The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company is written by Bob Iger, the former head of a multi-billion dollar corporation with a tangible global presence. I recently found out that he retires as executive chairman of Disney on December 31, 2021, which is just a couple of weeks away!
I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for some motivation or inspiration to work a little harder at their day jobs (this is why I chose to read it this weekend) or even to get a glimpse of how financial acquisitions work in the creative and entertainment industry. Inspiration alone can come from the fact that Bob Iger wakes up every day at 4:15 am and works out 7 days a week. If the CEO and executive chairman of Disney can manage to do that, there’s no reason the rest of us can’t try to capture some of this energy. :D
Iger organizes this book’s lessons and stories into two sections: Learn and Lead. After reading the first half, you get a sense of the various positions and situations Iger put himself in, to prepare him for an executive and enviable C-suite position at Disney. He emphasizes the importance of working hard to create circumstances in which senior leadership nominate and groom you for elevated responsibilities and increased impact. From reading about his experience, it looks like a large part of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time. Coupled with an unmatched work ethic and good attitude of course.
The leadership principles referenced in this book are summarized at the end, right before the Acknowledgments and Index sections. Some of my takeaways include:
- innovate or die.
- rule of 3’s in terms of defining priorities.
- the importance of optimism and staying cool & level-headed especially when things are not going well.
- direct praise and attention to your team instead of yourself.
- own up to the responsibility for screw-ups.
- it’s about the future, not the past.
- keep your ego at bay.
- there’s no substitution for hard work.
- don’t lay out problems without offering potential solutions.
- be sensitive to the pressures people are feeling and share their stress/worries.
Bob Iger discusses these lessons and then some throughout the course of this book by sharing detailed accounts and anecdotes from his professional life. Unsurprisingly for the time, there is a lot of white, male executive presence referenced, and it would be nice for this to change moving forward. Disney’s current executive team has made strides in this space but it would be great to see an even more diverse team over say, the next 5-10 years. I did some research and found out that Bob’s wife, Willow Bay, has an equally if not more impressive career as the first female Dean of USC, and a former model, editor, author, and journalist.
Another area we get to witness in this book is Bob’s relationships with business partners-turned close friends Steve Jobs and George Lucas throughout the Pixar and Lucas Films acquisitions. The overwhelming success of these (and many other) deals discussed boils down to respect and empathy.
It’s admirable that Bob maintained a sound moral compass throughout his career, always challenging those around him to do better and stay up-to-date with technological advancements, social movements (e.g. Me Too movement), and the volatility of the business world. I found it interesting how committed he is to embracing new technologies and not re-inventing the wheel. Technology is changing the world at a rapid pace, and we almost have no choice except to go along with it and use it to our advantage.
Although this book is a collection of leadership principles, I think anyone can benefit from reading it. While many of us may not have a formalized leadership role (e.g. manager, CEO, executive, etc.), we might have had to organize a team event, run a meeting, plan a trip, or define a roadmap. These are just small examples but the lessons that Iger openly shares can be applied to many such situations.
