Bill Capodagli

Bill Capodagli's Speech Descriptions

Management wizard and the world’s foremost Disney expert, Bill Capodagli teaches companies, educational establishments, and hospitals how they can utilize the same principles that have guided the Disney organization for 90 years.

Disney’s unfaltering record of transforming the impossible into magical moments and cultural icons offers lessons in how any organization can be reinvented in terms of leadership, customer service, collaboration, and creativity.

Bill will fascinate you with his unique behind-the-scenes knowledge of what is perhaps the world’s most well-known and influential company. His storytelling and lessons will leave you dreaming and daring to make a difference.

Disney Way Programs

If Walt Ran Your Organization! - The Disney Way
Walt Disney’s management lessons are as relevant today as they were four decades ago at the time of his death. And his spirit, the culture he established, and the values he lived by still guide the Disney organization.

In this highly acclaimed presentation, Bill Capodagli describes the 6 reasons why Disney is a relevant role model for today’s business leaders. Bill shares lessons from The Walt Disney Company and other highly successful companies such as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Men’s Warehouse, and Ernst & Young.

Walt Disney’s Four Principles in Action…

• Dream . . . of an organization where employees and teams are self-motivated to the successful achievement of long-term goals in an environment of mutual respect and trust
  Key Learning: Discover your story and communicate it!

• Believe . . . that every employee is capable of creating magical moments for customers
  Key Learning: Examine your values and codes of conduct, and understand the importance of using them in decision-making

• Dare . . . to make a difference!
  Key Learning: Create a unique culture that breaks down barriers, celebrates failure, and promotes a climate of fun

• Do . . . create a show-business atmosphere
  Key Learning: Understand the Story, the Setting, the Roles, and the Backstage “Magic”

Leadership - The Disney Way
Walt Disney was once asked what the secret to his success was and he replied, I dream things and ways of doing business that have never been done before; I test those dreams against my personal believes and the values of the organization; I dare to take the risks to make my dreams a reality; and I put plans together so those dreams do become a reality. Dream, Believe, Dare, Do are the principles that have guided the Disney organization for over 80 years. Walt Disney’s leadership not only created an organization that has stood the test of time, but it created an international icon. Can we even imagine a world without Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse or Goofy?

Walt left us over 40 years ago, but his leadership lessons are as relevant now as they were back then. Bill Capodagli will not only explain the critical elements in Walt’s definition of leadership, but also provide extraordinary leadership examples from the featured companies in The Disney Way. Bill will also recommend an action plan to improve anyone’s leadership skills.

Walt Disney’s Definition of Leadership: the ability to establish and manage a creative climate where people and teams are self-motivated to the successful achievement of long-term goals in an environment of mutual respect and trust.

Customer Service - The Disney Way
Walt Disney created an organization that has become the quintessential model for customer service, perhaps in the entire world. In this presentation, Bill Capodagli leads his audience to apply Walt’s Dream, Believe, Dare, Do principles to achieve a Disney Way service culture. Bill challenges his audience to view their organizations as “show business.” He clarifies the importance of continuously putting on a good “show” for guests. Bill encourages audiences to begin a journey of becoming “customer-centric producers” of their own “shows.”

Walt Disney once said. “You don’t build the product for yourself. You need to know what people want and build it for them.” Bill provides a solid roadmap required to become a customer-centric organization.

Creativity and Storyboarding - The Disney Way
Walt Disney was indeed a creative genius, even though he often said, “we don’t allow geniuses around here.” His true genius was his ability to focus on being the best by creating something new or reinventing the old. Great leaders don’t just meet customer needs; they create unique experiences. They don’t simply provide a product or service that meets specifications; they solve customer problems; they fulfill customer dreams; and they create “magical moments.”

In this presentation, Bill Capodagli introduces Storyboarding, a tool that Walt Disney created in the 1930s and continued to use in all of his creative projects for the remainder of his life.

