For all you Eisner Haters!

[CleveRoks]

Read this article: http://slate.msn.com/id/2116794/?GT1=6334

Just a little food for thought! I mean, as far as dollars and cents go this guy has been a blessing towards the Disney Compnay! The numbers dont lie.

So maybe, just maybe, Eisner wasn't NEARLY as bad as you guys make him out to be. Just a thought.

 

[raven]

Kinda a bold step putting something like this in the News & Rumors section but oh well.

I am an "Eisner hater" as you would call it. But for many reasons. I worked for Disney during his reign. I saw many things that the public didn't even know about and heard of many more things about him that I didn't care for. It's true that the company made money while he was around but he also gave himself multi-million dollar bonus' as well and hardly any other CMs or employees get paid well in the first place.

We all have our own opinions of him though and we are allowed that. :wave:

 

[Robfasto]

Yes the company numbers are great. The problem with Eisner was that most of his yearly pay was a percentage of the profits. So to get the profits up and keep his pay up things had to be cut back to save money. This is where 'Seasonal Attractions' and attractions that open and close many hours after or before the parks do. For every dollar the company saved was more money is is pocket.

I don't hate Eisner, he had a great run at Disney and as the numbers show he made the Disney Company into what it is today. What I don't like is that fact of what was given up in the parks for the bottom line.

 

[barnum42]

The numbers dont lie.

Oh yes they do - I have a qualification in lying with numbers - it's called statistics. :lol:

He may know the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Numbers don’t lie but as recent corporate events have shown, accountants and CEOs do!!!

 

[DarkMeasures]

Those statistics do lie.

It only shows 1984 and 2004.

What it doesn't show is all those years in between and how almost all that boosting came from Eisner's first 10 years. After Well's death and Katzenburg leaving and all that suff that happened right after the first decade, it all went down hill. Eisner went out to see the same growth from his first decade which eventually lead to all of his problems and the whole SaveDisney thing.

Disney War is a really good account on what happened. If you haven't read it, read it.

 

[CleveRoks]

Oh yes they do - I have a qualification in lying with numbers - it's called statistics. :lol:

He may know the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.

Look, this is foolish! These are legit numbers. It's not like they are saying: our profits were up 100% on even years with a 'leap year' and with a Presidential Election taking place.

Just to educate you, these are called 'bounds,' that is when there are restrictions placed on the stats to basically 'sweeten them up.' But in the case of the numbers in the article, these are VERY legit numbers! It clearly shows that Eisner was clearly a financial sucess for Disney! You can't even argue against that! It's there, BLACK AND WHITE CLEAR AS CHRYSTAL!

There is no argument against it!

Yes, Eisner did indeed make 'cut backs' but what CEO hasn't done that? Seriously, General Motors is about to go bankrupt due to the lack of cut backs made by their CEO!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Eisner was good for Disney, but his time passed and his style of management and lack of creativity has stifled a brand famed for that flare.

If Mickey is such a genius how come the most successful pictures have been made by Pixar, a company hes peed off and the most innovative attractions have been at Universal a competitor that has made much of employing former Disney employees.

Eisner is an egotistical despot FACT!

 

[barnum42]

Look, this is foolish!

Damn Right

 

[askmike1]

First of all, thank you for posting a pro-Eisner article.
Numbers do not lie!
FACT: Compared to other CEOs, Michael Eisner is not paid a lot. He is the 163rd best paid (out of 500).
FACT: Compared to other people (such as Roy Disney), Michael Eisner does not have a lot of money. (Roy has $1.1 billion, Eisner has a fraction of that).
FACT: 742 Films have been released under his tenure (compared with the 158 released before him)
FACT: Under his tenure, Disney alone did not write off any loss
FACT: He made the wise decision to release movies out on tape
FACT: A quick look at Disney's stock chart shows modest gains until 1985 where the stock skyrocketed.
All that said, I realize everyone has their opinions and I know some hate him, but IMO, Michael Eisner is doing a good job.

-Michael

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Eisner WAS NOT a bad CEO. Not in any way, shape, or form. He did save the Disney company and made it in to what it is today. His problem is that he didn't know when to say enough was enough. He went passed his prime, and put people in to positions that they shouldn't have been in (Pressler, Harris). Now it is time to say good bye. Thank Eisner for what he did right and thank him for finally stepping down.

 

[askmike1]

He went passed his prime, and put people in to positions that they shouldn't have been in (Pressler, Harris).

True, but he also put people in charge such as Jay Rasulo, Matt Ouimatt, Mr. Cook, Bob Iger (who is doing many good things already) and others.

-Michael

 

[Pioneer Hall]

True, but he also put people in charge such as Jay Rasulo, Matt Ouimatt, Mr. Cook, Bob Iger (who is doing many good things already) and others.

-Michael

Right...but think of all the problems that occured from the people that were originally there. Ouimet is killing himself to try and make a decent celebration in DL because the former management thought a merchandise event and a parade would make the public run in. The management now is doing ok, but think how incredible things would be if it had happened 10 years ago as opposed to 2.

We know that the DL fans on the west coast are complaining that this celebration is becoming more of WDW's party...and they are right. Think of the management and see how while Weiss was pushing for Soarin', LMA, and more...DL was asking for a parade and fireworks. The Ouimet stepped in and all of a sudden Disneyland is frantic to clean up a debilitated park and build up whatever the meager plans are for the big event out there. Think of what happens now if the public says the DL celebration was a flop. Disney won't recover from that for a long time. More is going to be coming after the celebration rather than for the celebration. To me that is just scary.

