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To be honest, I'm not sure I buy the whole greatest corporate showman thing. In fact I'd even say some of the other Apple execs have a more natural presence on

by Tycho 16y ago

To be honest, I'm not sure I buy the whole greatest corporate showman thing. In fact I'd even say some of the other Apple execs have a more natural presence on stage. I thunk Jobs is successful because the product sells itself in most cases, and he doesn't (have to) bullshit you. Of course he's also involved in making the product, which is a different matter.

davidw 16y ago
I wonder what he actually does over the course of a week, hour by hour. It'd certainly be fascinating to be a fly on the wall.
- grammaton 16y ago
  I wonder this about CEOs in general.
- rms 16y ago
  Talks with people, answers email
- zachallaun 16y ago
  While not hour-by-hour in any sense, this is the only description I've ever heard of Jobs' day-to-day activities: “I have one of the best jobs in the world. I get to hang out with some of the most talented, committed people around and together we get to play in this sandbox and build these cool products. Apple is an incredibly collaborative company. You know how many committees we have at Apple? Zero. We’re structured like a start-up. We’re the biggest start-up on the planet. And we all meet once a week to discuss our business… and there’s tremendous teamwork at the top and that filters down to the other employees… and so what I do all day is meet with teams of people and work on ideas and new problems to come up with new products.” (http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100601/steve-jobs-session/ http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100601/steve-jobs-session/)
- hop 16y ago
  He is supposedly collaborating with Walter Issacson for an autobiography.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
rorymarinich 16y ago
It's interesting because I agree with you, Steve does feel a little awkward on stage, and he always has. But at the same time I think he's the best corporate showman I've ever seen. I think there are two reasons for this. First off, he's a perfectionist when it comes to timing and arrangements. Apple execs in general are pretty good at knowing what the public cares about hearing and what they'll find boring; not so with other companies, whose executives are usually hilariously awful. But even among Apple's top presenters I think that Steve's timing is particularly terrific. The bigger reason, however, is that Steve displays a really sincere love for almost all the things he shows off (and it's very obvious on the rare occasions he doesn't like what he has to say). It seems really clear that he genuinely thinks all the things he shows off are as terrific as he says they are. It's magnetic to see somebody talk about how much they love something. It's also rare to see it coming from a corporate event.
- grammaton 16y ago
  He seems like a natural born showman because of the hours upon hours of preparation that go into each presentation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jan/05/newmedia.media1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jan/05/newmedia.me...
- ugh 16y ago
  “[…] and it's very obvious on the rare occasions he doesn't like what he has to say […]” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWSRgsk2oaw#t=2m45s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWSRgsk2oaw#t=2m45s
- mikeryan 16y ago
  I think with Steve his passion for his products is worn on his sleeve when he presents in a very natural manner, this makes up for perhaps some strange foibles when he's on stage. Compare this to Zuckerberg, who tends to look a bit nervous and like he's trying to sell something a bit. (Note I'm not saying Zuckerberg isn't passionate about what he does, he is, but it tends not to show). Or Ballmer who looks like he's trying really hard to be passionate about his products.
  - 16y ago
fortepianissimo 16y ago
sincerity is his secret - he'd kill off a product if he can't truthfully sell it on stage (well except for a few cases).
ahoyhere 16y ago
Not the greatest corporate showman? Have you watched any other CEOs present their products? Even the other Apple CxOs. It's all blather blather blather buzzword awkward brow wiping bullshit bullshit equivocate buzzword blather blather adjust suit cuffs blather bullshit buzzword crash landing.
- whatusername 16y ago
  Richard Branson? He might have a crash landing - but it's normally because he's jumping out of a plane mid-launch.
- Tycho 16y ago
  Well the showman doesn't need to be the CEO. And I have seen captivating presentations especially at the E3 show, which sometimes are given by the CEOs. I think Iwata gave the one that introduced the Wii, which went phenomenally well. But my point was more about the 'showman' part than about the 'corporate' part. When Jobs takes to the stage, he's almost invariably unveiling a ridiculously cool product with revolutionary/craze potential. One that he has personally worked on. It's no surprise that he seems so personal and sincere, or that that the enthusiasm is palpable. What other companies lack is not a great showman, but this great situation of having their leader demo a brilliant invention every 6 months. That requires a) a leader and b) a brilliant product.
- jodrellblank 16y ago
  With the blackberry playbook announcement my thought was from Monkey Island - serious tablet? First you'll have to stop waving it around like a feather duster.
potatolicious 16y ago
It's a bit of both. It helps that Apple's products are cool and some of them practically sell themselves - but Jobs is able to bring a level of genuine sincerity to his presentations that few other CEOs can (despite their best efforts). IMO the big thing about Steve Jobs and showmanship is that he feels sincere. We've all seen the keynotes and launches where the CEO is trying to express his/her enthusiasm about their new product in the most contrived, artificial, cringe-worthy way possible (Ballmer is a master at this). Jobs seems immune to this - he comes off as just as excited as you are. The enthusiasm is infectious and helps the press (and in turn, the general public) get hyped up about the product.
- redthrowaway 16y ago
  Did you really have to bring up Ballmer? You're absolutely right, he's the anti-Jobs when it comes to public persona, and not in s good way. Eric Schmidt I'd say is almost a polar opposite to Jobs, but comes off well. Ballmer? Ugh.
  - potatolicious 16y ago
    I've never known Eric Schmidt to get up in front of a crowd and try to hype up a new product. I may be wrong though. If you're going to hop on stage and build buzz for your product, you better be pretty good at it. Ballmer gets brownie points for trying (most CEOs don't, and leave their marketing underlings to deliver equally boring keynotes).
  - digikata 16y ago
    Steve is passionate about product and bringing new value to the customer via great product. Ballmer is about competition. The end difference is ... well the difference between Apple and Microsoft.
  - statictype 16y ago
    I don't know - Eric Schmidt has kind of been a PR disaster for Google.
fluidcruft 16y ago
Somehow, I get a feeling of authenticity from Jobs that I don't get from many CEOs. Mostly I think it is because of his historical relationship to Apple. It's easier to believe he has a genuine personal and emotional interest in Apple and its products rather than it just being his job. I can honestly believe Apple is his calling. I think a lot of that has to do with how he returned ($1 salary, etc). I've also got a bit of an attachment to him and Woz through growing up learning about computers and programming on a series of Apple ][ machines. When we switched to Macintosh at home, I had awful experiences with the pre-iStore Macintosh affiliates and to this day I instinctively cringe at the thought of purchasing Apple products. I don't know how the younger generations see Apple. Probably they way we saw Sony. Honestly, I don't think any products Apple has made recently are as inspiring or enlightening as the Apple ][ line. The few Apple products I've used recently have always ended up being a hassle. I don't think the way MacOS X wants me to think and I hate iTunes. I bought an iPad and had to return it because we couldn't get along. Nevertheless, Apple still has a place in my heart even if its products do not and I hope Jobs is OK.
- yuhong 16y ago
  "It's easier to believe he has a genuine personal and emotional interest in Apple and its products rather than it just being his job. " Yea, I mentioned the myth that after a manager has an MBA, he or she can manage anything before.
Aqua_Geek 16y ago
In fact I'd even say some of the other Apple execs have a more natural presence on stage. I have to disagree with you. I was at WWDC '09 and the keynote (http://movies.apple.com/datapub/us/podcasts/apple_keynotes/wwdc2009.m4v http://movies.apple.com/datapub/us/podcasts/apple_keynotes/w...) was by far the worst part of the conference. I felt like a lot of the presenters of the individual sessions had a better stage presence than some of the execs.
- Tycho 16y ago
  The guy I was actually thinking of was Scott Forstall, who apparently is Vice President of iPhone Software. I don't know how far down the hierarchy that is, although he seems to appear on stage/video a lot.

