
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner reveals why partnerships - not lone heroes - drive extraordinary success. Featuring Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and others, this insider's look at legendary duos proves that humility, trust, and complementary strengths create magic that solo brilliance never could.
Michael Dammann Eisner, author of Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed, is a visionary media executive and leadership strategist renowned for transforming The Walt Disney Company into a global entertainment powerhouse.
Drawing from his decades-long career as Disney’s CEO and prior leadership roles at Paramount Pictures and ABC, Eisner explores the mechanics of successful collaborations in this business leadership classic. His insights are rooted in landmark achievements, including revitalizing Disney Animation with films like The Lion King, acquiring ABC/ESPN, and expanding theme parks worldwide.
Eisner’s other works, such as the bestselling memoir Work in Progress and Camp, blend professional wisdom with personal anecdotes, cementing his status as a thought leader in organizational innovation.
A Denison University graduate and founder of The Eisner Foundation, his strategies are taught in management programs and cited by Fortune 500 executives. Working Together has been embraced by business leaders for its actionable frameworks on partnership-driven growth.
Working Together explores the dynamics of successful business partnerships through case studies like Michael Eisner’s collaboration with Frank Wells at Disney, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at Berkshire Hathaway, and Bill and Melinda Gates’ philanthropic work. Eisner identifies trust, complementary skills, and shared vision as core ingredients for enduring partnerships, blending personal anecdotes with broader business insights.
This book is ideal for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and anyone interested in collaborative success. It offers actionable lessons for building trust, resolving conflicts, and leveraging complementary strengths—making it valuable for teams, co-founders, or professionals seeking to enhance workplace relationships.
Eisner emphasizes shared vision, mutual respect, and role clarity as foundational. Partnerships thrive when individuals prioritize the organization’s goals over personal egos, communicate transparently, and divide responsibilities based on strengths (e.g., Eisner’s creative focus vs. Frank Wells’ operational expertise).
Eisner defines success as partnerships built on unwavering trust and humility. For example, he credits Disney’s resurgence to his collaborative dynamic with Wells, where disagreements were resolved privately, and credit was shared publicly. The book stresses avoiding “scorekeeping” and fostering a “business-first” mentality.
The book dissects 10 iconic duos, including:
Key takeaways include:
While both books stress communication, Working Together focuses on empirical examples of successful pairs, whereas The Partnership Charter provides a structured framework for drafting partnership agreements. Eisner’s work is more narrative-driven, ideal for readers seeking inspirational case studies.
Some readers note the book prioritizes high-profile corporate partnerships over smaller-scale collaborations. Additionally, it offers fewer practical tools for resolving conflicts compared to guides like Crucial Conversations, leaning more on storytelling than actionable steps.
Eisner’s emphasis on trust-building and role clarity resonates in hybrid work environments. For example, aligning on shared objectives via virtual check-ins and respecting time zones/delivery styles can mirror the Disney leadership’s daily alignment rituals.
In an era of solo-founder hype, Eisner’s research reaffirms that collaboration drives innovation. Partnerships mitigate blind spots, accelerate decision-making, and create resilience—critical for navigating 2025’s fast-paced, AI-augmented business landscape.
Eisner credits Disney’s 1980s–1990s revival to his partnership with Wells, who managed finances and operations while Eisner focused on creative projects. Their “no daylight” policy—presenting a united front—prevented internal politicization and stabilized leadership.
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Наслаждайтесь книгой в весёлой и увлекательной форме
I tap-dance to work every day.
Enough mountains ahead to scale at Disney.
I would have had a lot of fun, but not nearly as much fun without Charlie.
One plus one with Charlie and me certainly adds up to more than two.
Разбейте ключевые идеи Working Together на понятные тезисы, чтобы понять, как инновационные команды создают, сотрудничают и растут.
Выделите из Working Together быстрые подсказки для запоминания, подчёркивающие ключевые принципы открытости, командной работы и творческой устойчивости.

Погрузитесь в Working Together через яркие истории, превращающие уроки инноваций в запоминающиеся и применимые моменты.
Задавайте любые вопросы, выбирайте голос и совместно создавайте идеи, которые действительно находят у вас отклик.

Создано выпускниками Колумбийского университета в Сан-Франциско
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Создано выпускниками Колумбийского университета в Сан-Франциско

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Warren Buffett once confessed to Oprah that he "tap-dances to work every day" at age 80. What drives such joy? The answer lies not in wealth or power, but in something far simpler: partnership. When Michael Eisner received that fateful call in 2008 asking him to write about partnerships, he hesitated. His most successful collaboration-a decade alongside Frank Wells at Disney-had ended tragically in 1994 when Wells died in a helicopter crash. Yet as Eisner began exploring ten remarkable partnerships across industries, a pattern emerged that surprised him. These duos didn't just achieve extraordinary success; they genuinely loved working together. In an era when business scandals dominate headlines and solo entrepreneurs are celebrated as heroes, partnerships offer something radical: built-in accountability, complementary strengths, and genuine happiness. What if the secret to both professional success and personal fulfillment isn't climbing alone-it's choosing the right climbing partner?