Lessons from the Mouse

It’s obviously highly unlikely your business is going to run into anything like that, but there are a number of smaller turbulent scenarios brought about by leadership changes or external events/economic events that could have disastrous effects on unprepared businesses. Noel talked about how companies need to revise their processes for turbulent scenarios by considering the following process strategies –

• Gather input regarding processes that impact the customer experience.
• Tailor processes to serve the exception as well as the masses.
• Plan for every contingency.
• Encourage and support employee flexibility.
• Use a continuous improvement process to focus on changes that matter most.

To address turbulent times created by changing competition, Disney leaders:

• Analyze the situation.
• Identify challenges both outside the company and within.
• Start the change effort quietly and early.
• Follow tactical steps for proactive change: seek out new ideas, measure and communicate results, recognize and celebrate, and share new knowledge

These types of practices have helped the company focus on customer retention, employee engagement and brand relationships — all key issues to major corporations or small businesses.

One nugget I found particularly interesting is that Disney views competition not merely as other destination resorts, media conglomerates or theme park operators, but as any company that is competing for a consumer’s discretionary income.

Check out more blog entries from Brian Anderson.