Oswald Letter

4 business lessons from Walt Disney’s dogged pursuit of “Mary Poppins”

Umbrellaby Dan Oswald

Last night, my wife encouraged me to watch the movie Saving Mr. Banks, and I’m glad she did. The movie, which stars Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, tells the story of Walt Disney’s quest to obtain the rights to make a movie based on P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins and her role in its creation.

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen the movie and would like to, you might want to stop reading because I’m about to reveal the entire plot.

According to the movie, Disney spent more than 20 years pursuing Travers (whose real name was Helen Goff) to obtain the rights to make a film based on her Mary Poppins novel. It seems Disney had walked into his daughters’ room one night and heard them giggling. When he asked what they were laughing about, they showed him the Mary Poppins book they were reading. Seeing how much his daughters enjoyed the novel, Disney promised to make a movie based on it.

Despite Disney’s best efforts, Travers rebuffs every offer he makes. She is afraid he will trivialize the story and its characters. But by the early 1960s, she needs the money that selling the rights to the novel would produce. Still reluctant to allow Disney to have the rights to “her baby,” she heads to Los Angeles to work with the scriptwriters for the movie. Being the skeptic, she refuses to sign the rights over to Disney before seeing the completed script.

While the script is being written, Travers learns of Disney’s plan to use animation in the movie—something she is vehemently against. She uses that disagreement to walk away from the movie and return to her home in England. But Disney isn’t so easily rejected. He hops on the next plane and visits Travers in her home.

There, Disney tells Travers that he realizes she considers him a “Hollywood King Midas” and that Mary Poppins would be “just another brick in my kingdom.” But he begins to figure out what really drives Travers. You see, he also has created a character that is like family to him—Mickey Mouse. And he, too, had refused to sell the rights to that character. Disney also discovers that her reluctance to sell the rights has a lot to do with her relationship with her father. He relates a story about his own father, finding that important common ground.

Then Disney does two incredibly important things. First, he apologizes. He tells Travers, “I let you down.” He’s willing to admit his mistakes. By identifying with Travers and truly understanding her perspective, he can see where he went wrong and is willing to apologize to make amends.

Second, Disney makes “the ask.” He says to Travers, “Trust me with your precious Mary Poppins.” There’s the big “T” word—trust. Again, by identifying with her and understanding how much the character means to her, he knows what he must ask—for her to trust him.

It’s a great story. I’m uncertain how much is true and how much has been dramatized, but it’s an entertaining film with some great lessons for anyone in business:

  1. Passion. P.L. Travers had tremendous passion for what she did and for the character she created in Mary Poppins. She was willing to forgo financial gain to protect her novel and its characters.
  2. Persistence. Disney pursued Travers for decades trying to obtain the rights to make the movie, never giving up and ultimately achieving his goal. He had made a promise to his daughters, and he was determined to keep it.
  3. Understanding. Disney took the time to truly understand Travers and what was most important to her. He knew how important it is to really know what drives the people you work with. And with that understanding comes the opportunity to find a mutually beneficial outcome.
  4. Trust. In the end, Disney had to ask Travers to trust him. And that meant he had to demonstrate that he was worthy of that trust. Without trust, the movie wouldn’t have been made, and neither of them would have gotten what he or she wanted.

In every relationship there is give and take. And the balance between the two is critical. If one party tries to “take” too much without “giving” enough in return, it won’t work. But if you seek to understand the other person—to really know what he or she desires—and you build trust in the process, chances are you’ll have a successful outcome. It seems to me that Disney and Travers ended up with a pretty good movie.

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