Page 16 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Acknowledgments

fter The Disney Way was released in 1998, we met many business
leaders from nonentertainment companies who wondered if they
A could really apply Walt’s original success credo to any great end.
Their doubts were soon put to rest as countless organizations, from health-
care to hospitality, have since demonstrated to capture the “magic” through a
focused and unwavering dedication to implementing Dream, Believe, Dare,
Do over the long term. We wish to thank the many companies, associations,
and chambers of commerce that have invited us to bring the Dream, Believe,
Dare, Do principles to their employees and audiences through “Dream
Retreats,” seminars, and keynote presentations. We would also like to thank
the many clients who helped make the first edition of The Disney Way so suc-
cessful. A special thanks to John Dunn of Dunn Hospitality Group, United
States Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Jeff Merhige of Camp Kern
YMCA for their input.
We want to thank our wonderful executive editor, Mary Glenn, who
provided a perfect opportunity to showcase some of the “best of the best” orga-
nizations that have so graciously opened their doors and gave of themselves to
make this book possible. We are thrilled to present such Disney-ized business
icons as Ernst & Young, Men’s Wearhouse, and, once again, Four Seasons
Hotels & Resorts. For the past five years, we have studied their business prac-
tices at length and tracked their phenomenal results. We wish to thank person-
ally each of the leaders for their time and for providing such great examples
from which others can learn: David Overton of The Cheesecake Factory; Jan
Drees of Downtown School; Jim Turley of Ernst & Young; Isadore Sharp
of the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; Patrick Charmel of Griffin Hospital;

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