“We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, because we’re curious….We’re always exploring and experimenting. We have never lost our faith in family entertainment-stories that make people laugh, stories about warm and human things….We’re not out to make a fast dollar with gimmicks. We’re interested in doing things that are fun-in bringing pleasure and especially laughter to people. And probably most important of all, when we consider a new project we really study it-not just the surface idea but everything about it! And when we go into that new project, we believe in it all the way. We have confidence in our ability to do it right. And we work hard to do the best possible job!” (One Little Spark by Sherman and Keane, pg. 3)
The paragraph before referred to Walt Disney. It began with one of his famous quotes, “We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” However, so many years have passed, and I am curious if all of it remains true.
Let’s start with thinking about applying these attributes to the organization, workplace, or what you do in life. How many can we apply?
Checklist
- We keep moving forward
- We stay curious
- We are always exploring and experimenting
- We have never lost faith in what we are doing
- We are not out to make a fast dollar with gimmicks
- We are interested in doing fun things
- We study new projects and consider everything about it
- We go into the new project believing in it all the way
- We have confidence in our ability to do it right
- We work hard to do the best possible job
I altered the faith part to widen the focus instead of the narrow focus on family entertainment, including the company’s core values of making people laugh and stories about warm and human things. It is essential to visit the core values of the organization, workplace, and yourself. The values we hold are critical to what we do.
Disney has just replaced the CEO with a former CEO and is taking time to plan strategically. Are other companies taking the time now to look at planning and organizing?
As we enter the 2023 year, are we evaluating the work we are doing and the approaches we are taking? We have so many opportunities to reflect on all we do and the ways we can continue to grow. Please share your ideas with others, connect with others and learn about what they are doing, and always open new doors to discover more!
We were hoping you could bring all of this into our workplaces. I think about the applications to education and can see so many ways we can utilize this checklist. Let me know what item on the checklist you want to focus on for 2023 or how you will use the checklist.
It takes one little spark and a little curiosity to discover solutions and celebrate accomplishments.