The venerable magazine from across the pond, The Economist, gives Bob Iger’s reign as king of the Magic Kingdom high marks. Just four years ago the Walt Disney Company was in turmoil following the the second half of Michael Eisner’s turn on the throne.
The turn around is so complete that Lawrence Haverty, a fund manager at Gabelli Asset Management, says “Disney’s creative momentum is so strong now that there’s no comparison between it and other big media companies.”
The key to this success? Hire talented people and get out of the way of their creative process. One other element, something Disney has always done pretty well — Synergy. (aside: not to beat a dead horse, but Iger might want to consider applying that formula to VMK and keeping it on life support.)
The story features an interesting chart on where Disney Operating Revenue comes from. I keep forgetting that Consumer Products is such a small portion of it. Also with Theme Parks producing 25% of operating revenue, it’s no wonder Iger has sent some of his best people to focus on that arena.
(Link)