Not long ago, I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel when I spoke the annual conference for Magical Vacation Planner.
As I like to do when I visit anything related to Disney, I paid attention so I could see what I could learn. This episode is devoted to those lessons I discovered while staying at the Disneyland Hotel.
Here are the six lessons:
Create the environment for the feelings you want customers to feel.
Make a great first impression.
Magic is created by the small things.
Tap into as many senses as possible.
Your people are your brand.
Find ways to surprise people.
Special thank you to Jeff Noel for contributing to this episode.
Dan Cockerell was recently a guest on the Jody Maberry Show. As a follow up to that episode, Dan Cockerell asks me three questions.
Dan recently left his role of Vice-President of the Magic Kingdom to launch his own business. His three questions are related to building a personal brand.
What advice do you have for someone leaving the corporate world and starting their own business?
What are some apps or programs you use to run your business and keep your life organized?
What is your best 2 or 3 tips to create a great podcast?
After 27 years at Walt Disney World, Dan Cockerell is leaving the Magic Kingdom for a home office.
Dan began his Disney career parking cars at Epcot as part of the college program. He finishes his career as the Vice President of the Magic Kingdom.
During his time at Disney, Dan had 19 different jobs and learned how to manage operations and culture from the parking lot to the iconic castle. Now, Dan is launching his own business to work with organizations to improve organizational structure, build a magical culture and select the right talent.
You can find out more about Dan at dancockerell.com.
Lee Cockerell and I hosted a one-day Creating Magic Mastermind event in Orlando. In this episode, I share nine things I learned during the Mastermind.
Here are the nine lessons;
The opportunity is there if you are willing to take it. We are all surrounded by opportunities. You have to be open enough to see it and bold enough to act.
Family comes first. Don't let your job get in front of your family. The work you do is not more important than the people in your house.
An Organization will adjust to lack of clarity. If you aren't clear with expectations, people will adjust, and you probably won't like the direction of the adjustment.
Make sure the right people know who you are. If people don't know who you are they can't help you.
Don't practice on your customers. Make training a priority and don't practice on your customer.
There are only 4 things to make people change. The only things that will lead people to change their mind or change their behavior are education, emergency, experience, and exposure.
Beware of the HIPPO. The HIPPO is the Highest Paid Person's Opinion. Make sure everyone's opinion is heard, no matter what their position or pay grade.
Treat a customer like a member of the family. If your mother was in the situation your customer is in, how would you want your mother treated?
You will have to repeat your message often. When you are starting to get sick of hearing yourself say your message, people are just beginning to listen. Stick with it.
It can be scary to try something new. What if you mess up? What if it doesn't go as planned?
No matter what happens, there is one way to gain value from any situation. Reflection.
Reflection is how you get the most out of any experience. The insight you gain from reflection can be used for anticipation. Mess up today, reflect on it, and you are more likely to be able to anticipate what will happen in the future.
Exerpeince isn't worth much unless it is ran through the wash of reflection.
Donald Miller built a reputation as an author with popular books like Blue Like Jazz and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Through writing books, Donald learned the elements of a great story.
Now, in his book, Building a StoryBrand, Donald Miller helps businesses tell a clear and compelling story.
StoryBrand has had an impact on nearly everything I do with my business. Once you understand StoryBrand, you will get clarity in your message. When your message is clear, your marketing and content become clear.
Listen to this interview with Donald Miller, and then get a copy of the book, and apply what you learn. It will be the first step towards attracting more customers.
Get the book - Building a StoryBrand
Donald Miller on Twitter - @DonaldMiller
Donald Miller on Facebook - Donald Miller
Donald Miller on the Web - Storylineblog.com
Find out more about the StoryBrand workshop.
Lee Cockerell, retired EVP of Walt Disney World, and Carol Quinn, CEO of Hire Authority, team up to discuss hiring and employee motivation.
If you want to stand out in your job and get noticed by your boss, there are 12 things you can do to set yourself apart from everyone else.
