The man, who has changed the world
"While the vast majority of people simply accept reality, he saw the potential in everything which touched. He was never unfaithful to his mission. His legacy humanity will enjoy for many years".
This brief and comprehensive description has been given by George Lucas to his friend and partner Steve Jobs. Man, without which the whole modern entertainment industry would be quite different.
Leave aside the biography of Steve Jobs, his expulsion his own company Apple and the triumphant return, we will not list the range of devices, so hated, "power users" and adored by all others, will not expose the entire analysis of the cultural layers and worldview formed in the world under the influence of his ideas.
Just remember only one episode, which had a huge influence on modern cinema, gives an idea of the capabilities of this man not only to see clearly, but also to determine the direction of progress.
It was in 1986 when Jobs, who lost the fight with the board of Apple and resigned from the company, entered into an agreement, which was later called "the most nightmarish transaction in the history of movie." Not a nightmare for Steve Jobs, but for George Lucas.
Apple founder bought Lucas piece of his empire called Graphics Group - a company engaged in the creation of digital special effects. Creator of "Star Wars" simply had no time to engage in its development, and he conceded that later became Pixar studio for ... five million dollars.
A few years later the reorganized by Jobs company entered into an agreement with Walt Disney on the production of full-length computer-animated films. Thus, were born "Toy Story," "The Adventures of Flick," "Monsters Inc." and other animated masterpieces that have made Pixar's undisputed leader in its sector in the film industry.
That's Steve Jobs persuaded management to abandon Walt Disney cartoons in the practice of issuing the autumn season, which is traditionally considered "low", and move the big releases for the summer. He was sure that his studio's projects are able to compete with the major blockbusters of the year. It also allowed the partners to change "window" release of licensed copies of cartoons. Now they have come into the market on Christmas Eve, which immediately impacted on profitability.
In 2006, Steve Jobs sold Pixar's to Walt Disney Company for ... $ 7.4 billion. This deal has turned a principal founder of Apple into the private shareholder of "mouse house," whom he remained until his death.
And the last. As CEO of the largest IT-company in the world, capitalization of which in 2011 has reached $ 300 billion, Steve Jobs received 1$ per year. Of course, he was very wealthy man, not in need of so beloved by most corporate heads bonuses. But this fact alone says a lot about him, not only as manager but as a person.
Jobs used to say that in life, he prefers to follow a simple rule of the great hockey player Wayne Gretzky: "I roll to where the puck may be in the next moment, not where it has already been."