The Wisdom of Walt: Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland): Success Strategies for Everyone (from Walt Disney and Disneyland)

by Jeffrey A. Barnes

“What you do every day matters far more than what you do every now and again.” — Author Gretchen Rubin

“Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worry won’t make it any better.”

“It is good to have a failure while you’re young because it teaches you so much. For one thing it makes you aware that such a thing can happen to anybody, and once you’ve lived through the worst, you’re never quite as vulnerable afterward.” — Walt Disney

“I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the park (Disneyland). I want them to feel they’re in another world.”

poet T.S. Eliot, “We are distracted from distractions by distractions.”

We live in a world where we can’t just “be.” Instead, we are constantly seeking outside validation via our Facebook posts, Twitter accounts, and email messages. “Walt unplugged” is the Walt that came up with the idea for Disneyland. We need to start building berms, especially between our technology and ourselves. Otherwise, we will always be plugged in. Always be distracted. Technology will drown out our innermost thoughts and ideas, crush our creativity, and doom us to a life and world of status quo.

In his book The Success Principles, Jack Canfield reminds us of the importance of focus, “Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, your values and your goals.” Disneyland’s berm serves as a similar reminder.

“The berm creates your horizon and helps you define what belongs in your experience and what doesn’t.” — Randy Crane

“Focus is about saying no.” — Steve Jobs

Bank on Deposits, Not Withdrawals—For years, Main Street, U.S.A. housed the only bank (Bank of America) in the United States open on Sundays and holidays. Use it as your inspiration for treating every interaction with another individual as a transaction. We make deposits by being positive, easy to work with, and giving our undivided attention. We make withdrawals when we are negative, difficult, and easily distracted by other people or other things we consider obviously more important. Leave people feeling energized from having spent time with you, not exhausted.

“Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.”

Life is not about what happens to us. Life is always about how we respond to what happens to us.

Here is how the stories in an Inverted Life stack up: First Floor (full scale)—Gratitude, Thanksgiving, and Appreciation Second Floor (3/4 scale)—Visions, Dreams, Goals, Successes, Aspirations, and Accomplishments Third Floor (1/2 scale)—Problems, Challenges, Difficulties, and Obstacles

I call this The Inverted Life because most people spend their days thinking, focusing, and talking only about their problems. How much energy do you expend whining, moaning, and complaining about, well, everything? This is all waste that takes up valuable floor space. Criticism is a poor contractor for constructing an awesome life.

In The Success Principles, Canfield challenges us to turn appreciation into a game: “Learn to play the Appreciation Game. Look for things to appreciate in every situation. When you actively seek the positive, you become more appreciative and optimistic, which is a requirement for creating the life of your dreams. Look for the good.”

Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Know that your dreams are indeed possible. You just need to evoke the emotions of all your senses. Your success, your dreams, your destiny rest in the details of your imagination.

“Every child is blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as a muscle grows flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it.” — Walt Disney

“Our fantasies are the most revealing peepholes into who we are and what we think is awesome. No matter how out-there and ridiculous they may seem, they mean something to us, and usually represent our biggest and best versions of ourselves.” — Jen Sincero

Regarding his success, Walt once said with pride that, “Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.”

Walt wanted his cast members to have as many interactions with guests as possible, even his “ushers” or parking lot attendants. Walt ensured that they were trained to be passionate ambassadors for his Magic Kingdom and were committed to its key concepts. Once inside the park, guests needed an individual ticket or coupon for each attraction. One of the reasons why Walt valued the ticket booths and the ticket books they sold is because they ensured extra opportunities for cast members to interact with guests and “plus” or enhance their experience throughout the day. Can you imagine such an idea in today’s world of automation? Unfortunately, it appears that the goal of many leaders and their companies is to keep employees as far away from customers as possible. While there are many reasons for this distance, I want to challenge you with this question: Do you really trust your team members? If you do, then like Walt, shouldn’t your goal be for them to have more interactions with your customers, not less?

As explained by Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson in The Disney Way, Disneyland’s stellar reputation for phenomenal customer service was built on Walt’s belief that in the mind of the customer, every employee was the company.

“He [Walt] built a trust. No challenge ever scared you because of that trust.” — Imagineer Bob Gurr

Here are Walt’s words from the opening page of the original orientation program: Welcome to Disneyland. To make the dream of Disneyland come true took the combined skills and talents of artisans, carpenters, engineers, scientists and planners. The dream they built now becomes your heritage. It is you who will make Disneyland truly a magic kingdom and a happy place for the millions of guests who will visit us now and in future years. In creating happiness for our guests, I hope that you will find happiness in your work and in being an important part of Disneyland.

“I don’t pose as an authority on anything at all, I follow the opinions of the ordinary people I meet, and I take pride in the close-knit teamwork with my organization.” — Walt Disney

I want to share with you a simple strategy that has worked for me in my many years of leadership and team building. It isn’t difficult. It’s not expensive. Everyone can do it. I am not aware of a quicker way to build trust and rapport with your team than what I am about to share with you. Are you ready? Good! Here goes… WRITE PERSONAL THANK YOU NOTES. I suspect I know what you are already thinking. We live in the era of electronics. We live in the age of technology. Writing thank you notes, especially handwriting them, is obsolete. Nobody does it. If I have to be thankful, why can’t I just send a text or a tweet to that valued team member? I can always Like a post on Facebook or, if I need to exhibit some level of effort, fire off a computer-generated letter. You aren’t wrong. Nobody sends handwritten thank you notes anymore. And that is exactly my point.

