What would it take to turn Disney around?

[dday2021]

OK, a little mental game for everyone.

Ei$ner is out and by some miracle/curse you are the new CEO of Disney. What would you do to turn the company around?

My answer

1) Get back to Walt's fundamental philosophy, create excellent quality, ahead of it's time, Feature Animations and Movies. This in my mind is the core Magic of Disney and they need to get back to it. Bring back the animators and let them create. Agressively pursue new, talented animators, directors.

2)Keep the dream of the theme parks alive. Walt created the theme parks so the lines between reality and imagination are blurred and children between 1 and 100 can experience their favorite characters and movies. Keep them clean, keep them friendly, keep them magical, keep them open. Expand them and add attractions when necessary, dont add a thrill ride for the sake of a thrill ride.

Those two are the cornerstone of the Disney Company.

Expand DCL add a port and ports of call on the west coast / Mexico, and Alaska; Land/Sea cruises there also

Bring back the quality souvineers / gifts / t-shirts, who wants to have a shirt that is so faded after a dozen washes its only good for wearing to bed or painting the house in? I'm also tired of the "if it lights up and spins, parents will shell out for it" marketing

Amputate the gangrenous divisions/subdivisions that are sucking the lifeblood out of and cheapening the company, ABC... gone, ABC Family... Gone, I'm sure there are a few others that I would get rid of if I knew the bottom line.

Take a look at the merchandise that is being licensed, how many variations on the princesses theme can the public endure before they associate your name with cheap low quality junk.

Bring back the Magical Hour of Disney, show whats being planned for future entertainment, parks, get people excited about the magic of Disney just like Walt used to.

Get back on the cutting edge of entertainment technology, imagineering, animitronics, visual and audio effects.

Thats all I can think of for now... what about you?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

My thought is to split the company into two parts.

The first is the Disney (and Buena Vista) "Branded" items. This would include the parks and resorts, the cruise line, the movie/tv production and distribution, Disney channel (along with toon Disney and Vault Disney), the stores, and a couple of the magazines and similar items.

The other is everything else. This would include Hollywood Pictures and Miramax, ESPN, ABC, Fox Family Channel, all the radio and TV stations, go.com, all the other book and magazine puiblishers, etc.,

All stockholders would receive one share of the new company (for want of a better name, let's try calling it ABC/Capital Cities). Give Mikey the new company. (I personally would sell my stock in that new company as soon as possible.)

I would require ALL management employees to spend a full week in the parks or stores in costume as and doing the duties of the hourly workers every year.

I would get rid of the "Cast Deployment" and bring back the positions of "lead". I would get rid of anyone with an MBA, except maybe a few in Finance. I would bring back "Traditions" as a three day course, and require anyone who did not have it to take the course. I would require promotion from within unless there was good justification for hiring from outside.

 

[grinningghost]

Let's start with two basics:

Real animation with magical stories

CLEAN, pristine, super-maintained theme parks

Oh, and just for good measure - NO MORE SIMULATORS - enough is enough.

 

[ohanafamily]

Cheshire Figment has a good start, I would sell the ABCetc company to Comcast to clear up debt, and pay for the buy-out. Also, I would also increase the salaries of the frontline CMs and get rid of a bunch of the bs with the part time-full time CMs. There is a lot to be said for happier CMs. Start the maintenance back at night, and improve services. I would bring back customer loyalty programs like MK Club...

 

[renknt]

1) Fire the rest of the Driectors and hire people who want to make a quality product first then worry about shareholder value.

2 Try to fix the Pixar problem ( get them back to working with Disney)

3) Sell ABC, ABC Family, ESPN.

4) Hire someone to keep reminding me I cant manage everyone and everything. Get people who know what to do and then let them do it.

5) Get back to what made this company great, anamation and the parks. Giving people the most magical vacations they can have.

 

[SpaceAce]

My first reaction was already mentioned, but I think it is important enough to mention again - The Magical World of Disney.

