I have an image in my head of Disney World as being an orange. (A Florida orange of course. Yes, we all know the California oranges are superior these days, no need to go there.
)
The orange may have a few flaws here or there as would be natural, but nothing that really detracts from the flavor or beauty of the overall product.
- The grove management decides they can scrap off a bit of zest here or there, make a little extra money from it, show people there is more to the product than they might have realized. These spots blemish the product a bit, but still didn't affect much.
- Management decides since that went over excessively well, they should start peeling entire strips off the outside of the orange to boost those profits, assuming it would do nothing to the fruit inside. So they do, and the fruit dries out just a bit, but not so much that folk who don't know exactly what a fresh orange should taste like would notice.
- Greedy for more, and assuming the consumer mass is pretty much a bunch of people who wouldn't know a fresh orange if it hit them in the head, they decided to squeeze the product, split the offerings between different pools of consumers. (Note, those who pay more are not getting a better product, they are just deceived into believing they are.) They squeeze it harder and harder, all the time telling themselves that it is still an orange and people will want it because of their good name that was built up in years past. (this is where we are now.)
- Consumers start to question the product and the value of the product as the price has also been raised with each change to it. Buyers start to look to other groves, try their fruit and decide it's really pretty incredible, and a great value in comparison to their old faithful, overly marketed oranges they had become accustomed to buying.
- Eventually the orange will be squeezed so hard it resembles the mushed clump of playdough a child might have after as they destroy one creation and prepare a new color to be played with. You know, the mushed lump that conforms to the center of a clenched fist.
- Management sees no more sales for zest, juice or oranges and they can't figure out why ... that's when Disney sells as they won't know how to create anything out of that mashed lump and those who knew how to restore faith in their product are long gone..
My belief is that Disney will not get much further down the line of self destruction. Stock holders may demand profits, but common sense has to tell those in charge that the profits are not as important as building and restoring faith in a once awesome product. Earned profits follow care and creation, not perception.
