
Ian Khan
Tech Futurist, Filmmaker of "Blockchain City", 3xTEDx Speaker
Vice President and General Manager at Disney Institute. Customer Experience Expert
Speaker Fee Range: $20,000 - $50,000 USD
Travels From: Orlando, Florida, USA
Jeff James is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. Please complete the form or contact one of our agents to inquire about the fees for virtual engagements. Please note: the fee range listed above is for in-person engagements.
Want to book Jeff James for your event? Please provide the info below and we’ll get in touch within 24h:
Speaker Fee Range: $20,000 - $50,000 USD
Travels From: Orlando, Florida, USA
Jeff James is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. Please complete the form or contact one of our agents to inquire about the fees for virtual engagements. Please note: the fee range listed above is for in-person engagements.
Jeff James is vice president and general manager of Disney Institute. In this role, he has responsibility for the external business and professional development arm of The Walt Disney Company that is focused on sharing Disney business insights in the areas of service, leadership and culture.
Based in Celebration, Florida, Jeff leads a global team of Disney subject-matter experts who engage with clients to implement and sustain culture change initiatives through Disney’s proprietary approach.
With more than 20 years of experience leading a broad range of Disney businesses and operations, Jeff is an expert in the company’s successful core competencies of leadership, customer service, and employee engagement.
Jeff’s Disney career started in 1996, when he played a pivotal role as one of the founding executives of Disney Cruise Line. In subsequent years, he continued to provide executive leadership as the cruise line vastly expanded domestic and European itineraries and added two new ships to its fleet.
Jeff also has extensive global business experience having served as vice president and managing director for Disney Destinations International. Based in London, he led marketing, sales, public relations, and finance efforts across the United Kingdom and Ireland for the portfolio of assets within Walt Disney World® Parks and Resorts.
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in business and commercial recreation from the University of Colorado and has several professional licenses in the sales, insurance and real estate fields. His writings on Disney business insights can be read on Talking Point, the Disney Institute blog.
As the trusted, authoritative voice on the Disney approach to customer experience, Disney Institute uses business insights and time-tested examples from Disney parks and resorts worldwide to inspire individuals and organizations to enhance their own customer experience using Disney principles as their guide.
For nearly three decades, Disney Institute has helped professionals discover ways to positively impact their organizations and the customer they serve through immersion in leadership, service and employee engagement. Unique to Disney Institute is the opportunity to go behind the scenes in a “living laboratory” to observe first-hand how Disney methodologies are operationalized and how they can be adapted and applied to any work environment.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts usually thinks about things differently than other companies, and pays extraordinary attention to the business processes that other companies can overlook.
The Disney Institute Chain of Excellence, a model validated by research, exemplifies the powerful connection between inspired leaders, motivated employees and satisfied customers that generates financial results and a loyal clientele.
The service is not just about hiring friendly people and expecting them to provide the customer with better service than your competitor. Exceptional service occurs when a company excels in three areas: the careful design of the service, the intentional and impeccable delivery of the service and the construction of a recovery safety net when the service does not run according to the plan.
In most organizations, the level of service usually adopts the characteristics of an ordinary campaign curve: some companies may be within the "poor service" area and other companies may be within the "exceptional service" area, while the service offered by most companies is located somewhere in the "average service" area. It is possible to shift the curve to the right, towards the "exceptional service" area, learning how Disney is strategically focused on the systems and processes that ensure an increase in guest satisfaction.
The gradual and insidious deterioration in customer service in many companies has created an important opportunity for service-based differentiation. The experience that a customer has with his company goes beyond just ours that the customer buys; It also includes the service.
Creating an emotional connection with a client is more effective than connections with him or her only at the rational level. By combining a rational connection with an emotional one, the essence of the client is deeply reached because it is spoken on a holistic level.
The differentiation of the service is significant when a given organization breaks a prevailing stereotype in its industry.
Organizations consider considering the service simply as an external driver of market differentiation. Internal service is just as important as external service, because it can differentiate your organization as a model employer and influence your external service.
Defining Leadership
At Disney, we believe that leadership is a verb and that it depends on the actions one performs, rather than on the position one occupies.
The Leadership Optics
If leadership is defined by the characteristics and behaviors of a person, then vision and values are crucial elements in defining how a leader works in an organization.
The leadership
impregnated with values cultivates success by making values fundamental in its decision making.
Set Values Proactively
Proactive leadership involves establishing values within your part of the organization that are aligned with the overall values of the organization. Passive leadership fails to establish, apply or demonstrate values, either at the level of the individual leader or at the level of the organization.
Interdependence between the Personal Values of the Leader and the Values of the Organization
The personal values of the leader and the values of the organization must be aligned. Disney Institute explains why this is important by sharing two scenarios that may arise when there is an inconsistency between the leader's values and the organization's values.
Disney Core Values
Leaders communicate the core values of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to all new Cast Members. These values serve as a guide for all Cast Members in their daily roles.
Critical Elements of a Vision
One of the crucial tasks of a leader is to establish a vision for the future, whether at the global, local or personal level. The vision for your area of the organization should be expressed in an attractive and inspiring way and should describe what you want to become in the long term, which requires inspiring concepts and messages.
Your Leadership Legacy
Disney leaders recognize that the values and behaviors they demonstrate daily will be remembered for longer than their accomplishments. Given their ability to influence those around them, leaders must be governed by the values of the organization every day. This not only reveals what you value as a person, but also allows you to know your character and ensures that your leadership will have a positive and lasting impact.
Disney Perspective on Employee Engagement Thesis
It is possible to create a workforce where employees consistently show the desired behaviors. At Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, we tend to think about things differently than other companies, and we do it to a greater degree, paying extraordinary attention to certain business processes that other companies may overlook.
Culture
The organizational culture is dynamic by nature and must be continually encouraged to maintain high levels of commitment. For an organization to preserve its vitality in the eyes of its customers, it must maintain that vitality in the hearts and minds of its employees. If your company does not have the culture you want, you will have to create it through the selection, training, communication and care of your staff.
Selection
The typical selection process is based on skills, which may have no relation to the desired behaviors for your organization. When selecting new employees, the best are those who possess the skills and show the desired behaviors that fit the culture of your company.
Training
The training creates the participation and commitment of the employee because it reinforces his confidence and his capacity. Training can powerfully reinforce the culture that drives desired behaviors. It realizes the goals of your organization and increases the productivity and efficiency of employees.
Communication
Selection and training are events, but communication takes place all day, every day. High quality communication is one of the most essential signals that an organization can send to express how much it values and respects its employees. In a company, high quality information reinforces the desired culture, while low quality communication can damage it.
Watch out
Genuine care goes beyond basic employment benefits (eg, health, dental and eye care services). Genuine care is an intentional interest in the welfare of each member of your organization. Care refers to committing from the heart, creating a culture of commitment versus conformity.
Tech Futurist, Filmmaker of "Blockchain City", 3xTEDx Speaker
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