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Interview with Disney CEO Robert Iger at Sentinel

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Scott Powers at the Orlando Sentinel has posted his recent interview with Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger. Powers wastes no time asking the tough questions like "What would Walt Do?" Iger’s response appears like classic CEO speak where he dances around the question trying to make all sides happy.

I don’t really ask myself that per se. I spend a lot of time
studying him, and I’m intensely curious about him. ….. And
interestingly enough, I was given something a few weeks back that Walt
wrote for a time capsule in 1956, and he was asked basically to project
what the world of entertainment would look like in 2006, 50 years
hence. I devoured it and have already quoted him. So I wouldn’t say
that I necessarily ask what he would do. He would probably be the first
to admit, if he could, that while there are a lot of similarities to
what was in his writings in 1956, the world also is very different. One
of the things he said that was interesting, he said no matter what the
world looked like people would want to be entertained and refreshed.
This was the first time I’d actually heard that. He was obviously
encompassing his theme park business at the time. Disneyland was then a
year old. He was thinking about it as entertainment and refreshment.

However, I feel this gets to the crux of what most Disney fans want from Disney. Top quality familiy entertainment in an environment where we can feel safe and refreshed. We don’t expect Iger to base his decisions today on the business world of 40 years ago. But we do want Walt’s operating principles as they apply today used as the road map for those decisions. I think Iger gets that. Even if some business decisions are made counter to Walt’s original philosophies, the majority are heading in the right direction.

The rest of the interview runs the gamut of Disney’s influence, it’s a good read.

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1 thought on “Interview with Disney CEO Robert Iger at Sentinel”

  1. Just a little about Disney in my eyes. Disney has gone from being a great placeto just ok. I went for three week in Sept 07. Was the worst vacation I have ever had! Paid over 7000.00 for the trip. Not including the park ticket and my plane tickets. Add those in and we have a grand total of 9400.00 and change. Thats almost 10 grand to hate disney. One of my 3 very young children was injured in a park by and employee. My motherinlaw was injured by a careless bus drive while load here in a wheel chair on a bus. And The Old key west resort. Was dirty with trash everywhere bottles in the lakes. And the room we paid top dollar for had 7 light bulbs out we we walked in. Towel bars on the floor broken, Patio covered with trash and bird droppings. I asked my self did they say welcome home? Wow! Never in my life did I ever want to say it. Disney you gone from Riches to Rags. You suck. Next year after I sell my Season passes. And sell my Vacation Club membership. I plan on going to Universal! Disney would not even talk to us about any thiing. Wouldn’t help the employees are getting more and more stupid. And most just ingnore you when an 67 year old woman is screaming in paid. You have lost a customer that has been going since 1971 when the park opened.

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