the person in front of them to have the authority to solve their problem. If front line staff can't solve a customer's problem, it is either a training issue or you have not empowered them to solve problems.  Reputation and customer service are linked together. When front line staff can't solve a problem, it erodes your reputation one customer at a time. If you want a reputation for...

The three legs of a successful business are; Taking Care of the Customer Taking Care of the Employees Taking Care of the Profit In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, Lee Cockerell explains what you can do to create a culture of customer service when your organization currently does not focus on the customer.  Remember, employees are the company. Customers will view your company based on the ex...

Many organizations lump training and development into one category.  You need to understand the difference and the impact each will have on your organization.  Training is basic and unemotional. Development is emotional and helps people correct their mistakes or move from good to great.  You can follow along with Creating Disney Magic podcast on Facebook .  Is there a question you would like to as...

Too many people feel you have to be a fear motivated boss, but it is not true. No one wants to work with that kind of boss.  But is it possible to be too nice? The main job of a leader is to focus on performance.  At Disney, Lee Cockerell had a reputation for being nice and respectful, but he got results and so did the people who worked for him.  Be professional, treat people respectfully and focu...

In January, Lee explained that he was dealing with anxiety. Now, Lee gives an update on how he is feeling.  In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, Lee gives an update on his anxiety. Lee shares what he has done over the past two months to help improve.  If you did not hear the original episode about Lee's struggle with anxiety, you can listen to it here .  One app Lee has is  Headspace .  Lee c...