Great book on understanding the journey Robert (Bob) took from his early days as starting ranks in sports division of ABC entertainment to the CEO of ABC to COO of Disney and becoming one of the longest serving (15 yrs) CEO of Disney conglomerate.
He takes you through the mental models and decision frameworks that he used while a concoction of emotions of self/others tried to get the best of him; but didnt succeed. How he dealt with various crises over the years - a crocodile attack at a kid in Disney theme park to a fight with the disney family successor (during his appointment for being CEO) to a series of thrilling mergers and acquisitions (Pixar, Marvel, Fox).
The book also mentions how he treaded his way through impending change needed at Disney when world was embracing change. How he approached Steve Jobs and got Pixar acquired with intense conversations about future with the undisputable creative supremo.
A must read for #media industry folks as well as creative professionals. Top 5 gems from the thriller -
1. It talked about how he always embraced people & cultures in each acquisition without throwing away the secret sauce - from as silly a thing as how people celebrate new joinees & games they play.
2. He cited an example of a disaster on one of the main sport events that they didnt get much coverage (ABC). Next day in a boardroom full of hierarchy, when the CEO demanded who did this blunder; nobody said anything (including the heads responsible) but he raised his hand being in middle/entry level mgmt that I did it 🤚, the accountability he took, went a long way in his career.
3. In his discussions with Steve, the whiteboarding excercise that Steve did comparing pros and cons of Disney Pixar deal, brought in crystal clear clarity on why the acquisition should happen and who would benefit.
4. When Pixar animation was giving a run for Disney's money (due to superior creative talent and processes), Bob on contrary decided to think if Steve will sell Pixar to him - which was unthinkable especially with how Jobs had been critical of Disney & how expensive it could be. But bob still decided to give a shot to the impossible! Asking is very importat. No ask no get!
5. Bob always embraced change...when steve shown him his video ipod prototype, he thought that content distribution is going tp change forever and started working towards this distant future...today Disney+Hotstar is one of the leading content apps in the world!
Which book have you been reading lately and would recommend me?
#books #disney #hotstar
