The Ride of a Lifetime
Another month of 2023 has come and gone and it’s time to share my second book of the year! This is a book that I’ve heard a lot of rave reviews about, so I was excited to finally dive in. It’s actually been on our bookshelf since it released in 2019 because my husband read it during his 75 Hard journey! (If you want to learn more about my reading journey in 2023, check out my first post here.)
My second book of the year is Disney CEO Bob Iger’s book, The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned From 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. As someone who loves Disney history, this book was a great read. I learned about Iger’s journey through ABC, the Walt Disney Company, and his time as CEO. Since he’s currently running the company once again, I didn’t think there could be a better time to pick this book up off the shelf.
You see, I grew up knowing the name “Iger,” but not knowing much more about this CEO than a few milestones during his term and that he originally came from ABC. (Let’s just say I’ve always been more of a Michael Eisner fan.) I respect the way that Bob Iger wrote about his time working under Michael Eisner, especially because Eisner gets a lot of critcism usually and I appreciated the way his faults and strengths as a leader were highlighted.
Curious if The Ride of a Lifetime is the right read for you? Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from the book!
10 True Principles of Leadership
In the prologue, Iger shares his 10 True Principles of Leadership:
- Optimism
- Courage
- Focus
- Decisiveness
- Curiosity
- Fairness
- Thoughfulness
- Authenticity
- The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
- Integrity
During his career, he found that these ten principles are necessary for true leadership. He offers key takeaways for each principle, but the one that stood out the most to me was The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection. Iger clarifies that he doesn’t mean “perfectionism at all costs,” but instead the refusal to accept mediocity.
Innovate or Die
When Iger was working at ABC Sports under his boss Roone Alrledge, he learned a concept that would guide him in every job he’d hold moving forward: Innovate or Die. Basically, you can’t operate out of fear of the unknown. His boss’ drive for perfection and willingness to try new technological advancements would move ABC Sports into a new light. While it’s easy to stick to what we know, leaning into the unknown and trying to master it is key.
Reading this story so early into the book, it made sense for me for Iger right away. During his time as CEO, Bob Iger would oversee several acquisitions including Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel. Getting the opportunity to see where this “Innovate or Die” mentality stemmed from really put his CEO journey into perspective for me. He knew the importance of investing in those who had strengths the Walt Disney Company didn’t have.
Second in Command
Image: NBC News
When the Walt Disney Company acquired ABC in 1995, Iger’s decision to stay on or not was a big part of the transaction. Michael Eisner would make Bob Iger second in command, overseeing the media networks, consumer products, and Walt Disney International. Eisner’s responsibilities included Walt Disney Studios and the Parks and Resorts.
In The Ride of a Lifetime, Iger shares about his experience working under Eisner as his number two. He claims that he was taught a new way to see things — creatively. Eisner was able to see the big picture and granual details at the same time, and this was something Iger admired.
Strategic Priorities as CEO
When Bob Iger became CEO of the Walt Disney Company, he set three clear strategic priorities for the company moving forward:
- Devote most of their time and capital to the creation of high-quality branded content.
- Embrace technology to the fullest extent.
- Become a truly global company.
These three priorities would become his vision, one that would focus on moving forward.
Friendship with Steve Jobs
Image: Media Play News
Steve Jobs owned Pixar and would eventually sell the company to the Walt Disney Company while Bob Iger was CEO. After a very severed relationship between Disney and Pixar in the early 2000’s, Iger was able to reconnect with Steve Jobs to not only acquire this talented animation company, but save Disney Animation in the process.
Even after the acquisition, Steve Jobs and Bob Iger would remain friends until Jobs’ intimely death. Their friendship proved to be an interesting one because while they agreed on a lot, they didn’t always see eye to eye.
One of my favorite stories from the book was when Iger was showing Jobs around one of Walt Disney World’s value resorts, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. While Iger was expecting Jobs to find the idea of the affordable three thousand room resort exciting, but instead he exclaimed “this is crap. You’re not faking anybody.”
Iger learned over the years that Jobs sometimes saw things through his own lense, and that’s just who is was! (I don’t know about y’all, but the idea of Bob Iger and Steve Jobs walking in the Art of Animation lobby just sounds awesome to me.)
Lessons to Lead By
While I read this book, I kept tabs on all of my favorite takeaways for easy access in the future. Little did I know, in the appendix there’s a section devoted to that idea called “Lessons to Lead By.” I won’t bore you all by listing them out in this blog, but it’s great to know that there are pages of bullet points at the end for you to dive into after completing the ride.
Ultimately this book was on leadership through Bob Iger’s experiences, so it’s only fitting that there’s a roadmap in the back for us to reference in the future! In the middle of the book there are also a few pages of pictures during his Ride of a Lifetime, which were fun to look through as you read the book. It’s nice to put faces with names — especially for his adventures at places before the Walt Disney Company like ABC.
All in all, I enjoyed this read! I am starting with books strictly from my shelf, so I can’t wait to check another one off my list and share it with you here. You can check out my full list of Disney Books here! Last time I shared about The Disney Animation Renaissance, so if you want to know more about that read — click here.
Did you know I have a D*sney-inspired jewelry brand? My company is called Spinning Carousel Company and we have necklaces inspired by all six of the US parks with plenty more magical jewelry pieces to come. If you decide to shop, use code KAIT10 to save at checkout!