Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
1984801465
Robert Iger
Notes
Innovate or die, and there’s no innovation if you operate out of fear of the new or untested…we needed to view technology as more of an opportunity than a threat, and we had to do so with commitment, enthusiasm, and a sense of urgency…“I know why companies fail to innovate,” I said to them at one point. “It’s tradition. Tradition generates so much friction, every step of the way.”
It’s a delicate thing, finding the balance between demanding that your people perform and not instilling a fear of failure in them.
In your work, in your life, you’ll be more respected and trusted by the people around you if you honestly own up to your mistakes…he knew what he didn’t know. This is a rare trait in a boss…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…True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else.
They were hypervigilant about controlling costs, and they believed in a decentralized corporate structure…They hired people who were smart and decent and hardworking, they put those people in positions of big responsibility, and they gave them the support and autonomy needed to do the job.
…one person’s unwillingness to give a timely response can cause so much unnecessary strain and inefficiency…Whatever we gained from having this group of talented people sifting through a deal to make sure it was to our advantage, we often lost in the time it took for us to act.
I’ve found that often people will focus on little details as a way of masking a lack of any clear, coherent, big thoughts.
When the two people at the top of a company have a dysfunctional relationship, there’s no way that the rest of the company beneath them can be functional.
Managing your own time and respecting others’ time is one of the most vital things to do as a manager…You can do a lot for the morale of the people around you (and therefore the people around them) just by taking the guesswork out of their day-to-day life.
…as a leader you can’t communicate that pessimism to the people around you. It’s ruinous to morale. It saps energy and inspiration. Decisions get made from a protective, defensive posture.
Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision…it’s okay to come to me with problems, but also offer possible solutions.