- Joined
- Jan 3, 2001
- Messages
- 9,288
Disney executive Lee Cockerell has a legacy of leadership
Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted July 27, 2006
Fresh out of the Army and a long way from his Oklahoma upbringing, the future Walt Disney World executive was in Washington, D.C., seeking a waiter job and getting his first look at a real hotel.
"I'd never been in a hotel before," Lee Cockerell recalled of that mid-1960s opportunity. "I'd never even seen a linen napkin before."
But someone at the Washington Hilton could lead him, a German supervisor named Kurt who taught him not just service but an expectation of perfection. And along the way, Cockerell learned more than just where to place forks or how to keep diners happy. The rudiments of what leadership could do took hold.
Over the next 40 years, though he never finished college, Cockerell parlayed those early lessons and rose through management and executive ranks first at Hilton, then Marriott and then Disney. This week he retires as executive vice president of operations for Walt Disney World -- a billion-dollar enterprise with 58,000 employees.
Cockerell's last day is Friday, ending a 13-year run at Walt Disney World and 16 years with the company. Senior Vice President Erin Wallace, a former vice president of Magic Kingdom, will succeed him.
Disney World President Al Weiss, who himself is moving on once the company decides how to replace him (he's been promoted to worldwide president of Walt Disney Resorts), called Cockerell dynamic and extremely organized and their relationship "fantastic."
"He ran a huge part of our operation here," Weiss said. "Anything that we needed to get done on the operating side of our business, Lee and I would talk about it and he would make sure it happened."
Cockerell, 61, is known for his obsessions with training employees and time management, frequent visits to the parks and hotels to mix with staff and visitors, and an open-door policy for his office.
He insists that only front-line employees -- ticket takers, store clerks, custodians, ride operators -- can transform a vacation into what Disney likes to call "magic," and only inspirational supervisors can make them into magicians.
"You can ride the rides. You can go to the shows, eat in the restaurants. The difference is before the show: the person who seats you, the one who serves your food," Cockerell said. "I think the world is starved for being treated special. We do that well."
Still, in a work force where the vast majority make less than $8 an hour and many feel stretched thin by high expectations, odd shifts and mandatory overtime, his messages of magic, education, advancement and open doors can seem like window dressing.
"I think he's just another [executive] who's made his money and is moving on," said Donna-Lynne Dalton, business agent for Teamsters Local 385, which represents Disney character actors and a few others.
Married to Priscilla for 38 years (their son Daniel, 37, started at Disney before Lee did and is now general manager of merchandise at Magic Kingdom), Cockerell is not going away entirely. He plans to continue teaching at the Disney Institute and local colleges, and is writing a book about Disney management strategies.
And as he has for many years, he expects to be found most mornings starting his day before sunrise chatting at a Dr. Phillips-area coffee house, and, during many days, in the parks, trading Disney collector pins and information.
Cockerell is known to most employees through his editing and writing of the employee newsletter "The Main Street Diary." Weiss also credited him with creating the company's leadership development strategies, time- and life-management courses attended by thousands, and diversity initiatives.
During his time, Disney World opened Disney's Animal Kingdom, several new resort hotels, and an expansion of Downtown Disney. The resort went through boom years, but also the tourism crisis that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Cockerell said that was a test of trust between employees and management, and with customers.
Weiss declared no one would be laid off, even though business plummeted. Weiss, Cockerell and the rest of the top executives came up with a plan to freeze wages and hiring, cut hours and close a handful of attractions.
"When you talk about building trust, I think we got a huge value out of that decision," Cockerell said. "Trust is the most important thing in business today. As you build trust, your people will be committed."
Martin K. Starr, professor emeritus at both Columbia University in New York and the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, said Cockerell's ideas about managing people would work anywhere.
"I could easily put Lee in a field where they're making automobiles and they would be better than they are now," Starr said.
In 2001 Starr got Cockerell to speak at an international conference of the Production and Operations Management Society held in Orlando. "Everyone went away from that meeting saying, 'Wow,' " Starr said. "He makes everyone feel they can do more than they are doing. He wants them to self-educate and learn. He promotes learning in everybody he meets and says, 'You know, you can have another kind of job and there is advancement in the organization as you learn to do more and more kinds of things.' "
It worked for Cockerell.
He doesn't know why the dining room manager at the Washington Hilton hired him 40 years ago, when all the other waiters were seasoned professionals. Cockerell said Kurt transformed him from someone who thought Sterno was an appetizer into an inspired, ambitious young man.
"He took me under his wing and taught me everything. He was tough and insisted that everything be done perfectly. He never made me feel dumb and was always professional and respectful. He was constantly observing me and telling me quietly how to do it right without embarrassing me in front of others," Cockerell said. "He built my self-esteem and self-confidence."
