The Disney Way For The Digital Age

Kevin Kelly
The Disney Way For The Digital Age

Magical customer experiences don’t happen by accident, they happen through careful planning & meticulous design. Kevin Kelly and Debbie Zmorenski have been engineering extraordinary customer experiences for over 30 years … Join us as we explore corporate culture, branding, service excellence, and much more. Through storytelling, technical curiosity and friendly conversation, “The Disney Way for the Digital Age” will be revealed! Our mission is to give our listeners real-life information that can be used to create a successful business model leading to competitive advantage and loyal customers for life. We’ll l share our combined experience in operations, leadership, and technology in a way that is relevant to all businesses.

  1. EPISODE 1

    E1: Introducing The Disney Way for the Digital Age Podcast

    SHOW NOTES:  1:00: Debbie Zmorenski and Kevin Kelly’s background and introductions.  2:50: A bit more about Debbie’s background w/ Disney Ref: The Disney Institute 5:12: A bit more about Kevin’s background 9:00: An overview of the types of topics we’ll be discussing as we progress! 11:05: About some of the stories and history we’re going to share!  11:39: “The Dark Years”. All companies stumble, Disney was no exception  12:03: How do you recover from a stumble and “Insidious decline”  14:08: Ref: Book “Storming the Magic Kingdom” 16:38: Michael Eisner speech clip. Ref: Michael Eisner and Frank Well’s FULL introduction speech: HERE 17:15: The impact on Debbie of his speech at that juncture 17:30: The Disney Decade.  18:30: Footsteps speech/getting on the bus [no longer in print] 18:50: On the big cultural and structural change 21:00: One of many streaming/content games now in town 22:05: A bit more on Judson C. Green’s “Get On The Bus”/Service Excellence Framework here and how the new culture boarding process transpired 25:18: The Greatest Advice You’ll Ever Get (We think!) 25:50: “You should pay careful attention to your culture; because culture happens by accident, or by design. We hope to help you curate and create that culture by design”. Successful companies regularly step back and say: Where are we today? What's working? What's not working? They examine all the elements of their culture and ask what they need to do, to move forward. 22:33: What’s happening on our next episode?! Please find us on the Web at:  www.disneywaydigital.com  And on the Social at:   Debbie: debbie@disneywaydigital.com  also LinkedIN and @DZmorenski on Twitter and @dkzcoach on Facebook   Kevin: kevin@disneywaydigital.com  and @BigBuzzKev on Twitter INSTA & Facebook 27:20: The End TRANSCRIPT:  Intro: Magical customer experiences don't happen by accident. They happen through careful planning and meticulous design. Kevin and Debbie have been engineering, extraordinary customer experiences for over 30 years. Join us as we explore corporate culture, branding, service, excellence, and much more through storytelling, technical curiosity, and friendly conversation. The Disney way for the digital age will be revealed. [00:00:30] KK: Hey, Debbie. It is so great to finally be doing this, uh, boy, you and I have been working together and, and talking for almost two decades. I think we figured out I was going to go try and find my old Disney Institute book and see when that, when that first meeting was. Gosh, we've been working together forever it seems!     [00:00:48] Debbie: this, this is going to be a lot of fun to put our ideas together, to share ideas with, with others and make an impact. We hope on other businesses out there. So I'm looking forward to.  [00:01:01] KK: Yeah, likewise, uh, to give folks some background. Um, Debbie and I have worked together. I, I met Deb, uh, at the Disney Institute about two decades ago. We're figuring that out. And, um, we  [00:01:13] Debbie: started with, I hate to tell you, but I think it was longer than that, but that's okay. We'll go with, let's  [00:01:19] KK: go two decades. Geez. Um, yeah. And you know, kinda changed my life and my perspective of how to run my business and return. And, uh, you know, had, had to create a friendship and relationship with Deb. And, and we had started working together, build a program for brands and, and, and, um, even agencies for reselling to brands that we would help structure a culture and integrate it with, um, brands and how their brand comes to life through service and a lot of other ways. So, um, that's something we've been doing. It's, it's, it's been exciting work, so I don't know what five, six years ago. Let's write a book.  [00:02:02] Debbie: What great idea. Right? [00:02:06] KK: So, uh, the Disney winning for the digital age. Yes, it is a book and a podcast. Um, we're doing well with the book, but, you know, w we we're, we're, we're finishing up and they always say that, what is it that 80, 80% is easy. That last 20% is 80% of the work. And that's kind of where we are with. And we started talking on these book meetings and we said, I think folks might find this interesting. So that's kind of how this came about, right?  [00:02:32] Debbie: Yeah,  [00:02:32] KK: absolutely. So maybe, uh, maybe you tell folks a little about, um, yourself and how you started and, and what you've been doing for the past. A little while I won't get specific because you've already pushed us back into fourscore and  [00:02:50] Debbie: 40 years ago. Right. So, um, yeah, I did start my career with this Disney Institute, uh, that my unintentional career, I will say because I was like 16. A couple months away from being 17. When I started with Disney, when they opened this new world here in Orlando, Florida. So I'm an opening team cast member and had really no intentions of staying as often happens with, with great companies 34 years later. I th you know, there I was, and I'd actually 30, after 34 years reached a crossroads in my career trying to decide what do I want to do next? I had spent 25 years in leadership positions and operations positions. Um, so most of my career and most of my experience is operations. I am an operations girl. Ben. I, I love it. I love everything about it. And to lead operations at Disney was, uh, not only a wonderful learning experience, but it was a great happiness. The last six years of my 34, I spent at Disney Institute sharing. The success stories and the processes that may did Disney successful. And that is where I met Kevin. He was the, the guy sitting in the front row raising his hand. Oh, oh, oh. And they'd stay after class. Not because he was bad, but because he had a ton of questions and that's how we got to know each other. And it was just one of those things that felt like we had always been friends. So it's not. And then in 2005, uh, As I was at that crossroads, I decided that I'd really like to try my hand at starting my own business and expanding on what I had learned and grown up with at the Disney company. And so I left and started a, actually a training business with a partner that has evolved several times over the years, but I'm networking as a sole proprietor, specifically helping organizations. With cultural change, um, process improvement, gaining those, those customers for life. And that's what my key focus is now. And I've been very, very fortunate to have been successful and that's really wonderful people and worked for some really great companies.  [00:05:12] KK: And then, and that is quite a run and, um, it's kind of exemplary. Have we got together? Right. So you were consulting with your partner. I called you up as many folks exiting their, their training at Disney Institute would say, wow, this is fantastic. I'm going to go back to my business and I'm going to have no idea how to implement this. Can you come out and help? And that time was no right. They didn't know. So you said, now let me, let me help these folks. And then let me try this independent. So, you know, and then, you know, we've done that as well. So, um, a little about me, uh, Kevin Kelly. Yeah. What is so, um, so yeah, late eighties, early Niagara, you know, got out of Berkeley college of music. I was a recording engineer and a drummer and a couple of touring rock bands. You've never heard. And was lucky enough to do some work with some great folks. Like I got to work with Madonna and Phil Collins and some other great people, but then, um, and, and, and that was wonderful. But then the internet came along and I tell these folks, these millennials and some of the younger folks, like, so when the internet was invented, I started my company because it was like, wow, what is this show? I was always a technology guy and creative in the music side, and I saw the internet come about. And I'm like, This is definitely technology and like the creative palette for, you know, being able to build a website and build web apps and all this stuff was just wide open. Got me so excited. So I started a company called big buzz, uh, in the mid nineties, sold it last year and, uh, have a few companies. You know, I'm, I'm realizing that if it doesn't have some sort of connection of creativity, culture, and technology, I'm not so interested. So, you know, my, my passions lie at the intersection of technology and creativity and certainly is, is, um, you know, service, culture design is something that lives in that space. So. Yeah. So, so, and then about us, we've worked with, uh, all kinds of companies, fortune 500 companies helping them, um, as we call it, you know, engineer creatively engineered, there, there. As we'll talk about later, right? Culture exists. Whether you just let it happen or you design it and, you know, we hope we're going to help you figure out how to, how to do the ladder and design it. And that's a big part of our focus, right? From, from your brand essence to the people that live  [00:07:35] Debbie: it. Yeah. And that's why Kevin and I are such a good team. I am the. Big per picture operational person. He's the technical person. And I have, I am not a technical person. Let's just put it that way. So when we get to the technical piece, I go, Kevin, your turn, we need help with this. [00:07:56] KK: Yeah, we are union yang like that. It works really well. Absolutely.  [00:08:01] Debbie: It works,  [00:08:02] KK: but I think we've rubbed off on each other. So.  [00:08:06] Debbie: Yeah.  [00:08:07] KK: Yeah, yeah, for sure. So, um, yeah, this first episode is going to be probably a little different than the rest, you know, we'll, um, digging right into particular issues, but the format is going to be, you know, introduction. Hey, how you doing? Um, we're always going to focus on, you know, um, service culture. Uh, analysis

