Interactions among people from differing generations can resemble a cross- cultural relationship.
A New Kind of Diversity, Tim Elmore
With five generations in today’s workplace, we can either operate as separate isolationist countries with generation-specific dialects and talents coexisting on one continent, or we can find ways to bridge these generational borders and delight in learning from people both older and younger than us.
In music, art, science, and just about everywhere else, diversity – diversity of age, diversity of background, diversity of thought – ignites the creative spark. Why should it be any different in the workplace?
We’re all just mirrors and reflections of each other. The more I help you grow a skill, the more valuable you are on our team, and the more your newfound skills can be learned and copied by others, adding more value still.
Building bridges across generations will happen when both sides realize just how much they have to learn from each other. When wisdom flows in both directions, there’s a huge collateral benefit for the company manifesting as gains in creativity, productivity, and communication.
Creating connections across the decades, if not a generation, between those who share employer and a mission can open up all kinds of possibilities.
Collaboration Practices
1. Create Psychological Safety
Your capacity to collaborate will improve if you create team norms that help everyone feel that the group is there to support you and the mission, as opposed to undermining you.
2. Make Collaboration Part of the Culture
Make sure that all action items at the end of a meeting are shared by two people rather than one. This forces team members to work together, come to mutual agreement, and present their findings or solution as a united front.
3. Study a Personality Tool that Resonates with You
Even the most emotionally fluent among us can benefit from personality-typing tools to help us better read other and build stronger personal connections. They are especially valuable in looking at how group chemistry is affected by the alchemy of the various personality types within the group.
4. Craft an Implicit (or Explicit) Trade Agreement
Specific individuals on your team may be very knowledgeable about a subject in which you feel lost. Start building a connection with that person and when you feel like trust has been established, ask them if they can spend some time teaching you about this subject. Make it reciprocal, forcing you to ask the question, “What do I have to offer?”
When was the last time you invited a promising young leader the opportunity to have a front-row seat to experience a healthy, collaborative team interaction?
Tom Peters – Seth Godin – Leonardo da Vinci: a unique trio?
All of us come into the world curious.
I saw it in the birth and development of each of my four children. In different but equally valid ways, I see it in each of my eight grandchildren.
We’ve all got it; the challenge is using and developing it for our own benefit. I think our curiosity is at its highest from birth through our first few years. A baby’s every sense is attuned to exploring and learning – everything is an experiment. They don’t know it yet; to them it’s just survival. Then in a few months, or years, their curiosity becomes vocal:
• Daddy, how do birds fly?
• Mommy, what does a worm eat?
• Why? How? When? What?
It’s easy to lose our curiosity as we grow into adulthood – after all, we think we know it all (or at least everything we need to know.)
Not really.
Great, growing, learning minds go on asking confounding questions with the same intensity as a curious three-year old. A childlike sense of wonder and insatiable curiosity will compel you to always be a learner.
From Seth Godin:
I’ve noticed that people who read a lot of blogs and a lot of books also tend to be intellectually curious, thirsty for knowledge, quicker to adopt new ideas and more likely to do important work. I wonder which comes first, the curiosity or the success?
From Tom Peters:
Swallow your pride, especially if you are a “top” boss. Ask until you understand. The “dumber” the question, the better! Ask! Ask! Ask! (Then ask again!). Above all, sweat the details – the weird, incomprehensible “little” thing that appears in Footnote #7 to Appendix C that doesn’t make sense to you. Probe until you find out what it means.
From Leonardo da Vinci:
Do you not see how many and varied are the actions which are performed by men alone? Do you not see how many different kinds of plants and animals there are? What variety of hilly and level places, and streams and rivers, exist? I roam the countryside searching for answers to things I do not understand. These questions engage my thought throughout my life.
A few questions for you:
• How curious are you?
• When was the last time you sought knowledge simply for the pursuit of truth?
• Do you know curious (really curious) people?
• Do you want to be a lifelong learner?
Without “why?” there can be no “here’s how to make it better.”
A question, thoughtfully conceived, can illuminate a room, a company, a life.
Chip Conley, Wisdom @ Work
Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader
During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.
It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.
Many leaders view retirement – whether a few years or a few decades away – as a finish line.
