I won’t lie to you, folks. It’s been a pretty weird week here at JimHillMedia.com.
First, Roy resigns from the Walt Disney Company this past Sunday afternoon (A move — I should point out — that was expertly timed. By leaking his letter to the media at that precise moment, Walt’s nephew virtually guaranteed that his resignation would be the lead item in every newspaper’ business section). So then I write my “Did Roy Jump the Gun?” story. And — as a result of that article — traffic goes through the roof for this website on Monday. JHM has its best day ever, traffic-wise.
But then — of course — on Monday, Stanley Gold resigns from Disney’s Board of Directors. So — in response to that move — I write “Storming the Magic Kingdom: Version 2.0.” And so many people come by the site on Tuesday morning that we actually end up crashing a server over at GoDaddy.com.
I follow that article up with my “Are Roy and Stanley Making a Rainbow Connection” piece. And things then just get … surreal. CNN starts sending me e-mails. Literary agents start calling me, telling me that this week’s JHM articles are the foundation of a best selling book and do I have representation. A documentary filmmaker starts lobbing notes at me, insisting that I should collaborate with him on a movie that will chart the fall of Michael Eisner.
For a relatively low-key weenie like myself, all this sudden attention was kind of hard to take. Which was why I was almost grateful for Wednesday’s surprise snowstorm up here in New Hampshire. Having to shovel that seven inches of “scattered flurries” off the front deck gave me an excuse to get away from the computer and the phone for a while, go outside, clear my head …
And — as I hustled around in the bitter cold, digging out the driveway, refilling the bird feeders — I had to admit to myself that I was sort of jazzed by all the attention that JimHillMedia.com had recieved over the past few days. But — at the same time — I also had this vague feeling of guilt. That it was somehow wrong my own career should suddenly be surging upwards because Michael Eisner was hitting the skids.
Please forgive me if today’s JHM column seems rather self indulgent. But — being a child of the 60s — I’m a touchy feely sort. Which is why I’m really been having trouble taking much pleasure in what’s been happening to poor Michael Eisner over the past five days.
Okay. I know. It’s kind of weird to hear the CEO who’s received over a billion dollars in compensation during his tenure at the Mouse House being described as “poor.” And I’m sure that there are dozens of downsized Imagineers out there, recently-laid-off Disney Feature Animation employees that are positively gleeful at the idea of what’s now happening to Uncle Mikey.
But me … I can’t help but feel a bit sorry of Eisner. Sure, the guy’s made an awful lot of bad decisions over the past 7 years. But — prior to that (During the early days of his tenure at Disney. That period between September 1984 and the Fall of 1994) — you have to admit that the guy actually accomplished some pretty amazing things.
I mean, how many of you actually remember how truly pitiful Walt Disney Productions was back in the early 1980s? Back when the studio was continually turning out turkeys like “Condorman” and “Herbie Goes Banana.” Back then, Disney was considered a joke among Hollywood insiders. A company that no self-respecting filmmaker would be caught dead working for.
And then Michael Eisner arrived on the scene. And — with the help of Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg — he transformed this sleepy studio into this entertainment industry titan. A company that seemed (for a time anyway) to have a truly magical touch.
Think back on all the great things that the Walt Disney Company accomplished during that 10 year period. Beautiful hotels like the Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge were built. Great theme parks like Disneyland-Paris and the Disney-MGM Studio theme park rose up out of the ground. Disney Feature Animation churned out wonderful films like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”
And Eisner was in charge of the Walt Disney Company when all of this was happening. Sure, he wasn’t the architect who designed the beautiful buildings or the Imagineer who designed the snazzy new rides or the animator that actually drew the cartoon. But he was the executive who said “Okay, let’s do this.” So Michael at least deserves some small piece of the credit for what the Walt Disney Company accomplished over that 10 year span.
It was only after Frank Wells died that Eisner seemed to lose his way. That the guy lost sight of what he was really supposed to be doing with the Walt Disney Company. Which wasn’t to try and meet projected earnings statement. But — rather — strive to deliver a consistently top quality product. Not to continually cut corners. But — rather — build brand loyalty by always giving Disney’s customers more than they were expecting.
It’s Disney’s tradition of excellence that Michael Eisner seemed to have forgotten over the past seven years. Instead of continually delivering a top-quality product, Uncle Mike became obsessed with making a quick buck. Churning out obvious rip-offs like “Cinderella II.” A dreck-to-video project that was created NOT because little girls everywhere were clamoring to find out what happened next to their favorite princess. But — rather — because there was profit to be had.
It was this relentless quest for the all-mighty dollar, with the sole purpose of increasing Disney’s war chest (Not to mention adding to his own personal fortune), that I think ultimately undid Michael Eisner. That changed him from the executive he was from 1984 to 1994 to the guy we have heading up the Mouse House today. A man who’s so isolated from his critics that he really ever saw Roy and Stanley coming. A guy who never dreamed that his power could be threatened by a shareholder uprising.
I know, I know. It’s extremely premature to state definitively that Eisner’s actually on his way out. And — for that — I apologize.
But it’s just that — based on what I’ve been hearing and a lot of the inside information that I’ve been handed over the past five days — I think that Michael’s headed for a fall. And — given that the guy’s now the head of the Walt Disney Company, one of the most powerful corporations in the world — that mean that he’ll be falling from a truly great height. Which isn’t going to be pretty to watch. At least for me.
Don’t get me wrong, folks. I — like many of you — think that it’s high time that Michael Eisner should be exiting his leadership role at the Walt Disney Company. And I’m genuinely excited about some of the ideas that Roy Disney and Stanley Gold reportedly have ready to revitalize the Disney corporation.
But — that said — I still can’t help but feel somewhat sorry for Michael Eisner. By that I mean: A lot of the stuff that this guy put in the pipeline has given me great pleasure over the past 19 years. And now … Well … His misfortune seems to be helping me found my fortune.
Usually, I’m a big fan of irony. But — this time around — it’s just hard for me to take much pleasure out of watching this Disney geek tragedy unfold.
Anyone else out there semi-sort-of-kind-of feel sorry for Michael Eisner?