Neil Gabler’s book on Walt Disney is excellent, and I’ve realized that Disney shares many traits in common with great creative business leaders such as Steve Jobs. In particular, he continually pushed for excellence, at a time when the young animation industry was somewhat of a joke and a novelty.
“In Walt’s estimation, everything that was done had to be executed with a great deal of thought toward finesse in order to make it better.”
The book goes on. Part of Walt’s secret was that in insisting on quality from individuals of whom it had never been required, he inspired commitment. “We’d hate to go home at night,” Iwerks recalled, “and we couldn’t wait to get to the office in the morning. We had lots of vitality, and we had to work it off.”
Never underestimate the value of making something excellent and remarkable, whatever the odds or the industry.
