Creating magic: Lee Cockerell

10 common sense leadership strategies from a life at Disney

“It’s not the magic that makes it work; it’s the way we work that makes it magic.”

The secret for creating “magic” in our careers, our organizations, and our lives is simple: outstanding leadership, the kind that inspires employees, delights customers, and achieves extraordinary business results. No one knows more about this kind of leadership than Lee Cockerell, the man who ran Walt Disney World® Resort operations for more than a decade.

And in Creating Magic, he shares the leadership principles that not only guided his own journey from a poor farm boy in Oklahoma to the head of operations for a multibillion-dollar enterprise, but that also soon came to form the cultural bedrock of the world’s number one vacation destination. But as Lee demonstrates, great leadership isn’t about mastering impossibly complex management theories. We can all become outstanding leaders by following the ten practical, common sense strategies outlined in this remarkable book.

As straightforward as they are profound, these leader-ship lessons include: Everyone is important. Make your people your brand. Burn the free fuel: appreciation, recognition, and encouragement. Give people a purpose, not just a job.

Combining surprising business wisdom with in-sightful and entertaining stories from Lee’s four decades on the front lines of some of the world’s best-run companies, Creating Magic shows all of us-from small-business owners to managers at every level how to become better leaders by infus-ing quality, character, courage, enthusiasm, and integrity into our workplace and into our lives.