Page 191 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

172 The Disney Way

Step 8—Install, test, adjust

■ Install the show.
Step 9—Close out

■ Assemble final project documents.
■ Monitor performance.
■ Get sign-off letter from operations.

We like to add a Step 10: Celebrate a job well done!
Although managers at many companies fly by the seat of their pants,
Disney executives follow these guidelines for aligning the company’s long-
term vision with short-term execution. Not only is the company kept on
track from project to project, but costs are cut and production is faster.
Such strict adherence to a set of production standards and processes enables
Disney to deliver consistently successful products and services.

The Process in Practice

New technology of every kind intrigued Walt Disney, but railroading held a
special fascination for him. So when he could finally afford it, he built his own
miniature train on his Holmby Hills estate. He spent hours driving it around,
dreaming and planning. So when the time came to build Disneyland, it was
only logical that Disney would be drawn to the idea of installing a monorail.
Because Disney’s single-track vehicle was the first ever built in the United
States, there weren’t any American engineers with the knowledge or training
to construct it. So Disney turned to German engineers to help with the job.
When the monorail was completed at the end of six months, the Germans
congratulated him on the amazing accomplishment. Walt Disney had finished
in only half a year what had taken six or seven years to build in Germany. The
Disneyland monorail represented planning and execution at its best.
Before planning or execution, of course, must come the vision. Without a
vision, or “story,” as discussed in Chapter 2, there is nothing to plan. The first
step, then, is the generation of new ideas, ideas designed to satisfy customer
needs or solve customer problems. A team must be prepared to suggest, discuss,
argue about, and try out any number of diverse ideas. If one or more ideas fail,
no real harm is done. We remind the teams we work with that although Babe
Ruth hit 714 home runs, he also struck out 1,330 times. So striking out a few
times doesn’t stop someone from eventually setting a record.