Fictional character Willy Wonka has delighted generations of children since he was dreamed up by British author Roald Dahl in 1964. An eccentric and brilliant businessman, he founded the Wonka Chocolate Factory, inventing a huge selection of out-of-this-world sweets in a magical environment that resembles a Disney attraction rather than a place of work.
In recent years, analysts have realised the quirky character’s leadership traits have the power to drive business success. In fact, Wonka is far more than just a factory boss who weeds out unsuitable applicants in very strange ways when looking for a successor to take over his chocolate empire!
Who is Willy Wonka?
Dahl wrote children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1964 as something of a cautionary tale to advise against gluttony, greed and selfishness.
Described as a little man with a goatee beard who wears a top hat and colourful clothing, Willy Wonka launches a competition enabling members of the public to win one of five golden tickets – the prize being a guided tour of his top-secret factory and a lifetime’s supply of chocolate. Little do the winners know that this is the entrepreneur’s unusual way of seeking a successor for the business when he retires.
Five children, including the impoverished Charlie Bucket, win a golden ticket and are invited to the factory, each with an adult. Charlie takes Grandpa Joe and the tour begins. However, various tests are set along the way to determine the winners’ moral standards and character. Gradually, the children are eliminated when they fail, leaving only Charlie and his grandfather. This is when Wonka reveals the true reason for his competition.
The book has been made into several films, including the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder in the title role in 1971. Wonka’s deep and complex character has been recognised as inspiring innovation in business, with his traits for success being way ahead of their time.
What can entrepreneurs learn from his skills?
Building a creative business thrives on unique ideas, and Wonka certainly has plenty of these! Innovators can gain inspiration from many different sources, such as a new technology that opens up more possibilities, or trying to reach and engage a new customer.
For example, Wonka dreams up a number of new products and ideas, such as the “everlasting gobstopper”. At first glance, creating a sweet that lasts forever seems counterproductive – after all, it surely means they will spend less money with your brand, right? Wrong!
Wonka invented the sweet to reach children who had “very little pocket money”, creating a desirable and affordable entry point to his brand. He realises that a customer who’s had an enjoyable experience will be far more likely to expand to other products when their spending ability increases. He embraces unconventional thinking, with his genius going far beyond traditional marketing strategies and products. Challenging the norms of sweets production, he invents a flavoured wallpaper – a radical product by anyone’s standards.
He believes that innovators should explore ideas that are provocative and seem silly, because it makes customers think about them. He says entrepreneurs aren’t doing their job properly if their ideas don’t make colleagues and customers seem slightly uncomfortable.
Rather than having the attitude “Why fix what’s not broken?” Wonka identifies where his company’s future could lie. Instead of carrying on selling the same products indefinitely, he exhibits an unconventional style of thinking – which is what led to the inception of major brands such as Airbnb and Tesla.
Be a problem solver
Wonka faces challenges every single day, including regular employee issues involving his quirky team of Oompa-Loompa staff, and the unique problems caused by his golden ticket competition, which causes chaos. His unique problem solving strategies are unconventional, but they achieve results. For example, his golden ticket challenge to see how the winners react to temptation helps him find a worthy successor for the chocolate factory. The tests he sets determine whether the winners can resist temptation and follow rules without letting personal greed and desires cloud their judgement.
Rather than his focus being on the sweets, he looks at the consumers who eat his products, such as recognising how poorer families can’t afford to buy lots of snacks, hence his everlasting gobstoppers. He also exhibits a caring and empathetic side, as he realises he won’t be around forever and wants a trustworthy and reliable successor who will look after the Oompa-Loompas in the future.
Carrying on after failure
Wonka continues to explore new ideas and innovations, even if they don’t all work out. One of the staples of business success is to learn from failures and move forward without making the same mistakes again. The old saying, “Embracing failure is great for innovation,” is something most of us have heard. The key to incorporating it into your own business plan is having perseverance and confidence in your abilities. Wonka exhibits great resilience and has never let setbacks deter him from grabbing opportunities.
Viewing a setback as an opportunity to try something different, he treats them as lessons for growth. When the children who failed his challenges exhibited negative reactions to ingesting too many sweets, he wasn’t too concerned, as it wasn’t the first time it had happened. The consequences were non-fatal and humorous and he saw their reactions as a stepping stone to refining and improving his products.
In the real business world, perseverance is the key to success for entrepreneurs. Even people like Richard Branson and Elon Musk haven’t enjoyed plain sailing all the way, suffering both losses and wins, but the key is that they have kept learning and moving forward.
Power of delegation
Wonka demonstrates how he trusts Charlie Bucket to take over his factory in the future, as he has formed a positive opinion of his abilities as a result of the boy’s reaction to various challenges. This emphasises the power of delegation – a powerful tool in the business world, as entrusting tasks to others gives managers the time to focus on strategic priorities, ultimately leading the company to increased success.
The right environment
An environment that inspires creative genius, such as BE Offices’ serviced offices in London, can go a long way towards achieving success. By nature, serviced offices are designed to promote a positive workspace and inspire creativity, incorporating features such as an open environment, comfortable seating, a collaborative layout and options for flexible working. Ergonomic furniture, natural light and comfortable seating areas can boost morale and consequently creativity.
When leaders and teams work in an inspiring setting, the sky is the limit!
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