Bob Chapek: More than a number-crunching cost-cutter?
It’s been a long 22 months since Bob Chapek took the reigns of the Walt Disney Company. With a major milestone celebration on the calendar and a global pandemic to manage, it’s probably fair to say that the new CEO had a lot more than he likely anticipated on his plate. As you might image, this would make it necessary for any CEO to make some difficult decisions; Bob Chapek is no exception.
From the very beginning Bob Chapek had to make some decisions that none of us were ready to deal with and none of them seemed to be received well. It doesn’t seem to matter what area of the company we’re talking about either. Whether it’s filmmaking or theme parks, if Bob had to make a decision. . . it seemed to be an absolute disaster by default. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense. In early 2020, when Bob’s first decisions as CEO were coming down the pipe, conditions were far from ideal. Though a lot of us like to think of the Walt Disney Company as invincible and able to endure no matter what comes its way, that is not necessarily the case. Like many other companies, Disney is a business that has bottom lines and numbers that need to be managed so that it can stay above water. Does that mean that all of the decisions that need to be made are going to be popular or fair? Absolutely not. . . . . and this is where things get tricky.
Taking a step back for a second, the reason that we’re even having this discussion today is because of an interview Bob Chapek did with the Financial Times. In the interview, Bob mentioned that the doesn’t like the perception that people seem to have of him as a cost-cutter and number-cruncher. While there were certainly other things mentioned in the interview, this particular point [being made by Bob Chapek himself] stood out to us. To be honest, combined with some of the other news surrounding Bob Chapek and how uncomfortable he seem to be with criticism, it feels very un-CEO like. . . . and not in a good way.
Though there’s no denying that we have a lack of insight as to who Bob Chapek is and exactly what the stresses of his position as CEO are, it seems a bit out of touch for a CEO to be surprised, irked or otherwise bothered by the perception people have of him as a cost-cutter when he’s making the decisions he is. Focusing on Walt Disney World in 2021 alone, Bob Chapek has implemented a number of changes that make it hard for even the most enthusiastic Devil’s Advocates to justify. As a matter of fact, here at 2 Foolish Mortals we’ve struggled with this very thing. While we always do our best to give people like Bob Chapek the benefit of the doubt and see the decisions being made through as many different lenses as possible, it’s getting increasingly hard to offer up an explanation that isn’t about having guests pay more for less to increase profits.
. . . . and that is why the perception of Bob Chapek as a number-crunching cost-cutter is there in the first place.
This all being said, the question then becomes what can Bob Chapek do to change this perception? Is there anything that can be done to win over the 80,000 people who signed the petition to have him removed as CEO and the [likely] thousands more who don’t know his name, but curse him anyway?
While it would be wonderful if there was a way for Bob Chapek to turn things around and become a beloved Disney CEO, odds are he’ll always the shadow of the pandemic era decisions he’s made with him. This, unfortunately, is the nature of the beast when you become the CEO of a company during a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic; you make ‘unforgivable’ decisions. That said, we do think that there are ways for Bob Chapek to get in the good graces of some naysayers. This could start with simply showing up, literally and figuratively. Bob actually missed an opportunity to do just that at the recent Destination D23 Expo at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida when he was quietly removed from the schedule. Of course, hearing from him once in a while on one of the many media platforms he has at his disposal couldn’t hurt either.
When it comes to brass tax though, to turn things around, Bob Chapek would have to do something that makes guests feel valued again. . . . and it needs to be more than saying “we value our guests” when wrapping up a phone call. He needs to implement a change or introduce something new that makes guests feel as though they are more than a cash cow. He needs to aim to be the thing he aspires to be. If he wants to be known as a creative or a memorable Disney CEO that everyone gets watery-eyed over when they step down, he needs to do something that invokes that response. He has yet to so much as approach that type of legacy and the sad truth is that it may very well never be possible thanks to the unfortunate hand he was dealt at the very beginning.