The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons in Creative Leadership by Robert Iger

BATB score: 10/10

BATB re-read; now that BATB is in the entertainment business, this book gives so much wisdom

Best as: Bob Iger’s career and leadership memoir - 46 years in the same company - writing about his insecurities of not knowing, making decisions based on gut feelings, and experiencing work-related anxiety and the need to compartmentalize

BATB lingering thought: his wife reminds him that “this role is not all of you” to keep him sane and at peace 

Best as: leaders have insecurities too; it’s just that we swallow them whole and display optimism 

Best for: humble leaders, you are just sitting in the chair (furniture), they all are here to meet the chair; and when you’re gone, the chair remains with its next seater

Best quotes: “The way you do anything is the way you do everything.”

“You earn as much respect and goodwill by standing by someone in the wake of a failure as you do by giving them credit for a success.”

“As a leader, you should want those around you to be eager to rise up and take on more responsibility, as long as dreaming about the job they want doesn’t distract them from the job they have.”

“The tone you set as a leader has an enormous effect on the people around you. No one wants to follow a pessimist.”

“Surround yourself with people who are good in addition to being good at what they do.”

“No matter who we become or what we accomplish, we still feel that we’re essentially the kid we were at some simpler time long ago. Somehow that’s the trick of leadership, too, I think, to hold on to that awareness of yourself even as the world tells you how powerful and important you are. The moment you start to believe it all too much, the moment you look yourself in the mirror and see a title emblazoned on your forehead, you’ve lost your way. That may be the hardest but also the most necessary lesson to keep in mind, that wherever you are along the path, you’re the same person you’ve always been.”