    27 min
  2. EPISODE 2

    E2: Three Pillars Supporting Great Customer Experience

    SHOW NOTES:   0:35: Hey, thanks for coming back! 1:48: The three pillars that support great customer experience, once your culture's in place. On Brand. 2:53: Debbie on corporate Culture; what makes your corporate culture? 4:50: Consolidation, it’s even making news. 5:40: On returning to the office.. are we doing that? How, why, and to what end? 8:00: Culture can really take a dive if you’re not paying attention. 8:50: About the successful merging of cultures 10:27: Do we need a design plan? Cultural engineering 11:02: The third pillar is Technology 12:12: On the customer experience via tech 12:53: Different types of tech integration 13:30: Defining how much technology is really needed? 14:00: Is technology helping to grow your brand or is it eroding it? 15:09: Six questions to honestly assess your culture Ref: www.disneywaydigital.com 15:50: Number one… 18:55: How does tech fit into delivering an exceptional experience to your customer? 19:48: The internal versus the external customer’s needs 21:21: On how Disney applied tech internally, a few years back 23:40: It comes down to access 24:34: A parting thought and what’s up on our next episode! 25:57: End credits Please find us on the Web at:  www.disneywaydigital.com  Via email:  debbie@disneywaydigital.com  and  kevin@disneywaydigital.com  And on the Socials at:   Debbie:  LinkedIN and @DZmorenski on Twitter  and @dkzcoach on Facebook   Kevin:  @BigBuzzKev on Twitter INSTA & Facebook TRANSCRIPT via Descript:  Intro: Magical customer experiences don't happen by accident. They happen through careful planning and meticulous design. Kevin and Debbie have been engineering, extraordinary customer experiences for over 30 years. Join us as we explore corporate culture, branding, service, excellence, and much more through storytelling, technical curiosity, and friendly conversation. The Disney way for the digital age will be revealed.  [00:00:25] KK: Yeah. We have a theme song. Isn't that great!? Amazing. So, awesome. Good to see you again. Thanks for coming back. And hopefully our listeners they've come back, but I'm so glad you came back! That’s not guaranteed. Right?  [00:00:44] Debbie: Well, you know what I used to say when I’d release the guests for lunch and they'd come back after lunch. I'd say thank you for coming back from lunch. You always know how things are going. If no one comes back from lunch that's right. Especially delivering programs where they could sneak off to a theme park, right?  [00:01:01] KK: Oh that's right. Well, I remember having a breakfast and I said, associate that friend here that I still work with in long island. We had breakfast, a breakfast in animal kingdom. Yeah, one morning of Disney Institute and I can't remember. And Harambae, I think it was really cool. And if you are lucky, we came back. Cause I was definitely wanting to just hop on the train and go. stay in the park [00:01:30] KK: Exactly. But I went back because the curriculum was so engaging, but welcome back. Um, so nice to, to, to be doing this with you again. So we promise folks that we would start to get into some nuts and bolts about how to honestly assess their culture.  Um, we look at it. We've, we've Deb had talked about the, um, the three pillars that support great customer experience that, you know, you deliver once your culture's in place. So those three elements are brand culture and technology, and I'm kind of the, the brand guy in this, this group, um, you know, um, brand is the way that. A name of a company and the service from the company and a logo of the company makes people feel right. That's that's brand, right. It stays with you. It's called brand like a brand. You put on a cow. It's like, because that sticks with you. If you've done it. Right, right. You, it sticks with you. So what, and, and, and we've. We were always surprised that so many folks hadn't really talked about this more, but our belief is that culture and brand are inextricably combined. You, they just one supports the other. So, you know, and that that's really the crux of our book. Our book formerly was called the culture of brand, I think way, way back. Yeah. That's brand. And I'm going to turn it over to Deb to talk about the second pillar of culture. Okay.  [00:02:52] Debbie: So we talked a lot. We just kind of popped in with that word culture. And it's surprising to me how often I work with even large companies. And when I'm speaking with executives, I will ask them to describe their corporate culture to me. And they don't really have a clear idea of what. The phrase means, but it's not as complex as it sounds. It, you know, the simplest definition of culture is all of the elements that simply describe or drive how you get business done in your organization. So the things, just some examples of the things that make up a culture are. How do you promote people into leadership? How do you choose leaders? How do you hire leaders? Um, how do you train them? How do they treat your employees? And what do you accept about how they treat your employees? Are they respectful and considerate or is it the, my way or the highway? Oh attitude. It is about the employees themselves. How do you recruit and hire right fit? How do you train them, give them what they need so that they can deliver an exceptional experience. It's about your description of the customer experience and how you're going to make that happen. It's about how you decide what your policies and procedures are within the organization. Right? That's all. If you have them. Exactly. I mean, it's all part of, of your culture. And there are many, many more examples and every company of course is a little different, but that is the simple definition of culture. So, I mean, Kevin has a great example that is actually been recently in the news and this. Very specifically relate to culture. So, um, Kevin, I'm going to tell that story because it's a great example.  [00:04:48] KK: Well, you know, there's so much consolidation going on in the world, especially in media and technology. So, you know, very recently I'm discovering Warner got together and somehow, and discovery is the, the, um, the, the leading entity in that. Interesting. And I won't share the, the creative, uh, ways that folks have expressed their opinion about that. But there's some great articles if you'd like to read on read about it, but, um, yeah, a huge company there's companies both in their own right. Gigantic companies, but Warner kind of back, we asked for one reason or another and said, you know, the Disney leadership or the discovery leadership's going to take over. And I have the, uh, the, the insight of having a daughter that works over there and, uh, It's been a challenge, right? So, um, uh, yes, these things are challenging. I've been through one or two myself, and I've actually advised other companies on how to make these work. But if you don't pay attention to culture and make decisions on what the right culture for the future of your company is, as you're going through this, you will have issues. So hot topic for everybody returned to office, right. Will I ever return off as do I want to return to office? No, by the way, Um, I want to see people, I want to see, I want to get together with purpose, but I don't need to commute, you know, 10 times a week is which what I used to get, I say, hop on the train from long island and get into Manhattan and, uh, love Manhattan, but I don't miss that commute. So they decided, um, um, my daughter had been with, uh, with Warner, uh, for a long time and, uh, pardon me, but as Debbie said, We're not going to sugarcoat anything, you know? So, um, we're going to tell you, like, it is at least as we see it. Um, yeah. So, you know, Warner, or as many big companies have been, they've been kicking that can down the road. Well, when you coming back, oh, just keep doing what you're doing. And we'll talk about it in four months, you know, two years later, that's still kind of the status quo, but honestly, no, one's come up with no, one's come up with the perfect answer. So. Discovery, uh, you know, the merger happens. Discovery gets a town hall. It gets on everybody on a town hall and says we're returning to work June 1st, come on back to the office three days as week. And then the awkward pause and people are like, uh, is there a plan? Like I had a desk there two years ago and honestly, I'm not even in that department. I'm not even sure if I'm on that floor in my new department. Right. Um, I've got kids. And for me to get childcare, I need to pay for five days childcare. Right. And what about you? No money doing this three. How am I going to offset the, you offer childcare? again, long pause. No, no plan. Um, there's going to be layoffs. Okay. Are you, you know, so. I'm going to move in the city and take on a, you know, probably 24, $26,000 a year lease. Right. I am I going to do that? And you're gonna lay me off in two weeks, or is this your, your method? I honestly think that it was their method of vetting, uh, folks, you know? Alright, well, whoever's not up for it they can leave. And I, my first reaction was; you're using a single parameter to define who you want in your company, meaning I'll work onsite or I won't, that's just insane. And there was that to me, there's no planning, right? No grand planning, but anyway, um, and long story short how does this tie back to culture that is just going to destroy the culture. So I know the folks that, and at Warner and, um, And I should say, I know some employees over at Warner and they're just scared to death that their culture is just going to crash and burn because it doesn't seem to be a plan. The plan does not seem to be a people focused. Right come back because it's June 1st because we've got office space and I want you here. Terrible reason. Right? Look, it's hard. It's not, there's no ea

