The first day of the Tuck Media Symposium concluded with a film screening of Waking Sleeping Beauty, a documentary film on the revitalization of Walt Disney animation in the 1980s and 1990s. In only a few short years the studio went from a backwater of animation, close to a living museum, into a studio that turned out Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin, etc. (You can read an overview in The Dartmouth here.)
Our guest for this screening was the film’s producer, Peter Schneider, former President and Chairman of the studio, and a pivotal figure in the story. He came up to Tuck to show the film and conduct a Q&A session with the audience.
While the world of animation and theater (Schneider’s background) seem to have little in common in business, in fact the film is a strong testament to the power of good management. When Schneider entered the studio he realized he had 100 days to change the culture. One task was to truly analyze his workforce. Everyone at Disney was a strong drawer. But who was the best? Who was the fastest? Who could you count on to get the job done when time mattered?
These are not the sort of questions you can just lob at a group of employees. Yet it was vital for Schneider to understand the answers if he was going to effectively organize his workforce. In the Q&A he discussed a rather ingenious solution. Rather than just ask the animators: Ok, who’s good? (Answer: We’re all good.) He would say to a group, ok, you just told me everyone here is equally good. Now imagine you have a project due in two weeks. Who do you choose? All of a sudden, the same animators who would never speak ill of each other would venture, Well, so-and-so is good but he’s slow. I don’t want him on my team. Or, so-and-so is fast but his technique isn’t quite as good.
With this insight Schneider could allocate staff to work on areas of the film that required a) fast and good (this was everywhere), b) fast and ok (short shots between scenes), and c) good and slow (the musical numbers which were the focus of the film.
Good management often boils down to asking the rights questions. And in this case, finding a way to get a good answer.
Read the full article: Tuck Media Symposium (part 2)