Creating Disney Magic

Emergencies are the extreme example of finding out how well you have done in delegating authority.  When you have an emergency you have no time for anyone to wonder what they should do and what responsibility they have. You have to sort it out before you have a problem.  You don't plan what to do in a tornado when you hear the tornado siren.  Think about what could go wrong. Work through the scena...

No matter how big or small your organization is, your customers all have the same expectations;  Make me feel special Treat me as an individual Respect me Have knowledgeable employees Now, go through these four expectations with your team and figure out how you can master them. You will have to be deliberate to master these four areas. Discuss each expectation individually and figure out what it m...

Have you ever been in a situation at work where it seemed like it was Us versus Them? When you find this situation it often comes in the form of field staff vs. office staff.  The problem comes from the top. This happens because the CEO lets it happen. Or, in a public agency, the Director or CEO equivalent.  Al Weiss used to say there would not be any silos at Disney World. And if there were, some...

When you lose a customer, is it possible to win them back? Yes, it is possible, but don't even try to win a customer back unless you are ready to have them back.  They left you for a reason. Fix the issue that caused them to leave in the first place. Only then, should you try to win a customer back.  And when you know you are ready to have them back, treat them like a VIP (very individual person)....

Often, people ask me how to stand out in their job.  Perhaps they want to know a secret. Something no one has told them before. But it is no secret. Most people know what to do, but they don't. If you want to stand out, focus on the basics. If you focus on these five things, you will stand out about anyone else you work with; First impressions are important. Be an expert in something Find a way to...

Want to create a magic environment around you? Start with gratitude.  When you are around someone who is grateful, you can feel it, can't you? I used to think about what I didn't have and complain about it. At some point in my career, I became more grateful for what I do have. You know what, life became more enjoyable.  When you are grateful for what you have, you begin to treat people better. Peo...

Too often, when we have a bad employee, we assume we made a great hire and something then went wrong with the employee. The truth is, you made a bad hire.  It is hard to admit, but it is true.  In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, we talk candidly about hiring and firing.  If you want to build a great culture, you have to face the truth about bad hires and put an end to it.  In this episode,...

Getting fired can feel like a big deal. It can feel like a blow to your confidence and your career.  When I was younger, I took a job I shouldn't have and it led to me getting fired.  It felt awful, of course. But it turned out to be the best thing that happened to me. One thing you are concerned about after getting fired is if it has ruined your reputation.  After I was fired, I was hired by Marr...

Walt Disney was a dreamer. Some would say he was unrealistic. Some would say he was unreasonable.  But without his dreams, there would be no Mickey Mouse. No Snow White. No Disneyland or Disney World.  If you have big dreams, people are going to tell you that you can't do it or you are being unrealistic.  Remember, when someone tells you something can't be done, they are talking about their limita...

On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, a listener asks what I think is the biggest opportunity for the service industry.  We've tried everything else, now let's take care of the customer.  No gimmicks. No marketing campaign. No technology. Just people taking care of people.  To make this happen, you have to stop relying on your business strategy and develop a leadership strategy.  In order to t...

This week I answer two listener questions. Although the details are different, both questions are in the same line of "my boss doesn't listen". Yes, it happens. There are some lousy bosses out there. People are insecure. Insecurity in leadership leads to some bad behavior. If you find yourself in this position it can make your life miserable. And my advice is simple, don't stay where you are not h...

If your organization has not experienced a major disruption in the past couple of years it is coming.  Technology changes so fast, you may not even see the disruption before it hits. Look at what Amazon and Uber did to other businesses in their industry.  The key to being ready for these disruptions is to plan for them. Even if you don't know what the disruption is, you can plan on being disrupted...

In my younger days, I had trouble talking about myself. They even called me "Low Key Lee" because I kept to myself. So you might not be surprised to hear I did not interview well.  But as I became an expert and became more confident, I became better at job interviews.  Looking back on my career, I realize there are three things to help you create magic in a job interview; Talk about what you are p...

Many businesses are missing a big opportunity by not finding the right time to make incremental sales.  Or you could call it situational selling. In the right situation, you offer an additional service or product to the customer.  It is what we do in the hotel and restaurant business. We encouraged it and sometimes would create a friendly competition.  Some people call it upselling, but it is more...

Many people set resolutions to start a new year. Most of those people don't follow through.  Usually, by February, people have already given up on losing weight, reading more books, or whatever resolution they set.  They key is to do things on purpose. Or, said another way, routines.  Routines are systems to help you get done what you need to get done. Can you imagine FedEx or IBM or Disney doing...

Focusing on numbers and neglecting the customer has become too common. When times get tough, companies cut costs, often at the expense of customer service. Is that the right move? Does customer service really hurt the bottom line? Absolutely not. Without the customer, you will not have a bottom line to worry about. Take care of the customer. It takes discipline to offer excellent customer service...

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...