But increasingly these leaders, especially for those who are closer to retirement, are finding that being too young to retire but too old to find a job has become a critical issue.
Retirement doesn’t have to be the last great thing a leader does. It can be the gateway to a leader’s greatest season of influence.
We may live ten years longer than our parents and may even work twenty years longer, yet power is moving to those ten years younger.
Are leaders in this age group facing a decades long “irrelevancy gap”?
Many of us feel like we’re growing whole rather than growing old. What if there was a new, modern archetype of elderhood, one that was worn as a badge of honor, not cloaked in shame?
Experience is making a comeback. Learn how to repurpose your wisdom.
At age 52, after selling the company he founded and ran as CEO for 24 years, rebel boutique hotelier Chip Conley was looking at an open horizon in midlife. Then he received a call from the young founders of Airbnb, asking him to help grow their disruptive start-up into a global hospitality giant. He had the industry experience, but Conley was lacking in the digital fluency of his 20-something colleagues. He didn’t write code, or have an Uber or Lyft app on his phone, was twice the age of the average Airbnb employee, and would be reporting to a CEO young enough to be his son. Conley quickly discovered that while he’d been hired as a teacher and mentor, he was also in many ways a student and intern. What emerged is the secret to thriving as a mid-life worker: learning to marry wisdom and experience with curiosity, a beginner’s mind, and a willingness to evolve, all hallmarks of the “Modern Elder.”
In a world that venerates the new, bright, and shiny, many of us are left feeling invisible, undervalued, and threatened by the “digital natives” nipping at our heels. But Conley argues that experience is on the brink of a comeback. Because at a time when power is shifting younger, companies are finally waking up to the value of the humility, emotional intelligence, and wisdom that come with age. And while digital skills might have only the shelf life of the latest fad or gadget, the human skills that mid-career workers possess–like good judgment, specialized knowledge, and the ability to collaborate and coach – never expire.
A SIMPLE SOLUTION
You don’t have to be on the other side of fifty to find the concept of becoming a “Modern Elder” relevant. The age at which we’re feeling self-consciously “old” is now creeping into some people’s thirties.
Digital platforms are disrupting virtually all industries, and the result is that more and more companies are relentlessly pursuing young hires, seemingly placing high DQ (digital intelligence) above all other skills.
The problem is that many of these young digital leaders are being thrust into positions of power with little experience or guidance.
At the same time, there exists a generation of older workers with invaluable skills – high EQ (emotional intelligence), good judgment born out of decades of experience, specialized knowledge, and a vast network of contacts.
With more generations in the workplace than ever before, elders have so much to offer those younger than them.
What if Modern Elders were the secret ingredient for the visionary organizations of tomorrow? What lessons must a Modern Elder learn?
Evolve
If we’re too wedded to the past and to the costume of a traditional elder – making wise pronouncements from the pulpit – we aren’t likely to grow much of a congregation.
As we enter midlife, we embark upon a creative evolution that amplifies our specialness while editing out the extraneous. After a lifetime of accumulation, we can concentrate on what we do best, what gives us meaning, and what we want to leave behind.
Sometimes, reframing your identity is not an internal shift in your values, but an external rearranging of your life to once again give priority to that which is most life-affirming for you.
Learn
There is great value in adopting a beginner’s mind and how to use this fresh perspective to increase your ability to learn.
Our world is awash in knowledge, but often wanting in wisdom. To stay relevant, it’s not just about learning something new, it’s also about learning new ways to access the information at our fingertips.
Teaching and learning are symbiotic. You can’t be a teaching legend without living on the learning edge.
Collaborate
By leveraging your ability to collaborate, you can make something bigger.
With five generations in today’s workplace, we can either operate as separate isolationist countries with generation-specific dialects and talents coexisting on one continent, or we can find ways to bridge these generational borders and delight in learning from people both older and younger than us.
Counsel
A byproduct of being seen as the elder at work is becoming the confidant of younger employees who want to bathe in your fountain of wisdom and are likely to be more candid with you as they don’t see you as a competitive threat.
While collaboration is a team sport, counseling is one-on-one, becoming a confident to your younger colleagues.
