Category: Success Thinking

Disney Magic @ the Library – An Interview with James Songster, Sue Schank, & Barbara Blake

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How can we develop better leaders, improve organizational culture, and create better teams? Perhaps it can happen through magic, that is Disney Magic!

Over its history, the Walt Disney Corporation has produced world-class effective leaders, highly creative and energetic teams, and a lasting culture of performance. In fact, the company has a teaching arm called The Disney Institute, which teaches the secrets of the company that have been discovered over many decades.

Recently I interviewed three former long-term employees of The Disney Institute to learn more about their experiences. Also, we discussed how they are bringing these best practices to libraries across Florida. The Better Leadership team includes James Songster, Sue Schank and Barbara Blake. In a wide-ranging interview, I asked them about their views on leadership, teamwork, and building a powerful culture. Below is an excerpt from the interview.

Doug: What were the key aspects for a successful teamwork and how you trained other people on how to build those key aspects of successful teamwork?

James:  My leaders were able to bring in people that were already in the right mindset. A big part of our philosophy was to choose for the mindset that complements our team and then teach skills, as opposed to somebody’s who’s got this great skill set and now we have to shape their mindset. I think another huge key factor was the way we benefited from being in an environment where we had an amazing collection of differences. We valued and craved diversity because we want as many different ideas, backgrounds and thoughts as we can. It’s a strategic advantage that is complementary to our mission. It gave us a greater ability to serve the clients.

Barbara:  In order to serve our education audience, we created a unique and diverse labor strategy.  In the 8-month season in which we offered our educational programs, we led close to 200 facilitators.  We utilized college interns for a semester experience, part-time staff and we “borrowed” staff from around Walt Disney World to teach our programs.  In this way, we were able to gain an immense range of diversity in our facilitation team.  To manage all these diverse cast members, we needed them to buy into our mission and vision.  They needed to know how to best represent The Disney Company to our audience!  The key to having a staff attuned to the same mission is on-going, effective communication.  All our staff were aware of our mission and values before joining the team, and were then given training to insure they also exemplified those values with every guest group they led.

Sue: I would have our trainer team instill to our trainees that everyone was there because they showed such enormous potential. Every single one was deserving of respect all the way around. It was vitally important that we respected each other. We knew everybody was different as we purposely hired a diverse team, but we respected those differences and respected those people. The talents and the gifts they brought to us were critical for me.

Read the entire interview on the Efficient Librarian website.

Celebrating Small Wins

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When was the last time you celebrated a small win?

Oftentimes we save our acknowledgement of success for big ticket items such as completing major projects or winning significant awards. For leaders, it is easy to dismiss small wins as simply our employees doing their jobs. Yet it is important to highlight success as it shows up in the moment in order to keep people excited and on task.

In a recent article on the Fast Company website, Ashley Cooksley, CEO North America of The Social Element made a strong case for celebrating small wins. This is especially true for rough fiscal times.

As business leaders, it’s easy to forget about the small things our teams do every day to keep the company moving forward. We face major challenges on a daily basis—and it’s fair to say that not every business ended last year on a high note financially. Budgets have been squeezed, and companies have been given a nearly impossible task of consolidating third-party partners while also finding efficiencies.

As leaders, we feel this pressure while doing as much as we can to shield our teams. This means we’re often tasked with finding moments worth celebrating, even when faced with some of the business’s largest challenges.

Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com

When celebrating these small wins, it is helpful to understand the motivations of team members and what they appreciate.

First, you must understand your employees enough to discover what truly drives and inspires them, and then acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments accordingly. Tools like the DiSC personality test can help you grasp what motivates each individual as well as what brings them joy.

Some people seek titles, recognition, and visibility for their exceptional work within the company. Promotions even with a minimal pay increase can send the signal that you acknowledge their contributions, and importantly, that others will also notice their achievements. Meaningful shout-outs in front of the department or to the company will go a long way toward demonstrating that they’ve been seen and valued.

To learn more about how to honor small wins, please read the rest of the article.

Einstein’s 7 Rules for a Better Life

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E=MC2

The most famous equation in all of physics was developed by arguably the best-known scientist ever, Albert Einstein. While that equation had to do with calculating energy, Einstein was not just a student of theoretical physics, but also a great study of how to live a good life.

In a recent article on The Big Think, Ethan Siegel explores Einstein’s 7 Rules for a Better Life. Taken from a recent biography on the great scientist, Siegel shares life lessons which served Einstein well. For example, take Rule #3, Have a Puzzle Mindset.

Einstein was pretty much the prototype individual for someone who viewed every difficulty he faced as a puzzle to be solved: in physics and beyond.