by Tycho 16y ago

davidw 16y ago

I wonder what he actually does over the course of a week, hour by hour. It'd certainly be fascinating to be a fly on the wall.

grammaton 16y ago
I wonder this about CEOs in general.
rms 16y ago
Talks with people, answers email
zachallaun 16y ago
While not hour-by-hour in any sense, this is the only description I've ever heard of Jobs' day-to-day activities: “I have one of the best jobs in the world. I get to hang out with some of the most talented, committed people around and together we get to play in this sandbox and build these cool products. Apple is an incredibly collaborative company. You know how many committees we have at Apple? Zero. We’re structured like a start-up. We’re the biggest start-up on the planet. And we all meet once a week to discuss our business… and there’s tremendous teamwork at the top and that filters down to the other employees… and so what I do all day is meet with teams of people and work on ideas and new problems to come up with new products.” (http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100601/steve-jobs-session/ http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100601/steve-jobs-session/)
hop 16y ago
He is supposedly collaborating with Walter Issacson for an autobiography.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

rorymarinich 16y ago

It's interesting because I agree with you, Steve does feel a little awkward on stage, and he always has. But at the same time I think he's the best corporate showman I've ever seen. I think there are two reasons for this. First off, he's a perfectionist when it comes to timing and arrangements. Apple execs in general are pretty good at knowing what the public cares about hearing and what they'll find boring; not so with other companies, whose executives are usually hilariously awful. But even among Apple's top presenters I think that Steve's timing is particularly terrific. The bigger reason, however, is that Steve displays a really sincere love for almost all the things he shows off (and it's very obvious on the rare occasions he doesn't like what he has to say). It seems really clear that he genuinely thinks all the things he shows off are as terrific as he says they are. It's magnetic to see somebody talk about how much they love something. It's also rare to see it coming from a corporate event.

grammaton 16y ago
He seems like a natural born showman because of the hours upon hours of preparation that go into each presentation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jan/05/newmedia.media1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jan/05/newmedia.me...
ugh 16y ago
“[…] and it's very obvious on the rare occasions he doesn't like what he has to say […]” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWSRgsk2oaw#t=2m45s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWSRgsk2oaw#t=2m45s
mikeryan 16y ago
I think with Steve his passion for his products is worn on his sleeve when he presents in a very natural manner, this makes up for perhaps some strange foibles when he's on stage. Compare this to Zuckerberg, who tends to look a bit nervous and like he's trying to sell something a bit. (Note I'm not saying Zuckerberg isn't passionate about what he does, he is, but it tends not to show). Or Ballmer who looks like he's trying really hard to be passionate about his products.
- 16y ago

fortepianissimo 16y ago

sincerity is his secret - he'd kill off a product if he can't truthfully sell it on stage (well except for a few cases).

