The Ride of a Lifetime
Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
Robert Iger
“In 2005, Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company during a difficult time. Morale had deteriorated, competition was more intense, and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. “I knew there was nothing to be gained from arguing over the past,” Iger writes. “The only thing that mattered was the future, and I believed I had a clear idea of the direction Disney needed to go.” It came down to three clear ideas: 1) Create the highest quality content Disney could produce. 2) Embrace and adopt technology instead of fighting it. And 3) Think bigger–think global–and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets.”
I picked up this book as an audiobook to listen to in the car. I didn’t get to it for a while as I had some other books to listen to first. By the time I got up to it I didn’t remember the synopsis of what it was about and had no expectations. As soon as I started listening, I loved it straight away and couldn’t stop listening! The whole book is structured like a memoir of the story of the authors life. I don’t normally like memoirs but this book was amazing. The story was told really well and kept you listening for more.
I’m glad I didn’t have any expectations going into the book as that would have given away a lot of the story. The insights and knowledge gained from this book was through the one long story. It’s not a theory based book, it just lists all the theories and little stories here and there. The business lessons and journey were fascinating and had me wanting more.
I’d recommend it to anyone who wants some detailed insights of the journey of being a CEO or just to leave you inspired. Overall, this book is amazing! I might even read it again! 5 Stars.
For a book on how to make ideas stick, and be remembered, I don’t think I remember much at all. It probably didn’t help that I listened to it on and off in the car over a period of time. In saying that, there were only 1 or 2 times when I really just wanted to keep listening to it, so clearly it didn’t hook me in much either.
I was really excited for this book because we have just installed nine raised gardenbeds in our front yard instead of lawn! They all have dirt in them, and are just waiting for compost to be created and summer to come. I thought that the Smart Veggie Patch would tell me how to best plant them. It does, sort of, but I guess I expected more growing guides rather than infrastructure.
I listened to this book as an audio book. It seemed to take quite a while to get into it. For a book on building a story and getting you hooked into it, it really didn’t at all! It took a bit over an hour before it started picking up. Lucky for it, I was in the car on a long trip so I kept listening to it. The rest of the book was pretty good. There were a few slow points but overall it was really great.
How can someone so bright, be so dumb? If you are smart enough to get into medical school, surely you are smart enough to realise that military retaliation isn’t actually a bright idea most of the time. I understand the incredible and exciting challenge that you need to undertake to get into the special forces, but at the same time uh, isn’t creating long term medical problems like a bung knee a problem? It seems like a bit of a boys’ club, and that was always going to put my back up.
I picked up this book from the opp shop. It clearly came out quite a while ago but it is a good solid book on being the best manager. Unfortunately I read it over a long period of time, putting it down and picking it up again so it’s hard to review. It’s one of those books that need this though. You need to read a small section and then go away and think about it. I even found myself thinking about it while reading and required pausing a lot. The only issue with this is I need to read it again before I even finished reading it as I don’t remember the start already!
This non-fiction book was exceptional. I found myself both amused and appalled at the same time for what cults get away with, and what people think while they are in them. It really resonated with me that noone thinks that they are joining a cult! In fact, I could easily see several people I know joining one. It’s terrifying to me that some people are dumb or delusional enough to think that a dead person can rise again tomorrow (not just Christ, but also assasinated US presidents!).
I’m a little mixed on this review. There were some good parts and some bad. The book takes you through the 
I can’t believe it has such good reviews and ratings on 
I didn’t really expect to enjoy this book, but Dr Palipana brings a hint of humour into everything. You’d think reading a book about someone who lost almost all his physical abilities would be quite depressing. Instead, this book is a tribute to the author’s resiliance and persistance. To some extent, it also exposes some of the negative aspects of living across different countries and having family that you aren’t sure how to work with.