Smart companies know that while their competitors may outsource “counsel” to outside coaches who may offer some general wisdom, being a wise advisor can be so much more effective when an advisor is a wise elder who is in the trenches day to day with the advisee
Author Chip Conley devotes extensive help to leaders who want to go through the four lessons listed above. In order to get a taste of these resources, set aside some time to consider each of the following:
Evolve
Ask a minimum of a half-dozen coworkers, friends, or family to answer the following question: “When you think of me in good times or bad, what are the core qualities that I exhibit? What are the positive ones? And what are the more challenging ones?”
Before you read anyone else’s answers, answer these yourself, being as candid as you can, knowing you don’t need to share this with anyone else.
Can you identify your identity?
What are the durable traits or qualities you want your reputation built on?
What qualities are you ready to part ways with?
The capacity for change with a ballast of continuity defines the Modern Elder.
Learn
While it contradicts the stereotype that older people become more narrow-minded and set in their ways, there’s glorious evidence that post-fifty, many elders return to a childlike sense of wonder.
How can you become more curious?
What’s a subject – unrelated to your work – in which you could become one of the world’s leading experts?
How will your create necessary time in your schedule for wondering about the world?
Essential for a Modern Elder is the desire to experience something new and unexpected rather than regress into what is comfortable and familiar.
Collaborate
Your capacity to collaborate will improve if you create team norms that help everyone feel that the group is there to support you and the mission, as opposed to undermining you. Here are a few group norms that have proven to be effective:
Try to encourage everyone to participate in group discussions, especially those representing diverse demographics and viewpoints.
Lead by example by not interrupting teammates during conversations and giving credit to people for their earlier idea as you built upon it.
Call out intergroup conflicts so you can resolve matters in person.
As a Modern Elder, we have the capacity to be a “first-class noticer,” paying close attention to what is happening around us, and helping make sure everyone on the team is contributing.
Counsel
You may learn that your true value comes in those times when you get the counselor role right. Here are some best practices in counseling:
Listen both to the story and for the story and beware of pre-judging.
Assuming it feels appropriate, self-reveal something about your history that will help others understand they’re not alone.
Prove your loyal – first and foremost by explicitly committing to confidentiality.
Spiritually radiant, physically vital, and socially responsible Modern Elders feel generative when they create the space for those younger than them to accelerate their learning by means of providing wise counsel.
Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader
During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.
It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.
The time to panic is the time when you can still do something about it.
Taking action today on a long-term problem is easier, cheaper, more effective, and far less time-consuming than waiting for it to come an emergency.
Why not start panicking in advance? Why not start taking emergency measures while there’s still a chance that those emergency measures will actually accomplish something?
Every organization that gets into trouble falters because it waited too long to do the stuff that should have been done a long time ago. Panic early, not late, and your fire drills will actually pay off.
One can be inspired by research as well as immersed in it for inspiration. Rhonda Counts, Show Producer, Walt Disney Imagineering Florida
How you do research is dependent upon where you are in the process. Disney’s Imagineers value the story’s intent and the importance of being surrounded with or immersed in the story’s environment.
Here’s an example of creative immersion from one of my past projects:
As you can see, there was a definite pirate’s theme going on in part of my office. It’s both from previous work and new work in process at the time. I’ve used the theme of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” storyline – both the attraction and the movies – to develop training resources and presentations in the area of Guest Experiences.
Specifically, I created a tool – the Guest Experience Compass. And how better to demonstrate it, than using Jack Sparrow’s compass? I also created the Guest Experience Code – and based it on the storyline of the Pirates Code. Of course, both of these tools had to be introduced and used by a pirate – the Navigator – in a fully immersive learning environment. The result?
As a result of my pirate “adventure,” I created a series of Guest Experience learning activities lasting from a half day to two days.
And it doesn’t stop with pirates.
There’s the fact that my office is, in fact, a Disney museum (a title given by my granddaughter).
It’s continually changing as I acquire new books and other “resources” that help my inspiration.
It’s no secret that I am a Disney fanatic of the first degree! I had an early start in the 60s, both from watching “The Wonderful World of Disney” and benefiting from my father, who as a Gulf gasoline dealer received many promotional tie-ins from Disney movies.
You must also add to that mix over 100 days of staying in Disney properties (both land and sea) in the last 12 years. Friends know that I can’t go long in almost any conversation without weaving in a personal Disney experience to illustrate a point.
