Disney's Homework Mistake
Brief #18: A communication error most can't afford to make
“Why does this matter?” “How is this supposed to work?” “Does anyone understand this?”
These questions are not what you want to hear at work. Or from customers talking about a failing product that cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Disney has found itself mired in a number of issues over the past four or five years. Which is stunning considering they have historically been one of the most respected and capable corporations in America. To make matters worse, these have largely been unforced errors which has cost the icon lots of money and dings to its reputation.
Many, if not most, of Disney’s Star Wars and Marvel Disney+ shows and movies have not been received as anticipated over the past five years. How and why this has happened is the subject of commentary and clashes across media during to this day. We are going to focus on a problem which I contend is not (as) controversial compared to other points of flaming online….I mean polite discourses of disagreement.
Homework. People do not want to do homework. Especially when it’s related to entertainment.
Requiring people to have watched previous shows or movies to connect minor facts regarding why and what is happening in a current release can quickly become a burden. Often this results in people looking for an easier way to meet their needs (in this case being entertained). Outside of super fans, audiences typically don’t want to do homework to be entertained.
But what about sequels? I am talking about sequels done badly.Sequels continue a (hopefully) memorable story arc fresh in people in minds with characters they care about. It should not require picking out and relating a character’s third cousin’s pet parakeet’s favorite color to an event in a movie five years later.
Homework is a fun killer. Especially when it can be avoided. You can probably get away with a well crafted recap at the start of a tv season or movie.
Why do you care? It’s all about friction (the technical term for obstacles to effective communication). Friction has to be overcome for a message to achieve its purpose. More friction leads to a lower probability of success.
Don’t make your audience’s work any harder than necessary. They need to understand your message so they can help you achieve your desired outcome. When people encounter friction, you’ll probably experience one of three outcomes.
People tune out and find something else to do.
People grudgingly try to understand your message resulting in a less than good faith effort made in their work.
People embrace your (crappy?) messaging and make their best effort to do a good job.
Help your audience get to that third option. Ideally by first crafting a quality message. Four things you can do to minimize friction:
Always strive for clarity in your communication work.
Acknowledge friction exists and will rarely be eliminated. Be on the lookout to get ahead of it. Share this with your team so everyone can avoid creating friction and can help address it.
Minimize surprises. If new information or learning is required for a task, make sure that is identified in your team’s preparation (scoping, requirements, due diligence, etc).
Leaders should set an example in efforts to minimize friction. Make an effort to avoid creating friction and eliminate it when you find it. If someone identifies friction in your messaging, acknowledge their attention to detail. If appropriate, include that person in re-crafting the communication so they develop and demonstrate their communication skills. It can also be helpful to brief your team on ways to identify and correct friction in collaborative and productive ways.
Disney made this misstep with movies and tv shows that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Most businesses and professionals cannot survive this kind of error. Help your audience embrace your message so they can succeed at their tasks. Lower friction results in a higher likelihood of achieving your desired outcome