By Robert Iger
I picked up The Ride Of A Lifetime on recommendation from of one of the sharpest leaders I know (thank you, Joel). I am so glad I did.
Robert Iger's work will add significantly to your leadership toolbox. It is also a delight to read. The author distills the best of four decades of his leadership experience and lays it out in less than 250 pages.
There is so much to appreciate here:
1. Leadership experience: Iger's career is a long elevator ride to the top of the Walt Disney Company. It is a ride made all the more interesting in that he started "in the basement" as a lowly studio supervisor for ABC Television in 1974. He chronicles challenges and opportunities, the people who shaped him, and the experiences that matured him.
2. Compelling narrative: Iger weaves his leadership lessons around a fascinating narrative; part memoir, part leadership coaching.
3. Unvarnished vignettes: Whether Iger is relaying experiences such as his unlikely encounter with Frank Sinatra, or learn from his acerbic mentor Roone Arledge, or the opportunities and challenges of serving as number two to Michael Eisner, or inking multi-billion dollar deals with Steve Jobs, George Lucas or Rupert Murdoch, he gives you an honest picture. That is refreshing.
4. The leadership lessons:There are too many to list, so buy the book. That said, here are five of my favorites: (1) Innovate or die. There can be no innovation if you operate out of fear. (2) Know what you don't know (and trust what you do know). (3) What people think of you is what they will think of your company. (4) Sweat the details. Micromanaging is underrated (read page 81 before you raise that eyebrow!). (5) Establish a few (Iger had three) CLEAR priorities that function as a template for your efforts.
Those who lack the patience to hear his story (and you are missing out if you skip it), Iger summarizes his ten leadership principles in the prologue. He also provides a leadership insights highlight reel in his final chapter, "Lessons To Lead By." Delightfully, most everything he summarizes here were insights I had highlighted as I read.
Sit down next to Robert Iger for The Ride of a Lifetime. You will be glad you did.