Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed Free

FREE WORKING TOGETHER: WHY GREAT PARTNERSHIPS SUCCEED PDF

Magic Strollers. You remember Michael Eisnerright? That infamous micro-manager who was in charge of The Walt Disney Company during an unprecedented period of growth. Well, Eisner didn't do that all by himself. During his first 10 years at Disney, he had the help of Frank Wells. A concept for an animated movie? Frank would instantly decide it was a winner. Should we build more hotels at Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed in Florida? Let's build a dozen. I was tentative. I even asked Barry Dillerand he warned me my life would never be the same. But Frank's response: "Absolutely! The company needs a public rudder. Copyright HarperCo llins. All rights reserved. But when you get right down to it, Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed new HarperBusiness book is really a valentine to Frank Wells. Eisner's obvious affectionate for his late partner who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in April of comes through loud Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed clear in "Working Together. On our fifth day on the job at Disney Frank hit his head on every crossbeam on the inside of the Matterhorn theme park ride as we explored Disneyland. The Frank Wells tribute that the Imagineers added to the Matterhorn after this Disney executive's tragic death in April of Michael Eisner, Roy E. Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed inevitable in any work environment, and certainly all the more so in Hollywood: there are always going to be people working for you upset about something. At Disney, they went to Frank, and he would take them to lunch and find a solution to the problem. He'd also eat off their plates. Frank was the quickest and most voracious eater I've met, and had no qualms about eating off someone's plate, even if he Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed knew them. That the Michael Eisner who wrote this book along with Aaron Cohen was Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed a humble, reflective mood. Mike Ovitz and Michael Eisner. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. But it was never the same without Frank, and I was never able to find another partner quite like him. Frank Wells and I had ten great years together. I had smoothed the way for him to be successful, just as he had smoothed the way for me. We strategized about how to keep our executives happy and our critics at bay. The years I worked with him were markedly different from the years I did not have Frank Wells as a partner. I'll never be as good politically inside a company or as effective at handling a sensitive personnel situation as Frank Wells and I were together. Frank was a better corporate politician than I am. Alone, when Frank was not my partner, I stumbled politically. But when we were together, we kept the ship sailing even in rough waters. Because Hollywood always loves a good story, the tales of the other partnerships I tried have been told before. Jeffrey Katzenbergwho had done terrific work alongside me for nearly two decades at both Paramount and Disney, left the company because he didn't get Frank's job and after Roy Disney demanded he be fired. A year later, we hired Michael Ovitzthe head of Creative Artists Associateswho had been a business friend in Los Angeles for years, to be Frank's replacement. Fourteen months later, he was gone after the arrangement failed. You see what I'm saying? This is a Michael Eisner that we haven't seen before. One who freely admits that sometimes Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed the case of projects like Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed California Adventure he played it too safe Roy E. I was relatively conservative when my butt was in the line, while Frank was much more of the "Let's swing for the bleachers" type of guy. He was off the wall compared to me even though, as I said earlier, nobody believed that. Now, the most important thing that goes Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed creative success is having the people who can come up the great ideas. But the next most important thing is often overlooked: having people who will enable those great ideas, and support those creative people - manage the creativity with real economic foresight. It's not an easy thing to do - in every instance, it is a lot safer to say Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed, and it takes a special and gutsy kind of leader to say yes. That leader alongside me, that coach and that cheerleader at Disney, was Frank. Together with the countless movie and television show ideas and theme parks that he helped push forward, he supported me on smaller but memorable decisions as well, like the use of top-quality architects for new hotels at our theme parks and other projects, and moving Disney animation into the computer age at a large expense. He also was passionate about our compulsive desire for corporate synergy, even having the audacity to name a hockey team after one of our movies The Mighty Ducks. Frank was the one who helped push, pull, and enable all those ideas, managing the managers of all of creative and financial in the boxes of our projects. He was the catalyst who found a way to bring them to life. And he was thrilled to do it. Well, here. Let Michael explain Mickey's flirtation with being a major sports team owner. Which began in when Disney bought the Anaheim Angels. Gene Autry had been talking about moving the team, and as a company, we wanted to make sure they stayed in Anaheim alongside Disneyland. We also began a professional Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed team - the Mighty Ducks - around the same time to play in a completed arena that the city council had built with no prospect of a team. On one hand