The Totally Avoidable Leadership Disaster That Almost Took Down Disney

Why we should all beware of the self-serving bias.

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I often study business disasters because they leave a more lasting impression. The lessons they instill reveal how our character flaws can undermine any level of intelligence and ambition we possess. Failures lay bare the habits, blind spots, and unchecked pride that success can mask.

Here’s an example to learn from.

Michael Eisner Was Restless of His Own Success

As president of Paramount Pictures, he’d turned the struggling film studio into Hollywood’s hottest company.

Eisner did it with two strategies. First, he focused on cost-cutting at every corner. Paramount had immense waste and frivolous spending.

Next, he stopped throwing expensive actors at weak film concepts. He knew that no sum of money would save a tacky premise. Paramount focused on making films with simple, dramatic stories that were easy to summarize.

This was a counterintuitive approach in the 1970s. Top studios waged escalating wars for talent while producing increasingly ridiculous films.

Under Eisner’s command, Paramount created smash hits like Grease, Flashdance…