Letter #116: Disney’s content spark — top 3 lessons

Helllo 👋

How’s it going?

I’ve been unpacking my books (yep, I’m in the middle of moving to a new apartment) and came across this gem that I loved: The Ride of A Lifetime (the book that Disney’s CEO, Robert Iger, wrote)

It’s choke-full of team-building lessons. With a ton of lessons on content creation lessons too.

So here I am, resharing the top 3 for you to brighten your week:

1. Pursue perfection but not perfectionism

Confused much? Lemme clarify:

Instill a quality-first mindset that rejects mediocrity at all costs.

To do so (all of this is interlinked like a tad bit complicated food web):

✅  Create an environment where people refuse to accept mediocrity — provide resources/document your processes to nurture quality lovers.

✅  Work with and surround yourself with teammates/clients/contractors who obsess over creating awesome content (hint: these are people who sweat over the tiny details because “great is often a collection of very small things.”)

✅  Set editorial standards backed with examples — work on polishing everything to make sure everyone meets those standards.

✅  Lead by example. That is: make sure you, yourself create content that draws wows.

2. Always explore the ‘how’ behind the brilliance

When Robert was making the case for acquiring Pixar, he was still new and the deal was nearly impossible to make.

But to make a persuasive case to his board of directors, Robert started by examining what the Pixar team was doing differently that made them leaders in animation.

Put simply:

Dig into the ‘how’ to understand the ‘why.’

Is a content team producing beyond-incredible content? Do folks in your network say it’s actually fun to work with freelancers? Ask them how. Learn their processes.

It’s the same for improving your content.

Learn from the pros. Dissect their work, processes, way of thinking — even copy their writing by hand to find your unique angle and voice (technically called ‘copy work’).

3. Be at the forefront of technological change

This lesson hit straight home given many of us have been concerned about the implications of using AI.

But think of it: Disney survived in the face of rising streaming platforms like Netflix. Kodak and Nokia didn’t (in their respective fields).

Know why? Because they didn’t embrace change.

The story that Robert shares about them deliberately taking short-term financial hits for long-term profitability and survival really is inspiring — you should read it.

The simplest question to ask yourself here (in Robert’s words) is:

“How can we deploy technology as a powerful new tool for growth instead of falling victim to its disruption and destruction?”

In the AI-content context, work out how you can incorporate these tools in your workflow with the aim of improving — even refining your processes.

That’s all for today, folks!

I’ll leave you with this bonus nugget from Disney’s CEO:

“Don’t be in the business of playing it safe. Be in the business of creating possibilities for greatness.”

Byee-e,

Masooma