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Woz: "I don't believe Steve [Jobs] had to be as much of a real rugged bastard, put people down and make them feel demeaned." "I don't think that was necessary

Woz: "I don't believe Steve [Jobs] had to be as much of a real rugged bastard, put people down and make them feel demeaned." "I don't think that was necessary for Apple to have great products"

zalzane 14y ago
I had no idea that delivering a great product and not being a shithead to your employees was mutually exclusive.
- atas 14y ago
  Unfortunately, some people believe so...
  - stcredzero 14y ago
    I have met such people on two separate occasions. Both of them stated that they were using such tactics. Both of them cited Steve Jobs as their inspiration for such behavior.
- tluyben2 14y ago
  Can we have a list? Delivering something 'great' should be subjective here; it means that someone sustained a profitable multi-billion company with products for many (>10) years. Not if YOU like the product. I see a lot of bastards (Gates, Ellison, Jobs); where are the nice guys? Edit: Google? I don't know if he is?
  - Apocryphon 14y ago
    Zuckerberg, too. And this isn't even limited to tech companies, but any business.
- enraged_camel 14y ago
  The fact of the matter is that if you want to deliver a great product, sometimes you do need to be a dickhead. You can see some really good examples of this if you look at other places in the industry. For instance, if it wasn't for Sinofsky's ability to trample obstacles (as in, the people who were getting in the way), we would not have Windows Vista, and subsequently, Windows 7. Being nice is good and all, but if you want to challenge the status quo in a significant way, you need to ruffle some feathers.
hcarvalhoalves 14y ago
I've watched a documentary about Jobs and, before he got fired from Apple and went to NeXT, people who lived with him said he wasn't as harsh or serious, just stubborn. Also, after that event he went on to study zen buddhism. That makes me wonder whether being fired changed his character so that he started making more conscious use of his "Yang" side. Before being fired, it seems he would just argue with directors and be at war with everybody in the company in a very immature way. Afterwards, it seems he was more harsh in the sense of demanding results and such. Given Apple was successful after his return, that probably reinforced his behavior.

Woz: "I don't believe Steve [Jobs] had to be as much of a real rugged bastard, put people down and make them feel demeaned." "I don't think that was necessary for Apple to have great products"

zalzane 14y ago

I had no idea that delivering a great product and not being a shithead to your employees was mutually exclusive.

atas 14y ago
Unfortunately, some people believe so...
- stcredzero 14y ago
  I have met such people on two separate occasions. Both of them stated that they were using such tactics. Both of them cited Steve Jobs as their inspiration for such behavior.
tluyben2 14y ago
Can we have a list? Delivering something 'great' should be subjective here; it means that someone sustained a profitable multi-billion company with products for many (>10) years. Not if YOU like the product. I see a lot of bastards (Gates, Ellison, Jobs); where are the nice guys? Edit: Google? I don't know if he is?
- Apocryphon 14y ago
  Zuckerberg, too. And this isn't even limited to tech companies, but any business.
enraged_camel 14y ago
The fact of the matter is that if you want to deliver a great product, sometimes you do need to be a dickhead. You can see some really good examples of this if you look at other places in the industry. For instance, if it wasn't for Sinofsky's ability to trample obstacles (as in, the people who were getting in the way), we would not have Windows Vista, and subsequently, Windows 7. Being nice is good and all, but if you want to challenge the status quo in a significant way, you need to ruffle some feathers.

hcarvalhoalves 14y ago

I've watched a documentary about Jobs and, before he got fired from Apple and went to NeXT, people who lived with him said he wasn't as harsh or serious, just stubborn. Also, after that event he went on to study zen buddhism. That makes me wonder whether being fired changed his character so that he started making more conscious use of his "Yang" side. Before being fired, it seems he would just argue with directors and be at war with everybody in the company in a very immature way. Afterwards, it seems he was more harsh in the sense of demanding results and such. Given Apple was successful after his return, that probably reinforced his behavior.