Page 146 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Chapter 7

Dare to Dare

I really do feel—about business and life—that everybody has to
make mistakes. And everybody should be encouraged to feel that if
they make mistakes, it’s okay.
Michael Eisner

remier players can be found in all corners of the business world, and
one thing they have in common is a willingness to take bold risks.
PThey clearly understand that grasping at a dream requires one to reach
beyond the sure thing. Even more, they seem to relish the opportunity. Walt
Disney was just such a player.
In fact, if there literally were a cornerstone upon which The Walt Disney
Company rested, it would have to be inscribed with one short word: Dare.
Throughout the 43 years that Walt ran the company, he dared to meet chal-
lenges; he dared to take risks; and, ultimately, he dared to excel.
From the time that he decided to produce his first cartoon, Disney pushed
the limits of ordinary achievement. He pioneered the use of sound in animated
cartoons with Steamboat Willie. He signed his contract with Technicolor
before the revolutionary process had even been accepted by the industry as a
whole and astutely insisted on a two-year exclusive for his cartoons. He origi-
nated feature-length cartoons with Snow White and defied the odds at a time
when no one thought anyone would ever sit through a 90-minute cartoon.
Even Walt’s decision to build Disneyland represented a new and risky
concept in entertainment. Up to that time, amusement parks had something

127