How Jobs will turn around Disney

Written by Wil Harris

January 30, 2006 | 09:02

Tags: #ceo #pixar #steve-jobs

Companies: #apple #disney

BusinessWeek has a great article on how Steve Jobs runs companies, and how he could bring the same product-focused approach that has worked for Apple to Disney.

Disney has famously underperformed over the past decade. It has had successes, such as its ABC TV channel which screens Lost and Desperate Housewives. However, its film division has had a string of flops. Following big hits such as The Lion King and Aladdin in the 90s, Treasure Planet and The Emperor's New Groove haven't exactly set the world on fire. The biggest success the film division has had has been with films like Finding Nemo and Toy Story - both of which have come from Jobs' animation firm, Pixar.

The new CEO of Disney has been quick to work with Jobs since taking up his post, wangling the iTunes Video deal with Jobs in 3 days. There are rumours Jobs might soon be attempting to depose the current CEO so that he can take on the role of turning around Disney, but that's all speculation.

Here's a great quote from the BusinessWeek article, talking about Jobs' first return to Apple:

"And now Jobs was back in charge. Wearing shorts, sneakers, and a few days' growth of beard, he sat down in a swivel chair and spun slowly, says McCluney, now president of storage provider Emulex Corp. (ELX ). "O.K., tell me what's wrong with this place," Jobs said. After some mumbled replies, he jumped in: "It's the products! So what's wrong with the products?" Again, executives began offering some answers. Jobs cut them off. "The products SUCK!" he roared. "There's no sex in them anymore!""

What potential is there for Jobs to tie in Disney, Apple and Pixar? With all of Disney's TV content (including ESPN) could this be the kind of content deal that really rockets iTunes? Could we see feature films appearing on the iTunes store soon? Lots of interesting questions with answers we can only guess at. What are your thoughts? Let us know over in the forum.
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