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> you think different as Steve Jobs might say That is exactly the problem. They cargo cult Steve Jobs' personality, fashion or some other aspect, but they don'

• quacked 6y ago
  I don't admire Steve Jobs's personality, but I find myself talking about him all the time, for two reasons: 1) Steve Jobs had a vision for the appearance, function, and marketability of his products, and enforced his tyrannical will on his team until that vision was met, or at least it was impossible to enforce any more. The fact that his vision changed along the way or that he was inconsistent at times isn't as important as the fact that he was a central authority that was allowed to keep the resultant products consistent and stable. People who try to behave like Steve Jobs rarely have the level of vision that he did, and mimic his behavior rather than his principles. 2) Everything the teams under Steve Jobs produced has been cargo-cult mimicked ad nauseam by people today, to the point where every modern software looks like someone tried to redesign Apple software from memory. Unfortunately, it all sucks (compare Jira to Windows 95 Email in terms of form and its relation to function).
  • dehrmann 6y ago
    I hadn't realized this, but one of the reasons I don't have much respect for Elon Musk is he sells himself like he's Steve Jobs, and he has the asshole thing going, but he doesn't have the focus, obsession with detail, and micro-executes, not micro-manages.
    • quacked 6y ago
      I don't get the sense the EM sells himself as SJ, but some of he people I know that have worked a few levels under him definitely don't have the same kind of awed respect SJ's acolytes did, although they respected him a great deal.
  • drummojg 6y ago
    I was thinking "cargo cult" reading your first point, and was quite happy to see it mentioned in the second.
    • quacked 6y ago
      I think it's one of the most important concepts ever noted down. It's applicable to every learned behavior. Are you mimicking behavior, or are you understanding principles?
  • xyzzy123 6y ago
    I think (1) works best when your vision is coherent and consistent. People familiar with it should be able to explain it well themselves, and predict with some reliability whether a given product or experience will meet expectations. In this case, the vision is unifying and improves your ability to execute. If the vision is not coherent or consistent then you lose the ability to execute without micro-management. Staff will be unhappy because they feel subject to the whims of an unpredictable dictator. You can have both experiences in the same company if there are some people who "get it" and other people who don't.
    • quacked 6y ago
      I couldn't agree more. Coherent vision at every possible level of the company will add more value than "hard work" or a dictatorial fanatic at the helm ever could.
• okareaman 6y ago
  That was true of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos for sure
• eplanit 6y ago
  Yes, and those companies become living spinoffs of HBO's Silicon Valley.
• smsm42 6y ago
  That's not only with Jobs. There are some brilliant people who are assholes - and many brilliant people that aren't. But the assholes get the headlines. So people decide "I want to be brilliant, why don't I start with being an asshole? Seems like the easiest way..."
• DonHopkins 6y ago
  Classic example of Steve Jobs Emulation Syndrome: Bill Nguyen and Color Labs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nguyen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nguyen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Labs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Labs https://collapsed.co/startups/color-labs https://collapsed.co/startups/color-labs https://www.fastcompany.com/1784823/bill-nguyen-the-boy-in-the-bubble https://www.fastcompany.com/1784823/bill-nguyen-the-boy-in-t... https://www.fastcompany.com/1742613/how-colors-bill-nguyen-was-influenced-steve-jobs-and-plans-one-groupon https://www.fastcompany.com/1742613/how-colors-bill-nguyen-w...