Mickey’s Management Mojo

Managers, maitre d's and hostesses at every high-end restaurant in Los Angeles should be schooled on the radical innovation of the Fast Pass. At many fine-dining restaurants, customers with reservations frequently are made to wait for tables, and slip the maitre d' a $20 bill to avoid being seated in Siberia. But Disney is far more democratic. If you're willing to plan ahead, you can print out a ticket—a Fast Pass—that entitles the holder to instant access to a ride later in the day—for no extra charge!

The blanket assertion that government should be run more like a business is frequently unconvincing. (What if the Federal Emergency Management Agency were managed like Enron?) But the brass at the Department of Homeland Security, from Secretary Michael Chertoff down to the surly guards at La Guardia who single out 8-year-old girls toting pink backpacks for extra scrutiny, should spend a day at Disney's efficiently managed borders. The land of Mickey tightly controls access to its 30,500 acres through a system of checkpoints and turnstiles that combines state-of-the-art technology and old-fashioned humanity. Disney's border crossings, which in 2006 managed the flow of 49 million through the complex's six principalities, are equipped with biometric identification; adult guests can't enter unless they first scan their fingerprint, which must match prints already on file. The border guards smile effusively at the foreigners who have come to spend money heedlessly on their shores.

Finally, every CEO should take at least three or four rides on It's a Small World and then spent the rest of the day in Epcot. For years, the United States has been shrinking as a global economic force, a trend that is accelerating with the continuing boom in Asia and the domestic slowdown. For more and more companies, future growth and prosperity will depend on penetrating foreign markets. But Americans aren't so much innocents abroad as ignoramuses abroad. A day at Disney can remedy all that. It's a Small World is like an animated version of Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat." Epcot allows visitors to immerse themselves in the cultures and cuisines of 11 countries, from Mexico to Norway, in 40 compact acres.

Of course, it should be noted that despite the great efforts made to create authenticity—the Japanese hibachi joint was staffed entirely by Japanese—Epcot doesn't provide a uniformly realistic experience. In Epcot's European countries, the dollar still retains some value.

© 2007