Storyboarding is a structured exercise that quickly captures the thoughts and creative ideas from a group of participants. These thoughts and ideas are recorded on cards and then displayed on a board or a wall. The result is what Bill calls an “idea landscape.” Storyboarding is an ideal tool for generating solutions to problems and enhancing communications. Bill teaches audiences how storyboards can be adapted to a variety of problem-solving situations in which the introduction of the visual element makes interconnections of ideas, creative thoughts and activities readily apparent.

Bill will present how Disney creates an environment that is conducive to creativity and innovation. Bill also explains how to apply the “nine-step” process to move a “blue sky” dream to a unique guest experience.

Reinventing the Learning Experience in America - The Disney Way
Walt Disney once said, “Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest natural resource - the minds of our children.” According to an ACT college entrance exam study, three-fourths of students who recently took the exam lacked the skills to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing college courses in reading, math, social studies and science, even though they had taken a high school curriculum designed to prepare them for higher education. School systems need to reinvent the educational process just like Walt reinvented the amusement parks and created Disneyland. In this presentation, Bill Capodagli provides the framework for transforming the learning experience using Walt Disney’s credo for success…Dream, Believe, Dare, Do:

• Dream – Walt Disney made a practice of envisioning the untried and impossible. School systems need to create a vision that motivates teachers, students and parents to succeed in a true learning environment.
• Believe – Walt understood that success comes from an entire team sharing a unique set of values. Creating an organization where teachers, staff and students are motivated to achieve long-term goals in an environment of mutual respect and trust is paramount to reinventing the learning experience.
• Dare – Walt did not follow in the footsteps of others, sit on the sidelines, or take the safe and unimaginative approach to providing “magical moments” for his guests. School systems must dare to make a difference by breaking out of the traditional “teacher-centered” classroom teaching and embrace “student-centric” learning experiences where the teacher serves as a facilitator.
• Do – Walt was a master at creating plans that inspired an entire team to act. The result: a legendary organization with guests who return year after year to relive the magic that Disney created. School systems must also plan for long-term change. Let’s not waste, as Walt said, “our greatest natural resource…our children.”

If Walt Ran Your Hospital! - The Disney Way
Success in today’s health care industry comes from inspired leadership and focusing on the holistic patient experience. There are great lessons to be learned from Walt Disney who believed in creating a “magical” experience for guests. . . the same paradigm that is alive and well in the best of the best health care environments today.

Walt Disney was once asked what made him so successful. He said that he would often Dream of new techniques that had not been attempted in the past; Believe in the power of his own values; Dare to take risks; and then just Do something to accomplish the dream.

In this presentation, Bill Capodagli translates the Dream, Believe, Dare, Do model for the health care setting. He provides a variety of examples, most notably Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut, owner of the famed Planetree approach to hospital management. Bill also recounts the inside story of how the Disney leadership and service standards were achieved – not by sudden flashes of creative insight, but by a much considered and carefully wrought system for constantly raising the bar of excellence. Bill provides solid techniques for adapting The Disney Way model to the health care environment.

Pixar Way Programs

Dreams and dreamers: How to Innovate Like Walt Disney and the Pixarians
Pixar is the benchmark of innovative success. With numerous Academy Awards under their belts, they keep breaking the mold on creativity and taking it to the next level. From Toy Story to Up, Pixar never settles for what they’ve done but continues to look forward to the future.

Bill takes you on a tour of the most innovative, creative organization in the world. You’ll learn how to look at the world through a child’s eyes (and why it’s important). You’ll learn how to believe in your team … how to jump in and try something different … how to create your own corporate playground … and more.

Among the Key Points You’ll Learn:

• The Dreamers -- Walt Disney and the Pixarians
• Dream Like a Child -- Where did the creativity go?
• Believe in Your Playmates -- Collaboration in the sandbox
• Dare to Jump in the Water and Make Wave -- Try, Learn, Try Again
• Do Unleash Your Childlike Potential -- Make a Dent in the Universe
• New Beginnings