Finally, it’s anchored by the Disney library of over 450 books (and growing!) noted above: I am literally immersed in all things Disney. As I research and work on various projects – especially Hospitality – I find great inspiration through the many resources at hand. My immersion is not limited to the visual and tactile – at any given time, the soundtrack of a Disney movie, or the background music from one of Disney’s theme parks is playing in the background.
Here’s how Disney Imagineers recommend immersion into an environment:
Select a project that you want to immerse yourself in. Make a list of all the elements of the project and find samples (the larger the better) that represent these elements. Find a place in your surroundings to display the samples so you can immerse yourself in them.
For example, if you wanted to fix up a vintage car, surround yourself with large detailed pictures of its original interior and exterior, very large color samples for its seat cushions, dashboard, etc., and exterior paint job, pictures of various locations you would drive to, and of course, spray the space with new car scent.
Research leads to inspiration.
And now, to visually introduce (and tease a new project in the works):
More to come!
part of a series of ideas to help shape and tone your creative muscles
As a first generation, original Star Wars fan, I watched the movie in early June 1977 – and proceeded to watch it 3 more times over the next 10 days, each time watching or listening for a different aspect of the movie.
The reason?
I had already read the book.
A paperback book ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster and based on the screenplay by George Lucas was first published in the U.S. as Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker in November 1976 by Ballantine Books, six months before the theatrical release of the film. A second (Splinter of the Mind’s Eye) followed a few months later.
That was my introduction to Star Wars.
Needless to say, in the 47 years since, I’ve not only followed the development of the Star Wars universe personally, I’ve raised a Star Wars family.
Movies in the theater, LEGO sets by the dozen, VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, CDs of the soundtracks, books, theme park visits, and more – you name it, Star Wars has been a part of our greater household for decades.
Last year, though, my wife Anita and I experienced Star Wars in a new way – in a concert by the Charlotte Symphony.
With the full-length movie playing on a huge screen suspended above the full orchestra, the effect was mind-blowing.
Music has always been an integral part of the Star Wars movies. With the brilliant composing of John Williams, all nine Star Wars movies have been made greater by the music.
As a matter of fact, the second time I watched the original Star Wars movie in 1977, it was with my eyes closed, just so I could soak in the music.
And do, here we are exactly a year later, and Anita and I will be joined by my daughter and son-in-law on March 18 to see The Return of the Jedi.
I may keep my eyes open, but it will be to sneak a peek at the conductor and orchestra, as they utilize their talents to bring the movie to life once again.
For 100 years, the Walt Disney Company’s passion has been storytelling. From one generation to the next, the greatest stories live forever.
The Walt Disney Company will mark its 100th anniversary in 2023, timed to its founding by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney on October 16, 1923. The year 2023 will celebrate the journey and storytelling of Disney’s creative visionaries across the decades, as well as the fans and families who have brought Disney into their hearts to create cherished memories during the past 100 years.
And of course, I will kick off my personal version of that celebration with three new Disney history books, just released for the occasion.
As part of the festivities, this must-have coffee table book showcases the company’s history and rich legacy – past, present, and future – through vibrant voices and rare Disney concept art and photographs.
On October 16, 1923, Walt Disney and his brother Roy founded what we now know to be The Walt Disney Company. Walt’s passion and vision continues to inspire creative development across the company. As a result, Disney characters – and their stories – have touched the lives of generations of fans. They encourage a belief that dreams really can come true.
As the official companion to the touring exhibition by Walt Disney Archives and SC Exhibitions, The Story of Disney: 100 Years of Wonder serves as a treasure trove for pop culture enthusiasts, artists, art collectors, and Disney fans.
This must-have biography tells the story of Walt Disney’s life – told as no other book can!
Walt Disney is an American hero. From Mickey Mouse to Disneyland, he changed the face of American culture. His is a success story like no other: a man who developed animated film into an art form and made a massive contribution to the folklore of the world.
After years of research, respected Hollywood biographer Bob Thomas produced a definitive biography of the man behind the legend of Disney: the unschooled cartoonist from Kansas City who when bankrupt on his first movie venture and developed into the genius who produced unmatched works of animation, and ultimately was the creative spirit of an international entertainment empire that has enchanted generations.
