The Toughest Job

“When Disney bought its rival, Pixar, in 2006 for $7.4 billion, many people assumed the deal would play out like most big media takeovers: abysmally. The worries were twofold: that either Disney would trample Pixar's esprit de corps,… or that Pixar animators would act like spoiled brats and rebuke their new owner…

“But two years into the integration of Pixar… the merger is notable for how well it's faring. Indeed, in an industry where corporate marriages often create internal warfare (Paramount and DreamWorks SKG are the most prominent example) Disney and Pixar have found a way to make it work.

“‘Most acquisitions, particularly in media, are value-destroying as opposed to value-creating, and that certainly has not turned out to be the case here,” said David A. Price, author of a newly published book from Knopf, ‘The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company’…

“‘None of this has been easy,’ said Richard Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, ‘but it helps when everyone has tremendous respect both professionally and personally for one another’…

[Pixar President Edwin] “Catmull concedes that trust didn't come easily, especially in an age when some companies promise one thing before a merger and then seem to do another once the deal is done.

“‘It took about a year before there was a collective letting down the guard,’ he said. ‘Initially people were thinking, Is something going to happen?’…

“In the Pixar acquisition, Disney, despite its legendary corporate identity and strong will, held back...

“‘There is an assumption in the corporate world that you need to integrate swiftly,’ [Disney CEO Robert] Iger said. ‘My philosophy is exactly the opposite. You need to be respectful and patient.’

“Key to the successful integration, analysts say, has been Mr. Iger's decision to give incoming talent added duties. Instead of just buying Pixar and moving on, Mr. Iger understood what made the acquisition valuable, said Mr. Price, the author. ‘If you are acquiring expertise,’ he said, ‘then dispatch your newly purchased experts into other parts of the company and let them stretch their muscles.’”

(“Disney and Pixar: The Power of the Prenup.” Brooks Barnes. The New York Times: June 1, 2008. pg. 1)

RECOGNIZING THE SOURCES of real value creation may be shrouded in mystery and cloaked in assumptions.

Take it slow. Hold off for a moment or two. Humble your self, and quiet the many voices to the contrary. Sanity comes with humanity.