Doug Lipp

Gordon Douglas Lipp (born 1955) known professionally as Doug Lipp is an American consultant, speaker and author based in Fair Oaks, California. He is recognized as an expert on topics of customer service, leadership, change management and global competitiveness. He is the CEO and president of G. Douglas Lipp & Associates, a consulting firm.

During the mid 1980's Lipp was head of the training department at the Disney University Corporate Headquarters and was also on the start-up team for the Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. In 2013, Lipp wrote Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World's Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees. As of 2013, Lipp has published eight books and given over 1500 keynote presentations.

Disney
Lipp joined Disney’s marketing department in Anaheim as a college intern in 1978. After completing his graduation, he was promoted into a Disney management training program and was recruited in a leadership role at the Disney University. While he was at Disney University, he helped in training Japanese executives for opening Tokyo Disneyland (TDL). Later on, he served as a member of the start-up team for TDL and for the next two years, he worked in the construction and operations of TDL. After completing his work at the TDL project, Lipp returned back to Disney’s headquarters in the U.S. and worked as head of the training department at Disney University. In the several positions he held at Disney, he worked alongside Van France and developed many Disney University programs and prepared training courses for Disney executives.

Intercultural Relations Institute and NEC
In the mid 1980's, Lipp left Disney and developed Intercultural Relations Institute (IRI) with C. Clarke, a professor from Stanford University. IRI is a private, Palo Alto-based consulting firm and think-tank. While working at IRI, Lipp consulted with corporations based in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. A few years later, he joined NEC as a consultant. In this position, he consulted NEC’s multi-national executives at their semiconductor plant in Northern California. Lipp left NEC after working there for seven years. During this time, he also worked with a local economic development group, Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO). As Chair of SACTO’s Pacific Rim committee, Doug served as an ambassador to the Sacramento region and helped in recruiting international companies to the Sacramento area. He also travelled to Japan multiple times to this end and helped in bringing Kikkoman Soy Sauce, Gekkeikan Sake and Mitsubishi Rayon to Sacramento.

G. Douglas Lipp & Associates
In 1993, he founded G. Douglas Lipp & Associates after conducting a 30-day training program for The Pebble Beach Company. G. Douglas Lipp & Associates is a consultancy that provides services in leadership, change management, customer service, and global competitiveness. In the early years, the firm primarily provided corporate training programs and leadership projects for large U.S. and multinational companies. Lipp conducted a series of seminars, showcasing his Disney experience, in 1994 and 1995. The success of these seminars led to his career as a professional keynote speaker. At present he works and travels from his home office, consulting, presenting speeches and conducting seminars around the world. The firm's corporate clients include Mercedes-Benz, Prudential, Cisco, Saks Fifth Avenue, McDonald’s, Jackson Rancheria casino and Coca-Cola.

Lipp’s wife Pam oversees the marketing and administration of the firm.

Speaker
As of 2013, Lipp has given over 1500 keynote presentations on five continents. Lipp is known for conducting Disney-style leadership and customer-service training for corporate executives as well as employees. In a single week in March 2013, he spoke to 6,000 McDonald’s franchise owners in Las Vegas and 550 human-resource managers in Toronto.

In June 2005, he was asked by The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in Jersey Shore to conduct a customer-service training program Shore to Please. As a part of the program, he conducted several two-hour classes. Employees from several organizations including The Golden Inn and Avalon participated in the training program. This program was organized in response to complaints by the visitors to Jersey Shore about general lack of civility and respect by those serving them.

Lipp was a speaker at 2004 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Chicago, 2004 Western Food Industry Exposition, National Center for Database Marketing Conference 2004, Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce 2006 annual meeting, ICUC '09, ParaFest’10 by Parature, Tucson Metro Chamber's Good Morning Tucson event 2011, and NRB Convention 2012

In 2013, he presented at HRPA Grand Valley Chapter Executive Night as well as Roseville 2013 by the Roseville Chamber In October 2013, he was invited to present at a one-day seminar in Dubai at the Grosvenor House. The seminar is slated to be on November 6, 2013. Lipp's presentation will be on 'Leadership and Service Magic'.

Books
Lipp has written several articles and eight books on leadership, customer service, and international business. Three of his books are in Japanese. Lipp wrote his first book titled The Success of Tokyo Disneyland in early 1980’s when he was working with the start-up team at Tokyo Disney Land. The Success of Tokyo Disneyland is available in Japanese. He is best known for writing The Changing Face of Today's Customer: How to Attract and Retain a Diverse Customer and Employee Base, a book about how businesses can thrive in an era of cultural diversity and global competitiveness, and Even Monkeys Fall from Trees: The Art and Science of Outstanding Customer Service a book that focuses on a balanced approach to service, leadership and teamwork. In 2008, he wrote Stuck in the Middle Seat on which he has based a presentation program titled Beyond Stuck in the Middle Seat - Welcome Change & Take Control.

Disney U
Lipp and McGraw Hill published Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World's Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees in March 2013. In this book, he has discussed how Disney University got its start and the secrets to its success. Doug interviewed Disney legends, Disney University founders, Disney executives and visionaries to write the book. The book features interviews with 25 former Disney executives, stories about corporation's early days and 13 lessons from Disney University.

Michael Eisner, former CEO and chairman of The Walt Disney Company wrote about Disney U, "When I first arrived at The Walt Disney Company, I was surprised to find I had to go back to school--at Disney University! There, I learned the fundamentals of guest service that consistently gave Disney a tremendous advantage in the marketplace. Now, anyone can know these secrets of success thanks to Doug Lipp's informative book. No matter what your business, the lessons taught at Disney University will prove invaluable."

Personal life
He is married to Pam Lipp (née Miller). They have three children; Allison, Amanda and Keith. Lipp is fluent in Japanese.