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Creating Disney Magic

Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World, shares his wisdom and experience from his time with Disney, Marriott, and Hilton. Lee joins show host Jody Maberry to discuss how you can apply lessons in leadership, management, and customer service to create magic in your organization.
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Creating Disney Magic
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Now displaying: January, 2023
Jan 31, 2023

Today, Jody and I look at how you can focus your strategy and be efficient year-round.

People tend to treat January or the first of the year as a time to overhaul their strategy, but this isn’t the best approach. Strategy is overused. Every day you need to focus on specific parts of your business: great staff, great processes, and great products. As leaders, your need to work on getting better every day. It doesn’t have to be a huge strategy meeting. Be intentional about approaching individualized areas where you have the opportunity to improve.

Knowledge helps you make better decisions. Look at what is around you. What does your client need? What does your competitor offer? Asking these questions regularly will help you take measurable steps toward improvement. Do this every day. Help your team be knowledgeable and equip them to do what needs to be done to provide the best service possible. Take care of your customers and turn them into marketing machines who happily tell the story of how your company takes care of them.

Don’t worry about January. Be consistent and continue working on what your clients need and how you can meet that need and produce more.

One strategy you need to take advantage of is Magical Vacation Planners. Give them a call and let them plan your next trip. You can reach them at 407-442-2694.

Connect with Lee

About Lee Cockerell

Mainstreet Leader
Cockerell Academy

Jan 24, 2023

 

Today, Jody and I unpack the importance of understanding the expectations your supervisor has of you.

Managers need to be clear on their expectations. If your manager isn’t clear, it is your job to clarify and make sure you understand. Ask questions to get the clarity you need.

As an employee, how do you handle an unclear leader? Ask. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid of looking bad. Ask questions and make sure you understand. Asking questions will help you learn to do things properly. You only learn by asking questions and clarifying expectations.

A good working relationship will create space for employees to feel comfortable asking questions. If you want people to be successful, you need a rule or playbook for your team to follow. People need to understand what needs to happen and what their part is in that need.

Managers must follow up. Check in intermittently to see if they have come up with something they don’t understand. Anything there is a misunderstanding, add it to a list so you know what needs to be clarified. Utilize resources, like photos, to make sure people understand and have a clear idea of what is expected.

Magical Vacation Planners are the team you want for planning your next vacation. You can reach them at 407-442-2694.

Connect with Lee

About Lee Cockerell

Mainstreet Leader
Cockerell Academy

Jan 17, 2023

Today, Jody and I discuss the impact being nice has on your career.

The concept of being nice is something we learn very early in life. What happens when you are nice? People like you. What happens when you are not kind? People don’t like working with you. More and more, if people don’t care for you, they gang up on you. It can be challenging to respond with kindness when people are rude and unreasonable. You cannot take it personally. The louder they get, the quieter you get. Often, their anger isn’t only about the current situation, but the baggage they brought to it.

Your employees follow your cue. Professionals are there to take care of obstacles. Remain calm when faced with an upset customer. We are in control of our attitude, our response, and how we present ourselves to others. When you are nice, people want to work with you. It is a great way to defuse tense situations.

To move ahead in your career, you must be nice and be able to make hard decisions. You must be nice and get results. If you are nice and you aren’t getting results, you need to figure out why. They aren’t mutually exclusive. Don’t just be a boss, be a teacher. Help your team to get ahead by modeling kindness and reliability to them.

If you want to work with a individuals that are nice and get results, make sure to reach out to Magical Vacation Planners for your next vacation. You can reach them at 407-442-2694.

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About Lee Cockerell

Mainstreet Leader
Cockerell Academy

Jan 10, 2023

One of the best ways to retain high performers is to be a role model for the culture you want. Today, Jody and I answer the question, “What is a good way to refine culture to retain high performers when you are a small business?” 

This question has a simple answer. Be a great role model. As a leader, you need to live the culture you want to see every day. Leaders that embody the culture create an environment where employees want to take care of the customer.

Company culture is the number one reason people leave a job; pay is number 16. That says a lot. People want to work somewhere where the culture is genuine, top to bottom. There is a saying that people quit a year before they leave. As a leader, you are the foundation on which culture is built.

It is similar to parenting. Good parents raise good kids. Parents that model how to be kind and compassionate raise kids that are kind and compassionate. It is the same with a leader in a company. More is caught than taught, so set an example for your employees. Be clear and consistent. You are the role model for the culture you want.

Take care of your team, and they will take care of the customer. When you foster an environment of care and customer service, that is what is carried out by your team. Take responsibility, set the standard, and watch what happens.

If you want to work with a team that takes personal reasonability for your vacation, make sure to reach out to Magical Vacation Planners. They can help you plan your next vacation. You can reach them at 407-442-2694.

Connect with Lee

About Lee Cockerell

Mainstreet Leader
Cockerell Academy

Jan 3, 2023

During a Cockerell Community call in December Lee gave everyone a challenge asking them to think about what do you do with what you learn. When people are given an abundance of tools it is up to them to make use of them. During this episode Lee everyone to think about what do you do with what you learn. When people are given an abundance of tools it is up to them to make use of them. 

As we enter the New Year, ask yourself: What do you do with what you learn?

Often, people fill themselves with knowledge. We all have problems, and chances are we know what we need to do to fix them. The issue is that people don’t do the hard things. If you want change you have to actually address what needs to be changed.

You don’t need a New Year to make changes. The New Year starts every morning so choose something to do today. Force yourself to confront and do hard things. Take a few minutes and identify something in your life that you need to address; something hard. Then pick a time frame and tackle it. If you need to, get an expert to help you. You will speed up overcoming it.

People watch you. As you overcome and they see it, you empower them to overcome too. Be the spark that others need to accomplish the things they need to do in their own lives. Everyone has dreams. If you don’t act, that is exactly what they stay. Stick with it until it isn’t a problem anymore.

If it is good enough to start doing tomorrow, go ahead and get started today.

If you are interested in breaking into the cruising scene, make sure to reach out to Magical Vacation Planners. They can help you plan your next vacation. You can reach them at 407-442-2694.

Resources

Morning Magic Planner

About Lee Cockerell

Mainstreet Leader
Cockerell Academy

If you want to limit issues on your next vacation, make sure to reach out to Magical Vacation Planners. They can help you plan your next vacation. You can reach them at 407-442-2694.

Resources

Connect with Lee

About Lee Cockerell

Mainstreet Leader
Cockerell Academy

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