Nolan Martin :
Hey everyone, thanks for joining us on the NEGOTIATEx podcast. We are continuing our conversation with Lenn Millbower. If you haven’t already checked out Part A of the show, be sure to do that first. Let’s jump into the conversation with Lenn.
AD :
There’s an acronym, POLE that allows Santa to outline his elf-spectations. And as you write, that’s really important because this is what allows him to let others steer because he’s already established a true north and he’s able to get people to follow along with this poll acronym. What are elf-spectations? What’s the poll acronym? How does that help?
Decoding Santa’s Workshop: Acronyms, Leadership & Organizational Unity [00:34]
LM :
Let me say that I commented to them that they have way too many acronyms. And they said you have to remember we’ve been doing this since the 1800s. It’s like Santa was in the army almost. As many acronyms as we have in the military.
Yeah, really? Now there are two acronyms we should talk about. One is the leadership. I am positive. We talk about finding true north. You hear that said an organization. They’re at true north. So they came up with an acronym for pole and the acronym is positivity ownership, logistics and expertise. If you’re a CTO or manager reporting to the CTO, you need to be a positive presence. You need to own your area. You need to handle the logistics. Like the guy with the trucks, they was not handling the logistics and you need to be the expert. You can’t just pretend, and you don’t really know. So all the leaders are expected to be positive, have ownership, logistics, and expertise.
And I attended a meeting with all these Santa’s and it was really interesting. There was joviality, a lot of joking, semi insults, but not really, like at one point, the ULADs threatened to play a trick on Belfonta. And she said, and I’m a witch. You’ll be careful. I might put a hex on you, but there was a camaraderie there that is missing often in organizations.
These people really work together and we’re very much in unison. And like the else I mentioned earlier in Holiday Hall, very much a team without all the game and ship now, whether that is because nobody really leaves, I don’t know, but there is expansion. So for instance, while I was there, they were expanding Santa’s looking for new Santa’s to take over some of the African territories because many countries in Africa have a small Christian presence, but have their own Santa Clauses.
So they were wrestling with that while I was there. Now, the elves have their own version of the pole thing, and it’s not an acronym, finally. Their job is to protect the magic, project positivity, perform their role, and partner effectively. Now, after the leaders all left the room, was the wrapping room is what it was appropriately called, the elf suddenly appeared there.
And I double checked what the leaders told me with what the elf said. And they were very much in concert. And when I told the elf says what it was like in the real business world, and we’re surprised to hear that people don’t stay in a job for life. And when I told them that the average, maybe three or four years, and then they either get fired or they moved on, they all gasp, that’s unbelievable. I can’t imagine that because the way they’re treated and how things go. Now, I talked a lot, but I don’t know if I answered your question.
AD :
I think so. I know Nolan was going to ask more about these elves. Go ahead, Nolan.
NM :
In the movies, I know that elves always seem incredibly happy. And when you ask them to describe the North Pole, they use words like family and friends. Why was that? And how do leaders create a similar culture within their organizations?
Commitment & Camaraderie In Santa’s Workshop [03:28]
LM :
Okay, I wouldn’t say they’re incredibly happy, but they’re not happy. They’re not unhappy. I would call them incredibly devoted and committed to the mission.
AD :
Which is more important than being happy. That’s more important.
LM :
I’m likening it a little to the military where there might be some bitching behind the scenes, but everybody pulls together and the guy in the foxhole next to you is a really important person to you. I didn’t find any massive complaints, but I did find things that they wanted to improve, this strangest thing. You know, when the big things are taken care of people tend to focus on the small things. There’s a refrain going through the books, the elves want ice cream. Somebody had taken ice cream off the menu in the Wintergreen Clubhouse, they’re just over it.
And several times in the book, they bring up the fact that we want ice cream, it’s not that happy, happy, happy, and they’re not short. And as I said, they don’t have pointy ears. They’re wistful. They look thin and pale and maybe not human, but definitely human. But I wouldn’t say they’re unhappy.
NM :
I completely understand about the ice cream part. So I was in an organization and they removed tater tots from breakfast and the dining facility and it was, you would think like they just completely canceled breakfast every single day until they eventually brought tater tots back. So completely understand where those are coming from.
LM :
So I should also tell you about the North Pole. They have a movie theater. I don’t have the name off the top of my head. I didn’t have it prepped for today, but they like to watch Christmas movies, particularly when the elves are depicted cause it makes them laugh. Like they love that film buddy because they think it’s so ridiculous that they just, oh, look at that, he’s got pointy ears.
Bullfella Jelly is one of their favorite restaurants. Red Nose Tavern is their favorite drinking establishment? And I made a joke about Tipsy elves. Henrik, who I was walking with said, no. Their favorite drink is Eggnog.
AD :
Spiked?
