I usually read 1 or 2 books on creativity a month. This month I’m reading The Disney Way by Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson. I’ve always been fascinated with Walt Disney, I guess its the artist in me.  One of the legendary stories in the book is about Walt’s obsession with excellence.

The story goes that Walt halted the production of Pinocchio because the film was failing to live up to Walt’s principle of excellence. With over half a million dollars spent already and final drawings of the characters done, Disney scrapped the production because the characters were not life-like enough. At the time, Disney had already enjoyed world-wide acclaim. He could have let the film go as it was and and saved money without tarnishing his reputation. But, the book says,

“Disney recognized the difference between adequate and excellent, and he would not compromise.”

Before the film was complete, Disney spent over $3 million, more than any other animated picture up to that point. In a correspondence to his brother Roy, he wrote that he was acutely aware of the bottom line, but refused to let it dictate every decision he made. And we should be glad. If he did not go back to the drawing board, or if he relied on his past successes, we would not have the timeless characters of Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, arguably the most recognizable and beloved Disney characters of all time.

So, let me ask you. How many times have you settled for adequate and not excellent? I think there are a lot of leaders and organizations who are so used to success that they run the risk of adequacy. They are tempted into deviating from their values of excellence because they know they can get by with it.

Now, let me make a disctinction. I’m not talking about inadequacy. Inadequacy is failure, I’m talking about something worse. I’m talking about, just getting by. Is there anything worse than doing something that is just “reasonably efficient?”

I want to challenge you leaders out there this week. At your next meeting, surprise your team. Scrap what you have been working on. I mean scrap it as if it falls on the cutting-room floor and ask yourself and your team, is what we are producing excellent? Give attention to the bottom line, of course, but don’t let it dictate your decisions. Who knows, you just may transform your entire industry.

In just a few short years, roughly 1930 to 1942, Walt Disney was able to catapult animation from entertainment obscurity to an entertainment powerhouse.  In 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs won a special Academy Award, some even consider it to be the great motion picture ever made. It is also in the top 50 all-time highest-grossing films.

There is little argument that Walt Disney transformed entertainment forever. His innovation, relentless pursuit of excellence and his calculated risks made Disney the creative artist and business genius his legacy declares.

“The way things used to be…” is a phrase I often hear coming from people in business, church and even some personal relationships. This phrase has always bothered me, even though I have caught myself saying it from time to time. I mean, I understand the sentiment, but passionately believe it should be eradicated from our vocabulary. Here’s why.

1. Nothing will ever be the way it used to be.
Obvious statement, I know. But, it amazes me how many of us spend energy trying to recreate the past and no energy CREATING the future. Many of us suffer from “reversion syndrome.” In the face of change, we revert back to what we know instead of being challenge by what we don’t.

2. Living in the past means you haven’t learned from it.
Shakespeare wrote, “The Past is Prologue.” What that means to me is that the past can be our greatest teacher, but only if we apply it to the moment and move forward.

3. When you have a “the way things used to be” attitude, it blinds you from the new memories that are being created around you.
Life should not be lived in a rear-view mirror, you’ll miss all the people waving and cheering you on through the front windshield. Good or bad, life should be lived in the cherished moment.

4. It’s a selfish attitude.
Many of us have never grown up or grown out of our selfish ways. When you wish for “the way things used to be” you’re making it about you. When you wish for “the way things can be” you’re making it about others.

5. Change is good.
The only constant in life is change. Great people, businesses and churches are the ones that handle change well.  When we drop “the way things used to be” attitude, we can finally get unstuck. We can lose the “deer in the headlights” look when the winds of change blow and embrace the change as necessary.

Please add your comments or resources. How does your church or organization handle change?  What have you found to be effective?