Disney is a huge company that has been very successful even after Walt died. This book shows some of the methods used by Disney to keep everyone aligned with the vision and to encourage everyone to go the extra mile at their job.
There is a companion workbook that provides exercises and team building activities. I've used a few of them with groups and they are effective at helping to develop team work. If you are looking for team exercises you might want to look at getting the workbook that goes along with The Disney Way.
Mickey Rocks
Interesting book with good insights- many of which you will also find in toher books, but here presented along with a history of their development within Disney.
The book is easy to read, and has something for all to learn.
Dreaming Big is the First Step
Many books are produced by firms to act as sales tools for their products. This book falls into that category. Capodagli and Jackson present many personal success stories to show how their firm has saved companies. However, aside from this bias, this is a very good book for the times.
They have researched, as outsiders, the inner workings of Disney to glean the principles that have made Disney great. Disney is a great choice for a business model. Its repeat business and low turnover is its industry's gold standard. It has constantly advanced on many fronts from its inception, till Walt's death in 1966. Then the company slowly started to fall apart for two decades until it was revived by Michael Eisner (CEO) and Frank Wells (President) who in 1984 re-established the fundamental principles Walt had set in place.
Walt Disney put it this way, "I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks and I execute my vision to make these dreams come true."
If you are desiring some extrapolation on the above statement and would like additional fresh observations of the authors, you will love this book. I especially enjoyed learning how Walt turned his whole company into a very-willing idea/dream machine, and how that he also realized that from the customer's perspective, every employee is the company.
May I also recommend The Experience Economy and Pour Your Heart Into It.
Five Stars
Dream, Believe, Dare, Do!!
Those four simple words are at the root of the Disney business philosophy, established by Walt himself and carried on by Michael Eisner. I found this book to be both entertaining and informative. The business principles outlined by Capodagli and Jackson seem like simple, common sense - but bear repeating numerous times until more businesses adopt them. Principles like encouraging innovation and even failure, since you learn how *not* to do something...building on the strengths of your employees (development plans instead of demeaning performance appraisals) ... all will make any business work better. I found numerous ideas here that I will be applying in my workplace as well as to my personal life. This is a must-read for any manager who wants to motivate his or her team to really excel - and for any employee who wants to be his or her personal best.