Oprah Winfrey – The Story of an Entrepreneur
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OPRAH – THE ENTREPRENUER contd...Analysts felt
that Jeff's business acumen also contributed greatly to Harpo's success.
Oprah and Jeff were rather an odd pair to be running a business as both had
very different management styles. According to analysts, Oprah followed a
management-by-instinct technique and took all her decisions on the basis of
her gut feelings, while Jeff believed in careful planning and execution.
While Jeff described Harpo's strategy as multipurposing the content in
various media, Oprah explained it as reaching out to a larger audience
(through different media) to help people better their lives. However, the
success of Harpo Group made it evident that the relationship worked.
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According to company sources, Jeff acted as Oprah's
strategic advisor and dealmaker. In Oprah's words, “He is a piranha and
that is a good thing for me to have.” Remembering his meeting with Jeff
and his commitment towards Oprah, Iger said, “I remember being put off
initially, but Jeff Jacobs has one thing in mind: his client. And he
serves her very well.” |
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Despite his many contributions to the company, Jeff
preferred to remain in the background, and referred to himself as a
‘behind-the-scenes guy.'Besides being the president of Harpo, he also acted
as Oprah's personal agent, making her deals and agreements. This arrangement
resulted in a saving of over 25% on Oprah's income, which would have gone in
payments to agents and managers. Commenting on the financial success of
Oprah, Jeff said “We understand it is not just how much you make but how
much you keep.”
Oprah was known for taking sudden decisions on the basis of gut-feeling.
Oprah decided to launch ‘O's first international edition (in early 2002)
when watching a documentary on Africa, which showed some women in a beauty
parlor in Nairobi reading ‘True Love'and ‘Hello'magazines. Commenting on
this, Oprah said, “I thought, ‘African women have no business sitting in a
beauty shop reading ‘Hello!'and ‘True Love.'” Soon after, she launched ‘O'in Africa!
Interestingly, Oprah's business decisions (based on her gut feelings) were
often successful. Her decision to place run the table of contents of ‘O'on
page 2 was not common business practice. Most publishers placed it in the
middle of the magazine so that readers had to go through a couple of
advertisements in search of the table of contents. This practice aimed at
benefiting advertisers, but Oprah, in her own words wanted to “put the
readers first.”
More...
OPRAH – SERVING THE PEOPLE
THE OTHER SIDE OF OPRAH?
THE SHOW GOES ON
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
EXHIBIT I AWARDS WON BY OPRAH
EXHIBIT II FAVORITE TV PERSONALITIES – RANKS
ADDITIONAL READINGS & REFERENCES
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