The Reputation of Steve Jobs: A Complex Legacy
Steve Jobs, the co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc., is often regarded as a visionary leader who transformed the technology industry with his innovative products. However, despite his numerous achievements, many people have expressed skepticism about his character and leadership style. This article aims to explore some of the reasons why Steve Jobs' reputation has been scrutinized, revealing a more nuanced picture of this complex figure.
A Questionable Management Style
One of the criticisms leveled against Steve Jobs was his management style, which some describe as autocratic and dismissive. According to an account, Lee Clow, a renowned advertising executive, had presented Apple with print ads for their new iMac computer, only to be met with a heated response from Jobs. Saying, "You guys don't know what you're doing," Jobs allegedly stormed off, determined to find someone else to work on the project. Clow eventually met with Jobs in person and showed him how the iMac looked in the print ads compared to the original photos, proving that they were identical. This exchange highlights a significant issue with Jobs' management style: his tendency to micromanage and belittle others.
The Dark Side of Steve Jobs
Another aspect of Steve Jobs' personality that has raised concerns is his treatment of those closest to him. His daughter, Lisa, was born out of wedlock when Jobs was just 23 years old. Despite being the father, Jobs denied paternity and refused to provide any financial support to Lisa or her mother, Chrisann Brennan. It's astonishing to consider that Jobs, who made millions from Apple at the time, allowed his daughter to live in poverty for so long without helping out. This behavior has led many to view Jobs as heartless.
The Reality of Product Development
Some critics argue that Steve Jobs was not an actual product designer but rather a figurehead who surrounded himself with talented designers and engineers to create innovative products. Brendan Smith left a comment saying, "It seems like he was just the face of the company. He didn't really design much from what I've been told." This sentiment is repeated by people who despise Jobs, claiming that he simply had ideas that he forced others to execute, while taking all the credit for himself. However, this perspective overlooks the fact that Steve Jobs knew how to foster a productive environment that allowed designers and engineers to work together to create exceptional products.
The Value of Project Management
While it is true that Apple's success cannot be attributed solely to Steve Jobs' design skills or marketing prowess, his project management abilities were instrumental in shaping the company's trajectory. Jonathan Ive, one of the most talented designers in the industry, has acknowledged that during Jobs' absence from the company in the late 80s and early 90s, the management team was not interested in giving him the resources needed to create his best work. Instead, they imposed limitations on his designs to ensure they were as cheap and easy to mass-produce as possible. This approach resulted in Apple's products being lifeless and uninspired during that period.
Jobs as a Salesperson
Another criticism leveled against Steve Jobs is that he was not an actual tech visionary but rather a skilled salesperson who knew how to market his products effectively. Chiat Day was the advertising agency responsible for promoting Apple's products during Jobs' absence from the company, and while good marketing can certainly boost sales, it is no substitute for creating exceptional products. The argument that Steve Jobs was simply a salesperson ignores the fact that his innovative products drove Apple's success in the first place.
