Allen Weiss went from being a cashier at Walt Disney to directing the worldwide Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. From Paris to Hong Kong to the Caribbean to Florida, Allen Weiss is in charge. Allen focuses on Servant Leadership, and how to live your life as a leader.
He’s the worwide director of Walt Disney parks and resorts. It includes Hong John, Paris, etc. he overseas the Disney cruise lines and vacation club. Aside from that he’s got a lot of spare time to hang out. John is going to conduct the interview. Al Weiss.
It’s such a delight to have you with us. Welcome to the Simulcast. We’re excited! You have a lot to share. let’s start off with the fact that in 1972 you were an hourly cast member for the Disney people. From that time you ahve worked yourself ot the position you are in today? What did you specifically do to get from the hourly member to what you are now.
Let me give you some background. My father was a pastor his entire life. When I started as a entry level cast member I was just in college and I thought that when I finished college I would go out and get a real job. The reality of that is I moved into 2 jobbs. I moved around an awful lot. Saw our parks busines. Our entertianment, our marketing and sales. What I did was not unusual. I worked exteremely hard and I tried to learn everything that I could. I would try to learn every single thing about entertainment. I see people out there and when you go into Lenubu today you want to see every single thing that’s about that show. Not just what’s on that stage but what’s behind the stage. How the business side of it it works. All of that I did as I moved through the ranks. I movedthrough each of the jobs and had more responsibilitity. I worked in cast cntrol my very first job. My job was to clear the cash registers back to zero. I’d bring the receipts back. They’d bring th emoney with lockboxes. The’d match it up. And then I moved on along the way that way. My last job at wlt disney world was the president of walt disne world. It sounds prestigious but at the time Wlat Disney World was very robust. There wasa major study that showed it would declive very rapdily. They were going to put no new capital into the business. They said Al we want you to be the preisdent of this organization. I ahd a couple choices to make. I could ride the wave or put in a enw team. So i went and changed the business. We decided to do national television advertising. We looked at how e delivered product and sales. And the busines gew over the 12 years I was the president. We built an awful lot of the businesses. Webuilt Disneys Magic Kingdom e built downtown disney. We rew the usiness like we thought we should. Then I had the opportunity to move into the job I’m in today.
I’ve ogten said the test of a leader is the ability to take something that is downward and to stop the trend and get it going upward. It’s obvious when they’re not putting in more capital they call you to be the leader. It’s objvous that you have some great leadership skills to take that and turn it around. How many people report to you? How do you invest in them personally and professionaly?
There’s about 10 people who report to me directly. They oversee large businesses each and every one of them. These are large businesses that htey’re running. What I do with each and every person is try to pick the very best person for hte job. You’ve got to find great people in these roles all the time. I go at it from a “How can I help you suceed in your career?” and they look at me like “What do yo mea? and my oal is to empower them to help them succeed to the greatest extent. I meet with them. We do performance development plans and mid year check ins. The most important thing that I do is let them run their businesses.
Would you share ith our audience. 95% of the decisions the CEO of a company could make could be made bya decently smart high school kid, but the CEO gets paid for the other 5%. Just talk about hose decisions
It happened when were were getting into a new line of business. We had licensed our characters to the big redboasts. We decided it wasn’t the experience. We were designing the cruise ships. The designs came back with cabins and food and befverages and casino gambling. And I decided that didn’t fit our family market. I went to the current chariman of the company and I said I think we should eliminate the casino gambling. And I gave him the number that it would cost 10s of millions of dollars. but I persisted and we worked on the plans. These famiies are going to spend more on merchandies. So we want to deliver this family business. I guarnatee we will make the same rofitability on this cruise buisiness without casino gambling. We built the ships and today I can tell you that we have the most profitable cruise ships on a per passengar basis. It far exceeds our original plans.
