Restlessly Pursue Learning

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process… And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” – Peter Drucker

It was hard for little Bill to sit still. He was ready to run into the world, pushing through barriers and making a difference.  He was a natural leader and soon became the first black student body president of Foshay Middle School in Los Angeles.  He continued to break norms by being the first black student body president at Polytechnic High School before graduating with honors.  He went on to get a degree at UC Berkeley before being drafted into the U.S. Army.  He served 2 years during the Korean War, attaining the rank of Captain.

After the Army, Bill enrolled in the pre-med program at UCLA.  He was accepted as the first African American medical student.  After graduating he interned at Harbor General Hospital.  He specialized in obstetrics and gynecology and opened two women’s clinics in Los Angeles.  He later became the first African-American resident at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles.  Bill loved people and had a special affection for children.  He served his longest time at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he once held the record for the most infants delivered.  

Forever learning, restless and driven, Bill at the age of 52 and after 14 years of medical practice, returned to school and received his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law.  After passing the bar, he worked as a forensic attorney helping victims in malpractice suits.  He served on the Board of Governors of the UCLA Foundation and even after retiring, went back to practice medicine and law until his passing.  Through his life, he touched so many other lives.  His impact was far reaching and he was even recognized by the U.S. Congress for his life’s work and achievements. 

Bill’s life reminds us that we can all restlessly pursue learning and improvement.  We can challenge the limits others place on us or we place on ourselves.  I hope Bill’s story inspired you as it did me.  Keep learning.  Keep striving.  Keep helping.  We can make this world a better place, if we try.  And, like Bill, we can also leave behind a legacy that can inspire the next generation. 

Oh, and one more thing…  Dr. Lawrence William “Bill” Scott not only left behind a legacy of “firsts”, he also passed on his passion of science and the restless pursuit of learning through his children.  You might know at least one of them.  His son is a leader at Disney and in the industry, a champion of technology and the restless pursuit of learning, Brian L. Scott.

Keep learning!

Pursue Your Dreams

“Even though I worked hard at times, it was always magical. I have to confess I enjoyed every minute of it. Even the down times I enjoyed, because we were creating something that would make people smile and lift their hearts. You can’t think of a better job than that.” – Floyd Norman

A tall skinny young man passed through the gates of the Walt Disney Studios.  He was on his way to meet Ken Seiling in the Personnel Department.  As he looked around the campus, he must have thought back to his childhood.  He had been so inspired by Walt Disney cartoons and animated features.  He loved drawing.  He often found canvases to adorn with his art.  That included, much to his parent’s dismay, even the walls of his house as a young child.  Growing up he had dreamed of being part of Walt Disney’s magic factory.  His dream motivated him to reach out to Disney and was eventually connected with Ken.  Ken agreed to meet with him after he graduated from High School.  Today was that day.

His dream was happening before his eyes.  He was inside the Disney creative factory speaking with Ken.  Ken offered him a job in Traffic.  But understanding the young man’s passion he quickly added, the wise choice would be going back to school.  “Go back to school,” may have been disappointing to hear.  It would have been tempting to take the easier path and just settle for the Traffic job.  However, that is not what happened.  The young man took the advice and went back to school.  Three years later in February 1956, he, along with other starry-eyed youngsters reported to work at 500 South Buena Vista Avenue to start their careers in the cartoon business.  He later reflected, “like Alice, we had entered Wonderland.” 

That young man was none other than Floyd Norman who went on to become a Disney Legend, spending over 60 years in animation. He is credited on many familiar titles including Sleeping Beauty, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, Mulan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.

Like Floyd, we all have dreams. But how do we act on them?  Do we settle or do we keep pursuing?  Hopefully, like me, you are inspired by Floyd’s story to keep running after your dreams, don’t be afraid to reach out and try.  But also, don’t be afraid to pivot, learn and try again.  We may not all become Disney Legends like Floyd, but we can all run after our dreams and make a difference.  It begins with us.  Keep trying, keep the faith.

PS – Check out Floyd’s story in this great documentary on his life: Floyd Norman: An Animated Life

Floyd Norman
Floyd Norman

Remove the Barriers

“The talent is here. We just need to remove the barriers.” – Ed Catmull

I confess, I am very sentimental.  At all hands, sendoffs and celebrations, I love to show photos to reminisce about events, people, places and days gone by.  The photo storage platforms I use all know this about me and are always offering me “on this day a year ago…” teasers which I can’t refuse.  I love those.  As we wrapped up January, the AI wizards began sending me reminders of our 2020 and 2019 Cloud Summits.  First of all, I was shocked to realize it has been a year since that pre-pandemic in-person gathering and streaming event in 2020.  Second, I was reminded of the great 2019 event and particularly our special keynote guest, Dr. Ed Catmull.  The talk from this incredibly brilliant technology leader and the prior discussion over dinner was a highlight of a lifetime.  I want to share the impression he made on me by giving you a glimpse into his story 

Shortly after the acquisition of Pixar, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter were given the charge by Bob Iger to reboot the Walt Disney Animation Studios, which had been suffering a string of box office flops.  Pixar was delivering blockbuster movies that leveraged innovative technology to deliver compelling and connecting stories to the big screen.  Walt Disney Animation Studios on the other hand was not.  Ed tells how he dreaded but was expected to clean house and start over, hiring Pixar level talent to reboot the studio.  To his surprise, as he began to spend time there, he discovered that the problem wasn’t the talent.  The problem was the management and the debilitating processes and culture.  They began to change the management, removing obstacles that were blocking the creative process and unleashing the team to be able to deliver results.  That same team that had delivered a series of flops in the past, suddenly were able to deliver blockbuster hits like Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and Frozen.  Ed observed, the talent was there, we just needed to remove the barriers.  

I know what you are all thinking.  Sounds great, but Jason, the lesson here is that we need management to remove barriers for us!  Yes, that is true.  Leaders must take on the challenge of empowering people and removing blockers.  Our job is to unleash potential, give opportunity with responsibility, not control people.  But that’s not all, nor does it fall to managers only.  If we want to unleash the generative potential of our organization, we all must be laser focused on removing constraints that slow down the delivery of value to our guests and to our company.  That job falls to all of us.  You are all capable of helping build platforms, tools and processes that empower our cast members to deliver magic, better, faster, safer and happier.  We just need to do it!

This week, I challenge you to look for opportunities to remove barriers.  Devise plans to make it better and raise those with your leadership.  We can swarm, align and drive the change.  Let’s remove barriers and unleash the incredible potential of our talent to do amazing things.

Ed Catmull and Jason Cox
“The talent is here. We just need to remove the barriers.” – Ed Catmull