Dream, Believe, Dare, DO!
Prepared by:
James J. Messina, Ph.D.
Walt’s Way 1-5
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Give every employee a chance to dream-to
tap into creativity of their dreams
Stand firm on your beliefs & principles
Treat your customers as guests
Support, empower & reward employees
Build long term relationships with key
suppliers & partners
Walt’s Way 6-10
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Dart to take calculated risks-bringing
innovation to fruition
Train extensively & constantly reinforce
your culture
Align long-term vision with short-term
execution
Use storyboarding technique to solve
planning & communication problems
Pay close attention to detail
DREAM: Make Everyone’s
Dream come True!
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
 Do you acknowledge that the process of
“dreaming” inspires creativity?
 Do you understand that adopting new
paradigms takes time & commitment?
 Are you willing to see transformation through
to its completion?
 Do you utilize storytelling technique in planning
projects?
BELIEVE:
You Better Believe it!
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
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What are the values your company lives by?
Who established these values-customers, employees,
managers, owner, founder, who?
Are your personal values in conflict with the
organizations values?
What are the products & services of your
organization-methods involved-recipients of them
What is your mission & reason for exiting?
BELIEVE:
You Better Believe it!
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Is your mission aligned with your company’s
vision, values & objectives
Do all of your work groups’ goals, objectives &
tactics support your company’s vision & values?
Do you refer to your mission when making
decisions about products, services, customers &
coworkers?
Does everyone articulate the mission & values?
BELIVE: Never a Customer
Always a Guest
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
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Do you know your guests?
Are your employees empowered to solve customer
problems?
Do you view your front line as your bottom line?
What special training do your frontline people receive?
What is the turnover rate of your front-line staff?
BELIEVE: All for One
and One for all
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
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Do your team members receive the recognition &
rewards they deserve?
Do you encourage cooperation rather than
competition among employees?
Is being a member of the “team” part of any job
description & included in your ongoing training?
Do your leaders demonstrate buy-in to a team
culture?
DARE: Dare to Dare!
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
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Is your culture stuck in paradigms no longer effective for your
business?
Do you squelch long-term thinking in favor of short-term
rewards?
Do you avoid micromanaging your employees?
Do you routinely give employees an opportunity to grow
beyond their current responsibilities?
Do you create an atmosphere where failures are accepted and
analyzed for learning purposes & possible future innovation?
Do you promote cross-functional teams to replace outdated
processes & procedures?
DO: Train! Train! Train!
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
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Do you support individual development planning?
Do you encourage your employees to see you value their
partnership in creating their own self-development plans?
Do you provide right training to right people at right time?
Do you provide training tailored to needs of your employees?
Do you celebrate contributions of employees even when they
are not exactly in line with your thinking?
Do you coach employees to reinforce important concepts even
after they have been formally trained?
DO: Plan! Plan! Plan!
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
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Do you know the barriers to your planning process in
your organization?
Do you have a place in your organization where
planning takes place & where plans are displayed as
planning is going on?
Do you post timelines for your planning process along
with notices of specific milestones along the way?
Do you celebrate milestones & completion of projects?
DO: Give Details Top Billing
To assess how well you do this answer these ??’s
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Do your employees make quality & time
measurements of their products & services?
Do your employees routinely ask: “How can we do this
better?”
Do you include meticulous attention to detail as part
of your organization’s values?
Do your reward people in your organization for
detecting inconsistencies
Regaining the Magic
Five Tips for Managing Creativity
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From Bob Iger (Eisner’s replacement at Disney)
Don’t take a hierarchical approach
Don’t create an approval process that’s unduly
rigorous
Be careful not to water ideas down or lose people’s
passion
Let those directly in charge make decisions
Put the spotlight on the company, not the individuals
Other Corporations who follow
the Disney Magic
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Cheesecake Factory – David Overton – without
great people it is impossible to achieve great things!
Men’s Warehouse - George Zimmer – Servant
Leadership in Action - “I guarantee it !” – motivating,
supporting & inspiring – to become best they can be
Four Seasons Hotels – Isadore Sharp - Golden
Rule is Alive & Well - “Treating others as we would
wish to be treated”– Mediocrity is not an option
Ernest and Young – Dares to put its people first
Reference
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The Disney Way-Harnessing the
Management Secrets of Disney in Your
Company: Dream, Believe, Dare, Do.
(2007, 2002) Bill Capodalgli and Lynn
Jackson, New York: McGraw Hill