LM :
No. Not spiked. They just like eggnog. In fact, the ice cream they end up getting is eggnog ice cream.
AD :
I was gonna go with candy cane ice cream or gingerbread or something like that.
LM :
The walls are made out of gingerbread. In fact, a candy store opened and then closed because who’s going to buy candy when you can get it for free on the job?
AD :
Man, that’s really interesting. What’s the most interesting place of all these? What was the most interesting one you visited?
The Portrait Gallery At Santa’s North Pole [05:52]
LM :
It was all pretty amazing. One place that I literally ran through because we had to get to Santa’s office was a portrait gallery. They’d established this portrait gallery as the entrance to the North pole. And then they found out that they didn’t really get visitors.
So they didn’t use the entrance, but pictures of Santa all the way back from St. Nicholas, 2000 years ago, all the way up through the night before Christmas, through the NAST, diagrams, whatever you call those, in the twenties, to the poem, to Coca Cola’s ads, to the current look of Santa Claus.
And of course, I, unfortunately, I had to rush through that gallery, so I didn’t get to look too much at it, but that was a pretty fascinating place. And basically the whole, oh, that was fascinating. And as we get a little farther in, there’s a place I want to tell you about that was the most fascinating of them.
AD :
I’d love to hear it. What was it?
LM :
Well, it was Nani Central.
AD :
What is Nani?
LM :
They kept talking about it and they wouldn’t tell me what an acronym is. They would just say, wait and you’ll see. Nani is the Naughty Nice list. So the chief process officer Plake was in charge of non essential and it looked like something very high tech. It almost looked like something you would see in NORAD with the US military with the big screens. And Santa said, if you think process doesn’t matter. Ask a nice child, put on the naughty list.
So Santa was insistent. Now, Santa usually knows who’s nice and who’s naughty, but he was insistent that the naughty list be checked to make sure that kids on the list were actually naughty. And I said how do you do that? Aren’t there privacy concerns? And yes, this way, naughty central was the only place that was hidden and tucked away. The way the elves handle it is there’s very heavy confidentiality agreements and you really can be terminated. For violating any of those and with longevity, continual health, that’s a strong incentive not to do anything.
However, they take the, they’ve got to deal with the post office. So they get all the letters to Santa and they have the assistants and sometimes the kids at department store Santa’s knees. Taking notes or mental notes and then transcribing them later.
And when parents boast about their kids on YouTube and other networks, they’re monitoring those and when a child sends a letter to Santa and the post office delivers it to them, they take that as permission to verify what the child has said. It’s really brilliant. And of course, the Elf’s on the Shelf and some of those technology things, they tap into that too, but they are really focused on making sure that process works. Also focused on a lot of other processes too.
NM :
Speaking of good and bad processes, can you share what you learned about Santa’s roof run?
The Real Story Behind ‘Rudolph’ & North Pole Innovations [08:40]
LM :
I bumped into somebody along the way. And that was Rudolph. How is Rudolph? It was very strange. He had a high voice, like a female voice. Come to find out that Mary was there
So Mary helped with the explanation. So I know I got the true story. He’s a she. Excuse me, her name’s not Rudolph. Her name is Ruby. When I asked her why she goes by Rudolph, she said Ruby, the red nosed reindeer doesn’t quite work. So Santa said, for instance, about Santa, they think I’m a fat, big old fatso.
So I’m going to be a big old fatso. He balked up once the images of Santa changed to that, he basically said, we have to put on a show and we have to be who we’re expected to be. So, Ruby became Rudolph. Ruby doesn’t have a bright red nose. She’s female. She wears a ruby diamond on her nose. And that’s where that red nose thing and then Mary says, the song got it all wrong. I asked What did the song get wrong? They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer game. I said, Oh, you mean the name? She said, no, the reindeer games. It turned out that the reindeer were being very catty amongst themselves.
Ruby was brought in to manage the reindeer. Reindeer didn’t like her. They called her a bright noser. They refused to participate in anything Ruby set up, including the reindeer games. And then it reminded me of a situation at Disney where I’m rewriting the Snow White training, and the new Snow White girls were doing so much better than the old Snow White girls. And we had a discussion about whether we should retrain all the older Snow Whites. We decided, no, it wasn’t worth the money, because those older Snow Whites were feeling pressure.
So it’s like that saying, a rising tide lifts all boats. The reindeer were feeling pressure. Everybody was joining in the reindeer game, except for the reindeer. And eventually they joined in too. But there was still some pessimism. Donner, it was, Donner’s not her real name. It was something like Diechen. I can’t pronounce it as a German name. She didn’t, really didn’t like Donner because all the reindeer called her Downer because she was a pessimistic and Eeyore type, if you will, I suppose, they just didn’t like her.
