Steve Jobs

The Secon new operatingsystem. \"Amelio pai the NeXT OS was never really use bringing inAvie Tevanian, who co ing system evolve so that it eventu NeXT technology. Gates knew th Jobs back topower. \"But that was a ended up buying was aguy who mo would be a great CEO, because he but he was a brilliant guy with gre ing taste. He suppressed his crazine interim CEO.\" Despite what both Ellison and Ga flicted feelings about whether he w Apple, at least while Amelio was th purchase was due to be announced, full-time and take charge of ope however, kept deflecting Amelio's re Finally, onthe day that he was sc ment, Amelio called Jobs in. He ne want to take your money and leave? what you want.\"Jobs did not answer on thepayroll? An advisor?\" Again J and grabbed Jobs's lawyer, Larry So Jobs wanted. \"Beats me,\" Sonsini s closed doors with Jobs and gave it o mind? What are you feeling? Please \"I didn't getany sleep last night, \"Why? What's the problem?\" \"I was thinking about all the thin the deal we're making, and it's all r tired now and not thinking clearly. more questions.\" Amelio said that wasn't possible. Finally Jobs answered, \"Look, if just say advisor to the chairman.\"An

nd Coming 303 id a lot for NeXT, and let's be frank, ed.\" Instead the purchase ended up ould help the existing Apple operat ually incorporated the kernel of the hat the deal was destined to bring a twist offate,\" he said. \"What they ost people would nothave predicted e didn't have much experience at it, eat design taste and great engineer ess enough toget himselfappointed ates believed, Jobs had deeply con wanted to return to an active role at here. A few days before the NeXT , Amelio asked Jobs to rejoin Apple erating system development. Jobs, request. cheduled tomake the big announce eeded an answer. \"Steve, do you just ?\" Amelio asked. \"It's okay if that's r; he just stared. \"Do you want tobe Jobs stayed silent. Amelio wentout onsini, and asked what he thought said. So Amelio went back behind one more try. \"Steve, what's on your e, I need a decision now.\" ,\"Jobs replied. ngs that need to be done and about running together for me. I'm really . I just don't want to be asked any . He needed to say something. fyou have to tell them something, nd that is what Amelio did.

304 Walter Is The announcement wasmade tha in front of 250 cheering employee lio did as Jobs had requested and that of a part-time advisor. Instead the stage, Jobs walked in from the r down the aisle. Amelio had told the tired to say anything, but by then h plause. \"I'm very excited,\" Jobs said reknow some old colleagues.\" Loui came up to the stage afterward and cusatory, whether hewas going to e Louise,\" he said. \"There are a lot o now. I have a family. I am involved I hopeI can share some ideas.\" The next dayJobs drove to Pbcar with the place, and he wanted to le going to be president and deeply in happy to see him go back toApple p would be a good thing. He was use tions, but he could be dangerous w hands. When he arrived at Pixar th and explained that even justbeing a lot of his time. He saidhe wanted L about all the time away from my fa away from the other family at Pixa I want to do it is that the world will Lasseter smiled gently. \"You hav

saacson at evening—December 20,1996— es at Apple headquarters. Ame described his new role as merely d of appearing from the wings of rear ofthe auditorium and ambled e gathering that Jobs would be too he had been energized by the ap d. \"I'm looking forward to get to ise Kehoe of the Financial Times d asked Jobs, sounding almost ac end up taking over Apple. \"Oh no, of other things going on in my life d at Pixar. My time is limited, but r. He hadfallen increasingly in love et the crew there know he was still nvolved. But the Pixar people were part-time; alittle less ofJobs's focus eful when there were big negotia when he had too much time on his hat day, he went to Lasseter's office anadvisor at Apple would take up a Lasseter's blessing. \"I keep thinking amily this will cause, and the time ar,\" Jobs said. \"But the only reason l be a betterplace with Apple in it.\" ve my blessing,\" he said.

