To work at Disney, employees have to attend Disney University, an intense crash course in their service systems. Employees are taught all the essential facts, memorize park layouts, and are instructed on how to keep their energy high and attitude right. The Disney philosophy is: “The front line is the bottom line.” They understand that the average visitor saves for two and a half years before making the journey, which makes for some lofty expectations. The average homeowner waits as much as four times as long to make a home purchase. What are their expectations? How can you ensure that your staff can meet those expectations the way you do? Standards and systems. The interesting truth is when you systematize services to a defined standard so others can deliver them, your clients actually get better service. And isn’t that what you’re after?
THE SIXTH COMMON MYTHUNDERSTANDING MYTH: HAVING A GOAL AND NOT FULLY REALIZING IT IS A NEGATIVE THING. TRUTH: HAVING A GOAL AND NOT TRYING TO ACHIEVE IT IS A NEGATIVE THING. Fear of failure is so common it even has its own phobia— Kakorrhaphiophobia. (“Kak-or-rhaph-io-pho-bia.” Try saying that three times fast!) The problem, for some of us, is that overcoming our fear of failure, especially public failure, is very difficult to accomplish. When I was a child, my parents had a framed print across from my bedroom called Portrait of an Achiever. Below that title was this list: ■
1832 Failed in business—bankruptcy
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1832 Defeated for legislature
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1834 Failed in business—bankruptcy
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