Tag: Relationships

Learnings

Each deal depends on building trust with a single controlling entity.

Chris Labs

Looking back at the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, the personal component of each of these deals was going to make or break them, and authenticity was crucial. Steve had to believe my promise that we would respect the essence of Pixar. Ike needed to know that the Marvel team would be valued and given the chance to thrive in their new company. And George had to trust that his legacy, his “baby”, would be in good hands at Disney. The Ride of Lifetime, p.188 Continue reading Each deal depends on building trust with a single controlling entity.

Learnings

Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision.

Chris Labs

When Robert Iger became CEO of Disney, one of the first thing he tried was to make peace with Roy Disney who had left the board and we’re openly criticizing theexecutives (especially Michael Eisner). When Robert was named CEO, Roy decided to sue the company to contest Bob’s nomination. Bob could have easily reacted with his ego and sued the company. Instead, he sat down with Roy to defuse this argument. He made Roy feel important (which was free to DIsney) and this respect saved a lot of time and money to the company. The Ride of a lifetime, p.120 Continue reading Don’t let your ego get in the way of making the best possible decision.

Being CEO

As a leader of a company, you cannot be pessimistic.

Chris Labs

This isn’t about saying things are good when they’re not, and it’s not about conveying some innate faith that “things will work out.” It’s about believing you and the people around you can steer toward the best outcome, and not communicating the feeling that all is lost if things don’t break your way. The tone you set as a leader has enormous effect on the people around you. No one wants to follow a pessimist. The Ride of a Lifetime, p.87 Continue reading As a leader of a company, you cannot be pessimistic.