Steve Jobs is on the short list

[daber]

Stanley Gold has come out and publicly stated that Steve Jobs would make a fine replacement for ME and could fix the Disney mess. They are also talking about running their own slate of Board members at the next meeting, since this board doesn't seem to want to do anything positive.

 

[aikodude]

I've been saying he's the knight since day one! That would be awesome. Jobs is a creative talent and savvy about the "product". It would be the best thing that could happen to Disney!

Here'sthe article from MSN Money:

link to msn story

 

[JKanownik]

I've read repeatedly that Steve Jobs has no interest in running Disney.

-Josh

 

[barreloflaughs]

Jobs is a creative talent and savvy about the "product".

Agreed...bring him on! It is time for another Renaissance at Disney. I think that ol' Steve can do it.

Oh and a jockomo feena nay to you, aikodude.

carl
barrel of laughs (with his carbine on)

 

[dcentity2000]

I've heard oh-so-many rumours of this, many from Apple sites - seems it isn't entirely unfounded really. Jobs has actually stated, a little while back, that he has no interest in running Disney. Seems he's quite content with Apple, Acorn and Pixar. However, I wouldn't put it past him - he did once say he'd never return to Apple and look what happened - a platform no-one had ever heard of became the international symbol of wealth, style and luxury. In the same way he once said he'd never get into films; he then bought Pixar from George Lucas at some absurd, tiny price (Lucas needed money for a divorce) and proceeded to make it one of the most trendy, most repected names about.

Related rumours include: Pixar being sold to Disney, Apple & Pixar buying Disney, Apple & Pixar merging with Disney, Disney buying Apple & Pixar.

Apple aspires to be the centre of 'digital lifestyle' - iPod for music, iSight for pictures, iMac for internet... perhaps Disney for movies?

Who knows?



Rich::

 

[manning]

Boy, Eisner would gag on that!!

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by aikodude
I've been saying he's the knight since day one! That would be awesome. Jobs is a creative talent and savvy about the "product". It would be the best thing that could happen to Disney!

Seriously? I'll agree with the creative talent part in general, but he only gets my nod in the "savvy about the product" part as it relates to technology or animation. He's been said by Wall Street and his peers to have an ego the size of Michael Eisner's and that he's just as much a micro-manager as ME. I'd have to know a lot more about his thoughts on theme park operations and live entertainment, Broadway, hand-drawn animation, television and resorts before I'm ready to give the guy an endorsement. Head of Animation? Maybe. Although I don't see him leading the charge to bring back hand-drawn 2D. But head of the entire enterprise. Nope. Not without more info.

(Although you have to love how Stanley says, "If I had a list, he would be on the short list." He is a lawyer through and through!)

 

[dcentity2000]

Originally posted by WDSearcher
He's been said by Wall Street and his peers to have an ego the size of Michael Eisner's and that he's just as much a micro-manager as ME.

Whoah yeah! The first public showcase of their distaste for each other (which rapidly developed) was when Eisner publicly denounced Apple's "Rip Mix Burn" campaign - Apple is Steve's mainstream company.

Aids close to Jobs said that when he personally called up to call off all Disney - Pixar talks it was due to his being "furious" with Eisner for one reason or another. Both execs are reputed to be volatile beyond belief and it shows - Jobs' parting statement to Disney was full of what Disney referred to as "name calling".

Micro manager? Yup. I believe he personally wrote a letter to US resellers which boiled down to "Make my computers look good or we'll build our own stores and take you to the cleaners".

Scary? I think so. It may (I think) be a great idea - the man is seen as the greatest saleman on the planet - even the head of Intel uses an iMac! He could do great things to Disney (IMO) but...

We'd be going from one scary chief (who called Alien Encounter too cutsey pie and ordered it be more horrific (ps. bring it back!)) to another (one who seems to get joy from challenging the world). It would be like jumping from one roller coaster to another!



Rich::

 

[raidermatt]

One thing indisputedly in Jobs favor is that he has shown the ability to allow the creative folks to do their job. Something at which Eisner has not had as much success, to state it politely.

