Page 250 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Dream, Believe, Dare, Do 231

easy to take a $12 million complex business and hand it over to a 27-year-old.
(Some will go on to manage a business that generates about $942 per square
foot, more than four times the typical casual-dining field performance.) We
need to have a program that is rock solid.” But sweetened compensation pack-
ages and training programs are not the only reasons people want to work for
The Cheesecake Factory. It’s the long-standing corporate culture that David
and his parents have instilled; it’s pride in the company’s unique focus on qual-
ity and service; and it’s the opportunity to be part of a legendary organization
that is the envy of industry giants.
David tirelessly works to perfect his culture—his people, his operations,
his food—while at the same time he continues to scale new horizons so more
throngs of diners can experience the wonder of it all. In his own words, “The
minute we ever forget why the guest is standing out there in line, we’re in
trouble.” And the great Walt Disney never forgot this either.

Downtown School
Dream

“Imagine a place where children can curl up in a rocker or stretch out on the
floor to read and discover the world . . . a place were children learn in a nur-
turing and challenging environment . . . a place where each child’s uniqueness
enriches the learning community . . . a place where talents and abilities are
developed and individual personalities shine . . . where children work together
and learn from each other . . . where children use the whole downtown as their
classroom . . . a school where parents work around the corner and stop in for
lunch to share in the day’s activities. This is the Downtown School.” Here is
the original Downtown School “dream” as cited in the Community Report of
the Des Moines Business/Education [B/E] Alliance. On August 23, 1993, that
“dream” became real when a new type of neighborhood school opened its doors:
a school located close to where parents work rather than where they live.
The dream at Downtown School is more than just well-crafted words on
paper. It’s the way the teachers, the parents, and the students live each and every
day. For over a decade, retired principal and B/E Alliance executive director,
Jan Drees, has been the torchbearer who assembled an entire network of people
who have come to believe that Downtown School’s approach is clearly the best
way of educating children. As retired board member, Mary Lou Daley, said, “It
begins at the top. Jan is fabulous. She gets it. Her enthusiasm, her eagerness,
and her knowledge of this kind of curriculum spreads to her teachers.” 85