Page 242 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Re-Creating the Magic 223

really hit me hard that we had had 10 years of real failure. Keeping
animation strong is incredibly vital. Animation creates more of a
ripple effect. Characters from Pixar’s Toy Story create opportunities for
merchandising and theme-park rides, such as the Buzz Lightyear Astro
Blasters ride at the Hong Kong park.

Iger also announced that John Lasseter, founder and creative genius at
Pixar, will become the creative head at Disney. Lasseter is charged with
reviving the Disney animation department, whose staff was cut by almost
two thirds during the Eisner cost-cutting rampage, when the animation staff
plummeted from 2,200 down to 800. Disney studio chairman, Dick Cook,
who worked closely with Pixar during their 15-year partnership, commented,
“I was talking to a group of animators when the announcement came out,
and they let out a big yell. The reaction has been genuinely huge. John is
that rarest of talents. Everything he touches becomes better. He is selfless in
his desire to make things great.”
Will Bob Iger and John Lasseter become the Roy and Walt of this era, a
perfect blend of business pragmatist and creative genius? We can only hope.
It remains a mystery if Apple CEO Steve Jobs (who became Disney’s biggest
stockholder after the Pixar purchase) will be content to be a Disney board
member—where he can continue to provide visionary thinking with introduc-
tions like iTunes and the sale of short films, music videos, episodes of smash
hits like ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” and “Lost” for downloading onto
video iPods and other mobile devices. Or, will he want more control in the
day-to-day running of the company?
There are many unanswered questions, but Bob Iger is already mak-
ing his mark on Disney. There are lessons to be learned from the Disney
brothers, ones we hope Bob will take to heart. First, as Walt believed: never
compromise quality. Today, the Disney mission statement reads: “We create
happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages, every-
where.” That means producing the “best of the best” stories, music, theme
parks, animated feature films, television programming, and so on. Finest means
superior in quality, not acceptable or as good as the competition. Our final
hope is that Bob Iger also gives credence to Roy’s words, “When values are
clear, decisions are easy.”
Perhaps Bob realizes he has more than the keys to the kingdom. He is
the quintessential protector of an American icon. Disney is as much a part of