Blog
My BlogIn addition to my career as a professional speaker I value the opportunity I have been provided with to be a coach and mentor for other Emerging Leaders. A wise man once said, “We have to learn from the mistakes of others because we can’t live long enough to make them all ourselves”. These posts represent many of the lessons that I have learned along the way.
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment or thought on any post that touches you. And of course I invite you to share these with others.
– JAMES
Do It Before You Are Ready
Do it before you’re ready. Walt Disney’s team had drawn the plans. They had trained the cast members. They had built the park. But opening day came, and they weren’t ready. There are countless stories that have been told and retold about what happened that day. Paint...
I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know pt.3
I don’t know what I don’t know, Pt. 3 Actually, I did not know that I was going to write a Pt. 3. I thought that I had said all that I planned to say in the first two essays. I mistakenly thought that I was ready to move forward to another lesson. But my mind was not...
I don’t know what I don’t know – Pt.2
In Part 1 I shared that as a cast member at Walt Disney World I learned to never say, “I Don’t Know” without then making the effort to find the answer. Now, repeat after me, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I DON’T KNOW. I do this to point out that not only am I unaware of the...
I don’t Know What I don’t Know – Pt.1
You are leading a project. A team member asks you a question to which you do not know the answer. In this scenario will you – Ignore the question Deflect by saying, “I am not the correct person to ask that question” Head off the question with, “You should be able to...
Better Than It Was
“Do what you do so well, that they will want to see it again, and bring their friends.” Walt Disney When my wife and I first married, we had a favorite catch phrase, “Better than it was”. We even put it on a plaque and hung it in our first apartment. Turns out that...
I Might Be A Cliché
I Might Be A Cliché Former Walt Disney Imagineering President, Marty Sklar, has shared that he was once told by George Lucas, “Don’t avoid the clichés, they’re clichés because they work.” Think about common clichés that we use all the time, such as “Better safe than...
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