Mickey Mouse Operation Is A Great School
No one is surprised when an entrepreneur heads to Harvard, New York University or USC for a management training program, but eyebrows raise when they sign up for a course at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
More than 60,000 people a year attend classes offering a behind-the-scenes look at the Disney management philosophy, which boils down to “making every moment magical” for the customer. In the last three years, small-business owners with fewer than 50 employees represented 44 percent of attendees, according to Disney officials.
“Walt Disney was probably one of the premier entrepreneurs of all time … when you think of him starting in his uncle’s garage with barely two nickels,” said Valerie Oberle, vice president of Disney University Professional Development Programs.
Oberle said Disney began sharing its management philosophy 10 years ago, after the company was profiled in Tom Peters’ “In Search of Excellence.”
From that point on, she said business owners and managers were eager to find out how Disney managed 40,000 people in its Florida parks alone. Participants pay about $2,500 to attend a 3-1/2-day course in leadership, people management and quality service. The program emphasizes the importance of how important it is to set expectations about job performance and to make clear to employees what the company’s goals are.
“Before the Disney course, we hired people if they were breathing,” said Michael Collands, chief executive of Perfect Response, a customer service company based in Willoughby, Ohio. “Now, we screen thoroughly.”
Collands, who also has an office in Southern California, has taken three Disney courses so far. His company, which helps auto dealers improve customer service, once had a tough time recruiting and retaining good employees.
Based on what he learned at Disney, Collands now requires all job candidates to read a company newsletter before they’re handed a job application. After reading about company policies and requirements, Collands said 15 percent leave without applying. Those who are eventually hired go through an intense day-and-a-half orientation.
“Our morale is up 2,000 percent,” Collands said. “Everyone has pulled together. Before, employees took my ideas and executed them if I stood over them. Now they take my great ideas and make them 10 times better.”
Collands, who has 30 employees and annual sales of about $3 million, said he registered for the Disney program instead of a university course because the Disney employees he’s met seem happy.
“Most people will tell you what their job is when you ask them, but when you ask a Disney employee, there’s a twinkle in their eyes,” he said.
Lamar Berry, chairman of New Orleans-based International Marketing Systems, said he sends hundreds of clients a year to Disney University. Berry also works with Disney U. personnel to develop special programs for his clients.
“There is a tremendous benefit to go to an icon and see how that culture is maintained,” Berry said. He said it’s easy for his clients to adapt Disney’s culture to their businesses in other industries, including hospitals and oil companies.
Bob Van Dyk, chief executive of Van Dyk Health Care Inc. in Ridgewood, N.J., said he first attended a Disney program when he was working for a large, nonprofit health care company. Since then, he’s gone out on his own and operates two nursing homes with 220 employees and sales of $9 million.
“After hearing about Disney’s approach to management, I realized how applicable it was to my own business,” said Van Dyk, who has attended three Disney programs.
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