The Ride Of A Lifetime

 · 3 mins read

:memo: Please Note
  • The following book summary is the result of a collection of personal notes, highlights and thoughts extracted from the book.
  • Most of the content is a direct quotation from the book and original authors work.

In “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons in Creative Leadership from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company” Robert Iger shares his journey to becoming the CEO of Disney. As part of the book, many of Disney’s acquisitions such as Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars are uncovered.

Quotes

“If you don’t choose the adventurous path, then you’re not really living.”

“Don’t be in the business of playing it safe. Be in the business of creating possibilities for greatness. If you’re in the business of making something, be in the business of making something great.”

“It should be about the future, not the past.”

“You have to approach your work and life with a sense of genuine humility. The success I’ve enjoyed has been due in part to my own efforts, but it’s also been due to so much beyond me, the efforts and support and examples of so many people, and to twists of fate beyond my control.”

“You have to 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. There’s nothing less confidence-inspiring than a person faking a knowledge they don’t possess. True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else.”

“A company’s culture is shaped by a lot of things, but this is one of the most important—you have to convey your priorities clearly and repeatedly. In my experience, it’s what separates great managers from the rest.”

“Now more than ever: innovate or die. There can be no innovation if you operate out of fear of the new.”

“I talk a lot about “the relentless pursuit of perfection.” In practice, this can mean a lot of things, and it’s hard to define. It’s a mindset, more than a specific set of rules. It’s not about perfectionism at all costs. It’s about creating an environment in which people refuse to accept mediocrity. It’s about pushing back against the urge to say that “good enough” is good enough.”

“Take responsibility when you screw up. In work, in life, you’ll be more respected and trusted by the people around you if you own up to your mistakes. It’s impossible to avoid them; but it is possible to acknowledge them, learn from them, and set an example that it’s okay to get things wrong sometimes.”

“Don’t let ambition get ahead of opportunity. By fixating on a future job or project, you become impatient with where you are. You don’t tend enough to the responsibilities you do have, and so ambition can become counterproductive. It’s important to know how to find the balance—do the job you have well; be patient; look for opportunities to pitch in and expand and grow; and make yourself one of the people, through attitude and energy and focus, whom your bosses feel they have to turn to when an opportunity arises.”

“Pessimism leads to paranoia, which leads to defensiveness, which leads to risk aversion.”

“Optimism emerges from faith in yourself and in the people who work for you. It’s not about saying things are good when they’re not, and it’s not about conveying some blind faith that “things will work out.” It’s about believing in your and others’ abilities.”

“If something doesn’t feel right to you, it won’t be right for you.”

“THERE’S AN OLD ADAGE that says success has many fathers and failure is an orphan.”

Book Authors: Robert Iger

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