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242 The Disney Way

typical professional services firm. Such firms, according to David Maister,
reflect an attitude of, “We won’t screw up, but we are nothing special.” Instead,
Jim Turley turned Ernst & Young into a special kind of firm where they
really do put people first.

Do
Making the new “People First” culture a reality at Ernst & Young required hard
work, dedication, and commitment at all levels. This transformation involved
rolling out several high-profile initiatives: the Gallup Q12 process, essentially
an attitude survey; PeoplePoint, which provides a way to give upward feed-
back to partners, principals, and directors; the People Advisory Forum, which
provides management with direct, regular contact with nonpartners; and the
CNW (Center for the New Workforce), which supports the development of
women leaders as well as other workforce issues. These are just some of the
elements that continue to grow and nurture the culture.
Ernst & Young’s extensive investment in its people is also demonstrated by
a vast assortment of formal and informal training programs that allow people to,
as Jim Turley stated, “develop their résumés, skills, and careers.” In 2006, Ernst
& Young was again named to the Training Top 100, a ranking by Training
magazine. E & Y consistently makes the list, but this time took the number
three spot among significant competition from a field of over 500 entries.
“We are delighted to be recognized by Training magazine as one of the
top 10 companies on the Training Top 100 list for a fifth straight year,” said
Mike Hamilton, Ernst & Young’s Americas chief learning and development
officer. “The global Ernst & Young organization is committed to a culture
of putting our people first. Part of this commitment is providing our profes-
sionals with continual training and learning opportunities that help them
develop and grow, leading to increased fulfillment in their work and the
highest quality service to our clients.”
“The professional services industry has seen many changes over the past
several years. Ernst & Young has developed, refined, and deployed many new
learning programs and events on a global scale to help its people meet these
new challenges and reach their goals. Additionally, it has employed innovative
workplace initiatives, leading development and learning practices, and cut-
ting-edge technology to improve people’s performance,” Hamilton added.
Much of the groundwork for the new culture began in the late 1990s
under the leadership of Phil Laskawy, retired chairman and CEO. In 1997,