Profitability and growth are inextricably tied to a company’s ability to create value for customers. In a young company the founder is often the focal point for internal cohesion and the cheerleader for customers. As organisations become more complex, departmental priorities blur the collective customer focus, customer experiences become fragmented and depersonalised, and success is put at risk.
In Developing Leaders, Professor Emma McDonald and I combine research by Cranfield University School of Management, with decades of practical expertise working with the Walt Disney Company’s methodology for connecting employees in a shared focus on their customers. We show how a simple methodology can endure beyond a charismatic leader’s tenure and become the bedrock for global success.