by Martin Sklar
In leading a discussion, and especially in speechmaking, I tried always to recall this warning: “He has a way of saying nothing, in a way that leaves nothing unsaid.” In other words, remember that famous KISS: keep it simple, stupid.
Behind the Concierge desk at a hotel I stayed in, I saw this sign about service:
THE ANSWER IS YES. WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?
It reminded me of the “creative service” we all learned: that we could never say “no” to Walt Disney. It was retired Admiral Joe Fowler, who headed the construction of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, who always practiced this philosophy. When Bob Gurr handed his design for the Disneyland submarines to Joe Fowler, with no idea about how they could be built and with Walt questioning their doability, the admiral gave this response: “Can do, Walt!” After the meeting, Bob Gurr asked Joe Fowler how he could be so positive about building the submarines, based on Bob’s simple sketch. “I don’t have a clue,” Joe Fowler responded. “But we’ll figure it out.” And “we” did.
I could easily write a new “Leader’s Bible” around these concepts. The answer is Yes—what was the question? Can do! Be optimistic—if you are not, who will be?
In our creation of enchanting and fantastic three-dimensional worlds, I often recalled that Disneyland actually grew out of Walt Disney’s disenchantment with the amusements he visited with daughters Diane and Sharon.
The luckiest and smartest leaders I watched as role models as I grew up at Disney always surrounded themselves with people who were smarter, and more talented and productive than they were. I wanted to be sure that my direct reports, the creative leaders of Imagineering, knew how much I valued their knowledge, insights, ideas, and experiences, so I established a weekly Creative Leaders Lunch meeting, held every Wednesday, with those project leaders. These were especially important as we grew and spread out around the world.
These lunches were both “formal” and “informal”: I wanted each leader to share something important happening on their projects; perhaps a challenge about which their colleagues could offer a new perspective. But I also provided time for anyone to talk about personal experiences: a movie or theatrical play they enjoyed, an artist whose exhibit they admired.
One key principle we practiced in those lunch meetings—in fact, in all Imagineering meetings: no idea is a bad idea! Okay, we all know that’s not true. But what happens when you put someone down in a “Blue Sky” brainstorming meeting? As soon as you tell someone, “That’s a stupid idea,” you will probably never get a fresh, excited thought from that person again. You have just said, “You have a very short leash—we don’t need your off-the-wall ideas.”
So many times, after one of these “stupid” comments, someone else in the same meeting would come to my office the next day and begin the conversation with, “You know that dumb idea Jim suggested in the meeting yesterday? Well, suppose instead of ‘xyz’ we tried ‘xyz plus zyx’—I think there’s a potential in that.” And we were off and running to test something new that “stupid idea” had sparked.
Staying in touch with the “outside world” of entertainment, museum exhibits, fashion—all the arts—was, and is, extremely relevant. I often recalled that prescient IBM advertisement I had pinned on my office wall during the development of Epcot Center: THE FUTURE IS A MOVING TARGET! How true! And it’s moving faster and faster. Remember: the last three letters of trend are E-N-D!
Children learn early in school about the concept of sharing experiences. Walt was right again: “Adults,” he said, “are only kids grown up.” Sharing ideas and experiences—wherever we find them—is a leader’s responsibility.
“At the end of the day” (thank you, Frank Wells) that one thought—sharing ideas and experiences—may be the most important advice I can pass on from my half century creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms, and before that, the wonderful educational opportunities I enjoyed at UCLA.
How can I possibly top the advice of Coach John Wooden in his “Preseason Letter to the Team” of July 23, 1971, reprinted in the McGraw-Hill 2007 book The Essential Wooden by John Wooden and Steve Jamison. Coach Wooden wrote:
If each of you makes every effort to develop to the best of your ability, follow the proper rules of conduct and activity most conducive to good physical condition, subordinate individual acclaim for the welfare of the team, and permit no personality clashes or difference of opinion with teammates or coaches to interfere with your teammates’ efforts, it will be a very rewarding year.
At the end of that season, the UCLA basketball team captured the eighth of ten national championships they won under Coach Wooden’s leadership.
I keep a framed copy of Walt Disney’s “Four C’s” on my home-office wall, and I read it every day. I had discovered a poorly written version of this and rewrote it—then got Walt to record it this way for that “Disney Image” presentation in Florida. Now I believe this is the accepted quote. It pretty much says it all:
Somehow I can’t believe there are many heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true. This special secret can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy, and the greatest of these is Confidence. When you believe a thing, believe in it all the way. Have Confidence in your ability to do it right. And work hard to do the best possible job.
Life is like a blank sheet of paper. You never know what it can be until you put something on it. So Dream It! Do It! And work hard to do the best possible job.
What are you waiting for?