in terms of how they did business, leadership, and how both dealt with failure.
Walt Disney: Inventor of cartoon characters like “Donald Duck”, “Goofy” or “Pluto”
Walt Disney was an American cartoonist inventor best known for creating iconic characters such as Mickey Mouse and founding The Walt Disney Company. This was an immediate smash, which paved the way for other animated films to become popular, including the first cartoon to star Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Pluto.
Thomas Alva Edison: The Man Who “Failed” 1000 Times
Thomas Alva Edison, one of history’s most well-known and prolific innovators, made significant contributions to contemporary living by creating the phonograph, motion picture camera, incandescent light bulb, and telephone as well as enhancing the telegraph and telephony. Because he committed to learning as a lifelong goal, he obtained an incredible 1,093 patents throughout his life.
Their Differences in leadership and how they managed people
Walt was described as a soulful and empathetic person with compassion. Walt Disney applied his values to his decision-making process. Disney displayed many of the qualities of a great leader, but in addition to these qualities, he also exhibited several maladaptive characteristics, raising concerns about his sanity and the motive for his leadership. His leadership style was erratic. He disliked being questioned. Every action that everyone took was under his direction, and if they didn’t follow his instructions, they were dismissed.
Edison had a large staff and actively favored self-selection. Employees—typically his lab mates—quickly discovered that Edison tended to labor nonstop with little concern for food, rest, or—unfortunate but understandable—even intimate touch with his own family. Edison was “businesslike” through difficult economic times, such as the Great Depression. Rules did not apply to him; he was trying to achieve something!
Their Motives
Walt says “I don’t produce movies, particularly for kids, as Walt once remarked. Whether you are six or sixty, I make them for the child in all of us. Describe the youngster as innocent. Even if it may be buried deeply, the worst among us still have some innocence. In my art, I attempt to speak to that innocence and show it the pleasure and joy of life, the benefits of laughing, and the fact that the human species is still striving for the skies while occasionally being joyfully absurd”.
Thomas Edison, the inventor of electricity, is well-known, and most people associate his name with heroes. He could have created several innovations that either led to or were already technological apex points. Thomas Edison was a hero because he perfectly embodied the American Dream; he put in a lot of effort to pursue his passions and realize his aspirations, and in the process, he changed the course of history.
Their Impact: How they changed the world
Walt Disney produced a lot of movies for Americans throughout the Second World War’s difficult years and the Great Depression. Through his films, he had a psychological and political influence on Americans, but it was through his characters that he had a societal impact. Mickey Mouse, everyone’s favorite character, was designed by Walt Disney to amuse both kids and adults. During the Great Depression, he began making movies to spread joy.
Thomas Edison significantly improved his civilization. The late 19th and early 20th centuries are largely responsible for the technologies and occupations that exist today. This demonstrates that the majority of modern materials and electronics can be traced back to Thomas Edison’s inventions, which he made when he was just 16 years old. The Father of the Electric Age, the Wizard of Menlo Park, and the greatest inventor to ever live, Edison was well-known around the world. Additionally, he was requested to develop defensive weaponry for warships and submarines as World War II started.
How they failed and how they dealt with failure
Disney ultimately brought Mickey Mouse to life on film starting in the late 1920s, paying off his bills after years of eating beans and piling up debt. As a result, he earned his way back to the top of his business. Yet it wasn’t simple. Before one banker answered yes, his infamous mouse was refused over 300 times by bankers.
He was “too foolish to learn anything,” according to Thomas Edison’s professors. His first two employment was terminated because he was “non-productive. “Edison attempted to create the light bulb 1,000 times without success. How does it feel to fail 1,000 times, a reporter inquired? Edison answered, I didn’t fail a thousand times. The light bulb was a 1,000-step creation.
Their differences in Business and how they worked daily
Disney adored using the magic of animation to bring his pictures to life. Due to financial hardship, Disney gave up his residence and began residing at his office while subsisting mostly on cold beans. Mickey Mouse movies started to come out of the Disney studio once they employed a group of animators and painters. At a moment when Americans most needed escapism, Disney’s animated films provided it. Disney was working on a larger project at the same time that his short films were becoming financially successful—a full-length, animated movie with music.
Edison began publishing a newspaper aboard the railway he was then employed on when he was 15 years old. When he worked as a telegraph operator, Edison frequently requested night hours so that he could spend some time performing experiments covertly. To invent goods, Edison started a business. To explore his ideas, he hired individuals to work for him. To enable the use of residential lightbulbs, Edison and his “inventors” invented a method of delivering power into houses. The electric power system was later named after this.
What we can learn from both?
There is plenty to be learned from both viewpoints. Edison allegedly tried to make a light bulb a thousand times before succeeding. This symbolizes the strength of tenacity and never giving up. Even in this quotation from Edison, he makes it clear: “Giving up is our biggest weakness. The best approach to achieve is to constantly give something another go. Always give it another go; that’s how you succeed. Never give up on your ambitions or yourself. On the other hand, Disney did not end with the creation of Mickey Mouse. Instead, he went on to invent Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and many more famous characters that are still popular today. He was never satisfied with his achievements since he constantly wanted to achieve more and progress with his aspirations. As he says “all our dreams can come true if we dare to pursue them.”
Both were great inventors who made incredible creations that improved our life. Who knows how the world would be now if both had never created the wonderful creations of such things? I believe that many individuals today still find inspiration and invention in Walt Disney and Thomas Alva Edison.