Andy Hughes and Denise Russo talk to Dan Cockerell, the former Vice President of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. He also spent time as the as the VP of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. He is the son of the former Disney executive Lee Cockerell. After 26 years of an amazing career at Disney, he and his wife Valerie started their own consulting and speaking business. He is the host of the Come Rain or Shine leadership podcast and this past August, he also published a book called How’s the Culture in Your Kingdom?

In this episode, the following topics are discussed:

• Resilience during COVID-19
• Dan's path to becoming a VP of multiple theme parks at Disney
• The importance of making a great first impression in your first job at a company
• Learning and versatility can give you advantages later on
• Leading yourself before leading others
• Networking and building authentic relationships
• Empathy
• "Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it"

Links:

1. Dan Cockerell's website: https://dancockerell.com/
2. How's the Culture in Your Kingdom? Book: https://www.culture-kingdom.com/sales-page36902669
3. Cockerell Consulting: https://cockerellconsulting.com/