If you knew me, you’d know how obsessed I am with Walt Disney & that little ‘ol company he built. Recently, I’ve been getting a bit into his history– and just finished my second reading of Bob Thomas’ Building a Company, which is mostly told from the perspective of Roy, Walt’s brother (though, for the record, I still prefer his Walt Disney: An American Original book more). For so many reasons, I find the Disney story super compelling. And this past weekend I ventured out to The Walt Disney Family Museum here in San Francisco (why the heck is it in San Francisco? Explanation here) and was blown away. Opened just over a year ago, the museum’s focus is really entirely on Walt Disney, the man, and not the company. It’s 10 galleries telling the story of the visionary in chronological order, from how he basically created the “art” of animation, transformed the film industry, made roughly a gazillion people happy, and left one of the largest media & entertainment companies as his legacy to the world.
But you knew all that (and if you didn’t, you should have!)– he’s much celebrated and has the best quotes: magic, imagination, happiness, blah blah blah. I’m a big believer in all of that. But, in the way the museum told his story, I discovered a few interesting take-aways that aren’t necessarily part of the typical Walt Disney lore:
Failing is Better Than Being Afraid of Failure
Walt’s story wasn’t always a tale of epic success. When he returned from his stint in WWI, he began his own company (at the age of 22!)… only to watch Laugh-O-Gram Corporation go bankrupt. After he and Roy escaped to LA, film distributor Charles Minz took the rights to Oswald The Rabbit (the character that first put the Disney Brothers Studio on the map) and hired away four of their top animators. Even after having created Mickey Mouse, it wasn’t until the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that the Disneys could finally stop constantly worrying about making ends meet (and even then it was hit or miss depending on the economy and what huge project Walt wanted to do next). Walt’s entire career was full of ups and downs, but he persevered and somehow managed to find the money (mostly with Roy’s help). He never stopped thinking bigger and better.
I don’t think I need to add the typical cliched examples (we all know the Michael Jordan & Steve Jobs story), but this lesson’s especially relevant given some recent chatter in the tech community. It seems all the rage for venture capitalists to talk about how valuable “failed” entrepreneurs who want to try again are right now. And from the entrepreneur’s side there’s Marc Pincus’ story of failing with Tribe.net, his early social network (“it could have been huge, man… it could have been Friendster,” he once joked). And NewsTilt’s Co-Founder Paul Biggar’s essay on What Went Wrong (plus many other post-mortems). If Walt was afraid of failure, he would have stopped after Laugh-O-Grams went bankrupt. Good thing he wasn’t.
Technology Adoption is Crucial to Innovation & Success
I was surprised by how high-tech most of the exhibits at the Museum were– and you’ll be too. It’s filled with digital displays, video screens, touch-screens, and more– rare footage of Walt Disney and capture audio pops up everywhere. All in all, the new-age technology’s a pretty awesome complement to the Walt Disney story. But it’s also (consciously or not) very fitting with his spirit, too. I was struck by how quickly Walt jumped to adopt, master, and reinvent every technological advance he could seemingly get his hands on. Walt Disney was, you bet, an early adopter (and a hacker, too, come to think of it).
In “Steamboat Willie” (which, if you haven’t seen recently, is totally worth it), he created the first-ever animated film that synchronized sound (after overpaying for the nascent technology that could make it happen). Back then, they couldn’t have separate tracks… so, believe it or not, the sound effects were recorded at exactly the same time as the orchestra until they got every little piece right (that’s Walt whistling as Mickey Mouse, by the way). Walt then created the first animated film to use three-strip Technicolor (again overpaying for the technology that made it possible). He developed a two-story-tall multi-plane camera (featured in the opening of Snow White) that was later adopted by basically everyone. He made the first film with Fantasound (an early surround sound-like system that literally was Walt’s idea), the first with CinemaScope (widescreen technology, with one of the best early examples being 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), and the first regular color TV program (“Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color”). And on and on– all the way to the audio-animatronic robots made famous with Disneyland. Oof! That’s a lot innovation. But Walt was never satisfied, always tinkering, trying new things, seeing how far their capability could be stretched, and then creating something better. Today, he would have bought the Google TV box at full price and reinvented it.
Family Gives Great Leaders Strength
Today, it’s almost as if we expect those in power to have nonexistent or crappy family lives. But, believe it or not, by most accounts Walt was one heck of a devoted family man. His incredible relationship with his older brother & co-founder, Roy, made the company what it is. Roy was the only person who could tell Walt no & the only person who could find the money to fund Walt’s big creative ideas. Except for a few rough years, both them and their wives were inseparable, even vacationing together (check out Walt’s sweet bath robe in the Hawaii picture above). Roy’s dedication to finishing Disney World the way Walt would have wanted it after his death is among the most moving tributes. Walt passionately loved his wife. Though she’s maybe most famous for suggesting the name Mickey Mouse instead of Mortimer, Lillian Disney‘s other contributions are immeasurable– she not only cared for Walt but also challenged him, famous (notorious?) for always telling the truth. Walt also loved his two daughters, Sharon Mae and Diane Marie. He and Roy took enormous pride in their grandchildren. The moment they could afford it, they moved their parents as nearby as possible. Walt even rewarded his sons-in-law with jobs at the company (to varying degrees of success).
And it’s clear family was pivotal to Roy and Walt’s success. In interviews, they both say their happiest moments were when they were with their children and grandchildren. They both explain the courage to take on their biggest challenges and risks derived in no small part from their wives. Ultimately, although the The Walt Disney Family Museum is technically the story of Walt Disney, the man, and not the company– the company is as inseparable from Walt Disney as Walt Disney is from his family. Not a bad lesson for today, either.