Page 57 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

38 The Disney Way

communicated to the company at large, and actually lived day to day. Disney
has shown the way.

Built on Beliefs
Early on, Walt infused his work with the personal core values that also came
to define his company. In his initial Mickey Mouse cartoons, for example, the
character of Mickey was overly rambunctious and even a bit crude at times. But
Walt quickly recognized that such behavior would never do if Mickey was to
be embraced by audiences young and old. The mouse would have to reflect the
solid values held by his viewers. Thus, Walt saw to it that honesty, reliability,
loyalty, and respect for people as individuals—the same principles he would
espouse within the company—formed the essence of Mickey’s character.
In more recent times, the “Gong Show” idea that grew into the 1997
movie Hercules was approved precisely because it fit so perfectly with the Disney
Company’s core values. Inspired by the tale of the mythical Greek hero, the film
idea was based on the premise that a person should be judged not only on his
or her outer strength but by inner moral strength as well.
“The core value puts process into creativity,” says Peter Schneider, presi-
dent of the film division. That’s the way The Walt Disney Company sees it.
Thus, the first step in any project, moviemaking or otherwise, is to determine
what core value is being promoted. When it came to the making of The
Hunchback of Notre Dame, for example, the creative team decided, after much
discussion and soul-searching, that the core value of the story was self-value.
They had to agree on this premise before they could go forward.
We are convinced that a refusal to compromise values is necessary if
an organization is to scale the heights. What’s important is not necessarily
the content of a company’s core ideology, but rather how consistently that
ideology is expressed and lived. In Chapter 2, the story of Patrick Charmel
of Griffin Hospital illustrates how one great leader was unwilling to allow
outside influences to alter his beliefs and decisions.
The Levi Strauss Company, for example, has shown an extraordinary
commitment to core values in its everyday operations. The original maker
of the quintessentially American blue jeans has long enjoyed a reputation as
a good place to work, and it is known for its commitment to empowering
workers and compensating them generously. In addition, it has formalized its
beliefs in its mission and aspiration statements, and in 1991 became the first
multinational company to set down guidelines governing business partners