Toy Story 3 is an incredible story. Yep, even at my age I cried through the buildup to the ending. (The fact that my oldest three children are 20, 18, and 16 may have something to do with that; the three youngest are getting old, too: 8, 10, and 13; so, yes, it’s expensive to go to a movie!)
One of the lead characters is Sheriff Woody. If you can grasp Woody’s worldview, you just might get that social media return on investment you say you’re looking for.
A Toy Story 3 sticker collection available through one of my clients
Early into this third installment, Woody summarizes the worldview he’s displayed throughout the series. It happens shortly after the dinosaur bemoans the lack of attention he’s getting from Andy, their owner: “We’re NEVER going to get play time!” he says.
Woody stops the toys, channels Tony Robbins, and says, “It’s NOT about PLAY TIME! It’s about being here for Andy!”
That’s the key. Notice the difference in worldviews. That’s the element that must change IF your company wants to “leverage social media” or leverage anything else that involves connecting with human beings.
The dinosaur’s referent point of priority was himself. For him, life was “all about me.” Woody’s referent point was not self, but Andy. The movie shows us Woody’s worldview positioned him for success. At the end of the movie, we see that all of the toys found ultimate value NOT in being played with. Instead, their joy and fulfillment came from being there—meeting the needs of someone else.
Toy Story 3 presents the hero we crave. Woody is a hero in so many ways:
- he was driven by purpose (not policy; not procedure; not public opinion)
- he was willing to stand against popular opinion to stay true to purpose
- he was willing to endure personal sacrifice to pursue purpose
- he not only stayed true to purpose for himself, he also constantly sought to keep the community focused on purpose
- he was willing to embrace everyone, even a villain
- he took sacrificial action to help that villain
- he confronted with crisis of purpose, he made the necessary adjustments but stayed true to purpose anyway (note how the whole community came to the same conclusion)
Every company needs a Woody. Sometimes such a hero can be “at the top.” These days, it’s just as likely your Woody is that twenty-something arguing for more resources to engage with your Andys online (i.e., the one who’s begging you to take Tweeters and Bloggers seriously).
Who’s your Woody? Like Sheriff Woody says, “If you don’t have one, get one!”
[the Toy Story 3 Sticker Collection is available from SmileMakers]
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wonderful message! We completely agree!
One must always stay true to the original vision and the original goal. Whatever it takes while we all are working together. Nice closing thought for a Friday afternoon. Have a good week end !
Woody's role as being the sheriff is a synonymic of being the president or CEO of a company. Being the entrepreneur that you desire to be, you have to withstand tides of change. Woody stood tall and confident even when Andy didn't play with him. Not only that, he saw an opportunity at the end to have a new home. He was open to innovation. The toys all got played with even though his original idea wasn't the plan that fulfilled his goal. Being an entrepreneur, you are allowed to be creative and take opportunities as you see scalable. I think Toy Story 3 was a great lesson for us as entrepreneurs.
This is a great post Trey. Thanks for your perspective.
Thanks for taking time to stop by. Thanks, too, for sending the LinkedIn invite. Glad to connect with you there, too.
Agreed. Woody was their leader.
I especially appreciate your note about the “change.” That's worthy of a blog post all by itself (and a doctoral dissertation!). How do leaders handle requisite change when it seems their purpose is out-of-date?
So often we're tempted to dump our purpose when things don't work out. Woody stuck to his guns (or, actually, he had just one gun) and stayed true to purpose even though he had to change his pursuit path for purpose.
Have you seen Despicable Me? It looks like there are some more marketing and business building lessons there, too.
Thank you. I hope your weekend is restful and rewarding. Got any movie plans?
Thanks Marianne.
Yep, the Old Spice spot is getting a massive amount of attention. Raises an interesting question (and not for the first time, I'm sure): doesn't everything, every time, all the time, HAVE to be tied DIRECTLY to increased sales?
[Mr. CEO, be careful before you answer that; it's a trick question. If you say "yes," you're putting yourself on the examination table for folks to judge all your expenditures and activities that everyone knows have nothing in the world to do with sales. If you say "no," then you're going to have to let your Woody's loose to experiment. Just sayin'.]
Brian, what's your take on the Old Spice saga?
If you get a chance to see it, please come back and share your thoughts.
You go Sheriff Natalie!
Jake, I love your idea. It looks like “being there for Andy” just might be making onto the radar screen of business executives.
A CEO here said, “Oh, you're saying we create true value through what we do FOR other people?”
“Yep,” I said. “If you really want to increase shareholder wealth, focus your attention on what you help other people create, and the profits will tend to take care of themselves.”
Not sure he was convinced, but he's at least giving it a thorough thinking.
Thanks for commenting.
Ooooooh. Yes, the comparison/contrast of Woody and the dinosaur is intriguing.
Very good point about riding the horse. It seems we often create our own challenges when we focus on getting what we want.
Thanks. Both versions are well done. I haven't yet reached a conclusion about the whole 3D or 2D thing. Enjoyed Toy Story 3 both ways (to see if with all my children, we had to go two different times). I was happy with both Ds.
SO true about classical storytelling! Thank you for pointing that out.
Interesting perspective and so important to point out the value of a Woody in any organization. That's a big benefit of social media; being the name or face of the company. I think it makes for stronger connections with prospects and customers alike.
Now if we could just get more owners and managers to recognize the value in that!
I can't believe I have only just come across this, Trey!
You are right in that every company needs a Woody. Forget targets, forget cash, forget selling – just focus on the what is right for the customer and the following actions should become clear and make more sense.
The Woody in a company can often be the person who is banging their head against a wall or is in a constant battle to change an aspect of the customer's experience – they tend to care and get passionate when others are focusing on the next point of the To Do List.
Just being there in every place that your customers may want to engage with you is an must. It always has been and always will be. Social Media just opens up more channels.
Great film, great post – I also blogged about something then ran through my mind when watching Toy Story 3:
http://www.robertpickstone.com/2010/07/26/you%E...
Hope you enjoy.
Rob
Nice article, and interesting points. I have not seen this movie yet even though I remember seeing the original when I was young. (I'm only a couple years older than your oldest.
)
I'm taking my social networking stance more seriously now. Working on expanding my relationship with bloggers in my category, and reaching people who'd be interested in my work.
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