It's time for a shake-down

[PeterAlt]

I am writing this because I am deeply concerned about the leadership direction of the current management team of Walt Disney Enterprises. Transgressions and poor decisions of the past, coupled with even worse decisions and wrong decisive actions, will have a damaging long term effect. In order to steer the company back to a corrective track, a thorough shakedown and review of corporate leadership and division management is in order. This should include removal from power those responsible for said transgressions and bad decisions, full vetting of those remaining, promotions and demotions based on said vetting, and a comprehensive search inside and outside the company for talented, seasoned, creative, professional, self-disciplined, highly educated, and charismatic leadership.

This call to action comes on the heels of the the multi-billion dollar NextGen fiasco. Current company leadership, instead of acknowledging their mistake and bad decisions from the past, which lead to this crisis, have made another round of bad decisions that will have damaging long term consequences. Instead of making the people responsible for creating the mess and perpetuating bad decisions relating to the continuity and deepening escalation of the problem by removing the individuals from positions of power, management has decided to reward them by robbing funds from elsewhere within the company in order to bankroll the project's spiraling out-of-control budget. The funds being used to pay for this are being directly taken from the corporation's future - funds that would have created domestic theme park attractions, a necessity in order to compete fairly in the market with Universal (of which has committed to a budget more than the budget currently being stolen by the NextGen project). These past and current decisions will bring about the downfall of Disney's theme parks and resorts leading role, if these decisions are not dealt reasonably and reversed.

The shakedown should include a thorough review of the executive team and removing those responsible for poor decisions within the parks and resorts division, namely Meg Crofton. We will do our part in an advisory role by researching each person currently in positions of power at Disney and making recommendations on each. Everyone here can do their part, and your voice does count. I'm sure there are people here who directly or indirectly know people who can influence. I have a big connection with someone who can, if motivated, have a huge influence. I'm sure the combined influence of everyone here can and will shake things.

There are two kinds of people in this World: those who complain all the time and do nothing, and those who dream big with vision and make a difference. Let's dream big and make a big difference!

 

[BoarderPhreak]

So... You'll be at the next shareholder meeting?

 

[PeterAlt]

So... You'll be at the next shareholder meeting?

Unfortunately, I sold all my shares, but I have close family members who still have a lot of shares. I'll do my best to talk them into going and be our voice!

 

[Magenta Panther]

Bravo!!!! If you or your family DO go to a stockholder's meeting, please ask Iger about the broken yeti. It is a freaking disgrace, and it makes me sick that TDO just acts like it's no big deal and the dumb tourists don't care. I'd love to hear Iger's response/evasion/outright lies.

 

[Thrill]

Bravo!!!! If you or your family DO go to a stockholder's meeting, please ask Iger about the broken yeti. It is a freaking disgrace, and it makes me sick that TDO just acts like it's no big deal and the dumb tourists don't care. I'd love to hear Iger's response/evasion/outright lies.

I'm sure he'll bring Figment back, or something.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Nobody knows if NextGen is a fiasco, no one posting on this forum has any access to that information no matter what anyone thinks. If there was even probable cause NextGen was as bad as people like to wishful think, it would have gotten to people who make decisions about Disney stock, and last I checked, Disney stock is considered a BUY universally.

Iger has done an amazing job, look at the stock, Disney is not considered a "bubble" stock like Comcast for example, its solid, and has incredible value, people will regret the day they questioned Iger for anything, just like Eisner.

My advice, leave well enough alone.


Jimmy Thick- <---Stockholder and very pleased.

 

[TubaGeek]

Nobody knows if NextGen is a fiasco, no one posting on this forum has any access to that information no matter what anyone thinks. If there was even probable cause NextGen was as bad as people like to wishful think, it would have gotten to people who make decisions about Disney stock, and last I checked, Disney stock is considered a BUY universally.

