Walt's optimism came from his unique ability to see the entire picture.
Our first post on Walt Disney had us looking in part at his vision and dreams, which he was able to gather together from a variety of sources and see withing the big picture. That's not as easy to do as it sounds. If it was, there'd be other Walt Disneys. There haven't been!
Taking this and applying it to business leadership, let's look at it as connected to optimism, as mentioned here.
The reason why Disney remained optimistic, was because of his view of the big picture. How does that help you may ask?
It helps because those without the big picture can develop a sense of learned helplessness, which results in a loss of hope in whatever they're partaking in. If a business leader or manager doesn't have a grasp of the big picture, it can be a battle just to come to work every day.
Now the reason this happens is the inevitable struggles coming our way daily. If we aren't able to see and grasp that we're on a journey toward a larger destination, we'll take the daily battles, and sometimes defeats, and allow them to not only damper our enthusiasm, but in many cases crush our spirits to the point of giving up.
Keeping the destination in mind - or vision and purpose - allows us to understand whatever happens today is only temporal, and can be recovered from. If we don't always have the big picture before us, we end up in an ongoing scenario of ups and downs that will eventually burn us out.
The big picture, which can definitely be a passion, nonetheless allows us to look objectively at the day and its events, and keeps us steady and sure while we travel our journey.
This isn't to say that Walt Disney in building his Disney (DIS) empire didn't have bad days - he did. It's that those bad days weren't allowed to keep him from going on with his dreams and goals.
Whatever we do, we not only remind ourselves of the vision and big picture ourselves, but also keep our people uplifted by always reminding them of where they are going. Do that, and much of what can crush us or our people, will only be considered a momentary bump in the road. That's the power of seeing and remembering the big picture.
Other Walt Disney Sources:
"Walt Disney and the Quest for Community"
The Golden Age of Mickey Mouse
Chronology of the Walt Disney Company
Walt Disney's original plans for EPCOT
Builders and Titans: Walt Disney
Disney the Innovator vs Disney the Conservative
A belated thank you to pioneer Walt Disney
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Everyone wants to be optimistic, but how many of us can? Maybe that's why only one Walt Disney in the world. Because he is Walt Disney. According to me, though we can not be successful like him, we should learn to be optimistic just like him. I think our life needs Optimism; our business needs Optimism! Maybe this book can tell what we should do: http://dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=76560&ru=279
Posted by: Morning | January 7, 2008 1:15 AM | Permalink to Comment