The Disney Way

Learning from Disney’s Way

The corporate behemoth known as Disney began in 1923 with $500 that Walt Disney borrowed from his uncle. With Walt Disney providing the creative vision, and brother Roy supplying the necessary financial and business-management skills, the Disney Company was onward and upward from day one. How? Disney achieved his success by following four basic concepts: Dream, believe, dare, do.

Disney began with a dream, which he tested against his beliefs. He dared to take risks, and then executed his vision to make those dreams come true. Everything he did derived from those four basic ideas.

From the beginning, Disney emphasized key principles for putting those ideas into action. Those principles still are part of the company’s culture today. First, insist that every employee "is the company" to the customer. All employees, therefore, must understand the company’s basic ideals and practices. For Disney, this meant following its central mission to provide the finest in family entertainment, and to treat all customers as guests. Thus, customer service is a strong guiding principle.

Disney had a commitment to excellence. At times, that meant...