“One of Walt’s strengths in his relationship with talent was that he made it clear he cared about us.” — Marty Sklar

Walt walked the park most frequently on Saturdays, the busiest day of the week. He wanted to see what his guests were seeing, hear what his guests were hearing, and experience what his guests were experiencing. Regardless of your business or company, job or position, make a commitment over this next week and plan for a “plussing” day. Be your own guest, consumer, and customer, and find at least three ways to enhance their experiences.

“Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.” — Walt Disney

How can you better help your employees understand that your customers are their paycheck?

Who is your happiest employee? How can you use him or her as an example for others? Attitude is everything. Sometimes, it really is that simple. Hire people who are happy!

Reflect on how you treat your team. Do you treat your team the way you expect your team to treat your customers? In my career, we like to say, “The campus takes on the personality of the dean.” Make sure your persona is what you want your team members portraying to your customers.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

Procrastination, the delay in doing what you know must be done, is kryptonite to your ability to be super successful. I say this from personal experience. I put the “pro” in procrastination. I am really, really good at it.

As a leader, I certainly wish I had known at twenty what I now know at fifty. It isn’t about being smart. You may well be the smartest person in your family, your class, or even your company. It is about knowledge. And knowledge comes with repetitions. One way we can speed this process up is by applying the lesson my students learned on our field trip to “Start Early.” You may be thinking, “Great advice. I wish I had known this thirty years ago. What good does it do me now?” I believe that we all have the opportunity to start early with each and every new day. Be it exercise, meditation, a creative project, or the task you least look forward to facing, all of the experts implore us to get these things done first. None of us can start our lives over. What you can do is commit to starting early each morning. Every day provides us with the opportunity to hit our own personal restart button. Each year represents a 365-page book that is unwritten and unedited.

“Everyone needs deadlines. Even the beavers. They loaf around all summer, but when they get faced with the winter deadline, they work like fury. If we didn’t have deadlines, we’d stagnate.” — Walt Disney

We all want our dreams and successes to be closer. Guess what? Today is much closer than tomorrow. So Start. Start Early.

“Most answers reveal themselves through doing, not thinking.” — Jen Sincero

“The difference in winning and losing is most often…not quitting.”

“Set for yourself any goal you want. Most of the pleasure will be had along the way, with every step that takes you closer.” — Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis

“Laughter is no enemy to learning.” — Walt Disney

Go Back to School—Regardless of how many degrees you do, or do not have, never stop learning. Walt used the world as his classroom so school was always in session.

“If you keep busy, your work might lead you into paths you might not expect. I’ve always operated like the princes of Serendip, who went on quests not knowing what they would find.” — Walt Disney

Be A Master Mentor—As you continue down your path toward success and enhance your leadership skills, you will develop lessons and experiences that others will need to know and only you can share.

“It’s the principal thing I hope to leave when I move on to greener pastures. If I can help provide a place to develop the talent of the future, I think I will have accomplished something.” — Walt Disney

Your library tells your story. During his lifetime, Walt Disney built his library both at home and at work. You need to follow Walt’s example. According to Kathy Merlock Jackson, in Walt Disney, from Reader to Storyteller, “Disney prided himself on being a self-made man and used books when he needed them, in a goal-oriented, self-directed way to obtain information, figure out how things worked, and achieve a purpose.”

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main…and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.” — Walt Disney

Walt Disney never earned a degree or diploma. Nonetheless, he left behind more than just his initials on an old school desk. His legacy includes that of educating and entertaining not only a country, but the world. What will your legacy be? What do you choose to leave behind? Make your mark by being an edutainer.

“Walt was never satisfied with the status quo. In his movie making or in his thinking about Disneyland.” This concept was foundational to his success and is reflected in his lifelong list of achievements. Like Walt and like Disneyland, you also need your next. Regardless of where you find yourself today, you must never stop and never settle. Keep advancing. Keep evolving. Keep adapting. Everyone needs a next.

As much as Walt wanted to build the “Community of Tomorrow,” the real lesson of EPCOT is the cutting-edge concept of always having a frontier. Granted, the idea of frontier, especially in the context of Disneyland, conjures up images and ideas from yesterday and years long ago. This concept is even echoed in Walt’s own words when he dedicated Frontierland: It is here that we experience the story of our country’s past. The color, romance and drama of frontier America as it developed from wilderness trails to roads, riverboats, railroads and civilization. A tribute to the faith, courage and ingenuity of our hearty pioneers who blazed the trails and made this progress possible. But what if we challenge the limits of our thinking? Perhaps a frontier can be far more than a place? What if we move the boundary and make frontier a mindset? I am challenging you to picture yourself as a pioneer. Pioneers make progress. Don’t just live off your stories of yesterday and accolades from years long ago. Instead, dedicate yourself to a life that is always moving forward. Pioneers do things they have never done and go places they have never been. Successful people know what Walt Disney knew—Frontierland is your friend.

Sir Isaac Newton, the man who discovered gravity and first compiled the laws of motion, which ultimately made going to the moon possible, gave us a first law of success: “Objects at rest tend to stay at rest. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion.” Success doesn’t mean you are always doing something bigger or better. You just have to keep moving forward.