Disney

Everyone would like to be the best, but most organizations lack the discipline to figure out with ego-less clarity what they can be the best at and the will to do whatever it takes to turn that potential into reality. I believe that any organization can substantially improve its stature, behavior and performance, perhaps even become great, if it conscientiously applies the framework of discipline and positive habits. Let's take a look at the history of the Walt Disney Company and the change of its' organizational culture over time.

In 1945 its first theme park "Disneyland" was opened in Anaheim, California, USA, followed by "Walt Disney World" in Orlando, Florida, USA, in 1971. In 1983, the first international Disneyland opened to the public in Tokyo, Japan, and in 1992, the corporation expanded its business to Paris, Europe. Furthermore, Disney operates a theme Cruise Ship since 1998.

In the 1980's and 1990's the Walt Disney Company was revitalized by an American entertainment executive, Michael Eisner. Educated at Denison University, Eisner studied literature and theater. After graduating in 1964, he worked for a short period of time as a clerk and then briefly in the programming department. Eisner's career took off at ABC, which he took a position as a programming assistant for ten years, eventually becoming senior vice president of prime-time production and development. His climb up the corporate ladder was lateral to ABC's jump from third place to first place in the viewer network ratings. In the seventies, Eisner was named president and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures. He held onto this position for an eight-year tenure as the motion-picture studio climbed from last to first place among the six major picture studios. In the eighties, Eisner left Paramount, accepting a position as chairman and chief executive of Walt Disney Production, which was, renamed the Walt Disney Company shortly thereafter.

Eisner, an admirer of Walt Disney, was intrigued and passionately interested in children's programming and family entertainment. He was an optimistic person well known for being a genius in the creativity department. Disney has since been molded into a company that is built on a strong foundation, a combination of global creativeness that is always producing fertile ideas, and a plethora of shared common sense. One common question is: How did Michael Eisner formulate such good leadership to bring a company from good to great? Eisner once described in an interview why some companies make the leap and others don't. (Boje, 2005)

The Walt Disney Company has evolved to be known as and idea generator, which is a powerful enabler. When a company is set-up to be an idea generator, it must foster a flexible environment for employees to speak their thoughts and develop ideas. Disney believes that being a leader requires four main parts: being an example, being there, being a nudge and finally being an idea generator. He strongly encourages this type of behavior within the Disney work environment. The existence of this type of culture in an organization is personally a favorable atmosphere and it is an excellent work motivator.

When a company has a stuffy organizational culture with a ton of red tape, it affects the organization as a whole and makes blue collar employees not perform as well as they should. (Robbins, 2006) At Walt Disney, they are in the business of entertaining people, so the culture is set in being energized, fun, magical and exciting. It's all about customer service. Creating this cultural environment brings more interest into the company and many talented individuals that just may have the next billion-dollar movie. One of Disney's ways of getting employees to be idea-generators was to implement a program of teams called the gong show and charettes. These two programs were great ways to get employees to share their thoughts and idea generators. Meeting once a week, the employees would discuss their ideas with team members.

Disney believes that the successful implementation of their programs require ongoing effective education and training of both employees and those of their licensees and vendors, as well as the operators of factories engaged in the production of Disney merchandise. (Disney.com, 2007) Accordingly, they give high priority to communication and cooperation in order to promote understanding of and compliance with their requirements. Meetings and training sessions have thus become an essential part of their effort. Since the inception of the programs, they have hosted thousands of training sessions around the world with licensees, vendors, factories and business units, in large groups and small, and on a one-to-one basis. (Disney.com, 2007)

Leading by an example is an important aspect of an organization. Leadership involves role modeling - the more positive a leader is the more positive the organization will be in performance and making things happen. When leading by an example, one shows enthusiasm and loyalty to the organization. By showing this type of leadership, the organization is enhanced by the demands of excellence. The basics to setting the example is to remember that no matter where one is, and whatever one is doing, imagine that anyone from the organization is taking a mental note when one is least aware of it and it will be the one image that sticks with them. All leaders have a required responsibility to set a positive example. (Robbins, 2006) As a leader, coworkers and subordinates are constantly watching and mimicking, this has an effect on a company's success as well.

Availability is an important factor for any leader within an organization. Leadership at Disney believes a management should constantly be in the same room with employees, to look them in the eyes and hear their voices. They believe all employees have a voice.

In creative companies like Disney, there is a need to be able to interpret body language to determine their ideas and how passionate they are with their ideas. With companies as large as Disney, having a strong team of leaders running the organization is key to a successful company, which is proven in this case. Leading a company from mediocre to greatness does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating employees/coworkers to follow your vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights.

What makes an organization great is the quality of leadership, the commitment to the bottom line and the knowledge of vision. Yes, leadership is about vision. But Leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted.