Page 93 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

74 The Disney Way

and long-term vision and mission. The Vision Align tool in Chapter 3 provides
a method of incorporating the “voice” of the customer into the manufacturing
process. We urge plant managers to spend at least 30 percent of their time on
customer needs and problem solving.
However, before a company can hope to excel with an innovative prod-
uct, service, or process, it must know its market. Perhaps most disturbing to
us is that the majority of organizations know neither what customers want nor
what their problems are. To demonstrate this point, we have asked workshop
participants to list the most important features or services needed at a retreat
or seminar. Top answers consistently include unlimited coffee and easy access
to restrooms. When we ask hotel managers what things most attract business
customers to their hotels, they usually say, “Our great food, ample parking,
and atmosphere.” What’s more, this phenomenon is not unique to the hotel
industry. From computers to automobiles to restaurants, we have found the
same story. Companies all too often simply do not know or understand their
customers.
Even Disney has made mistakes when entering new markets. EuroDisney,
the 4,800-acre theme park built outside Paris, got a lot of press when it
stumbled badly after its 1992 opening. Disney erred by opening a park
suitable for an American audience in a country whose culture differed from
ours in many respects. For example, originally, no wine was served in the
park. No wine? In France? The French have never accepted American cul-
ture with wholehearted enthusiasm to begin with, and they sourly regarded
EuroDisney as just another example of Yankee imperialism.
Disney soon made changes, however, and today the park, which was
renamed Disneyland Paris, is beginning to rank with the other theme parks
in popularity and in revenues. Mistakes can indeed be a valuable learning
tool if a company ferrets out the causes and then uses the feedback to design
appropriate solutions.

Getting Your Company on Track

From the beginning, Walt Disney instilled his organization with the idea
that every moment should be magical for its guests. Since nothing is more
important at Disney, the company makes sure every employee buys into
that belief through its formal training programs at Disney University. New
recruits are immediately made to feel that they can play a significant role and
be a part of something with a higher purpose.