Head Tilt #60: Walt, Leadership, and the Soup Scene

Do you remember that scene in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs where they all sit around the table and slurp soup?

Neither do I. 

It never made it to the big screen.

Ward Kimball (one of Disney's original animators who was part of the famed Nine Old Men) spent eight months working on that scene. 

Fellow animators loved it!

Walt thought it was good!

Walt also cut it from the film. 

He said that the picture was simply too long and something had to go.

It was 1937, and since Snow White would be the first full-length cartoon feature film, Walt knew that he had to keep the story tight.

Regarding the soup scene he said, "Even though we liked the sequence, it was not essential to the telling of the story."

Ward was disappointed. He'd worked so hard.

But Walt came back quickly with a new character he wanted Ward to sketch for an upcoming project. 

From the recorded interview played at the Walt Disney Family Museum, Ward happily recalled the next conversation he had with Walt after the Snow White soup scene had been edited from Snow White:

"He was a salesman and he changed the soup sequence to the enjoyment I'd have with Jiminy Cricket."

And Ward went on to animate everyone's favorite conscience. 

Two leadership essentials stand out to me in this story: 

1. Alignment

Walt knew the goal of his first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He aligned all decisions toward that goal, even when he knew others would be disappointed.

2. Engagement

Walt also knew that to keep top talent he needed to drive, not decrease, engagement. He did this by giving Ward an even bigger, better creative project. 

If you are a leader:

• Do you have a crystal-clear image of your goals? 
• Are you able to evaluate which actions, processes, and efforts are in alignment or out of alignment with these goals? 
• Do you have the courage to make tough decisions? 
• When necessary, are you able to reignite employee engagement by directing talent to other projects? 

And if you are a Disney fan like me:

• Don't you want to see the soup sequence? My son found it here! Enjoy!

Yes! There is so much more to say about goals and engagement. This is just a real-life story that illustrates the power of each. Keep the conversation going with your teams.

Head Tilt #25: The Power of Three

    

GREAT THINGS COME IN THREES!

    The Three Little Pigs

    Goldilocks and the Three Bears

    The Three Musketeers

    The Three Caballeros

    Three Wishes

    Three French Hens

And now I bring you: 

    Three Little Three-Part Conversation Prompts!

Use the following three ideas to kick off meetings, close trainings, start one-on-ones, or just to get to know each other! 

Whichever you choose, make it yours. Tailor to your needs and style. Top tip: Model the way by going first. 

1. Rose, Thorn, Bud

• Rose: What is something positive that you experienced (or influenced) today?
• Thorn: What challenge did you face today and what kind of support do you need? 
• Bud: What are you looking forward to tomorrow? 

2. Morning, Afternoon, Night

(Variations)

• Which part of the day best represents your personality and why?
• Which part of the day are you most productive?
• Which part of the day do you wish was longer (or shorter)?

3. Head, Heart, Hands

• Head: What do you think about X?
• Heart: How do you feel about X?
• Hands: What will you do next about X?

Good luck! I've test-driven all of these and had great results :)

What are some of your favorite ways to connect? 

Head Tilt #6: Apple pie, Pumpkin pie, Job pie?

I can't help myself-- I had to post about pie on Pi Day (3.14). And if you've never tried a job pie, I highly recommend it! This team activity is perfect for alignment, time management, clarity, and engagement.

I adapted this from consultants at Korn Ferry. Leaders at my favorite berry company, Driscoll's, have been doing this activity with their global teams for years-- with great results!

So simple. So valuable.

So, how are you spending your time?

1. On a pie chart, map your day-to-day work activities and responsibilities. To begin, look at your calendar from the past month for a record of activities. Next, draw a circle (or open up Excel) and create a pie chart with different sections representing time spent. 

For example, if you spend roughly 40% of your day on customer outreach and sales, make a "sales slice" that is a little less than half of the circle. If you spend 25% of your time in meetings, get more specific and look at the content of these meetings. Are most of your meetings around strategy? Employee development? Something that other people find important? Map it accordingly. Less important than exact percentages is the general gist of how you're spending your time. Be as objective and honest as possible. Once completed, this chart represents your real job pie. 

        Full disclosure: My job pie always has a small wedge called "looking for stuff."

2. Take a closer look. Would you order this pie in an employment restaurant? 

•     Which activities and/or categories are most motivating/satisfying to you?
•     Which activities are less motivating/satisfying?
•     Ideally, what do you need to expand, contract, or eliminate in order to be more successful at work?

3. Now it's time to create your Ideal Job Pie, a visual representation of how you would ideally be spending your time at work. Suggestion: If you're in a leadership position, make sure to include wedges for professional development and leading your team.

4. Finally, compare your two job pies, the real and the ideal.

Ideally, which activities or responsibilities would you release (to free up more time to focus on higher priorities or areas of engagement), protect (because they are essential to your job or bring you satisfaction), and/or add (in order to increase job effectiveness and satisfaction) so your ideal pie becomes a reality?

The only way to move closer to your ideal job pie is by making small shifts and changes.  

I recommend doing this on your own first and then encouraging your team to draft and share theirs as well. It's not only a great way to drive engagement but is also a fun method for clarity and alignment when workgroups get to see what each other is doing and how they'd like to grow. 

I have a lot of job-pie success stories to share if interested, as well as a one-pager on how to take this to your teams. Drop a question or comment below.  

Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay