The Ride of a Lifetime - Chapter 14 (CORE VALUES) - End of Book Summary (Last Chapter)

CHAPTER 14: CORE VALUES

The last Chapter left off by outlining that The Walt Disney Company wanted to acquire FOX. Therefore, the CEO of Disney and the author of this book, stated that Disney was prepared to make a $38 offer per share, which would be half cash, half stock.

Subsequently, the FOX board approved the deal and Disney received further positive news when they received a guarantee from the Department of Justice that, if Disney would sell the sports networks of FOX, they would not sue to block the deal. This was essential, as indicated by Iger, because big mergers require regulatory approval which sometimes they are incredibly hard to get. 

As Iger then pointed out, this deal was directly aligned with his first interview with the Disney board back in 2004. In his words, “It was all about the future, and our future depended on three things: making high-quality branded content, investing in technology, and growing globally.” 

Another lesson on leadership comes when Iger asserts that after numerous years as CEO, one may subconsciously believe that they know it all and seen it all. However, Iger indicates that a CEO must always remain grounded and that “You have to make a conscious effort to listen, to pay attention to the multitude of opinions. I’ve raised the issue with the executives I work most closely with as a kind of safeguard. ‘If you notice me being too dismissive or impatient, you need to tell me.’” 

Iger also acknowledged that he had great mentors throughout his life and career, which helped him shape who he has become but also listening to his own intuition. In his words, “Each was a master in his own way, and I’d absorbed everything I could from them. Beyond that, I trusted my instincts, and I encouraged the people around me to trust theirs.”

APPENDIX: LESSONS TO LEAD BY

These are some of the most important lessons and principles on leadership touched on in the book:

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

“Be decent to people. Treat everyone with fairness and empathy.”

“True integrity—a sense of knowing who you are and being guided by your own clear sense of right and wrong—is a kind of secret leadership weapon. If you trust your own instincts and treat people with respect, the company will come to represent the values you live by.” 

Warren Buffett once said that he looks for 3 things when he hires people. He looks for intelligence, energy and integrity. If they don’t have the latter, then don’t even bother with the first two. 

“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.” 

“Don’t be in the business of playing it safe. Be in the business of creating possibilities for greatness.”

“At its essence, good leadership isn’t about being indispensable; it’s about helping others be prepared to step into your shoes—giving them access to your own decision-making, identifying the skills they need to develop and helping them improve, and sometimes being honest with them about why they’re not ready for the next step up.” 

According to John Donne, “No man is an island.” Meaning that no individual can do everything entirely on his own. 

“A company’s reputation is the sum total of the actions of its people and the quality of its products. You have to demand integrity from your people and your products at all times.”

“If you walk up and down the halls constantly telling people ‘the sky is falling,’ a sense of doom and gloom will, over time, permeate the company. You can’t communicate pessimism to the people around you. It’s ruinous to morale. No one wants to follow a pessimist.” 

“People sometimes shy away from big swings because they build a case against trying something before they even step up to the plate. Long shots aren’t usually as long as they seem. With enough thoughtfulness and commitment, the boldest ideas can be executed.” 

“You have to convey your priorities clearly and repeatedly. If you don’t articulate your priorities clearly, then the people around you don’t know what their own should be. Time and energy and capital get wasted.” 

“A lot of companies acquire others without much sensitivity toward what they’re really buying. They think they’re getting physical assets or manufacturing assets or intellectual property (in some industries, that’s more true than others). But usually what they’re really acquiring is people. In a creative business, that’s where the value lies.” 

“As a leader, you are the embodiment of that company. What that means is this: Your values—your sense of integrity and decency and honesty, the way you comport yourself in the world—are a stand-in for the values of the company. You can be the head of a seven-person organization or a quarter-million- person organization, and the same truth holds: what people think of you is what they’ll think of your company.”