I spent last week in Disney World as an early Christmas present to our family. Fun… but also inspiring!
When I kinda “stepped back” and looked at how Disney and his team of Imagineers “paid attention to detail,” it blew my mind! The amount of people it takes each day to run the parks is incredible. The thing that struck me as I rode the monorail to EPCOT one day, though, is what I want to share with you. It hit me that: ALL of this started with the idea that one man had. Walt Disney had the vision of what an “amusement park” of the most grandious style would look like. Then he went out and found people who shared his vision. Once his team of Imagineers started to work, it is amazing to just stop and look around to see what they created.
Surround yourself with people who share your vision. Give them some latitude to be creative and you’ll be amazed at what can be accomplished. If you have someone on your staff who says “It can’t be done.” Or…. “We’ve never done it that way before around here….” then you need to, at the very least, not listen to them anymore or, to the extreme, part ways with them.
I found one guy in 1987 who shared my vision for how we wanted to make our football program successful. It took 4 years to put all of the pieces in place but, once we did— over the next 15 seasons, the worst record we had was 7-3. I tried to bring others aboard who shared that vision over the years. Some worked out, others didn’t. I knew what it took to be successful over the long haul and I stuck with my vision. It paid off with 5 championships in 11 years.
I heard Grant Taeff, former HC at Baylor University, say years ago: “One of the keys to success is: set high and lofty goals. Then work like a madman to make them come true.” For those of you who are frustrated right now with where your program is, remember this: “Dream your dream. Then… plan your work and… then, work your plan!” It all starts, like Walt Disney, with using your imagination!
