Disney Institute

Two days were spent last week attending the Disney Institute. In five two hour classes attendees gain a handful of the Disney Corporation’s business practices. As expected, no secrets or closely held proprietary information was revealed. The information is well known about the company by management and business observers.

I enjoyed the Institute. The carefully crafted well rehearsed scripts were well presented (other than for a few personal illustrations you would hear the same script regardless of the presenter). Though a good number of practices are common sense, others could readily be deemed as basic business teachings. It is good to be reminded of them.

I found the difference between corporate cultures in the room to be interesting. Most of the participants work and live within an authoritarian hierarchical command system whereas Disney’s culture is a collaborative consensus model which readily utilizes interdisciplinary teams to address issues and seek improvement.

Was it an unproductive experience? Far be it. Even for those who labor in a command structure there are numerous takeaways that can readily be utilized without radical changes in structure. Empowering employees, feedback loops for clients, stakeholders and employees to effect change, engagement processes, consensus building, using interdisciplinary teams to solve problems, freedom of lower levels to bring forth solutions and participate in problem can readily be utilized by any structure when leadership creates a culture that fosters such elements.

I can attest that an authoritarian command system can implement many of the Disney elements as over my professional life I have been fortunate to work in such an environment three times.