we wanted to support Orange County, but we didn't want to enter sports ownership with promises to the community that we couldn't keep After we won the only World Series in Angel franchise history in against San Francisco, and the same year got to the Stanley Cup Final with the Mighty Ducks, we decided to sell the teams with one condition: the new owners couldn't move them to another city. Owning teams was, conversely, a distraction and no-win situation. If we spent wildly on the team, we'd be applauded by the fans and would be the darling of the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times sports section, but excoriated by our shareholders and the business section of the same papers. I will live here if I have to - we have a great script, and we will do it. There's a narrative thread that runs through "Working Together" that always circles back on Wells and the lessons that Eisner learned while working with him. To this day, Michael seems to marvel Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed Frank's people skills. After all, this was a guy who genuinely Wells had to fire Disney's general counsel - and the next day the guy asked Frank to be best man at his wedding. And to Michael's point of view, what makes this story that much more amazing is that Wells I think Frank Wells picked the perfect time to die. Had he lived, there was no way that Disney Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed sustain the geometric growth they had in the early to mids. But since he died, everyone can blame the Wells-less Eisner for what happened afterward. Frank Wells had a piece of paper that looked like a fortune from a cookie in his wallet that he proudly showed me one day. It said "humility is the final achievement". I loved that guy. One of my career goals was to write this book! Never thought Michael himself would beat me to the punch. Oh well! I think Frank Wells would have made anyone better. Does the book offer any insight into what made Michael Eisner part of the great "team"? The Eisner portrayed in Disney War doesn't paint that picture. Is this quote out of context? Does he offer any background on why he thought Stanley Gold and Roy Disney needed to be "handled"? As it stands, it sounds like he's still bitter about the whole thing. I recognize all the good things that Michael Eisner did for the Disney company, along with the bad. I also admit I wasn't there Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed any of the things I've read about that I'm basing my opinions on, and know that Frank Wells, Stanley Gold, and Roy Disney and the rest of the unnamed people who made the company great also made their mistakes, too. I would love to read a book about successful partnerships, I'm just not interested in hearing about Michael Eisner's perspective on them at all Frank Wells', yeah, you bet. My deal with Eisner was his inability to see that by the end of his regime, he was just as entrenched and status quo as Disney has been when he arrived and shook up some things. From formula films to being timid or downright Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed in the theme parks, it was hard to accept Eisner with a straight face at the end when he talked about being as devoted to innovation as he was in Frank Wells was the buffer between Eisner's and Katzenberg's egos. When he died, Eisner's swelling ego burst forth like the Incredible Hulk. Whatever good he did Disney was pretty much undone with those damn cheapquels, his penny-pinching with the parks, his near-loss of Pixar and his boneheaded purchase of the Muppets. He was a laughingstock by the time he was kicked out. Unfortunately, his successor, Robert Iger, hardly seems better. If my family didn't have a history with Walt I'd have sold my Disney stock by now. I've recently watched Waking Sleeping Beauty and I was really surprised to learn of everything Frank Wells and Michael Eisner did together that turned Disney into a success. Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed by Michael D. Eisner

Michael Eisner has had his share of failed business partnerships. The former Disney CEO once lamented, it's rare to find a business partner who is selfless. If you're lucky, it happens once in a lifetime. For him, that partner was Frank Wells. The two men worked as a team to transform Disney from a film and theme park company into a global media empire. In a new book, Michael Eisner examines some of the most enduring business partnerships of our time and what makes them tick. You're always an important part of the program, Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed join us on Send us your email to drshow wamu. You can join us on Facebook or send us a tweet. Good morning to you, it's good to have you here. REHM I Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed that there have been lots of questions about whether you're ready to make any sort of announcement about a partnership with the Tribune Company. It seems that rumors fly when you make an investment. I just made an investment in the debt of the Tribune Company. I -- one of the partnerships I actually profile in the book is an investment partnership by the name of Angelo Gordon and they own a lot of debt at the Tribune Company and they understand the Tribune Company and I learned about it from them and other people. And I just acquired some of the debt as the company was over leveraged. Assuming that at some point, it was going to come out of bankruptcy, it's a great company with great assets. And somebody put one and one together and it didn't add up to two. The next thing I know, I'm being rumored to do all sorts of things. I'm happy to advise them I'd love to Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed the company do well. There's been no conversations otherwise. REHM So you would have no intention whatsoever of becoming part of the Tribune Company or heading it