The recording of this webinar will be posted soon.
Fall 2020 Welcome Webinar with Disney Executive Kevin Lansberry
Additional Questions from Students
What does your work day look like and consist of?
- I’m generally up by 4:00 or 4:30 and begin reading what has come in overnight and whatever important news may have emerged.
- Then I reserve 45 minutes to an hour for exercise
- After that workday starts in earnest with meetings that generally run from 8:00 until 6:00. The day is generally consumed with meetings (now on Zoom) but many used to be in person. I’m generally meeting on a variety of topics from new development, to cash needs, budgets, long-term plans, people issues. Spending time with each of my team members to understand the projects they are working on, the challenges they are facing and helping out wherever I can.
- Once the meetings are finished, I can begin to sort through the emails that came through during the day that I couldn’t deal with when they came to my inbox
- Grab something to eat
- Plow through more emails and work from the day
- Try to be in bed by 10:00 and generally asleep by 11:00
How do you handle all the responsibilities of both your work and your personal life?
- As I noted during the call, at some level you’re always sacrificing something at this level, but by the way, we are all sacrificing something in everything we do. For many of you, you’re sacrificing time with your friends or family, to attend school in hopes of a better future.
- Success is the result of hard work and sacrifice, this is true in sports, your family, in business and in life.
- Balance is deeply personal and it varies from person to person, and it varies for a person based on their circumstances. When our kids were young, my wife and I made a point of us having dinner as a family each evening. If I was in town, I was at dinner with my family. I made it to my children’s events at school and their sporting events, but I sacrificed sleep, time with friends, etc.
What gets you through a hard and busy day?
- Seeing the results in people’s lives. Sometimes people know what you’ve done, sometimes they don’t and never will but knowing that I’ve made a difference makes all the sacrifice worthwhile.
What motivates you?
- Same answer as the previous question
How do I become an intern or an employee with The Walt Disney Company? How can I find those opportunities?
- Visit disneycareers.com to learn more about employment opportunities across our Company in a variety of different fields and locations.
- Prospective interns can link directly to disneycareers.com/professional-internships to learn more about our student programs and opportunities to be an intern at Disney.
How should I best prepare for the opportunity to find work or secure a job? What specific skills and qualities should I develop?
- Grab every opportunity you can to LEARN while you’re in school and after you graduate. Too many people are worried about what they are going to get paid to do a particular thing, which is shortsighted. Focus on learning opportunities that will pay dividends in future roles.
- Take the hard jobs, not simply the ones that may be the most desired. Oftentimes people avoid jobs because they are hard, but these are the ones that oftentimes have the most potential because people don’t want them.
- Join clubs associated with your major, meet with professors, seek career mentors and pay attention to what they do and how they do it. Use those learnings to form your own brand of leadership, but most of all remember to use the talents you’ve been given.
What does it take to get to the top of an organization/corporation? What can I do now in order to be a chief executive of a company in the future?
- Work hard, every day, there are no easy days!
- Maintain a positive attitude – be the person others want to work with. No one wants to work with someone that is negative
- Be a lifelong learner
- Be above reproach – be honest, own your mistakes. Your credibility is all you have; it is difficult to earn and easy to lose.
- Treat EVERYONE with respect, no matter what job they perform. Remember, everyone is watching you and they notice when you don’t speak to them, smile at them, acknowledge them, and everyone wants to be respected.