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The Disneyfication of a University

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Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#211

Post by reggieband »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #172
reggieband wrote: post #97

When I was a high-school student I hated pep rallies [1]. The entire school was dragged into our gym, sat on the bleachers while the football team ran into the room through a paper banner and various students on the pep squad would juggle, dance and force everyone to make some noise. It felt like a gigantic waste of time. Nearly 30 minutes for 450+ people. When I joined in the corporate drudgery I hated all of the eq…

Absolutely agree. It reminds me of people who claim they are immune to advertising. Personal anecdote, I am not a sports person, but I was at a baseball game once. The crowd briefly got wild and I could literally feel that weird elation of being part of a cheering group.

I know that feeling of being caught up in the energy of a crowd. Massive music festivals can often provide that feeling.

Another anecdote I frequently recall is one from the documentary "Wild Wild Country". This documentary follows an Indian guru named Osho as he establishes what amounts to a cult in the US. One journalist recounts going to the town where the community has established themselves with a mind to expose them as a cult. He relates the members lining the streets waiting for the Guru to drive along and he can't help but feel their ecstatic energy as they wait for him. As the car slowly drives down he sees the adherents completely lose control of themselves as the car slowly passes them. When the car arrives in front of him he makes eye contact with Osho, the guru, and the journalist himself burst into tears. He didn't become an adherent or start to subscribe to the cults beliefs but he was overcome in that moment.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#212

Post by jimbokun »

nkrisc wrote: post #142
reggieband wrote: post #97

When I was a high-school student I hated pep rallies [1]. The entire school was dragged into our gym, sat on the bleachers while the football team ran into the room through a paper banner and various students on the pep squad would juggle, dance and force everyone to make some noise. It felt like a gigantic waste of time. Nearly 30 minutes for 450+ people. When I joined in the corporate drudgery I hated all of the eq…

It works, for better or for worse, because most people do believe in it. Most people like pep rallies (however hard for me to understand why). Most people like seeing their name in a powerpoint near a bunch of exclamation points and showered in clipart confetti. I never understood why we celebrated product launches. Half the time it seems the thing quietly dies a year later. Why don't we celebrate things that go on t…

Product launch marks going from zero provided value to greater than zero provided value (assuming the product doesn't somehow subtract value from the customers). And it is also easier to iterate and respond to customer requests after launch. And launch is often the development milestone requiring the most concerted effort to overcome.

So I think having a party to anticipate is a way to emotionally incentivize pushing through that barrier.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#213

Post by nkrisc »

jimbokun wrote: post #212
nkrisc wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It works, for better or for worse, because most people do believe in it. Most people like pep rallies (however hard for me to understand why). Most people like seeing their name in a powerpoint near a bunch of exclamation points and showered in clipart confetti. I never understood why we celebrated product launches. Half the time it seems the thing quietly dies a year later. Why don't we celebrate things that go on t…

Product launch marks going from zero provided value to greater than zero provided value (assuming the product doesn't somehow subtract value from the customers). And it is also easier to iterate and respond to customer requests after launch. And launch is often the development milestone requiring the most concerted effort to overcome. So I think having a party to anticipate is a way to emotionally incentivize pushing…

I'm not arguing that products shouldn't be launched, just that launch alone is too early to celebrate.

It's exactly after that early iteration after launch that you might have something to celebrate.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#214

Post by jimbokun »

riazrizvi wrote: post #92

Unpopular opinion... you can make almost anything sound awful with the right tone of cynicism, and the intended substance of this article is just a cynical tone. Looking at the observations presented I'm inclined to side with the university president. 1. The university staff were mostly sullen at a culture workshop, enthusiasm was low. 2. Disney is an entertainment world leader. 3. Disney attributes its leadership po…

> i) it helps you understand you are looking to create change that is remarkable and identifiable to GW, not just any old university, ii) it reminds you the changes being made are to change a young student's life, it's not just to teach them factoids, iii) it reminds you that the goal of GW is to change the world through it's teaching, not train people to pass exams and get certificates.

