Creating Disney Magic: Lessons In Leadership, Management, And Customer Service

As a leader, one of your top priorities is to be available for staff members to see you.  When I was at Disney World, I made it clear anyone could come and see me. If they were not getting their problem solved at the local level, the could bring it to me.  My responsibility was to get things right. Every cast member should have a work environment where they felt comfortable and safe. If an issue came to me, I wasn't looking for someone to blame, I only wanted to take care of the problem.  Word began to spread that Lee Cockerell would take care of it if you had an issue.  Cast members had several ways to get in touch with me. This was how I kept up with the responsibility of creating a culture people wanted to be a part of.  Bill Marriott told me, "When in doubt, go in favor of the employee." Over time, this is how you build trust. Sure, someone may take advantage of you every once in a while. But don't punish everyone because someone might take advantage of you. Take care of the people first. Then take care o

At Walt Disney World, we implemented a cross-utilization program at our busiest time to make sure we had enough people to serve our guests. One time, I was assigned to work at Pecos Bills. As I was working the front line taking orders, I noticed trays were beginning to come out hot. Which meant they were coming right out of the dishwasher and into the hands of the customers. It wasn't long before trays were coming out dirty, meaning they hadn't even been washed. A few minutes later, we ran out of trays. This is a big problem at an eatery as busy as Pecos Bills. Without trays, there is no way a father could carry the food for his family back to the table. And he yelled at me, questioning what was going on. It was an embarrassing situation. But it led to a meeting to figure out how to make sure this situation never happened again. The situation also reminded me of a valuable lesson: Everybody is important. You know who was the most important person that day at Pecos Bills? The guy who washes the trays. Everybod

ep track of your problems so you can fix them.  You have the same problems that show up every week. Pay attention, keep track, and you can fix nearly every problem.  At Disney World, we kept careful records of problems and mishaps. Then we would train cast members to take care of the problem right there on the spot.  There are trends in every business. There are likely 6 or 7 problems that will happen in your business every week or even every day. Pay attention and you will know what these problems are. Talk to employees and customers to find out where the problems and pain points are. Employees and customers know everything you need to know about your business.  Once you know what those common problems are, focus your training on those particular issues, then let your team take care of it.  Next, start looking at how you can eliminate the problems. You know what the problem is. The staff is trained to deal with it. The staff is empowered to respond on the spot. But why not eliminate the problem altogether. 

Does a CEO always need to be in the office? There are situations where a CEO or a leader works from home, comes in late, leaves early.  Does the CEOs presence at work matter in getting the work done? When I became EVP of Walt Disney World, I made it clear there may be times I would leave at 3 pm. But the job would get done. And I didn't want jokes about leaving early.  If you own the company, you can do what you want. If you are a high-level leader, you may not need to be in the office all the time.  But there can be a side effect. If you don't have the right team in place, work might not get done. Gossip could spread about why you are not there. Staff could makes jokes about how often they see you.  But you can get rid of some of the drama by addressing it up front. Explain why you aren't always there, and point out you hired great people so they could take care of the work that needs to be done.  We need to take care of ourselves, take care of each other, and take care of business.  The focus should be on g

Should you still aim high for a job you are not qualified for? Not many people end up with a career in the field they went to college for. But how do you make the leap into a job you want, but may not be qualified for? You will have an advantage if you know someone. Most companies are willing to hire someone who has the right attitude and personality, but someone on the inside has to know you.  Another approach is to write a letter that tells people why they should hire you. This is your shot to convince people who you are.  Every resume looks the same. What sets you apart is who you are.  Always ask for what you want. More often than you think, people will say yes. Having the tenacity to aim high will impress some people.  Don't underestimate what you can achieve. If you want to get into a specific company, get to know people. Work the channels until you meet the right people. Building relationships and meeting people is the key to getting into organizations today. If people don't know you they can't help yo

This episode was recorded live in London, England. The audience asked me questions and I answered.  Here are the questions found on the episode: What was the most successful initiative I launched in my career? Implementing the Disney Great Leader Strategies.  How do you create a company culture? Culture is behavior. Sometimes to change a culture you have to change the people who don't behave the way you want.  How do you encourage personality when you are strict when you hire? At Disney, you may run into cast members with different personalities, but they will all be nice. We hire for the basics; honesty, integrity, and personality will still shine.  How do you create work-life balance? I worked out, got sleep, and dealt with problems directly. Stress comes from feeling out of control. I dealt with things promptly so it would not feel out of control.  What is your view of financial bonuses? Disney Cast Members do a great job because of how they are treated. The biggest benefit is the opportunity to have a big