Complete with a collection of rare photographs, Walt Disney: An American Original is a fascinating and inspirational work that captures the spirit of Walt Disney.
This Commemorative Edition includes new:
introductions from Jeff Kurtti and Marcy Carriker Smothers
a 32-page photo insert with rare behind-the-scenes photos
endnotes to add further context and connect Walt’s story to today
This special edition quote book showcases insights from Walt Disney, along with rare Disney photographs.
Walt Disney once said, “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main. . . .” Never has this been truer than within these pages.
This collection of quotations from the co-founder of The Walt Disney Company ranges from the well-known to the obscure, but all are assured to entertain, enlighten, and inspire. His words have been gleaned from publications, productions, and interviews over the breadth of his amazing career. Some are simple nuggets of homespun wisdom, while others are statements of knowledge gained while he crafted the enchanting films, televisions shows, and unparalleled experiences that are so beloved by audiences the world over.
The Official Walt Disney Quote Book has been compiled for anyone eager to learn more about a man who had such an incredible, positive impact on his own time and on the future yet to be – Walt Disney, the Showman of the World.
Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader
During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.
It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.
I’ve alway loved learning about history – in particular, American history. In addition to the hundreds of books I’ve read over the years, both my undergraduate and graduate degrees are accompanied by a minor in history.
My love of American history was set in motion by virtue of the fact that I was born in the spring of 1958, thus placing me in the high school graduating class of 1976 – the 200th celebration of America’s declaration of independence from England.
There were many activities from that senior year that hold a special place in my mind, but the one near the top involves Disney – and serves as a great connection to this week’s Wednesday Weekly Reader.
For over 65 years, Disney’s theme parks have been important locations for the formation and negotiation of the collective memory of the American narrative. Disney’s success as one of America’s most prolific storytellers, its rise as a symbol of America itself, and its creation of theme parks that immerse visitors in three-dimensional versions of certain “American” values and historic myths have both echoed and shaped the way the American people see themselves.
Like all versions of the American narrative, Disney’s vision serves to reassure us, affirm our shared values, and unite a diverse group of people under a distinctly American identity – or at least, it did.
The book shows how the status Disney obtained led the public to use them both as touchstones of identity and as spaces to influence the American identity writ large. This volume also examines the following:
How Disney’s original cartoons and live-action entertainment offerings drew from American folk history and ideals
How their work during World War II cemented them as an American symbol at home and abroad
How the materialization of the American themes already espoused by the brand at their theme parks created a place where collective memory lives
How legitimization by presidents and other national figures gave the theme parks standing no other entertainment space has
How Disney has changed alongside the American people and continues to do so today.
The book explores how five specific factors have worked in concert over time to transform Disney’s theme parks from simple amusement parks to places where the collective memory of the American narrative is shaped.
My Disney experience during the 60s – early 70s was limited to television and movies. But when 1975 rolled around, something magical happened.
Disney’s “America on Parade” was a unique parade at Disneyland and Walt Disney World from 1975-1976, honoring the United States of America on the occasion of its bicentennial anniversary in 1976.
I was a senior in high school that year – the class of ’76. Many activities planned for that class year revolved around celebrating the Bicentennial.
And this happened…
During the parade, recorded marching music playing from speakers in the floats was mixed with the same melodies played by live bands Disney had invited from high schools across the country.
The Mount Juliet High School “Band of Gold” was invited to participate in America on Parade.
Marching down Main Street, playing some of the music I love best – now that was something special.
As the Walt Disney Company celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, a look back at both the life of Walt Disney and the company he founded are intertwined with the concepts, images, and spirit of America.
Walt Disney had a deep love and respect for America:
Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and up my spine is growing this red, white, and blue stripe.
As author Bethanee Bemis states in her book, “Disney theme parks are some of the foremost places where the nation consumes its collective memory of the American Experience, where they see many of the stories and cultural myths that make up the American national narrative.”
Disney is in the business of selling memories. Not just memories of family vacations, but memories of stories from American history.
Bethanee Bemis
According to Bemis, “Walt Disney was not the first to use history to inspire his storytelling nor the first to turn history into a physical experience. He was, however, the first to use a brand that had itself already become symbolic of a nation’s history to create that physical experience.”
