Working Wisdom: quote about innovation and technology

“If you can dream it, you can do it”

Walt Disney (born in Chicago on 5 December 1901, died in California on 15 December 1966) was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film producer who pioneered the American animation industry. Walt developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success. Over time, the Walt Disney studio introduced various groundbreaking innovations including synchronized sound, full-colour three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons and technical developments in cameras, all of which furthered the advancement of animated film and led to classics including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella and Mary Poppins.

Walt was also active outside of the film business, diversifying into TV programmes and the Disneyland theme park in the 1950s, and these activities were further expanded in the 1960s. His dream of the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) centre, at the heart of Disney World – as “a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise” – epitomized his focus on new ideas and new technologies. In full, this quote by Walt Disney is: “If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started by a mouse.” In this era of supply chain innovation and disruption by start-ups from both within and outside of the industry, the idea of great things emerging from small beginnings – limited only by one’s imagination – remains equally relevant today.