Disney Mission, Vision Statement & Values Analysis

Every brand or organization has a driving force, something imprinted in everyone’s hearts that work within its sphere, inner energy, a reason for going on.  This inner force or imprinted consciousness Is known as the company’s mission. Again, every organization has a goal, a dream; a height it aspires to attain in a much further future; this is referred to as its vision. Hence this duo is very vividly expressed in the Disney mission and vision statements.

Walt Disney’s Mission and Vision statements profoundly highlight the purpose, services, audience, goals, and company’s drive.

Disney’s mission statement is “To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands,  creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company”

Disney Vision Statement is “to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information.” 

Disney’s Early Days:

From the very beginning, it was clear what the “Disney Brothers” wanted was to provide quality and distinct entertainment to the public. They had a burning desire to entertain and began adopting animations (which was a not so popular medium) for entertainment. Of course, this soon became a craze all through America, and soon everyone was buying tickets to see the Mickey Mouse animation series at the  Colony Theater in New York. But like every other successful brand today, the Walt Disney Company has not always had it all rosy. It has had its own fair share of hurdles.  In 1941, for example, the company suffered a major setback that led to a handful of employees resigning. Before that time in 1923, Walt Disney had declared bankruptcy on the  then “Laugh-O-Gram studio.” But why is it then that the Disney Company is still striving despite all of the steepy times? The answer is not far fetched. 

The Vision Of The Walt Disney Company:

As noted earlier, Walt Disney’s vision is to be one of the world’s leading producers of entertainment and information. Emphasis on the ‘world’s leading.’ The vision of an organization steers it through turbulent times. It helps one keep focus in the face of all of the financial or industrial distractions that comes along the way. It is easy for one to conclude that the Disney company kept pushing despite all of the ups and downs and is continually pushing because it has the vision to be one of the world’s leading…

Analyzing The Walt Disney’s Vision Statement:

When broken down, we make out three things from the company’s vision statement:

• The targetted audience 
• The company’s aspired position 
• The service that is/would be rendered 

1. The Targeted Audience: They make it clear that the Disney company is not looking to dominate America only but the world. One can imagine that this particular aspect of the vision statement is constantly being engraved into the Disney employees’ hearts. Hence having this in mind, every content, series, product, or service aims to reach out to the world. This goes further to affect the quality and diversity of each product or service. 
   • Quality and Diversity: if you knew that the bowl of soup you prepared was going to be served at a meeting with all of your neighbors, friends, family, and colleagues from your office in attendance, you would be meticulous, deliberate, and very cautious of everything that goes into its preparation. Knowing that the soup wasn’t going to be consumed by you alone and so it had to be just right! That is the same feeling that goes into the preparation of every Disney movie you see on your screens, the same feeling that goes into the building of every of the Disney parks and world you visit, the same feeling that goes into the production of every Disney product you use. Because they know that the target isn’t just America but the world, hence it has to be just right!  The consciousness of the company’s targetted audience gingers creativity, spontaneity, and a higher sense of responsibility to the team of workers. All of these give the customer, spectator, or visitor the desired result. 
     
     
2. The Company’s Aspired Position: “…the world’s LEADING… “  the Disney company isn’t just interested in giving to the world. It is also particular about being among the leading companies to do so. Therefore, to stay leading, it must have to be good enough to wade off many other competitors. No one needs to remind us how many companies like Disney spring out every day worldwide. But the Disney princesses, the Mickey Mouse clubhouse, the Avengers, the Disney land, and a host of others that has revolutionized entertainment across the globe would linger for a long time. Why?  Because the aim is to be among the leading producers and providers.
   
   
3. The Service That Is/Would Be Rendered: “Entertainment and Information” have always been the reason behind all of the fuss for over ninety-six years. It has always been why they do what they do.  This aspect of the vision statement reminds the team and the public that entertainment and information are the company’s core and will remain so even in the future. 

The Importance Of Vision Statements:

• It helps maintain focus. 
• It instills responsibility in employees. 
• It provokes creativity and spontaneity. 
• It gives the company the energy for surviving trying times. 
• It encourages quality 
• It fosters enthusiasm amongst staff. 

The Mission Of The Walt Disney Company:

Wikipedia has this to say about a company’s mission statement: “A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, identifying the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operation.”

The mission statement of any organization should answer the following questions:

• Why the organization exists?
• What the organization’s overall goal is?
• What kind of product or service does it offer?
• Who are its primary customers?
• Where does he operate, or in order words, what part of the world is its service restrained to?

