Business Star: Robert Iger
"It's in our interest to put some of the old rules aside and create new ones..."
- Robert Iger, Disney CEO
These are not exactly days when one tends to be emotionally uplifted by reading business publications, especially on matters relating to the current state of corporate CEOdom. Nevertheless, a recently posted Fortune piece by editor Richard Siklos on Disney CEO Bob Iger (link) actually inspires some hope regarding the abilities of corporate royalty. As discussed in this blog and elsewhere, leadership is bound to carry an enormous burden into the Obama Years and any signs of executive competence and managerial success are to be savored.
Siklos clearly addresses the fact that Iger, unlike the mogulish Michael Eisner before him, probably comes up a little short in general name recognition. At one point in the piece Siklos even quotes Iger to the effect that he would actually prefer to be "invisible" or "anonymous," but that such a course would probably not be "good for the company." Issues of notoriety aside, however, it is apparent that in the three short years of Iger's tenure he has proven himself not only very adept at leading the world's largest (by dollar value) media conglomerate, but that he also has some gifts of personal style and acumen that might translate into a decent set of working instructions for leaders contemplating the likely near-term Sisyphean future.
On the most rudimentary of astrological levels, Iger is a sun sign Aquarius. In SIGNS OF SUCCESS the point is made that Aquarians tend not to seek the very top post in an organization as they find culture preservation antithetical to their open-minded nature, and endless top-down responsibility a drag on their personal compulsion to change outmoded rules in mid-stream. Historically though, and this is certainly more observation than explanation, they do tend to show up at times of cultural crisis (Lincoln, FDR and Reagan were all Aquarian presidents; it is also Obama's rising sign) for they have the humanitarian's gift of combining hopeful consideration for the masses with necessary next steps for achieving the greatest social good.
With Aquarius leaders there is almost always also a media/technology thing linked to the humanitarian concerns (think Oprah), as they are sincerely interested in embracing the widest possible audience via the most effective and inclusive channels. In Iger's case the Disney connection makes the point almost painfully obvious, but the real Aquarius key is Iger's 'genius' regarding the multiple media platforms of the company (movies, music, television, websites, theme parks, retail, etc.) and the product synergies that can be obtained through linking efforts around the company's "franchises," from Mickey Mouse to Hanna Montana. While Iger is certainly keeping his eye on the "family entertainment" ball, he appears to be uniquely disposed towards an expansion of age focus, particularly capitalizing upon the possibilities of growing older with customers who may start out with Goofy and Buzz Lightyear but who quickly graduate to the likes of Cheetah Girls and High School Musical.
As important as the Aquarius sun is in Iger's horoscope, one may also rightfully pay attention to the three planets in Iger's chart---Venus, Jupiter and Mars---in very tight proximity (conjunction) in the sign of Pisces. These are, respectively, the planetary icons related to desire, good fortune and action, and their proximity suggests a nice harmony of intent and outcome. Their appearance in the sign of Pisces, which is related to the imagination and fantasy and dreams and art and what Jung might call the collective unconscious, is amply reflected in the general Disney gestalt, and in Iger's 'day one' announcement that his first priority would be to "fix the slumping animation business."
Disney animation, with its deep good versus evil psychological overtones, has always had a Pisces quality to it. For an astrologer, it's fascinating that Bob Iger, who identified the modern Pixar creations (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Cars, etc.) distributed by Disney as hotter franchises than the classic Disney canon, was able to persuade a reticent Steve Jobs (a Pisces) to sell Pixar to Disney, making Jobs the single largest Disney shareholder at 8% ownership. Jobs, who had a well publicized personality clash with Michael Eisner (also Pisces!) is quoted in the Siklos piece:
"I consider Bob Iger a friend. I don't have a lot of friends. I just really like him, and he's a really solid guy."
This last is fabulously instructive. When the sincere humanitarian principles of the Aquarius CEO combine with the deep emotional intelligence of the Pisces CEO, enormous corporations will get hitched and great animation will occur. In utmost seriousness, this explicit sense of human bonding is a worthwhile insight in an age that has become prisoner to a dry and calculating crowd of number crunchers and data freaks...especially when one is dealing with deal clinchers for a powerful Aquarius or Pisces.
I don't expect to personally run into him, but if you do happen to personally hang with Bob Iger, please give him a cautionary heads up regarding 2009. The current Saturn/Uranus opposition is sitting right on his nodal axis, which portends a destiny-impacting period in which he will have to make difficult decisions between exercising authority and allowing creative genius to flourish (his destiny will likely be best impacted if he maintains a bias towards the latter). Also, Pluto is exactly squaring his natal Saturn right now, and this speaks of an almost crushing pressure related to the money guys attempting to force action, in contravention to his usually well-paced and consensual management style (this secretly compulsive Moon in Aries soul hates having his will publicly challenged and is not afraid of a fight). He should be particularly aware of dates around July 8 and November 11 when push could definitely come to shove.
Caution him to grab a FastPass ticket at those times and come back later.
Bob Iger or anyone else can contact Steve at smw@stevenmarkweiss.com.