Ego? Sure. But if we make a large ego a reason to exclude a candidate, the list really will be a short one.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by raidermatt
Ego? Sure. But if we make a large ego a reason to exclude a candidate, the list really will be a short one.

I totally agree. But if we're going to use ME's huge ego as one of the big reasons that he needs to go away, then it's silly to turn around and hire the same ego back, but in a different form.

As long as there's balance somewhere in the rest of the package, a huge ego is fine. But I don't see that balance in Jobs.

 

[dcentity2000]

Jobs is very free in his thinking - one of the main designers for Apple is (or was when employed) just 14. I think he designed at that age the Cube and the new iMac.

The man certainly likes creativity - pop into an Apple store and you'll see what I mean. I recently bought an iBook and I'm quite frankly amazed at the build quality, style and functionality of it The most startling thing is that whilst most regular computers come bundled with Office, this laptop came bundled with iLife - basically a productive suite which allows me to have fun with images, make DVDs, manipulate and create music, anything

Seems to be very Disney thinking - maybe not the designer bit though, Disney's more traditional But the quality issue certainly is, along with the 'new' thinking (iTunes music store is the best example I can think of, aside from the obvious 'let's make computers blue white and oh-yes see though' move) and creative slant (all initiated by Jobs' readmission to Apple) certainly are



Rich::

 

[aikodude]

>Oh and a jockomo feena nay to you, aikodude.

hey now!

>He's been said by Wall Street and his peers to have an ego the size of Michael Eisner's and that he's just as much a micro-manager as ME.

Yes, but he's also proven to have an artistic (and a dramatic) "flair" and also that he knows when to let the "creatives" do their jobs.

>It would be like jumping from one roller coaster to another!

Or from Tower of Terror to Rock & Roll Rollercoaster?

>One thing indisputedly in Jobs favor is that he has shown the ability to allow the creative folks to do their job.

[nodding]

I've followed Jobs for a long time. He's got the ego, but he knows how to get the best out of his people. He pushes to get the best product out, not the cheapest, not the most, the best.

 

[manning]

If you pay real close attention , you will notice just about every CEO has a big ego. It's what drives someone to seek the job.

 

[JKanownik]

Originally posted by manning
If you pay real close attention , you will notice just about every CEO has a big ego. It's what drives someone to seek the job.

Having a big ego makes it much easier to get a CEO job (which is an unfortunate side effect of capitalism), but a majority of books on leadership point out that humility is by far a more desired quality for leaders to have. A big ego makes it much easier for people to run all over others without feeling the remorse that a more humble person rightfully feels. Right now I'm at a company that is a revolving door of big egos all over the top of the organization that is killing us because they are not qualified and only got to the top due to their "me first" atittudes.

-Josh

 

[manning]

The key is keeping it under control AND knowing how to lead. And manage.

 

[JKanownik]

Originally posted by manning
The key is keeping it under control AND knowing how to lead. And manage.

If someone says "big ego" in a list of superlatives that best define you, your ego is not under control. The problem with this personality is not that it is not successful, it is that in the long term eventually their ego leads them to make mistakes that a more humble CEO would not. A perfect example of this is Eisner.

-Josh

 

[dcentity2000]

I think the difference between these two and most other CEOs (with the possible exception of Greg ****, now left) is that they shovel their egos around in spadefulls. They really do.



Rich::

 

[PKS44]

Originally posted by manning
If you pay real close attention , you will notice just about every CEO has a big ego. It's what drives someone to seek the job.

Warren Buffet?
Toshiaki "Tag" Taguchi, (President & CEO of Toyota Motor North America)?
James Parker Southwest Airlines ?
and in the past-
Sam Walton?

 

[dcentity2000]

From source: clicky

"Premiere magazine named Steve Jobs and John Lasseter the most influential people in Hollywood.

Jobs/Lasseter displace Steven Spielberg at the top of the list this year. Spielberg has moved down to #2.

The two get this credit for their roles at Pixar. Steve Jobs is CEO of both Pixar and Apple."

Just thought it might be of some, if limited interest



Rich::