Now let’s try to compare Disney’s mission statement to see if it answers those questions: “To entertain, inform and inspire people  around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands,  creative minds, and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.” 

Analyzing The Mission Statement:

One could marry the first and second question together. The reason the organization exists could interchangeably be its overall goal. With the answer to those questions, Disney opens its mission statement, says  “to entertain, inform and inspire… “. We wouldn’t stress on this as much as we had already talked about when we talked about the vision statement.  So at first glance of its mission statement, we already have an idea of what the company does, of what it’s about, what its overall goal is. 

• What kind of product or service does it offer? It goes again to tell us that the company’s services are entertaining, informative, and inspiring, and they achieve this via storytelling. So one gets a broader picture now. It tells us this is how we entertain-by telling stories. 
• Who are its primary customers? “…people around the globe… “. It tells us everyone in the globe, whether young, old, African or European, it doesn’t matter, what matters is you live on earth.
• What part of the world is its services restricted to? Clearly, we see there are no restrictions as long as we are still talking about our planet. 

Other Aspects Of The Mission Statement 

We would now analyze this part of the statement  “…reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company.”  

“…Reflecting Iconic Brands…”: It is nothing new that the Disney company is affiliated with a long list of brands and cooperations. Each of these brands, I imagine, actively working independently or together at some points to achieve the company’s overall mission. Some of Disney’s affiliated brands are shown below:

• Walt Disney Animation Studio 
• Marvel Studios
• 20th Century Studios
• Disney Cruise Line 
• ABC Broadcast Network 
• Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products
• ESPN and a host of others 

“…Creative Minds… “: When we take a walk inside Disney land, we are amazed at the colors, the vibrance, literally everything. We almost immediately begin to imagine who put the colors together or had the idea for the Toy Story Midway Mania in Disney Land, California. Honestly, we admit that a lot of creativity had gone into the park’s formation. Upon till now, I have not been able to get the 2016 Anime movie Moana off my head. It is actually one of my favorite Disney Animation. A lot of thoughtful details can be noticed in the cultural-based movie from the screen. Who are the brains behind all these? the Truth is, it is impossible to begin listing every one of them as Disney has over 220,000 employees worldwide, and each of them plays a significant role in their sphere.  However, I have compiled a list of some of the top leaders and innovators in the Company. 

• ROBERT A. IGER- executive chairman and chairman of the board
• BOB CHAPEK – Chief executive officer
• ALAN BERGMAN- Chairman Disney Studios Content 
• JOSH D’AMARO – Chairman  Disney parks, experiences, and products
• JAMES PITARO- Chairman ESPN and Sports Content

AND A WHOLE LOT OF OTHERS!!! 

“…Innovative Technologies… “: The Imagineers at the Walt Disney company utilize technologies like Auto Animatronics/Stuntronics, Virtual Reality + a little bit of Hyper-Reality, Machine Learning, Visual Computing amongst others to bring their imaginations to life. 

“…To Make Ours The World’s Premier Entertainment Company”: And this is the climax of it all. The reason why Disney would hire some of the most creative, imaginative minds in the world to do its work, the reason why they hadn’t given up all these years, why Walt Disney had not remained in the Red Cross Society,  the reason he did not scruffle into hiding when his rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was taken from him, and this is why The Disney company has so much affiliated brands on entertainment. It is a distinct goal. Every single employee that adds to the team understands this goal. It isn’t hidden in some corners on their website. It is vividly displayed so that everyone who visits knows what the company aims to be. 

The Importance Of Mission Statements:

• It gives purpose to the company and its operations. 
• It gives every team member a sense of belonging, knowing what they are a part of.
• It gives shareholders and customers a clear description of what to expect and what’s in store for them.

Conclusion: 

Mission and vision statements are popular in companies and organizations because it sharpens and gives purpose to its operations. There is always a reason or reasons we do the things we do, and it is no different with organizations or brands, whether big or small. Like a famous spoke person once said, “when the purpose of a thing is unknown, abuse is inevitable.” The Walt Disney company understands this, and so took time to make sure that Disney values, mission and vision statements give you an idea of what they are and what they planned to be. This is how it should be clear, precise, and all-encompassing. Generally, the mission statement speaks to the customers or consumers, whereas the vision statement speaks to the organization itself. Every organization should take time to think to itself and find out its mission and what its vision is, just as the Walt Disney Company has done. 

Also read Tesla’s Mission, Vision Statement & Values Analysis