Interesting Eisner Interview

[happybratpack]

Interesting article, thought you guys would be interested.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11234208/site/newsweek/from/RS.5/


Eisner: "Well, Roy Disney, Roy Disney, the problem with him is he's not Walt Disney, so that's that."

"Meaning that he has delusions of being Walt Disney?"

Eisner: "Put any meaning into it you like."

 

[agotta]

Michael Eisner seriously has some nerve. I love that he says his motivation has never been about money and he has no regrets. Thanks Mr. Eisner....

 

[bicker]

In the end, the article was summed up in the first sentence:

Michael Eisner transformed the Walt Disney Co. from a studio with a couple of theme parks to a global entertainment behemoth worth more than $50 billion, in his 21-year reign that ended last year.

He achieved what he was charged to achieve, and in stellar fashion, and did so despite the obstruction by those who felt their family pedigree implied they knew better how to run a business. The message was very clear to me.

 

[agotta]

In the end, the article was summed up in the first sentence:He achieved what he was charged to achieve, and in stellar fashion, and did so despite the obstruction by those who felt their family pedigree implied they knew better how to run a business. The message was very clear to me.

Wow....

Had nothing to do with family pedigree. It had to do with upholding Walt's beliefs and original intentions for the company. Eisner did a great thing...in the beginning. He overstayed his welcome long before he actually left. He was volitile to the company and only had his best interest in mind, not the company's or the publics.

From Roy's letter of resignation:

But, since Frank's untimely death in 1994, the Company has lost its focus, its creative energy and its heritage.


As I have said, and as Stanley Gold has documented in letters to you and other members of the Board, this Company, under your leadership has failed during the last seven years in many ways:

...4. The perception by all of our stakeholders -- consumers, investors, employees, distributors and suppliers -- that the Company is rapacious, soul-less, and always looking for the "quick buck" rather than the long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust.

5. The creative brain drain of the last several years, which is real and continuing, and damages our Company with the loss of every talented employee.

 

[mrsltg]

Wow....

Had nothing to do with family pedigree. It had to do with upholding Walt's beliefs and original intentions for the company. Eisner did a great thing...in the beginning. He overstayed his welcome long before he actually left. He was volitile to the company and only had his best interest in mind, not the company's or the publics.

"...4. The perception by all of our stakeholders -- consumers, investors, employees, distributors and suppliers -- that the Company is rapacious, soul-less, and always looking for the "quick buck" rather than the long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust."

I've got a couple of problems with this entire thing. The PP apparently knows EXACTLY what Mr. Eisner was doing/thinking and is able to derive that he "only had his best interest in mind." The CEO of a major company should have very little in mind as far as the "public interest" goes. It's his job to answer to the stockholders. The rest, philanthropy, branding, etc, is not the concern of the CEO - s/he has a staff for that. Those pieces fall into place when a company wants success. The second problem is Mr. Disney citing the perception of "ALL" stakeholders. Unless he interviewed EVERY SINGLE ONE he has nothing to say.

The goals of Walt Disney are admirable and his company is fantastic. What sometimes gets lost in the never-ending love affair some of us have with the company is that it is a COMPANY. It has to be profitable or it will close. The original business model of 50 years ago has to be updates or risk complete market close-out. I am grateful for Mr. Eisner and the job he did at the company. I agree it was time for new blood and ideas. This is not because of any failings of Mr. Eisner but rather a chance for something new.

Erin

 

[Disney_1derland]

Regardless of what he accomplished or failed at Disney, he sure comes off as a pompous idiot in that interview

 

[happybratpack]

Regardless of what he accomplished or failed at Disney, he sure comes off as a pompous idiot in that interview

I have to agree with this. I do have great respect for him, but this definitely wasn't one of his better interviews.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I have to agree. There's a part about the reporter asking him specific questions about certain people--Ovitz, Roy Disney and Katzenberg IIRC. Eisner first brushes off the question, then when the reporter zooms in on it again, he (Eisner) claims not to have paid attention to the names mentioned.