CHAPTER TW THE REST The Loser Now Wi Amelio calling up Wozniak asJobs han Hovering Backstage \"It's rare that you see an artist in contribute something amazing,\" Job thirty. That held trueforJobs in his thi with his ouster from Apple in 198 he flourished. Toy Story was release Apple's purchase of NeXT offered had founded. In returning to Apple 30

WENTY-FOUR TORATION ill Be Later to Win ngs back, 1997 his thirties or forties able to really bs declared as he was about to turn irties, during the decade that began 85. But after turning forty in 1995, ed that year, and the following year d him reentry into the company he le, Jobs would show that even peo- 05

306 Walter Is pie over forty couldbe great innovat computers in his twenties,he would players, the recording industry's busi tablet computers, books, and journal He had told Larry Ellison tha NeXT to Apple, get appointed to th CEO Gil Amelio stumbled. Ellison insisted that he was not motivated He had neither Ellison's conspicuou philanthropic impulses nor the com the Forbes list he could get. Instead led him to seek fulfillment by creat ple. A dual legacy, actually: building a lasting company. He wanted to b notch above, people like Edwin Lan ard. And the best way to achieve al reclaim his kingdom. And yet when the cupofpower n hesitant,reluctant, perhaps coy. He returned to Apple officially i visor, as he had told Amelio he wo in some personnel areas, especially made the transition from NeXT. Bu usually passive. The decision not to a him, andhe felt demeaned by the sug operating system division. Amelio w in which Jobs was both inside the te not a prescription for tranquillity. Jo Gil didn't want me around. And I th before I soldhim the company. I tho out now and then for eventslike Ma fine, because I wasworkingat Pbcar. I Alto where I couldwork a few days one or two days. It was a nice life. I my family.

saacson tors. Having transformed personal now help to do the same for music iness model, mobile phones, apps, lism. at his return strategy was to sell he board, and be there ready when n may havebeen baffledwhen Jobs d by money, but it was pardy true. us consumption needs nor Gates's mpetitive urge to see how high on his ego needs and personal drives ting a legacy that would awe peo g innovative products and building be in the pantheon with, indeed a nd, Bill Hewlett, and David Pack ll this was to return to Apple and neared hislips, he became strangely in January 1997as a part-time ad ould. He began to assert himself in protecting his people who had ut in most other ways he was un askhim to join the board offended ggestion that he run the company's was thus able to create a situation ent and outside the tent, which was obs later recalled: hought he was a bozo. I knew that ought I was just goingto be trotted acworld, mainly for show. That was I rented anoffice in downtownPalo aweek, and I drove up to Pixar for could slow down, sperid time with

The Resto Jobs was, infact, trotted out for M January, and this reaffirmed his opin to four thousand of the faithful foug San Francisco Marriott to hear Am troduced by the actor Jeff Goldblum in The Lost World:Jurassic Park,\" he to speak at an Apple event.\" He th came onstage wearing a flashy sport buttoned tight attheneck, \"looking Journal reporter Jim Carlton noted ogy writer Michael Malone, \"lookin uncle on his first date.\" The bigger problem was thatAm into anasty tussle with his speechwri Jobs arrived backstage, he was upse Amelio stood onthepodium bumb less presentation. Amelio was unfam popped up on his teleprompter and sentation. Repeatedly he lost his tra hour, theaudience was aghast. Ther as when he brought out the singer P music program. He also pointed ou the champ was supposed to come o Parkinson's disease, but Amelio nev he was there. Amelio rambled for more than onstage the person everyone was w fidence, style, and sheer magnetism, Amelio as he strode onstage,\" Ca would not have provoked a bigger its feet and gave him a raucous ov wilderness decade was over. Finally the heart of the challenge. \"We've \"The Mac didn't progress much in Sowe have to come up with an OS Jobs's pep talk could have bee

