Michael Eisner
No. 18's view
Eighteen years of a growing economy and good luck have been a great thing for CEO's. Let's see what happens when times turn. You really don't judge your friends by what they do when things are going well. It's what they do when things are going poorly. I don't know how smart I'll look when times are tough. I haven't been tested yet. A good CEO understands that good times don't last forever and operates with a certain amount of conservatism. You don't bet the store. I never look at our [Disney's] share price. I never look at the quotron. I don't talk to analysts. I believe what I'm supposed to do is make the company work well--and that the stock market will reflect good work. I would say I spend 0.00000001 percent of my time worrying about Wall Street. This approach has never caused a problem. (Maybe if suddenly things were to turn sour, I'd be on the phone trying to turn perceptions around.) I have a very good relationship with our board. I tell them everything. I also have a very good relationship with major share-holders who are not on the board. I view them as partners. I know what will make the stock go up over the long term: Performance.