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441.
Scott Powers | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted July 27, 2006
Fresh out of the Army and a long way from his Oklahoma upbringing, the future Walt Disney World executive was in Washington, D.C., seeking a waiter job and getting his first look at a real hotel.
"I'd never been in a hotel before," Lee Cockerell recalled of that mid-1960s opportunity. "I'd never even seen a linen napkin before."
But someone at the Washington Hilton could lead him, a German supervisor named Kurt who taught him not just service but an expectation of perfection. And along the way, Cockerell learned more than just where to place forks or how to keep diners happy. The rudiments of what leadership could do took hold.
Over the next 40 years, though he never finished college, Cockerell parlayed those early lessons and rose through management and executive ranks first at Hilton, then Marriott and then Disney. This week he retires as executive vice president of operations for Walt Disney World -- a billion-dollar enterprise with 58,000 employees.
Cockerell's last day is Friday, ending a 13-year run at Walt Disney World and 16 years with the company. Senior Vice President Erin Wallace, a former vice president of Magic Kingdom, will succeed him.
Disney World President Al Weiss, who himself is moving on once the company decides how to replace him (he's been promoted to worldwide president of Walt Disney Resorts), called Cockerell dynamic and extremely organized and their relationship "fantastic."
"He ran a huge part of our operation here," Weiss said. "Anything that we needed to get done on the operating side of our business, Lee and I would talk about it and he would make sure it happened."
Cockerell, 61, is known for his obsessions with training employees and time management, frequent visits to the parks and hotels to mix with staff and visitors, and an open-door policy for his office.
He insists that only front-line employees -- ticket takers, store clerks, custodians, ride operators -- can transform a vacation into what Disney likes to call "magic," and only inspirational supervisors can make them into magicians.
"You can ride the rides. You can go to the shows, eat in the restaurants. The difference is before the show: the person who seats you, the one who serves your food," Cockerell said. "I think the world is starved for being treated special. We do that well."
Still, in a work force where the vast majority make less than $8 an hour and many feel stretched thin by high expectations, odd shifts and mandatory overtime, his messages of magic, education, advancement and open doors can seem like window dressing.
"I think he's just another [executive] who's made his money and is moving on," said Donna-Lynne Dalton, business agent for Teamsters Local 385, which represents Disney character actors and a few others.
Married to Priscilla for 38 years (their son Daniel, 37, started at Disney before Lee did and is now general manager of merchandise at Magic Kingdom), Cockerell is not going away entirely. He plans to continue teaching at the Disney Institute and local colleges, and is writing a book about Disney management strategies.
And as he has for many years, he expects to be found most mornings starting his day before sunrise chatting at a Dr. Phillips-area coffee house, and, during many days, in the parks, trading Disney collector pins and information.
Cockerell is known to most employees through his editing and writing of the employee newsletter "The Main Street Diary." Weiss also credited him with creating the company's leadership development strategies, time- and life-management courses attended by thousands, and diversity initiatives.
During his time, Disney World opened Disney's Animal Kingdom, several new resort hotels, and an expansion of Downtown Disney. The resort went through boom years, but also the tourism crisis that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Cockerell said that was a test of trust between employees and management, and with customers.
Weiss declared no one would be laid off, even though business plummeted. Weiss, Cockerell and the rest of the top executives came up with a plan to freeze wages and hiring, cut hours and close a handful of attractions.
"When you talk about building trust, I think we got a huge value out of that decision," Cockerell said. "Trust is the most important thing in business today. As you build trust, your people will be committed."
Martin K. Starr, professor emeritus at both Columbia University in New York and the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, said Cockerell's ideas about managing people would work anywhere.
"I could easily put Lee in a field where they're making automobiles and they would be better than they are now," Starr said.
In 2001 Starr got Cockerell to speak at an international conference of the Production and Operations Management Society held in Orlando. "Everyone went away from that meeting saying, 'Wow,' " Starr said. "He makes everyone feel they can do more than they are doing. He wants them to self-educate and learn. He promotes learning in everybody he meets and says, 'You know, you can have another kind of job and there is advancement in the organization as you learn to do more and more kinds of things.' "
It worked for Cockerell.
He doesn't know why the dining room manager at the Washington Hilton hired him 40 years ago, when all the other waiters were seasoned professionals. Cockerell said Kurt transformed him from someone who thought Sterno was an appetizer into an inspired, ambitious young man.
"He took me under his wing and taught me everything. He was tough and insisted that everything be done perfectly. He never made me feel dumb and was always professional and respectful. He was constantly observing me and telling me quietly how to do it right without embarrassing me in front of others," Cockerell said. "He built my self-esteem and self-confidence."
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441.
