Peter Cuneo: The 6 Basic Principles I used to Turnaround Marvel

Are you familiar with this movie?

I am positively sure you are. I am a huge fan of Marvel movies, as a matter of fact, I am taking my son and daughter to watch the new Thor movie next weekend. These superheroes spurred a significant turnaround for Marvel, and you can thank Peter Cuneo and his team for it.

Who is Peter Cuneo, well that's the man who was recruited to turnaround Marvel; he guided the company out of bankruptcy and together with the board, took the most transformative and risky move by raising $525 million in funding to launch Marvel’s in-house movie studio in 2005. The story of Marvel comeback is quite intriguing. 

In 2000, Marvel had only $3 million in the bank, barely enough to cover its cash needs. There were only 250 employees and no facilities that could be closed to cut costs. The company’s stock fell as low as a dismal .96 cents per share, and the company was in search for a superhero to save the day.

Enter Peter Cuneo who has a reputation for reversing the fortunes of struggling businesses and became the Chief Executive Officer of Marvel in July 1999. Because of Cuneo and his team intervention, Marvel became a household name in the movie business with substantial record-breaking profits at the box office. 

Marvel Studios’ first films, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, were both financial successes. Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America, and Avengers were substantial financial success. Since 1999, Marvel’s stock price had risen from a low of $.96 to over $50.00 per share. In December 2009, the Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel for over $4 billion which by the way is a steal of a deal for Disney.

What's the secret? Like many CEOs who led corporate turnarounds, it all boils down to the fundamentals. In an address to Alfred University, Cuneo outline 6 basic principles that help him reverse the fortunes of Clairol's personal care division, Black and Decker security hardware group, Remington Products and Marvel. According to Cuneo these 6 principles have allowed him to achieve career success and guided him in his personal life as well.

Let’s look at his 6 principles for success.

Shunning Prejudices

Cuneo called prejudice "one of the biggest obstacles" to success.

"Try if you can to free yourself of prejudice. If you have strong prejudices, you can’t get success in business or life," he said. He noted that one of the reasons Marvel is enjoying its renewed success is its workforce; hired without regard to race, religion, age, culture or sexual orientation. "We’re successful because we’re so mixed up."

Associating with Quality People

Cuneo urged people to associate with "quality people" and learn from them. He credited his captain aboard the U.S.S. Strauss during Vietnam for instilling in him a sense of leadership by example. He related a story in which his captain made a mistake that nearly caused a collision between two boats and, rather than placing the blame on someone else, admitted his mistake to the officers.

"The net effect was the officers were more loyal to him than ever. It taught me a valuable lesson: as a leader, you must be approachable and human."

Taking risks and breaking rules

Perhaps the most significant risk Cuneo took in his career was in 1983 when he took over Bristol-Myers troubled Clairol Personal Care Division.

"The smart money said I was wrecking my career. The business (Clairol) was always in trouble because it just didn’t fit in a pharmaceutical company," Cuneo said. "But I wanted the opportunity to prove myself in a tough environment. I turned it around and rather than it being a problem; it was a spur to my career."

The willingness to take risks led to subsequent successful business turnarounds at Black & Decker and Remington. He made new product development a priority, took steps to cut costs, improved sales and upgraded inefficient manufacturing facilities. The end results were enhanced efficiency, increased production, higher morale and a significant jump in revenues and profitability. Cuneo did the same at Marvel.

Embracing change and Learning from mistakes

Cuneo stressed the importance of "making changes without fear." He recalled that shortly after leaving the Navy, a captain of his ship suggested he apply to Harvard Business School. Cuneo, an engineer by profession, said was skeptical of his chances of being admitted, but applied anyway. He was accepted, went on to graduate with honors and embarked on what has been an extraordinary business career.

"Most of us would rather live in a cocoon and be happy. You have to make changes to be happy, from a career and personal standpoint." Cuneo stated it is essential to learn from one’s mistakes. "I’ve made many mistakes," he said. "There are lots of ups and lots of downs. I had to learn from them. "

As important as learning from mistakes, he said, is a willingness to accept criticism and advice from others and listen to their suggestions.

Always "doing the right thing."

Lastly, Cuneo cited the importance of maintaining basis values and "doing the right thing." He pointed to Marvel’s decision after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to organize publication of an exclusive collection of comic book artwork, which includes work by some of the industry’s legends. Printing and distribution costs were donated, and Marvel is giving $1 million raised by the sale of the book to the city of New York.

"Marvel is not making money on this," he said. "It was a good example of doing the right thing."

Peter gave Marvel hope and unleashed a series of measures designed to extract more value out of Marvel marquee characters. Change is hard, and it is sometimes emotionally challenging to make the radical changes necessary for the survival of the company. But if you incorporate the principles outlined above and genuinely make your staff part of the process, you will become the superhero for your organization.  

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Gifford is the founder of Leadership First, a leadership community dedicated to inspiring every leader into creating a great organization, one their employees will enjoy. Help us achieve our purpose, SUBSCRIBE to our community and get exclusive leadership articles from the best leadership minds in the world. Let's change the leadership status quo and inspire every leader into great leadership. Leadership First