In this segment I want to talk about some of the observations I have made about our experience at Disneyland and how it compared with some of the other theme parks we attended while in California.

Many people from this area will have been to Disneyworld in Orlando. For those who haven’t been to Disneyland in California, it was the original park built by Walt Disney. Compared to Disneyworld, Disneyland is like the Magic Kingdom in Florida. It and the sister park California Adventure are within walking distance of each other so everything is very compact compared with the Florida parks. Cinderella’s castle is much smaller in California.

Q: What are some of the leadership observations you made?

A: We had the benefit of attending a few other parks during the same trip – Universal Studios, Sea World and the San Diego Zoo and there were some noticable differences at Disney.

First – Attention to detail – at Disney you get the impression that every detail has been examined and reexamined. I used to subscribe to the notion “don’t sweat the small stuff” until I realized that sweating the small stuff can make such a big difference in customer experience.

Q: What are some of the details that made it different?

- Every aspect of an attraction follows a theme. The look of the pavement, the railings, the uniforms the staff were wearing, the signage and the music playing were all consistent to create a customer experience.

- We also noticed that on the roller coasters like Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad and California Screaming, they played music on the ride that added to the experience. It’s interesting to note that Space Mountain never gets faster than 17 miles per hour and yet because the ride is in the dark and has music playing, you get the perception that you are going faster than you really are.

Q: What else did you notice?

Second – Disney really has a way of managing your expectations in terms of line ups. First they tell you how long you will wait and then they make sure that you actually wait less than what they said so that you feel more satisfied. Then their lines are set up to create the illusion that you are progressing faster than you really are. It’s kind of like when you take the back roads instead of the highway – you feel that you are making more progress even though the highway might be faster even if the traffic flow gets congested sometimes.

Third – I think Disney did the best job of focusing on the experience instead of separating you from your money. Don’t get me wrong, they still separate you from your money, it’s just that they do it in a way that makes you feel happier. They provide the experience and then give you the opportunity to satisfy your needs with product sales, meals, etc. I think we paid $85 for breakfast with the Disney characters – they meal was good but of course the highlight was getting the picture with the characters.

My advice to leaders is to look at the experience you are creating for your customers. Are you satisfying their needs such that they want to give you more money. For more info, please visit LeadershipWizard.com.

For the July 23rd Leadership Wizard segments on AM800

Q: Aren’t these off site retreats just an excuse for management to play golf and party?

A: Well the answer is yes and no. The prime reason to do an off site retreat for the leaders in an organization is to get away from the day to day pressures of the office and look at the big picture. And yes, there will be time to let your hair down, get to know each other better and build a stronger team.

Q: What kinds of things do managers and executives focus on during an off site retreat?

A: When we have worked with groups, we have facilitated some strategic planning to help the leadership team crystallize a vision of the future. For some groups we conduct a workshop on coaching using a sports based simulation.

Q: What are some of the most interesting things you have seen?

A: One team building exercise we offer is called the Pit Crew Challenge where the group breaks into pit crews of 7 people. Then we bring in a real Nascar race car, impact wrenches and the Pit Crew Teams change all four tires under the clock. They then go into a classroom session and draw connections between what they are experiencing doing the Pit Crew and what they experience at work. It is one of those unforgettable learning experiences that keeps people talking about it for months and years afterwards.

Q: How do you suggest companies set up a really productive offsite meeting?

A: The first step is to decide on the purpose – what benefit can you get from taking the team away? And then you decide whether you want to strictly do it for fun or whether you want to incorporate a learning component. Then you decide whether you would bring in an external facilitator or try and do it yourself. An external facilitator brings in objectivity.

Q: What about location?

A: The location should support the objective of the meeting. It is best to go offsite even if all you do is rent a meeting room at a hotel or club. Then depending on your budget and any extra team building or activities you want to do, perhaps you can choose an attractive destination.

Q: Where can people get more information – visit LeadershipWizard.com and send me an email.

For the July 16th Leadership Wizard Segment on Am800

Q: Why the focus on Lead Hands and Team Leaders?

A: Not everyone knows what we mean by Lead Hand or Team Leader. A lead hand or team leader is usually a working leader – they work right along side their fellow workers. They have some additional responsibilities and get paid a small premium. In a union shop, they are usually part of the union.