up, considering the purchase of the debt that you've just made? EISNER My only intentions now is from the sidelines watching what Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed with the company and they've been doing pretty well, actually, in the last year. I know, I read the L. Times daily REHM If they were to ask you to lead the company or become part of the company, would you be interested? This has all of sudden become a political conversation and I'm not running for president, let me put that away. I'm -- I have a lot of things going on. I doubt strongly that I'll be moving to Chicago. That seems very unlikely. I don't have think I really am of either interest myself in running that kind of company or I'm not sure that the people that own the company have an interest in me. There's been no conversation. I don't eliminate any possibility of anything, but right now, I'm so involved in so many other things. It's such speculation that I really -- I don't want to end up saying something that's gonna affect the company or Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed affect the company. They're doing what they do. I don't think you Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed that directly to the head of ABC News staying or not staying. The Disney Company and CBS and CNN and every other company, public radio, they're -- they gotta look at how they deal with commodities, you know, news is a commodity. Stock quotes are a commodity, brands are a -- commodities, like yours, television shows, movies, those kinds of things are not a commodity. And in today's world, things are changing now with lightning speed. They Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed over time, over the last decade and the next two years, I think you'll see major changes. REHM Do you think that it's moving even more quickly than you imagined it would? The introduction of the iPad, the introduction of all the social networks, gaming networks, it's taken on a life of its own. And if you ask my children or anybody in the next generation what time it is, they're not gonna look at a watch. They don't wear a watch, they look at their -- you know, their Blackberry or whatever and you just grow that thought to newspapers and all sorts of other pieces of information and it's a different world. It just is. I think it's better, but for the people that are used to the past, the past is always better. Nostalgia is always better. I just don't think that's probably the case. REHM You know, it's an interesting question how Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed meld or blend the past with the present to keep those who are just on the edge of Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed past happy with what's happening in the future, how it's going forward. I'm sure when the Guttenberg Press came, a lot of story tellers around campfires were not happy that you can now read a book. It's -- as big a change as that was, which changed culture completely, so it is as big a change today. And everybody is not gonna end up being happier, but information is going to be more distributed, more widely to the entire world. And those people that are dealing in unique projects, whether it's a book, anything of the mind, movie, Broadway play, fine art are going to be advantaged as they've always been because that's one of a kind. And one of a kind has exclusivity and uniqueness that you could never have when you have a commodity. REHM There was as you well know a situation nearby in rural Virginia where the Disney Corporation wanted to bring in a very large center for entertainment, for pleasure, for rides, for everything imaginable and those who live in that Virginia area wanted that land preserved so that those that wanted to hold onto the past were not willing to yield to the fortunes that the future possibly presented. How did you feel about that? Disney was not Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed any of the things, really, that you were just relating, nor was it a place that is sacred, as a matter-of-fact on that very location is now a big shopping center which is much more disturbing than Disney's America ever would have been. It just -- what's interesting -- 'cause Disney felt, we felt, that we could bring to Washington a information and recreation area that educated and entertained millions of Americans who come to Washington about Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed political process in a very intelligent way. It was misinterpreted as a Disneyland. Historians became upset with the fact that history may be told by somebody other than them and so there were some very famous historians who lost track of the right that anybody could tell history. It wasn't just, you know, a ivy league professor and because it was in the backyard, close to the backyard, of people that have beautiful estates and close to a famous Civil War battlefield, the public relations efforts on the Disney Company were not well done. And it became wiser to pack up our bags and leave than to be unpopular on the nation's capital. EISNER I wasn't really disappointed because in the end of the day after a lot of research, it became clear that the winners in Washington were more severe than our research indicated and it would have been a tough economic road anyway and it was a very new project. It was a very Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed project. A Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed of it we worked on in Hong Kong and other places, so we moved on. REHM Welcome back. Michael Eisner is my guest. For four decades, he's been a leader in the entertainment industry. He began his career at ABC. He helped take that network from number three to number one in primetime daytime children's television. Why was he such a good partner? He is -- he was the inspiration for writing the book 'cause he was a