I don’t find myself often reaching for celebrity inspired autobiographies, biographies, or memories and I definitely don’t find myself reaching for business inspired novels. I much more enjoy the lesser known stories of the people who should be celebrities but are often overlooked in history. However, if you are looking for a good celebrity novel I highly suggest Becoming by Michelle Obama or Robin by Dave Itzkoff. Those are two of my favorites from the past few years. Becoming obviously about former first lady Michelle Obama and Robin a story about the great Robin Williams. But in order for me to pick up a celebrity inspire book, I have to be really interested in who the person was or possibly what they did for living. And that was this book to a T.
The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation.
Bob Iger
Robert Iger’s autobiography starts with talking a little bit about his childhood but more so begins when he accepted his first job at ABC in 1974 when his dream job at the time was to be a weatherman. Bob talks about starting at the absolute bottom of the totem pole at ABC and making his way up in a company who was drastically struggling at this time. He tells his story of ABC being bought out by this minuscule company called Capital Cities, and while nobody saw this deal happening at all, how it ended up being the best possible outcome for both ABC and himself. His story flows through his different stages in life until the day in 2005 when he was announced as the 6th CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
After becoming CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world, Iger discusses some of the challenges he faced throughout those 15 years and especially those first few months. A huge part of the book is the merge of Pixar and Disney and the relationship Iger formed with former Pixar co founder Steve Jobs. How Steve had absolute no interest in selling to Disney with the previous CEO, and it wasn’t until Iger came in with some of the bold approaches Jobs tended to favor, that he even considered selling to Disney. And who knows what Disney would’ve been like if that sale never went through. He also talks about what it was like adding Marvel and LucasFilms to the vast expansion of the Disney company.
What I have learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership.
Bob Iger
But he also makes sure to hit on some of the tougher topics he faced as CEO. He was in Shanghai, China days away from the opening of the newest Disney park, when he woke to the news about the shooting at the Pulse night club in Orlando, FL. Anxiously waiting to hear if any of the victims were employees and just trying to figure out what he can do to help this city he has grown to love.
I loved this book. As someone who grew up watching lots of Disney and still to this day loves watching a Disney movie as my Saturday morning cartoon, I was really interested in reading some of the behind the scenes of possibly the biggest company in the world. Iger wrote an incredible story that wasn’t “look at me I’m CEO of Disney and you need to read my book because I am important”. He hit on a wide range of topics that would interest any person especially one who loves the entertainment industry or Disney. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great celebrity autobiography.
Until Next Time, The Library Abroad
If you approach and engage people with respect and empathy, the seemingly impossible can become real.
Bob Iger
Photo Credit: https://medium.com/the-pm-library/book-sips-33-the-ride-of-a-lifetime-by-robert-iger-ac82645d255e
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