ANAHEIM, Calif.–Walt Disney wanted people to say one thing when they left Disneyland, and he would want members to say the same thing when they are finished interacting with their credit union, as well, according to one expert.
When people return year after year to a Disney property, it’s not because of the Matterhorn or Space Mountain or even Mickey Mouse. And when they return to a credit union—if they return—it’s not about the checking account or drive-through or the shredding day, said one Disney executive. Instead, it’s all about something Walt Disney realized many years ago—that it isn’t any one thing and most certainly isn’t “magic.”
In remarks themed “Creating Leadership Excellence,” Bruce Kimbrell of the Disney Institute, which was created to teach the leadership practices that have made the Walt Disney Co. both an employer and destination of choice, shared with NACUSO’s annual meeting here what the essence of leadership is all about, and it isn’t slogans or management books.
“People always ask me, ‘What is the success formula for Disney?” related Kimbrell, who started his career at Disney 38 years ago as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland (he estimated he took 15,000 trips). “People look for a list, and then they ask is there one thing, a silver bullet, for why you are successful consistently. There isn’t really. But I would say the one thing is our chief statement: Disney’s consistent business results are driven by strategically focusing on certain business functions and opportunities in which companies often fail to see the value and potential and that is a key source of what differentiates us. We have learned to be intentional where others may be unintentional.”
What the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Birds Teach, Teach, Teach
As an example, Kimbrell pointed to Main Street USA at both Disneyland and Disneyworld, where there are 60,000 light bulbs. “It seems like all those lights are burning bright, and that’s how you can understand the strategic focus that is driving those business results.”
Emphasizing his earlier point, Kimbrell made clear “there is no magic in the Magic Kingdom. There never was and never will be. But there is a ton of method, and that method is what drives that strategic focus and brings about consistent results. It’s the method that makes Disney, Disney.”
Turning again to the Magic Kingdom as an example, Kimbrell shared the story of the creation of Disney’s famed Tiki Room attraction, which initially required a separate admission and which involves 150 animatronic tropical birds speaking and singing. In addition to the then-challenging 1963 task of syncing the birds to the words and songs. If that weren’t enough, Walt Disney also insisted that the birds be shown breathing and moving, which led one of the designers involved to say that no one was going to notice the birds’ chests moving.
Walt Disney’s response: “People can feel perfection.”
“We should never underestimate the power of detail and what that means to any of us at any time,” said Kimbrell.
Turning to CUSOs and credit unions, as well as any business, Kimbrell said that the question each needs to ask themselves is “Why do you do what you do? We know what you do. Why do you do that?
At Disney, the process of continuous improvement and continuous feedback are ongoing and interwoven, with the steps including common purpose/brand promise, leadership excellence, employee engagement, quality service and intent to return/loyalty.
“Disney has a culture. It’s very clear. Just like the state of California has a culture, as does Texas or Oregon,” he said. “There are cultures in financial institutions or entertainment. They are all different. But the question at the end of the day is, is the culture you have one that has come to you by design or one that has come to you by default? Leaders focus on the employee or cast member. We find the most engaged employees are the ones who are happiest and who will be the best at what they do.
Kimbrell walked the NACUSO meeting through the underpinnings of excellence in leadership, including:
Great Leaders Proactively Establish Values
“The founding of this company had specific values about what Walt and Roy Disney wanted the Walt Disney Co. to become,” he said. “I can walk into any business of any kind and it’s pretty easy relatively quickly to pick up on what is important to that business and what they value. For Walt Disney, he wanted family, wholesome entertainment. People see us living and demonstrating those values every day.”
Great Leaders Actively Pursue Changes Required in the Vision, but Staunchly Defend Against Potential Threats to the Values
The Walt Disney Co. is not the same company of 1923, an animation company, observed Kimbrell, asking if anyone thinks of Disney as a “cartoon company.”
“There was a period of time after Walt Disney passed away in 1966 that the company was really struggling, as the leaders asked themselves, ‘I wonder what Walt would do.’ That’s very dangerous to keep asking yourself that question. We just about “What would Walt do” ourselves out of business.”
The company spent nearly two decades in a post-Walt Disney leadership vacuum before finally realizing “We don’t know what Walt would do.”
The company began to emerge under the short tenure of Ron Miller, Walt Disney’s son-in-law and producer of the Herbie the Love Bug movies. Miller greenlighted its first PG film produced under the Touchstone label (not Disney), which was “Splash” with Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah.
“That was actually a tough decision to be made and it was because of the vulnerability of the name that was Disney and where it stood in the hearts and minds of people,” said Kimbrell. “It's interesting when I think of financial institutions, because people very emotionally connected to Disney. I would ask you, are people emotionally attached to their money? You bet they are. So, understanding that is of vital importance.”
