Leave an Indelible Mark

You’ve heard of Disney magic, I’m sure. But, have you ever experienced it? Years back, my wife Danica and I attended Disney Institute in Orlando for their professional development courses.

We were seated in a typical theatre-style room with a stage; a quiet hum of voices surrounded us as people took their seats and subtle music played as we all awaited the course to begin. A speaker mounted the stage and began an introduction. Everything seemed quite typical, until… the music crescendoed, the walls behind us opened and waitresses filed down the aisles handing out glasses of champagne. Behind us, they revealed food stations, Disney characters, photo ops and games—all at the ready. We were floored.

That, my friends, is what we call plussing the show. Walt Disney himself was a pioneer of unique experiences. He knew that he had to immerse people in the moment to leave an indelible mark.

Because the experience itself was so memorable, Danica and I still have the lessons we learned that day seared into our memories. And it’s no wonder. In a 2011 study commissioned by the Scottish Government curriculum agency Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS, now Education Scotland), students who learned outside of their typical classroom, who experienced a playful or game-based approach to learning retained more information than those who learned in a typical school environment. Where and how we learn have a big effect on retention.

The same can be achieved with employees. Have a big purpose reveal or mission change coming up at work and you need to get everyone on board? Consider taking your staff out of the office and strengthening their experience—and memory. It’s an incredibly powerful tool that not only improves memory retention, but buy-in as well.

Get ready, Prophit Co. is about to announce a big idea that will bring some Disney magic right here to Wisconsin! Wait for it…

JOE KIEDINGER

ACTION PLAN: Stay tuned for a big reveal that will change how you approach leadership education!