Success is in the Details...A Lesson from Walt Disney

50 years ago, Walt Disney was developing an experimental audio-animatronic Tiki Bird for his newest attraction...the Enchanted Tiki Room.

As he met with his developers, he watched the bird blink, move and sing.  He was excited, but there was one thing he felt was missing.  The Tiki Bird wasn't programmed to breathe.

His team had a good answer:  The circuits, valves and pumps made it difficult to add an element that hardly anyone would notice.  If the bird was breathing, and 99% of the audience would likely never notice, would it make a difference?  One of the Imagineers said to Walt, "People are not going to get this.  This is too much perfection."

Walt listened to the team and then shared a lesson that is one of the secrets of The Walt Disney Company's success.  "People can feel perfection."  Quality is the imperceptible things that guests might not even know they see.  But "devotion to detail lets guests know that they're worth the effort."

Any area that families come in contact with you is an area that you must be committed to excellence in.  This includes...
  • First-time guest experience
  • Check in / check out
  • Music
  • Facilities
  • Programming
  • Correspondence by phone or email
  • Classes
  • Decor
  • Cleanliness
  • Signage
Your commitment to excellence in these and other areas will determine your success.  Show me a great children's ministry and I'll show you a ministry that does the small details well.  Yes...success is found in the details.