Disney Creative Strategy: the Dreamer, the Realist, and the Critic

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” — Albert Einstein

As someone who has spent over 20 years leading innovation and helping teams innovate at Microsoft, I can tell you that unlocking your imagination is key to generating innovative ideas.

One strategy that has consistently worked for me is the Disney Creative Strategy, a framework used by Walt Disney himself to come up with some of the most iconic characters and stories of our time.

By using this strategy, you can learn to think like a creative genius and tap into your own imaginative power to create groundbreaking ideas.

So, whether you’re a business leader, a creative professional, or just someone looking to unleash their creativity, read on to discover how the Disney Creative Strategy can help you unlock your imagination and generate innovative ideas.

How the Disney Creative Strategy Can Help You Think Big

Early in my career, one of my managers introduced me to the Disney Creative Strategy as a way to unleash my imagination and creativity.

The concept of suspending disbelief and hitting pause on my inner critic was powerful, and it allowed me to generate big ideas without immediately shooting them down.

This approach to brainstorming and ideation helped me to be more open-minded and to explore new possibilities that I may have otherwise dismissed.

Over the years, I’ve continued to use this strategy in my work leading innovation and helping teams to generate breakthrough ideas. It’s a valuable tool for anyone looking to unlock their creative potential and bring new and innovative solutions to the table.

The Disney Creative Strategy

The Disney Creative Strategy is a creative problem-solving approach inspired by Walt Disney’s way of thinking and creating. It involves three different perspectives or “roles” that an individual or a team can take on: the dreamer, the realist, and the critic.

1. The Dreamer: The dreamer role involves imagining and brainstorming new ideas and possibilities without limitations.
2. The Realist: The realist role involves evaluating the practicality and feasibility of the ideas generated by the dreamer.
3. The Critic: The critic role involves analyzing and refining the ideas to ensure they align with the overall goal or objective.

The strategy also involves specific techniques for each role, such as free-form brainstorming for the dreamer, structured analysis for the realist, and structured critique for the critic.

The goal is to balance creativity and practicality to generate innovative yet feasible solutions to problems.

How To use the Disney Creative Strategy

The Disney creative strategy is a useful tool for generating new ideas, assessing their feasibility, and identifying any potential problems or issues.

By following these steps, you can come up with innovative solutions to complex problems and achieve your goals.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use the Disney creative strategy:

1. Dreaming: During this stage, you let your imagination run wild and generate as many ideas as possible. There are no limitations, and you can let your creativity flow freely. You can use brainstorming techniques to come up with ideas, such as mind mapping, listing, or free association.
2. Realism: In this stage, you take a critical look at your ideas and assess their feasibility. You need to ask yourself questions like “Is this idea realistic?” or “Is this idea practical?”. You should consider the resources you have available, the time frame you are working with, and any potential obstacles or challenges.
3. Criticism: During this stage, you evaluate your ideas and identify any potential problems or weaknesses. You need to take a critical and objective view of your ideas and ask yourself questions like “What are the potential drawbacks?” or “What could go wrong?”. You should also try to come up with solutions to address these issues.
4. Repeat: Once you have gone through these stages, you can repeat the process as many times as necessary. You can continue to refine your ideas until you have a solid plan that you can implement.

Example: Disney Creative Strategy in Action

Let’s use the Disney creative strategy to come up with a new idea for a mobile app.

By following these steps, we can use the Disney creative strategy to come up with new and innovative ideas for a mobile app, and then take action to turn those ideas into a reality.

Step 1: Dreamer

In this step, we’ll focus on generating as many ideas as possible without worrying about whether they’re feasible or not. We’ll let our imagination run wild and think big. Some questions we might ask ourselves at this stage are:

• What would be a game-changing feature for a mobile app?
• How can we make a mobile app more engaging and fun for users?

Ideas generated in this stage could be:

• A mobile app that turns any surface into a virtual whiteboard for collaborative brainstorming
• A mobile app that uses AR to turn real-world objects into game elements
• A mobile app that gamifies healthy habits and rewards users with virtual currency

Step 2: Realist

In this step, we’ll take a critical look at the ideas we generated in the Dreamer stage and evaluate their feasibility. Some questions we might ask ourselves at this stage are:

• How much would it cost to develop this app?
• What are the technical challenges we might face?
• What are the legal and regulatory constraints?

For example, let’s take the idea of the mobile app that gamifies healthy habits. We might consider factors like the cost of developing the app, the feasibility of integrating with existing fitness trackers, and the legal and regulatory considerations around health data privacy.

Step 3: Critic

In this step, we’ll challenge our ideas and identify any potential weaknesses or flaws. We’ll ask ourselves tough questions and look for areas of improvement. Some questions we might ask ourselves at this stage are:

• What are the potential drawbacks of this idea?
• How can we make this idea more appealing to users?
• Are there any competitors in this space, and how can we differentiate ourselves from them?

For example, for the mobile app that gamifies healthy habits, we might consider factors like user engagement and long-term sustainability. We might ask ourselves how we can keep users engaged over time and prevent them from losing interest in the app.

Step 4: Implementer

In this step, we’ll take the best ideas from the previous steps and start developing an action plan for how to bring them to life. Some questions we might ask ourselves at this stage are:

• What are the specific steps we need to take to develop and launch the app?
• What resources do we need?
• What are the milestones and timelines we need to hit?

For example, for the mobile app that gamifies healthy habits, we might start developing a feature roadmap, creating wireframes and user stories, and identifying potential partners for integration.

Do You Need to First Create Space to Use the Disney Creative Strategy?

Creating space is not a necessary step in the Disney creative strategy, but it can certainly be helpful.

By creating a physical or mental space for creativity and ideation, individuals and teams can remove distractions and focus on generating ideas without limitations or constraints.

This can lead to more innovative and imaginative ideas. However, if creating space is not feasible, individuals and teams can still use the Disney creative strategy by following the other steps of the process.

Use the Disney Creative Strategy to Unleash Your Imagination

The Disney Creative Strategy provides a powerful framework for unlocking creativity and innovation.

By breaking down the creative process into three distinct modes – Dreamer, Realist, and Critic – the strategy enables individuals and teams to approach challenges with a structured yet flexible approach.

Whether you are creating a new product, developing a marketing campaign, or solving a complex problem, the Disney Creative Strategy can help you unleash your imagination, evaluate your ideas objectively, and turn your visions into reality.

So embrace your inner Dreamer, channel your inner Realist, and tame your inner Critic – and watch your creativity soar to new heights!

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