Disney Theme Parks and America’s National Narratives is a scholarly work (the author is a museum specialist at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian) that is an important addition to the collective body of Disney history.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of history, media, cultural studies, American studies and tourism – and of course, Disney nerds like me.
Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader
During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.
It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.
If you read about the origins and development of Disneyland in the early 1950s leading up to its opening in July 1955, the well-known names start with Walt and Roy Disney, followed by a small-but-influential group of Disney studio team members who used their imaginative talents to transfer ideas from the screen to reality.
Of course, that is an important part of the history of Disney – we wouldn’t have the parks without their creative brilliance.
But it’s one thing to create a place like Disneyland, and a whole other thing to run a place like Disneyland.
During the final, frenzied weeks of construction leading to opening day on July 17, 1955, the name Dick Nunis appears in the history of Disneyland – a new college graduate, hired to be a “gofer” for Van Arsdale France, who created the first orientation and training program for employees.
Nunis had met Walt Disney several years before (Walt’s daughter Diane was a classmate of Nunis, and was dating her husband-to-be Ron Miller, a teammate of Nunis’ at USC). That memorable first encounter included a ride on “The Carolwood Pacific Railroad” – a miniature train with over 1/2 mile of track circling Walt Disney’s home (one of the four foundational origin stories of Disneyland, but that’s for another day).
That train ride with Walt Disney foreshadowed the future of Dick Nunis, as he progressed from a gofer to chairman of Walt Disney Attractions, a forty-four year career at Disney on the operations side of the parks.
Walt’s Apprentice: Keeping the Disney Dream Alive is the memoir of Disney Legend Dick Nunis. It is a warm personal reminiscence of learning directly from Walt Disney for 12 years, followed by more than 30 years devoted to championing his vision and standards as the Disney empire grew.
The story covers Disney’s highlights, including the 1960 Winter Olympics, 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair, and the development and opening of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Epcot, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
Unlike other Disney books, this story is told from the perspective of operations rather than Imagineering. It touches on decisions that defined the guest experience and Disney’s reputation for quality in areas ranging from capacity and people-moving, training, delivering a consistent “good show,” food service, and more.
This first-person narrative is presented as a series of wide-ranging vignettes. Some vignettes focus on personal, character-shaping events, such as the injury that ended his collegiate football career. Other stories touch on national events, such as Nikita Khrushchev’s derailed visit to Disneyland, the decision to close the park following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan’s assistance in expediting the visa process for cast members staffing the Epcot World Showcase. Few people have enjoyed a life so immersed in Disney magic.
These stories share that magic through the memories of one of the original doers and dreamers.
In my personal research and study of the history of the Disney company, I had long noticed the name of Dick Nunis and the many contributions he made at each stage of his Disney career.
When I learned that the long-rumored book from Nunis was being published, it went to the top of my list.
It did not disappoint!
As one of a very few individuals still alive who worked closely with Walt Disney, Walt’s Apprentice chronicles how Nunis learned directly from Walt Disney for a dozen years, then spent the next thirty years devoted to championing Walt’s vision and standards as Disney grow into a worldwide enterprise, “creating happiness” for young and old alike.
If you want to read a first-person narrative on Disney with a focus on the operational side, Walt’s Apprentice is a must.
Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader
During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.
It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.
Note: This is a revised version of a post first published in early 2020. With the huge announcement earlier this week of the replacement of Disney CEO Bob Chapek by former CEO Bob Iger, I thought I would revisit the post before publishing a new one on the return of Bob Iger, what that means to the Disney company, and how hard it is to continue a founder’s vision.
For many people today, Walt Disney is not seen as a man, but instead as a nameless, faceless entertainment giant which owns the intellectual properties of the Disney Studios, Pixar Studios, Marvel, LucasFilms, and Fox. While that is all true, the man named Walter Elias Disney rose from humble beginnings to found the studio that bears his name in 1923.
After several years of barely scraping by and one disastrous setback, Disney put together a string of successes. By the early 1930s, Disney had reached what many industry leaders considered the pinnacle of success for an animated short features studio.
However, Walt Disney wasn’t at the top; he was just getting started.
I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.
Walt Disney
Not all visionaries are leaders, but all leaders are visionaries. You can’t lead people without a vision of where you are taking them.
What is your dream, your vision?
