Steve Jobs is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the technology industry. He co-founded Apple in 1976, and became its CEO in 1997 when the company was struggling financially. During his tenure at Apple, Jobs introduced many revolutionary products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad that helped propel the company to great success.
Steve at Work
Steve Jobs was known as a workaholic and a tyrant, but he was much more than that. He firmly believed in the mantra of hard work always pays off and understood the importance of pushing his teams to their limits to achieve remarkable results. While some may have seen his drive as tyrannical, many colleagues saw it as an inspirational force that enabled him to make his vision come alive. Not only did Steve demand excellence from those around him, but he also strived for excellence himself. He worked long hours and expected the same from his team, often coming into the office early in the morning and leaving late at night – whatever it took to get the job done.
In addition to working hard, Steve was known for having passionate debates with smart people at work; arguing about ideas not just until everyone agreed with him but until everyone truly grasped what he wanted accomplished. Despite being demanding of others, he wasn’t shy about accepting or appreciating criticism or any kind of feedback from colleagues – regardless of hierarchy or department position – because he wanted to produce the best product possible. Whether you were a colleague or direct report, there is no denying that Steve pushed you to perform your very best and earned respect along the way – making him an invaluable.
Reputation
Steve Jobs had a turbulent relationship with his employees throughout his life. His notorious temper and refusal to give up meant that he was often the cause of conflict in the workplace. In a New York Times profile, it was noted that by the early 80s, Jobs had become widely hated at Apple, due to his fiery temper tantrums and increasing petulance. His management style was certainly not subtle; he delegated power by favouring certain high-achieving employees, while openly insulting or embarrassings others – so much so, it often toyed with their emotions to the brink of tears. With such a lack of effective leadership strategy, negative sentiment was inevitable and reverberated through the company walls like an unstoppable wave crashing on the shoreline.
Although Jobs’ leadership approach caused resentment among many of those who worked beneath him during this period, “the only way to keep pushing forward”, as he once said, was ultimately what led him to success for both himself and for Apple. Whilst difficulty arose from time-to-time in office environment due to his attitude and conduct within managerial proceedings, nothing could take away from Steve Job’s indisputable revolutionary mark on modern computing and consumer technology alike.
Steve Jobs’ position at Apple?
When Steve Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976, he brought a wealth of creativity and ambition, but lacked the engineering experience and business training most tech entrepreneurs relied upon. In 1983, he helped secure a more experienced CEO for the business: John Sculley of PepsiCo. Ironically, it was Sculley who charged Jobs out of his own company two years later. This experience drove Jobs to reinvent himself, prioritize his core principles and beliefs over traditional conventions of management, and establish Apple as one of the leading tech giants in history.
Steve Jobs led Apple with an acute focus on product design, defined by simplicity and elegance in everything from hardware to software. His ability to think out of the box through attending minimalistic product design conferences took their Macintosh products to new heights. His “Think Different” campaign changed the way companies marketed their products and popularized those now iconic words with revolutionary impact after launching iMacs and iPads. His innovation drove Apple’s success quickly propelling it forward into places other Silicon Valley start-ups couldn’t have dreamt of before him.
He’s the top spokesperson globally
Steve Jobs was without a doubt one of the best spokespeople in the world. His magnetic charisma and incredible showmanship allowed him to capture the attention of an audience like few could ever hope to do. Everything about his approach to public speaking instilled confidence into his audience that whatever he had to say was important and worthy listening too. Every Apple event hosted by Steve Jobs was a masterful display of passion, gravitas and precision that had attendees captivated for the full duration.
Although in many cases Steve’s apparent spontaneity during public events identified him as “being one with the curve”, the reality is that he worked diligently behind-the-scenes to painstakingly perfect every detail before eventually presenting at each event. This usual entailed multiple rehearsals usually lasting up to several hours per session. Such was Steve Jobs’ reputation as an excellent spokesman; his name alone inspired anticipation and excitement whenever Apple held any kind of press conferences or major media events.
Product Design
The legendary Steve Jobs had a very hands-on approach to product design. He was involved in every aspect of the process and often personally oversaw the hardware and software design teams, giving his input into their prototypes. As part of this philosophy, product review sessions took up most of Jobs’s daily schedule. Although he was known for his bold ideas, Jobs also had an amazing gift at making decisions swiftly and decisively without any clear rationale – yet they always seemed to be exactly the right choice.
His colleagues comment that it was this sharp intuition that led not only to Apple’s line of outstanding products over the years, but also won him the title of tech visionary amongst his peers. This level of involvement in product design is still admired today as a gold standard in the industry. It certainly contributed greatly to Apple’s success and remains an impressive legacy from Jobs himself.
Empowering His Staff and Leading by Example
At the same time, Steve Jobs was incredibly good at empowering his staff to come up with new ideas. He was aware that his own innovations could only take him so far, and that having a collaborative environment enabled even greater achievements. He did this by creating an environment where employees were encouraged to express their honest opinions and suggestions, as well as introducing workplace perks such as free food and breaking down organizational hierarchies. This allowed everyone to work together in a way they hadn’t been able to previously.
In many ways, Jobs personified the idea of leading by example. Whether it be working hard himself or taking the time to listen and learn from those around him, he always exemplified the kind of approach he wanted others to take when it came to innovation within Apple. Such an approach is no easy task but Jobs managed to find balance between empowering his staff whilst setting a positive example of what can be achieved through dedication, creative thinking and collaboration. In effect, he created an efficient workplace where everyone felt heard and understood – something that would eventually become one of Apple’s great successes.