A wonderful biography detailing Robert Iger's career and leadership of the Walt Disney Company.
Format: Audio (Audible version)
Genre: Biography/Non-Fiction
Length: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Publisher: Random House (September 23, 2019)
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr. Darcy‘s Rating: “You have bewitched me, body and soul.”
A Chasing Mr. Darcy Review
I listened to this book on Audible, and I enjoyed every minute. Bob Iger's career is the stuff of legends, and I found him humble, insightful, and above all else, a leader by the time I finished the book.
Here’s a summary from GoodReads: A grand vision defined: The CEO of The Walt Disney Company shares the ideas and values he has used to reinvent one of the most beloved companies in the world, and inspire the people who bring the magic to life. In 2005, Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company during a difficult time. Morale had deteriorated, competition was more intense, and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company's history. "I knew there was nothing to be gained from arguing over the past," Iger writes. "The only thing that mattered was the future, and I believed I had a clear idea of the direction Disney needed to go." It came down to three clear ideas: 1) Create the highest quality content Disney could produce. 2) Embrace and adopt technology instead of fighting it. And 3) Think bigger--think global--and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets. Twelve years later, Disney is the largest, most respected media company in the world counting Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox among its properties. Its value is nearly five times what it was when Iger took over, and Iger is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful CEOs of our time. Now, he's sharing the lessons he's learned while running Disney and leading its 200,000 employees--taking big risks in the face of historic disruption; learning to inspire the people who work for you; leading with fairness and communicating principles clearly. This book is about the relentless curiosity that has driven Iger for forty-five years, since the day he started as a studio supervisor at ABC. It's also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership Iger pursues, from a deep friendship with Steve Jobs in his final years to an abiding love of the evolving Star Wars myth. "Over the past fourteen years, I think I've learned so much about what real leadership is," Iger writes. "But I couldn't have articulated all of this until I lived it. You can't fake it--and that's one of the key lessons in this book."
I think what I enjoyed most about this book is Bob Iger's "recipe" for success isn't really that difficult to understand. He's humble, he's hard-working, he's ambitious, he gives credit where it's due, he fosters creativity of those around him, and he's not afraid to take a calculated risk. As I listened to his story, something that really stuck out to me is his character. He's the kind of leader who believes in doing the right thing at all times, and he is the consummate professional. He thanks people for their time and effort, he rewards good work, and he provides constructive criticism when needed. He's the kind of boss, given the opportunity, I truly believe I could flourish under. Some of his best advice can be found summarized in the epilogue (which he read himself). Some pieces of advice that really resonated with me included his relentless pursuit of perfection, advice to treat people well, to ask questions, to not let ambition get in the way of opportunity, and to take responsibility for your mistakes + give credit to those who deserve it. I also really appreciated the advice "if it doesn't feel good to you, it probably isn't good for you," albeit I've paraphrased a bit there. These are just a few of his guiding principles, and honestly, I found the entire list to be both insightful and helpful. Many of his suggestions I already practice, but there's just something about having it all written out that makes it much clearer.
I enjoyed hearing about the various jobs he had with ABC as he rose up the ranks, and it was really interesting to learn how he navigated working with so many personality types within ABC. He stayed with ABC through leadership changes, after being passed over for promotions, and through mergers and acquisitions, all while staying committed to the goal(s) of the firm. I thought his undertaking of the last Olympics that ABC aired was such a cool story, and I also really loved that he talked about embracing the change in corporate culture at ABC when it was acquired by Capital City. He had ample opportunities to leave, but he stuck with the firm, committed to making them the best while also growing and developing himself. I thought his stories and anecdotes about his bosses were really insightful, and I love that he seemed to always play the long game when it came to his career, pushing towards the end goal of being a CEO someday.
When Disney acquired ABC, he dreamed of being CEO but didn't know if it would end up being a good fit personality wise for everyone involved. I think his discussions of the corporate culture clashings between ABC and Disney are frank and, for die hard Disney fans, probably hard to hear. But, I think it's important to understand what was driving the firm at the time of his joining it because it guided his leadership decisions moving forward. Everything he says about Disney isn't complimentary, but he is always complimentary of the brand and the people working around him. He forged a relationship with Michael Isner and never disparages him one time in the book, despite Michael not always fully supporting him back. He is always complimentary of the Disney family, even sharing positives of Roy Disney from a time when Roy tried to discredit Bob as CEO of Disney after he was chosen as Isner's successor. I truly think, time and time again, his character is just on full display throughout the book.
My favorite parts of his story, though, are about his relationship with Steve Jobs. These stories were at times engaging, infuriating, touching, and quite honestly, amazing. It was so cool to hear stories about two of the greatest minds in business (even though I'm not sure Iger would place himself among those minds, he definitely has earned a place beside Steve Jobs in my opinion). It's clear form the story how affected Iger was by Steve's passing, and I really enjoyed this glimpse into his more personal feelings.
At the end of the day, Bob Iger created the Disney I fell in love with on my first trip to the parks in 2012. I was 25 and in PhD school, and I was exhausted from all the work and the stress of preparing to take my comprehensive exams in January 2013. My mom, dad, sister, and I went to Disney during Christmas on our first vacation in a really long time. All of my grandparents had passed away at this point, and it was our first holiday really without any grandparents to celebrate with. We stayed at Coronado Springs, and I'll never forget my grown mother running to the bus stop at the hotel to catch the bus to Magic Kingdom. She was so excited! We all were, really, because this was the first worry free trip we'd had in a long time. When we got to the Magic Kingdom, there were poinsettias everywhere to decorate for Christmas, and my dad cried when he saw them. His mother owned a greenhouse, and she grew poinsettias to sell around the holidays. Seeing the flowers at the gate just overwhelmed him! The first character we met was Mary Poppins, and she was standing in the town square in her winter coat. She is still one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in person. We didn't have autograph books yet, so we ran into the Emporium and bought them, then jumped in line to meet Mary. Our first meal was at Casey's, and it's still one of my favorite meals to get at Disney (especially now that they brought the cheese back, IYKYK). My sister was around 13 on the first trip, and she convinced my mom she could pack her own clothes for the trip; well, she packed mostly shorts since we were headed to Florida, but that turned out to be one of the coldest winters Florida had seen for a while! She had to buy a bunch of sweatshirts when we got to Florida and pants because she hadn't packed any! I myself cried when I saw Belle for the first time in EPCOT. She was wearing her blue "everyday" dress, and we met her in the walkway in France.
We enjoyed so many things about that trip - the icicle lights on Cinderella's castle, riding Big Thunder Mountain during the Magic Kingdom fireworks, eating roasted pecans in Hollywood Studios while we watched the Osborne Lights, falling in love with Norway in the World Showcase...I'm sure there are a million things about that trip I've forgotten, but I will never forget the way it felt to have that time with my family. Bob Iger created that experience for us, and he created the WDW I fell in love with...and I could never thank him enough for that. This book gave me a glimpse into the hard work that went into this process, and I loved every minute of it. I've always wished I could thank him in person for everything he's given my family.
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