-He stabilized a company that was on the verge of being taken over and sold off for parts.
Well. I wonder if that is really accurate. I dont think so
Read on.
Baron, all those years ago you were technically right and I was technically wrong. However, as time has gone by it is obvious that I was 'practically' right and you wrong.
WOW!!! Captain/Pirate!!! That doublespeak even for you!!!
Yes, Mikey could have done better with what he did right but in the long run he did enough right to call it successful. Should all of his elements, MGM, AK, DCA, etc been better? Been much, much better? Yes! Yes! Yes!
Thats all I need right now. Im not discounting the rest of your optimistic view. But Im not talking about the time in the future when the knight in shining armor comes thundering into Disney corporate headquarters to fill in the shells that Ei$ner left, or they actually thaw out that frozen head (GOOD GRIEF!! What would JJ do for a moniker then!!!)!
I asked if they did it right. By the paragraph quoted above, THEY DID NOT!!! Thank you for playing!!
I dug a bit for this and found AV had a wonderful post regarding some of what we are discussing here. Let me know what you think.
Another Voice
1. Michael Eisner was hired as the creative executive. Frank Wells was the person really running the company along with the heads of the individual business units. Yes, Eisner did bring in Katzenberg, but he quickly developed his own power base and cant really be considered a Michael person even in the best of times. Notably Attractions remained managed by Walt and Ron people all throughout the golden Eisner years.
2. These people were able to run their divisions as they wanted with the occasional interruption from Eisner. They were able to stop most of his really dumb ideas early closing Animation, selling EPCOT Center, opening up a chain of fast food joints, etc.
3. Eisners primary purpose in the early years was to lend his Hollywood credibility and let Jeffrey borrow the rolodex to stars at the Betty Ford clinic. Yes, he did jump start the studio, but that was a process that had already started. Many people had been waiting for Disney to reawaken and jumped at the chance to help. And the single event that most sparked the company, The Little Mermaid was a project that pre-dated Eisner (and one he wanted killed).
4. Eisner micromanages in the things that interest him, and utterly ignores those that do not. While hes more than willing to spend an entire day picking out the fabric for the lobby chairs, the man couldnt tell you what rack rate means to the hotel business. Many times he would get involved in the most mundane of decisions and override the management that made the calls in the first place while ignoring the serious issues around him. This caused tremendous problems between him and the companys upper management. Its very hard to look seriously at a man for strategic guidance when his only interest seems to be how quickly you can manufacture the new monorail costumes his wife just designed.
5. He has no ability to tough out a problem when they appear. Its an ability thats become legendary about town. He flung himself into the design decisions about Euro Disney and California Adventure and then completely abandoned both projects when troubles arose. Also witness his approach to Animation he hated it at the beginning (because it was perceived as a failure), then fell in love when it made gobs of cash, but now since there hasnt been another The Lion King again hes shutting down the division. There has been no attempt to fix the division or to find out what went wrong. Its just been dropped like a worn out toy.
6. Eisners tinkering, ego, and lack of true business skills forced out all of the companys top management and a created turnover rate remarkable even for Hollywood. In the last five years alone, how many studio heads have rolled through the lot? Through the death of Frank Wells and the loss of anyone with the intestines to say NO!, what youre seeing today is pretty much the Eisner thats been there all along.
7. Well, maybe not all along. Its worse now after a decade of self-promotion and being surrounded by yes-droids. He honestly thinks hes the business genius that hes been pretending to be and that makes him dangerous as well. People were laughing at him for the Fox Family deal, both inside and outside of the company. Only the ones on the outside didnt both the wait until his back was turned.
No, Eisner is not to blame for all the bad things that have happened or are happening, but he should likewise receive the appropriate amount of praise for what went right. Eisner was good as the Hollywood smoozer to whisper sweet nothings into the ears of stars and to parade himself about at the premier parties. But hes not a businessman. He never has been nor ever will be.
Too bad we can't call in for a stunt double whenever a real decision has to be made.
Thus ends the Disney gospel according to AV
One more quote, just because it makes me feel good!!
But he still implemented enough shell pieces to get us where we are today, which is a still salvageable Disney should someone have the balls to do it. (I'd hire you Landbaron).
Thanks!!!!! Id hire me too!!!!!!!!