According to author Pat Williams, great leaders are people of vision. Without a vision, how will you know what success looks like? How will you know how to get there? Your vision is your definition of success.
Look at the quote by Walt Disney above: “I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.”
Author Pat Williams breaks the quote down as follows:
“I dream.” Walt began with a vision, a dream of the future.
“I test my dreams against my beliefs.” Walt made sure his vision was consistent with his beliefs, his core values, and his integrity.
“I dare to take risks.” He acted boldly, betting on himself to win.
“I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.” He focused all his energies, and those of his organization, on turning his dreams into reality.
Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966. Although the purchase of land for what would become Walt Disney World had been completed, infrastructure work had barely begun. After concentrating on theme parks for years, the quality of movies and animation had declined. Leadership of the company passed to several individuals for a few years, then to Michael Eisner for twenty years.
After rising through the ranks of ABC Television and Disney, Iger became the COO of Disney in 2000, and then in 2005, Iger was named chairman and then CEO of The Walt Disney Company.
Put yourself in Iger’s shoes, if you can imagine: How do you assume the legacy of Walt Disney?
In the fall of 2019, Robert Iger, chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, released a memoir/leadership book, based on his forty-five year career in the media and entertainment world.
Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it, and think bigger—think global—and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets.
Today, Disney is the largest, most admired media company in the world, counting Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox among its properties. Its value is nearly five times what it was when Iger took over, and he is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful CEOs of our era.
In The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger shares the lessons he learned while running Disney and leading its 220,000-plus employees, and he explores the principles that are necessary for true leadership.
This book is about the relentless curiosity that has driven Iger for forty-five years, since the day he started as the lowliest studio grunt at ABC. It’s also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership Iger pursues, from a deep friendship with Steve Jobs in his final years to an abiding love of the Star Wars mythology.
“The ideas in this book strike me as universal” Iger writes. “Not just to the aspiring CEOs of the world, but to anyone wanting to feel less fearful, more confidently themselves, as they navigate their professional and even personal lives.”
My experiences from day one have all been in the media and entertainment world, but these strike me as universal ideas: about fostering risk taking and creativity; about building a culture of trust; about fueling a deep and abiding curiosity in oneself and inspiring that in the people around you; about embracing change rather than living in denial of it; and about operating, always, with integrity and honesty in the world, even when that means facing things that are difficult to face.
Bob Iger
As Iger neared the end of his 45+ year career and began to think back on what he had learned, he came up with ten principles that struck him as true leadership:
Optimism – A pragmatic enthusiasm for what can be achieved.
Courage – The foundation of risk-taking is courage.
Focus – Allocating time, energy, and resources to the strategies, problems, and projects that are of highest importance and value is extremely important.
Decisiveness – All decisions, no matter how difficult, and and should be made in a timely way.
Curiosity – A deep and abiding curiosity enables the discovery of new people, places, and ideas.
Fairness – Strong leadership embodies the fair and decent treatment of people. Empathy and accessibility are essential.
Thoughtfulness – Taking the time to develop informed opinions.
Authenticity – Be genuine and honest. Truth and authenticity breed respect and trust.
Relentless pursuit of perfection – A refusal to accept mediocrity or make excuses for something being “good enough.”
Integrity – High ethical standards for all things, big and small.
How can Iger’s list of principles inspire you to be a better leader?
A little backstory on the acquisition book: This is the book everyone who has even a passing interest in the Disney Corporation was waiting for. Since becoming a part of Disney’s senior management team in 1996, and especially since becoming CEO in 2005, Iger’s ideas and the values he embraced have led to the reinvention and resurgence of one of the most beloved companies in the world.
Under Iger’s leadership, Disney acquired four powerhouse companies – Pixar, Marvel, LucasFilm, and 21st Century Fox.
Iger donated proceeds of from his book to educational initiatives aimed at fostering more diversity in the field of journalism.
When the rumors of his book first came out in the fall of 2016, it went on my watch list, and true to Amazon’s promise, it was delivered the day it was released on September 23, 2019.
Handing off the CEO role to Bob Chapek in early 2020, Iger remained executive chairman (till the end 2020) and chairman of the Board of The Walt Disney Company (till the end of 2021).
And now coming soon, the sequel to Bob Iger’s leadership post of the Walt Disney Company…
27gen.com 