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question, “Which came first, Mickey Mouse or the Disney com-
pany?” The answer is not easy. Of course the company came first as
a logical and chronological matter, but Mickey was the company’s
real launching pad. Eisner quotes Walt Disney as fondly repeating:
“Remember, this all started with a mouse.” And it continues with
that mouse, as Eisner describes how Disney pulled out all the stops
to stage a worldwide celebration of Mickey’s sixty-fifth birthday in
1992.
Among the toughest business challenges Eisner and Disney
faced in recent years was the development of Euro Disney. This am-
bitious theme-park undertaking was years in the making. During
many of them, Eisner expressed high hopes and great optimism.
Then struggles ensued, delays slowed progress, and hopes were low-
ered. But with tenacity bolstered by a long-term vision, Eisner and
Disney pulled through and Euro Disney opened with success. Eis-
ner’s candor in admitting trouble and accounting for his own errors
is a sign of trustworthiness that no investor should ignore.
Managing in the Spotlight
Euro Disney got a lot of press, but so do most activities of a company
that is a piece of American cultural history. This unyielding spotlight
poses special management problems that Eisner describes with great
understatement and felicity. Disney takes the lumps for its mistakes
but gets praise when it deserves to. Under Eisner’s stewardship Dis-
ney regularly ranks among the best entertainment companies in the
world, one of the best-managed companies overall, and one of the
most profitable and financially stable entertainment companies. In
1991 Disney also joined the Dow, the only representative of the en-
tertainment industry in that barometer of American (and world) fi-
nancial health.
Eisner attributes these successes to his entire management team
as well as all Disney employees, whom he affectionately refers to as
the “cast of Disney.” The spirit Eisner conveys to the cast of this
family entertainment company resonates with civic virtue and
public-spiritedness. From generating research funding for AIDS at
the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Walt Disney World in 1991, to
furnishing financial sustenance to a downtown theater in Los An-
geles in 1997, to practicing sound environmental policies company-
wide, Disney is long on public values. Disney is a major supporter
of education through an effort that dramatizes the importance of