The $750,000 Photo that Redefined Las Vegas

Today’s Theme:

If someone walked into your program today, what would they immediately believe about what matters here? What does your environment teach people before you ever say a word? What identity does it invite your people to step and live into?

Today, we’re exploring these questions and what you can learn from a single Las Vegas nightclub photo about how leaders create environments and identities that drive what matters most inside their teams and cultures.

How Steve Wynn and Others Redefined Las Vegas

For a long time, Las Vegas wasn’t known for thrills, extravagance, luxury, or vibrance. It was viewed like a truck stop. A place people passed through on their way to more desirable destinations and not somewhere you’d intentionally set out to visit.

But recently, I heard a story shared by a senior executive from the Wynn Resorts organization who was instrumental in the early effort to reimagine not just the Wynn casino, but how Las Vegas itself was perceived.

The leadership group behind the Wynn believed that if the city was ever going to change, it wouldn’t happen through incremental fixes. It would require a new picture altogether, one that redefined what Las Vegas represented in people’s minds.

That belief was strongly influenced by Steve Wynn who described his philosophy in one valuable principle: “You cannot expect first-class behavior in a second-class environment.”

So early in the process, the executive team made a decisive move: Change the image first.

They understood that images are not neutral. They shape emotion before logic, belief before explanation. When people see something, their body reacts before their brain can help you consciously process it.

That conviction led them to invest over $750,000 in a single photograph for one of the Wynn nightclubs.

The cost wasn’t just the photographer. It included the architecture, the furniture, the lighting, the exact time of day, and every human and environmental detail needed to communicate a specific feeling.

At face value, it sounded excessive. In reality, they weren’t paying for a photo, they were paying for a new identity. Years later, that same image is still being used. It still does the work. It still communicates identity before a word is spoken.

Installing a New Shared Identity

Some of you have maybe noticed that over the past few weeks there’s been several viral clips on social media with college football coaches addressing their new teams for the first time.

James Franklin (Virginia Tech). Alex Golesh (Auburn). Brian Hartline (South Florida). Matt Campbell (Penn State).

What we’re really watching in those moments isn’t just a motivational speech, it’s an opportunity to install a new belief. It’s these coaches earliest attempt to shape the identity and DNA of the program. This is the beginning of defining what this place is going to stand for and how it’s going to feel to be part of it…starting now.

Those first messages matter because they set the emotional tone long before results ever do.

My personal favorite from all these recent examples came from Charles Huff, who took over the program at University of Memphis. Addressing the team ahead of their recent bowl game, Huff focused on something deeper than football.

In that moment, Huff wasn’t just introducing himself as a coach, he was establishing the emotional contract of the program. He was telling his players, “This is a place where you’ll be challenged, but you’ll also be cared for. Where who you are matters before what you produce.”

In an era of ever-increasing facilities and resources, the strongest predictor of commitment isn’t what a program has, it’s how it makes people feel.

People stay where they feel valued. They invest where they feel safe and challenged to grow. They give their best where the environment reflects who they’re trying to become.

The 4 Cornerstones of Winning Environments

If environment is shaping belief whether we intend it to or not, the opportunity for leaders is to design it intentionally.

One way I think about environment is through four interconnected elements (I call them the “4 Cornerstones” of a winning environment). Each one sends signals about what matters here and how it feels to belong.

(If you want a deeper breakdown of this framework, I unpack it further on my recent appearance on the Being Champions podcast with Matthew Booth).

Culture — Define It

Culture is the behavior you create, promote, allow, and protect in your environment. It’s not what you say you value, it’s what your environment rewards, reinforces, and corrects. Every day, culture teaches people what’s acceptable, what’s expected, and what’s non-negotiable.

From a player’s perspective, culture answers questions like, “What actually matters here?”

Connection — Cultivate It

Connection is a multiplier of performance because it helps people feel safe, trusted, and genuinely seen. When all three of these boxes are filled, they shift from compliance to commitment.

It’s not just about making people feel seen or valued in a general sense, it’s about being intentional with where your energy goes, regardless of someone’s role or status.

One of the clearest expressions of this comes from Tommy Sheppard in our podcast interview together where he described coaching as “Treating one like twelve and twelve like one.” (Listen here around the 1:04:52 mark).

That doesn’t mean everyone gets the same minutes, the same responsibilities, or the same conversations. But it does mean everyone gets intentional energy.

Development — Grow It

Great coaches develop people, not just players (case in point with Charles Huff above).

Great coaches create environments where curiosity is encouraged, reflection is normal, and feedback flows in all directions.

Growth is expected, not exceptional. People are stretched without being shamed.

From inside these environments, people feel safe to ask questions and expect to grow and evolve. In those environments, growth compounds over time.

Systems — Sustain It

Systems don’t just help teams optimize a winning environment, they help them sustain it.

Like the other cornerstones, systems require intentionality. And often, the biggest signals come from the smallest details.

One of the clearest examples of this shows up every year in the NFL Players Association team report cards (2025 examples). Among the many categories players evaluate, one of the most consistently valued is head coach efficiency.

That should tell us something. Efficiency isn’t the only measure of a system, but it’s often one of the first places the quality of a system shows up. And systems extend far beyond how meetings are run.

From the inside of an organization, systems show up in questions like:

• How are people (players and staff) onboarded and welcomed into the team?

• How is feedback delivered (e.g. consistently or only when something goes wrong)?

• Are 1:1’s intentional touchpoints or afterthoughts?

• How are roles clarified and revisited as responsibilities evolve?

Each of these is a system. Each one communicates what’s important in your culture.

Final Thoughts

Your environment is always communicating something. People may forget what you say, but they will remember the experience your space creates and the identity it invites them into.

Just like that Las Vegas photo, your environment is shaping belief and an identity long before results show up. The question is whether it’s doing so by accident or by design.