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In Episode 272 of Anecdotally Speaking, discover how a unique metaphor helped Disney’s CEO evaluate risky decisions and how it can help you too.

In this episode, Shawn shares a story from Bob Iger, long-serving CEO of Disney, that became a powerful tool for evaluating ideas. What starts as a clash of decision-making styles turns into a moment of insight delivered on a single slip of paper.

Mark and Shawn explore why metaphors and analogies are so effective in business settings and how a memorable turn of phrase can convey big ideas, avoid confrontation, and guide better decision-making.

This episode is especially useful for leaders, strategists, and anyone who wants to avoid investing in ideas that might not go anywhere.

The full story can be found in the book The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger

For your story bank

Tags: Decision-making, Communication, Storytelling, Leadership, Value

This story starts at 0:18

Back in the 1990s, Bob Iger was the president of ABC when Disney acquired the network for $19 billion. As someone used to making independent decisions, Iger was eager to push new initiatives, one of which was a youth-focused magazine idea he approved on the spot. But soon after, Disney’s Chief Financial Officer, Tom Staggs, called him, insisting the project had to go through the company’s formal strategic planning process. Iger stood firm, saying the decision was already made.

Not long after, another higher-up, Larry Murphy, also pressured him to follow Disney’s process. Again, Iger declined. Although no one directly overruled him, likely because ABC had only just been acquired, he felt the process was disempowering and the tone demoralising.

Soon after, while considering a different acquisition, Iger sat in a meeting with Donn Tatum, another senior Disney executive. Instead of arguing or pushing back forcefully, Donn quietly slid a note across the table. It read:

“Avoid getting into the business of manufacturing trombone oil. You may become the greatest trombone oil business in the world, but in the end, the world only consumes a few quarts of trombone oil a year.”

The message struck Iger immediately. It was a subtle yet memorable way of cautioning him against investing time and resources into something with very limited potential. That phrase, trombone oil, stuck with him. In fact, he kept the note in his drawer for years as a reminder.