Consider his oft-misunderstood but most famous quote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” While many people had looked at the puzzle of objects moving near the speed of light before — including other geniuses like FitzGerald, Maxwell, Lorentz, and Poincaré — it was Einstein’s unique perspective that allowed him to approach that problem in a way that led him to the revolution of special relativity. With a flexible, non-rigid worldview, Einstein would easily challenge assumptions that others couldn’t move past, allowing him to conceive of ideas that others would unceremoniously reject out-of-hand.

Rule #4 carried on this thought by sharing the advice to: Think deeply, both long and hard, about things that truly fascinate you.

Over the course of his long life, Einstein received many letters: from those who knew him well to perfect strangers. When one such letter arrived on Einstein’s desk in 1946, asking the genius what they should do with their life, the response was as astute as it was compassionate. “The main thing is this. If you have come across a question that interests you deeply, stick to it for years and do never try to content yourself with the solution of superficial problems promising relatively easy success.”

Learn about the remaining five rules by clicking over the The Big Think website.

Effective Email Etiquette

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On Thursday January 25, I will return as a virtual presenter to the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference. In 2020 I spoke on the topic of Developing Motivated Cultures (recording available through this link). This year I will share tips and tricks on Effective Email Etiquette. As a resource, the script for my talk is now posted on the Efficient Librarian website.

Here is the start of the presentation.

Effective Email Etiquette – How to Ensure Your Messages Are Understood

All of us send email every day. However, have you ever considered what makes for an effective email that will be read and understood by the recipient? As a primary means of communication with colleagues and the public, it is important to consider the most effective ways to compose email to ensure it is read fully and understood clearly.

Photo by Miguel u00c1. Padriu00f1u00e1n on Pexels.com

Don’t Send that Email … Unless You Have To!

One of the biggest challenges in effective communication is deciding the medium for the message. For many people, email is a common way to share information. In fact, it is often preferred, as implied by the saying, “this was another meeting that should have been an email.”  Yet it does have limits. Here are times when email is appropriate:

  1. Routine communication: Emails are suitable for routine updates, sharing information, and conveying non-urgent messages. If your message is not time-sensitive and allows for a delayed response, email is a suitable choice.
  2. Documentation: When you need a written record of communication, such as project updates, agreements, or decisions.
  3. Scheduling and coordination: For arranging meetings, confirming appointments, and coordinating schedules.
  4. Formal communication: In professional settings, emails are often appropriate for formal communication, such as job applications, official announcements, and business proposals.

Read the full article to learn more about how to be more effective with CC and BCC, writing impactful subject lines, the perils of public records, and more!

Parrells Between Money and Productivity

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Have you heard the admonishment that “Time is Money?”

It is an old saying that exhorts us to make best use of our daily actions in order to reap financial rewards. Taken to heart, it would also imply that being productive will increase the amount of money we acquire. Is there truth to this conclusion?

Tiago Forte believes that there are similarities between productivity practices and budgeting. In an article on his website, Tiago shares thirteen parallels that define successful application of both skills. The first one has to do with aligning with a deeper purpose.

“What do I want my money to do for me?” Everything else depends on the answer: if you value freedom and autonomy, your decisions will look very different from someone who values security and stability.

It’s likewise very valuable to ask yourself, “What do I want my work to do for me?” Besides the obvious answer of “provide a paycheck,” the conclusion you come to has profound implications for where, when, and how you work.

If you value creativity and self-expression, but an ever greater proportion of your to do list is filled with administrative tasks, you will eventually experience dissatisfaction and burnout, regardless of how many hours you work or how much it pays.

Another parallel he shares has to do with shifting our thinking. Tiago believes we should let go of what “should be” and honestly accept what is actually happening.

There is a deeply seated human tendency, when things aren’t going how we believe they “should go,” to simply deny reality. We can make up justifications, rationalizations, and excuses effortlessly, and maintain them even when the impact on our health, happiness, and relationships becomes unbearable.

Simply knowing what is happening is half the battle when it comes to money or productivity. Getting a hold on the “current state” requires letting go of the lenses and stories we use to buffer reality and protect our ego. This is why making a comprehensive Project List is so powerful – it lays out the current state of affairs in objective detail, allowing us to make fully informed decisions.

Learn about the other eleven parallels by reading the rest of the article.

Declutter for the New Year

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As we move into 2024, this is a good time to clear out the old and get ready for the new by doing a little decluttering. The benefits of clearing space are many, both in the physical sense of making room and putting objects in order, but also mentally to release stress and anxiety. The trick is knowing how to get started.

Star Hansen is an author and organizational expert who has helped many people get their spaces in order. She recently shared her best tips and tricks with NPR in a story called “The decluttering philosophy that can help you keep your home organized.” Star says it starts with understanding your clutter.

