To thine own self be true —

Disney CEO went to Steve Jobs to find out if Disney films “sucked”

And brutal honesty on both sides may have saved Disney money on its Pixar buyout.

Disney CEO Bob Iger, who also sits on the board of directors for Apple, knew former Apple CEO Steve Jobs well. The two were "relentlessly" honest and candid with each other after Iger took over for previous Disney CEO Michael Eisner, paving the way for Disney to acquire the hit-making animation studio Pixar in 2006. That honesty may have also saved Disney "a couple hundred-thousand dollars" in the process, Iger claimed during a discussion for the Hollywood Radio and Television Society this week.

There are a few details to be picked out of Iger's comments that can give us insight into Jobs. For instance, Jobs had an appreciation for honesty, especially when it pulled no punches. Pixar had made a deal to make five films with Disney, which resulted in hits like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. As Jobs (then the CEO of Pixar) worked to negotiate a new deal that revived Disney's animation arm and created a financial windfall for the company, then-CEO Eisner reportedly tried to play hardball with Jobs during negotiations. Jobs was apparently insulted that Eisner merely considered Pixar a "hired hand," while Jobs considered the studio a "creativity engine." Tired of Eisner's attitude, Jobs left the negotiating table, determined to find another distributor that appreciated what Pixar had to offer.

But Jobs had also hinted that he might be willing to make a deal with Disney if Eisner, who had been creating conflicts with Disney board members and other executives, was shown the door. Given the situation, it's no surprise that Steve Jobs was on Iger's short list of people to call when he took over as Disney's CEO in March 2005, which also included Iger's parents, his daughters, and some close friends.

Iger wanted to discuss salvaging the relationship between Disney and Pixar. Jobs expected Iger to be "more of the same," Iger recalled, but agreed to meet and talk it over.

Iger said that Jobs was candid about everything Disney, including whether or not recent Disney films "sucked." This prompted Iger to be blunt with Jobs in return—after all, Disney needed Pixar to improve its animation capabilities.

At the time, Jobs didn't say much about Iger's attitude compared to Eisner, but Jobs and Iger eventually hammered out a deal in which Disney would acquire Pixar for a $7.4 billion stock swap, making Jobs the largest Disney shareholder and putting Pixar execs John Lasseter and Ed Catmull in charge of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

It was years later that Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he was impressed by Iger's candidness; Iger had to find that out by reading the book. During his discussion on Wednesday, Iger joked that his candidness with Jobs "probably saved us probably a couple hundred-thousand dollars" on the Pixar deal.

Honesty wasn't the only quality that the two CEOs shared, however. Iger said that taking risks, something Jobs seemed to do regularly, is important for CEOs that want their companies to expand.

"If you are too focused on [risk] you don't do anything," Iger said. "You don't get anything done. CEOs of companies that need to grow and need to evolve cannot be risk-averse."

And, like Jobs, Iger feels that creativity is key. "In terms of the company, the only thing that I ever really worry about is just how really to sustain creative success."

Channel Ars Technica