Dan Burke

"there’s a way to convey that while also conveying that you trust the people who work for you, and preserving in them an entrepreneurial spirit. Dan Burke taught me that exact lesson early on in a way that couldn’t have been more opposite from the Strat Planning approach. I can’t recall exactly what it was in response to, but in one of our conversations about some initiative I was considering, Dan handed me a note that read: “Avoid getting into the business of manufacturing trombone oil. You may become the greatest trombone-oil manufacturer in the world, but in the end, the world only consumes a few quarts of trombone oil a year!” He was telling me not to invest in projects that would sap the resources of my company and me and not give much back. It was such a positive way to impart that wisdom, though, and I still have that piece of paper in my desk, occasionally pulling it out when I talk to Disney executives about what projects to pursue and where to put their energy."

"Tom Murphy and Dan Burke were probably the greatest two-person combination in management that the world has ever seen or maybe ever will see. —Warren Buffett"

"Working with Dan was a wholly different matter than working with Tom. Tom delegated easily, and did not always have time to work directly with me in getting things done. Dan, on the other hand, was involved on a much more granular level. He gave me more demanding assignments as the station grew and he enjoyed jumping into the trenches to work side by side when the need arose. We had great fun tackling a slew of challenges, for while there were signs one might call promising; the facts were that Dan inherited a station with lackluster ratings, meager revenues and spotty reception in many rural areas. Working on those problems with Dan was remarkable. And he took a keen interest in the development of my business management and leadership skills, personal maturation, and even my golf game! Like many who worked with and for him, I never stopped learning from Dan Burke. He also put up with Murph calling me away for special assignments … for a while, that is."

"I had been taught years earlier by Dan Burke that it was smart management to let your employees know you believed they could succeed beyond even their own expectations."

"I can still hear Dan Burke in his famous budget sessions, “You can’t control revenue, but you can control costs,” or “Your budget is your promise to our shareholders.”"