This is still vacuous and not very applicable.

"remarkable and identifiable to GW" which means what?

"change a young student's life" in what way?

"to change the world through it's teaching" to change the world how?

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#215

Post by [deleted] »

riazrizvi wrote: post #92

Unpopular opinion... you can make almost anything sound awful with the right tone of cynicism, and the intended substance of this article is just a cynical tone. Looking at the observations presented I'm inclined to side with the university president. 1. The university staff were mostly sullen at a culture workshop, enthusiasm was low. 2. Disney is an entertainment world leader. 3. Disney attributes its leadership po…

[deleted]

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#216

Post by organsnyder »

Seenso wrote: post #25

Several years ago, I had to attend a full day "culture training" session given by Senn Delaney (a division of Heidrick & Struggles) [1]. It was also a massive waste of time. Our company actually has a really great culture, and what I remember of the training amounted to a somewhat subtle attempt to indoctrinate employees to be more blindly obedient to management change initiatives. There was some other stuff, but I h…

I had a former employer do a mandatory Sean Delaney-led session for thousands of employees. I found it to be quite good, but much of our dysfunction was at the leadership level (directors stabbing each other in the back, etc.), and leadership—despite also attending the sessions (management had even more training, IIRC)—quickly reverted to the same toxic habits.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#217

Post by thaumasiotes »

zweep wrote: post #197
JackFr wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A saying I learned from a Russian coworker: "The only people who smile all the time are idiots and Americans." As an American, I find that quite amusing. I'd say it brings a smile to my face, but there's likely one there already.

The flip side is when Lisa Simpson asks a Russian man for directions to the bus and he politely answers her but she mistakes his gruff Slavic manner for hostility.

There are two Russian men playing chess. After frightening Lisa away ("My pleasure! It's six blocks that way!"), one checkmates the other, to which the response is upending the chessboard accompanied by the subtitle "Good game! How about another?".

The joke isn't really Lisa mistaking a "gruff Slavic manner" for hostility, it's more the Slavic manner being actually hostile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyVMiE7jAJo

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#218

Post by viklove »

secabeen wrote: post #166
tartuffe78 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you think all that student loan money is going? Universities are flush.

Which universities are you talking about? State schools are not flush by any stretch. Yes, tuition money is up, but funds from state legislatures are down significantly. Some state universities get less than 10% of their revenues from the state government, down from 60+% in the 1950s through 70s. That is a fundamental change in the role of a university in the country, and in who it serves. https://fivethirtyeight.com…

I dunno, maybe the one being talked about in the article we're commenting on? That's not a state university.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#219

Post by reilly3000 »

I’ve always found the idea of having an external party being able to effective both assess and modify culture as part of a service. How much time on the ground does a good CEO need to get a sense of both the operation and the people in it? Months to years. An outside party has no real sense of the biases and assumptions that underlay the veneer of all members of the culture. Therefore interventions end up being based on a commodity plan, executed against a need that is strategic in nature.

I’m all for universities instilling a customer service attitude among staff, and maybe a third party is the right tool to kickstart that process, but it’s leadership from both management and staff on the ground that actually allow these changes to take hold.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#220

Post by safety-third »

im3w1l wrote: post #198
safety-third wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It comes from two religious movements in the U.S. that became popular starting in the 50's and has been gaining momentum ever since: Prosperity Gospel and New Age Spirituality. They both focus on you projecting "good vibes" and only allowing others who also project good vibes around you. If you can do this, then (Nature/God/the Universe) will reward you.

It's interesting you brought up religion, as to me it has always seemed that Christianity strongly embraces bad vibes. Like all the pictures of Jesus being crucified and wearing crowns of thorns, and the talk of how we are all sinners and bad people. And the talk of writhing in lakes of fire.

Prosperity Gospel is very different from traditional Christianity. It is much closer to New Age Spirituality than most Christian denominations.
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