But blackcomb listened to her when she complained about the roof run. You may have guessed by now the roof run is Santa’s delivery on Christmas Eve. Now you think about all the homes he has to go to, all the children, he has to know what presents he has to reach into the bag. Santa was doing all that by himself and the reindeer were bored, silly.
So Donner complained, they went to Santa. And he said, what happens if one year I can’t do it? And Plecum realized they had a problem then. So they use a continuous improvement process to realize there’s a problem, find a solution, test the solution, retest until you find something that works and then put it in place.
The end result is here’s what they did where Santa used to do everything himself, the reindeer are on the headset now telling them what house to go to next, Santa has a computer printout. Telling him what house it is, how to get in. He reaches into the bag and the present comes up to him. He doesn’t even have to worry about what the present is. He has time for a sip of hot cocoa between homes.
Now, furthermore, there is a sled that doesn’t look like Santa’s sled, but one or two houses ahead of him where Santa’s going to land next clearing the way. Making sure everything’s okay. And there’s another sled following Santa in case there’s any issues so they can intercede. This was all put into place because Downer complained. And not only did they do that, they actually do a roof run in October.
AD :
Like a rehearsal?
LM :
Yeah, it’s a rehearsal. They run the whole thing, so they know exactly what they’re doing in December. More or less. I mean some naughty kids might be removed from the naughty list by then. But yeah, they practice the whole thing. And they’ve got this down to a science. They’ve actually cut 10 minutes out of the roof run across America. And it was so successful that Canada Claus And Father Christmas and Aussie Claus and some of the others are adapting this and doing it themselves. And that’s all because they listened to the complainer rather than just dismissing her as downer. Downer was celebrated. They still call her downer. But it’s affectionate now
AD :
I can tell too that you appreciate process matters more than product as much as Nolan and I do. It’s a key thing we talk with our clients as well as our listeners. So critical to negotiations and certainly as you talk about Santa’s operation scaling, I don’t know how he would do it without some good process management.
What I appreciated too, and I just want to shift gears here, is listening to Downer requires some emotional intelligence on Santa’s part. It seems like the obvious example of emotional intelligence. I’m just curious what you observed about Santa himself in terms of him managing his emotions and a leader listening today who wants to do the same. How would you encourage them?
A Tale Of Resilience & Joy At The North Pole [13:42]
LM :
Yeah. Now, let me tell you that Santa is a scarred soul. In my first visit with him, he was jolly old elf. In my second visit with him, I saw the real guy. And this is a guy that was imprisoned by a Roman emperor and tortured. He was the patron saint of children. Eventually, he was released when Constantine the Great became emperor. And with nothing else to do, he headed north. He said God told him to head north. And so he did and he ended up as far north as possible. So he hides all that from his troops because he’s not really, he doesn’t want them to know any of that.
But, it’s hard not to let that show. And I’m looking here, I don’t have it in front of me, but in the book, we talk about something that Dr. Carol Albrecht talked about, and that is finding your head space, and he has an acronym for space too, and the idea is to be not hung up in your past, but completely in the moment, caring what’s being said, enjoying what’s being said, not being defensive, and when you are attacked, but listening, not letting someone else’s emotions impact your own and just staying centered.
And for Santa, that’s a pretty mean feat and it was interesting. At the end of that conversation, I said to Santa, I have one question for you. Would you mind, I would really like to take a ride in your sleigh. Of course, who wouldn’t? Who wouldn’t? And at that moment, his, Yosef, his chief assistant comes in and says, Santa, we got to go.
The Santa looks, Oh my God, it’s time. And they have a end of the month celebration every month. They call the Santa Social. And we go back into holiday hall, which is now filled with people. And there’s a riser and Mary’s up on the riser dancing around and just. Leading cheers and there’s screens flashing with different elves coming up and people will cheer when, or elves will cheer when they see Santa.
And then Santa hands me another candy cane, gives me a Santa hat. He comes up on the stage, but before he gets up on the stage, he puts me on a perch where I can see and Krumpus is up there. Remember I said Krumpus looks really nasty and he says, okay, it’s time to announce the winner of the joy card. And the joy card is their recognition program. And the interesting thing about the joy card is anyone at the pole can give a card to anyone else. It’s not leader dependent. It’s not, you have done well, young grasshopper. I will reward you. It’s anyone rewards anyone.
Now, if you’re a frontline elf, you have to have your leader sign off on it. No awarding people because they wore red that day. So Krampus is up there. He talks about this one alpha we met a couple of times earlier in the book named Evie. And he says, I was doing an event with children and this one little boy was so scared of me. Evie jumped in and made everything right and eventually the boy touched my paw and we hugged.
