WALT DISNEY

ATTRIBUTES

Passionate
He could spend hours creating something, drawing up sketches,
penning down characters and thinking, but he did not obsess about
them.
Open to criticism
albeit the constructively objective ones and not the cynical ones. His
personality made room for everyones opinions. Great men are not
always receptive of other peoples thoughts, ideas or critiques but he
was not one of them. He was great indeed and he was also a tough
taskmaster but he knew when one must listen to others and then alter
the course or approaches accordingly.
Ferocious tenacity
His pursuit for something better drove him to all echelons so he could
accomplish what he had in mind. His vision was almost always realized
because of his tenacity apart from passion and creativity.
Creative
When he was little, he was poor. He wanted to draw, but he did not
have any paper. He was creative because he found places to draw. He
also introduced new ideas to the world. For example, cartoons back
then were all black and white. Of course, you know that most of the
movies now are in color, but do you know why? You probably don't.
That is because Walt Disney invented color cartoons and later used
pigment in movies too.
Flexible
Walt invested all of his money in the movie industry. He did not make
much there, but had a lot of movie plans already done. One of his
friends finally said to Walt, "I know that you are comfortable with the
movie industry, but maybe we would make more money on TV." When
Walt thought it through, he decided that he could take a shot at TV.
With that, Walt left all his plans behind for the movie business and
started off fresh. Walt's decision soon paid off. His hit TV show "The
Wonderful World of Disney" made millions.
Triumphant
An example of this is the time when Walt was in the hospital. He kept
trying to make his movies and get out of bed. When his wife, Lillian,
and two daughters, Diane and Sharon, came to his bedside on his
birthday, he still was trying to get out of his hospital bed which he

called "jail". As you can see, Walt Disney has many character traits, but
these are some of the ones that made him successful.

BEHAVIORS

Gentle and caring

Many researchers and biographers have termed him as a workaholic,
as a man with only his way or the highway approach and extremely
rigid when it came to his work. But what many dont know is that Walt
Disney was very caring. He cared for his family, friends and people in
general. He also cared for animals. When Walt was a little boy and
lived on a farm, he did not like hunting. He never went out to hunt
animals, which was pretty much a custom in his family and very
normal in those times. He attended to the needs of the animals on his
farm and never hurt any animal, either on the farm or beyond it in the
wilds. It is possibly this gentle and caring attitude that made him
popular not just among his loved ones but in his company and also
propelled him to create unforgettable characters and moments in his
work.

MINDSET

Enthusiasm
Walts enthusiasm empowered everything he did, and it was
contagious. It touched everyone around him and was no doubt one of
the reasons why so many of his staff stuck with him for so long. His
enthusiasm enabled him to communicate his vision so his immediate
team were motivated to put it into action. Disney film editor Norman
Palmer (Stormy) says: Walts enthusiasm made over-achievers out of
all of us.

Imagination
Walt was know to be a man with a very strong, vivid and active
imagination. He was always imagining something new. Even before
Disneyland was completed he was already imagining and visualizing
Disney World. Sadly he never saw this to completion, but his touch is
certainly there.

Optimism
Walt was an impossible optimist. He had to be. Because of his
optimism we are able to enjoy Disneyland, Disney World, Epcot Center,
the movies and so much more that is today a part of the Disney
Corporation.

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
Walt Disney lived by a clear set of values that he passed on to his
business that he ran daily with purpose and vision. Walt Disney quotes
include My business is making people, especially children, happy.
Walt Disney had the ability to communicate his vision and inspire
others to follow him in pursuit of his dreams. For example, Walt
worked hard to build happy relationships with his employees, and he
expected his employees to build great relationships with their
customers.
Walt Disney strove to exceed customer expectations in delivering
quality entertainment. Were interested in doing things that are fun
in bringing pleasure and especially laughter to people - its proven its
a good business policy.
Walt Disney created a workplace atmosphere that was fun and
friendly. He demonstrated appreciation and respect towards the
workers that brought value to his business.
Making dreams a reality begins with creativity and planning. Walt
Disney used sketches, storyboards and the creation of threedimensional mockups to develop a critical understanding of his ideas
and to communicate these ideas to others.