Q: How is a Lead Hand different from a supervisor or manager?

A: The supervisor and manager have more responsibilities and authority. For example a lead hand might hand out work, but the supervisor or manager would handle any discipline, terminations, etc.

Q: It must be hard to be a leader and still be part of the work group?

A: Yes, it is a struggle for many people. Sometimes they go overboard and get too bossy and lose the ability to lead and influence, or they go too soft and try to be everybody’s friend which often still is not effective.

Q: So what do you recommend to help these front line working leaders?

A: I suggest that companies look carefully at who they promote into these positions. The person should have some effective communication skills and decision making ability. Then consider giving them some introductory leadership training so that they can be more successful leaders. We offer a one of a kind leadership program just for lead hands. It is made up of some of the elements from supervisory training but focused only on what lead hands and team leaders need.

Q: How can people get more information?

A: Check out LeadershipWizard.com, click on Training Programs and download a course outline – then send me an email and see how this might help your organization.

Topic for July 9th AM800 Leadership Wizard Segment

Today’s topic discusses how companies, organizations and business owners are using performance coaches to help them achieve greater success.

Q: What does executive coaching look like?

A: Executive coaching is a one-on-one relationship between a manager and an external coach. For example with some of the people I work with, we take a look at where the person is no in their career or their business, then we set goals and develop an action plan to help them achieve.

Q: Is it all about business or does it touch on personal as well?

A: Because the coaching is for the individual, we have to take into account both personal and business. Chances are if one of those is out of whack, it has an impact on the other. For example, one manager I was coaching found that he was having exactly the same problems with some family members as he was having with some employees. He tended to be sarcastic in his communication at home and at work. He also was very demanding of people and liked to make decision his employees should be making. So I coached him to ask other people to make more decisions and offer input. He also cut back on the sarcasm and saw an immediate improvement at work and at home.

Q: How long does a coach work with a leader or manager?

A: It depends, for some people, they need specific help over a few months. Other people like having someone to bounce ideas off of on a regular basis.

Q: I guess the managers and business owners can find it lonely at the top?

A: Yes, there often isn’t anyone else they can talk to about some of the issues, challenges and frustrations they face. In addition they don’t normally have anyone to be accountable to – so the coach sets up expectations and reviews progress.

Q: Where can people find out more info?

A: Visit LeadershipWizard.com and look at the blog and check out the individual coaching process.

In the spirit of the Canada Day holiday and the upcoming July 4th holiday, let’s talk about using your vacation time to relax, refocus and reenergize…

Q: Most of us like vacation time – but some managers and business owners can’t seem to leave their work behind them, right?

A: Yes, there are some organizations where the expectation is that you are always connected to the office. This poses a problem though… we are really not meant to be working all the time. In order to be at our best, we need time to relax, slow down, assimilate all the information we have and return to work refreshed and ready to focus on future success. Even if you frequent the gym, you realize that you stretch your body with weight lifting, then you allow the muscles time to rest and recover before working them again. Same goes with work. Your downtime gives your mind time to be creative, otherwise you are caught in the hamster wheel.

Q: Is the manager’s unwillingness to take time off a symptom of a bigger problem?

A: Yes, it probably indicates an unbalanced life, an inability to relax and increased stress on both the mind and the body. If a manager or business owner is unable to leave their business in the hands of key people, it likely means that they are not good at delegation, communication or coaching their people to grow and make good decisions for themselves.

Q: What do you advise leaders to do?

A: With the clients who I personally coach, I get them thinking about their business as a means to support their lifestyle, instead of viewing work as their only reason for being. Some of my clients work their way up to 10 weeks of vacation. I know that sounds like a lot to most people, many of who get 2 weeks of vacation. For those managers who never seem to be able to take more than a week off at a time, here are a few tips:

- look at why you can’t seem to relax – is it because of a need for control, an absolute love of what you do, the fact you don’t trust others to take care of things in your absence.

- develop your team and make them aware that you would like them to take care of things for you when you are away and only call if there is an emergency

- Find things other than work that you can enjoy and pursue them with passion.

- Then as people take greater responsibility, keep releasing more decision making to them and use the extra time for looking more at the big picture.

Some of my best ideas come when I’m on vacation and not thinking about the business.

Visit www.LeadershipWizard.com to check out my blog and help the workaholic you know become more balanced.