Training comes in all shapes, sizes and budgets, and is vital to organizational health. But, training isn’t the answer to every problem. Jim Cora, the retired chairman of Disneyland International, sums up the training rationale he successfully used during his 43-year career at Disney:
Constantly improving products and services (referred to at Disney as Plussing the Show) calls for a keen eye, the ability to focus on the root issues and not accepting mediocrity. Picture, for example, the bales of hay in Frontierland at Disneyland. Strategically placed as props to enhance the western feel, they are a vital component of the show. Now imagine weeds sprouting from those same bales; this is bad show … a Disney taboo. Is this a “training situation” in which the grounds keepers need additional training on the proper trimming of weeds? No. Jim explains when training isn’t the answer to Plussing the Show. “If weeds are growing out of the hay bales in Frontierland, then the bales should have been replaced long ago.”
Clearly, training isn’t always the issue; the elixir of training can’t solve every organizational ailment. At times, the tight-fisted leaders who wantonly cut corners and budgets—without concern for customers and employees—need to own the problems.
Excerpt from:
Disney U
How Disney University Develops the World’s Most
Engaged, Loyal and Customer-Centric Employees.
By:
Doug Lipp