James Green, CEO of Magnetic: "It was never, ever, a good sign when Steve dropped by and said 'Hi James, let's go for a walk.' ”
I worked for Steve Jobs at Pixar Animation Studios in 1997 and '98 before he sold Pixar to Disney. I don't have many heroes in my life, but Steve was (and still is) one of them. Meeting him and having him ask me to work for him were dreams come true.
John Lasseter, the director of the early Pixar movies (he now runs Disney animation) recommended me for the position. My first interview was actually at Steve’s house. You can probably imagine the giddy feeling I had as I walked up to the front door, rang the bell, and waited for him to greet me. This was the first time I'd talked to Steve or seen him in person. We began to talk about my past experience, and Steve explained that this role was to be a liaison between Disney and the producers at Pixar. In one of the most surreal moments of my life, I actually said "no" to Steve Jobs. Although I'd love to work at Pixar, I explained, having "middle people" doesn't work, as it’s better to just put everyone in touch directly. Although I declined the initial role, Steve ultimately offered me a job running new business development and marketing.
Pixar is an awesome place to work. My title was "International Man of Marketing." As soon as I started, I began learning, absorbing, and doing as much as I humanly could. Turns out, when you worked for him, Steve Jobs was almost impossible to say no to. If you had an idea that he disagreed with, Steve would respond with persuasive arguments about why you were wrong, enumerating them for you immediately. "James, here's seven reasons why you are wrong.” At the time, this was very intimidating because even if you know you're right, it's almost impossible to stand up to his relentless intellect. If he felt it was going to be a particularly difficult conversation, he'd take me out for a walk. It was never, ever, a good sign when Steve dropped by and said "Hi James, let's go for a walk.”
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