Disney in Talks to Acquire Pixar?!

wendybeth · 01-19-2006, 07:35 PM

I have mixed feelings on this- I think Jobs is an amazing and talented man, but he has a notoriously huge ego and I don't know how that would work over the long haul within the confines of a company like the WDC. After going through the Eisner years, the company is bound to be gun-shy and Jobs is a bit of a loose cannon. It could be good, but it could also be messy. I do think of Pixar as a part of the Disney family, so it would be nice to see a deal struck that would cement that relationship, but not at the cost of it's creativity and edginess.

Alex · 01-19-2006, 08:47 PM

Actually, Jobs has a mixed track record until recently (the most brilliant thing he ever did was convincing Apple to buy his dog NeXT; I don't know how much of the Pixar credit goes to Jobs other than him having the smarts to be mostly hands off) and I think his successes at Apple have been mostly cosmetic rather than fundamental.

He's never run a company as broad scoped as Disney and has shown little ability to focus on more than one thing at a time, even at Apple you see success in one product line at a time (iMac followed by PowerBook followed by iPod) more than broad based success throughout the company. As much as we'd like running Disney to be all about the theme parks and being curators of classic animated movies, that is only a small fraction of what they do and 90% of the business lines are something that Jobs has zero experience with.

He has a huge ego. This is not necessarily a bad thing but considering that Chairman of the Board is not necessarily the best place in the world from which to try and wield that ego so unless Jobs is given both President and COB then I think some pretty significant internal conflict is likely.

Now, if I'm wrong and it turns out that Iger and Jobs could work in a Eisner/Wells sort of relationship then things could be great. But I don't know if Diseny should be so eager to jump into personality driven leadership again.

I have no particular insight or expertise to be making an evaluation. It is just a thought that fills me with a certain amount of unease.

01-19-2006, 07:35 PM	#1
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	I have mixed feelings on this- I think Jobs is an amazing and talented man, but he has a notoriously huge ego and I don't know how that would work over the long haul within the confines of a company like the WDC. After going through the Eisner years, the company is bound to be gun-shy and Jobs is a bit of a loose cannon. It could be good, but it could also be messy. I do think of Pixar as a part of the Disney family, so it would be nice to see a deal struck that would cement that relationship, but not at the cost of it's creativity and edginess. __________________
	Submit to Quotes

01-19-2006, 08:47 PM	#2
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Actually, Jobs has a mixed track record until recently (the most brilliant thing he ever did was convincing Apple to buy his dog NeXT; I don't know how much of the Pixar credit goes to Jobs other than him having the smarts to be mostly hands off) and I think his successes at Apple have been mostly cosmetic rather than fundamental. He's never run a company as broad scoped as Disney and has shown little ability to focus on more than one thing at a time, even at Apple you see success in one product line at a time (iMac followed by PowerBook followed by iPod) more than broad based success throughout the company. As much as we'd like running Disney to be all about the theme parks and being curators of classic animated movies, that is only a small fraction of what they do and 90% of the business lines are something that Jobs has zero experience with. He has a huge ego. This is not necessarily a bad thing but considering that Chairman of the Board is not necessarily the best place in the world from which to try and wield that ego so unless Jobs is given both President and COB then I think some pretty significant internal conflict is likely. Now, if I'm wrong and it turns out that Iger and Jobs could work in a Eisner/Wells sort of relationship then things could be great. But I don't know if Diseny should be so eager to jump into personality driven leadership again. I have no particular insight or expertise to be making an evaluation. It is just a thought that fills me with a certain amount of unease.
	Submit to Quotes