A title does not make you a leader.  A title may make you a manager, but not a leader.  In fact, the bigger your title, the less you need to think of yourself and more about the people who count on you.  It's not about me. It's about them.  When I ran Disney World, it was my priority to create an environment where people wanted to come to work every morning. If I created a place where everyone mattered and they knew they mattered, people would look forward to coming to work, they would take care of the guest.  It was not about me, it was about the cast members. I was there to serve the cast member so they could serve the guest.  As leaders, we were there to serve the cast member. Not tell them what to do. Our actions made cast members feel respected and included and part of something magical.  One of the most important things a leader can do is clear the way so people can do their job without obstacles.  If you want to be a servant leader, here are two questions to ask your employees every day; What do you ne

Losing money in your business is not an easy thing to deal with.  When we opened Disneyland Paris, we were losing $1 million each day. Talk about pressure.  One reason many businesses lose money is debt. Be careful how much debt you take on for your business. You may have enough sales right now, but if something happens, the debt can keep you from meeting your obligations.  When your business is losing money, you have to walk carefully when it comes to customer service. Don't cut away from what draws customers to you and you will find the problem gets worse when customers stop coming.  Here are the 3 steps I would take to turn around a business losing money.  Find out what is wrong. Is it debt? Is it the product?  Is poor service keeping people away? You have to look at everything.  Look at Productivity problems. Is the way you are doing business causing you to lose money? Where can you improve your processes? Where can you cut spending without taking away from the customer? Do you have the right management?

Should employers help employees with mental health issues? Yes, of course.  But it comes down to the individual supervisor to make something happen.  If someone has never been late to work late, and now they are coming to work late 3 days a week, something has happened. If someone now seems to have anger issues that weren't there before, something has happened.  This will make the culture and environment of your organization special. People will notice. People will talk about it. You will attract better people. You will get less turnover.  Some companies don't want to get involved. But you have no choice. Employees are people. People are going to have issues. You can ignore it, or you can embrace it and be there for people.  Pay attention. You can see it if you want to see it.  Get to know your people well. When someone changes, something has changed. Find out what it is. Give them access to resources and help they need. Let people know you care and you are committed to them. Here is one thing I can promise,

We had a question from a listener who wanted to know how to ask for a pay raise. Truth is, I had never asked for a pay raise.  I had some ideas, but perhaps my advice wasn't as solid as it could be. So we found an expert and asked him to join us on this episode of Creating Disney Magic.  Scott Barlow, founder of Happen to Your Career, explains exactly how to ask for a pay raise.  If you perform your job well, you are doing what you have been asked to do. But doing what you have been asked to do is the minimum standard.  There are 3 times you can get raises; as you are changing roles, when your performance has justified a pay raise when you accept a job Scott Barlow gives us the four steps to asking for a pay raise.  Often, supervisors and their direct reports are not on the same page on what top priorities are.  If you want your supervisor to know what value you are bringing to the organization, you have to let them know.  If you want to make more money, you have to be better than everyone else. Have a better

On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, I answer a few more questions from attendees of the event in Indianapolis.  If you handle a work issue privately with the employee, how does the rest of the team know you have dealt with the problem? When dealing with an employee issue at work, be respectful and private.  Handle it as quick as you can. If there is an issue other employees are aware of, you need to handle it quickly and make sure there are results. When there is a change, others will see there was a change.  Tell your team, if there is an issue it will be handled privately. We can all have problems and they will always be handled professionally and privately.  How do you manage change at a company that doesn't understand how to go from good to great? You can either do your job as well as you can and not worry about it, go talk to the CEO (or write an anonymous note) or leave.   There is not a lot you can do if people at the top do not want change. If you don't see a future, keep doing a great job while

Don't be afraid to speak up and share your opinion.  These days, we've all got to get better faster. The best way to do this is getting input directly from people who are doing the work and the customer. They have more information than a CEO will ever know.  And you are either an employee or a customer. So speak up.  How can your organization serve better? What policies and procedures are getting in the way? Worried about sharing your opinion? A company should want you to speak up. And if they don't actively ask, write a letter about some improvements that could impact the bottom line.  Don't be too careful about expressing your opinion. Take your chance. Speak up. If you work for an organization that doesn't want to hear from employees, it is not the type of place you want to work anyway.  Your opinion is valuable. Don't let your insecurity get in the way of helping your boss and your organization. 

Leadership comes first. You have to get it right before you work on anything else. Once you get leadership right, everything else will come into line.  On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, I answer a listener question about creating a leadership development business.  My answers apply not just to creating a business, but for anyone who wants to develop as a leader.  First, understand you need to take control of your own leadership development.  Now, here are some thoughts you need to know to develop as a leader.  Understand the content you want to teach. Have a deep understanding of what you think leadership is. Anticipate the questions people will ask you. Have conversations about leadership. The more you talk about it, the more questions you answer, the more you will understand what you believe. You have to role model what you believe about leadership. You can become an expert at anything if you focus and spend the time and get the experience. Read, listen to podcasts, read the paper, watch the right p

