Last night’s (retirement) Halloween dinner, at the very beginning.
Disney Cast Member created a wow-moment in a simple way, at the very end.
Brand, in layman’s terms, is your reputation.
Brand loyalty is the sum of everything you do and say.
It is also the sum of what you don’t do and don’t say.
My personal brand emulates two companies.
Disney, where i spent a lifetime honing my platform, from Disney’s Chief of Staff to Disney’s Cleaning Staff.
Apple, the company that builds the tools i need to change the world and help others to do the same.
There are individuals (not companies) that i also emulate: Jesus, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Gandhi. Assuming you know that Walt and Steve are on this list too.
__________
This website is about our career health. To leave this site to read today’s post on my home health website, click here.
It was here for a week before i opened it this morning.
Apple has been named the world’s most admired company for the past eight years. Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, would like for Disney to hold that designation. Bold dream for Bob.
Both companies over-manage their cultural details. Details that no customer is aware of. Why? Because it’s the internal engine – customers don’t care how it works, they just know they love that it works better than anything else they’ve ever experienced.
What does this mean for any of us mere humans?
It means we can study and learn. And from learning, apply.
Thirty years as a Disney career insider. Seven years as an Apple customer and another 17 years as an “organizational cousin” by virtue of Disney Pixar Studios.
Some simple notes from the secret recipe…
Over managing your brand building 101:
Think inside the box.
Build your box’s four sides with:
vision (to be)
mission (to do)
brand (to feel)
customer (for whom)
Additional recipe “secrets”:
Values: These are for internal use only – how employees treat each other
Purpose: A single, unifying goal for every employee, every level
Founder’s story: Usually a hero’s story – connect emotionally to something bigger than self
Milestones: There are many – use them strategically to weave your story
Language: Special, powerful, unique, words that are part of the culture
Symbols: Same as language but applies to icons
Traits: Unique characteristics that you do better than others in your space
Behaviors: Demonstrable, and easily recognizable: a by-product of traits
i could go on, but this is a good place to stop (for now).
__________
This website is about our career health. To leave this site to read today’s post on my home health website, click here.
Way in the back of the Church, out of sight to everyone.
Dinner at our friends house two nights ago. Our children have been classmates for a couple years. They invited us to their lakefront (fourth biggest Florida lake) home to catch up because this is the first year our children are going to separate schools.
The two couples totaled nearly 120 years of Disney experience.
Two with a lifetime in Park retail, one a lifetime in HR, and the other a lifetime in Resort operations and Disney Institute.
A friend, and potential client, is visiting Walt Disney World to attend a Disney Institute multi-day course on Creativity and Innovation. (i used to teach this, along with the rest of the DI curriculum)
We were going to head right to Disney’s Hollywood Studios when i called an audible.
Let’s visit some things you’ll never get to see as a Theme Park Guest.
We capped it off with an amazing lunch at The 50’s Prime Time Cafe.
The food was delicious, but more remarkable was the Cast Member interaction.
Stunningly exceptional.
And it reminded me what a vibrant organizational culture does for a brand.