1. Do the job in front of you.
2. Be in service of the boss.
3. Remember, your boss has a job to do.
4. Think of your boss as a customer.
5. Consider if there is a difference between what your boss wants and what your boss needs.
6. Attitude stands out.
7. Raise your hand when something needs done.
8. Bring a solution not a problem.
9. Bake your bosses goals into your goals.
10. If you have something to say, say it to your boss not a co-worker.
11. Keep your boss informed.
12. Produce results.
If you want to have more impact, find someone who has had an impact and talk to them.
On this episode of the podcast, we ask Dan Ashe, Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service how we can have an impact.
Director Ashe outlines three steps to have an impact;
1. Be engaged personally. Know your strengths and weaknesses.
2. Professional engagement. Think larger than what is around you.
3. Persistence. Pick a course and stick with it.
Being married to an entrepreneur can give you heartburn.
Being married is always work. Worthwhile work, but still work. Being married to an entrepreneur brings a whole new level of challenges.
To help us navigate the tricky world of marriage and entrepreneurship, two special guests join the show. First, Joanne Miller gives encouragement to spouses of entrepreneurs. Next, Susie Miller offers advice for both entrepreneurs and their spouses.
To help you have better conversations with your spouse, Susie Miller has a free guide for you. CLICK HERE to get Fast and Fun Conversation Starters for Entrespouses.
Susie Miller on the web - susiemiller.com
Susie Miller on Twitter - @susiemiller5
Susie Miller on Facebook - Susie Miller
Susie Miller's Book -Listen Learn Love
Joanne Miller on the web - joannefmiller.com
Joanne Miller' book - Creating A Haven of Peace
Sometimes things just don't go right.
Our plans get knocked over. People don't show up. We make bad decisions and get in uncomfortable situations.
This week's episode of the Jody Maberry Show is a message of encouragement when things don't go right.
You only get one chance to make a first impression on a new employee.
How you handle the first day for a new employee will go a long way with shaping their attitude about your organization.
What do you want them to know? What do you want them to feel?
Design your new employee's first day to answer those first two questions.
Have you ever been lost in the woods? It has happened to me more than once.
Once, deep in the wilderness of Wyoming, I was so lost I thought I may never find my way back to civilization.
According to Jonathan David Lewis, there is little difference physiologically between people lost in the wilderness and leaders in a boardroom dealing with an unexpected challenge. In both cases, there is a predictable response to disruption.
People make bad decisions when they are in a difficult situation.
At some point, your business is going to face a disruption. And people will react as if they are lost in the wilderness.
In his book, Brand vs. Wild, Jonathan David Lewis presents research to show what organizations can learn from wilderness survival to survive disruption in business.
Find your one thing to help you stand out. Be unique. Be different.
Whatever is normal, do the exact opposite.
Jesse Cole, often seen in a bright yellow tuxedo, wants you to understand you don't have to do things the same way everyone else does it.
Jesse is the owner of the Savannah Bananas baseball team, author, podcaster, and business disrupter.
When Jesse first became the owner of a minor league baseball team, he realized no one cared about the team. There were no fans at the games. There was no money in the bank account.
Instead of getting discouraged, Jesse tackled the problem head-on. He knew people thought baseball was long, slow, and boring.
Jesse encourages you to find what frustrates you about your business. Also, find what frustrates your customers about your business or industry. Now, tackle those problems directly. Do the opposite of what people expect or what others are doing.
Get a copy of Jesse's book, Find Your Yellow Tux.
Jesse Cole's website - FindYourYellowTux.com
Jesse Cole on Facebook - YellowTuxJesse
Jesse Cole on Twitter - @YellowTuxJesse
I finished 2017 by staying at the Historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, WA. During my stay, I was reminded why it is important to focus on what is uniquely you.
When I sampled the soft peanut brittle a chef was making in the lobby of the hotel, it set me off thinking about why they do it. Why do they make the treat in the lobby and give it out to guests?
The peanut brittle is not about selling more of the tasty treat. It is about adding something special to guest's stay at the hotel. Something special you can only find at the Historic Davenport.
Richard Benson said, "Make only that to which you bring a unique quality and buy everything else around the corner."
As you start the new year, think about what you can offer that is uniquely you.
