Because Jobs was on another medical leave, he was not expected to be at the launch of the iPad 2, scheduled for March 2, 2011, in San Francisco. But when the invitations were sent out, he told me that I should try to be there. It was the usual scene: top Apple executives in the front row, Tim Cook eating energy bars, and the sound system blaring the appropriate Beatles songs, building up to You Say You Want a Revolution鈥� and Here Comes the Sun.鈥� Reed Jobs arrived at the last minute with two rather wide-eyed freshman dorm mates.
Michael didn鈥檛 understand that Disney鈥檚 problems in animation were as acute as they were,鈥� Iger later explained. That manifested itself in the way he dealt with Pixar. He never felt he needed Pixar as much as he really did.鈥� In addition, Eisner loved to negotiate and hated to compromise, which was not always the best combination when dealing with Jobs, who was the same way. Every negotiation needs to be resolved by compromises,鈥� Iger said. Neither one of them is a master of compromise.鈥�
James Vincent had not taken a break in months. So when the iPad finally went on sale and the ads started airing, he drove with his family to the Coachella Music Festival in Palm Springs, which featured some of his favorite bands, including Muse, Faith No More, and Devo. Soon after he arrived, Jobs called. Your commercials suck,鈥� he said. The iPad is revolutionizing the world, and we need something big. You鈥檝e given me small shit.鈥�
It immediately became clear that, whether or not he wanted to admit it publicly (or even to himself), Jobs was going to take control and not be a mere advisor. As soon as he came onstage that day鈥攚earing shorts, sneakers, and a black turtleneck鈥攈e got to work reinvigorating his beloved institution. Okay, tell me what鈥檚 wrong with this place,鈥� he said. There were some murmurings, but Jobs cut them off. It鈥檚 the products!鈥� he answered. So what鈥檚 wrong with the products?鈥� Again there were a few attempts at an answer, until Jobs broke in to hand down the correct answer. The products suck!鈥� he shouted. There鈥檚 no sex in them anymore!鈥�
After they broke up, Redse helped found OpenMind, a mental health resource network in California. She happened to read in a psychiatric manual about Narcissistic Personality Disorder and decided that Jobs perfectly met the criteria. It fits so well and explained so much of what we had struggled with, that I realized expecting him to be nicer or less self-centered was like expecting a blind man to see,鈥� she said. It also explained some of the choices he鈥檇 made about his daughter Lisa at that time. I think the issue is empathy鈥攖he capacity for empathy is lacking.鈥�
One of Jobs鈥檚 management philosophies was that it is crucial, every now and then, to roll the dice and bet the company鈥� on some new idea or technology. At the NeXT launch, he boasted of an example that, as it turned out, would not be a wise gamble: having a high-capacity (but slow) optical read/write disk and no floppy disk as a backup. Two years ago we made a decision,鈥� he said. We saw some new technology and we made a decision to risk our company.鈥