How do we move forward after setbacks, turning challenges into springboards for future progress? How do we improve efficiencies and teamwork within our companies? Over the years, I’ve cultivated comprehensive strategies for addressing critical questions like these, developing tools like The Negative Experience Transformer and The Solution Formulator.
In a recent article I penned for Harvard Business Review Journal, I also shared a system that helps analyze whether opportunities are worthwhile — a five-part metric that weighs the merits of any endeavor. These tools are not solely the product of my own experience and knowledge, but the cumulative result of study and connections with bright minds in books, articles and professional networks I’ve been fortunate to participate in.
This reminds of me of a powerful principle, captured in author and management expert Ken Blanchard’s quote: “None of us is as smart as all of us.”
This idea of approaching leadership, career and personal pursuits through the lens of collaboration can be a transformative one. We have seen it in business greats like Walt Disney, who famously turned to his team members for input. One of Disneyland’s most popular rides is Pirates of the Caribbean, even though it was created decades ago (it’s one of my family’s must-rides every time, too). When Walt Disney finished its construction, he had all of his employees experience it. At the end, he assembled all of them on the deck of the Blue Bayou Cafe to get their feedback. You see, one of the secrets to Walt Disney’s success is that he invited input from others rather than relying solely on his own brilliance. He always made his cooperation greater than his status. In other words, he made every performance greater than the recognition or the applause that he would get (these are lifetime principles included in Dan Sullivan’s book, The Laws of Lifetime Growth).
Two of the young girls that were in the kitchen did not think that he meant for them to come also. He asked where they were and the staff had to go retrieve them. When it was their turn to speak, they were asked what was missing on the ride. One of them offered shyly that where she came from, there were fireflies. Disney thought that was a brilliant touch and commissioned his engineers to add fireflies to the experience.
Then another young girl got courage to note that where she came from there were swamps — and the ride does not smell like a swamp. Again, Disney asked his engineers to create the ambience and odors of a swamp.
When I teach these principle to our team at work — everyone from our bookkeeper to our director of first impressions (our receptionist) — I explain I want them to do whatever they can to help the bigger picture. This means going beyond checking off their task lists every day. It means thinking through what they can do to help market the business, to innovate ways to help us grow. It can be in the way they talk about our company while at dinner with friends. It can be in improving our outreach programs, operational systems or client relations.
We saw this recently with a contribution from one of our administrative staff. With our growing client base in 47 of 50 states, my team and I were running to keep up with the demands of booking travel and coordinating equipment and supplies for people going in several directions at once. I had a staff member who noticed the chaos and jumped in, saying, “We’re having major issues with travel. I think I can solve it.”
She took it on, developing spreadsheets and communicating with the team. Suddenly our travel logistics went from bumpy to smooth. She was proactive. She took ownership of a problem and we recognized her efforts in front of the entire team. Her example helped ignite a contagious can-do attitude that other employees mirrored. And not surprisingly, when we needed to promote a supervisor, we knew right where to look — someone who used her own ingenuity and took the initiative to make the entire company more successful.
As all of us look to our teams in business and even at home, we can incorporate this collaborative approach, seeking the insight of those who surround us. We can be intentional about reading from top-tier books and participating in organizations that will expand our knowledge and experience. No matter our post-graduate degrees, professional certifications or years in the industry, we should never assume we already know everything we need to know. Instead we should be committed to a lifetime of coalescing — and sharing — the brightest ideas and best practices.
Doug Andrew is a best-selling author, radio talk show host and abundant living coach.