oration 307 Macworld right atthe beginning of nion that Amelio was abozo. Close ght for seats in the ballroom of the melio's keynote address. He was in m. \"Iplay an expert in chaos theory e said. \"I figure that will qualify me hen turned it over to Amelio, who rts jacket and a banded-collar shirt Uke aVegas comic,\" the Wall Street d, or in the words of the technol ng exacdy like your newly divorced melio had gone onvacation, gotten iters, and refused torehearse. When et by the chaos, and he seethed as bling through a disjointed and end miliar with the talking points that d soon was trying to wing his pre ain ofthought. After more than an re were a few welcome breaks, such Peter Gabriel to demonstrate a new ut Muhammad Ali in the first row; onstage to promote a website about ver invited him up or explained why two hours before he finally called waiting to cheer. \"Jobs, exuding con m, was the antithesis ofthefumbling arlton wrote. \"The return of Elvis r sensation.\" The crowd jumped to vation for more than a minute. The y Jobs waved for silence and cut to got to getthe spark back,\" he said. n tenyears. So Windows caught up. S that's even better.\" en a redeeming finale to Amelio's

308 Walter frightening performance. Unfortu and resumed his ramblings for ano hours after the show began, Amelio back onstage and then, in a surpr well. Again there was pandemonium avoided engaging in atriumphant t slowly edged offstage. \"He ruthless planned,\" Amelio later complained portant than good press for Apple.\" year for Apple, and already it was c Jobs immediately put people he tr \"I wanted to make sure the reall NeXT didn't get knifed in the back were then in senior jobs at Apple, had favored choosing Sun's Solaris bozo list, especially when she cont Solaris in the new Apple operating question about the role Jobs would answered curtly, \"None.\" She was w surethat two of his friends from N To head software engineering, h To run the hardware side, he called the same at NeXT backwhen it ha was vacationing on the Isle ofSkye w some help,\" he said. \"Do you want He got back in time to attend Ma stage. Things were worse than he exchange glances at meetings as if asylum, with people making deluded end of the table in aseeming stupor Jobs did not come into the office toAmelio often. Once he had succe Rubinstein, and others he trusted w his focus onto the sprawling produ Newton, the handheld personal di

Isaacson unately Amelio came back onstage other hour. Finally, more than three o brought itto aclose by callingJobs rise, bringing up Steve Wozniak as m. ButJobs was clearly annoyed. He trio scene, arms in the air. Instead he sly ruined the closing moment I had d. \"His own feelings were more im \" Itwas only seven days into the new clear thatthe center would not hold. rusted into the top ranks at Apple. ly good people who came in from k by the less competent people who ,\" he recalled. Ellen Hancock, who s over NeXT, was on the top ofhis tinued to want to use the kernel of g system. In response to areporter's d play in making that decision, she wrong. Jobs's first move was to make eXT took over her duties. he tapped his buddy Avie Tevanian. d on Jon Rubinstein, who had done ad a hardware division. Rubinstein whenJobs called him. \"Apple needs t to come aboard?\" Rubinstein did. acworld and see Amelio bomb on expected. He and Tevanian would f they had stumbled into an insane d assertions while Amelio sat atthe r. e regularly, but he was on the phone eeded inmaking sure thatTevanian, were given top positions, heturned uct line. One ofhis pet peeves was igital assistant that boasted hand-

The Res writing recognition capability. It w Doonesbury comic strip made it see the idea of having a stylus or pen us ten styluses,\" he would say, wa another.\" In addition, he viewed N innovation, his pet project. That al \"You ought to killNewton,\" he It was a suggestion out ofthe blu do you mean, kill it?\" he said. \"Stev sive that would be?\" \"Shut it down,write it off, get r what it costs. People willcheeryou \"I've looked into Newton and Amelio declared. \"I don't support he announced plans to spin off the its yearlong stutter-step march to t Tevanian and Rubinstein woul informed, and soon much of Silico wresting power from Amelio. It powerplayas it wasJobs beingJob his nature. Louise Kehoe, the Fina seen this when she questioned Job nouncement, was the first with th power behind the throne,\" she rep is said to be directing decisions on shouldbe cut.Mr.Jobs has urgeda to return to the company, hinting s they said. According to one of M that Mr. Amelio and his appointee Apple, and he is intent upon repla 'his company'\" That month Amelio had to fac and explain why the results for t 30% plummet in sales from the ye the microphones to vent their ang poorly he handled the meeting.\"T

