What’s it like being a Disney Imagineer? Let’s hear from our guest 😊

I had an interesting and relaxed conversation with Shawn Nason, former Disney Imagineer, and founder of MOFI; Man On Fire, after reading his best-selling book: Kiss Your Dragons: Radical Relationships, Bold Heartsets, + Changing the World

Career Transitions + Disney Imagineering

Not many people have had a fascinating career life like Shawn. Currently in his 5th career, Shawn has been a professional musician, a Disney Imagineer, coach, author as well as a pastor alongside his wife for 10 years.

I was really curious what being a Disney Imagineer looks like tactically, and what it’s like to work at Disney.

For one – did you know that employees are so empowered at Disney, they have the right to comp an ENTIRE family’s vacation if they’ve had a bad experience?

Shawn worked on the finance team in the Imagineering division, so he would know 😊

What I found most fascinating about Shawn’s experience was how intimately the finance team is involved with the creative process for designing incredible new Disney visions – whether a ride or a new park experience.

Shawn + Culture at Disney

Working at Disney was the experience needed to set the idea for Man on Fire in motion. In Shawn’s words, "...Disney takes good care of their crew members...they paid for the adoption of my daughter and gave me a 6 weeks paternity leave…"

His wife’s decision to quit her job and be a stay-at-home mom for their daughter led him to leave Disney in search of another career.

This exposed him to the reality of what the general workplace environment looks like.

In other words, nothing like Disney.

Shawn on Kiss Your Dragons

We get a unique behind-the-scenes look on the writing of Kiss Your Dragons.

Shawn and his co-authors, Robin Glasco and Michael Harper, had an aligned mindset (or "heart set") and this was the impetus they used to commit to this project.

What’s the book based on?

Because of COVID, we’ve had such a HUGE shift in the workplace. People aren’t working for leaders or companies that don’t treat them well.

“How do we get back to the heart of what people are? I preach a 3-point sermon. Leaders need to learn to be (1) transparent, (2) build radical relationships with your people, and most importantly, (3) you have to love people. If you’re a leader, 80% of your day should be focused on the people who work on your team. 20% should be focused on business.” – Shawn Nason

In light of the pandemic, Gen Zie’rs realized that a college education is not necessary to make money and be happy. As such, they have explored new ways to be educated so that when they get jobs in the corporate world, it's toon their terms only.

"People aren't working for companies that don't treat them right, they are quitting and would figure out what they need to do"

~ Shawn Nason.

In his book, Shawn pushes lessons he learned from working with Disney. There are some very interesting tactics.

Make sure to tune in to this edition of the show to learn more about Shaw Nason's refreshing philosophy to leadership, heart-sets, and Kissing your Dragons confidently..

--

Get Kiss Your Dragons: shawnnason.com/kissyourdragons/

About Shawn Nason

Shawn is an Author, executive, public figure, pastor, and creative consultant who has leveraged on the skills that helped him become successful at Disney, Xavier University (as chief innovation officer), Healthways (as chief experience and transformation officer) to take his clients at MOFI to additional 8- 9 figure increases in revenue while increasing morale, lowering attrition and increasing the lifetime value of customers.

Connect with Shawn via his socials:

www.shawnnason.com

www.mofi.co

LinkedIn

Twitter: manonfiresocial

Instagram: Man on fire social.

Tune in and listen to gem-filled episodes on:

The Combustion Chronicles podcast