Former Disney exec Ben Sherwood is focused on leading through disruption in HIMSS22 keynote

Photo: Courtesy of Ben Sherwood

Ben Sherwood, the former president of Disney-ABC Television Group, who drove ABC News to the top spot during his tenure, is also a New York Times best-selling author.

In 2010, he published "The Survivors Club, The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life," about the test that adversity eventually gives to each of us. Sherwood said he talked to men and women from around the world who had been left for dead, survived plane crashes or accidents on Everest, or who were swept away in the 2004 Tsunami, to understand if there was a common denominator to overcoming adversity.

One aspect he found was that of luck, and not by random chance but as a series of behaviors.

"By adopting certain behaviors, you can improve your good fortune," Sherwood said. 

"Eventually, everyone joins the fellowship of men and women who have been knocked around by life," Sherwood said in the book. "The first rule of this book is that everyone is destined to become a survivor."

Since March 2020, all who have survived COVID-19 can relate.

He will present his keynote at HIMSS22, "Daring greatly, leading and succeeding in the age of disruption," on Tuesday, March 15, at 8:30 a.m. in the Valencia Ballroom at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to speak to the HIMSS22 conference and address leadership in times of disruption," Sherwood said, adding he will discuss "how we think about managing change, how we think about staying true to our core values while the world evolves rapidly around us."

Behind the message is close to 40 years of experience working in the ever-changing television, streaming and communications business and the lessons learned across those decades. "Turning challenges into opportunities at every turn" is important, Sherwood said.

From 2010 to 2014, as president of ABC News, he moved the news organization from the second or third slots to the most watched news program.

In 2015, Sherwood was named president of Disney-ABC Television Group and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks. He was in charge of all Disney TV assets, including the ABC Network, during a time when Disney was navigating the turbulence of changing its distribution model to a new streaming reality.

"I was part of the team that was very involved in strategic conversations," Sherwood said.

But Sherwood gives all credit to Robert Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, whose leadership moved the nearly century-old company in a completely new direction. Iger articulated his focus to senior leadership during numerous strategy sessions, Sherwood said.

Sherwood left Disney in 2019, just before the formation of Disney+. 

He is founder and CEO of MOJO Sports, a mobile app for youth sports. The app has shown him the power of technology to change lives to solve problems. "It makes it easier to coach and mentor young athletes," he said. "We are a technology company that is also media and content-enabled. What's powerful is the tech we've put into the hands of people with one tap on the phone."

Technology is changing the healthcare system at an enormous pace. "This miraculous moment we live in, the velocity of change taking place, waves of technology are accelerating everything," he said.

During his keynote, Sherwood is expected to tell the little-known story of how Walt Disney boarded a small plane on the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He flew over swamp land in Orlando.

"Where some people saw swamp land, he saw the future – the future home of Disney World," Sherwood said. 

He'll be offering a series of practical suggestions, drawn from experience, of how to manage adversity, manage disruption and improve luck in life and work.

"This is a very optimistic talk," Sherwood said. "We've all been through a lot. We're all getting together for the first time. It's the importance of connection, the only thing that makes a difference. The only thing that really works is human connection and the ability to solve problems together." 

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org