Page 267 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

248 The Disney Way

of leading people are all in place and continually reinforce a culture of excel-
lence in service.
Another key to the delivery of outstanding service is the long tenure of
management at Four Seasons. The average tenure is over 20 years while the
average age is less than 50. This low turnover rate translates into a continuity
of the culture. Staff members do not have to consciously think about The
Golden Rule every day: they just live it! The strength of this cultural founda-
tion fosters employee trust and commitment within and between all levels
of the organization. Employees don’t spend time worrying about what their
coworkers might do. They just know and trust in the beliefs, values, and lead-
ership of Four Seasons. In the words of Wolf Hengst: “We all sing together
from the same hymn book. I sometimes have to pinch myself when I think
about how fortunate I have been. It all boils down to this: you’ve got to take
care of the employee, take care of the guest, love what you’re doing, and you
have to want to serve. The culture won’t change as long as we understand
this. If anyone ever loses sight of what the Four Seasons is all about, then we
will have a problem.”

Griffin Hospital

Dream
When you walk through the halls of Griffin Hospital, it’s impossible to imag-
ine that not long ago, 30 percent of the residents in Derby, Connecticut, said
they would “avoid” their community hospital if at all possible. Now, Griffin
is the pride of the entire healthcare industry, living its mission to “provide
personalized, humanistic, consumer-driven health care in a healing environ-
ment; to empower individuals to be actively involved in decisions affecting
their care and well-being through access to information and education; and
to provide leadership to improve the health of the community we serve.”
While some hospitals have claimed a “Disney transformation,” not one
of them can boast being named number 4 on Fortune magazine’s 2006 list of
“100 Best Companies to Work For”—the highest ranking ever achieved by a
hospital. Griffin can also boast of being the only hospital in America named
to this prestigious list for seven consecutive years. In most hospitals, adminis-
trators balk at “pixie dust,” claiming, “This isn’t Disneyland, it’s a hospital.”
These types would never have the guts that Griffin displayed in asking a
critical question of its own staff members: “If you or a family member were
admitted to a hospital, describe what you would want the hospital experience