 

[TheOneVader]

Look, this is foolish! These are legit numbers. It's not like they are saying: our profits were up 100% on even years with a 'leap year' and with a Presidential Election taking place.

Just to educate you, these are called 'bounds,' that is when there are restrictions placed on the stats to basically 'sweeten them up.' But in the case of the numbers in the article, these are VERY legit numbers! It clearly shows that Eisner was clearly a financial sucess for Disney! You can't even argue against that! It's there, BLACK AND WHITE CLEAR AS CHRYSTAL!

There is no argument against it!

Yes, Eisner did indeed make 'cut backs' but what CEO hasn't done that? Seriously, General Motors is about to go bankrupt due to the lack of cut backs made by their CEO!

Most of the "Eisner Haters" do realize he made the company tons of money. The thing "Eisner Haters" don't like about him is that he's not putting all that money back into the system, as I understand it...

 

[barnum42]

Most of the "Eisner Haters" do realize he made the company tons of money. The thing "Eisner Haters" don't like about him is that he's not putting all that money back into the system, as I understand it...

A lot of it is memory of Walt's priorities - a good show, attention to detail and make it affordable. The corporate monsters of the world are more interested in doing it as cheaply as possible and charging the maximum for it. What was once a unique Company dedicated to quality family entertainment became another immoral corporate giant.

Sure Walt was lousy with the banking side of things and it's only though his brother Roy that Walt's dreams were fulfilled, but the steady decline in the quality of animated productions (all the outsourced straight to video cheapquels) and the deterioration of the parks due to maintenance cut backs goes against the ideals that founded the company. Greed has become the driving factor.

 

[Robfasto]

Yes, Eisner did indeed make 'cut backs' but what CEO hasn't done that? Seriously, General Motors is about to go bankrupt due to the lack of cut backs made by their CEO!

Well, GM is going under mostly due to unions. When an autoworker retires their package is about 95% of the base pay plus full health for life.

 

[Shaman]

NO ONE should say Eisner wasn't good for Disney...he was; but that being said he should have stepped down years ago...after the death of Wells...he just wasn't the same CEO....Somewhere along the way he stopped caring about the company and the Disney name, and started thinking about how much more money AND power, he could pocket for himself. With power comes corruption.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

No matter what your numerical abilities, in recent times Michael has behaved like an egotistical despot, surrounded himself with weak yes men, made a number of very poor business decisions and sold the companies long held high esteem for a few quick hits on a balance sheet.

What a genius .

Dobber and thats a FACT!!

 

[askmike1]

The thing "Eisner Haters" don't like about him is that he's not putting all that money back into the system, as I understand it...

You mean like building huge budget attractions like ToT, Mission: Space, Expedition Everest or other popular attractions like Philharmagic, Soarin' LMA? Heck, even DL's new firework show is huge. Or do you mean how ABC picked Lost (which had the most expensive pilot episode in history) and Desperate Housewives? Or do you mean how Disney is putting money in animation so there can be animated movies (Chicken Little, Repunzel, American Dog, Wilbur Robinson, etc). Or do you mean how they pay big money to make such hits as Pirates of the Caribbean and [hopefully] Chronicals of Narnia? I'm confused at how he is not putting the money back.

Sure Walt was lousy with the banking side of things and it's only though his brother Roy that Walt's dreams were fulfilled, but the steady decline in the quality of animated productions (all the outsourced straight to video cheapquels) and the deterioration of the parks due to maintenance cut backs goes against the ideals that founded the company. Greed has become the driving factor.

First of all, I can't stand when people call them cheapquels. Animators put a lot of work into these movies and you are crushing their job. If you were an archetect and someone critisized your building and said "That building is horrible, it was made so cheaply!" would you feel good? Also, quality of the "Direct-To" movies have been steadily increasing. I'd bet good money to say that if I showed you an image from TLK and an image from TLK1.5, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Lilo and Stitch 2 looks just as good as the original and Bambi II looks great too. Not only is the animation better, but the stories are very good too. Also, for most of these, the entire original voice cast comes back (with few exceptions such as Lilo). Secondly, you say the parks are deteriorating...obviously you haven't seen Disneyland recently. The park looks fantastic. WDW also looks great too. The period of bad show was not Eisner's fault. It was Paul Presslers fault (and for Disneyland...Cynthia Hariss' fault).

-Michael

 

[SteveUK]

I think the disagreements in this area result from differing views of what people expect of a Disney CEO. If you are looking at Eisner from the perspective of an accountant, then he did a good job, but if you are looking at him and comparing him to Walt, and the ideas that Walt wanted to see in his parks, 'good show' etc then the opinion may be different.

I am divided on this issue. In some ways I appreciate and agree with the Walt purists out there, and in that respect don't agree with many of Eisner's decisions. However, I am also a realist in that I understand that the first and foremost role of any company is to make money. If Eisner did not make the company profitable, then there would not be a WDW for us to enjoy. Sometimes you just can't have it both ways. There is a definite balance to be found between the two extremes of money and Walt's dream, and people will all have their own opinion of exactly where that line should be.