    26 min
  3. EPISODE 3

    E3: Managing Chaos and Control - Right Fit Hire and Technology

    SHOW NOTES:   00:30: Welcome back! Thanks for finding and joining us again! 01:30: Did you know we do technology installations and design for hospitality brands? 02:40: The joy of using Alexa and various other robots 03:31: Short recap of episode 2. We’ll cover the remaining questions today! 04:30: Number four… 05:28: About the concrete company for which Debbie is currently consulting 07:00: On how new tech does not always employ microchips and wires 07:50: On finding the technology that is a good fit for you and your customers 08:38: On solving labor shortages, recruitment, hiring and training 10:30: It’s about the people and the culture! 11:16: About “right fit hire” and asking the correct questions, pre and post hire 13:13: Do you really understand your core customers? 15:15: Ref: Survey Monkey and tips to craft a successful survey campaign 16:50: Do you only get once to make a first impression; does that also apply to tech? 19:00: Would you like fries with that? 20:00: Why brand development stems from listening to your core customer.  21:00: On Debbie’s example of the concrete company. Typically growth begats chaos  22:51: On strategic planning for company growth 23:50: On your customer experiences. Also, have you ever waited tables? Tell us in the comments! 25:00: If you don't first have a clear vision and plan, it's probably going to be impossible to move forward. Ref: Disney Institute 26:48: The greatest piece of advice you’ll ever get!  (to date) 27:00: Recap and advice 28:45: A parting thought and what’s coming up on our next episode! 29:07: End credits Please find us on the Web at:  www.disneywaydigital.com  Via email:  debbie@disneywaydigital.com  and  kevin@disneywaydigital.com  And on the Socials at:   Debbie:  LinkedIN and @DZmorenski on Twitter  and @dkzcoach on Facebook   Kevin:  @BigBuzzKev on Twitter INSTA & Facebook   TRANSCRIPT via Descript:  Intro: Magical customer experiences don't happen by accident. They happen through careful planning and meticulous design. Kevin and Debbie have been engineering, extraordinary customer experiences for over 30 years. Join us as we explore corporate culture, branding, service, excellence, and much more through storytelling, technical curiosity, and friendly conversation. The Disney way for the digital age will be revealed.  [00:00:29] KK: Well, welcome back to episode three of the Disney way for the digital age. I'm Kevin Kelly and my partner in crime here. Debbie. Zmorenski How you doing Deb?  [00:00:40] Debbie: I'm doing great. Welcome everybody. [00:00:42] KK: It’s nice to be back, uh, doing a little weekend recording for a change, right? Uh . Yes. Well, I got out this morning, got out on the bike. I am sorely out of shape, got out on the bike and did a little run. I have a race next month that I am not prepared for, but I, so I'm gonna. I’m a little bit tired.  [00:01:00] Debbie:  I admire that, you know, I, I admire that. I, I get my most steps when I, uh, go to my dad's and run all around for him. But other than that, ,  [00:01:11] KK: and next week I'm gonna head over. I'm gonna be in your neck of the woods, so we're gonna have to get together. I'm gonna be in Orlando for the that's right. Uh, the high tech. Uh, expo that's the hospitality technology. Yeah. Uh, expo. I'm excited to, you know, walk through the expo and, and see some of the folks I know. And I don't know if folks know that, um, we do, uh, technology installations and design for, uh, for hospitality brands. So work for, um, hard rock hotel, build their chat bot and their voice experience. And mm-hmm Alexa in the room and what she can do and say, and help and fix. Fix your toilet, or at least tell someone you need to fix your toilet or tell you where the best burger is and fun stuff like  [00:01:50] Debbie: that. So, um, well, and, but you have to be careful. I, I have a, a psychic friend of mine who says that Alexa's are portals and can let bad things in. So I, you know, I just, I thought we should. All of the possibilities of what Alexa can do for you or to you . Yeah, I guess  [00:02:07] KK: she doesn't have Amazon stock. Geez.  [00:02:09] Debbie: I, I don't know more, probably not more and more often I find my Alexa butting in. We haven't even said her wake up name and she'll just butt into the conversation. And I she's kinda like cliff Clavin on cheers. It's a little creepy. I, I just told her mind her own business and she'll know when we're talking to her.  [00:02:28] KK: well, she's kinda like Cliff Clavin on cheers. She tells you random fact, you know, she little known fact that the ancient Inca's is using flowers to build their huts and these,  [00:02:37] Debbie: and this is where, you know, uh, uh, technology gets a bit like the Terminator, you know, gets a little scary, they're taken over,  [00:02:45] KK: but I tell my kids that I. Be nice to Alexa, you know? So say thank you, cuz she may be your master someday, someday. Yeah. Yeah.  [00:02:52] Debbie: Yep. So, uh, as you know, my dad has the, uh, remote senior care. Yeah. He had his echo show and oh my gosh. He said it's like his best friend at home and he'll he'll thank her for something. And she does the, she does a little dance, like the screen dances back and forth. He goes around, thanking her just to watch her do the little dance.  [00:03:15] KK: it's so nice. Yeah.  [00:03:16] Debbie: Yeah. It's kinda like Raj on big bang, you know, wanting to date Siri. So yeah. All gone little nuts.  [00:03:25] KK: yeah. So I think we have some of that in our, in our, um, topics today, but, um, to recap where we left off and jump in. So we were talking about, we did talk about three pillars. Support and extraordinary, uh, customer experience, brand culture and technology. And then we got into, but didn't finish, uh, the six questions you need to, to ask, to assess your culture and design a plan for success. So we did get through the first three and I'll run down them and then turn it over to you, Deb. But so we did get through on episode two, if we didn't. You didn't see, uh, listen to that one. You can jump back and, and hear, uh, we covered looking at who we are today. Taking a careful look at that and being honest with yourself and defining what's working now. So taking a good look at what's working and then looking at what not, again, an honest assessment at what's not working and, and, or what's missing. So, and then I'm turn it over to you. Deb for number 4.  [00:04:18] Debbie:  And the, the first three questions to ask yourself about your company, your culture are very specifically to get the information that you need to make B good decisions about what will it take to move you forward, right? So you don't waste money and time on fixing things that don't need to be fixed. And laser. Focusing on those things that need your real attention and resources. So the fourth question to ask yourself, when you are assessing your culture is what will it take to, to move us forward? Uh, and, and in general, you want to understand. What you look like today, as we said a moment ago, but also what will we look like tomorrow? If we're successful, if we're delivering exceptional service, if the business is growing, um, if you know, we're improving our bottom line, improving our market, share what will we look like tomorrow? And what's it going to take to get us there? And, um, so. I'll just give you a quick example. I'm working with a client right now, a concrete company. Um, actually, and this company did a great job of answering those first three questions. They are in a kind of a unique position for today and they are growing by leaps and bounds and they're getting ready to build two new plants. Wow. But they were also struggling with giving exceptional service today, much of that because of what everyone else is facing labor shortages. Um, Supply chain shortages. And so they did a great job of asking those three questions, you know, and, and who are we? Where do we wanna be? And what's working and what's not working. And what they were able to focus on is that actually their. Customer service rankings. They're probably in the 90 percentile most of the time. Wow. Their customers are very loyal. They do a fantastic job. They're a family owned company and they have a great reputation, but they felt like they were losing control. Hmm. They didn't have enough help. They've been very, very busy, you know, with all of the, the issues that we just, we just discussed. What they were able to identify is what it was going to take to move them forward is certainly some new technology. Uh, I know a little bit about concrete business now, probably more than I ever expected to know. Yeah. Um, but their chemist is working on new technology to create more customized mixes and to be able to deliver those quicker and more efficiently. One example is something as simple as buying a front porch truck to replace the back poor trucks. And I, you know, I know you all are in the concrete business more than likely, but the difference is with a back pour truck, you've probably seen them out and about in your towns or cities. Yeah. Uh, they unload, they unfold this big shoot and. Pour the concrete out the shoot has to be manhandled. It has to be held steady and, and so forth. A front pour truck is a, uh, more or less a stationary shoot and the concrete comes out and it takes one less person to actually do the job. Wow. Which is actually a benefit to the customer because customers, the one that has to hold the shoot pour the, pour, the concrete, those guys that are finishers, that do that amazing job of bending over all day long with a two by four and scraping the concrete it out. Yeah. So this allows the customer to use one less person on the job and they can reallocate their resources someplace else. So it's not technology like

