More on Walt Disney

Further to my earlier blog posting, here are more musings on Walt Disney & lean principles.

Walt's natural instinct for Strategy Deployment helped him define Disneyland's famous Four Disciplines, which first appeared in 1950's training manuals.

They are (in order of importance):

• Safety

• Courtesy

• Showmanship

• Efficiency

I'm struck by the parallel with Toyota's famous four:

• Safety

• Quality

• Delivery

• Cost

At Toyota manager training these became our mantra. We came to understand that each focus area built on the last.
Safety improvements came first, then quality and delivery. Cost improvement was the last to come, but it stuck when it did, because we'd built a solid foundation for it.

Strange how so many companies focus on Cost alone -- and come to grief thereby.
Walt also understood the importance of touching the head and the heart -- another cornerstone of Strategy Deployment.

"The thing that makes us different is our way of thinking....We seem to know when to 'tap the heart'. Those who hit the intellect only appeal to a very limited group."

I recently took my family to Disneyworld in Orlando. I casually asked several "cast members" about the Four Disciplines.

Each was able to rhyme them off and explain their significance.

Focus and alignment -- half a century later.

Best,

Pascal