Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 75 years (and if that’s the case you’re most likely not reading this) you know of Walt Disney. Have you ever heard of Roy O. Disney? Roy was Walt’s older brother and an integral part of the success of the Disney companies. While Walt was the dreamer, Roy was often the doer. And the voice of reason.

“Every Walt needs a Roy and every Roy needs a Walt. Every dreamer needs a doer. Every starter needs a finisher. Every entrepreneur needs an administrator…If you want to achieve great things, then find the person who supplies what you lack and who lacks what you supply.” Pat Williams How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life (CHI 2004)

We all have certain strengths and weaknesses. It is sometimes good to work to improve upon your weaknesses so they aren’t a hindrance, but it’s always more efficient (and usually more fun) to play to your strengths. Ideally, you find someone who complements you. Someone who is strong where you lack. A Roy to your Walt. When you have people on your team who complement you, far more can be achieved than going it alone.

Some of you are reading this and immediately know “I’m a Walt!” or “Yup. I’m always the Roy.” But don’t worry if it doesn’t seem that simple. Some of us can be either depending on the season of our life or the situation/relationship we are in. For example: I think I’m a pretty good leader most of the time. However, I’m NOT a good administrator. I like to identify potential problems and come up with creative ways to solve them but lack the patience it takes to completely carry out the plan (and heaven forbid I have to make phone calls!) However, at other times in my life I have been the voice of reason and the one who says “That sounds like a good idea, but let’s think about this for a minute. You need a plan!”

“Intrapreneur” is an interesting term that’s been coined fairly recently. I’ll be addressing that in the next post.  In the meantime, if you are a Walt make sure you have a Roy by your side and that you respect and appreciate them. If you are a Roy know that you play a very important role even if it is often “unsung.”  So, at this time in your life, are you a Walt or a Roy?