You know how good tech companies feel like they're run by engineers and not MBA's? You get the strong sense from these charts that Disney was run by artists and not MBA's. Any other company at the time wouldn't stand for the frivolity of doodling cartoon characters on this kind of document, and even today it would come across as forced, but it comes across as genuine here. It's even lettered like a cartoon. Companies always feel more "real" when the people running them can also do the actual work. Could you imagine Bob Iger or Michael Eisner doodling a cartoon like this to explain their business strategies?
It's amazing how Disney hasn't deviated from this strategy and vision even today. If anything, the acquisitions of Marvel and Lucas Films reinforce this strategy.
The interesting departure from this strategy, though still related, is their interest in ESPN. I read (looking for the source, will add when I can recall it) that ESPN accounts for nearly 25% of Disney's overall earnings.
So the main idea is to cross-promote the same IP (e.g. Mickey Mouse) in many different media (films, TV, music, comics, books, merchandise, Disneyland). Kinda like superhero media today.
Not such a fan of this chart. Their org chart though was really great. I really appreciated the different take on org charts that show purpose and include the clients/customers as creatively and genuinely as they did.
Interesting. Not sure how I feel about a children's media company (or any company for that matter) that has "Morgue" as a division within the management group.
Though I have great respect for Todd but this piece do no justice with Walt Disney's strategic process and what's the message in the drawing for today's planners. The Disney recipe is definitely missing from this article and shouldn't be tagged as that at all :).
