Disney Inspiration

My family and I are huge fans of the Disney Parks.  I revel in the customer service of their “cast members”, whose only purpose seems to be to make our family feel welcome.  (I am also wary of the vast marketing machine that drives guest to purchase more things than they could possible use.)

Our recent trip to Disneyworld was different in that our son is 14 years old.  Disney with a 5 year old is very different than Disney with a teenager. 

It was fascinating to see him looking at Disneyworld through the eyes of a young man.  While he  still enjoys attractions such as Pooh’s Honey Pot ride and Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blaster, the “E ticket rides” (for those old enough to remember when your entrance to a Disney park included a book of tickets) were the Disney experiences that we enjoyed the most on this trip.

He rode the Everest at Animal Kingdom and the Rockin’ Rollercoaster at Disney Studios for the first time.  Typical Disney - neither ride is just a rollercoaster.  There is an adventure associated with each experience.  The Rockin’ Rollercoaster features Steven Tyler and Arrowsmith.  They –via video- “invited” us to join them in their concert across town.  As guests, we were loaded into a stretch limo-looking car for an express trip across Los Angeles, in the dark, with Arrowsmith music blasting in our ears.  (And yes, this 53-year-old loved every second of the speedy, twisty, up and down ride!)

But the best part of the ride was to watch my son observe the detail that had gone into making this an experience.   He mentioned the detail of the paint, how the spaces were used, and how we were entertained while waiting in line.  Rather than reduce the “magic”, it increased his enjoyment of the Disney parks. 

The Magic Kingdom is under-going an expansion of Fantasyland.  The fences that kept us from peaking at the progress were decorated with favorite quotes from Walt Disney.  The one that caught my attention was, “Everyone needs deadlines”.  I had not ever equated deadlines with Disney before – but of course, there are deadlines.  How else would they deliver such a high quality experience on a consistent basis?

My Disney vacation inspires me to think about the quality of service I give my clients, to be creative and deliver a high quality project, to pay attention to detail, to be sure that I meet my deadlines and most of all  … to have fun while doing it!

Is Everyone on Vacation?

I am delighted to send you some thoughts I had this week while on vacation.  My husband and I traveled to DisneyWorld with our 14 year-old son this past week and we very much enjoyed the time as a family.  My husband and I also got a kick out of seeing this place through the eyes of a teenager.

We arrived home last night and I am ready to spend the next two months building relationships and raising funds for my clients.  I have heard from many professionals in fundraising that you cannot raise any money in the summer.  “Everyone is on vacation and out of town,” is the comment I heard recently from another consultant. 

Waiting until summer is over means that we lose one sixth of the year.  I will admit that many people are out of town and those who have families may have very different schedules from the school year.  Sometimes it is more difficult to contact potential donors, but there are also many fewer organizations attempting to contact them because “everyone is on vacation”.

This summer, I am encouraging my clients to select a handful of major donors to cultivate during the next eight weeks.  Learning about a donor or prospect’s visit to an exotic place or their visit to their grandchildren can be valuable time spent in learning about their interests. 

Do not buy into the fallacy that things do not happen in the summer. Ask what can you do next week to make your fall more successful.