ROY O. DISNEY (FINANCER FOR WALT DISNEY)

Roy Oliver Disney was the third son born to Elias and Flora Disney on June
6th, 1893. Despite being eight years older, he was really caring and doted on
his little brother, Walt Disney. He never minded watching over him, nor
wheeling him around in the carriage. But it was not until the family moved to
Marceline, Missouri in the spring of 1906 that this bond of friendship, love
and loyalty was truly forged. Elias Disney was a hard-working man with
strong Christian values. He did not believe in frivolities, very seldom
laughed and did not even believe in celebrating birthdays. Roy was always
there for Walt when he got to know that their father was a ruthless
exploiter and a fraud, especially with his own sons. Elias was too frail to work
and made his sons do all the work, and Roy believed he was cheating them.
Not tolerating his fathers harsh rules, in 1912 Roy told Walt his was leaving
and the next morning he was gone. He was independent. Roy never
returned and got a job as a bank clerk in Kansas City. He joined the Navy late
in 1917 and discharged from the Navy in 1919. After returning from France,
Walt had been busy working trying his hand at becoming an animator, but
his attempt with his Newmans Laugh-O-Grams studios failed, and Roy,
writing him from a Veterans hospital in California convalescing from a bout
with TB, told him to give up and get a fresh start and motivated his brother.
So after filing for bankruptcy and with $40.00 in his pocket, he set out for
California. Roy and Walt never give up and worked in their Uncles garage
for a time, they rented an office in the rear of the Holly-Vermont Realty in Los
Angeles for $10.00 a month. Since the beginning, Roy always stood in the
creative genius of Walts shadow. But as brilliant and creative as Walt was, it
took money for his dreams to come to fruition. Roy was the financial brains
behind the team. Walt was the spender and was always looking for more
money for his projects, and the fledging company was always short of cash,

or in the need of more loans. Walt even had to sell his prized Moon Roadster
for money to make a second sound recording of Steamboat Willie when the
first came out wrong. Roy was always in the background and gave moral
support to Walt, but his abilities to manage and handle the financial end of
the business balanced out with Walts creativity, taking the small animation
studio and morphing it into one of the worlds largest entertainment
concerns. Roy always stood by Walt, even though he disagreed on some
of his projects, i.e The first animated cartoon feature, Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs. Roy always knew that Walts determination and grit, and his
genius, seemed to win out most of the time. However, the greatest tribute of
loyalty and brotherly love came after Walts death in 1966. After buying up
land for a new park in central Florida that Walt was to call Disneyworld
there was talk of not doing the project because of Walts demise. But Roy
came out of retirement and oversaw the building of the new park. He knew
that this dream of Walts had to be completed. In his final tribute to his little
brother, friend and business partner, Roy had the park renamed Walt Disney
World so everyone knew that this was Walts project and dream they were
entering.
ROY O. DISNEYS TRIBUTE TO WALT DISNEY
Walt Disney World was actually a tribute to two brothers. Walt may have
dreamed castles but it was Roy who got them built. It was Roy who, in his
70s with a longing to retire and travel and spend time with his grandchildren
wrestled with heat and humidity, swamp land and scrub brush, construction
delays and finances to make Walts last dream a reality.
From the October 1972 Walt Disney Productions publication titled, The
National Champion: A Report to Participants in Disneyland and Walt Disney
World:
Of the thousands of persons responsible for the creation of Walt Disney
World, no one played a more important role than the late Roy O. Disney. Long
known as the behind-the-scenes financial genius, he was thrust into the
leadership role by the untimely passing of his brother Walt Disney in 1966.
Throughout the busy years that followed, Roy devoted nearly all his time and
energy to bringing Walts dream to reality. It was a dream that was
staggeringly complexand yet with Roys guidance, it did indeed become a
reality

