The Ride Of A Lifetime
Written by Bob Iger.
⏱️ The book in three sentences
Do not fear change, rather, embrace it and become stronger.
Big results demand big (but calculated) risks.
Always remain ethical and trust your gut instinct.
🪞 Reflections
Ride of a Lifetime is not a biography. It's not really about Disney either. Rather, it's a book on how to manage people. It is a recount of the most impactful experiences of Iger's career and the lessons he took from them.
Bob Iger grew up on Long Island, New York. His family was not impoverished, but his father suffered from depression which meant that he often bounced around from job to job. That meant there were times when they couldn't afford much more than the essentials. His father was a reader, however, so when there was money, a percentage was often spent on building a family library. Bob makes a point to explain how his father pushed him to spend his time in a way that would better him for the future, which resulted in Bob's own love for books. He explicitly mentions reading Hemmingway and getting up early to read the New York Times before anyone else. Iger's father raised him well, but the disappointment his father felt towards his own life was what inspired Bob to do whatever it took to be successful - not "to toil in frustration and lack of fulfillment."
Iger began his career at ABC as a supervisor, apparently as low as it gets on the ABC ladder. Basically, he just completed routine tasks as they were handed out. He soon discovered that the unamicable head of his department had set up a scheme to syphon funds out of the department and funnel them into his own pocket. Bob asked around for information on what he could do about it, but word got back to the Head before anything could be done. Bob assumed his career in entertainment was over, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In the end, Bob received a transfer to ABC Sports - one of ABC's most profitable divisions at the time and where Bob met his first mentor, Roone Arledge.
Aside from Iger's second wife Willow, Roone may be the most discussed character in the book. Bob worked under Roone, with Roone and supervised Roone over the course of his career. It's a complicated matter to manage the person who taught you much of what you know, and the evolution of their relationship is one of the most interesting aspects of Bob's story. Above all though, the necessity for innovation was what Iger learned from Roone. The phrase "innovate or die" is a constant throughout Bob's stories.
The other lessons Bob learned over his 45-year career are scattered throughout the fourteen chapters. Optimism was learned through the disaster of Calgary's Olympic Games. The restoration of Disney's relationship with Steve Jobs could not have happened without courage. Acquiring Marvel and Star Wars required decisiveness and thoughtfulness. The importance of integrity was a key feature in the social justice movements that shook the entertainment industry in recent years. And of course, innovation, and the trap of "good enough", round out the book with the radical turning point in Disney's business of creating Disney+.
Despite being relatively short, only about 250 pages, this book covers a lot of ground. If you're interested in career development, relationship building, or people management I think you'll enjoy Ride of a Lifetime. If you thought "Avenger's: Endgame" was the best movie ever and you want to learn more about how Marvel and Disney came together, you'll probably enjoy this book too. Even if you're one of the disgusting heathens who gave "Coco" a thumbs-down rating on Google Reviews, I think you'll, at least, enjoy parts of this book. Give it a read 👍🏻.
💥 Personal Impact
At the time of writing, it's been about a week since I finished The Ride of A Lifetime. Despite all of the tidbits and wisdom, what's stuck with me is Bob's stance on the importance of risk-taking. Big payoffs require big risks.
I'm a naturally risk-averse person. While writing this, I've actually struggled to come up with times I've taken major risks. I think the biggest risk I've taken in my life was signing up for my academic exchange to the Netherlands. Yes, it was exciting, I had the support of my family and school, I had gone on a shorter exchange before so I had an idea of what it may be like, and I knew I could always come home if it didn't work out. Nevertheless, it's intimidating to travel halfway across the world, alone, and live in a foreign country for five months. But it was absolutely worth it. Those five months were one of the best periods of my life. I met my girlfriend, I made new friends, I met up with old friends, I went to soccer games, and concerts in Amsterdam and Paris. I made memories that I will value for the rest of my life. I knew the exchange was a good idea, but the payoff was beyond what I had hoped for.
This is really the point Bob tries to make. Taking massive risks when it "just makes sense". He's not encouraging the reader to bet the house on black. You have to be careful. He's saying to be thoughtful, weigh the pros and cons, and trust yourself. When it feels right, you can't let fear hold you back because you have to take the risk to reap the reward. Sometimes you lose, but the wins make up for all the losses.
🗣 Top 3 Quotes
You have to convey your priorities clearly and repeatedly ...This is where we want to be. This is how we’re going to get there. Once those things are laid out simply, so many decisions become easier to make, and the overall anxiety of an entire organization is lowered. (pg. 100)
Long shots aren’t usually as long as they seem. (pg. 136)
Wherever you are along the path, you’re the same person you’ve always been. (pg.224)