Forward & Acknowledgements

Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary began October 1, 2021. Departed Glacier for Walt Disney World on October 5.

Forward & Acknowledgements

Forward:

Keep moving forward. – Walt Disney

The road to excellence has no finish line.

Acknowledgements:

  • Personal
    • My wife who served 36 years as a Disney HR executive.
    • Our son who serves as a reality check for prioritized priorities.
  • Professional
    • The Walt Disney College program for recruiting at West Chester State College in 1981.
    • Lorraine and Judy, the 1981 Disney College Recruiters who interviewed me and gave a thumbs up.
    • Thom Murphy, an unofficial Disney legend who modeled world-class Cast service in 1982.
    • Neal McCord for recommending me to Mary Witt at Disney Institute (DI).
    • Dick Nunis (Chairman of Walt Disney Attractions) for always and with conviction, honoring and putting the entire Cast on a pedestal.
    • Judson Green, Dick Nunis’s successor as Chairman of Walt Disney Attractions, for envisioning and implementing Performance Excellence (PE) in the early 1990’s. PE is the single greatest cultural improvement i experienced in 30 years at Disney.
    • George Kalogridis for demonstrating Disney Leadership development and front line Cast Member development.
    • Lee Cockerell for keeping Performance Excellence alive with his creation of Disney’s 10 Great Leadership Strategies.
    • Richard Parks for asking me about the solo cross-country bicycle tour during the Disney Institute panel interview. His question and my answer was the key to being selected.
    • Guy Smith for teaching me facilitation every time we were together.
    • David Mulvey for teaching me how to do free-style co-facilitation in 2001.
    • Wayne Gagne, my leader in 2007, for telling me in a one-on-one meeting, “Not everyone on the (DI) Executive Team likes you. When we are in meetings, zip it.
    • JB Adams for challenging my thinking for clarity, conviction, and breakthroughs.
    • Dennis Frare (whom i nick-named ‘Dr. Feelgood’) for his remarkable enthusiasm for me pushing the limits in a relentless pursuit to improve content usefulness.
    • Walt Disney for proving that crazy minds and high bars can be a gift to our world.

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By 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.