Last week I blogged about what your agency has in common withthe slick 1960s ad agency on “Mad Men.” This week we'relooking at attributes Disneyland shares with yourbusiness — and no, it's not a Mickey Mouse operation run byDumbo and Goofy. (Sorry: I couldn't resist.)

I'm writing this blog from Anaheim, Calif., home ofDisneyland, where I'm attending the 2012 NetVU meeting for Vertaforeusers. Yesterday's main speaker was Bruce Kimbrell of theDisney Institute, who conducts leadership workshops forall types of businesses, both here and abroad.

Using videos and anecdotal stories from Disney history,Bruce gave an interesting presentation. But as I listened tohim go through the list of business attributes Disneyconsiders important, I was struck by how they could be applied to asuccessful insurance agency.

Disney's “chain of excellence” is made up of four links:leadership excellence, “Cast” (employee) excellence, “Guest”(customer) satisfaction, and financial results/repeatbusiness.

Although leadership is an essential component, successstarts with excellent employees. And financial success andrepeat business are not the business goal, but the rewardfor satisfying ”cast” and ”guests” – both of whichDisney considers its ”internal clients.”

Of course, your business isn't Disney. But see if you can spotthe similarities:

1. Hiring and training young recruits is the futureof the business. Disney primarily targets17-to-25-year-olds as its “cast members.” When hiring, they lookfor attitude over aptitude since jobs can always be taught.Kimbrell's presentation closed with a video about a Disneylandusher at the “Beauty and the Beast” show who took the time tospecially seat a little girl in a wheelchair — and afterward dancedwith her as she took her first tentative steps out of thewheelchair. Corny? Maybe. But that sort of empathy can't be taught— and is invaluable in creating an unforgettable customerexperience.

2. Customer experience is key to success.Before the original Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt recognized thatin a business as discretionary as entertainment, top-notch serviceand the resulting “magical” customer experience was the driver —not the rides or the attractions. From Day 1, Disneyprioritized a customer experience based on cleanliness, emotionalconnection and safety — not the typical experienceat amusement parks of the day.

3. People are willing to pay for quality.Admittance to a Disney park is expensive, but people are willing topay for the high quality of the facility and its employees. “Nobodydoes it like Disney,” I heard one of the attendees say after thepresentation. They must be doing something right: More than 23million people visit Disneyland every year, with 80 million headedto Walt Disney World in Orlando alone.

4. The business is built on repeat customers.Kimbrell recalled visiting the famous Enchanted Tiki Room in theearly 1960s and his mother's response to the animatronicbirds that appear to be breathing — a little touch that WaltDisney insisted upon in spite of the expense. She wrote postcardsto all her relatives raving about the experience — and brought thefamily back year after year.

5. Your front line is your bottom line. AnEpcot employee working at the pub in the United Kingdompavilion got repeated customer requests for fish and chips,although the facility wasn't set up to serve food. He kept track ofthe requests and turned the numbers over to management. Instead ofshooting down the idea as impractical, Disney conducted a pilotprogram and ultimately reconfigured storage space for create a fishand chips shop, which now generates millions in annual revenue.

If you want to work some magic at your agency, you might want tothink about how the Disney experience could translate in your ownoperations.