The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger Lessons learned from 15 years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company Review by Andre Marafon

The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger

Lessons learned from 15 years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

Review by Andre Marafon

Robert Iger is chairman and was CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and has been working in the company since 2000, when he joined as COO after ABC Group, the company he worked for, was acquired. He was responsible for acquiring Pixar, Marvel, Lucas Films, Fox, launching the largest ever theme park in the world (located in China), and building from scratch Disney’s streaming platform - Disney + (It just reached 100M subscribers - pretty amazing). Exciting. Inspiring. We should all listen to him, not only to understand the challenges of putting ourselves in position to achieve something great, but also so we can decide if that’s the life we want for ourselves…

His business lessons are:

1.     Optimism. Even in the face of difficult choices and less than ideal outcomes, an optimistic leader does not yield to pessimism. Simply put, people are not motivated or energized by pessimists. Pessimism leads to paranoia, which leads to defensiveness, which leads to risk aversion.

2.     Courage. The foundation of risk-taking is courage, and in ever-changing, disrupted business, risk-taking is essential, innovation is essential, innovation is vital, and true innovation only occurs when people have courage.

3.     Focus. Allocating time, energy and resources to the strategies, problems, and projects that are of highest value is extremely important. It’s imperative to communicate your priorities clearly and often. You don’t want to be the best in something small, it’s the same amount of work.

4.     Decisiveness. All decisions, no matter how difficult, can and should be made in a timely way. Chronic indecision is not only inefficient and counterproductive, but deeply corrosive to morale.

5.     Curiosity. A deep and abiding curiosity enables the discovery of new people. Empathy is essential, as is accessibility. People committing honest mistakes deserve second chances, and judging people too harshly generates fear and anxiety, which discourage communication and innovation.

6.     Thoughtfulness. Thoughtfulness is one of the most underrated elements of good leadership – it drives respect from everyone. It is the process of gaining knowledge so an opinion rendered or decision made is more credible – and more likely to be correct.

7.     Integrity. Nothing is more important than the quality and integrity of an organization’s people and its products. A company’s success depends on setting high ethical standards for all things, big and small.

Now reading in between the lines:

1.     Care. Care about the company and people. Be decent.

2.     Innovation. Innovate or die. In order to do that, give permission to fail.

3.     First learn, then lead. Find good mentors and learn genuinely.

4.     Relentless pursuit of perfection. Mind-set of always trying to be great. Don’t settle for ‘good enough’. Never be comfortable with lack of effort, only failure.

5.     Extreme ownership. Take responsibility when you screw up.

6.     Bet on talent. Value ability more than experience. Believe in putting people in roles that require more of them. Getting them to dig deep, and finding something, they didn’t know they had.

7.     Honesty. True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else.

8.     Personal. Deals are personal. Respect and empathy are key.

9.     People. Surround yourself with people who are good in addition to being good at what they do.

10.   Promises. Never promise something you cannot give. Be clear about where you stand from the beginning.

11.   Big. Don’t start negatively, and don’t start small. If you are in the business of making something, be in the business of making something great.

12.   Experience. If something doesn’t feel right to you, it won’t be right for you.

13.   Humility. Hold on to your awareness of yourself.

There is still the one lesson he doesn’t write about at all. I am sure as hell this is the one he has most suffered with:

Resiliency. Never give up. Never give in. Suppress ego. Prepare for the future, but always do your job. Put yourself in a position to thrive. Don’t let ambition get ahead of opportunity.

It’s never a bed of roses. In Iger’s case, he suffered for 30 years before being able to really lead. He almost gave up several times. He was close to decisions that could have changed everything, such as changing his job. Throughout the book, I could really feel his anguish. It’s impossible not to thank luck for some of the events. Nevertheless, in the end, if you truly want something, you need to work hard; work every day.

Success is always available for those who don’t give up. It is a shame he held back so much within this pages. I am sure he had much more to say.