TOV

 

[bicker]

Had nothing to do with family pedigree. It had to do with upholding Walt's beliefs and original intentions for the company.

As if that were what was best for the company. Sounds good on first glance, but it simply wasn't what was best for the company.

Eisner did a great thing...in the beginning. He overstayed his welcome long before he actually left.

Perhaps, and I'm very supportive of Iger, but Eisner overstaying his welcome was far far better than what Roy Disney would have done had he had his way.

 

[agotta]

As if that were what was best for the company. Sounds good on first glance, but it simply wasn't what was best for the company.

Perhaps, and I'm very supportive of Iger, but Eisner overstaying his welcome was far far better than what Roy Disney would have done had he had his way.

Enlighten me on what Roy would have done that would have been so terrible

 

[Deb in IA]

My impression (and no, I've never met him or talked to him) of Michael Eisner:

Phenomenally successful, hard-driving businessman.
Arrogant ego-centric personality.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Enlighten me on what Roy would have done that would have been so terrible

He might not have done anything wrong. But how could Roy have known how Walt would have run Disney if he was alive these days? Disney of the past is nothing like Disney of the present. Sure, Roy might have focused more on the "magic" and all that, but is that what Disney, the multi-billion dollar media giant needs?

I think Disney fans in general focus solely on things like the parks and the movies, but Disney, the corporation, is so much more than that now.

 

[MICKEY88]

{But, since Frank's untimely death in 1994, the Company has lost its focus, its creative energy and its heritage. }


this is a key point, Frank and Eisner came in to the company together, Frank kept Eisner in check, and Disney thrived..when he died, Eisner started to micromanage the company, driving away all of the most creative people, and the company started it's downhill slide..

Eisner also alienated a lot of business partners...PIXAR being a prime example...

Roy Disney, was trying to get the company back on track, I along with milions of shareholders would have gladly traded Eisner for Roy,
Roy may have said All stakeholders, but he was talking about an overwhelming majority of Shareholders, business partners and investors...

the success of his SAVE DISNEY campaign was proof of that,

he didn't want to do business exactlythe way Walt did, he wanted to restore the integrity and value that Walt insisted upon.


you don't expand a succesful empire by taking a rolls royce factory and producing Yugos, to produce more sales at lower prices...

you stick with the quality that people expect..

 

[rascalmom]

Perhaps, and I'm very supportive of Iger, but Eisner overstaying his welcome was far far better than what Roy Disney would have done had he had his way.

Lest we forget, it was Roy Disney who was a key factor in bringing Eisner to Disney in the first place.

 

[agotta]

Lest we forget, it was Roy Disney who was a key factor in bringing Eisner to Disney in the first place.

No doubt.

And maybe he doesn't know EXACTLY how Walt would be running the company, but he was trying to bring back what is important.

he CEO of a major company should have very little in mind as far as the "public interest" goes.
This is so ridiculous!!! The public interest and opinion should matter very much to a large corporation ESPECIALLY DISNEY!!

I am not saying that Roy would have been the best thing, but I belive he had some very good ideas and was trying to bring back tot he company what Mr. Eisner was taking away.

I have not disputed the fact that in the beginning, Mr. Eisner was a great thing for the company. I used to be one of his biggest fans, but when it turned into power-hungry and greediness, he lost me.

 

[bicker]

My impression (and no, I've never met him or talked to him) of Michael Eisner: Phenomenally successful, hard-driving businessman.
Arrogant ego-centric personality.

Sounds like every one of the best corporate leaders there have ever been.

 

[kirbsam]

bicker, i was just thinking the same thing. show me a highly successful businessman, or athlete, and you will see ego run amok. the drive to succeed, (be the best), is accompanied by huge egos. anyone ever listen to donald trump or michael jordan? two of the most successful people in their industry, and egos the size of texas. we all like the results of those egos, and then we comp0lain when they sound egotistical? hardly makes sense.

 

[bicker]

anyone ever listen to donald trump or michael jordan?

Or W, for that matter.

two of the most successful people in their industry, and egos the size of texas.

Mmmumenflug!