Most people feel they are underpaid at their job.  My whole career I thought I should have made more money.  But when should you ask for a pay raise? You agreed to do a job at a salary, so knowing when you are providing enough value to ask for more money can be delicate.  I have never asked for a pay raise in my career. My plan was always to do a such a great job they promoted me and I would make more money that way. But my thought was, "Love me and pay me properly, or I am likely to leave." And I did. I left jobs where I did not feel loved or values.  If you don't feel you are making enough money, if you don't feel valued, if you don't feel appreciated, it is time to look for another job.  When your attitude begins to get negative, you should go somewhere else.  Keep in mind, there are a lot of factors that go into someone else deciding you should be paid more money. But the most important factor is you have to be creating so much value you are worth more money.  Are you on Instagram? Let's connect. You can

There is one letter I take the time to write for my family every year.  Well, two letters, actually. One letter is to let each member of the family know how much I appreciate them. We all need more appreciation, encouragement, and recognition.  The second letter is a letter you should consider writing every year, but plan on no one reading it.  At the end of each year, I give a letter to my family and instruct them to only open it if I die.  In the letter, is all the information they will need if I am not here to take care of things. Information on insurance, wills, passwords, bank account numbers, phone numbers of important people, car titles, property deeds, and more important documents along those lines.  When I die, everything my family will need will be found in one place. My family will not have to worry. Even in death, my organization will pay off.  It is not easy to think about your own death, and sit down and get all of this information in order. But as with most things in life, you have to get the h

This episode of Creating Disney Magic was recorded live in front of an audience in Indianapolis.  One table in the front of the room was a table of high school students who are members of the Kiwanis Key Club. All the questions for this episode come from the Key Club members.  One of the students asked how to turn around a bad reputation. Once a company gets a bad reputation, what can you do about it?  First, you have to admit you have a problem. Many companies don't even know they have a problem.  Next, get input from your staff on how to fix what is wrong. Don't think you know everything. People who are working face to face with customers know more than you do.  Finally, you have to do the hard work of implementing change after you discover what you need to do.  It takes time and persistence to turn around a bad reputation, but it can be done. 

This episode of Creating Disney Magic is recorded live in front of a live audience of 350 people in Indianapolis.  We took questions from the audience while I answered live from the stage.   Here are the questions I answer during this episode: What do you do when you want to empower people but have trouble letting go? How have natural disasters affected my leadership training? When you are interviewing, how can you tell someone is a diamond in the rough if they are struggling with an interview? As a leader, how do you ensure a work and life balance for you and your team members? What is the best investment I have made under $100? What can a student do to prepare themselves to be the candidate companies or looking for to fill a job? My answer to this question is important for you, even if you are not a student. Do you have the persistence and willpower to be the best at what you do? What type of skills do women need to develop to get an executive management role?

Words help a business create magic.  Get past the boring business language we have become accustomed to.  Words help you get to someone's heart by getting to their brain first.  Even when it comes to Disney, without the words magic would not happen.  Words are used in movies, of course. But Disney also uses words to connect to guests. Disney uses words to even build a better experience for employees. And the best example of this is we don't use the words employees. We call them cast members. This simple shift in words helps employees understand their role.  Words are powerful. Words are used to shape experiences and emotions. Used properly, words can influence our behavior.  You don't have to be Disney to create magic with words. Any organization can put the right words in the right places to create magic.  When you can put yourself in the position of the customer, you can begin to find the right words. Rather than say what you want to say, say what the customer wants to hear.  Ray Edwards joins us on this ep

On this episode of Creating Disney Magic, I answer two listener questions, but they both tie together.  With the first question, someone asks about working with a mentor. He is a young man who wants to know how to approach someone about working with them in a mentor type relationship.  It is not uncommon for people to ask me to be their mentor. I decline, though. If I am going to mentor someone I need to see them work and have a personal relationship with them.  But I am willing to give advice and to let you know how I did or would handle a situation.  You will find many people are willing to answer your questions and give advice. All you have to do is ask.  Before you ask, read their books or articles. Listen to their podcast interviews. Attend their events. As you do this, your question may be answered and you can ask a better question. Working with a mentor or having someone you look up to give you advice can help you build confidence. But what do you do when something happens that takes a knock at your co

In this episode of Creating Disney Magic, we have another rapid-fire series of questions.  Jody Maberry pulls out seven listener questions, and I provide a brief answer.  Tell how you would work along with cast members to learn what they would do day to day. Spending time out with the cast members gave me more appreciation for the hard work our team did every day. You would benefit from doing the same. Get out with your team to get an idea of the work they do day in and day out. What do you do when you are doing a good job, love your company, but have a lousy boss? You have to decide how long you can put up with the boss. If it is having a big negative impact on you, keep doing a good job but plan a way out. Don't stay too long at a job where you are not happy. What is the most valuable lesson you learned as Executive Vice President of Walt Disney World? Make sure you are not being a big deal. Even my title was intimidating to cast members. I made sure I was available, approachable and open to cast member. Ev