An Explication Of Character: Michael Eisner
Mac Hoffman
HNRS 2013
Paper #3
An Explication of Character: Michael Eisner As the longtime CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner was responsible for helping the company reach heights it had never reached before. He took over Disney in 1984, at a time in which it was struggling, and ultimately expanded the value of the company by taking high risk-high reward endeavors such as ambitious movie productions and the acquisition of large companies. In his autobiography Work in Progress, Eisner presents his career as one riddled with important decisions. He made each of these decisions while displaying a very consistent character instilled in him by his parents: one that is very ambitious, ethical, and desires complete control in all situations. Born …show more content…
This goes to show that Eisner’s controlling personality and ego sometimes led to very costly problems. Another example of Eisner’s tendency to set his own rules was his decision to create “synergy boot camp” called Disney Dimensions, in which he required high-level Disney executives to perform unconventional tasks such as yard work and bathroom cleaning. Eisner envisioned Disney Dimensions as a way to create bonding among the company’s leaders. This bond eventually led to synergy, which is defined as the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. In describing an example of the synergy resulted from the relationships formed by Disney Dimensions, Eisner states “when you want the stores to promote Tarzan, instead of the head of animation for Tarzan calling me, and me calling the head of Disney Stores, what happens is the head of Tarzan calls the head of the stores directly.” The efficiency created by the bond of the executives as well as the boosting of “revenues through cross-promotion and scope” are direct examples of why Eisner’s emphasis on synergy and his inclination to set his own rules, as his mother taught him, led to both success and problems for Disney (Rukstad and Collis 11). While Eisner’s mother instilled in him both ambition and the notion “setting one’s own rules”, his father taught him, as seen in the passage from Work in Progress in paragraph one, to achieve success in business while also adhering to ethics. As CEO of Disney, Eisner respected his father’s advice by sending letters to company employees that were “routine reminders of Disney’s exacting standards of corporate conduct, and not a reaction to any specific event inside or outside the company.” As well as sending letters, he encouraged employees to call
HNRS 2013
Paper #3
An Explication of Character: Michael Eisner As the longtime CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner was responsible for helping the company reach heights it had never reached before. He took over Disney in 1984, at a time in which it was struggling, and ultimately expanded the value of the company by taking high risk-high reward endeavors such as ambitious movie productions and the acquisition of large companies. In his autobiography Work in Progress, Eisner presents his career as one riddled with important decisions. He made each of these decisions while displaying a very consistent character instilled in him by his parents: one that is very ambitious, ethical, and desires complete control in all situations. Born …show more content…
This goes to show that Eisner’s controlling personality and ego sometimes led to very costly problems. Another example of Eisner’s tendency to set his own rules was his decision to create “synergy boot camp” called Disney Dimensions, in which he required high-level Disney executives to perform unconventional tasks such as yard work and bathroom cleaning. Eisner envisioned Disney Dimensions as a way to create bonding among the company’s leaders. This bond eventually led to synergy, which is defined as the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. In describing an example of the synergy resulted from the relationships formed by Disney Dimensions, Eisner states “when you want the stores to promote Tarzan, instead of the head of animation for Tarzan calling me, and me calling the head of Disney Stores, what happens is the head of Tarzan calls the head of the stores directly.” The efficiency created by the bond of the executives as well as the boosting of “revenues through cross-promotion and scope” are direct examples of why Eisner’s emphasis on synergy and his inclination to set his own rules, as his mother taught him, led to both success and problems for Disney (Rukstad and Collis 11). While Eisner’s mother instilled in him both ambition and the notion “setting one’s own rules”, his father taught him, as seen in the passage from Work in Progress in paragraph one, to achieve success in business while also adhering to ethics. As CEO of Disney, Eisner respected his father’s advice by sending letters to company employees that were “routine reminders of Disney’s exacting standards of corporate conduct, and not a reaction to any specific event inside or outside the company.” As well as sending letters, he encouraged employees to call