Lessons Learned from Disney

Yes, this is a corny edition of my newsletter that makes comparisons from Disney that can translate into your career.

I spent the past few days and honestly came out extremely impressed.

Some of you have seen from me posting photos that I have a young daughter, 19 months. I honestly thought it would be a waste of time & money, and all we would do is walk around since she’s so little.

Boy I was wrong.

It was honestly an amazing vacation. My daughter (and my wife and I) had a smile on our faces literally the entire time.

Each day I would jot down notes about what I thought made this place so successful and thought how could it relate to career success?

Here are a few thoughts, let me know what you think:

1: Storytelling is King

Disney is a master story teller.

That’s why everyone is there, right? To experience the stories from the princesses, the nostalgia from the older movies, to the newer stuff like Star Wars.

It’s all about experiencing the stories we’ve seen in the movies and on TV.

It’s what gets you in the door, right? And from the second you walk in, you experience these stories.

Let’s be real - the actual roller coasters and rides aren’t that good.

There’s not much adrenaline, and they’re all very short. Having worked at Six Flags in the past, the actual rides from disney don’t come close to Nitro, Kingda Ka, etc.

But because of the storytelling, which amplifies the experience, Disney reigns supreme.

So, how can this translate to you?

• Interviews: Don’t just present yourself as a piece of paper on your resume. What’s your story? Where have you been, what have you done, where do you want to go? What’s your “why”? What inspires you, what’s your purpose? If you have a good story that goes along with your skills and experience, you’ll resonate with the interviewing team that much more.

• Manager Relationships: Does your manager know what’s your “why”? Why you do what you do? What motivates you? What makes you tick? Them knowing this information can help them set you up for success, see where you’re coming from, why you are the way you are. ALL of my direct/indirect managers know my “why”, and they make sure they tap into that every chance they get.

• Performance Reviews: You can take the same information from the interview portion above.

2: Happy Employees = Happy Customers

Almost every single employee was bought into the experience.

I was surprised, because when I worked at six flags, it was closer to only half.

This absolutely amplified the experience of all the customers.

Everyone had a smile on their face. They randomly handed out free stickers to the kids. They were popping corny jokes left and right related to their ride/experience/character. I could go on and on.

This translates to a much better experience for the customer. And in turn, the customer is more likely to spend more money, and come back again.

How can this translate to what you do?

It’s obvious if you’re in management. Make your employees as happy as you can, and they’ll return the favor.

If you’re an individual contributor, you can still act as a leader bringing up everyone around you.

At the very least, who are your users? Whether internal/external, surely there’s something you can do that improves their experience with your product or service.

3: MOAT / Networking Effects

Disney has a massive moat and networking effects.

Once you’re in the part, you stay in the park, and you play by their rules.

From the rides/entertainment, to food & drink.

Because of this, they’re able to really up charge almost everything.

I paid $75 for a bottle of Simi cab sav, which typically goes for $15-$20. I paid over $300 for a dinner at the Beauty and the Beast castle - which the food was subpar - because they have so much demand, can dictate the price, and know the experience is worth it.

How can this translate to your business or career?

Remember, the market doesn’t lie. Maybe because of your niche/skillset, you can ask for that raise or find it elsewhere and dictate your terms.

4: Upselling

Disney upsells every chance you get.

You come off the ride and walk right into the gift shop. You have to walk through the gift shop before exiting (I was a sucker multiple times).

You’re at dinner, order one bottle of wine, and they bring out a comparable (yet more expensive one) to compare.

Do this over a period of time and all that money adds up.

For recruiters, this is obvious. You pick up & fill one req, and you can turn that into more exclusives, a larger SOW, build out the team/org, etc.

For everyone else, you can still upsell on an interview and at the job.

The role requires XYZ, which you have, can you amplify that by also telling them how you used those skills on the job, successfully, on a project? Don’t just answer questions saying you used those skills, tell them how you did it on a real, live project.

When you’re already on the job, does your company offer any services to learn new skills (courses, trainings, paying for certs etc)? If not, go do it on your own. Get an AWS cert and let your manager know. Build out a github/portfolio to learn a new technology and stay updated.

This all provides you with more leverage, more options for the future if you end up looking for a new gig or try to get promoted internally.

Conclusion

Hopefully you found this valuable.

I had an amazing time. Highly recommend if you have little ones of your own.

By the way, I’m running a sale on my e-book, Master the Job Hunt. Check it out here.

If you need me to audit your resume/linkedin, or general career coaching, you can book an appointment here. More and more people are landing interviews and offers with my help.

Finally - I’m taking on new clients! If you have open roles that need my expertise, you can book and appointment here.

Have a great weekend!