Iger has done an amazing job, look at the stock, Disney is not considered a "bubble" stock like Comcast for example, its solid, and has incredible value, people will regret the day they questioned Iger for anything, just like Eisner.

My advice, leave well enough alone.


Jimmy Thick- <---Stockholder and very pleased.

If I decided where to vacation based on stock prices, I'd probably wind up at the production center of some pharmaceutical company.
Come to think of it, that may explain a few things about you, Jimbo...

 

[PeterAlt]

Nobody knows if NextGen is a fiasco, no one posting on this forum has any access to that information no matter what anyone thinks. If there was even probable cause NextGen was as bad as people like to wishful think, it would have gotten to people who make decisions about Disney stock, and last I checked, Disney stock is considered a BUY universally.

Iger has done an amazing job, look at the stock, Disney is not considered a "bubble" stock like Comcast for example, its solid, and has incredible value, people will regret the day they questioned Iger for anything, just like Eisner.

My advice, leave well enough alone.


Jimmy Thick- <---Stockholder and very pleased.

You may think so, but things aren't always what they seem; and, common sense doesn't always prevail. You would think so, or hope so; and, thus assume this is true. It's because of this fallacy that things do not get checked, and the opposite is true.

Disney's biggest stock holders, for the most part, aren't the corporate types, as it were. They are the family of Steve Jobs - a total opposite persona of the corporate big business type and whom are still mourning the passing of Mr. Jobs. They are George Lucas, who just got married and just started enjoying retirement and a new life of philanthropy. They are Michael Eisner, who probably prefers to stay quiet because of the humiliation related to his ouster as Disney CEO.

 

[Thrill]

Nobody knows if NextGen is a fiasco, no one posting on this forum has any access to that information no matter what anyone thinks. If there was even probable cause NextGen was as bad as people like to wishful think, it would have gotten to people who make decisions about Disney stock, and last I checked, Disney stock is considered a BUY universally.

Iger has done an amazing job, look at the stock, Disney is not considered a "bubble" stock like Comcast for example, its solid, and has incredible value, people will regret the day they questioned Iger for anything, just like Eisner.

My advice, leave well enough alone.


Jimmy Thick- <---Stockholder and very pleased.

Investment is an absolutely terrible gauge for the success of a project. Problems below:
1. NextGen is not Disney. Parks and Resorts is insignificant relative to ESPN. DIS is floated on Marvel, ESPN, and (to lesser extents) Pixar and LucasFilm.
2. Investors don't know everything. See Enron.
3. Modern day trading is about buying shares and selling them off in seconds. Few investors give a damn where Disney is going to be two years from now, because they're making money right freaking now.

I could care less what investors say. I'm here, right now, telling you that $1.5 billion was a ridiculous investment for glorified FastPass, glorified NFC, and glorified queues. NextGen's technology is achievable on my desk. Granted, it's a smaller scale, but this technology is nothing revolutionary. Patents might say otherwise, but modern patent law is an entirely different disgrace.

Side note: I would hardly call Comcast a bubble. They're a telecom company above all. Given the (disgusting) state of lobbying in this country, there's a very real chance that Internet neutrality dies in the next couple of years. That's absolute bank for Comcast and the other telecom providers.
I'd even go so far as to argue that Comcast is very much the same as Disney was 20 years ago -- banking on the government to hand out a monopoly. In Disney's case, it was a (quite excessive) copyright extension. In Comcast's case, it's going to be the death of the free Internet.
The only difference is that everyone uses TV, Internet, etc. and Comcast is the sole provider in many areas (and is one of two in many others). Net non-neutrality brings more revenue for Comcast. Meanwhile, Disney depends on its IPs, but it isn't guaranteed success on account of them. Because of this distinction, Comcast is actually a more stable company.

If I decided where to vacation based on stock prices, I'd probably wind up at the production center of some pharmaceutical company.
Come to think of it, that may explain a few things about you, Jimbo...

I'd go for a nice, relaxing vacation at an investment bank.

