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Pixar President: 'Steve Jobs Changed Pixar Even as Pixar Changed Him'

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Steve Jobs is best known as the co-founder of Apple and the man who spurred the company to greatness, but he also co-founded Pixar Animation Studios, another company that's both highly successful and widely admired for the quality animated movies that it produces.

In a new book that's slated to be released next week, Pixar president and co-founder Ed Catmull gives an inside look at Pixar and what made the company so successful. An early excerpt describing Steve Jobs and his influence on the company has been published at Gizmodo, giving an inside look at Jobs' later years.

Though Jobs is often described as obsessed with perfection and relentlessly tough on his employees, Catmull notes that he underwent a significant transformation as he matured, becoming sensitive to other people's feelings and their "value as contributors to the creative process" during his last two decades of life.

creativityincedcatmull.jpg
Catmull attributes some of that personality shift to Jobs' experiences at Pixar, a company that he was particularly proud of because of the lasting impact its films had on the world. Jobs believed that movies endure because they "dig for deeper truths" and later in life, he fully embraced the "nobility of entertaining people."
His experience with Pixar was part of this change. Steve aspired to create utilitarian things that also brought joy; it was his way of making the world a better place. That was part of why Pixar made him so proud--because he felt the world was better for the films we made. He used to say regularly that as brilliant as Apple products were, eventually they all ended up in landfills.
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During Pixar's early years, Jobs is described as the company's benefactor, later becoming a "protector" who gave constructive criticism within the company but defended it to the outside world. As a side project, Pixar was a "place [Jobs] could relax and play a little," which changed him for the better, according to Catmull.
While he never lost his intensity, we watched him develop the ability to listen. More and more, he could express empathy and caring and patience. He became truly wise. The change in him was real, and it was deep.
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Jobs was able to diagnose problems at Pixar with "startling efficiency," focusing on the problem itself and not the filmmakers. As he spent more time at the company, he became "more articulate and observant of people's feelings."
Some people have said that he got mellower with age, but I don't think that's an adequate description of what happened; it sounds too passive, as if he just was letting more go. Steve's transformation was an active one. He continued to engage; he just changed the way he went about it.
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Catmull's Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration is currently available for preorder on Amazon.com and will be released on April 8. The full excerpt on Steve Jobs' role at Pixar is well worth reading and can be found over at Gizmodo.

Article Link: Pixar President: 'Steve Jobs Changed Pixar Even as Pixar Changed Him'
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/04/pixar-president-details-steve-jobs-pixar-role/
ashwin4

ashwin4

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Aug 15, 2013
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In the midst of it
"We believe it’s the biggest advance in animation since Walt Disney started it all with the release of Snow White 50 years ago."
-Steve Jobs.
 
brianvictor7

brianvictor7

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"While he never lost his intensity, we watched him develop the ability to listen. More and more, he could express empathy and caring and patience. He became truly wise. The change in him was real, and it was deep."

This is nice to know. Jobs had earned a reputation for being absolutely horrible to many people. It should serve as inpsiration for anyone aspiring to be better than they are.
 
maflynn

maflynn

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May 3, 2009
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I have to say based on interviews that Steve made and what I've read, I'd agree that he took on a softer tone thanks to Pixar. Not to say he was an easy person to work for, but by all reports he wasn't as bad when he started Apple
 
S

SoAnyway

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May 10, 2011
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As much of a Steve Jobs fan as I am, I'm actually surprised to read that Steve Jobs actually had feelings.

Considering where Jobs was in his life when bought Pixar, I'm also inclined to think that it wasn't just Pixar that changed him but could starting a family have anything to do with it?
 
sfwalter

sfwalter

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I'm really looking forward to reading this book. Scratch that really looking forward to having this book read to me via audible.com.
 
gugy

gugy

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sfwalter said:
I'm really looking forward to reading this book. Scratch that really looking forward to having this book read to me via audible.com.
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Yep, I want to read it but I will wait until gets to my public library. Not spend more money on Jobs biographies.
 
F

FriednTested

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Jan 13, 2014
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Reminds me I am still to finish Isaacson's biography... Darn I am so out of the reading habit...!
 
G

gumblecosby

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Jun 22, 2010
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The Pixar Story is well worth a watch if you want to see how Steve jobs influenced Pixar. Its also fascinating if you're interested in the other great people who have worked there.
 
M

Millah

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Aug 6, 2008
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SoAnyway said:
As much of a Steve Jobs fan as I am, I'm actually surprised to read that Steve Jobs actually had feelings.

Considering where Jobs was in his life when bought Pixar, I'm also inclined to think that it wasn't just Pixar that changed him but could starting a family have anything to do with it?
Click to expand...

Also getting fired from the company he founded I'm sure humbled him just a little. Doing some soul searching. I wouldnt say Pixar exclusively changed him.
 
T

TXCherokee

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Aug 24, 2012
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Jobs "...used to say regularly that as brilliant as Apple products were, eventually they all ended up in landfills."