    30 min
  4. EPISODE 5

    E5: Foundations: How a Solid Service Framework Can Shape Your Culture

    SHOW NOTES:     00:30: Welcome back! Thanks for subscribing and joining us again! 00:52: Ref: The Hospitality Industry Technology Conference 03:00: The Disney Service Framework:  04:33: Ref: Disney Institute Programming. “Be Our Guest” book. 05:15: Disney’s promise statement 06:15: On the development of Big Buzz’ purpose statement 07:37: All of your service framework tools may need to change over time 08:00: How Disney modified their promise statement to be more adult friendly 10:00: About service standards and standards of behavior 12:00: A story about efficiency in customer care; and not being ‘un-Disney’ 13:25: Service standards empower employees to action smart decisions 16:40: The promise statement must align with your culture 17:00: A standard of behavior, for example.. 18:39: A miracle tool for ensuring your employees know exactly what's expected of them  20:00: On the typical longevity of an employee’s career 20:08: Service standards at Kevin’s company Big Buzz 22:00: On the importance of clear direction and design 22:51: About role modeling and leadership 23:00: Mutual respect of all prevents ‘bad show’ 26:00: On how to maintain consistency of the original design Ref: Right Fit Hire 28:28: Where does technology fit into this service framework?  28:39: Ref: Chatbots and Pixiedust also @ BigBuzz 29:19: Technology can be the medium of a great service framework, but nothing is a magic wand. Please SUBSCRIBE for Episode 6! 32:00:  Traditions, expectations and more on right fit hire on the next episode, along with understanding your digital ecosystem and the touch points that support it. 32:40: The greatest piece of advice you’ll ever get! 32:27: Please reach out to us with questions, for consulting and free advice too! 34:18: End credits Please find us on the Web at:  www.disneywaydigital.com  Via email:  debbie@disneywaydigital.com  and  kevin@disneywaydigital.com  And on the Socials at:   Debbie:  LinkedIN and @DZmorenski on Twitter  and @dkzcoach on Facebook   Kevin:  @BigBuzzKev on Twitter INSTA & Facebook   TRANSCRIPT via Descript:    Intro: Magical customer experiences don't happen by accident. They happen through careful planning and meticulous design. Kevin and Debbie have been engineering, extraordinary customer experiences for over 30 years. Join us as we explore corporate culture, branding, service, excellence, and much more through storytelling, technical curiosity, and friendly conversation. The Disney way for the digital age will be revealed.   [00:00:29] KK: Well, welcome back everyone. To episode five of the Disney way for the digital age, this is one of my favorite topics that kind of the meat and potatoes of all that we believe is the Disney way. So it's title the foundations of the Disney way and how a solid service framework can shape your culture. So how you doing Deb? [00:00:48] Debbie: Good to see you. I'm doing great as always. Nice to see you.  [00:00:51] KK: It was so nice to see you in person yesterday. I, I was in Orlando for the high tech hospitality technology convention. It was in your neck of the woods and we managed to get together for a breakfast  [00:01:00] Debbie: and yeah. And, and you look great in person. I'm just gonna say, you know,  [00:01:05] KK: likewise, All 3D and you know, it was just really nice. So. Yeah, seriously. It was nice to sit in the same room and it was,  [00:01:11] Debbie: it was face to face. Good. Yeah.  [00:01:14] KK: Good stuff. The show was good. Um, you know, nothing earth shattering, honestly, some of the stuff we're doing with, uh, Alexa for hospitality and, and the Chapo work we're doing is some of the coolest stuff. There's, there's some new innovations incremental. Innovations in smart room tech, you know, some climate controls and some of the stuff in the back that nobody really sees. So there's some really cool innovations in the worlds of, uh, hotel renovation you know, a lot of time when they're building, they don't have the ability to wire everything they need. So they've got, you know, it's hard to get smart room going in a room, so there's some cool stuff going on there. Overall. It was, it was a. great show Um, it was so nice to see trade shows booming again, mm-hmm, very crowded, so just good, um, to get back into the thick of things. So anyway, big episode, we have to get to, um, what I really believe was the most impactful piece of my Disney training and something that was really transformative for my company. It's time we discuss how service excellence is structured, measured, and achieved and how the Disney way can consistently create magical customer experiences. The service excellence initiative was one of the key items that pulled Disney outta the dark years. Right, Deb. So yes, yes. We mentioned service framework in passing. So we are gonna dig deep today and that's where I'm gonna hand that off to Deb who has lived it taught it. Brought it to my company about a decade ago and just transformed a lot of businesses and honestly, a lot of lives. So take it away Deb  [00:02:44] Debbie: All right. Thank you. So when we talk about the service framework, uh, this is really gets to the heart of the matter. When we talk about how do you deliver exceptional service and you do it again and again and again, uh, and we will be talking about Disney Service framework, but something I want to stress is as I preview this information to you, and I give you some examples, I want you to know that what we are discussing here works for every single business. I don't care if you're a laundry. I don't care if you work from home and build websites, you know, for, for your clients, whatever you do, you don't have to have a castle and a Mickey Mouse and, and a three o'clock parade in order to make these things work. So. Going to give you some information that I think is going to be very useful for how you build the structure that helps you deliver that exceptional service every single time over and over to your guests. And that service framework is basically comprised of three components and it begins with your promise or your purpose statement. Now I'm gonna share the Disney framework with you. And this is information that back in the day, when I was hired, no one got this information except cast members. It was very much, uh, internal information, was taught to us when we were first hired and it was something that. Helped us to understand that no matter what our role in the company, we can deliver magical experiences to our guests by following these elements of the service framework. Now, if you've been to Disney Institute programming, if you've read the book, Be Our Guest you will have heard some of these elements of the Disney service framework before, but let's begin with the very top piece.  And that is the promise statement, your promise, purpose statement, some call it, but your promise to your customers has to be the first thing that you craft. And I wanna make it clear. A purpose statement is not a mission statement. Yeah. The purpose statement, very succinctly says, this is what we are promising our guests or promising our customers every single day when they step in to do business with us. And it's usually two or three sentences. So without further ado, I'll share with you Disney's current promise statement and it has been the promise statement for, um, almost all of the years I was there for over my 34 year career. It states that we create happiness by delivering the finest in entertainment for people of all ages everywhere. Simple. Yeah. And that means that when we go out there each and every cast member is expected to deliver on this promise statement every single day. Well, it's one thing to tell cast members. You have to go out and create happiness, and it's quite another to tell them what that looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like to the guests, because. If you don't provide the details to the cast members and give them the tools that they need to be successful, everybody out there is determining what it means to create happiness. True. Right. And that's what you know, and that can be dangerous to your business bottom line, first of all.  [00:06:15] KK: My goodness. Yeah. And, and a great example is one of our, you know, large electronic clients, uh, that we worked with global mm-hmm and they had this initiative. I'll I'll just blurt it out. The CX magic, right. They wanted their customers to create, um, great customer experiences never told 'em how right. So like different every way. So what I love is a purpose statement and I'll share what we came up with, uh, after the, through the process for Big Buzz but, um, I love number one, that it has a different name than mission statement. I think people have been. Um, conditioned to kind of believe that a mission statement is something that hangs up on the wall. I don't really pay a whole lot of attention to it. And this purpose statement really is my purpose. I'm showing up today. What am I doing? And I think you said, if folks can't remember the whole thing, right? They should, they have to remember we create happiness. All right. Yes. Right. You gotta remember that or you should just stay home. And, you know, I think that idea that this is my purpose when I step foot at work. Um, so Big Buzz's was we create loyal customers for life by delivering exciting and innovative marketing solutions to companies seeking competitive advantage. So what are we doing? Who are we doing it for? And how are we doing it? That's right. So it is such a powerful tool. And this idea that the rest of what Deb's gonna explain here is, is telling people how this gets done. Right? Right. Not just leaving it up to. Yep.  [00:07:37] Debbie: That's the, that's the key right there is you've got to provide the support and the backup and the tools. The, the last thing I wanna