When my son was going to try out for the swim team, his self-talk began laying the groundwork for failure.
"My legs hurt."
"I am tired."
"I probably won't make the team."
Many of us do this. We say these things to make it easier, or more acceptable if we fail. But what we are doing is laying the groundwork to fail. We believe what we tell ourselves, but our self-talk is often not true. Until we make it true.
In marketing, the words we use and the stories we tell the matter. The same is true for what we tell ourselves. The words and stories you say to yourself matter.
Kevin Monroe found clarity through action. On this episode, Kevin will share his story of how taking action and trying new things allowed him to figure out what his higher purpose is.
Action help Kevin discover that his higher purpose is higher purpose.
Now, Kevin helps people find a higher purpose in the work they do. Kevin explains having a higher purpose puts meaning in even the most menial tasks.
You have the opportunity to go deeper into discovering purpose with Kevin on the Higher Purpose Podcast and the Navigating North Summit.
During our conversation, Kevin will also explain how has turned a No into a Yes to open new opportunities.
"Purpose thrives in community but starves in isolation. " - Kevin Monroe
Kevin Monroe on the Web - kevindmonroe.com
Kevin Monroe on Twitter - @kevin_monroe
Kevin Monroe on Facebook - Higher Purpose Community
This week I will hit a milestone worth talking about. Six Hundred days ago I set out to walk 10,000 steps a day.
Jared Easley asked me what impact my walking streak has had on my business. At the time, I didn't have a good answer. I hadn't thought about it.
Thanks to Jared, I have put together thoughts and observations about the impact walking over 6 million steps in 600 days has had on me.
The most obvious answer is exercise, but it is much bigger than that.
Discipline. The ability to do something you don't necessarily want to do to get an outcome that is important to you.
Connection. I've used the time while walking to talk to other people. If I am not listening to an audiobook, I am on the phone with someone. This has allowed me to keep in contact with people more often than I would otherwise.
Reflection and Anticipation. Daily walks force me to get away and reflect. Some of my toughest problems have been solved on walks. Some of my best ideas of come on walks.
Commitment. Sticking with something for so long, no matter what happens, is powerful.
Outside of the bigger lessons I have learned, here are some more observations.
-You will get a better connection to the place you live if you explore it every day by foot.
-Most people come home from work and sit down and watch television for hours. I see it when I walk by their house.
-It is fun to watch your neighborhood and local parks change during the seasons throughout the year.
-One pair of expensive shoes will last three times as long as cheap shoes.
Hopefully, this episode will inspire you to tie up your shoes and start walking.
A special thank you to Amy Robles for joining me for the interview portion of this episode.
Recently, I spent time touring with Lee Cockerell for presentations in Nashville, TN and Coeur d'Alene, ID.
When I returned, someone asked what were my takeaways from spending so much time with Lee. Until I was asked, I hadn't taken time to document what I learned on the trip. Once I had considered what I had learned, I wanted to share it with you, too.
Here are the seven lessons I learned about Creating Magic while touring with Lee Cockerell.
-People need to hear your message. Many people want to do better, but don't know how. They need to hear what you have to say.
-You have to think different if you want different results.
-If you know your message, you don't need notes when you talk about it.
-Everyone wants to feel special and you can help.
-People are more important than processes.
-Try new things. If it doesn't work, no big deal. If it does work, you found a new way to serve people.
-Once you realize you don't know something, you have the opportunity to learn. If you don't, it is your choice not to get more knowledge.
John Nemo and I first met in the lobby of the Coeur d'Alene Resort. Immediately, we had a solid connection.
I knew I would learn plenty from John, but I did not realize how much I would enjoy spending time with him. John is the author of LinkedIn Riches, but I learned about the value of connection from John before I learned about LinkedIn. Speaking of LinkedIn, check out John's LinkedIn Webinar.
John taught me the more we can relate to each other as human beings, the quicker we can begin to know, like, and trust each other. Once that happens, we can begin to help people.
