A courageous ride

Book review of The ride of a lifetime: Lessons in creative leadership

Let me begin this review with an admission. I am slightly wary of autobiographies. I — and this probably holds true of the reader as well — grew up conditioned to revere the printed word, especially in a book. As a student, I was a sucker for autobiographies, especially if it contained a good rags-to-riches narrative. But one day came the realisation that autobiographies can lie. Let me cite one example to make my point. When I read Lance Armstrong’s It’s Not About the Bike,  I believed every word of it. How can you not love the saga of an athlete who makes a comeback after cancer and wins one of the most arduous competitions on earth? There were allegations floating around already, but like most I refused to give them credence. So, when Mr Armstrong admitted on the Oprah Winfrey show that his Tour de France victories were fuelled by drugs, the news felt almost like a personal betrayal.
 
At their best, however, autobiographies can be edifying. The tales of an individual’s triumphs and tribulations offer invaluable lessons in how to cope with the curve balls life throws at you. It is in the spirit of a student of life lessons that I have chosen to approach this genre, notwithstanding the risk of being deceived occasionally. So should you. 
 
The book under review is by Robert Iger, who joined ABC Television in 1974 (ABC was later taken over by Walt Disney) at the lowest rung and became its chief executive officer (CEO) in 2005. The probability of a mere college graduate becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 behemoth (Walt Disney ranks 53rd) are minuscule. How did he make it to the top and, more importantly, stay there? It is 2019 and he is still going strong. The book offers a glimpse of Mr Iger’s values and decision-making frameworks. Therein, perhaps, lies the secret of his success.
 
At the Disney headquarter was a unit called Strategic Planning. Michael Eisner, the previous CEO, had created it to help him identify new business opportunities. It comprised bright people from the country’s top business schools. Gradually, it took over all the critical decision-making within the company. While these talented individuals possessed analytical rigour, such centralisation within a vast organisation like Disney meant that valuable time was lost in arriving at decisions. The company was letting many opportunities slip out of its grasp. Mr Iger felt the heads of businesses should be the ones making the critical decisions, as they were closer to ground realities. Early in his tenure as CEO, he reduced Strat Plan’s strength and curbed its role. He writes that when news of this powerful, often oppressive, bureaucracy being cut to size spread, it lifted his peoples’ morale.
 
When a CEO wants his company to grow rapidly within a highly competitive landscape, he adopts the path of acquisition, rather than organic growth. But making acquisitions work can itself prove challenging. Mr Iger’s success in this regard is striking. When he first approached the likes of Steve Jobs (Pixar), Ike Perlmutter (Marvel), George Lucas (Lucasfilm), and Rupert Murdoch (21st Century Fox) with his proposal to take over their companies, he made the overture with the utmost respect, sensitivity and patience. He assured these strong-willed individuals that the unique identities and cultures of their companies would be preserved. What he said at the time of the Pixar acquisition sums up his attitude: “If we don’t protect the culture you’ve created, we’ll be destroying the thing that makes you valuable.” Elsewhere he writes that people think what they are buying is manufacturing assets or intellectual property, but what you really get is people. In a creative business especially, he adds, that is where the value lies. CEOs prone to riding roughshod over the companies they have taken over would do well to remember that.
 
Over the past decade, the entertainment industry has witnessed tectonic shifts. Mr Iger decided he would embrace technology rather than be overwhelmed by it. In 2017, he purchased BAMTech, which had perfected a streaming technology, and used its platform to launch Disney and ESPN’s direct-to-consumer over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services. It was a big gamble. This new mode of distributing content directly to consumers would cannibalise the revenues of existing businesses. There was no guarantee it would succeed. Nonetheless, Mr Iger felt the risk had to be taken. If Disney waited for too long, it would be outflanked by nimbler rivals. It was another illustration of his credo to always act out of courage rather than fear.
 
In the book, Mr Iger comes across as a humble man, who believes in treating others with decency and fairness, and views life as one long learning adventure. Not just heads of companies, this book has much to offer even youngsters just embarking on their earning, and learning, journeys. 

The ride of a lifetime: Lessons in creative leadership

Robert Iger

Bantam Press

246 pages; Rs 559 (paperback, on Amazon)