When Bob Iger left Disney, he did not anticipate on coming back to clean up the mess his forerunner made. In fact, he sought to distance himself from the company as it was steered towards a totally new direction in his absence.
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However, when Disney called and offered him a renewal of his contract, he leaped back in. While he confessed that his second run is more challenging than he anticipated, he is determined to lead Disney to a future that will be as amazing for the company as it is for its fans.
Bob Iger – Says He’s Done “Fixing” And Now Wants To “Build”
Bob Iger and top Disney execs recently discussed the importance of quality over quantity, especially since Disney’s latest slate of movies have underperformed.
In fact, this is the first year since 2014 that Disney hasn’t had a movie earn at least a billion dollars in its global box office.
“I spent the year with the team fixing a lot of things,” Iger said. “But I feel that we’ve just emerged from a period of a lot of fixing to one of building again and I can tell you building is a lot more fun than fixing.”
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Iger added: “In assessing some of our performance, recently, one of the reasons I believe it’s fallen off a bit is that we were making too much. I think when it comes to creativity, quality is critical, of course, and quantity in many ways can destroy quality. Storytelling, obviously, is the core of what we do as a company.”
Disney’s execs continue to be optimistic about the future, even though Iger admitted that he faced challenges steering the company.
“I knew that there were myriad challenges that I would face coming back,” Iger said. “I won’t say that it was easy, but I’ve never second guessed the decision to come back, and being back still feels great.”
He also insisted that optimism is the number one virtue of a leader, “because no one wants to follow a pessimist.”
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In-person attendees at the NYC event, which took place at the Broadway venue that is home to The Lion King, appreciated the CEO’s showmanship.
Disney’s future as a brand with ultra-successful franchises is indeed a bright one, and their ESPN plans is on track for direct to consumer launch in 2025.
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