Here is the final press release from Doubleday on my book which is being published next Tuesday, October 14, 2008. Please share this with anyone who you think might be interested….Lee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
Contact: Elizabeth Hazelton
On-Sale: October 14, 2008                                                                                              Tel: 212-782-8370                                                                                                                      ehazelton@randomhouse.com

CREATING MAGIC

10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From A Life At Disney
Based on the Principles taught at the World-Renowned Disney Institute

By Lee Cockerell

“Elegant in its simplicity and practicality, Lee has distilled many powerful leadership strategies into the lessons many of us learned as children.  They are no less relevant to our working lives.  At its core, Creating Magic is a collection of stories that reminds us to demonstrate care and respect for every member of the team and to focus our efforts not on ourselves but on the people we lead.“
–George Bodenheimer, Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks, President, ESPN, Inc and ABC Sports

 “In Creating Magic, Lee Cockerell delivers his ideas about leadership in a common sense way that can really reach people and help them improve their effectiveness at work, at home, and in their communities. His valuable leadership strategies and remarkable Disney stories will ring true for everyone who reads this book.”
–Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and The One Minute Entrepreneur

 “Disney is one of the world’s prime exemplars of service, having pioneered and implemented much of what is today seen as best practice in service management. Lee Cockerell has played a major role in this . . . For those wishing to learn how Disney has achieved its reputation for service, this will be a book to read.”
–Chris Voss, Professor of Operations and Technology Management, London Business School

“… Creating Magic transcends the leadership business-speak so prevalent in modern day motivational tomes and

offers a real approach to sensible and practical strategies culled from the experience of a lifetime spent in pursuit of leadership excellence.!“
–Ted J. Kleisner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company

“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 in our lives is simple. Outstanding leadership: the kind that inspires employees, delights customers, and achieves extraordinary business results.

Running the operations of the number one vacation destination takes some pretty strong leadership.  That’s why Lee Cockerell, the man who ran Walt Disney World® Resort operations for over a decade, has written CREATING MAGIC: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From A Life At Disney (Doubleday; October 14, 2008; $24.95) to help leaders everywhere create Disney Magic in their own organization. 

Cockerell outlines the Great Leader Strategies he developed and implemented as the Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World® Resort and shows how all of us—no matter our role, title, or industry—can follow these principles to become better leaders in our organizations, communities, and personal lives. 

In the mid-1990s, Cockerell developed “The Disney Great Leader Strategies”. Leadership principles not only guided his personal journey from a poor farm boy in Oklahoma to the head of operations for a multibillion dollar enterprise, but also came to form the cultural bedrock of the world’s number one vacation destination

These powerful principles have guided and inspired thousands of Disney employees, and hundreds of thousands of other business professionals from around the globe who have attended professional development programs offered by the world-renowned Disney Institute. Creating Magic is based on principles taught at Disney Institute.

As Cockerell 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 leadership lessons include:

• EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT: When everyone matters and everyone knows he or she matters, employees are happy to come to work, and they’re eager to give you their energy, creativity and loyalty.  The result is predictable: more productivity and satisfaction; less absenteeism and turnover.
• MAKE YOUR PEOPLE YOUR BRAND: No matter what kind of company you run, your people are your brand; if you don’t have good people, no amount of marketing, advertising, or PR will make up for it.  
• BURN THE FREE FUEL: Appreciation, Recognition, and Encouragement – ARE.  Together they make up a cost-free, fully sustainable fuel, one that builds self-confidence and self-esteem, boosts individual and team performance, and keeps an organization running smoothly.
• ALWAYS BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU SAY AND DO: Not every professional is a leader, and not every leader is a true professional.  But if you want to be a great leader, you have to look, feel, and behave professionally every moment of every day.
• DEVELOP CHARACTER: As a leader you are confronted with difficult moral or ethical decisions every day.  You have to know what you stand for and be ready to do the right thing.

Combining sound business wisdom with insightful and entertaining stories from Cockerell’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 infusing quality, character, courage, enthusiasm, and integrity into to our workplace and into our lives.

For more information on Lee Cockerell and CREATING MAGIC please visit: www.leecockerell.com.

About the Author:

LEE COCKERELL was the Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World^® Resort for over 10 years. He continues to speak and teach in leadership and professional development on behalf of Disney Institute.  A popular keynote speaker, he frequently addresses Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, educational institutions and non-profits across the country. He lives in Orlando, Florida.

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