“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Michael Eisner was a control freak, manipulative, didn’t care about anyone else other than himself, created his own kind of reality distortion field – he considered himself as the heir to Walt Disney’s legacy.

He also was the CEO and Chairman for 20 years of Disney, one of the most creative company to exist on Earth. This book is his story.

And not just his story. While it portrays his rise and fall, it talks about the workings of the gigantic machinery that is Disney – the theme parks, the animation department, Live-action, TV network and cable stations, consumer products – and the story of many, many executives who ran these departments during his time.

And how sometimes epic movies and shows got made – Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin, Lost, Pirates and the Caribbean – sometimes with his support and leadership, other time without it. In his second-half of tenure, the company culture became so utterly toxic and there was a constant revolving-door of top executives who were coming and leaving – that it is a testament to the sheer bench strength of creative talent that the company managed to function at all – despite a dysfunctional working ecosystem.

An in-depth account of how you should not run a company – this book is recommended reading!
It is as relevant after all these years.