“Walt, in his drive to make the Disneyland experience feel authentic, had asked that the cab be suspended by leather straps as the early stage coaches had been. “‘Why don’t we just leave the leather straps off, Walt?’ John questioned. ‘The people are never going to appreciate all this close up detail.’ Walt turned, firmly planted his finger on John’s chest, and replied, ‘You’re being a poor communicator. People are okay, don’t you ever forget that. They will respond to it. They will appreciate it.”
—John Hench ex-Imagineering Senior Vice President
False lesson: Spend the time and money to make every detail perfect.
Real lesson: Communicate your values with 100% integrity.
Walt Disney was in the fantasy business.
He was creating a new world and inviting the world in as an escape. He was right—short cuts like this would change the mindset of his team. Visitors may not point at the non-leather straps as inauthentic, but it’s these millions of small choices that are driven by the mission that make the magic. Many small compromises add up to become a compromised mission.
You are almost certainly not in a place where you are creating a fantasy world.
A great example of good non-sexy communication is Walmart. I have the tendency to look at Walmart and think—poor design, bad quality, dirty. But, their goal isn’t to be slick—it’s to be cheap. Every choice they make instills this value deeper in their mission of “Save money. Live Better.” Their corporate buyers have almost dictatorial power over the supply chains of the largest manufacturing companies in the world—but they still work in little cubicles in Bentonville. Every layer of their company communicates “Save money”, their version of leather straps is asking “Does this save the customer money?” on every decision.
Would you share an example of communication with integrity?
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