The Disney Dyad

Walt always got in hot water with his dealings with business partners.  He wasn’t really a businessman. In fact, he had left Kansas City, Missouri, with his first business, Laugh-O-Gram, bankrupt.  Walt had headed for California, to start again.

Many individuals and companies came to Hollywood, California in the 1920′s because of cheap land and open opportunities.

His brother, Roy, was in California.  So they formed, Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923.  This time he had his brother to “handle the finances” — but really to help with the finding the money to continue Walt’s latest wildly expensive project.

Walt Disney, an Inventor Rational, and his brother Roy, who was an Inspector Guardian: Walt, as you’d probably guessed, was the creative side; Roy was the business side. Walt ran the show (among other things, he revolutionized the animation business and spearheaded the original Walt Disney Studios). But it was Roy who ensured that Walt had enough money to flex his creative muscle. Roy had a soft spot for his younger brother, he originally had no intention working with his brother.   But, without the contributions of both, the Disney Company would never have succeeded.

With their innovative, entrepreneurial spirit, Inventors are always on the lookout for a better way, always eyeing new projects, new enterprises, new processes.

For their part, Inspectors will see to it that goods are examined and schedules are kept, that resources will be up to standards and delivered when and where they are supposed to be. And they would prefer that everyone be this trustworthy. [Please Understand Me II]

For all his creativity, intelligence, and ingenuity in shaping America’s entertainment tastes, Walt was no businessman. In fact, he hated the business side, and relied heavily on his brother. For one thing, Roy brought sharp business skills into the partnership; for another, Walt trusted Roy (unlike some of his previous business partners). Roy, he knew, “had his back.” There were times when Walt entered business deals that were simply bad. Even then Roy managed Walt’s predicaments as best as he could.  Walt, sometimes desperate from his company being taken over by the unions, government, or business partners, would come up with an innovative product to save the day, but it Roy who “got the money” to finance Walt’s follies, which became enormous hits once they were seen.

And that’s how Roy, a Rock-of-Gibraltar Guardian, and his dreaming perfectionist of a Rational brother, built one of the world’s largest entertainment companies.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), commonly referred to as Disney, is an American multinational media conglomerate headquartered in Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, United States. It is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and travel. Taking on its current name in 1986, The Walt Disney Company expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theatre, radio, publishing, and online media. In addition, it has created new divisions of the company in order to market more mature content than it typically associates with its flagship family-oriented brands.

The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, and today one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world. [Wikipedia]

I believe in being an innovator. — Walt Disney