GNYADA March 2015 Newsletter

18 Drive Innovation, Disney Style

Whether it was his senior managers or maintenance staff at Disneyland, Walt Disney often spent time chatting with his employees, proactively seek- ing their ideas and input on every- thing from characters for movies to the operations of the park itself. Disney understood a fundamental business principle: Everyone has valuable information to share. He considered all employees to be sources of inspiration for new ways of thinking—no matter if it was a fresh perspective on an existing expe- rience or something entirely new. A great example of this comes from Disney Interactive and Disney Consumer Products, which recently partnered to host their first-ever Hack Day Event . In case you are wonder- ing... isn’t a “hack” something nega- tive? Not necessarily! Today, hack is often used to describe “a novel or unique way of doing something.”

an official Hackathon, a three-day competition between innovators and entrepreneurs as they try to re-imag- ine the future of car shopping. Information on attending can be found at www.hackomotive.com . But even if you’re unable to attend this event, let your imagination and that of your employees run wild to try to find innovative ways to improve dealership practices. But the key to a successful outcome lies within the organization itself— specifically in its leaders’ willingness and ability to demonstrate their belief in the principle: Everyone has valu- able information to share. Leaders must be fully open and receptive to ideas from employees and must take deliberate steps to engage them in the idea-generation process.

During the Hack Day Event , more than 350 Cast Members spent the day focusing on connecting the physical and digital worlds, using a variety of platforms and technologies. At the end of the competition, a total of 45 hacks were created and presented for patent review. The top teams were awarded the chance to share their projects with Disney leaders, who then selected the winning ideas to go into the production pipeline. So can a Hack Day be adapted and applied to your dealership? Absolutely. If you’ve encountered a unique business challenge that requires creative thinking and innova- tive ideas, tailoring a Hack Day could lead to some promising solutions. And involving employees across a variety of departments at your dealer- ship creates loyalty and self- confidence.

GNYADA thanks Disney Institute for its contributions to this article.

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2015 Social Security Booklet Enclosed

19

We are pleased to present GNYADA’s new Social Security guide in this mailing. How the New 2015 Social Security Changes Affect

$117,000—an increase of $1,500. The FICA tax rate increase of 2013 remains in effect for 2015. Under the Affordable Care Act, high-income employees meeting IRS threshold wages must have an additional 0.9% (Medicare Tax) withheld from wages. See the chart below for threshold amounts:

You clearly answers your most common questions.

Employers and employees in 2015 each contribute 7.65% of wages up to $118,500, up from 2014’s

Filing Status

Threshold Amount

Married filing jointly

$250,000

Married filing separate

$125,000

Single

$200,000

Head of household (with qualifying person)

$200,000

Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child

$200,000

Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association • www.gnyada.com

The Newsletter • March 2015 11