That way, I've got the good old American taxpayers to make sure that nothing goes awry.

 

[englanddg]

Shake down, eh?

 

[George]

@PeterAlt - can you tell us who your big connection is? I'm assuming no, since you don't mention them in your open, but I am curious and it may have been an oversight.

 

[Disneyfanman]

I disagree with the idea that Disney is a bubble. They are extremely diversified with each division responsible for it's own growth. Like or dislike Iger....he has demonstrated the ability to manage a multi-national, multi-billion dollar, diversified company. The people waiting in the wings have not. I may not agree with every strategy or decision, but they have grown the company, purchased some interesting IPs, and have continued to produce content that I love. I do own a fair amount of stock for the single reason that I like what the company makes and does. Even when they miss-fire it feels like they have more going for them than any other media based company in the world.

 

[PeterAlt]

I disagree with the idea that Disney is a bubble. They are extremely diversified with each division responsible for it's own growth. Like or dislike Iger....he has demonstrated the ability to manage a multi-national, multi-billion dollar, diversified company. The people waiting in the wings have not. I may not agree with every strategy or decision, but they have grown the company, purchased some interesting IPs, and have continued to produce content that I love. I do own a fair amount of stock for the single reason that I like what the company makes and does. Even when they miss-fire it feels like they have more going for them than any other media based company in the world.

Iger did his job. He may have one more big merger before his exit. His focus has been on mergers and foreign investments. No doubt that was needed. But this was at the expensive of building on Walt Disney's creative legacy domestically. You can say Iger is a Roy Disney person. Throughout the history of the company, there's been Roy and Walt people running things, alternatively. That's basically the checks and balances of creativity versus good business. Neither should ever take complete control. It's looking as if the creatives are loosing ground. The best way to avoid this from happening all together is to install a new team, with an edge on what's creative.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

I disagree with the idea that Disney is a bubble. They are extremely diversified with each division responsible for it's own growth. Like or dislike Iger....he has demonstrated the ability to manage a multi-national, multi-billion dollar, diversified company. The people waiting in the wings have not. I may not agree with every strategy or decision, but they have grown the company, purchased some interesting IPs, and have continued to produce content that I love. I do own a fair amount of stock for the single reason that I like what the company makes and does. Even when they miss-fire it feels like they have more going for them than any other media based company in the world.

Comcast is the perfect example of a bubble stock. By as soon as next year Comcast could be in serious financial trouble.

Disney stock is recommended as a buy universally by everyone. Disney's future is extremely bright no doubt due to the decisions made by Iger.

Jimmy Thick- Tellin' it like it is.

 

[Hakunamatata]

There are two kinds of people in this World: those who complain all the time and do nothing, and those who dream big with vision and make a difference. Let's dream big and make a big difference!

Going to be pushing a month real soon and was wondering if we could get an update on the shakedown....

 

[PeterAlt]

Going to be pushing a month real soon and was wondering if we could get an update on the shakedown....

WYSIWYG

 

[Hakunamatata]

WYSIWYG

So no shakedown. Got it.

 

[PeterAlt]

So no shakedown. Got it.

These things don't happen overnight. If there is going to be a shakedown, momentum will have to first build. It's like a very heavy snow ball that refuses to budge but with enough people pushing at it, it starts to roll. First, slowly, then the pace picks up and, before you know it, it's rolled across town!

 

[Hakunamatata]

These things don't happen overnight. If there is going to be a shakedown, momentum will have to first build. It's like a very heavy snow ball that refuses to budge but with enough people pushing at it, it starts to roll. First, slowly, then the pace picks up and, before you know it, it's rolled across town!

Oh I totally understand. I was just curious if it was snowing yet.

 

[PeterAlt]

Oh I totally understand. I was just curious if it was snowing yet.

It's a big snow ball. Is it raining up there (Any Where North, USA/Canada)? I've been told there's no snow - just rain... Shouldn't it be snowing, not raining?