4 ms·

These stories about Jobs often describe him as an oracle. He clearly helped produced uniquely excellent products (just by virtue of their success), but was he e

• kovek 8y ago
  I think it's important what one believes in and what one pushes towards. Sometimes, I don't care who came up with an idea, I care who pushed it forward because they thought it was worth it and they believed in that idea.
• TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
  He copied, refined, and simplified, with a rare sense of taste that was often missing in the original projects. (E.g. Xerox Star vs Mac. The Star was a much better computer, the Mac was a much better consumer product.) He was also an abusive narcissist. The narcissistic drive to be visibly superior to other people was a core motivation for him. Someone less driven - or possibly damaged - wouldn't have been nearly as passionate about the end result. It's an open question if it's possible to do insanely great work without any dysfunction at all. Narcissistic abuse and management-as-ego-boost is such a common thing in US (and US influenced) business culture that it's almost impossible to imagine a corporate culture with no trace of it. I have a suspicion that a more easy-going culture would be better in some ways, especially with humane long-term strategy, but might lack some colour. It would be good to find out one day if the trade-off is acceptable. (It might well be, depending on your strategy horizon.)