Robert Iger, the 15-year veteran CEO of Disney wrote this book as leadership lessons from his golden days at ABC to one of the most tumultuous times at Disney. The entire book is a summary of Bob’s 45-year career at ABC, Capital Cities, and Dinsey. I had been to Disney once and couldn’t help but marvel at how perfect everything was and how happy everyone looked. It was interesting to know what all goes beyond the scenes and the challenges of running such a huge organization.
I am not a huge proponent of reading management/CEO autobiographies as I personally believe every person has their own journey and as Jeffrey Pfeffer calls it – there is a lot of corporate bullshit in these books and leadership books exhibit behavior that was precisely the opposite of what they advocated and also what they claimed they did. However, this book was definitely an exception and I loved my reading.
Key bullets from the book:
10 principles of leadership:
- Optimism – Even in the face of difficult choices and less than ideal outcomes, an optimistic leader does not yield to pessimism. People are never motivated or energized by pessimists.
- Courage – There is no risk taking without courage, which is not optional in today’s ever changing world.
- Focus – Allocate time, energy, and resources that matter the most at hand. Communicate priorities clearly and often.
- Decisiveness – All decisions, no matter how difficult, can and should be made in a timely way.
- Curiosity – The path to innovation begins with curiosity.
- Fairness – Strong leadership embodies fair and decent treatment of people. Nothing is worse to an organization than a culture of fear.
- Thoughtful – Though decisiveness is important, it’s equally important to take the time and make informed decisions.
- Authenticity – Be genuine. Be honest. Don’t fake anything. Truth and authenticity breed respect and trust.
- The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection – Refusal to accept mediocrity or make excuses for something being “good enough.” If you believe that something can be made better, put in the effort to do it. If you’re in the business of making things, be in the business of making things great.
- Integrity – Nothing is more important than the quality and integrity of an organization’s people and its product. A company’s success depends on setting high ethical standards for all things, big and small. The way you do anything is the way you do everything.
- Work ethic and discipline are extremely important and the lessons learnt early in the career goes a long way. Create time and space for yourself to reflect and ponder about things that over and beyond your immediate job duties.
- The relenetless pursuit of perfection is a mindset. This is not about perfection at all costs instead about creating an environment where you refuse to accept mediocrity. Time, energy and difficult conversations are always going to be in the way of perfection, but good enough is never good enough.
- Treat everyone with fairness and empathy. This doesn’t mean you lower your expectations or convey the message that mistakes don’t matter; it means that you create an environment where people know you will hear them out and they’ll be given fair chances for honest mistakes. Excellence and Fairness don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
- It’s important to be self-aware and know what you don’t know — more importantly when you’re a boss.
- Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision.
- Long shots are usually not as long as they seem. With enough energy, thoughtfulness, and commitment, even the boldest ideas can be executed.
- If something doesn’t feel right to you, then it’s probably not right for you. – Tom Murphy
- There is no price on integrity. There is nothing more important than the quality and integrity of your people and product.
- The moment you see yourself in the mirror and see a title on your forehead, you’ve lost your touch with reality and way. Always remember, wherever you’re along the path, you’re the same person you’ve always been.
- Value ability more than experience, and put people in roles that require more of them than they know they have in them.
- 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.
Absolutely worth reading the entire book.