| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JANUARY 10, 2000 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| COVER STORY
Jobs's Juggling Act
The picture is just as bright at Pixar Animation Studios Inc. (PIXR), where Toy Story 2 is setting box-office records. With three blockbusters in three tries, Jobs has created one of Hollywood's most profitable moviemakers. His 65% stake is worth a hefty $1.2 billion. Call it sweet revenge for Jobs, 44, whose reputation seemed forever tarnished after his ouster from Apple in 1985. Besides dreaming up great products, he has shown he can execute. ''I don't think people think of me as a manager,'' he says. ''Once the visionary thing gets attached to you, it's hard to get rid of.'' Today, Jobs, who is consumed with details, from product design to advertising, runs Apple like a nimble startup. By streamlining production, Apple now operates with less inventory than Dell Computer. At Pixar, where Jobs spends only a third of his time, he has proven an inspired dealmaker. With Toy Story 2, partner Walt Disney had ordered a low-budget, straight-to-video project. Convinced that kids hadn't had enough of Woody and Buzz, Jobs persuaded Disney to splurge on a theatrical release. Can Jobs repeat the performance? It won't be easy. Pixar won't release its next movie until 2001. And Apple needs more hit products and an aggressive Net strategy. But Jobs isn't stopping. ''If I didn't enjoy it, I'd be on a beach somewhere,'' he says. Why bother, when running Apple and Pixar is so much fun? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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