- Robert Iger, Disney CEO
These are not exactly days when one tends to be emotionally uplifted by reading business publications, especially on matters relating to the current state of corporate CEOdom. Nevertheless, a recently posted Fortune piece by editor Richard Siklos on Disney CEO Bob Iger (link) actually inspires some hope regarding the abilities of corporate royalty. As discussed in this blog and elsewhere, leadership is bound to carry an enormous burden into the Obama Years and any signs of executive competence and managerial success are to be savored.
Siklos clearly addresses the fact that Iger, unlike the mogulish Michael Eisner before him, probably comes up a little short in general name recognition. At one point in the piece Siklos even quotes Iger to the effect that he would actually prefer to be "invisible" or "anonymous," but that such a course would probably not be "good for the company." Issues of notoriety aside, however, it is apparent that in the three short years of Iger's tenure he has proven himself not only very adept at leading the world's largest (by dollar value) media conglomerate, but that he also has some gifts of personal style and acumen that might translate into a decent set of working instructions for leaders contemplating the likely near-term Sisyphean future.
On the most rudimentary of astrological levels, Iger is a sun sign Aquarius. In SIGNS OF SUCCESS the point is made that Aquarians tend not to seek the very top post in an organization as they find culture preservation antithetical to their open-minded nature, and endless top-down responsibility a drag on their personal compulsion to change outmoded rules in mid-stream. Historically though, and this is certainly more observation than explanation, they do tend to show up at times of cultural crisis (Lincoln, FDR and Reagan were all Aquarian presidents; it is also Obama's rising sign) for they have the humanitarian's gift of combining hopeful consideration for the masses with necessary next steps for achieving the greatest social good.
With Aquarius leaders there is almost always also a media/technology thing linked to the humanitarian concerns (think Oprah), as they are sincerely interested in embracing the widest possible audience via the most effective and inclusive channels. In Iger's case the Disney connection makes the point almost painfully obvious, but the real Aquarius key is Iger's 'genius' regarding the multiple media platforms of the company (movies, music, television, websites, theme parks, retail, etc.) and the product synergies that can be obtained through linking efforts around the company's "franchises," from Mickey Mouse to Hanna Montana. While Iger is certainly keeping his eye on the "family entertainment" ball, he appears to be uniquely disposed towards an expansion of age focus, particularly capitalizing upon the possibilities of growing older with customers who may start out with Goofy and Buzz Lightyear but who quickly graduate to the likes of Cheetah Girls and High School Musical.
As important as the Aquarius sun is in Iger's horoscope, one may also rightfully pay attention to the three planets in Iger's chart---Venus, Jupiter and Mars---in very tight proximity (conjunction) in the sign of Pisces. These are, respectively, the planetary icons related to desire, good fortune and action, and their proximity suggests a nice harmony of intent and outcome. Their appearance in the sign of Pisces, which is related to the imagination and fantasy and dreams and art and what Jung might call the collective unconscious, is amply reflected in the general Disney gestalt, and in Iger's 'day one' announcement that his first priority would be to "fix the slumping animation business."
Disney animation, with its deep good versus evil psychological overtones, has always had a Pisces quality to it. For an astrologer, it's fascinating that Bob Iger, who identified the modern Pixar creations (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Cars, etc.) distributed by Disney as hotter franchises than the classic Disney canon, was able to persuade a reticent Steve Jobs (a Pisces) to sell Pixar to Disney, making Jobs the single largest Disney shareholder at 8% ownership. Jobs, who had a well publicized personality clash with Michael Eisner (also Pisces!) is quoted in the Siklos piece:
"I consider Bob Iger a friend. I don't have a lot of friends. I just really like him, and he's a really solid guy."
This last is fabulously instructive. When the sincere humanitarian principles of the Aquarius CEO combine with the deep emotional intelligence of the Pisces CEO, enormous corporations will get hitched and great animation will occur. In utmost seriousness, this explicit sense of human bonding is a worthwhile insight in an age that has become prisoner to a dry and calculating crowd of number crunchers and data freaks...especially when one is dealing with deal clinchers for a powerful Aquarius or Pisces.
I don't expect to personally run into him, but if you do happen to personally hang with Bob Iger, please give him a cautionary heads up regarding 2009. The current Saturn/Uranus opposition is sitting right on his nodal axis, which portends a destiny-impacting period in which he will have to make difficult decisions between exercising authority and allowing creative genius to flourish (his destiny will likely be best impacted if he maintains a bias towards the latter). Also, Pluto is exactly squaring his natal Saturn right now, and this speaks of an almost crushing pressure related to the money guys attempting to force action, in contravention to his usually well-paced and consensual management style (this secretly compulsive Moon in Aries soul hates having his will publicly challenged and is not afraid of a fight). He should be particularly aware of dates around July 8 and November 11 when push could definitely come to shove.
Caution him to grab a FastPass ticket at those times and come back later.
Bob Iger or anyone else can contact Steve at smw@stevenmarkweiss.com.
Thanks for this. It really helped me out!
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Great to hear. I appreciate the feedback.
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That is really very good article. I am glad to know. Thanks!
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Thanks for the kind words. --- Steve
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