I know we have the Disney channel. Being a huge Disney fan, it is amazing how rarely I watch it. Most of the programming, at least from what I have seen, is not very Disney-like. It seems like programming on any other channel. It seemed like the Disney Channel was more Disney-like back when they did things like "the new Mickey Mouse Club." Do you doubt that it had an impact on popular culture? Do today's kids' know the names Christine Auguliera, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake, all who were on it?

If I am wrong about Disney Channel programming, I apologize, because I rarely watch it because whenever it's on...it s*cks. (pardon my french please)

Just my thoughts. My sincere apologies to those I have offended.

 

[grinningghost]

Space Ace, I doubt you offended very many people on this board with your Disney Channel comments. You were right on. I have always been a huge Disney fan, and I can't stand what the Disney Channel has become. It's geared to preteens and the programming isn't at all what you think of when you think of Disney. I know it's a different time, but I think that's what the folks at the Disney Channel have lost sight of - classic Disney fare IS timeless. Back when Disney Channel ran Vault Disney (in the middle of the night ) - there were a few times (mainly when my daughter was sick), that we would watch it together and she LOVED the stuff on there. She would ask why they didn't put those good shows on during the day when she could watch them all the time.

Yes, Disney Channel may have it's appeal, but if Disney had any sense, they would change the name of the channel to Zoog Disney or something. Then they could add another channel called the Disney Channel and put some actual Disney programming on it. I think that would be a huge shot in the arm for the company.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I am a retired CPA. I would be willing to be on the Board of Directors. Especially if they split up the company as I had earlier suggested.

 

[mikeymars]

>>Space Ace, I doubt you offended very many people on this board with your Disney Channel comments.<<

Hear, hear, I second.

The pencil-headed MBA mindset (and I must apologize, I hold an M.B.A. -- in fact, from one of the most selective programs -- but understand how brutally uninsightful many of my peers with that particular degree are) is what has ruined the Disney channel.

Some simplistic market segmentation type Disney hired or retained years ago decided that the "compression of childhood" was eroding Disney's hold on kids. Ergo, they "grow up so fast now" that the "classic" Disney becomes irrelevant to them too quickly.

So, as part of a strategy to hold onto "tweens," they decided to steam clean the Disney channel. The "Vault" programming was trashed, and replaced with the junky "tween" sitcoms that dominate the channel now.

The outcome? Yes, my ten year old daughter watches it, but does that engage her to the Disney brand? No - she may love Lizzie McGuire as a personality, but that has little to any impact on her interest (or lack thereof) in the parks, the stores, or any other of the core or collateral elements of the brand.

So, what has Disney accomplished with "re-programming" the DC?

Creating a bunch of junk that 9-12 year olds watch and grow out of.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by renknt 1) Fire the rest of the Driectors and hire people who want to make a quality product first then worry about shareholder value.

Why can't they do both? Isn't the board of directors SUPPOSED to worry about shareholder value first? I mean ... isn't that part of the job description? And why fire the rest of the board if only a few are the problem. Think of the learning curve that would leave for the new board.

2 Try to fix the Pixar problem (get them back to working with Disney)

Wouldn't it be better to raise the bar on DISNEY-produced animated work as opposed to bringing Pixar back in? Wasn't the whole Animation outcry based on the fact that Disney kept jobbing out it's animated features?

3) Sell ABC, ABC Family, ESPN.

I'd advocate selilng ABC and ABC Family, but ESPN has been a money-maker from almost day one. It's a strong player and needs to be hung onto.

4) Hire someone to keep reminding me I cant manage everyone and everything. Get people who know what to do and then let them do it.

Easier said than done, but OK.

5) Get back to what made this company great, anamation and the parks. Giving people the most magical vacations they can have.

How can Disney get back to the animation that "made this company great" if all they do is bring Pixar back in, as you advocate in #2. I agree wholeheartedly with bringing back animation, but I want DISNEY animation back at Disney. Not Pixar.