Jeffrey Katzenberg’s $1.7B Quibi Fail: A Case Study in Egotistical Leadership

Leadership is many things to many people.

However, the common consensus amongst most credible thinkers and practitioners is that effective leadership is characterized by attributes such as humility, effective decision-making, facilitation of outcomes, transparent communication, effective delegation, empowering others to succeed, and taking ownership for one’s actions.

Jeffrey Katzenberg is best known for co-founding Dreamworks animation, serving as chairman at Walt Disney Studios for ten years, and producing timeless hits such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Shrek, Madagascar, Monsters Inc and Kung Fu Panda.

Quibi — Quick Bites

Buoyed on by his earlier successes, Katzenberg, now 69, more recently led the charge to raising US$1.75B in capital to fund a new company, Quibi — a mobile app focused on producing ‘quality’, short-form content.

Their mantra is big stories, quick bites.

Recode Media Interview