NSU Fall 2012 Horizons Magazine

36 HORIZONS 37 HORIZONS alumni profile Being in the right learning environment can make dreams come true. Just ask Joe Schott (B.S., 2000), Disneyland Paris chief operating officer. His first lesson came when a new com- pany arrived in his hometown. “In 1971, my mom took me to one of the preview nights at Disney World,” remembered Schott, who grew up in Orlando. “Some of my first mem- ories were of the monorail and the castle. It all made such a big impression at that age.” That first visit led to many others, and after a childhood of enjoying the theme parks, it made sense to Schott to go behind the scenes. So he packed up and left to take up resi- dency in the Magic Kingdom. As part of his training, he enrolled at Disney University, an intensive employee training program that all Disney employees attend. The program helps employees become steeped in the history of Walt Disney and the company, details of the park, and their indi- vidual role in the organization. But more learning was to follow. The Disney employment team had matched him up with an unexpected role. “I was a Jungle Cruise captain,” Schott said. “One thing leads to another, and you start to get more responsibility. I grew in the ranks.” Other jobs quickly followed in Orlando. He was the opening manager for Asia in Animal Kingdom, helped open Wide World of Sports, and was a manager in Liberty Square. From 1991 to 1992, he worked a six- month stint opening Disneyland Paris, which gave him his first international expe- rience. That same year, he also helped open up California Adventure in Anaheim. Then came another life-changing opportunity—this one from a partnership between Disney and Nova Southeastern University. “In the late 1990s, I realized I’m not going to be able to achieve what I’m after without [more] education,” said Schott, who had started working full-time at Disney right out of high school. This is where the NSU program comes in. “It was a distance- learning program at the time. The professors came to Disney Uni- versity and rotated in and out based on the course. At the time, there was nothing else like it.” So for several nights a week, after putting in a full day of creating magical memories for guests, Schott took manage- ment courses through NSU. He found NSU classes instrumental to creating and expanding his thinking about work, particularly the role of ethics and understanding the moral challenges of the environment, as well as “what is happening with corporate society and how the work- force is changing. The outside perspective is important,” he said. And practical. “I thought the NSU professors did a really good job connecting the coursework back to the jobs we were doing. But it was also the philosophy I developed through the curriculum, learning macro thoughts about the economy. Busi- ness law was fascinating for me. I was a very Education Key to Magic Kingdom— NSU Alumnus Discovers Dreams Really Do Come True tactical thinker. When you start to apply all these other things—accounting, finance, law—these wouldn’t come naturally for an operations guy. It allows you to think differently from the person next to you. You can do what you are doing today even better,” Schott said. Since his graduation from NSU, Schott has taken on even more challenges, including serving as director of park operations at Disney World. And with the college degree, he was able to spend three years as executive managing director of Walt Dis- ney World attractions in Japan, before returning to Disneyland Paris in December 2009 and assuming his current role of chief operating officer. In a typical day, Schott deals with everything from the work lives of about 11,500 employees under his watch in operations to what times the parks are open, what services are offered, and when each ride will be refurbished. Any small change (such as later closing times) can have a cascading effect (like increased staffing of shops and eateries) throughout the park that must be considered. Working overseas in different cultures has a different set of challenges, and what works in Japan won’t necessarily work in France. “The core lesson is that you have to stay true to yourself, but you have to adapt. For example, we don’t open at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. like other places, because the audience doesn’t arrive until later. We have to deliver the things the guests expect in a way that will culturally adapt to their expectations.” And at Disney, the expectations are huge, both from the guests and from the people creating the experience. “Developing a new attraction can be five years in the making, with many decisions along the way,” Schott explained. And the whole production has many cast members (Disney employees). “I think that people would be surprised at how many jobs are backstage to support the magic,” Schott said. “And how many specialized jobs we have to support the experience. We have people who do stained glass. We have the largest working wardrobes in the world. The shows are very complex to produce and the mathematics involved in bringing together lighting, music, and video images are phenomenal. You have to have skilled craftsmen and people who are very creative to put it all together.” And for Schott, an NSU degree helped tie all the pieces of his education together. “What I appreciated most about the [NSU] environ- ment was that people cared that I was getting a good experience,” Schott said. “I had professors who made sure I was getting the right education. It’s that experience that makes me want to recommend it. It’s been critical in my career. I don’t think I would have made it to Japan and Paris without my NSU college education. The way it was delivered to me was the only way I could get it at the time. And the professors related the curriculum to real-life situations in our business.” n ‘‘ ‘‘ [Professors] cared that I was getting a good experience…I don’t think I would have made it to Japan and Paris without my NSU college education. The Sleeping Beauty Castle, part of the Disneyland Paris experience, where Joe Schott is chief operating officer. by jodi noding