Sustaining Innovation: Walt Disney Instilled How by Larry Lynch

Article Summary: “Sustaining Innovation: Walt Disney Instilled How” by Larry Lynch
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Article Summary: “Sustaining Innovation: Walt Disney Instilled How” by Larry Lynch
In his article, Lynch (2001) explores how Walt Disney instilled a culture of innovation and creativity in his business. Lynch (2001) argues that Disney created an environment that encouraged innovation by emphasizing the importance of encouraging and accepting new ideas from all Disney employees. This culture of innovation helped the company become one of the most successful and influential businesses in history. The article explains that Disney’s success can be attributed to its ability to reinvent itself constantly, which allowed it to stay ahead of the competition. According to Lynch (2001), the company’s four-part model for managing innovation has been an essential ingredient in its success: culture definition, idea alignment, process design, and improvement and refinement.
Indeed, Lynch’s (2001) ideas align with most research on product development and innovation (McNally et al., 2011; Roberts & Darler, 2017; Wheelwright & Sasser, Jr., 1989; Wheelwright & Clark, 1992). According to McNally et al. (2011), creativity and innovation are vital for sustained long-term success. Roberts and Darler (2017) take Lynch’s (2001) idea of tapping sources of creativity and innovation from a company’s entire workforce even further, emphasizing the need for companies to incorporate consumer input in their new product development processes. Wheelwright and Clark (1992) and Wheelwright and Sasser, Jr. (1989) also advance similar ideas, particularly the importance of having a coherent framework through which new ideas are assessed, evaluated, and implemented.
The article do...