Robert Iger: The Ride of a Lifetime. Book Review
By: Martin Hudymač
Tags: Disney, Leadership, Pixar, Marvel

5min books review #3

Robert Iger: The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company Martin Hudymač Follow Nov 18, 2020 · 3 min read

Value for money

8/10

Year, Price, Pages, Cover design

2019 by Random House; EUR 19,39; 233 pages (247 pages with acknowledgements, index, about the author); Hardcover

Jacket design by Pete Garceau; Jacket photograph by Gavin Bond. Exceptional cover design and cover image. Top-quality paper, the exquisite reading experience.

5 sentences about the book

The book is divided into two parts: Learning and Leading. Learning starts from early beginnings at ABC (1974) till COO role at Disney (2005). Leading captures the period from the first acquisition (Pixar, 2006) until now (2019).

Reading experience could be divided into two parts as well. On one hand, you are following backstage stories of the amazing relationships like that with the mentor Roony Arledge (ABC), Tom Murphy and Dan Burke (Cap cities), Michael Eisner (Disney), Steve Jobs (Pixar), Ike Perlmutter (Marvel) and George Lucas (Lucasfilm). On the other hand, you can witness the evolution of leadership — the importance of optimism (30, 86), the necessity of prioritization and clarity of the message (100), negotiation and fairness, empathy (179) and integrity (John Lasseter and Roseanne Barr stories, 203).

Last chapters conclude Iger’s vision into practice: we witness Disney+ (streaming service) being born. All these acquisitions suddenly make sense and fulfil Iger’s three strategic goals (high-quality content, embracing technology, global impact).

What did I learn?

ABC years with mentor Roony Arledge and owners Tom Murphy and Dan Burke and interesting background stories like Twin Peaks and David Lynch (39)

Disney early years and difficult relationship with Michael Eisner (Disney CEO)

Three strategic priorities of the new Disney CEO (101)

The flipside of Pixar acquisition story that I’ve already learned in Ed Catmull’s book Creativity, Inc (138)

Heartwarming relationship with Steve Jobs (136, 158, 174)

What was missing?

Nothing

Favourite quotes:

“And I tend to approach bad news as a problem that can be worked through and solved, something I have control over rather than something happening to me” (xiii)

“It was a perfect example of the need for optimism. Things were dire, for sure, but I needed to look at the situation not as a catastrophe but as a puzzle we needed to solve and to communicate to our team that we were talented and nimble enough to solve these problems and make something wonderful on the fly.” (30)

“Managing your own time and respecting others’ time is one of the most vital things to do as a manager” (63)

“At its essence, good leadership isn’t about being indispensable; it’s about helping others be prepared to possibly step into your shoes — giving them access to your own decision making, identifying the skills they need to develop and helping them improve, and, as I’ve had tom do, sometimes being honest with them about why they’re not ready for the next step up” (67)

“If leaders don’t articulate their priorities clearly, then the people around them don’t know what their own priorities should be. Time and energy and capital get wasted” (100)

“Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision.” (120)