Thursday, July 07, 2011

Lessons From Disney #2

Lesson #2 - Insane Talent Is Not Enough

+There are a lot of insanely talented people that work at Disney. But when it comes to building a team, ability is not as important as chemistry.

+Brian told me that he watched many incredibly talented people get fired at Disney because they didn't get along with coworkers and they were difficult to work with. These were people who lived by the creed "it's my way or the highway." Well, at Disney, they just show those people to the the door.

+At Disney you have to be willing to compromise, collaborate and cooperate.

+There's nothing worse for an organization than someone who is very good at what they do but they create a toxic work environment by they way they interact with others.

+When building a solid team, don't always look for the prima donna franchise player that wants everything to revolve around them. Find solid, talented people with a teachable-spirit, team-oriented mentality and do-whatever-it-takes philosophy.

+My friend Herbert Cooper said it best, "Talented people win games but teams win championships."