ahoyhere 16y ago

Not the greatest corporate showman? Have you watched any other CEOs present their products? Even the other Apple CxOs. It's all blather blather blather buzzword awkward brow wiping bullshit bullshit equivocate buzzword blather blather adjust suit cuffs blather bullshit buzzword crash landing.

whatusername 16y ago
Richard Branson? He might have a crash landing - but it's normally because he's jumping out of a plane mid-launch.
Tycho 16y ago
Well the showman doesn't need to be the CEO. And I have seen captivating presentations especially at the E3 show, which sometimes are given by the CEOs. I think Iwata gave the one that introduced the Wii, which went phenomenally well. But my point was more about the 'showman' part than about the 'corporate' part. When Jobs takes to the stage, he's almost invariably unveiling a ridiculously cool product with revolutionary/craze potential. One that he has personally worked on. It's no surprise that he seems so personal and sincere, or that that the enthusiasm is palpable. What other companies lack is not a great showman, but this great situation of having their leader demo a brilliant invention every 6 months. That requires a) a leader and b) a brilliant product.
jodrellblank 16y ago
With the blackberry playbook announcement my thought was from Monkey Island - serious tablet? First you'll have to stop waving it around like a feather duster.

potatolicious 16y ago

It's a bit of both. It helps that Apple's products are cool and some of them practically sell themselves - but Jobs is able to bring a level of genuine sincerity to his presentations that few other CEOs can (despite their best efforts). IMO the big thing about Steve Jobs and showmanship is that he feels sincere. We've all seen the keynotes and launches where the CEO is trying to express his/her enthusiasm about their new product in the most contrived, artificial, cringe-worthy way possible (Ballmer is a master at this). Jobs seems immune to this - he comes off as just as excited as you are. The enthusiasm is infectious and helps the press (and in turn, the general public) get hyped up about the product.

redthrowaway 16y ago
Did you really have to bring up Ballmer? You're absolutely right, he's the anti-Jobs when it comes to public persona, and not in s good way. Eric Schmidt I'd say is almost a polar opposite to Jobs, but comes off well. Ballmer? Ugh.
- potatolicious 16y ago
  I've never known Eric Schmidt to get up in front of a crowd and try to hype up a new product. I may be wrong though. If you're going to hop on stage and build buzz for your product, you better be pretty good at it. Ballmer gets brownie points for trying (most CEOs don't, and leave their marketing underlings to deliver equally boring keynotes).
- digikata 16y ago
  Steve is passionate about product and bringing new value to the customer via great product. Ballmer is about competition. The end difference is ... well the difference between Apple and Microsoft.
- statictype 16y ago
  I don't know - Eric Schmidt has kind of been a PR disaster for Google.

fluidcruft 16y ago

Somehow, I get a feeling of authenticity from Jobs that I don't get from many CEOs. Mostly I think it is because of his historical relationship to Apple. It's easier to believe he has a genuine personal and emotional interest in Apple and its products rather than it just being his job. I can honestly believe Apple is his calling. I think a lot of that has to do with how he returned ($1 salary, etc). I've also got a bit of an attachment to him and Woz through growing up learning about computers and programming on a series of Apple ][ machines. When we switched to Macintosh at home, I had awful experiences with the pre-iStore Macintosh affiliates and to this day I instinctively cringe at the thought of purchasing Apple products. I don't know how the younger generations see Apple. Probably they way we saw Sony. Honestly, I don't think any products Apple has made recently are as inspiring or enlightening as the Apple ][ line. The few Apple products I've used recently have always ended up being a hassle. I don't think the way MacOS X wants me to think and I hate iTunes. I bought an iPad and had to return it because we couldn't get along. Nevertheless, Apple still has a place in my heart even if its products do not and I hope Jobs is OK.

yuhong 16y ago
"It's easier to believe he has a genuine personal and emotional interest in Apple and its products rather than it just being his job. " Yea, I mentioned the myth that after a manager has an MBA, he or she can manage anything before.

Aqua_Geek 16y ago

In fact I'd even say some of the other Apple execs have a more natural presence on stage. I have to disagree with you. I was at WWDC '09 and the keynote (http://movies.apple.com/datapub/us/podcasts/apple_keynotes/wwdc2009.m4v http://movies.apple.com/datapub/us/podcasts/apple_keynotes/w...) was by far the worst part of the conference. I felt like a lot of the presenters of the individual sessions had a better stage presence than some of the execs.

Tycho 16y ago
The guy I was actually thinking of was Scott Forstall, who apparently is Vice President of iPhone Software. I don't know how far down the hierarchy that is, although he seems to appear on stage/video a lot.