Desk frog an important symbol for Walsworth President

A small green frog figurine sits on the desk of Walsworth President Don Walsworth. Its jewel eyes witness the daily operations of the company, watching as visitors stop by, important meetings are held, and top-level decision-making happens. It’s beautiful, a gift brought back from his mother’s extensive travels.

The frog is also an important symbol for the company.

“A frog can only see one direction, and that’s forward. It can only jump one direction, which is forward,” Walsworth said. “It’s a reminder to keep your eye on what’s next, and to not dwell on things that are in the past.”

Keeping a frog on the desk has become a family tradition. It started with his father, CEO Don O. Walsworth. A similar frog sits on his desk in Marceline, Missouri. Both Walsworth men keep their frogs as a visual reminder of a core guiding principle.

“We’re future-minded and we’re thinking about where the company is going, not where we’ve been. We’re not sitting still,” Walsworth said. “We use where we’ve been for our culture and our history, but we’re constantly looking forward. We’re always trying to improve ourselves, we’re trying to get better and trying to grow.”

Walsworth believes this is a lesson that translates well to yearbook. Staffs and advisers should always be looking forward, too.

“It’s not about what people have done in the past or how the book looked in the past. It’s what you want to see and how you envision it and how you want to see your book come out.”

He encouraged staffs to take ownership of their yearbook.

“It’s really your book, so look forward. Look toward the future and what you’re going to produce.”