Businesses have also undergone a change in its overall philosophy -- not just moving toward entrepreneurial thought as a way to change their marketing paradigm, but through consumer and corporate expectations of business in a more ethical and sustainable manner. Equally, the culture and innovation of Apple is inexorably tied to Steve Jobs -- and through that he is recognized as one of the seminal pioneers of the personal computer revolution and the transformation of consumer electronics, "one industry after another, from computers and Smartphones to music and movies" (Sarno & Goffard 2011)
Combined with the I-Pod, Apple remains a global icon and technological force (Garside & Arthur 2011). In fact, with Apple guru Steve Jobs' passing, Apple and Jobs now receive almost "superstar" mythology (Schaefer 2012)
They are rarely content unless the organization is rapidly evolving, improving technologically and in the market. More than anything, the true charismatic leader moves the process -- motivates the resources -- and typically succeeds based on personal charisma backed with sound and thoughtful judgment (Shea & Howell, 1999)
reward. Steve Jobs, as both a manager and an innovator, epitomized the entrepreneurial style of the modern organization -- looking forward, taking risk, thinking on the edge, and above all looking for product ideas that were iconic and life changing (See: (Silicon Valley Historical Association 2013)
In fact, a recent survey found that 74% want to know more about the ethical stance and the nature of a company prior to purchasing from them. At the same time, 92% of FTSE 100 companies provide no metrics, benchmarks, or quantitative measurements within their annual report (Suter 2012)
" From the onset, Jobs appeared 'undisciplined' in the conventional sense, with most of those who worked with him noting that he had a rather unique and different way of doing things. It is for this reason that Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari (one of the very first companies to offer Jobs a position), described him as "difficult but valuable" (Cassidy, 2013)
In his biography, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson gives the subject of this phenomena a full chapter entitled "The Reality Distortion Field: Playing by His Own Set of Rules." (Isaacson, 117) He would lie to his coworkers, create fake deadlines, and refuse to yield to design choices of his, which caused a lot of friction in his workplace
Perfectionist is an adjective that is often applied to Steve Jobs; he looked for flaws and would rework entire products in order to achieve both the look and the feel of the product he wished for. (Japern, 1) the iPod became the most popular mp3 player in the world by far due to the fact that no company had come up with a simple way to store, download, and play music on a handheld mp3 device
Although Jobs is often described as being demanding, rude, and rough, "Mr. Jobs was not driven by his own ego or by some self-interested needs," (Henson, n
Some of Steve Jobs's biographers point out that his business acumen extended far beyond the realm of technology. Steve Jobs "helped to transform seven industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing," (Isaacson, 2012, p
Although he was tough on his employees, he did empower them by helping them to maximize their strengths rather than allowing them to rest on their laurels or accept mediocrity. Weaknesses Steve Jobs "wasn't known for his consultative or consensus building approach (McInerney, S
rise to fame and outpace competitors through the duration of his tenure. He has been called a "business genius," and is on "a very short list of greatest American businessmen ever," (Nocera, 2011, p
Strengths Using the trait approach to leadership, Jobs exhibits self-confidence, determination, and integrity. He "never doubted his products would change the world," (Northouse, 2013, p
Steve Jobs How Steve Jobs demonstrated or used coercive and legitimate power Coercive power Jobs was famously arrogant, even pulling up to Apple's front entrance and parking in a handicapped space in the famously crowded Apple parking lot, because no one dared to ticket him (Kahney 2008)
.called the Top 100" which Jobs gathered for "an intense three-day strategy session at a proverbially secure, undisclosed location" annually (Lashinsky 2008)
Whereas the rest of the tech industry may motivate employees with carrots, Jobs is known as an inveterate stick man" (Kahney 2008). Jobs was known to curse at or openly berate employees in public whom he felt were underperforming (Mui 2008)
Jobs was often celebrated for his ability to inspire his people and share his vision which led them do things that they would have never thought possible. He was often perceived as egotist, but this is not too uncommon for successful leaders (Davies, 2011)
from the verge of collapse on several junctures. Another headline that dominated many of the major media networks recently is that Apple just passed up Exxon Mobile to become the world's most valuable company (Magee, 2011)
Shortly after Jobs stepped down he passed away. Many health care professionals believe that Jobs death may have been preventable and attribute his early death to his choice of trying to treat his disease through an alternative medicine approach (Michelson, 2011)
Steve Jobs Remarkable Career There are two current events that make a discussion of Steve Jobs career an especially interesting endeavor. The first is that the co-founder and notorious Apple visionary stepped down as the company's chief executive (Zweig, 2011)