Conclusion
Steve Jobs' legacy is complex and multifaceted, comprising both remarkable achievements and questionable behavior. While his impact on the technology industry cannot be denied, it is essential to examine the nuances of his character and leadership style. By exploring these complexities, we can gain a deeper understanding of this enigmatic figure and appreciate the value he brought to the world through his innovative products, while also acknowledging the difficulties in admiring him due to his perceived flaws.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys it’s Greg with Apple Explainedand today we’re going to discuss the verycontroversial topic of whether or not SteveJobs was overrated.Now last week I posted a poll asking yourguys’ opinion and many of you left somegreat replies in the comments that I wantto investigate in more detail in this video.And if you’re wondering how you can voteon polls like this one, just subscribe tothe channel and the polls should appear automaticallyin your mobile activity feed.Now I don’t want this video to be strictlypro- or anti-Steve Jobs, so we’re goingto spend half the video covering differentarguments from people who believe Steve Jobswas not overrated, and then explore the reasonswhy people think he he was overrated.And as you can see from the poll results,the majority of you guys thought Jobs wasnot overrated, and I think this comment fromCouchHobbit provides a good reason why.He said “This man truly thought different.The imac, iPod, ibook, MacBook, iPhone, iPad,and all revolutionized modern technology andthe dude did it all because he tried harderthan most people.”And I think that’s a very important pointto remember when reflecting on Jobs legacy.He didn’t just revolutionize one productcategory and quit.He continued to revolutionize as many industriesas he possibly could, something your typicalCEO would be lucky to achieve just once intheir career.Because if you look back at how long he actuallyserved as Apple’s CEO and tally up the numberof product categories and industries he disrupted,you begin to understand just how impressivehis performance as CEO was.He spent just 14 years as Apple’s CEO, andin that time managed to revolutionize computers,music players, music stores, mobile phones,tablets, and even animated movies during histime at PIXAR.And that’s a resume that virtually no otherentrepreneur has come close to matching.So I think people who discount Jobs achievementsare simply unaware of what exactly he accomplished,or they overlook those accomplishments andfocus instead on the negative aspects of hispersonality, which we’ll cover later inthe video.Another trait that made Jobs so unique washis ability to predict what people wantedbefore they even realized they wanted it.And that’s exactly what Emiel333 Officialbrought up when he said “Steve Jobs understoodwhat people want.”For example, if you had asked Apple II userswhat they wanted in their next computer, manywould’ve likely requested a wider varietyof command prompts in the Applesoft FloatingPoint Basic program.Because no one could have ever imagined acomputer like the Macintosh.With a graphical user interface navigatedby a pointing device called a mouse.That’s why Jobs was fundamentally opposedto focus groups, which were commonly usedby tech companies in order to gauge what featuresand capabilities their next products shouldinclude.So instead of asking customers what they wanted,Jobs invented products that he knew they couldn’trefuse, by using existing and emerging technologyin ways very few could anticipate.But he didn’t invent new and unexpectedproducts for the sake of it, he only createdproducts that were vast improvements overthe existing technology it replaced.And that’s not only why he had such a biginfluence on so many industries, but alsowhy customers would look to Apple for thenext big thing to surprise and delight them.But there’s one more important reason whymany people believe Steve Jobs deserves allthe praise and recognition he’s given.And it has to do with his leadership skills.Something Jose Hernandez mentioned, saying“One of the most important aspects of successfulbusinesses is having great leadership, peoplewith true commitment, and belief in what theydo for a living.That is what Steve Jobs brought to the table.He was the force driving apple and in hisbelief he made the world a believer in thebrand…”Because if you look at Apple’s biggest successesand their biggest failures, you’ll recognizewhat drives the company to prosperity.And it wasn’t Steve Jobs himself, but ratherthe culture he brought to the company.He believed Apple had a moral purpose forexisting beyond turning a profit.He felt Apple was the only company integratingtechnology with the liberal arts, and thatcombination is what made their products soaccessible to everyday people.And without that focus on the humanities,technology wouldn’t have played nearly asbig a role in the lives of so many people.So Jobs really felt he was changing the worldwith every product Apple created, and thisculture he established at Apple is the reasonwhy so many great people never left the company,despite its downfall and near-bankruptcy inthe 90s.In fact, Steve Jobs had this to say when describinghis return to Apple in 1997, “I had expectedthat all of the good people would have left.And I found these miraculous people…I tried to ask this as tactfully as I could,“Why are you still here?”And a lot of them had this little phrase,“Because I bleed in six colors.”Which was the old six-color Apple logo.And that was code for, “because I love whatthis place stands for.”So it’s undeniable that