great partner to me for a decade at Disney before he was tragically killed in a helicopter accident, but I look at Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, I look at Bill Gates and his wife, uh, Melinda in philanthropy, I look at Ronny Howard and Brian Grazer in the movie business, a lot of great movies, academy awards like "Beautiful Mind. And two chefs, two great women who are on the Food Network and work together. EISNER And the point was that throughout my career, I have noticed that strong partnerships like I had with Frank result in better products, more ethical behavior, more fun. And at the end of the day, those people that have them are happier. And I would include a spouse in that -- in that unintelligible. And this -- actually, there was a Harvard longitudinal study, which I heard about, I read about it in Atlantic magazine and elsewhere, where they followed the class of of Harvard for over 70 years. It was a -- and the class of '40 and ' I think Jack Kennedy was in one of those classes and half of those men are no longer alive. They were men 'cause in that day the college only accepted men. And W. Grant had actually given Harvard the money to look for store managers. But after a decade, that disappeared and it became looking at what makes a better life, what makes people happier. And it was amazing the results because it wasn't exercise, it wasn't wealth, it wasn't the right diet. The number one thing was a sustained relationship through the ups and downs, but sustained over a long period of time. Number two happened to be staying connected with your siblings. A lot of people do not do that and number three was bestowing information to the next generation. EISNER And as I looked at these partnerships, including mine with Frank, obviously you share the ups and the downs, you're in the foxhole, you're high-fiving the wins, but it's more than that. You obviously have alternate skills which -- when you're working together and every one of these relationships was different. But the one thing that these relationships had in common was there was no envy, there was no jealousy as to your partner. And if that came into play, these partnerships did not work. And I've had it So with Frank Wells, he was happy being less public than I was. And actually, when I talked to Warren Buffett, who became a big agent of this book, 'cause he so much wanted Charlie Munger to get credit, he said, there's some partners who love the spotlight. He said, I like to play the banjo, I like to be on the cover of Fortune magazine and Charlie is the opposite. He likes to be a curmudgeon advising from the sidelines. And although Frank Wells Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed a completely different personality, he was a cheerleader. He was -- if I said, let's go do a theme park in Washington, yeah, let's go do it. If I said, let's do this movie or that, he was always enthusiastic. He was so part of the process. Why Great Partnerships Succeed Working Together?

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — Working Together by Michael D. Eisner. Aaron R. Dig deep and you will find the most compelling argument for working together: Happiness. In business there are always unique individual achievers, but pull down the veil and you'll often find someone alongside them. Michael Eisner does just that in Working Together. Using his own collaboration with Frank Wells at Disney as a launching point for examining other famously succ Dig deep and you will find the most compelling argument for working together: Happiness. Using his own collaboration with Frank Wells at Disney as a launching point for examining other famously successful partnerships, Eisner offers us Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed intimate and deeply personal look at some of the most rewarding business partnerships, uncovering what makes them tick and offering unconventional wisdom and unexpected insights. In this essential book for businesspeople everywhere, Eisner shines a light on these startlingly long-lasting and enriching partnerships, weaving together ten Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed narratives—from investment gurus to entertainment impresarios, from fashion designers to big-box retailers—into a larger story about the true nature of achievement in life and in business. Get A Copy. Published September 14th by HarperCollins e-books. More Details Original Title. Other Editions 5. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Working Togetherplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. I Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed to admit, when I first heard about this book, I thought it was a joke. Eisner was not so awful, not so mercurial — he was grieving for his partner. For his friend. And he had to do it publicly, under grea I have to admit, when I first heard about this book, I thought it was a joke. And he had to do it publicly, under great scrutiny and amidst great and sometimes gleeful critique. The rest of the book is interesting, but the chapter where Eisner discusses Wells is genuinely touching, a rare find in a business book. Jun 09, Dr. Tobias Christian Fischer rated it really liked it. Good example how you can work with friends, families and colleagues together. You need some translation to do but it helps us to understand how people can interact better and add a value to their collaboration. I felt a great sense of satisfaction when completing this book. We often hear the horror stories of business relationships, large and small. This book Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed, again and again, that goodness is the most successful characteristic of successful partnerships. Like a timeless Disney classic, good triumphs over evil and the white knights and princesses live happily ever after. While it may sound more than trite, it is true. Ei I felt a great sense of satisfaction when completing this book. Eisner's findings support what we have, hopefully, known all along; successful partnerships are built on mutual respect, integrity, self awareness, and decency, and the hunger to be our best while supporting others' in their pursuit of the same. Sep 19, Tori rated it really liked it Shelves: businessnonfiction. In Mr. This was my main takeaway from the book, and I tried applying this idea to Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed of the relationships I see around me in my life. Eisner's book is a bit of an uneven read given the different natures of business covered in each profile, but it is a cumulative experience, where each analysis of the fundamental partnership builds on the characteristics highlighted in the past profile. Jan 22, Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed L. Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed emphasizes the need to identify and accept who we are as individuals and to partner with others who complement our strengths and styles while working toward a singular goal. The style of the project, spotlighting pairs from a variety of industries, was an effective and entertaining way to spotlight complementary strengths and the many roles that can be played in partnerships. Apr 29, Nat O. I Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed wanted to like this book, but it just didn't seem to have much depth. Mar 22, June Ding rated it it was amazing Shelves: readpersonal-growth. Interesting stories about 10 successful partnerships in business. Aug 08, Rob Cantrall rated it really liked it. A nice study, although somewhat high level, of a variety of partnerships and collaborations from various walks of life. These include Eisner's own partnership with Frank Wells, in addition to the following: Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger - quite interesting Bill and Melinda Gates - absolutely fascinating. It really makes the case for them as equal partners, which is somewhat inconsistent with general perception, I think it safe to say. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard - okay Valentino and Giancarlo G A nice study, although somewhat high level, of a variety of partnerships and collaborations from various walks of life. Pretty interesting, as it has good examples of where not partnering is harmful Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken - another where the story behind these folks seems more compelling than the parts covered here Joe Torre and Don Zimmer - just because I don't like the Yankees doesn't mean that this isn't the kind of view into sports that I enjoy immensely Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed Angelo and Michael Gordon - the outlier in the book. Angelo is Eisner's only friend and it shows--he just isn't distanced enough from Angelo to make the story stand on its own. Eisner has great access to some very high profile partnerships, and the inside access is the strength of the book. However, the book seems to lack an overall theme - the success of the partnerships is attributed to whatever characteristics the Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed possess, although they differ in each case. There is not a legitimate effort to support these cause and effect relationships with facts, as many similar partnerships have failed. Eisner acknowledges these concerns in the epilogue, but that does not Eisner has great access to some very high profile partnerships, Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed the inside access is the strength of the book. Eisner acknowledges these concerns in the epilogue, but that does not make them untrue. Overall, the generic advice given is good: behave ethically in personal and business relationships, seek to gain satisfaction more from relationships than from money, find a partner who will help to balance you and make you more successful than you would be alone. That said, the claims about how these behaviors directly correlate to success are not necessarily true. Sep 12, Paul rated it did not like it. The entire book just drips with Eisner's ego. He draws no conclusions, talks to no outside experts, really doesn't seem to have done any research. It's just an exercise in "look at all the famous and successful people that will answer the phone when I call them. Worthwhile topic. Wrong author. Jul 18, Traci Mckay rated it liked it. I liked this book, but like the Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, Working Together falls somewhere between too long an arguement to be made in a magazine article, too short a point to make a book. But for a book about business it really gave me insight into my marriage. A big part of this book was about defining roles thank you, Proclamation to the Family, done and done. Over all good. Jun 02, Tirath rated it liked it. Got this book because of the chapter on Buffett and Munger - and there were some unknowns to be read there. The 1st 5 chapters were good, especially the one on Valentino and Giancarlo. The book is possibly unlike most others because of its focus on what makes great partnerships work. Interesting points about humility, the willingness to cede control, the Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed for integrity and the pursuit of fun. A bit of a drag with some chapters - but all in all, a good book. May 23, Mike Adeleke rated it it was amazing. This book goes into detail the importance of partnerships in business and in life. Not only does he go into detail on his own partnerships but also the partnerships of some of the most successful people in business and life from Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet to Joe Torre and Don Zimmer of the New York Yankees. Excellent book and a guide to finding a person you can truly build something great with. Dec 30, Doug rated it liked it Shelves: businessnonfiction.