• HOME
• MAGAZINE
  • Articles by Topic
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Subscriptions
• BUSINESS ADVICE
  • Start-Up
  • Law & Taxation
  • Technology
  • Retail
  • Inc. 500
  • Business Travel
  • Women in Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Finance & Capital
  • Office & Operations
  • Marketing
  • Global Business
  • Sales
  • Franchise
  • E-Commerce
  • One-Person Business
  • Human Resources
  • Buy & Sell a Business
  • Leadership
  • Inc. Life
• INC. 500|5000
  • Inc. 500|5000 Home
  • The Inc. 500|5000 List
  • The September Issue
  • The Top Lists
  • Featured Stories
  • Apply for the Inc. 500|5000
  • Inc. 500|5000 Conference
  • Press Room
  • Honorees Page
• TECH
  • Technology Business Advice
  • Hardware
  • Internet & E-Business
  • Managing Technology
  • Networking
  • Software
  • Security
  • Telecom and Wireless
  • Columns
  • IncTechnology.com
• START-UP
  • Start-Up Business Advice
  • How-To
  • Columns
  • Ask the Expert
  • Start-Up Articles
  • Recommended Resources
• INC.TV
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Slideshows
• EVENTS
  • All Events
  • Inc. 500|5000 Conference
  • GrowCo Conference
• SUBSCRIPTIONS
  • Subscribe to Inc. magazine
  • Renew Your Subscription
  • Sign Up for Free Newsletters
  • Customer Service

Business Advice

Departments

 

Fresh Inc.

« Previous Entry | Main | Next Entry »

September 22, 2004

No One Asked Me But...

No One Asked Me But...

Posted by Adam Hanft at 1:29 PM

Disney's executive search is flawed.

Disney just announced it was hiring a search firm to look for Michael Eisner's replacement...and that Bob Iger would be included as a candidate.

Bad idea. That means over the next two years Disney will be led--if that's the term--by a lame duck CEO and a president jockeying for the big job. Not to mention a chairman, George Mitchell, who's expressed frustration over the time HIS job is taking, and would rather be Secretary of State in a Kerry administration.

Could this have been bungled any more? If the shareholders were let down by a committed Eisner and Iger, how will their interests be served by a "Distracted Duo"?

Eisner should be gone in six months with a replacement in place by then.

Shouldn't the board know by now if Iger is ready? A company that can't move that quickly isn't able to compete in today's blindingly fast competitive environment.

Disney has too many challenges to wait...the primary one being that it is a bi-polar red and blue state company. Miramax is its blue side, and its theme parks are red.

It's tough to develop a corporate culture when your brand is so schizoid...but leaving flawed and otherwise engaged leadership in place isn't the answer.