However, as brilliant as Pixar products were, eventually they all ended up on iTunes.
 
SPUY767

SPUY767

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Jun 22, 2003
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Pixar used to be renowned for the quality of its movies. Since Disney bought it, and all of the original Pixar stuff got out of the pipeline, they've just been milking Pixar IP for sequels and will probably run it into the ground eventually.
 
rdlink

rdlink

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SoAnyway said:
As much of a Steve Jobs fan as I am, I'm actually surprised to read that Steve Jobs actually had feelings.

Considering where Jobs was in his life when bought Pixar, I'm also inclined to think that it wasn't just Pixar that changed him but could starting a family have anything to do with it?
Click to expand...


And this is the simplistic view that I think so many people fall victim to when it comes to SJ. I'm not calling you simplistic, but the viewpoint that he "didn't have feelings" because he was such a SOB at times is too simplistic, IMO.

I believe that SJ was an incredibly passionate person, and it was that passion, and sensitivity that drove him, and affected him so much. What many people don't realize is that some of the most sensitive people in the world can also be some of the most difficult and harsh people to deal with.

I find a lot of credibility in Catmull's statements, and I believe it shows a tremendous example of a passionate person evolving to better adapt to the world around them, while still not compromising their passion. SJ himself was even quoted as saying that his experiences between his first and second stint at Apple changed him in a manner that better prepared him for success on the second go around.
 
jm001

jm001

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Sep 19, 2011
596
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SoAnyway said:
As much of a Steve Jobs fan as I am, I'm actually surprised to read that Steve Jobs actually had feelings.

Considering where Jobs was in his life when bought Pixar, I'm also inclined to think that it wasn't just Pixar that changed him but could starting a family have anything to do with it?
Click to expand...

Maybe he's one of those types that saw Apple one way (all business and personal - it was him and Woz that started it all) and Pixar another (the arts and more of a hobby) and acted accordingly. That way he took on more of a Jekyl and Hyde nature between the two companies.
 
macs4nw

macs4nw

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Sep 21, 2010
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Millah said:
Also getting fired from the company he founded I'm sure humbled him just a little....
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Totally agree with that, and I was thinking the same thing. In retrospect, with Steve's amazing combination of attributes, it's only natural things unfolded the way they did, and I'm not talking about losing the CEO job at Apple.

It's also great to read positive things about him for a change, from people who worked with him so closely, rather than all the harping from the past about his tantrums and humiliating scoldings; as unpleasant as those may have been for the recipients, they also had a large part in taking the company to where it is today.

Steve didn't suffer failure gladly, and there was no room for mediocrity in his 'Apple'. And mainly because of his laser-sharp focus and his unwavering expectations for perfection, are we even now, still able to enjoy those functional and alluring products, we have come to take for granted.

Wherever you are Steve, thanks again!!
 
gugy

gugy

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SPUY767 said:
Pixar used to be renowned for the quality of its movies. Since Disney bought it, and all of the original Pixar stuff got out of the pipeline, they've just been milking Pixar IP for sequels and will probably run it into the ground eventually.
Click to expand...

I hope not but I see your point.
 
O

osaga

macrumors 6502
Jun 11, 2012
454
170
He most likely mellowed out at pixar because he was out of his element, not because he changed. Writing scripts and making animation don't strike me as his strong suits, he'd have to listen to others. Predicting the future, marketing, aesthetics, understanding customers, business strategy, seeing the forest through the trees when no one else could, those were his convictions.
 
SlCKB0Y

SlCKB0Y

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Feb 25, 2012
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macs4nw said:
Alright then, maybe I should have said "demoted to a diminished role" by the board, but somehow I believe you got the gist of my post…..but wanted to pick an argument. You clearly won. :eek: :cool:
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I wasn't trying to argue - even at the point when Jobs was "demoted to a diminished role", he wasn't CEO at the time, John Sculley was.
 
S

samcraig

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Jun 22, 2009
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USA
rdlink said:
And this is the simplistic view that I think so many people fall victim to when it comes to SJ. I'm not calling you simplistic, but the viewpoint that he "didn't have feelings" because he was such a SOB at times is too simplistic, IMO.

I believe that SJ was an incredibly passionate person, and it was that passion, and sensitivity that drove him, and affected him so much. What many people don't realize is that some of the most sensitive people in the world can also be some of the most difficult and harsh people to deal with.

I find a lot of credibility in Catmull's statements, and I believe it shows a tremendous example of a passionate person evolving to better adapt to the world around them, while still not compromising their passion. SJ himself was even quoted as saying that his experiences between his first and second stint at Apple changed him in a manner that better prepared him for success on the second go around.
Click to expand...

We know SJ had feelings. He cried a lot (according to the biography), got angry a lot, laughed a lot. Those are all feelings.

Not caring about someone else's feelings is not the same as not having them yourself ;)
 
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