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To: MASS-2 FAC

I’ve read quite a few things about Jobs being a jerk, but most people that are super successful tend to have unbalanced personalities.
Jobs was naive and felt like he was stabbed in the back when he was let go from the company he founded. He’s got a long memory and definitely holds a grudge. I recall when Michael Eisner was fighting to hang on as CEO of Disney that Jobs detested him. I also believe Eisner was in the process of destroying the company. Anyway, Jobs was very upset with Disney because they had a five picture deal and Eisner wouldn’t allow Toy Story 2 to count as one of the movies because it was a sequel. Eisner had also infuriated Jobs by creating poor quality cartoons featuring Buzz Lightyear and other Pixar characters. Jobs, being a perfectionist, threw a fit over the awful cartoons.
Anyway, on the morning Eisner was at a board meeting fighting for his political life at the company, Jobs announced that Pixar was breaking off negotiations with Disney to distribute Pixar cartoons. Eisner had already pretty much killed Disney animation by running off Jeff Katzenberg, who took over the animation department and was responsible for the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the Lion King (Home on the Range, anyone?) so losing Pixar pushed him over the cliff.
After Michael Dell said if he owned Apple he’d shut the company down, Jobs held a press conference to announce Apple was worth more than Dell.
All that said, Apple makes great products and most of it is because Jobs is a jerk that insists on excellence.


29 posted on 11/11/2009 7:08:08 PM PST by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
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To: Richard Kimball

I believe Jobs is or was the largest shareholder in Disney because of Pixar?


35 posted on 11/11/2009 7:26:26 PM PST by tubebender (Santa Claus is always jolly cause he knows where all the bad girls live...)
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To: Richard Kimball; MASS-2 FAC

I would like to add one little thing. Eisner effectively killed a Pixar extension. He couldn’t stand the general wisdom that the great Disney needed little Pixar more than Pixar needed Disney. He also felt Jobs was beneath him, and pretty much let it be known he felt he was negotiating with an inferior.

That plus a few other things of course angered Jobs to no end.

And in the end Pixar effectively took over Disney. Gotta love it.


54 posted on 11/11/2009 8:38:11 PM PST by antiRepublicrat
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