The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

by Robert Iger

Innovate or die, and there’s no innovation if you operate out of fear of the new or untested.

“the relentless pursuit of perfection.”

It’s a delicate thing, finding the balance between demanding that your people perform and not instilling a fear of failure in them.

about the importance of taking responsibility when you screw up.

Be decent to people. Treat everyone with fairness and empathy. This doesn’t mean that you lower your expectations or convey the message that mistakes don’t matter. It means that you create an environment where people know you’ll hear them out, that you’re emotionally consistent and fair-minded, and that they’ll be given second chances for honest mistakes.

and a perfect example of how Dennis never put himself ahead of anyone else.

true integrity—a sense of knowing who you are and being guided by your own clear sense of right and wrong—is a kind of secret weapon.

The first rule is not to fake anything. You have to be humble, and you can’t pretend to be someone you’re not or to know something you don’t. You’re also in a position of leadership, though, so you can’t let humility prevent you from leading. It’s a fine line, and something I preach today. You have to ask the questions you need to ask, admit without apology what you don’t understand, and do the work to learn what you need to learn as quickly as you can. There’s nothing less confidence-inspiring than a person faking a knowledge they don’t possess.

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

Empathy is a prerequisite to the sound management of creativity, and respect is critical.

if you want innovation—and you should, always—you need to give permission to fail.