storation 309 was not quite as bad as the jokes and em, butJobs hated it. He disdained for writing on a screen. \"God gave aving his fingers. \"Let's not invent Newton as John Sculley's one major lone doomed it in Jobs's eyes. e told Amelio one dayby phone. lue, andAmelio pushedback. \"What ve, do you have any idea how expen rid of it,\" saidJobs.\"It doesn'tmatter uif yougot rid of it.\" d it's going to be a moneymaker,\" getting rid of it.\" By May, however, e Newton division, the beginning of the grave. ld come byJobs's house to keep him onValley knew that Jobs was quietly was not so much a Machiavellian bs.Wanting controlwas ingrainedin ancial Times reporter who had fore bs and Amelio at the December an he story. \"Mr. Jobs has become the ported at the end of February. \"He n which parts of Apple's operations a numberof formerApple colleagues strongly that he plans to take charge, Mr. Jobs' confidantes, he has decided es are unlikely to succeed in reviving acing them to ensure the survival of ce the annual stockholders meeting the final quarter of 1996 showed a ear before. Shareholders lined up at ger. AmeHo was clueless about how The presentation was regarded as one

310 Walter I of the best I had ever given,\" he l former CEO of DuPont who was n (Markkula had been demoted tovice saster,\" his wife whispered to him in agreed. \"Gil came dressed real cool, he recalled. \"He couldn't answer th was talking about, and didn't inspire Woolard picked up the phone a met. The pretext was to invite him to ecutives. Jobs declined, but as Woola in order to talk to him about Gil.\" direction and asked Jobs point-blan was. Woolard remembers Jobs bein that Amelio was not in the right job I thought to myself, I either tellhim byomission. He s on the board ofAp think; on the other hand, if I tell him will never listen to me again, and he Apple. Allofthistookplace in my he nally decided that I owed thisguy the So I just let him have it. I saidthis gu I thinkif you needed a license to be a I hungup the phone, I thought, I pro That spring Larry Ellison saw Ame to the technology journalist Gina S doing. \"You know, Gina,Apple is lik shipisloadedwith treasure, but there to get everyone to rowin the same d and asked, \"Yeah,but what about the Jobs joked about the parable of the story to me,we werein this sushi pla laughing,\"Jobs recalled. \"He wasjus selfso seriously. He insisted that eve always a warning sign.\"

Isaacson later wrote. But Ed Woolard, the now the chair of the Apple board e chair), was appalled. \"This is adi n the midstof the session. Woolard , but he looked and sounded silly,\" he questions, didn't know what he e anyconfidence.\" and called Jobs, whom he'd never o Delaware to speak to DuPont ex ard recalled, \"the request was a ruse He steered the phone call in that nk what his impression of Amelio ng somewhat circumspect, saying b. Jobs recalled being more blunt: the truth, that Gil is a bozo,or I lie pple, I have a dutyto tellhimwhatI m, he will tell Gil, in which case Gil e'll fuck the people I brought into ead in less thanthirtyseconds. I fi e truth. I cared deeply about Apple. uyis the worstCEO I've everseen, a CEO he wouldn't get one. When obably justdida really stupid thing. elio at a party and introduced him Smith, who asked how Apple was ke a ship,\" Amelio answered. \"That e's a holein the ship. And myjob is direction.\" Smithlooked perplexed e hole?\"From then on, Ellison and e ship. \"When Larry relayed this ace, and I literally fell off my chair st sucha buffoon, and he took him eryone call him Dr. Amelio. That's

