Impact Hollow.Com

by Charlie Crowell exclusively for ImpactHollow.com.

Since the 1980’s Disney has been universally recognized and praised as a leader in “service through people”. Nobody seems to work at it harder, and few have reaped greater rewards for their efforts.

Like Disney, if you are serious about driving your business somewhere well beyond average and ordinary, I’d suggest you pick up a copy of  Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell. It’s an inspiring read that advocates Disney’s participation style management and with fewer than 300 pages, you won’t have to devote an inordinate amount of time reading  it.

Lee is the retired Executive Vice President, Operations, Walt Disney World Resort. Frankly, anyone who has his own window above the shops on Main Street U.S.A. must have made a giant contribution to Disney… and that Mr. Cockerell has.

Creating Magic gives everyday entrepreneurs a road map to personally developing the leadership qualities necessary to build an effective team and deal effectively with clients and customers.

My copy of Creating Magic is an early, unedited proof so the final version may vary slightly, but I couldn’t put the damn thing down. I found it fascinating, informative and it turned me into a real Lee Cockerell fan.

Lee has a blog that I visit regularly. There, he posts messages and quotes that always seem relevant and, I admit, inspirational. There’s an audio clip you can listen to while there.

Perhaps what I like most about the guy is that he’s the real deal – not some guru wannabe. He’s been there – done that. He comes across honest, sincere, humble and brilliant… in a common sense kind of way. The really good news here is that all this material is directly applicable to your business… and mine.

The book is somewhat based on the principles taught at the Disney Institute and while attending the exclusive three or five day institute programs is costly (as in thousands of dollars), Creating Magic can be had for $16.47 at Amazon.

Maybe it’s just me, but anytime a company that spends millions on leadership development offers their secrets and proven formulas for $16.47, I’ve got my credit card fired up and ready to go.

It’s also interesting to note that many business owners have purchased copies of Creating Magic for their managers. After you read this book, you’ll understand why.

© 2009 Charlie Crowell All rights reserved. This material may be republished provided credit is given to the author and ImpactHollow.com.

Home Page ImpactHollow.com

by Charlie Crowell

This is part of an ongoing discussion about promotional vehicles. The core question is - Should your business have one?

The answer isn’t simple. We say, definitely maybe… but probably not.

We’ll dig deeper into this topic later but today I thought we’d take a quick look at what could be called “extreme promotional vehicles”. These are cars, trucks and even buses that are so dramatic that they become minor attractions in their own right.

When people start taking pictures of your vehicle and want to be photographed with your vehicle, you just might be on to something.

Here are a couple examples – the first being a Hummer wrapped in cartoon characters. If you don’t recognize any of the characters it’s because they are seen on Teletoon, the Canadian kid’s network. 

Then there is the Disney Vacation Club bus used at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. What Disney did was take an old 1937 White bus (White was the name of the company that manufactured the bus), restored it and slapped the DVC logo on the sides.

It’s an interesting old bus with a history. Hundreds of these things were built for the national parks out west. Often called Yellowstone buses, the top was canvas and could be rolled back allowing tourist to stick their heads out for better viewing of mountains, geysers, canyons and wildlife.

 Anyway, Disney modernized their bus, updated the drvetrain and, of course, added air conditioning.

It’s an example of a promotional vehicle that is so unique that pictures of it can be found in personal photo albums around the world. People are just attracted to it.

The bottom line here, as it applied to your small business, is this. Will a promotional vehicle actually help you sell more of your products and/or services? Is it worth the expense? Will you get a decent return on it? Will the return be measurable? And finally, could the money be better spent in other, more lucrative areas?

Tough questions that should be applied to any expenditure.

 Do you agree or disagree? Have an opinion or comment? POST IT!

Copyright 2009 ImpactHollow.com. The information contained in this blog may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of ImpactHollow.com.

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