The Ride of a Lifetime

Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

By: Robert Iger

Narrated by: Jim Frangione, Robert Iger

Number-one New York Times best seller

A memoir of leadership and success: The executive chairman of Disney, Time’s 2019 businessperson of the year, shares the ideas and values he embraced during his 15 years as CEO while reinventing one of the world’s most beloved companies and inspiring the people who bring the magic to life.

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR

Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever, and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it, and think bigger - think global - and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets.

Fourteen years later, Disney is the largest, most admired media company in the world, counting Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox among its properties. Its value is nearly five times what it was when Iger took over, and he is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful CEOs of our era.

In The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger shares the lessons he learned while running Disney and leading its 220,000-plus employees, and he explores the principles that are necessary for true leadership, including:

• Optimism. Even in the face of difficulty, an optimistic leader will find the path toward the best possible outcome and focus on that, rather than give in to pessimism and blaming.
• Courage. Leaders have to be willing to take risks and place big bets. Fear of failure destroys creativity.
• Decisiveness. All decisions, no matter how difficult, can be made on a timely basis. Indecisiveness is both wasteful and destructive to morale.
• Fairness. Treat people decently, with empathy, and be accessible to them.

This audiobook is about the relentless curiosity that has driven Iger for 45 years, since the day he started as the lowliest studio grunt at ABC. It’s also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership Iger pursues, from a deep friendship with Steve Jobs in his final years to an abiding love of the Star Wars mythology.

"The ideas in this book strike me as universal", Iger writes. "Not just to the aspiring CEOs of the world, but to anyone wanting to feel less fearful, more confidently themselves, as they navigate their professional and even personal lives."

©2019 Robert Iger (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Nurturing creativity is less a skill than an art - especially at a company where the brand alone is synonymous with creativity. That’s a lot to live up to. Bob Iger has not only lived up to ninety-six years of groundbreaking history but has moved the Disney brand far beyond anyone’s expectations, and he has done it with grace and audacity. This book shows you how that’s happened.” (Steven Spielberg)

“People have been waiting years for Bob Iger to share his leadership secrets. Now he has, and they are utterly brilliant. The Ride of a Lifetime is not merely a memoir; it’s a personal, all-access session with the wisest CEO you’ve ever met and a playbook for handling the key challenges of our age: how to drive change, leverage technology, build an enduring culture, and empower people. It’s a rippingly good, revelatory read.” (Daniel Coyle, New York Times best-selling author of The Culture Code)

“I expected a book written by the person who has led Disney for decades to be defined by both gripping storytelling and deep leadership wisdom. Bob Iger delivers, and then some! The Ride of a Lifetime is leadership gold - you won’t forget the stories or the lessons.” (Brené Brown, number one New York Times best-selling author of Dare to Lead)

A new perspective on leadership

Storytelling at its finest. Listening to this book felt like I was along for the ride of a lifetime. I love the way the journey was laid out and the lessons in innovation, honesty, negotiation and thoughtful leadership were woven in. This one will definitely make it to the bookshelf.

Encouraging and motivating story

Great narration by the author. Very encouraging and motivating story. Positive attitude and successful career create a great dynamic.

Needing more pages Bob!

Though it is stated this is not a memoir, the compelling story of Bob’s rise I mean Mr. Iger had me asking for more and contemplating weather I would vote Robert Iger for President of the United States? Full disclosure I’am a Disney shareholder.

incredible story on leadership

learning of Bob Iger's start in the industry and what allowed him to continue to grow as a creative person married to a corporate structure is an inspiring story. you can certainly learn a few things from listening to his experiences in life and career.

Fantastic book

Highly recommend to anyone looking to elevate their career. Bob provides a lifetime of experience in a few chapters. Definitely worth reading more than once.

Many lessons

So many leadership lessons casually laid out in an easy, interesting listen. Worth a listen for sure.

Interesting story on how he became the CEO of Disney

He went up the ladder by hard work, luck and circumstances. After the story I had a lot of respect for him. He dealt with the Roseanne disaster and the 2 year boy getting killed at Disney-world. He was very frank about his struggle, divorce and his one time panic attack.
He talked a lot about mergers dealing with Steve Jobs and how they became friends. He comes across as a sincere and good human being.

A well tell story of the challenges of executives

I loved this book, it provides an honest and great view of Iger life and what it requires to get to the top and manage a succesfull business specially those thoughts in challenging moments.

This was a really interesting read for Disney fans

I really enjoyed the writing of this book, and the performance. It really gave me insight, in business, in the back workings of Disney.

Outstanding!

First off, I’m a huge fan of Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars. I also read a lot of books by corporate leaders. I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Bob Iger and his candor and straightforward approach to business. He was very honest and reminded me of the balance of running a large global company while being human. The book also starts very strong and had my attention all the way through.

I particularly enjoyed hearing about the risks he took in his career and the relationships he made with Steve Jobs, George Lucas, Rupert Murdoch, Ed Catmul and John Lassiter.

Very well done and highly recommended.