Summary

Lee Cockerell is the former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World Resort. As the Senior Operating Executive for ten years Lee led a team of 40,000 Cast Members and was responsible for the operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping & entertainment village and the ESPN sports and recreation complex in addition to the ancillary operations which supported the number one vacation destination in the world.

Discover Your Why – Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

One of Lee’s major and lasting legacies was the creation of Disney Great Leader Strategies which was used to train and develop the 7000 leaders at Walt Disney World. Lee has held various executive positions in the hospitality and entertainment business with Hilton Hotels for 8 years and the Marriott Corporation for 17 years before joining Disney in 1990 to open the Disneyland Paris project.

He is now dedicating his time to public speaking and writing, having recently published three books. Lee also performs leadership and service excellence workshops and consulting for organisations around the world as well as for the Disney Institute.

There is no question that Lee has a great deal of knowledge and experience that we could all take something from. Enjoy this chat and please let me know your thoughts.

Key Take Outs

• On being organised in life. Being organised is a learnt skill, if you are not organised you can improve in this area. The fact is that we all have the exact same number of hours in the day yet some people get more done and seem to live with more balance than others, the reason for this is that they are either organised or very fortunate to have a team of people around them to assist them with this. I believe being effective allows you to become more purposeful in life.
• Know your core values. If you are not aware of what is important to you in life than you may always find yourself doing things that are not important and this is a sure way to achieve less. Know your values, know your visions and then with some level of discipline and purpose focus on those things first and foremost. You will notice the difference that this has on your life.
• Learn to be disciplined. Discipline for me was taught to me. I learnt it and I think this is something I should be grateful for as I don’t believe it’s as common with younger generations. We can become more disciplined without the need of punishment by another if we fail to act.

Firstly, it’s important that you know your desires and to know your values. This will make it easy to take action as required. And like most skills it is progressive, so start disciplining yourself with smaller more actionable tasks and then as you build your discipline spread wider. Most of us don’t like doing the shit work and will always make time for the fun and this is what often separates the successful from the unsuccessful, they persevere and discipline themselves through the bad as well as the good.

• Build trust. According to Lee it takes time to build trust. You will build it by being open with people. Being integral with who you are being and what you’re doing will build a greater level of trust among others. “Be more then you do.” People are always watching, if you are incongruent with what you say your credibility will be shot. Say as you do and really just be human, don’t allow the dark sides to show in stages of adversity.

Do you have any routines and rituals that you believe contribute to your success?

Scheduling his day and keeping to routines. Exercise, good diet and sleep are important aspects of this.

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

Be more open minded. You can be more than you expect. Don’t underestimate the influence you have on other people.

Lee’s interpretation of success

I am complete. I have family and we are all good shape.

What is your number one productivity advice?

Have solid routines.

What advice would you give someone that needing/wanting to make change?

Decide what you want to become an expert in.

Quick round questions

Favourite Food

Meatloaf with green beans and mash potato.

Favourite Leisure Activitiy

Holidaying and relaxing.

Favourite book(s)

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel

Quote

“It’s never too late to get better.”

Do we all have a why?

Yes. You have to figure out what it is but when you do life will be great. Wake up everyday and think about how you can make life better for others.

What does living life with passion and purpose mean?

By adding value to peoples lives. Being a teacher.

How to find Lee and other links

You can find out more about Lee at his website here.  

If you are interested in finding more freedom, fulfilment and happiness in your life take the opportunity to jump on the Discovery Call. Valued at $250, this is a one on one coaching session to help you define your hidden why and discover the action steps to getting your there. Here is the link to schedule a time that suits.