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

by Robert Iger

your own time and respecting others’ time is one of the most vital things to do as a manager, and he was horrendous at it.

their ambition became counterproductive.

At its essence, good leadership isn’t about being indispensable; it’s about helping others be prepared to possibly step into your shoes—giving them access to your own decision making, identifying the skills they need to develop and helping them improve,

She was a prominent anchor on CNN at that point, cohosting Moneyline, an hour-long financial-news program. Her career was soaring,

had immense respect for Michael’s tendency to sweat the details.

once watched him give an interview in the lobby of a hotel and say to the reporter, “You see those lamps over there? I chose them.”

In March of that year, Apple released its “Rip. Mix. Burn.” campaign, telling the world that once you purchased music, it was yours to duplicate and use as you wish. A lot of people, including Michael, saw that as a mortal threat to the music industry, which would soon threaten the television and movie industries.

As their success and stature grew, the unequal dynamic between the two companies began to gnaw at Steve, who hated it when anyone tried to push him around. Michael was more focused on the specifics of the deal that had been negotiated, and seemingly unaware or uncaring of Steve’s feelings. The situation worsened as Toy Story

As Pixar’s reputation and influence grew with each release, so did the tension with Disney. In Steve’s mind, he and Pixar deserved more respect from Disney, and he wanted the contract to reflect the shifting leverage.

Pixar was gaining swagger as Disney was losing it, and these two strong-willed personalities were destined to battle each other for supremacy.

Optimism sets a different machine in motion.

The tone you set as a leader has an enormous effect on the people around you. No one wants to follow a pessimist.

“Save Disney” campaign. For the next three months, leading up to the annual shareholders meeting in Philadelphia in March 2004, they publicly criticized Michael at every opportunity.

whom I deeply respected and loved, and while he didn’t have Dan’s natural warmth, Steve was smart and funny and a fast learner.

Last, influencing all of this was a general public opposition to the deal being expressed to the media: that “Disney” still had emotional resonance as an American brand, and the idea of its being swallowed by a giant cable provider was anathema to consumers. Comcast eventually withdrew its bid.

leaders don’t articulate their priorities clearly, then the people around them don’t know what their own priorities should be.

senior team with a road map.

Great brands would become even more powerful tools for guiding consumer behavior.

We needed to embrace technology to the fullest extent, first by using it to enable the creation of higher quality products, and then to reach more consumers in more modern, more relevant ways.

It was also becoming clear that while we were still, and would remain, primarily a content creator, the day would come when modern distribution would be an essential means of maintaining brand relevance.

“You’re having a classic anxiety attack, Bob. You have to get some rest.”

And then I called Steve Jobs. It was an odd call to make, but it felt important to me to reach out to him, in case there might still someday be a chance of salvaging the relationship with Pixar.

“Well, I don’t see how things will be any different, but, sure, when the dust settles, be in touch.”

Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision.

If you approach and engage people with respect and empathy, the seemingly impossible can become real.

The rift that had opened between Steve and Michael was a clash between two strong-willed people whose companies’ fortunes were going in different directions. When Michael criticized the tech industry for not having enough respect

for content, Steve was insulted. When Steve suggested Disney was creatively broken, Michael was insulted. Michael had been a creative executive his whole life. Steve believed that because he ran Pixar,

He told me he’d never met anyone in the entertainment business who was willing to try something that might disrupt his own company’s business model. When I walked

earned at the box office, and so on. They were both concerned. “It’s going to be ugly,” Dick said. “The numbers are horrible,” Alan added. “It’s probably not the best way for you to start out.” Regardless of how dispiriting or even incendiary the presentation was going to be, I told the studio team not to worry about it. I then asked Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer to do some research on how our most important demographic, mothers with children under age twelve, viewed Disney Animation versus our competitors. Kevin, too, said that the story wasn’t going to be a good one. “That’s fine,” I told him. “I just

candid assessment of where we stand.”

“The average tenure for a Fortune 500 CEO is less than four years.”

PEOPLE SOMETIMES SHY AWAY from taking big swings

because they assess the odds and build a case against trying something before they even take the first step.

Steve said he loved whiteboard exercises,

He wrote the first with gusto: “Disney’s culture will destroy Pixar!”

“Pixar will reject Disney as an owner, as a body rejects a donated organ.”

Plus, John and Ed will have a much larger canvas to paint on.”

“A few solid pros are more powerful than dozens of cons,”

Steve was great at weighing all sides of an issue and not allowing negatives to drown out positives, particularly for things he wanted to accomplish.

mesmerized by the quality of the animation and by how far the technology had advanced since their last release.

was told over and over that it was too risky and ill-advised.

I was also told that a brand-new CEO shouldn’t be trying to make huge acquisitions.

because the numbers would never work out and this was an impossible “sale” to the street. The banker had a point. It’s true that on paper the deal didn’t make obvious sense. But I felt certain that this level of ingenuity was worth ...

needed to offer praise, because Steve’s pride in Pixar was enormous,

desperate for what they had that he could ask for the moon. The moment I got Steve on the phone, any semblance of a poker face collapsed. I couldn’t pretend I felt anything other than pure enthusiasm. I described the day to him from beginning to end, and hoped that my honesty would ultimately serve me better than any “shrewd” pretense anyway.

even if it isn’t purposeful, the buyer often destroys the culture of the company it’s buying, and that destroys value. A lot of companies acquire others without much sensitivity regarding what they’re really buying. They think they’re getting physical assets

In most cases, what they’re really acquiring is people. In a creative business, that’s where the value truly lies.

“If we don’t protect the culture you’ve created, we’ll be destroying the thing that makes you valuable.”

They had no notes, no decks, no visual aids. They just talked—about Pixar’s philosophy and how they worked, about what we were already dreaming of doing together, and about who they were as people.

pitch your heart out.