Focus Leadership Blog

Name: Michael Eisner

Occupation: former Disney CEO, founder of The Tornante Company (a private investment firm), holds stakes in Veoh Networks and Vuguru.

Career Highlights: Graduated from Denison University with a B.A. in English, thereby providing at least one credible answer to the opening song from Avenue Q. Bounced around the networks until ABC's Barry Diller hired him as an assistant to the National Programming Director. When Diller moved on to Paramount Studios, he brought Eisner along and made him their CEO. Beverly Hills Cop was released during this time; that he was in any way responsible for that blows my mind. Eisner moved over to the then-floundering Walt Disney Company in 1984, and the company revitalized with a string of formulaic musical cartoon features that may or may not be festooned with hidden dirty parts (although the cover art for The Little Mermaid is pretty blatant).  Disney also absorbed Miramax Films, ABC, and ESPN during this time, and expanded their theme park dynasty with a strong portfolio of unworkable proposals (the Roger Rabbit franchise) and a couple of ideas that took forever to turn a profit (Disneyland Paris). He lost favor with Disney after railroading a friend of his past the board of directors to replace Frank Wells as President, and Roy E. Disney accused him of micromanagement and turning the company into a "rapacious, soul-less" brand.

Dominant Pattern(s): Driver and Organizer. It's not a coincidence that two separate companies started churning out hits once Eisner took the helm - the guy knows how to get people moving. He's also been cagey and opportunistic enough to never be out of work long, suggesting typical Driver energy patterns. And god bless them - his bills come every month, too. His ideas for Disney's expansion suggest some of that old Visionary magic too, but that one isn't really dominant.

Recommendation(s) for Improvement: But it could be! Some Visionary and Collaborator exercises could curb some of Eisner's lone wolf tendencies, and keep him from becoming the old guy in Big who thinks robots should turn into buildings. For the Visionary end of things, we suggest Floating Hands exercises along with liberal doses of Frank Zappa's "The Grand Wazoo" album. The Collaborator center is in the belly, so the Sitting Bounce (sitting in half-lotus and shaking your foot, allowing the rest of your body to jiggle) and Loosening Relief exercises should be helpful there.