Jobs brought a philosophyto Apple that inspired people to do theirbest work, but it did more than that.It gave the company a moral and creative blueprintto guide Apple’s products into the future,even after Jobs death.And that’s why Apple is still creating industry-leadingproducts like the Apple Watch and AirPodsthat continue to surprise and delight us.So since we’ve discussed some reasons whySteve Jobs was not overrated, let’s hearfrom other people who believe he was.And one of those people is Aidan S. Who said,“He was an amazing visionary, yes, but hewas also stubborn, ungrateful, and mean tothe people in his circle.”I think that statement is absolutely trueand a major reason why so many people despiseJobs.Stories about his tyrannical outbursts andemotional abuse have been told and retoldso many times that they’re impossible toignore.For example, back when the Bondi Blue iMacwas about to be revealed in 1998, Jobs hada problem with the way it appeared in printedadvertisements.So he called up his good friend and ad partnerLee Clow, and let him know exactly what hethought the problem was.Saying, “You guys don't know what you'redoing.I'm going to get someone else to do the adsbecause this is f–ed up.”Clow eventually met with Jobs in person andshowed him how the iMac looked in the printads compared to the original photos, and provedthat the were in fact identical.Which meant Jobs blew up on Clow over thephone for no reason.Another, more popular story of Jobs beingheartless to those closest to him, has todo with his daughter Lisa.Who was born to Chrisann Brennan when Jobswas just 23.Jobs denied paternity of Lisa and refusedto provide any financial support to her orher mother Chrisann.And considering Jobs was making millions fromApple at the time, it definitely makes himlook like a complete jerk.Now Jobs eventually did end up giving themmoney, but the fact that he let his daughterlive in poverty for so long without helpingout is pretty appalling.And being reminded of this dark side of Jobsmakes it difficult to appreciate the positiveimpact he had in other areas.Another common reason people think Jobs isoverrated is because he doesn’t actuallymake the products himself.Brendan Smith left a comment saying, “Itseems like he was just the face of the company.He didn't really design much from what I'vebeen told.”And I’ve heard this sentiment repeated multipletimes by people who despise Jobs.They claim he simply had some ideas that heforced people beneath him to actually engineerand create, while Jobs took all the credit.And while this may sound accurate, it’sactually not how Apple works at all.Because it was Jobs who said you should surroundyourself with people who are better than youand challenge each others ideas in order tofigure out how to make the very best product.Jobs knew he wasn’t the most talented designeror engineer.But he did understand project management.He knew how to foster a productive environmentso that every designer and engineer couldwork to their full potential.And we know this to be true since Apple designerJonathan Ive said it himself.When he worked for Apple while Steve Jobswas absent in the late 80’s and early 90s,he admitted the management wasn’t interestedin giving him the resources needed to createhis best work.Rather, they gave him limitations to ensurehis designs were as cheap and easy to massproduce as possible.And that’s why Apple’s products were lifelessand uninspired during that period despitethe fact that Jonathan Ive, one of the mosttalented designers of our time, was designingthem.It might be easier to compare Jobs to a moviedirector.Because they don’t actually act, move thecamera, play the music, or edit the entiremovie themselves.But the success of the movie is almost entirelyon their shoulders since it’s their responsibilityto make sure the process of creating the movieis efficient and yields the best results possible.Now there is one other comment I want to featurethat said, “He was just a sales person.”And this idea in particular is commonly usedto dismiss Jobs accomplishments.People claim he wasn’t actually a tech visionary,he just knew how to market his products effectively.But this argument doesn’t hold up underscrutiny.Because Jobs wasn’t actually in charge ofmarketing, Chiat Day was.And Apple continued to use this ad agencythrough Job’s absence from the company.But good marketing alone wasn’t enough tosell products, that’s why Apple eventuallyalmost went bankrupt in the 90s.So in Apple’s case, it doesn’t matterhow much marketing you pump into a product.If it’s crappy, it won’t sell.But on the other hand, if you invest in greatmarketing campaigns that showcase an incrediblygreat product, it can help boost sales sincemore people are familiar with it.But being a good salesperson isn’t whatbuilds trillion dollar companies.Great products do.So I understand that people have differingopinions on whether Steve Jobs was overratedor not.But I think it’s important to differentiatehow Jobs behaved in certain situations, andwhat he managed to contribute to the worldthrough the products he made.Because I can still watch a movie and enjoyit even if the director might’ve acted likea jerk at some point the production process.It doesn’t have to be one or the other.I can feel resentfulness toward Jobs for theway he treated his daughter, while at thesame time respecting the work he producedwhile serving as CEO at Apple.So that was a quick look at some reasons whyJobs was or was not overrated, and if youwant to vote and give your own thoughts onfuture topics like this one, don’t forgetto subscribe.Thanks for watching and I’ll see you nexttime!\n"