One week after Walt Disney died, Roy spoke to a group of Disney Company
executives and creative staff in a projection room at the Disney Studio. He
was going to postpone his retirement. We are going to finish this park [in
Florida], and were going to do it just the way Walt wanted it, Roy firmly
stated. Dont you ever forget it. I want every one of you to do just exactly
what you were going to do when Walt was alive.
Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971.
Reporter Charlie Wadsworth wrote an article in the December 22, 1971,
edition of The Orlando Sentinel: It was Roy Disneys guidance and
leadership that brought Walt Disney World to its opening. He was completely
dedicated to building the dreams of his brother Walt. They say a little of Roy
left when Walt died in 1966 of cancer. But not much could have left. He was
the keeper of the flame and had to be the curator of the spirit that Walt
Disney created. He inherited the Disney entertainment empire. It was
difficult for his neighbors in Windermere to grow accustomed to the fact that
the little round, balding man with the twinkling eyes and inquisitive nature
was the chairman of the board. But thats the way Roy Disney wanted it. That
is the way he lived[he] was a man of great personal warmth and charm, as
personable as his late brother Walt.
Roy was a modest man and, when he died, little was known of his
accomplishments, especially in comparison to his brother, Walt. Roy was the
man who built Walt Disney World without a cent of debt and, hopefully, those
who celebrate the 40th anniversary this year will remember him and how he
made his brothers final dream come true for all of us.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

Strong product portfolio

Brand reputation

Walt Disney brand has been known for more than 90

years in US and has been widely recognized
worldwide, especially due to its Disney Channel,
Disney Park resorts and movies from Walt Disney
studios.
Competency in acquisitions

The Walt Disney Company has acquired Pixar

Animation Studios in 2006, Marvel Entertainment in
2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012.
Diversified businesses

The business operates five different business

segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio
environment, consumer products and interactive
media.
Localization of products

WEAKNESS

Walt Disneys products include broadcast television

network ABC and cable networks such as Disney
Channel or ESPN. Combining the significant audience
reach of these cable networks, (ESPN has nearly 300
million and Disney Channel 240 million subscribers).

Recently, Disney has started adapting its products to

suit local tastes.

Heavy dependence on income from North America

Although, Disney operates in more than 200 countries,

it heavily depends on US and Canada markets for its

income.
Limited target audience

Children are the biggest influencers in an adults life.

However, they are not the revenue drivers. Disney is
limited by its abilities as it has only children as its
target audience.

Character development is slow

OPPORTUNIT
IES

Today, there are very few new characters which are

generating revenues equal to Mickey Mouse or Donald
Duck.

Growth of paid TV industries in emerging economies

The Asia Pacific region accounted for more than 50%

market share of the world pay TV subscribers (394
million) in 2011. It was expected to grow to more than
55% by the end of 2016, where China would account
for more than 27% of the market. The similar growth is
expected in India as well.

Expansion of movie production to new countries

THREATS

Disney has an opportunity to expand its movie

production to such countries as India or China, where
movie production industries have developed good
quality infrastructure.

Intense competition

Disney operates in very competitive industries such as

media, tourism, parks and resorts, interactive
entertainment and others. The competitive landscape

changes quite drastically in the media industry, where

news and TV go online and new competitors with new
business models compete more successfully than
incumbent media companies. Disneys parks and
resorts business segment also receives strong
competition from local competitors who can offer
better-adapted product.
Increasing piracy

The advancements in technology allow copying,

transmitting and distributing copyrighted material
much easier. With an increasing number of internet
users and the speed of internet, this poses a great risk
to Disneys income, as fewer people would go to
watch movies in a cinema or buy its DVD, when its
freely available online.

Strong growth of online TV and online movie renting

Besides internet piracy, Disneys media and movie

production businesses may suffer from online TV and
online movie rental growth. Subscription to online TV
streaming and movie rental websites costs much less
than to usual cable television providers. In addition,
internet infrastructure is often managed by different
companies, thus taking the power away from cable
network providers.