Leadership Values From Disney Movies
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.” — Gal 6:9
US$ 7,400,000,000. Yes, US$ 7.4 billion.
That is what Walt Disney paid for the Pixar Animation Studio in 2006.
I stumbled on this information while researching Steve Jobs to prepare a product launch talk I am working on. The staggering number derailed me from research to curiosity.
Who could have sanctioned the purchase of a company that makes cartoons for 10 digits in greenbacks? Is the cartoon movies business that lucrative?
Wait. I have seen Tangled, Aladdin, Brave, Mulan, Moana, Finding Nemo and Toy Story. Did I forget the Lion King?
No wonder we call them animation these days. Cartoons were for kids. I am sure you, too, would have a decent list of animation movies you have watched.
But does that justify Pixar’s price tag, especially since Disney has brought us some great movies of its own?
“Breaking News: The blockbuster Disney deal creating an entertainment giant. The mastermind behind the union, Disney CEO, Bob Iger” — Good Morning America Show.
Although Bob Iger was the President of Disney since 2000. Still, the deal was a bold move for someone who had been in the CEO seat for only five months.
If he was the mastermind behind this blockbuster deal, I have to learn from his masterclass.
After an hour and four minutes, Bob Iger clearly connected Disney’s corporate values to their movies in his introduction. His 45 years at the company, made him an authority on the subject.
Here is what I learnt from “one of the greatest companies in the world” that I believe will help you in your leadership and professional journey.
Walt Disney’s values are:
1. Respect for others. Toy Story — “to infinity and beyond.”
2. The value of hard work.
3. Good will ultimately triumph over evil. Star Wars, Captain America
4. The spirit of adventure. Finding Nemo
5. Taking risks.
6. Resilience, in the ability to pick yourself off and get back into the “fight” — Wakanda Forever
Bob Iger concluded his Masterclass introduction — “if you can achieve those things at a company, which I am proud to have at the Walt Disney Company, then success is a bonus.”
I share these six values this week because they have been critical to my professional and entrepreneurial journey. Resilience is the most important of the six.
“…success can be fantastic and exhilarating and feel great. But failure can be just around the corner. And you have to have the ability to absorb failure or manage failure, knowing at the beginning that nothing was a given, nothing was an absolute.” — Bob Iger
We will face challenges, fail sometimes, and experience self-doubt. To succeed, we must find the strength, will, and courage to pick ourselves up and keep going.
No matter what challenge you are facing this week, I hope you find the resilience to keep going.
