All Hands On Deck: 8 Essential Lessons for Building a Culture of Ownership

Chapter 9. Lesson 7: Unleash Individual Creativity and Ingenuity

As the two men walked along what appeared to be a country road, Walt stooped and picked up a yellow piece of paper that had a handwritten note on it. "Hmm, listen to this, Corey: 'The difference between courageous and cowardly is usually evident only long after the fact.' We'll, isn't that the truth. Most people thought I'd gone out of my mind when I decided to build Disneyland. Then they all said I was a genius after it was successful." He stuffed the note into Corey's shirt pocket.

After a few more steps, Corey saw another yellow piece of paper on the ground. Picking it up, he realized it was a Post-it note, also with someone's handwritten message. "Hey, Walt, this one could have been written about building a culture of ownership. Listen! 'Fear excludes and creates enemies; courage includes and creates friends.' Whenever I see cliques and silos in an organization, I know that it's a fear-filled workplace. It takes courage to tear down those walls. I wonder who wrote these."

"Here's another one," Walt said as he bent over to scoop up several more yellow notes. "'Fear is a reaction; courage is a decision.' How true. Everyone faces fear. The difference is what action you decide to take in the face of that fear. And listen to this one—I hadn't really thought of the connection between caring and courage, but they are two of the most important qualities for a successful business: 'Caring is the root of courage, because when ...