There is an Inherent Interdependency Between the Leader’s Personal Values and the Organization’s Values
“It’s difficult to be credible if you’re not living the values of the organization,” observed Kimbrell. “When we think about aligning values here, one of the primary questions we will ask someone is, ‘Can you tell me what is important to you and what you value?’”
Everyone Should be Considered a Leader
That everyone should be a leader is a challenging concept, conceded Kimbrell.
“If you think about creating a value-infused organization and you think about taking responsibility and decision-making authority to all levels, then you are creating potential leaders,” Kimbrell said. “If you are thinking about keeping all the knowledge to yourself it becomes increasingly difficult if not impossible to create leaders at all levels. What I may be doing is disabling people from even the potential to become a leader.
“Imagine you drop a box of popcorn at Disney and you have to talk to four or five people to get it replaced. Imagine if you explain ‘I just dropped this…’ and someone says, ‘I have to make a call,’ and that person says, ‘Generally, we don’t do this…’ By the third or fourth person you
don’t even care about the popcorn anymore.”
Kimbrell said the turnover rate at theme parks in southern California is approximately 150% per year; at Disney, it’s 16%.
“A lot of that has to do with leadership and the creation of culture and the alignment of practices,” he said. “We have open positions, but we don’t fill them because they are open or people need a job. One of the things I was taught first and foremost is you may hire someone, but that’s not why you’re here. The reason you are in the employment office is to protect the culture; that’s it. You want to make sure you get the right people, and once you get the right people you want to make sure you treat them correctly.”
Kimbrell asked credit unions and CUSOs to think about their own organizations and where empowerment resides, “where self-worth sits.”
“Is there distrust or a lack of training?” asked Kimbrell. “Wherever it might be, what is being driven in that culture? When I shop in those cultures I can feel the culture, and I don’t like the culture. Do you know what people like at Disney? They like the culture. (When people write to us), what they talk about or thank us for is the cast members out there creating the experience for them. It’s that front-line person at minimum wage between the ages of 17 and 23 who made their day. It’s amazing.”
For instance, Kimbrell said the number-one thing for which Disney is known is its cleanliness. That’s why it doesn’t just tell employees to grab a broom, that their job is to clean up litter. Instead, it’s “method” is to ensure they “understand they are part of the chain of excellence and know their real purpose is to create happiness. They just happen to have a broom in one hand.”
An Organization’s Values Often Form Intentionally by Proactive Leaders, or Organically in the Presence of All Types of Leaders
Kimbrell said one of his favorite observations was made by another executive at Disney: “What I am looking for, what we need, are leaders who are willing to say what needs to be said in the way it needs to be said at the time it needs to be said to the person it needs to be said, whether they like it or not.”
Every Leader is Telling a Story About What He or She Values
“How do we tell our story every day?” asked Kimbrell, before answering, “with actions, with words. Do you spend a considerable amount of your day thinking about people are watching you? No. However, people are still watching you. It’s interesting. What if they see a discrepancy? Chances are they probably aren’t going to say, ‘You told me to do one thing, but I watched you do another.’ What’s really dangerous is they won’t tell you, but they will tell coworkers. And then what happens to your culture? What kind of erosion begins to take place? So, we are telling a story every day about what we value. Actions do speak louder than words and the real story is told.”
Kimbrell, who is a member of Partners Credit Union, said it isn’t just Disney that has a brand reputation.
“Credit unions are known for a certain level of service and integrity and brand that banks are not,” he said. “There is a perceived difference and a literal difference. I think about how those things came about. Those cultural differences have come to be etched into the fabric of who you are. I think it would be easy now to answer, ‘What did Walt value? He valued quality, integrity, and a good show.”
We Judge Ourselves Based on Our Intentions; Others Judge Us by Our Behaviors
As expected, when Kimbrell asked how many people in the audience have integrity, every hand was raised. He followed up by asking if everyone agreed that every person they have met also has or had integrity, no hands were raised.
“That’s because we judge ourselves based on our intentions, while others judge us based on behaviors,” he said. “We have all had bosses we would follow anywhere. By the same token, we have all had had bosses we couldn’t wait to get away from. People don’t leave businesses, they leave people.”
Leaders Must Intentionally Align and Integrate Their Personal Values with Their Organization’s Values
Why must such an alignment take place?
“Because you are more credible long term,” answered Kimbrell. “Leaders should silently invite followers. That means that like you shouldn’t be like a drill sergeant and ram it down people’s throats. You may not even need a title if everyone is considered a leader. I don’t have to ask them and they don’t have to follow because of my title or position, but because they like what they see, respect it. People follow it for those reasons.”
Kimbrell recalled that Walt Disney once observed that when people left Disneyland, he wanted them to pause, look back and say, “Gosh, I wish the rest of my life was like that.”
“What he was talking about was experience,” said Kimbrell. “It’s not the park, it’s about the people at the end of the day.”