Hansen says everyone’s clutter tells a personal story. “What becomes clutter and where your clutter accumulates can say a lot about what’s going on with you. If you have unwanted piles of stuff accumulating around your house, ask yourself: “What’s making this hard to get rid of?” she says. “A lot of times, the trip-up is from holding on to the past or wanting a different reality than the one we’re living in.”

Another important suggestion she makes is to get started is to focus on taking smaller bites at the clutter.

You can also work within short time constraints. Say you only have an hour to declutter your home this week. Hansen says to divide that time into 20-minute intervals. For the first 20 minutes, look for trash to throw away. The next 20 minutes, identify anything you want to give away or donate. Spend the last 20 minutes putting items back where they belong.

Learn the rest of her five tips by reading the rest of the story.

The Tyranny of Small Choices

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Have you ever stopped to consider how many choices you make during the day?

Often when we think about decision making our minds consider the big operational decisions we make at work or in our lives. Yet the vast number of decisions we make every day are small. These choices range from what shirt to wear in the morning, to choosing a restaurant for lunch, down to what TV show to watch at night. Most of us pay little heed to these types of decisions, as they seem inconsequential beyond the moment they are made. However, sometimes these small decisions have outsized impact due to the fact that thousands or millions of people are making similar choices. This leads to the tyranny of small decisions.

In a recent article on the Big Think website, author Jonny Thomson explores how small choices can have oversized impacts. Early in the article, he explains the concept of the tyranny of small decisions.

In 1966, the economist Alfred E. Kahn first coined the term ‘tyranny of small decisions’ in an article of the same name. Kahn used this concept to describe how a series of small, individual choices could lead to an end point no one really wanted. It’s when various discrete and minor actions string together into something not desired by the decision-makers as a whole.

Kahn used as an example a train service that has lots of passengers in the winter, but little ridership in the summer. The choice the passengers make about when to take the train, seemingly inconsequential to each individual person, add up to impact the train service to the point where it could shut down.

Later on in the article, Thomson offers some examples of ways that the tyranny of small decisions can immediately impact your life and business. This first example is about skimping on training days, especially around cybersecurity.

Sixty percent of small businesses go out of business within six months of a cyberattack. Cyber-vigilance matters, and small decisions to skimp can have huge ramifications. Buying only basic internet security might save some money. Missing or having irregular cyber-awareness training might make you popular with your team. But few businesses can survive an $80 million hack.

Learn more about the tyranny of small decisions and ways to avoid them by reading the rest of the article.

Leadership & the Spirit of Excellence

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Many organizations strive for excellence, yet it is very hard to capture the spirit necessary to make that a reality. What is it that separates those organizations that achieve it from those that don’t? It may all come down to leadership.

The website Big Think recently featured an article called 5 ways for leaders to cultivate a “spirit of excellence” in teams. Written by John Roussot, it starts out by defining what is meant by excellence.

Excellence is not just a destination but a journey — the gradual result of always striving to be better. In the world of team dynamics, this pursuit of excellence becomes a shared mission, elevating each member’s personal and professional performance. Excellence, then, is not merely an aspiration but a continuous process, grounded in the humility to constantly learn, adapt, and grow. This journey is marked by a willingness to test new ideas, learn from every outcome, embrace failures as stepping stones, fail forward and collectively evolve through rich experiences.

What are the five ways that leadership can cultivate a spirit of excellence? It starts with curiosity.

Encourage curiosity: Foster an environment where asking questions is encouraged. Stimulate thought and inspire learning by posing thought-provoking questions and promoting open discussions.

Learn the other four ways by reading the entire article.

Beginner vs Advanced

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Have you ever got advice? Of course, you have. The real question is how often has that advice been useful?

The problem with advice is that it may be good for some people, but not for all. Also, some advice is helpful at the start of an endeavor but could be restricting as experience is gained. Tiago Forte recently thought about this problem and wrote his conclusions on his blog at Forte Labs. His primary insight concerns the crucial difference between beginner and advanced advice.

In any given pursuit – tennis, chess, jiu-jitsu, painting – there is a hierarchy of skills that you have to acquire one by one to progress. More fundamental skills lie at the bottom, like the base of a pyramid, and serve as a foundation for more advanced skills to be gained later on.

I’ve noticed that people often want to skip the beginner stages and go directly to the advanced ones. That’s an understandable desire – why spend more time as a novice than you have to? But if you don’t have a strong foundation and try to build too high, your efforts will inevitably crumble.

How do we determine the difference between beginner and advanced advice? Tiago suggests the following:

Beginner advice tends to take the form of an extremely simple, impossible to misunderstand, black-and-white rule.

The more advanced you become, the more options and pathways become available to you, each one tailored to a specific scenario. In other words, you have to choose which advanced strategy is right for you.

How what does this mean for productivity skills? Read the full article on the Forte Labs blog to find out.