The Rest Brent Schlender, Fortunes well-s Jobs and was famiHar with his thin with a story detailing the mess. \" paragon of dysfunctional managem is backin crisis mode, scrambling lu with imploding sales, a floundering rhaging brand name,\" he wrote. \"To ifJobs, despite the lure of Hollywo Pixar, maker of Toy Story and other be schemingto take over Apple.\" Once again Ellison publicly f tile takeover and installing his \"be the only one who can save Apple, help him the minute he says the w cried wolf, Ellison's latest takeover so later in the month he told Dan News that he was forming an inves a majority stake in Apple. (The c $2.3 billion.) The daythe story cam heavytrading. To add to the frivoli [email protected], asking the he should go ahead with it. Jobs was somewhat amused by E brings this up now and then,\" he to role atApple is to be anadvisor.\" Am Ellison to dress him down, but Ellis lio called Jobs, whose response was e really don't understand what is goin this is crazy.\" Then he added a reas \"You and I have a good relationship lation by releasing a statement rej Amelio's annoyance, he didn't. He his interests and his nature. By then the press had turned a cover asking \"Is Apple Minceme headlined \"Gil Amelio, Please Re

toration 311 sourced technology reporter, knew nking, and in March he came out \"Apple Computer, Silicon Valley's ment and fumbled techno-dreams, ugubriously in slowmotion to deal technology strategy, and a hemor o the Machiavellian eye, it looks as ood—lately he has been overseeing r computer-animated films—might floated the idea of doing a hos best friend\" Jobs as CEO. \"Steve's ,\" he told reporters. \"I'm ready to word.\" Like the third time the boy r musings didn't get much notice, n Gillmore of the San Jose Mercury stor group to raise $1 billion to buy company's market value was about me out, Apple stock shot up 11%in ity, Ellison set up an email address, e general public to vote on whether Ellison's self-appointed role. \"Larry old a reporter. \"I try to explain my melio,however, was livid. He called son wouldn't take the call. So Ame equivocal but also partlygenuine. \"I ng on,\"he told Amelio. \"I think all ssurance that was not at allgenuine: p.\" Jobs could have ended the specu jecting Ellison's idea, but much to remained aloof, which served both against Amelio. Business Week ran eat?\"; Red Herring ran an editorial esign\"; and Wired ran a cover that

312 Walter I showed the Apple logo crucified a thorns and the headline \"Pray.\" Mik ing against years of Apple misman nitwits still draw a paycheck when didn't frighten people and turned i of the 1997Red Sox bullpen?\" WhenJobs andAmelio hadsigned t hopping around exuberantly and de and have a great bottle of wine to c wine from his cellar and suggested untilJunebefore theysettled on a d they were able to have a good time matched as the diners; Amelio brou and a Montrachet that each cost ab restaurant in Redwood City where wife remarked afterward, \"He's such Jobs could seduce and charm pe People such as Amelio and Sculley because Jobs was charming them, it them. It was an impression that he insincere flattery to those hungry f to people he hatedjust as easily as liked. Amelio didn't see this becaus Jobs's affection. Indeed the words h a good relationship with Jobs are Sculley. \"When I was wrestling wit the issue with him,\" Amelio recalled agree.\" Somehow he willed himself him: \"I was in awe over the way S and had the feeling wewere buildin Amelio's disillusionment came a ing their negotiations, he had insist he got for at least six months, and ended in June. When a block of 1. called Jobs.\"I'm tellingpeople that