I had a converation with a riend of mine, Linda, who were talking about leadership. Everyone enjoys learning about leadership. but they don’t want to live the life of a leader. You don’t have anything on the line. But when you start living leadership you’re decisions are on the line. They have to be courageous decisions. When you’re the chairman you’re putting your leadershi[ right on the line. That’s what all leaders do. That sows the courage side. But I also know that you’re a servant leader. And people think you can only be one. Talk to us about your servant leadership.
I actually got great learning all the way through my caerrer about this. Because I had those top down control tpe leaders. I had those command and control leaders. The dictator leaders. I realize that there was something missing in each of those styles. What I reverted back to was my father who was a tremendous leader. I learned more from my father about business and I saw the heart of a servant leader fom him. It was very easy for me to transition from a typical leadership style to a servant leadreship style. What it said was that I care about you. I care about your successas much as I care about every one elses and my own. You learn about the. You lwarn how to help them. You learn how to shore them up when they need help, and how to back away when they don’t THey grow to their fullest potential. It’s the most fulfilling thing they can find. I tell you what it doesn’t take away one ounce of your leadership. You’re just empowering those people to the fullest extent of their careers.
Al you’re helping so much. I lvoe how you’re answering these questions. let’s talk about the lessons you’ve learned from attributes. Let’s talk about a major attribute. Creativity. Could you give us a lesson on creativity?
Creativity is a really important attribute especially in the Disney company. We have an Imagniuaruium re. They design our attractions, our ships, etc. They entertainment team does our shows. I get to work with creative types all throughout thecompany. It doesn’t matter what line of business you are in there is creativity. There are business people who are highly creative. they come up with creative business solutions every day. You have to deliver great creative product, day in and day out. by doing that it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Creativity is centered around a creative approach as an individual. You will walk through life with a bounce in your steop. It guides and directs our procesess.es
let’s talk about success. You’ve encountered quite a bit in your life. What’s th emos important lesson?
As business leaders we et measured by success in the worlds standards. My learnings out of that were put away a long time ago. I saw my dad being on eo fhte most successfull business leaders. He had never gotte the accolades. What I learned about success was it’s very fleeting. It’s based on what did you do last. When I turned down my bosses job because I wantedt o see my daughter and son play in college I learned very rapidly that that’s real success. You set a list of priorities and you live your life based upon those priroities. In my case a relationship with the lord, and then my wife and family, and then your business. By focusing on those priorities in that order everything will go along fine. They’re smart like their mother. They’re married. We’re very excited about that. And that’s what is important to me.
I was having lunchs today with some groupand I shared with them my definition of sucess and that’s that those who know you the best love and respect you the most. There’s something wrong with us when those who know us the least like us the best. I think that’s the kind of value you pulled out. Another aspect I’d like you to talk about and that’s discipline. it’s som important for us to be disciplined. What lesson have you learned form that.
Discipline is an important part of every person s life. If you’re not disc iplined you won’t be able to stay in shape. I love that the regular workouts are tough but you got to get up and do it you have to get up and study and you have 40 hours a wee your doing sports. You have to have that elvel of discipline. Put that discipline in your life and use it to your fullest advantage. You will fidn that you cabn;t add more hours to dhte day but you will use the hours more effectively .
TWe don’t manage time but time will keep coming wtherhwe like it or not not. I tosunds ot me like you ahve mastered some of the basics. I think we make success really too complicated. I find that people do right htings, simple things on a daily basis and it begins to compound.
I read this book recently that gave me this opporutnity to validate some of those disciplines in life. It’scalled put your dream to the test. Seriously. I recently did read it. I read it because I have a vision not for my business life but my ministry life which I call vision 360. I answered those 30 questions against that ministry and I was able to answer that with yes and I realized tha tmiassion is going to succeed. It’s about success in a different way it’s set out to transform the world through christ and we want to do this in 500 cities all over the world. It’s a very sophisticaed ministry plan with a great business plan and we’re doing it all over the world.
Great Interview! Let’s give al a big hand!