A recent Forbes article made the case that Michael Eisner, former Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, did a better job at running Disney than Iger after him or whomever before him. Admittedly the article is, for some reason, clearly kissing Eisner’s rear, as it has nothing but praise for Eisner, but there’s a reason Eisner took shots from the fans. It’s just that Eisner didn’t make the mistakes that Bob Iger has, and even when he did make mistakes it wasn’t as bad as Iger’s nonsense.
I went to see when Eisner left Disney and Google AI (question the source) gave me this: “Michael Eisner stepped down as CEO of Disney in 2005, following a period of declining shareholder confidence and public criticism. Key factors included a perceived decline in Disney’s creative output, strained relationships with Pixar and key executives, and a sense of micromanagement that alienated employees and partners.” I highlighted that one part for a reason. Near the end of his time as CEO, Eisner made moves that got Disney fans as upset with him as they are Iger today. However, while I do believe that Eisner was better at some point in his time than Iger has been at any point, let’s not forget that he’s gone for a reason. If he were still making Disney money they would have kept him on. Meanwhile, Iger loyalists on the board may be the only thing keeping him in charge given the string of failures hurting not only the Disney brand, but his acquired brands of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm.
So how did Eisner succeed in his failures better than Iger has in his? Let’s examine.
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