Isaacson as a sacred heart with a crown of ke Barnicle of the Boston Globe, rail anagement, wrote, \"How can these n they took the only computer that it into the technological equivalent thecontract in February,Jobs began declared, \"You and I need to go out celebrate!\" Amelio offered to bring that theyinvite their wives. It took date, anddespite the rising tensions e.The food and wine were as mis ught a bottle of 1964 ChevalBlanc bout $300; Jobs chose a vegetarian e the food bill totaled $72. Amelio's h a charmer, and his wife is too.\" eople at will, and he liked to do so. allowed themselves to believe that t meant that he liked and respected e sometimes fostered by dishing out for it. ButJobs could be charming he could be insulting to people he se, like Sculley, he was so eager for he used to describe his yearning for almost the same as those used by th a problem, I would walkthrough d. \"Nine times out often we would fto believe thatJobs really respected Steve's mind approached problems, ng a mutually trustingrelationship.\" a few days after their dinner. Dur sted that Jobs hold the Apple stock preferably longer. That six months .5 million shares was sold, Amelio the shares soldwere not yours,\" he

The Resto said. \"Remember, you and I had an sell anywithout advising us first.\" \"That's right,\"Jobs replied. Ameli Jobs had not sold his shares, and he when the next SEC filing came out, sold the shares. \"Dammit, Steve, I as shares andyou denied it was you.\"Job a \"fit of depression\" about where App to admit it because he was \"a little e about it years later, he simply said, \"I Why didJobs mislead Amelio ab son is simple: Jobs sometimes avoide once said of Henry Kissinger, \"He li he lies because it's in his nature.\" It w be secretive when he felt it was wa being brutally honest at times, tellin garcoat or suppress. Both the dissem simply different aspects ofhis Nietzs didn't applyto him. Exit, Pursued by a Bear Jobs had refused to quash Larry EU secretly sold his shares and been misl became convinced that Jobs was gun the fact that I had been too willing a my team,\" Amelio recalled. \"Steve's tion were chargingforward.\" Jobs was indeed bad-mouthing A couldn't helphimself. But therewas a the board against Amelio. Fred And saw it as his fiduciary duty to keep formed ofApple's dire situation. \"Fre was draining, people were leaving, a ing of it,\" said Woolard. \"He made

ration 313 understanding that you wouldn't io took thatresponse to mean that issued a statement saying so. But , it revealed that Jobs had indeed sked you point-blank about these bs told Amelio that he hadsold in pple was going and he didn't want embarrassed.\" When I asked him I didn't feel I needed to tell Gil.\" bout selling the shares? One rea ed the truth. Helmut Sonnenfeldt ies not because it's in his interest, was in Jobs's nature to mislead or arranted. But he also indulged in ng the truths that most of us su- mbling and the truth-telling were schean attitude that ordinary rules Uison's takeover talk, and he had leading about it. So Amelio finally nning for him. \"I finally absorbed and too eager to believe he was on plans to manipulate my termina Amelio at every opportunity. He a more importantfactor in turning derson, the chieffinancial officer, p Ed Woolard and the board in ed was theguy telling methat cash and more key players were think it clear the ship was going to hit

314 Walter the sand soon, and even he was the worries Woolard already had shareholders meeting. At an executive session ofthe b room, Woolard described to curre odds. \"Ifwe stay with Gil as CEO we will avoid bankruptcy,\" he said to come take over, we have a 60% don't get Steve back, and have to s a 40% chance ofsurviving.\" The b to return. Woolard and his wife flew toL Ayatch the Wimbledon tennis matc ing the day, but spent his evening calling people back inAmerica, wh stay, his telephone billwas $2,000. First, he called Jobs. The boar and it wanted Jobs to come back in deriding Amelio and pushing Apple. But suddenly, when offer help,\" he replied. \"As CEO?\" Woolard asked. Jobs said no. Woolard pushed acting CEO. Again Jobs demurred paid.\" Healso agreed to become ab he had yearned for—butdeclined t I can give now,\" he said. After rum memo to Pixar employees assuring them. \"Igot acall from Apple's boa ing me to return to Apple as their then asked me to become chairm worry—the crazy rumors are just You're stuck with me.\" Whydid Jobs notseize the rein job that for two decades he had se he said: