Buying a creative company without breaking it

How Iger approached Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, built from the three deals.

Robert Iger's framework, from The Ride of a Lifetime, pp. 122 to 222.

Test the target against the priorities
Start from the three strategic priorities and list who holds great IP.
Show respect in person
Go to the owner alone, as he did with Ike Perlmutter and John Lasseter, and let them lead where the owner is sensitive, as with George Lucas.
Learn the culture before bidding
Visit and meet the creative leaders to see what makes the place work.
Promise to protect the culture, in writing
Pixar's two-page social compact kept email addresses, signs and rituals.
Be clear about where you stand
Do not suggest or promise what the other side wants to hear only to reverse later.
Arrive at a fair number and hold it
Do not open low and negotiate to the middle, and be willing to walk away, as at $28 a share for Fox.
Get someone trusted to vouch
Steve Jobs's call to Ike Perlmutter helped win Marvel.
Win the trust of the single controlling person
Each deal depended on personal trust and authenticity.

From chapter: Part Two: Leading, pp. 122–222

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