Maturing, becoming a manager, letting the artist shine through and finding his comfort zone all describes what happens to Jobs while starting up and running NeXT computer and Pixar. Walter Isaacson wrote about Jobs and his next two companies in his book, Steve Jobs (Simon & Schuster, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-4516-4853-9).
This is the fourth installment of five reviews and it examines the parts of the book that discuss the middle phases of Steve Jobs’s journey through life. Others include: The Book of Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs the Man, The Apple Steve Jobs, The Apple Jobs Again.
While there is less written about Jobs leading NeXT and Pixar, those years became a foundation for Jobs to grow as business leader before returning to run Apple.
NeXT Computer
According to the book, Jobs toured Europe for a time after being forced out of Apple. Upon his return to the U.S., he started looking for the next best thing. He called a friend who worked with gene splicing and recombinant DNA. The biochemist told Jobs that it was difficult to do experiments in the lab.
Jobs got the idea that his friend should have a computer to do simulations. The revelation was the foundation for starting a new computer and a new company, NeXT. Isaacson wrote, “The computer would be a cube, Jobs pronounced. He loved that shape. It was perfect and simple.”
When Jobs went looking for capital to build up his new company, Ross Perot became a investor. There were mixed reviews of the new computer including one from Bill Gates who called the computer “crap.” Desired sales of the computer never materialized.
Pixar
While Jobs was trying to find a niche for the NeXT computer, he decided to buy the computer division of George Lucas’s film studio. Jobs eventually bought the division along with a computer called the Pixar Image Computer. Jobs named the company Pixar.
According to the book, the animation side of the company began as a sideline. Jobs, who wanted to match technology with creative and artistic ventures, grew Pixar by making blockbuster films like Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and 3 and A Bug’s Life among others.
Jobs eventually stopped making the NeXT computer and poured his efforts into making Pixar a giant in the animation movie industry. Something else happened at Pixar on its way to success, Jobs started to mature his business personality. He was still highly controlling, had unpredictable temper tantrums and often cried to get his way but he started to show signs of maturity.
Jobs meet with his biological mother and sister, he met his future wife, Laurene, accidently crossed paths with his biological father. He got married and started to have children with his new wife.
Preparing to Return to Apple
Isaacson wrote, “By the mid-1990s, Jobs was finding some pleasure in his new family life and his astonishing triumph in the movie business, but he despaired about the personal computer industry.” He felt, according to the author, that innovation had virtually ceased.
Jobs also felt that Microsoft had won with its Windows operating system. All this while John Sculley was making disastrous decisions for Apple. The company started to fail in historic proportions and Jobs took an interest in returning to help try to save it. Apple decided to purchase NeXT which allowed Jobs an entry back into to the company.
Isaacson’s writing continues to be exciting through these sections making the reading of the mammoth-sized book a pleasure. The reader can easily get immersed in what’s happening to Jobs and the companies he touches.
