All Pride, No Ego

7Trust Your Jiminy Cricket … Learn to Listen to and Love Yourself

On the first day of cast member orientation at The Walt Disney Company, you are asked to share the story of your favorite Disney character. At Disney, all employees are referred to as “cast members,” regardless of where you work, as everyone is part of the story and magic creation. This character is then included on your Disney name badge and follows you throughout your career. It is an excellent and innovative way to connect new hires to the culture and heritage of the company, to create easy initial conversations with fellow cast members, and to learn something about a person's personality. It is storytelling at its finest! As an executive at Disney, I was legendary for my ability to remember people's names and favorite characters. I mostly remembered their stories and that would help me recall their names. To be honest, I also had good eyesight and could spot the information on their badge as they were walking toward me! It became a kind of game with cast members at Disney Stores globally. Some of them would ask for multiple name badges with different favorite character options, depending on their mood. Some wanted a favorite villain and a favorite hero, again showcasing their mood that day, for example, Cruella De Vil and Blue Fairy. Some people wanted to have a “classic” and a “modern,” for example, Cinderella and Eve from Wall‐E. For me, this was a very easy choice and I had stuck with this answer since ...