The Second Coming of Steve Jobs - Alan Deutschman [94]
Steve found himself standing in front of Microsoft’s headquarters in the suburbs of Seattle. At his side was his old friend Heidi Roizen, whom Gil had appointed as Apple’s liaison to its software developers.
They both wore stick-on security name tags that identified them as visitors.
“It’s strange,” she said. “Ten years ago who would have thought that we’d be together wearing Apple badges?”
As the meeting began, Bill Gates seemed unfocused, as though he had more important matters to think about and this was merely an unwanted distraction.
Steve was charming and hypnotic.
“Bill, between us, we own one hundred percent of the desktop,” Steve said, meaning that Microsoft and Apple together controlled the market for PC operating-system software.
Bill shook his head in amazement. Steve’s tone made it sound as though Bill had 50 percent and Steve had 50 percent and combined that made 100 percent. The reality was that Bill had 97 percent and Steve had only 3 percent. Bill was the one who controlled the industry by himself. But Steve could stare at him and talk as though they were equals! The absolutely incredible chutzpah!
Steve said that he wanted Microsoft to start writing programs that would work together with Rhapsody, the upcoming fusion of Next’s software with Apple’s.
“Steve, I really don’t think it’s good policy for Microsoft to bet on products that aren’t there yet,” Bill said.
“You made a bet on me before and it turned out well,” Steve quickly shot back.
After the meeting, Bill talked privately with Heidi, who was his old friend. Bill was in awe of Steve’s magnetism and the effect that it had even on him.
“This guy is so amazing,” Bill said. “He’s a master at selling.”
• • •
WITHIN WEEKS, Steve began executing what clearly had been his plan all along: he shrewdly manipulated the media in an attempt to discredit Gil Amelio and to promote himself as Apple’s would-be savior. He turned to his most loyal and reliable supporter in the press, Fortune’s Silicon Valley correspondent, Brent Schlender. Brent was known for his coziness with techno-moguls like Bill Gates, Andy Grove, Scott McNealy, and especially Steve. The moguls gave him an insider’s access, and he almost always responded by serving as their advocate and unofficial mouthpiece. To some, it seemed to be a slightly unsavory relationship, but business journalism was a highly competitive field, and Fortune needed the techno-titans on its cover the way that People needed Princess Diana.
In late February, Brent published a long article titled “Something’s Rotten in Cupertino.” He wrote that Gil’s inexperience in the personal computer business helped explain “why the company’s products and marketing efforts still seem so chaotic.” He faulted Gil for “dithering” and for making “vague public pronouncements.” He asserted that Steve had a plan that could turn around Apple, that Steve was seriously considering a takeover, and that Steve’s billionaire friend Larry Ellison would help him raise the money.
Steve himself couldn’t have written a more eloquent manifesto for a coup.
• • •
IN MARCH the Jobs family went to the big island of Hawaii for a week of vacation at Kona Village, where the guest rooms were huts with no phones or televisions. The resort was favored by couples who wanted to lay idly on the beach while their children were taken away for the whole day and kept busy with hikes and contests. Laurene looked beautiful in a bathing suit with a sarong draped around her long legs. Steve had just turned forty-two, and when he exchanged his black shirt for bathing trunks he showed a bit of a middle-aged bulge. He was no longer a heartthrob to teenage girls. His hair was thinning, he was starting to go bald on top, and he wore glasses, but he was still a handsome man.
The other vacationers were very social, engaging each other in long chats and exchanging copies of novels. Steve and Laurene kept to themselves, though they ran into