Who are you listening to?

I recently saw an advertisement for the Disney Institute.  The advertisement was talking about how they can improve and help businesses to "rethink customer service".  I don't know what your Disney experiences have entailed, but some of my worst customer service experiences have been delivered at the hands of Disney.  Yet, people will pay $300 (or more) for a half day seminar from Disney on how to improve customer service.  How did Disney 'earn' this right? Being the biggest? The most money? The most visible?

I couldn't help but wonder, in the fire service, who are we listening to? 

Are we listening to the people only based on their position, title, pay grade, or status? Or are we listening to the people (regardless of any of the above) that are actively "practicing what they preach"?  If you are the one doing the talking, are you just talking, or are you eating your own cooking?