The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
by Robert Iger · first published 2019
80% recommend20% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Insider account of running Disney as CEO, valued for its leadership lessons on building and managing large teams and on handling decisions at scale; suits managers and anyone curious about Disney's business.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Robert Iger shares the lessons he's learned while running Disney and leading its 200,000 employees, and he explores the principles that are necessary for true leadership. Iger became CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. His vision for the future came down to three ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters; Embrace technology instead of fighting it; and Think bigger-- think globally. Here he shares the lessons he's learned while running Disney, and explores the principles that are necessary for true leadership. -- adapted from jacket
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For me it was: * Exhalation by Ted Chiang * Ride of a lifetime by Bob Iger was a close second
on “Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?” ↗…that had many years building effective teams. It's incredible how many concepts can be mapped over, he talks for example on how having "rockstars" in a team that aren't team players isn't worth it. - Ride of a lifetime by Bob Iger -- It's mostly a biography of Disney's most successful CEO, I thought it was very authentic and gave good advices on how to deal with creative people, empathy, setting goals and navigating…
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗I read "ride of a lifetime" by Bob Iger last month. It was a pretty nice book, similar to ShoeDog by Phil Knight. I learnt a lot about leadership, about Bob himself and started to like him (even though I had no idea about him before…
on “Disney CEO Bob Iger immediately steps down from CEO position” ↗Bob Iger's book - the ride of a lifetime - is also really good if you're interested in that!
on “Why are CEOs failing software engineers?” ↗…industry has changed quite a bit since this book was written but I remember really enjoying it. Salvage: a personal odyssey by Ian Tew. I enjoyed this book about a a salvage master out of Singapore The ride of a lifetime by Robert Iger, book about Iger’s journey to being CEO of Walt Disney Company. A bit of insight to what the company executives are doing/ supposed to be doing? Quench Your Own Thirst, Jim Koch, the founder…
on “Ask HN: Recommend books that give you insight into other professions” ↗Some more details are covered in Bob Iger’s book The Ride of a Lifetime. It’s obviously about burnishing his legacy but if you’re a fan of Disney or the challenges of being a CEO at scale, it’s pretty good.
on “How Marvel took over cinema and TV” ↗Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger is another which was a bestseller and also one I found rather insightful.
on “Trader Joe Wrote a Memoir” ↗Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott Shoe Dog by Phil Knight Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins
on “Ask HN: What are some good inspirational and uplifting books?” ↗…Everything Store (Brad Stone) - Built from Scratch (Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank) - Hard Drive (James Wallace) - Steve Jobs (Walter Isaacson) - Elon Musk (Ashlee Vance) - Creativity, Inc. (Ed Catmull) - The Ride of a Lifetime (Bob Iger) - Valley of Genius (Adam Fisher) - The Idea Factory (Jon Gertner) - Dealers of Lightning (Michael Hertzik) - Idea Man (Paul Allen) - Pour Your Heart Into It (Howard Schultz)
on “Ask HN: What books helped you in your entrepreneurship journey?” ↗All these book publications seems to be orchestrated around starting of Disney+. Recently Bob Iger (Disney CEO) published his autobiography.. Ride of a lifetime https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Lifetime-Lessons-Learned-Company...
on “How Disneyland Came to Be” ↗…sure exactly what you're looking for, but look up Tom Murphy and Dan Burke (of Capital Cities/ABC). They had a peculiar frugal no-nonsense no-BS style of doing business. Actually, I read the book "The Ride of a Lifetime" by Robert Iger, who is/was the CEO of Disney (he had originally retired, but apparently they made him CEO again). While Igers seems like a cool person (as per his own book) I found his descriptions…
on “Ask HN: Who are examples of ethically upstanding founders/CEO to model after?” ↗