Author: jeff noel

Retired Disney Institute Keynote Speaker and Prolific Blogger. Five daily, differently-themed personal blogs (about life's 5 big choices) on five interconnected sites.

Trophy Value

Last night as my wife and I celebrated our 25th anniversary with our great company, it really hit me.  I mean, it seriously hit me.  And it really comes as no surprise.  However, because of it’s simplicity, it is rampantly commonly overlooked.

Great companies are founded and grow for one simple reason: They want to make a difference in the lives of others.

Plus, great companies reward loyalty with valuable trophies. Trophy value is a priceless, intangible reminder that an employee’s longevity is an integral part of being world-class.

Say what you want, but nothing changes the fact that there is an unstoppable force when people are led with passion and are committed to make a difference.

And then it occurred to me this morning, that’s why I write five daily blogs.  I mean, who does that?

Does this mean I get another trophy?

Half My Life

Tonight my wife and I will attend our company’s service awards banquet at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.  We’ve each achieved 25 years of service with our company.

Many Central Florida companies utilize Disney World’s fabulous facilities to host their events. Our company is no exception.  Plus, we live a stone’s throw from Disney’s Contemporary Resort.  That’s just cool, if you ask me.

Anyway, we’ve lived in Central Florida, permanently, since 1984.  I spent the better portion of 1982 working here, then left to pursue a dream of riding a bicycle across the United States (that’s a tale for another time).

While social media is THE way for the future, many organizations are currently figuring it out.  So if anything here seems vague, please know it’s on purpose.

What is so exciting though is the realization that we have both devoted our lives, half our lives actually, to the same great company.

It’s one of those milestones that we’ve never reached before.  And having now reached it, it is almost too cool to comprehend.  (gulp) All modesty aside, we are both very good at what we do – how could you not be after 25 years?  That’s also a milestone, becoming a true professional in your field.

I hope our son (9) will have the joy in his career that we are feeling.

Oh, and one more thing, I hope you do too.

jungle jeff Leadership Lesson

jungle jeff Leadership Lesson.  In other words, I promised to share today, what was reinforced the other day when I practiced what I preached.

As a professional speaker, there are certain deliverables every time a speech or workshop is given to an audience. Public speaking is the greatest fear humans have, even greater than the fear of dying.

Leadership insight:

  • Lead, don’t manage – facilitate key points instead of telling them

Look, we all know this to be so simple it almost embarrasses me to try to convince you it’s important. And yet it is a key to becoming world class.  Like yeast in bread.  A little risk is required to be successful.  Duh, right?

What’s risky is doing things a different way.  If you do it the way you always do it, you can predict your results. Predicting an outcome when you take a risk is virtually impossible.  While you can visualize a positive result, you can not guarantee it.

It is quite common in workshops to see video clips of something important and then watch with a certain purpose and debrief what insights were gained from the video’s content. That’s exactly what happened.  Very routine.  A video I’ve set up, watched and debriefed 1,000 times.

For the debrief, I tried something completely different.  I asked a remarkably simple and open-ended question.  In fact, one participant gave me a look that said, “You’re an idiot”.  It took sheer will-power to not be shaken.

Afterwards, I asked my partner how he thought it went.  In ten years, we both agreed, it was the single best debrief of that video we’d ever experienced.  And we teach with many different partners.

What at one point seemed like a certain failure, because I didn’t panic or give up, turned out to be extraordinary.  Leaders do not get paid to fail (although maybe they should).

Four Tips to Be World Class

How does a person or an organization become world class, and stay world class? Here are four tips to do just that.  First, however we need to state the obvious:

It’s a double edge sword isn’t it?  If consistency is the hallmark or quality, and continuous improvement is the key to becoming (and sustaining) world class status, how do you balance risk and reward?

Let’s use this example from yesterday.

As a professional speaker, there are several goals for every presentation:

  • Give a speech to change the world
  • Never give the same speech twice
  • Ask great questions
  • Get the audience to reveal the key points

Let’s review from a different angle, what you just read:

  • Have passion and faith that impossible is possible
  • Be authentic, not going through the motions
  • Know where you want to go and be prepared to get there
  • Lead, don’t manage

The second set of bullet points states the common sense theories that we all nod our heads in agreement when we hear them.

The first set illustrates how I internalized these common sense things to make them work for my particular role in the business world.

Now it’s your turn. Take the four common sense bullet points and make them your own.  Tomorrow, I’ll share how practicing what I preach led to an amazing result.

You don’t have to any of this.  And maybe that’s a leader’s biggest challenge, doing what’s easier rather than what’s harder.  So here’s a fifth tip – being world class means out working your competition.  Most people hate to admit this.  And then they wonder why they aren’t world class.