Disney Institute — Loyalty

Disney Institute — Loyalty, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. This pic is the sixth in a set of six visual facilitation pics covering the first day of an intensive seminar series on customer service. How’s this for an impressive reality about the economic value of customer-loyalty? Disney has worked out that the average visitor to Disneyland in Orlando, Florida will spend US$50 000 over their lifetime. I don’t need to say a single word more, do I? This painting was made live during the Disney Institute…Continue Reading “Disney Institute — Loyalty”

Disney Institute — Service

Disney Institute — Service, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. This pic is the fifth in a set of six visual facilitation pics covering the first day of an intensive seminar series on customer service. What’s YOUR answer to this common question Disney castmembers face every day of their lives? ‘What time is the 3 o’clock parade?’ Hint: the answer is NOT: ‘Uh… 3 o’clock, you dumbthwuck!’ The answer lies BEHIND the question. What’s the person REALLLLLY asking? So the answer might be something like… ‘Sir, the…Continue Reading “Disney Institute — Service”

Disney Institute — Culture Creation and Staffing

Disney Institute — Culture Creation and Staffing, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. This pic is the fourth in a set of six visual facilitation pics covering the first day of an intensive seminar series on customer service. The key insights here are: hire the right people for your organisation (make sure they fit), and, design your culture very carefully and communicate it clearly and unambiguously. If you treat EVERY employee as if they were valued customers, you’ll be on the right road.. This painting was made…Continue Reading “Disney Institute — Culture Creation and Staffing”

Disney Institute — Steamboat Willie Says Take Risks

Disney Institute — Steamboat Willie Says Take Risks, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. This pic is the third in a set of six visual facilitationpics covering the first day of an intensive seminar series on customer service. ‘Steamboat Willie’ is the first cartoon to feature synchronised sound. (Source: Wikipedia: Steamboat Willie.) It also happens to be the second time Mickey Mouse saw screen time. And it was the movie that made him the biggest mouse in the history of, uh, mice. But Mickey wasn’t Walt Disney’s…Continue Reading “Disney Institute — Steamboat Willie Says Take Risks”

Disney Institute — Leadership

Disney Institute — Leadership, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. This pic is the second in a set of six visual facilitation pics covering the first day of an intensive seminar series on customer service. This session introduced Disney’s approach to leadership. The key I took out of it was this: ‘Every action tells a story.’ Followed by this question: ‘As a leader in your organisation, are you the kind of boss YOU would work for?’ Our two facilitators were excellent. Very witty. Very friendly. Very real….Continue Reading “Disney Institute — Leadership”

Disney Institute — Service Excellence — The First Step

Disney Institute — Service Excellence — The First Step, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. Please click on the pic for a much bigger, downloadable version of it on my Flickr gallery. This pic is the first in a set of six covering the first day of an intensive seminar series on customer service. Paul and Sharon are in South Africa from the Disney Institute, offering their insights into how Disney creates customer delight. This pic shows Brian Khumalo of Service Quality Solutions kicking off the event….Continue Reading “Disney Institute — Service Excellence — The First Step”

2007-08-20 A Monday Night at AACA — Repetition

2007-08-20 A Monday Night at AACA — Repetition, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. AACA tonight was pretty much about the value of repetition in learning new habits. One of my hassles with the twelve step programs, though, is that the twelve steps themselves seem to promote a repetition of some pretty dangerous things. The subconscious believes pretty much anything we tell it. So when we repeat things such as: ‘Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character’, we’re opening ourselves to two…Continue Reading “2007-08-20 A Monday Night at AACA — Repetition”

2007-08-18 Jennifer and Roy Drawing Each Other From Opposite Ends of the Bed

2007-08-18 Jennifer and Roy Drawing Each Other From Opposite Ends of the Bed, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. On Saturday morning, Jennifer and I woke up pretty late, and lay in bed reading. At a certain point, I picked up my Moleskine, turned to a clean spread, and did a rough sketch of Jennifer. She had popped a pile of pillows at the foot of the bed, and was lying with her feet near my shoulder. Luxury. When I was done, I handed the sketch to…Continue Reading “2007-08-18 Jennifer and Roy Drawing Each Other From Opposite Ends of the Bed”

2007-08-15 Illustration Friday Night — All You Need is Meat

2007-08-15 Illustration Friday Night — All You Need is Meat, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. I’m a bit late on this week’s submission to Illustration Friday Night. But hey. Thursday isn’t quite Friday, is it? The topic this week is ‘All You Need is Meat’. Having grown up with a mom who was a cat fanatic, I can testify to the power of fleas. They can make a boy leap over billiard tables, I tell you. Powerful little muthasuckas, they are. So who’s to say they…Continue Reading “2007-08-15 Illustration Friday Night — All You Need is Meat”

2007-08-15 Kgone

2007-08-15 Kgone, originally uploaded by royblumenthal. This is a very rough approximation of Kgone, the lady who cleans my flat once a week. To international readers, the way to pronounce her name is kinda difficult to describe. But I’ll try. The ‘K’ is almost inaudible, but definitely present. The ‘g’ is a soft sound, sort of like the ‘ch’ in ‘Lichtenstein. The ‘o’ is similar to the ‘or’ in ‘dormitory’, but without the ‘r’ sound. And the ‘ne’ is close to ‘neh’. So, putting it…Continue Reading “2007-08-15 Kgone”