    35 min
  5. EPISODE 8

    E8: Disney’s Secret Sauce, Our Special Guest - Mary Flynn

    SHOW NOTES:     00:30: Welcome back! Thanks for subscribing and joining us again! 00:48: Debbie, how was your maiden voyage on Disney’s Wish? Ref: Castaway Cay 03:00: Introducing our Guest Mary Flynn. Ref: Mary’s new book Disney’s Secret Sauce 05:00: Mary Flynn shares how she was recruited by Disney 07:00: On Disney’s program called Traditions 07:55: Mary’s first day in Traditions  Ref: Disney Service Standards 10:33: A note about secrets, truth, equality and values 13:23: Mary’s epiphany about the Disney way 15:16: The Disney Culture. And that’s Culture with a capital “C” 16:09: On specifying very exact values with which to lead 17:40: A note about operationalizing the Magic 19:20: Disney leaders come from the front lines. Ref: Meg Gilbert Crofton  20:27: What happened when Mary said: I’d like an increase in pay please? 21:25: A note about adding value 23:02: On knowing all that is your job. Aka: On living the gig 24:17: Data gathering is constant and on-going. Ref: Data gathering in our last episode 25:00: You can't get a cohesive organization when every single department has their own Culture. 27:00: Initial training/on-boarding, coaching and feedback 27:45: Build a culture with the capital C Ref: Mary Flynn’s book “Disney's Secret Sauce": The Little-known Factor Behind The Business World's Most Legendary Leadership” 27:58: On the importance of consistent feedback 29:30: Culture is like a crop 30:40: The best piece of advice you’ll ever get!  (this week. we think.) 32:23: Than you Mary Flynn!! 32:43: End credits Please find us on the Web at:  www.disneywaydigital.com  Via email:  debbie@disneywaydigital.com  and  kevin@disneywaydigital.com  And on the Socials at:   Debbie:  LinkedIN and @DZmorenski on Twitter  and @dkzcoach on Facebook   Kevin:  @BigBuzzKev on Twitter INSTA & Facebook   TRANSCRIPT via Descript:  Intro: Magical customer experiences don't happen by accident. They happen through careful planning and meticulous design. Kevin and Debbie have been engineering, extraordinary customer experiences for over 30 years. Join us as we explore corporate culture, branding, service, excellence, and much more through storytelling, technical curiosity, and friendly conversation. The Disney way for the digital age will be revealed. [00:00:29] KK: So welcome everyone to episode eight of the Disney way for the digital age today, we have our first guest I'm so excited. Um, this is gonna be called Disney's Secret Sauce, which is the name of her book. And we're gonna in, uh, invite Mary in shortly, but I just wanted to catch up with Deb because she had something fantastic happen just last week. She got to be part of a, a private cast member cruise on the Disney's Wish maiden voyage, right?  [00:00:56] Debbie: Yes, indeed. And it was amazing. Um, you know, uh, one of the things that Disney does so well is make sure that they gather enough information that when they roll out, especially something new, like this new ship to the guests that it is a magical experience. And so one of the things that they do is they allow cast members and their families to come on board and we become the test subjects and we experience what the guests will experience. And at the end, of course we critique what went well, what didn't go so well, any ideas and suggestions that we have and let me. just say up front in case anyone's listening. Um, from the cruise line, I will be happy to be a test subject as many times as you need. just give me a call. Okay. Um, so it was absolutely an amazing experience and the ship is just, just gorgeous. And in fact, um, Disney cruises line was just named the best large ship ocean cruise line by Travel & Leisure readers. So that was, that was kind of a nice, uh, timely, um, little award. Yeah. So, but one of the things that Disney has is their own private island called Castaway key. And it's one of my favorite things to do. I go down to the adult beach, have a properly chilled adult beverage lay in my lounge chair, gather up the sun beams and and jump in the beautiful Caribbean. water when I get too warm,. As it turns out, I have threw my towel down on a, on a chaise lounge by this amazing woman. Uh, her name was Kelly. She is a leader for Disney vacation club and we talked, no, no joke. Between getting in and out of the water, we talked for four hours and wow. My takeaway on that was that the culture of exceptional leadership at Disney is alive and well, and, and. Honestly, it really leads to our guest and what she's going to, to talk about today.  So without further ado, I'd like to give you some introductory information, um, for Mary. Yeah, she is an award-winning author, poet humorist. Um, she's a renowned international trainer business facilitator and conference speaker for the Disney Institute. And I, she says retired. I think she's retired from Disney Institute, but certainly not retired from, from life . She has more than 20 years experience in leadership, organizational professional development and career transition. Um, she's written poetry, children's book, she's written fiction novels, and she most recently won a silver medal for her celebrated Disney book. Disney's secret sauce, as you mentioned, Kevin. Yeah, the little known factor behind the business world's most legendary leadership. So. One of the important pieces in my introduction is not only has she accomplished all these things in life. Uh, she is probably one of the most creative people. I know she's a risk taker. She's constantly reinventing herself, but more importantly, she is my former colleague from the Disney Institute and I consider her to be a very good friend. So I would like to introduce to you Mary Flynn and Mary's going to give you some background on her book, but also talk about experiences that tie very nicely into what Kevin and I have been talking about and that is the, those things that drive the exceptional culture at Disney. So Mary welcome, and thank you so much for giving us some time this morning.  [00:04:40] Mary: Well, thank you. I mean, this is wonderful and I loved hearing about your experience. Yeah. I can be a Guinea pig too. I'd love to be a Guinea pig. I had the pleasure of doing that one time. I mean, it was surreal. I mean, it's like one of those dreams, you know, where your, um, because there were other cast members on board, I was heading into the ladies room and the president of Walt Disney. But Meg Crofton was coming out of the ladies' room. And it was like that dream that you say was the weirdest thing. I was on a cruise ship and I'm going into the ladies' room in the president of Walt Disney World . but it was true, but it was true. Yeah. But no, um, yeah, but anyway, Debbie, thank you. And thank you, Kevin. This is wonderful. No, I, um, I, I was, uh, you know, it's funny. I was recruited by Disney and the first time that they asked me, I said, no, Um, and the reason was I, I was accustomed to having creative freedom. I was accustomed to being an individual thinker. I was accustomed to having some freedom in my role, and I thought, I can't imagine you're gonna get that at Disney. And, uh, the second time I was kind of talked into it, but I thought, well, it's sounding better. And, um, I couldn't have been, uh, I mean, more surprised at how much I enjoyed and valued my time at Disney. And I, you know, there were so many surprises because I was recruited from a professional role where I helped companies downsize and, um, So I worked with many organizations. I worked with all 20 directorates under, um, General Bridges as the, um, at NASA as Kennedy's space center. And, uh, I, I mean, Fortune . 500 companies all over the place. I'm not saying that. Believe me, I'm not saying that to pat myself on the back, I'm saying it because I couldn't have been more surprised with the Disney organization. It was so completely unlike any organization I had encountered and it started, um, the day I, the day I showed up for work, you know, uh, so here I was, I was recruited and sometimes people who are recruited tend to think they get special treatment. Oh, well, they want me, so, you know, well, that would be like, eh, you know, it's not gonna happen. Uh, I went to this program called Traditions and I think possibly many people who had ever followed Disney have heard of this. And Debbie, you taught Traditions. I know that at some point in your career, you taught Traditions. And this is, um, uh, it's not orientation, you know, usually when you show up for work on the first day, you go into orientation, which is all the, the rules about how you can get fired, basically. Do the paperwork, and then we're gonna tell you how you can get fired. And, um, so, so, and so, so it surprised me on so many levels that I went into this room. And now let me tell you this first. Um, yeah, I, I'm gonna try not to go down the rabbit hole, but. It was supposed to start. I don't know, maybe it was nine o'clock. The, the program was supposed to start. We were going to go into a room with other people. There were about 35 or 40 of us standing there waiting to go into this room at Disney University, which is behind Magic Kingdom. It's got 20 training classrooms. Anyway, we're waiting and waiting. Cuz it's supposed to start at nine waiting and waiting and we didn't go in until 10. and I thought, well, that doesn't set a very good example. This is Disney after all. Well, you know, and I know Debbie and Kevin, you talk about the Disney service standards and we, we can drill down on that right now. I realize, but you know, safety, courtesy show and efficiency. But what I learned later on about the delay was the woman who was supposed to be our facilitator uh, she was first day back from maternity leave and she showed up with a denim dress and they, they sent her home. Oh, wow. And it didn't matter. It didn't matter to them in a way. And this is gonna

    33 min
5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Magical customer experiences don’t happen by accident, they happen through careful planning & meticulous design. Kevin Kelly and Debbie Zmorenski have been engineering extraordinary customer experiences for over 30 years … Join us as we explore corporate culture, branding, service excellence, and much more. Through storytelling, technical curiosity and friendly conversation, “The Disney Way for the Digital Age” will be revealed! Our mission is to give our listeners real-life information that can be used to create a successful business model leading to competitive advantage and loyal customers for life. We’ll l share our combined experience in operations, leadership, and technology in a way that is relevant to all businesses.

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