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People don't like to follow pessimists.
Bob Iger
I don't happen to believe, by the way, that immigration policies that single people out because of religion, for instance, are fair and just.
It's a good time to be in the content business though, the branded content business.
I've certainly had a number of failures along the way, depending on my own instincts and creativity, some fairly celebrated, at least during their time.
I'm a big believer in investing for the long term, and the decisions you make shouldn't be made if the economy is good or bad at a specific time.
I think it is important for people who are given leadership roles to assume that role immediately.
An all-out trade war with China would be damaging to Disney's business and to business in general. It's something I think we have to be very careful about.
I had worked at Disney since they bought the company that I had worked for, ABC in the mid-90s.
I'm committed to increasing long-term value for shareholders and am confident we will continue to do so through the successful execution of our core strategic priorities: the creation of high quality, branded content and experiences, the use of technology, and creating growth in numerous and exciting international markets.
Working hard to fulfill a dream or instinct and learning over time it doesn't work, doesn't mean a career is over and a reputation killed. When a reputation is killed, it's when failure comes as a result of loss of integrity or judgement... breaking of laws.
A lot of people - a lot - have urged me to seek political office. All kinds of different jobs. Everybody has got a different idea for me, except all roads lead through my wife.
Success can breed all kinds of other behavior and cause companies to behave a certain way that isn't necessarily the ingredients for achieving more success. For instance, with success comes arrogance, and that's typically the death of success.
I ride a bike and use aerobic equipment twice a week, and work out with a trainer, lifting weights.
The attributes we're focused on for Mickey are exactly the ones Walt had in mind in the first place. The original Mickey was impish and irreverent. Walt sanitized him because when Mickey got so popular, there was a fear that his behavior was influencing kids.
When you run the Walt Disney Co., you gain a fair amount of experience in customer-facing businesses, particularly in site-based entertainment. I have a lot of experience in marketing, a lot of experience in selling, particularly tickets to site-based entertainment or movies or whatever.
There is no science in creativity. If you don't give yourself room to fail, you won't innovate.
No one wants to follow a pessimist... You can be skeptical, you can be realistic, but you can't be cynical. If your boss is Eeyore, do you want to work with someone like that? Oh, bother.
I never judge myself according to the expectations of others. I judge myself by the jobs I've been given over the years and by the extent to which I succeeded in those jobs.
People go to Disney because they know its brand attributes. We believe we have an opportunity to go with our content directly to consumers.
I have tremendous brand experience. What I do a lot for Disney is manage the great brands of this company, whether it's Disney, ESPN, ABC, Pixar, Marvel, 'Star Wars.' And I'm very engaged in technology and its impact on the consumer, either what experience you deliver for them or how to market and sell to them.
What I've really learned over time is that optimism is a very, very important part of leadership.
I have a fondness for jazz, particularly for jazz singers, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald all the way through the Sinatra era.
We like the size of the company today given the environment and have no plans to split it up and make it smaller.
We're delighted to be working with Apple to offer fans a new and innovative way to experience our wildly popular shows.
The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.
We have a unique opportunity as Disney because it really is the only true global entertainment brand.
Sometimes I feel like I'm a contestant in a reality show that probably would be called The Apprentice Survivor Millionaire.
I'm not a big believer in second-guessing decisions.
You try things creatively all the time, and while you want every one of them to be great, and you set out to do that, that's not always going to end up being the case.
Honestly, I'm interested in politics; I'm interested in giving back in some form, performing some sort of civic duty. But I'm not exploring a run for governor or senator or anything along those lines. I'm focused on running Disney.
I'm a lifetime Green Bay Packers fan.
If someone comes to you with, 'It's my kid's graduation', you don't tell them, 'Sorry, you can't go to that.' You just don't do that. You figure out some other way.
If we give people the ability to buy a lot more because they can store a lot more, for a company that creates TV shows and movies, that's fantastic.
We really believe that Walt Disney is a very able company with great depth and a great set of franchises.
It's not about how much you make: it's about how good the quality is. You'll be better off as a company making fewer things and concentrating on those and how you bring those to market... in a very less cluttered way, even though the marketplace is more cluttered.
I have this lust for the so-called South Seas. I would like to explore every corner of the Pacific. You know the song: 'To everything turn, turn, turn, there is a season.' It's just time.
The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation.
You can't allow tradition to get in the way of innovation. There's a need to respect the past, but it's a mistake to revere your past.
I just was built with an innate ability to not let fear guide me in how I run my life.
Keeping it simple for the consumer is incredibly dire.
Are there challenges? Absolutely. But in aggregate, this is a very strong and valuable company.
We're privileged as citizens of the United States to live in a society where the press can act in an adversarial role in a number of different ways.
I began as a weatherman and I learned very quickly I wasn't very good at it.
I can stand here today, look you in the face, and say I'm proud of the efforts of 'ABC News.' I respect 'ABC News.' And I believe they work very hard to present news in an extremely fair way.
I started off wanting very much to be a newscaster.
I don't want to sound too critical, but we're taking a wait-and-see approach on UltraViolet.
People gravitate to what they believe to be popular... Technology is enabling even more of that.
Even though I started off being interested in news, and I spent 13 years of my career working in television sports, I always was passionate about television and movies.
I'm privileged and grateful to lead The Walt Disney Company and our talented, dedicated team at this exciting time.
People still love a good story, and I don't think that will change.
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