This week, I envy my 3-year-old daughter. We’re in Orlando, Florida, and she doesn’t see the price tags or the pushiness or the fakery. She doesn’t know there are people inside those animal suits.
She only sees magic. I envy her.
For the rest of us, the wheels and pulleys and machinations of myth remind me of five lessons we can remember to apply to our own companies and brands and stories.
Lesson #1: Deliver
Disney sets a high bar with its stories and its promises, and it really backs it up in spades. They set the bar for service, and they make sure every cast member knows people come here for a vacation for a lifetime. They remember they’re selling magic.
Lesson #2: You can’t please everyone, so stay true to your values.
As Patricia Cabot said, “You’re not a $100 bill. Not everyone is going to like you.” I’m traveling with some people who don’t regard Disney as The Magic Kingdom. To them, it’s The Expensive Kingdom®. They’re constantly pointing out and analyzing how much things cost. Disney can’t possibly please them and stick to their own company values, nor should they try. If a customer’s values come into conflict with your own, you need to be true to who you are and be willing to risk losing them as customers. Sure, be kind and be professional, but you can’t – and shouldn’t – try to please everyone.
Lesson #3: Be authentic.
On a related note, one of my business partners shared a marketing company’s facebook post with me. It was something about something… I say that because after reading it five times, I still couldn’t understand what it said. Oh, it had some good buzzwords, and some sort of promise, but they were trying so hard to sound “professional” that they forgot to make sense. See things clearly. Say them simply. Stop trying to impress people with big words. Impress them, instead, with your words, then follow Disney’s lead and impress them again with your deeds.
Lesson #4: Do the work.
Another business partner of mine has been taking these new drugs called Diet and Exercise. Tom Wanek has thrown himself body and soul into Crossfit, and he looks like he can take on the world. Tom’s done the work, and he looks amazing. Meanwhile, I’m twitching from the four different meds fighting with the gunk inside my body. I don’t suspect I’d be having near this many problems with my recovery if I hadn’t just talked about what Tom’s been actually doing.
Lesson #5: You can’t do it alone.
No matter how great a vision Walt cast, it was useless unless he had help. A leader can bring her values and goals to a company, but the rest of a company’s growth depends on the team she has in place to take her vision and her values and share them with the world. I’m reminded of that surrounded by my family, by my business partners, and in the notable absence of my sister… who’s back home steering our company ship.
Lynn doesn’t just see magic. She makes it, too. That reminds me…
Lesson #6: Have a Lynn.
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