Steve Jobs; By: Patrick Perret
The image above is that of a typical Apple retail store. Apple stores have become commonplace in most cities and malls across the world. The first opened in 2001, when electronic stores of that sort were generally unheard of. It is simply another example of how incredible of a visionary Jobs was, and how he was able to make his brand as accessible and well-noticed as possible.
Quote: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
This quote is something that really stuck to me. Steve Jobs is arguably the greatest innovator of our generation, and one of the greatest leaders as well. He was full of ides, knew how to put them into effect, and knew how to make others help him. Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower, and it chose him to be the leader of this generation.
Steve Jobs, through his vision and leadership, has changed the world in the age of technology more than any of his predecessors. Jobs had a knack for being able to visualize the next big thing, and the leadership ability to have his employees put the vision into a marketable product. Though he started from nothing, his hard work and charisma helped him take Apple Computers from his garage to one of the largest corporations on the planet. From products like the iPod to the Macintosh Computer, Jobs has revolutionized the digital world we live in today.
Early Life:
Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 to Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali and placed up for adoption. He was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs after another family chose to adopt a girl instead. While enrolled at Homestead High School in 1971, Jobs was introduced to his future business partner Steve Wozniak. Jobs would later attend Reed College for 6 months before dropping out. He continued as a drop in for the next 18 months taking a variety of creative classes. For the next few years Steve held a job at Atari, and took a spiritual trip to India. When he returned in 1976, he started Apple Computers with Wozniak at the age of 21.
The Apple I:
The Apple I was the first product ever made at Apple Computers. It was built by Steve Wozniak and financed through the sale of his calculator and Jobs’ car. This was an extremely significant accomplishment for Jobs and Apple Computers as a whole. The product put Apple on the map as they made a deal with the computer store “Byte Shop” to sell 50 computers at $500 a piece. The product was very raw, as customers still had to purchase other components such as a monitor along with the Apple 1. Despite this though, the product flew off the shelves and orders for more quickly came in. After this initial success, Jobs had gotten the publicity and funds to be able to move forward with other ideas.
“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” -Steve Jobs
Creation of NeXT:
For me, the creation and success of NeXT was Steve Jobs single greatest accomplishment. It isn’t because the product was better than any other or because it made the most money, but because of the circumstances surrounding it’s creation. Jobs started the company in 1985, right after he was forced out of Apple. Jobs was heartbroken after being removed from his own company, but also continued to own the company and make lots of money. When put in this situation, most men would simply live a relaxed life and collect paychecks. Jobs attempting to start a new company proved how motivated he was, and the success of the company proved how incredible of a visionary and leader he was as well. NeXT started off developing small workstations for the education and business markets. In 1986 though, Jobs changed the business plan and the company began developing hardware and software. After almost a decade of success, Apple announced its intention to acquire the company. In 1996, the initial investors in NeXT were paid a total of $429 million and Jobs received 1.5 million shares in Apple stock, in addition to returning to Apple and eventually becoming CEO. Apple integrated NeXT software into their computers to replace their outdated operating systems. The success of NeXT proves that Jobs didn’t just get lucky with Apples success. He was able to start from scratch a decade later and build a new company to rival his last.
The iPod:
The iPod, along with the iTunes Store, may have changed the lives of more people than any other invention Jobs had. It completely changed the way people listen to and share their music. The first iPod was released in October 2001. Jobs came up with the idea of the iPod when he witnessed the growth of personal digital devices. Digital cameras and cell phones were huge, but Jobs found current MP3 players and walkmans to be far too encumbering. Along with a special team of Apple employees, Jobs created the original iPod, and two years later the iTunes Store. This was a high advancement, because the iTunes Store made loading music much easier. Most people already had iPods so the transition was perfect for Apple. The iTunes Store launched in 2003 and has been the largest music vendor since 2008 with the competition left in the dust. This is a huge accomplishment for both Jobs and Apple, and for a long time, the product the company was most known for. Jobs was not only able to change the way we listen to music, but the way we store and share it as well. The iPod demonstrates Jobs’ incredible vision as well as any product he has ever made. He simply saw a flaw in the way things were done, and thought of a better way to do it. What seperates him from the rest though, is that after dreaming up the idea, Jobs was able to make it happen. It is for this reason that Steve Jobs was one of the greatest leaders leaders of modern America, and a billionaire.
A Controversial Leader:
Jobs leadership style and tactics are considered by many to be his biggest flaw. He was a very laissez-faire leader. He believed in hiring extremely qualified and motivated people, and giving them a lot of free reign. However, Jobs could also be an extremely strict leader at times. He was notorious for firing people for the smallest of reasons. He had a vision of how he wanted things to be done, and if they weren’t done in a way that met his standards, he didn’t hesitate to make it known. Jobs would meet people in the elevator and ask them “What are you working on right now?” In multiple cases, if the answer wasn’t sufficient, the employee would be fired on the spot. While this type of hard leadership was certainly a flaw at time, the success he had from it cannot be denied. Jobs was a bit of an elitist, and only wanted the best, brightest, and most inspired people working for him. In an industry where technology ruled everything, Steve Jobs was big on face to face interaction. He loved spur-of-the-moment meetings with his colleagues just to brainstorm new ideas, and he even had his Apple building constructed in a way that forced employees to walk past each other and force them to discuss new ideas with each other. Another negative about Jobs as a leader is that he was overly concerned with the bottom line. In many cases, he would screw over employees just to make the bottom line look better, as evident in the quote below.
“When Steve had to make cutbacks at Pixar, he fired people and didn’t give any severance pay.” -Dylan Love
About the Author:
James Patrick Perret was born November 27, 1995 in Alexandira, VA to Perry and Michelle Perret. He grew up in Adamstown, MD and graduated from Tuscarora High School in the class of 2014. He is currently enrolled at Wagner College as a freshman. A political science major, Patrick is also a member of the lacrosse team. He has a younger sister, Kristen (16) and brother, Nicholas (13).
Bibliography:
Heracleous, Loizos. “Charismatic Leadership and Rhetorical Competence: An Analysis of Steve Jobs Rhetoric.” Group and Organization Management 392 (2014).
Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
Jobs, Steve, and George W. Beahm. I, Steve Steve Jobs, in His Own Words. Chicago, Ill.: B2 Books, 2011.
Sharma, Abz. “Narratice, Drama, and Charismatic Leadership: The Case of Steve Jobs.” Leadership 7 (2011): 3-26.
