Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: pre shift meetings, excel lence, Cast Members, Disney World, Disney Institute (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On his way up the career ladder to become Executive Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World Resort, Cockerell freely admits he was such an autocratic young hotel and restaurant manager that he was hit over the head with a beer bottle by an employee he'd treated poorly. This and other incidents (including a bashing with a clipboard) convinced Cockerell to study leadership, which he proceeded to do with gusto throughout his stellar career, ultimately creating the Disney Great Leaders strategies. The author's engaging storytelling brings life and infectious energy to this entertaining and inspiring book, which outlines the processes and rationale behind Disney's employee-driven ethos. Each chapter expounds on the Disney Formula for Success, which Cockerell sums up as "great leadership leads to employee excellence, which leads to customer satisfaction and strong business results." Cockerell's willingness to use his management gaffes as examples not only makes him a likeable narrator but also a credible leader, offering up a mesmerizing view of a career devoted to excellence in customer service, employee empowerment, organizational improvement and responsive leadership.
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Review

“In Creating Magic, Lee Cockerell delivers his ideas about leadership in a common sense way that can really reach people and help them improve their effectiveness at work, at home, and in their communities. His valuable leadership strategies and remarkable Disney stories will ring true for everyone who reads this book.”
—Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and The One Minute Entrepreneur

“Lee's common sense principles and down to earth storytelling are refreshing. His book will help leaders and managers at all levels become better in all parts of their lives.”
—Lee Huebner, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs, Georgetown University

“Disney is one of the world’s prime exemplars of service, having pioneered and implemented much of what is today seen as best practice in service management. Lee Cockerell has played a major role in this . . . For those wishing to learn how Disney has achieved its reputation for service, this will be a book to read.”
—Chris Voss, Professor of Operations and Technology Management, London Business School --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Broadway Business; 1 edition (October 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385523866
• ISBN-13: 978-0385523868
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,721 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense for a Common Problem, November 23, 2008

By	Michael Gooch "Author of Wingtips with Spurs:... (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

As a corporate human resources director, I really enjoyed reading this book. "Creating Magic", is a common sense approach to leadership that will help those in need to improve on the job, indeed in their personal lives too. The strategies and great WDW stories make this a very "usable" book that also happens to be a fun and insightful read.

"Creating magic" is the bounding of various stories that teach us a lesson about leadership and management. The stories drive home the point that leadership is not about the leader but rather the people that are being lead, molded and guided in their respective careers.

While I recommend this book in that it pursues leadership excellence. However, I cannot rate it 5 stars as Creating Magic does not contain any novel or new techniques. That is, the lessons of the book have already been digested by most of those in the managerial profession. If you are seeking an excellent reminder of these values then the book will meet your goal. If you are looking for the novel and new approaches to leadership, you will not find it here. I also suggest High Altitude Leadership: What the World's Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR - Author of Wingtips with Spurs

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward, common-sense advice and lessons learned, November 11, 2008

By	Orlando Dad "Dave" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews

A clear and easy to understand read. Focuses heavily on lessons learned through a very successful business career. While Mr. Cockerell admits he didn't always choose the best courses of action early in his career, he learned from his decisions and evolved into an incredibly effective business leader. His insights and advice will help others skip the "trial and error" phase and perfect their business leadership expertise. Fantastic insight into the reasoning behind Disney's approach to customer service and cast member empowerment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bigger than Blanchard and Covey?, November 7, 2008

By	Jeff L. Noel (Orlando) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lee Cockerell should be bigger than Blanchard and Covey combined. Lee is light-years past theory. He is straight-forward, no-nonsense, wise. Every great leader should read this book, or miss an incredible opportunity to see Disney from an executive mind-set, with tons of practical, how-to's for any leader, in any organization.