- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
In the first part of this two part post, I touched on some things that are part of the Disney approach that might be perceived as being either extremely cautious or unresponsive, unusual negatives for a brand that hits the mark so much of the time. This behavior can drive some negative perceptions, and has even cost the Disney Company some revenue over time. It simply shows that while Disney can be outrageously creative in product design and presentation, they are cautious to change their customer experience. While they are generally a beloved brand, there are also darker sides.
To their credit, the facilitators at the Disney Institute acknowledge this and attempt to address it in their classes. They even said things like: “Disney isn’t perfect. We just try to be.” That seems to be the essential spirit of the approach to leadership at Disney. Here are some examples what I took away on leadership.
The yin/yang of Walt and Roy Disney
It is apparent from the information presented and the historical anecdotes presented during the tours that the two brothers complemented each other and also are truly the co-parents of the culture. Walt was the creative spark. Roy was the pragmatic operations guy making the vision work. This is best shown in a simple story. Walt wanted Disneyland and Disney World built as the ultimate interactive experiences, movie sets come to literal life. Roy urged Walt to abandon the idea of Disneyland when it first started and stick to movies. That was what they knew how to do. Later, when Walt died before Disney World was opened, Roy led the project and ensured it opened as his brother had envisioned. Roy’s contribution? The park was fully funded before the doors opened and profitable from day one.
Roy on the Disney Brand
Disney is a vigilant company, but they have had their business slips. So far, they have recognized these slips and corrected them. It takes courage on the part of such a successful and tradition bound company o accomplish this. Leaders must nurture the brand, but also adapt to the times. Here is an example of a time from 2004 when Roy called out a failure at his company in doing so successfully.
Let me tell you about the danger of Institution Think: It is often said that our company’s most valuable asset is the Disney name. You’ll get no argument from me. I kind of like the name myself. But, in recent times, there’s been a tendency to refer to it as the “Disney brand.” To me, this degrades Disney into a “thing” to be bureaucratically managed, rather than a “name” to be creatively championed. And lately I’ve been seeing Mickey receive this treatment too, as well as Pooh and a lot of others.
As I’ve said on other occasions, branding is something you do to cows. It makes sense if you’re a rancher, since cows do tend to look alike. It’s also useful to lots of businessmen, and they brand things like detergents or shoes for almost the same reason as ranchers. Branding is what you do when there’s nothing original about your product.
But there is something original about our products. Or at least there used to be. Our name already means something to consumers.
I really believe that if we keep thinking of Disney as a “brand,” we will lose all the meaning that has been built into those six letters for more than three-quarters of a century. We need to get back to thinking of it as a “name” that needs to be prized and enhanced, escape the clutches of Institution Think and resume our trajectory of creative and financial success.
How did the Disney Company create enormous shareholder value in the past? Two ways: first by trusting the talents and imagination of its creative people — and then by supporting them with the resources they required.
I don’t care what current management may tell you. The plain fact is, you can’t fool all the people all the time. Nor can you succeed in our business by trying to get by on the cheap. Consumers know when they are getting value for their money, and they know when you’re trying to sell them second-hand goods.
Leadership at the Disney Institute
I want to end this post by pointing out how I saw these high level cultural imperatives and leadership examples demonstrated by the leaders of the Disney Institute when they engaged us to attend their training program, analyze ii and share our impressions. Quite simply, I think they are reflecting the best of the examples of both Walt and Roy. They are doing so by:
- taking a risk – interfacing with people from the field of social media in a way they never have before.
- striving for improvement – seeking out challenging opinions and listening to them
- striving to redefine their business for new times, while staying true to their heritage.
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