And so she was the joy card winner for the month as part of being that winner she won her choice of what to have in the cafeteria. And she said she wanted everybody to have ice cream and it was going to be that ice cream and everybody cheered And then she also got a dinner for two at the bowl of jelly restaurant. And the last thing she got was a ride in Santa’s sleigh and Santa is looking straight at me as he’s helping Evie into the sleigh, his thought comes into my head, and I think this is the real key point of the book.
He says to me, I would have loved to have taken you for a ride in the sleigh, but it’s something most of my elves never get to do. How could I give a one day visitor a ride when I can’t do it for my own people? Wow! You take care of the elves, they make great toys. The great toys make children happy, make parents happy, and make the world a better place.
If you don’t treat the elves right, the whole thing falls apart. So It’s not about the leader and the elf giving them coffee. It’s about the leader giving the elf coffee. In fact, the elves brag about one time they were all made to come in early and all the leader, all the Santas were in holiday hall, cooking eggnog pancakes for them. But it’s that kind of point. But anyhow, so Evie gets in the sleigh, hi ho, let’s go, or whatever it is Santa says.
The sleigh starts to rise, and now I realize why I hadn’t said this to you before, but it snows in the building, it just never lands. I realize there’s no dome on the building, and he gets up to the top, Happy Christmas to all, and to all. And then the next thing you know, I’m on my couch, and I’ve got a transcript in my hand, a candy cane, and a Santa hat. So was it real? I don’t know, but if it wasn’t real, I don’t know where those things came from. But the one thing I learned was to be joyful.
AD :
You talk with so much conviction, I have to imagine it was real.
LM :
It felt real.
AD :
Are you a believer?
LM :
Yes, I’m a believer in being joyful. Now, there’s the Christian joy, which is of resurrection, and there’s the general joy. Actually, I asked Santa this key question. Would you give presents to a child that wasn’t a Christian child? And he said, yes, certainly. My goal is I’m the patron saint of children, all children.
The Christian joy is about giving to others. Santa’s joy is about giving to others so they can give to others. So I think the two fit together. I have an essay and a book. In the book on how to give joy from a dear friend of mine, Howard Prager, who wrote a book about make someone’s day and Hauer is extremely Jewish, has some Christian entity in it, but it’s not a Christian book.
It’s a book about being a better you, taking care of the people around you, not getting out of your own skin, not thinking too much of yourself, rather giving to others so they can give still to others and appreciate the joy. So I asked Santa. How he felt about the commercialization of Christmas. And he said he doesn’t like it very much, but anything that makes Christmas last longer, he’s in favor of. I found Santa. I can’t say if he’s real or not. What I can say is he’s in my heart.
NM :
As we get ready to wrap up, we’d like to invite you to offer a final thought, given your time at the North Pole and your years at Disney. What key takeaways would you offer listeners seeking to create magic in their organizations?
Staying True To Entertainment While Navigating Audience Diversity & Representation [20:00]
LM :
I would say stick to the knitting. What I mean by that is Disney currently is, you may have noticed in all sorts of pickles because there’s a question of who they represent in the movies and how they represent and their films haven’t done that well is because half their audience has fled. They’ve picked up another half of the audience, but there’s no reason they can’t have the whole audience as an entertainer.
One of the things that I think is there’s great validity in politics and political position. There’s also great validity in entertaining people. And the two of them don’t have to be mixed. I devoted my life to entertaining. I figure people have enough troubles without me getting into any sort of opinions I might have about anything that’s going on in the world. And the whole idea of giving joy is really about appreciating people and not getting hung up in tit for tat and spats on Facebook and other entities. Just enjoy the life you’ve got because unlike those elves, we get old, let’s enjoy what we have.
One other thing I would like to say, my success has come from spotting the doors and walking through them. You never get ahead when you say no. If you see an opportunity, even if you’re afraid, the difference between creatives and non creatives is creatives see opportunity and non creatives see danger. So if a door opens for you, say yes, because your world will change. You’ll look back on it and say, I can’t imagine what it would have been if I hadn’t done that.
For me, I can’t imagine what life would be like if I hadn’t visited the North Pole and I’ll be forever thankful for it.
AD :
That’s a nice message as we get ready to wrap up, not only the program, but 2024. So thank you for sharing your stories, sharing some joy. And folks, if you are listening, it’s called The Santa System. And I know Lenn is saying there’s still time to order that and get it into stockings before Christmas. Please look at it.
LM :
You can find it at Amazon and on my website.
AD :
Len, thanks for joining us today. Thank you for having me. And as you can tell, I get all excited talking about Santa and what I witnessed, and I wish everybody could witness the same. And maybe your New Year’s resolution is to provide joy to the people around you.
NM :
Awesome! Well, that is it for us on today’s podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe to the NEGOTIATEx podcast if you haven’t already. And also Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
LM :
Happy New Year, everybody!
