Page 39 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

20 The Disney Way

stories told by visiting seagoing types and other adventurers, his nostalgia
for his past proved too strong to resist. He sailed away from Pleasure Island
forever, leaving his company in the hands of two sons. They were lazy and
indifferent to their father’s legacy, however, and gradually the warehouses
fell into disrepair.
Imagineers refurbished the island, turning its rundown warehouses into
exciting restaurants and nightclubs designed to reflect the regional themes of
Pleasure’s functional buildings. Once again the district bustles with the activ-
ity of world travelers who come together in the spirit of fun and adventure,
a tradition established here a century ago.
But the real importance of both the Pleasure Island and the Blizzard
Beach examples is that they united team members around whimsical notions
that piqued their creative playfulness and drew them completely into the
visions for the projects. Repeating and embellishing the fantastical stories
engaged team members in a way that discussion of budgets and staffing
problems could never have done. A team linked by a central idea, even one
built on whimsy, is better able to tackle the mundane matters that must be
dealt with in order to bring a project to completion. It’s the primary reason
that Walt Disney wanted the castle at Disneyland to be the first building
constructed.

Today, everybody is referring to corporate this and corporate that
and a change is taking place. They want more production and they
want it cheaper. But no matter what happens, the creative idea will
only be perpetuated by somebody who comes up with a vision. I
don’t care if there are three CEOs, it takes one guy with an idea.
And Walt (Disney) was the perfect example of that.
Joe Grant, Disney animator, writer

We often ask our Dream Retreat participants to write an imaginary
newspaper story reporting their company’s triumphant turnaround. The
chroniclers are asked to describe the winning ways embraced by their com-
pany and how they were implemented.
The purpose of this exercise is to force the group to think about how
forthcoming cultural changes should be developed, how they would affect
their company, and how these employees personally would execute them.
A number of different scenarios typically emerge. Some are nuts-and-bolts
pieces; others have a streak of fantasy about them; but all evidence an under-