Making the case for IGER......

[KevinPage]

This is mainly to play some devil's advocate here on why Iger could have a positive effect on Disney.

If anything, they guy knows how to hang on and perserver under an autocratic dictator, who didn't think too much of him to begin with.

Could Iger simply have laid in the weeds, played the good soldier and appeased Uncle Mickey, hoping to eventually get his shot to run the company? He's not a dumb man and saw all the other quality executives run out of town by Eisner, so maybe he knew what he needed to do to stick around.

Harvey Weinstein appears to like him and Oprah Winfrey praised Iger a few years ago stating he was the reason she sticked with ABC and didn't go to another network. Steve Jobs looks to have softened a bit with recent remarks about Iger. So at the very least he seems to know how to make peace with other 'big wigs' in the industry.

He doesn't appear to be a micro manager like Eisner. You won't see him testing out different smells for the Yeti AA on a new attraction, which maybe is a good thing (don't have to stick your nose in everything, let the people who build the attraction worry about the finer details).

Also, Iger's best friend is General Grizz, so that can't be too bad of a thing. :lol:

 

[Shaman]

It remains to be seen what Iger will do...what he says he'll do, could be very different than what he ends up doing...thats the trend at Disney these days...He could also be a different Iger, once he sits in the CEO seat...he could surprise us doubting fans...that is possible as well...

My biggest problem is that he was hand picked by Eisner...(this profit/money driven Eisner, you know the CEO who crushes creativity if it costs a penny more)...if Eisner with his philosophies about business backs Iger...what does that say about Iger?

(not to mention the part about there being NO actual search for a replacement...)

Question: How many years will CEO Iger sign up for?

 

[HauntedPirate]

Definitely agree. He certainly is coming in singing a different tune than Eisner, trying to play up the fact that he's more of a diplomat than dictator. The rest of this year will certainly be interesting to watch in terms of how things transition, and who could be back at the negotiating table.

 

[MKCP 1985]

NPR radio had a story on Bob today. Is it okay if we call him "Bob," with Disney being a first name company, and Robert sounding so formal when I keep seeing references to others calling him "Bob"? Anyway, listen for yourself and see what you think.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4540682


Pretty serious reservations when your former boss says you've lost your soul. I'm just pointing out that it isn't just the pro-Roy and Stanley group who have concerns about Bob's appointment.

 

[KevinPage]

Pretty serious reservations when your former boss says you've lost your soul. I'm just pointing out that it isn't just the pro-Roy and Stanley group who have concerns about Bob's appointment.

As long as you have a leader who knows his place and what he is good/not good at, that is a major step.

I'm not loking for Iger to be the inspirational & creative leader for the theme parks and animation. If he knows how to get good people to run those divisions and lets them make decisions, that's what Disney needs.

I also remember what Abby Disney said in response to my letter on SaveDisney.com. I asked her if she felt there was anyone out there that actually cared or had the passion to run a company like Disney because of what it represents(not soley based on the money/fame) and she said you'll be surprised what being the CEO of Disney could do you someone (in a positive way) when you have other people around you with such a passion & vision, almost implying a "mystical" quality to it.

Stranger things have happened.

 

[wannab@dis]

It remains to be seen what Iger will do...what he says he'll do, could be very different than what he ends up doing...thats the trend at Disney these days...He could also be a different Iger, once he sits in the CEO seat...he could surprise us doubting fans...that is possible as well...

My biggest problem is that he was hand picked by Eisner...(this profit/money driven Eisner, you know the CEO who crushes creativity if it costs a penny more)...if Eisner with his philosophies about business backs Iger...what does that say about Iger?

(not to mention the part about there being NO actual search for a replacement...)

Question: How many years will CEO Iger sign up for?

Good post!

I'm willing to give Iger a chance to see where he leads. His early moves are positive and if he does create a de-centralized management system, then good things may come.

My biggest gripe in the whole sequence was the lack of a search by the board. It appears to me that they had their minds made up early on to back Eisner's choice, and the "search" was on paper only.

 

[DarkMeasures]

Well I am only up to the "Disney War" sement of Disney War and it seems that I may have been wrong about one thing. He doesn't seem to be at all Eisner's puppet just because Eisner never seemed to have faith at all.

We'll see though. I know the board still needs to be fixed up though mainly due to all of what Eisner did before the Save Disney campaign. (remove all the board members that weren't on his side and take away power from Stan Gold and Roy Disney).