The Disney Secret That Can Transform Your Organization
I recently had the opportunity to attend a seminar by Tim Burrill, Chief of Operations at Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children. In a fascinating presentation he shared the story of how this particular hospital went from dead last place in a national satisfaction survey, to first place in a year and a half. That’s a pretty huge jump.
So what made the difference? In short, they began to learn from Disney.
Cosmetically, they transformed the lobby of the hospital. The team from Disney gave them access to their well-known Imageneering team that helped them to design a one of a kind experience. Below are two snapshots of part of their lobby.
Design can only take you so far, though. Amongst several other things that they adapted from Disney, there was one that stood out more then the others, and which seemed to have the greatest impact on their organization. They changed the dynamic of their hospital by clarifying the difference between someone’s purpose and their task.
Someone’s task is what they “technically” do for their job. So Tim gave the example of a street sweeper at Disney. His job is to make sure that the streets stay clean. It’s pretty simple. But having this job description won’t exactly inspire people to act in a way that will transform an organization. He revealed that while keeping the street clean was someone’s “task,” their purpose was to create happiness.
Wow.
So think about how that would transform the attitude of this street sweeper. If someone has the task of being a “street sweeper,” their eyes will only be open to trash. They’ll be blinded by anything outside of that. But if their purpose is to create happiness, they will constantly be on the lookout, not just for trash, but on ways to connect with people and create happiness.
This hospital, then, began to implement some of these principles, and all of a sudden everyone from doctors to nurses began to act differently. A year and a half later, they moved from last to first place in patient satisfaction.
So what about in your organization? How do you think you could apply this? In churches, of course there are all kinds of tasks that need to be done: greeters to welcome people, ushers to receive the offering, people to set up snacks after the programs. I think what really needs to happen is to help these volunteers to connect their tasks with a greater purpose. On paper this sounds easy enough and makes sense. But I think doing this constistently is the thing that truly ends up transforming an organization and making a difference in the long-term.
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Great post! My experience is only an inch deep but I think you’re really onto something here. The people I meet want their life to mean something. So it’s no surprise that people begin to do their work more effectively when they recognize the real purpose behind it.
Lately, I’ve had more experience with the opposite case. A great way to really make a mess of things is to operate with only the immediate task in view. Some would say that if the street-sweeper in your example has no concept of his purpose, at least he’s still getting the job done. In my experience, those who work without purpose in view create negative value, even if they are technically getting their work done.
There are a few issues in leadership that are truly make-or-break. This is one them. When the connection between task and purpose is made, the potential for positive outcomes is great. When it isn’t, the potential for negative outcomes is equally great. Thanks for bringing our attention to the issue.
Wow, that’s a great point, Jonathan, about the negative value of someone who doesn’t understand the purpose. That’s interesting. Yeah, I could think of some examples of people who can do things technically, like you say, but who create a bad experience in the process. Let’s work on getting this right!
Rod, this was a great post. The implications for church leadership and positions, especially nomination time, are clear and exciting.
Hey thanks, Justin. I was thinking the same thing. If we could help our people connect these dots….I think big things can happen.