The Ride of a Lifetime — Leadership Book

The Walt Disney Company’s culture has always captured my attention since I was a little kid, but the takeaways from Iger’s autobiography amazed me even more. Not only does he talk about leadership ideas that he took away from his tenure at Disney, but he gives an inside look into negotiations of major acquisitions as well as keys to running a successful team.

There is no one idea that he focuses on throughout the book; the few that stood out to me are shown in the poster above.

Some of the universal ideas from Iger’s experiences include fostering a risk-taking environment that nurtures creativity and builds trust. As the CEO of Disney, that is a creative work of art in itself, one of Iger’s key takeaways is to promote an uplifting spirit in the workplace. He encourages building trust among team members and fueling creativity so everyone can perform at their best. Building on top of this, he encourages fueling curiosity in one’s self and inspiring others. In a world where we are caught up in right vs. wrong, Iger promotes curiosity and the will to push one another to think outside of the box. Furthermore, he highlights embracing change. Change is inevitable, and rather than denying it or working against it, the CEO urges people to flow with change and accept it. Finally, he advocates for operating with a sense of integrity and honesty in the world. I believe that this might be the single most important idea he shares, as without this, there is no trust, and without trust, there can be no leadership.