John admits his online profile doesn't match who he is as a person. Look at his LinkedIn Profile photo...he looks like a banker who spends his day analyzing credit risk. But that is not John Nemo at all. In this episode, John tells us to make sure your online brand matches who you really are.
You will be impressed with John's story of leaving behind a successful job to launch his own business. Once he mastered LinkedIn, he began to reach out to help A-List entrepreneurs with their LinkedIn profiles. John has personally rewritten LinkedIn profiles for Chris Brogan, John Lee Dumas, Bob Burg, Jairek Robbins, Dan Miller, Ray Edwards and many others.
Pay attention to how John approached these people to show he was worth their time and attention. Once he had written winning profiles for the A-List Entrepreneurs, they began to promote him.
Now, John helps people like you and me win on Linkedin.
Don't miss the opportunity to join John on this FREE webinar to learn more about how to win with LinkedIn. You can SIGN UP here.
You can get a free copy of John's book, LinkedIn Riches HERE. This book is so helpful to get you started on the right path for a better LinkedIn profile.
John Nemo on Twitter - @JohnNemoPR
John Nemo on LinkedIn - John Nemo
John Nemo on the Web - www.linkedinriches.com
John Nemo on Facebook - NemoMediaGroup
Have you ever noticed how most organizations treat every customer the same?
Even if the service is good, it is the same for everyone. Treating all customers the same is a missed opportunity.
Jeff Noel gives us ideas from Disney so we can begin to deliver excellent service to every customer.
-The customer will give you feedback on whether or not you are doing a good job.
-Treat every customer like a VIP - Very Individual Person.
-Ten seconds of unexpected service will create a moment a customer will talk about.
-Understand what it will take to WOW every customer.
-Go the extra inch and do something small and special for each customer.
-Focus on the extra inch, forget the extra mile.
Sometimes it is worthwhile to step away from business talk and just enjoy what we are doing.
For this episode, I team up with Bryan Orr to create a story for you to enjoy.
No business.
No homework.
No deep thoughts.
Just a good story.
Enjoy the Legend of the Spark Ranger.
It is common to want to avoid failure. Most people will opt for comfortable and safe rather than put themselves in a position where they might fail.
But failure is a shortcut to success. It is not the only shortcut to success, but it is the best shortcut.
Here are the four reasons you need to fail more often;
During the discussion about failure in this episode, I share two personal stories of failure. Listen in to find out what happened
After a recent trip to Disneyland, I have been thinking about how to delight repeat customers.
It is one thing to make sure someone has a great experience the first time they do business with you, but how do you continue to create a great experience for repeat customers?
No one delights the way Disney does, so I asked Jeff Noel how to make sure a returning customer still has a great experience.
Here are the three points you need to know about creating a great experience for your customers.
Write out one stereotype for your industry. Below this, write People - Physical Resources - Processes. List out how you can use these three resources to bust through the stereotype.
To learn more from Jeff Noel, you can follow him on Twitter at @JeffNoelMidlife.
Mike Kim had a tremendous speaker line up for his Influence and Impact Conference. Sure, I was one of the speakers, but that is not the only reason it was a great line up.
Mike was deliberate in bringing in a speaker to cover specific aspects of building a personal brand. Val Brown talked about looking great on camera. Michael Hudson gave insight into being a paid consultant. Jennifer McClure gave us a glimpse of the speaker life and how we can do it. Kary Oberbrunner talked about building a business off of a book. I talked about podcasting. Jason Clement talked about design.
Throughout the conference, I jotted down some of the great things the speakers said. On this episode of the show, I share some of my favorite quotes from the conference with you.
Here are where you can find out more about all of the speakers from Influence & Impact.
Mike Kim - website - Twitter - Facebook - Episode of The Jody Maberry Show
Val Brown- website - Twitter - Facebook - Episode of The Jody Maberry Show
Michael Hudson -website - Twitter - Facebook - Episode of The Jody Maberry Show
Jennifer McClure - website - Twitter
Kary Oberbrunner - website - Twitter - Facebook - Episode of The Jody Maberry Show
Jason Clement - website - Twitter
Click here to hear Mike Kim and I discuss Influence & Impact on his Brand You podcast.