Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was an American Entrepreneur, inventor designer renown, for being a founder member of the Apple computer. He was born to two students, Joanne Schieble and John Jandali, on February 24th, 1955, in San Francisco. Steve was offered for adoption to Paul and Claura Jobs since his biological parents were unmarried. His father, Paul, motivated him to try out new ideas with his electronics in his garage, instilling a passion for electronics and designing on Jobs. Jobs schooled at Reed College in Portland. Formal education was not easy for him, and his teachers had a hard time teaching him. While at the college, Jobs attended a calligraphy class that intrigued him. Jobs traveled to India in 1974 in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. With him was Daniel Kottke when he became aware of Buddhism and Eastern Spiritualism. Jobs acquired his first real work at Atari computers. While attending Homestead high school in 1971, Jobs met Wozniak. Jobs and Wozniak became friends due to their shared interest in processors and chips. Wozniak built the first Apple I computer in 1976. The apple computers created by Wozniak, Jobs, and Wayne were sold at Steve’s parents’ garage. An increase in demand for home computers led to the expansion of Apple computers. Macintosh was designed in 1984 by Steve Jobs to market the computer as a counter lifestyle. Despite the continued success of Apple, Jobs was pushed to quit due to increased tension with co-workers.
Jobs was quite abrasive, and this made him successful as a leader. He always wanted things to be done his way and would yell at anyone who did things below his expectations. Jobs did not let other peoples influence his vision. Jobs was also an innovative leader. He never was satisfied and would tirelessly try to create something better than the previous one. He believed that at no moment was one supposed to be contented because there is always a chance to get better. He thought that it is best if one stays foolish, as it implies there is still room for learning. Steve would not let failure put him down. He believed that success could only be a success if failure exists. Jobs emphasized on perfection. Anything that was below his standards would be put down and reconstructed to reach his expectations. He believed in quality rather than quantity.
At first, his leadership role was scrutinized by the likes of John Sculley, leading to his exit at Apple. His co-workers felt that he was reckless and without focus. He later reckoned that him leaving Apple was the best thing that happened in his life. When Apple Inc. was at the brink of bankruptcy, Steve Jobs was recalled to help manage the company. Jobs was much informed than before, and he managed to acquire a deal with Microsoft. He was now more of a businessman than before. Jobs knew how to mix creativity with profits and helped Apple back to its feet.
Jobs approach to leadership was quite different than that of Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates. While Gates was more of money-oriented, Jobs was all about quality and creativity. He criticized windows in 1996 for lacking life.
Jobs was in pursuit of meaning in life, hence his spiritual beliefs in Buddha. He was alleged to have been a consumer of marijuana and LSD. At the interpersonal level, Jobs wasn’t a darling to many and often rubbed them the wrong way. He is said to have pranked his teachers at a young age.
Steve Jobs is an inspiration to upcoming entrepreneurs who have failed to find their mark in the business industry. He gives hope by his encouragement of not giving up when failure hits them.