steve jobs essay conclusion

Steve Jobs: The Life and Times of the Great Entrepreneur Essay (Biography)

Introduction.

The phrase “a failure is a man who blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience” by Elbert Hubbard lingers in many minds as far as finding its implication is concerned. Just like many other quotes associated with Hubbard, it remains immortal due to its relevance over time, beyond many generations in the past and even in the future. This quote in particular, has become synonymous with lives of people.

The essence of the above phrase lies on the fact that a failure is not a failure until one learns from it to avoid failure in the future. It, therefore, implies that we should learn from our mistakes and strive to look at past inefficiencies so that we are able to mitigate any repeat in the future. The author acknowledges that it is in human nature to ‘fall’ but be caution, to learn from the past mistakes and to benefit in building a formidable future as a result of the experience gained from the past.

In this regard, this essay seeks to link between the phrase by this great American philosopher and the life and times of the great entrepreneur, Steve Jobs. Spector (1985) interrogates the inadequacies that Jobs faced in his life and how he took them positively trying to improve his lifestyle and his commitment towards making a positive contribution to the society. (Stross, 1993)

Throughout his life he was able to face hurdles which were some kind of a stepping stone towards success, manifested through the empire and legacy that he built with the aim of improving the life standard of this generation and the generations to come. The adoption of the above phrase enabled Steve Jobs to be immortal even with his passing on.

Steve Jobs was born in an ordinary family and led an ordinary life, nonetheless, he managed to climb the ladder of life by doing ordinary things in an ordinary way. In such a simple way he became one of the most celebrated people of all times in the electronics field. (Young, 1988)

He lived with his parents (adopted) and was frequently engaged in working on electronics with his father who taught him determination and resilience, requisite virtues for success. He practiced diligence and innovative approach in his work as far as creativity was concerned. His elementary school life was not flowery as he had difficulty to communicate with his peers and occasionally had to bribed his elementary school teacher because of his studying (Butcher,1987).

In spite the challenges Steve Jobs encountered in elementary school, he was able to forge ahead not loosing focus in life and not giving up his interests. The quote by Hubbard applied in his life to the latter. His life in high school entailed spending free time at computer related work.

He would go to Hewlett-Packard, where he encountered a valuable friendship with Steve Wozniak, a computer wizard. They blended well and had mutual friendship that was close to admiration. Time after high school was full of intrigues as he dropped from Reed College after attending for only half a year.

The rest of the year he inconsistently attended creative lessons only to find something interesting in typography. Determination was a virtue he would not have identified both his interests and his talent with. He did not look at the challenges he was facing at school but fought hard for a place in life. Being in constant search for spiritual fulfillment, he visited India where he used psychedelic drugs and later rejoined his friend Wozniak to cofound what is today a brand name Apple (Alison, 1996).

They started it on a humble background by selling Jobs’ vehicle (Volkswagen bus), while a friend of his patted with his calculator. Challenges and hardships they experienced couldn’t stop their desire to succeed in life. In spite of the turbulent tides, they fought and did their best to remain focused building a worldwide venture. Notwithstanding his unique school life, Jobs offered a complementary hand to his friend and they became business partners.

The two friends, Wozniak and Jobs, introduced a new edge to the computer world by diverging a new approach in the industry. They used a different technological approach that was focused on production of relatively smaller components that were affordable and competitive in the market (Levy, 1994). Their models were easy to use in comparison with the products the market offered at that moment. There initial model was Apple1.

It made a fortune and brought a lot of rewards. Within three-year-time they were working harder to introduce another product Apple11. Their income increased by over seven hundred percent. Within one decade of their existence in the market, they had made a brand name that was the best in the world of computers.

The phrase, “a failure is a man who blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience” by Hubbard is applicable here. They have used their chance and improved the first Apple model rather than neglected it. In a spun of three years they had used their previous experience to make Apple11. This enabled Steve Jobs and his colleague to bank seven hundred folds much.

Apple as a company had misdoings especially on the subsequent models. That resulted in reducing sale rates of the product. Some of them were even recalled due to the consumer complaints. Other brands like IBM gave them a run for their money. In middle 80s they introduced the Macintosh approach that did little to edge out IBM, a key competitor, from the market. Then the board developed squabbles with Steve Jobs forcing his resignation in the year 1985.

Just like our guiding quote has it, he did not tire, he started another firm by the name NeXT, Inc instead. That followed with acquisition of an Imation company with a subsequent great deal of resilience and determination putting forth focus to excel (Wozniak, Jobs, 2006). He renamed it Pixar Studios.

Steve Jobs did not major on the challenges that had become of his former work place. He came back and managed to make a formidable force to reckon with the animation world. His new venture was successful but could not permeate the American market forcing it to merge with Apple where Steve Jobs got back his leadership role (CEO) back (Duncan, 2004).

Banking on lessons of the past failures, Steve Jobs reinvented Apple by use of innovative ways bringing some changes to the management. They were able to meet the customer demands by working different models that came with a stylish touch. Today Apple is a brand name that has cut a niche in the American market and the world at large.

This has seen its competitors struggling to match its revolutionary products that are hard to match especially due to customer loyalty (Bently, 2011). They have created i-Phones that cannot be matched in the market, this is not to forget the i-Pods and programs like i-Tunes that is amongst the leading American music gadgets. The success attributed to the Founder and CEO, Steve Jobs has made the company earn an accolade as the most respected company in the world.

This is fundamental because of the shape focus that Steve Jobs managed to put not being discouraged by past failures but forging on with an attempt geared towards improving those failures so that success was reached. The company became so successful to the point of having no debt liability, something not very easy to attain in the business world. (Linzmayer, 2004)

Steve Jobs’ personal life is also a manifestation of improvement of the past mistakes. Starting with his days at the elementary school where he had difficulties coping with the school system to the extent of taking bribes so as to read. (O’Grady, 2008) That reflected on the challenges he experienced.

And looking at his days at high school, it’s seen that his weakness in following school curriculum was evident. (Harper, 2011) He struggled to remain successful in the school setup and he struggled to be successful in life. His health life especially on his last days depicts him as a person who did not want to face reality because he postponed a surgery to remove cancer. He instead opted for other types of medication. He later accepted to undergo the surgery and that was another success. (Simon, 2005)

It is self evident that the quote, “a failure is a man who blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience” is relevant and applicable in analysis of the life and times of Steve Jobs. His path was a life of ups and downs and he did very little to make history and touch the lives of many people.

He was born and adopted, the fact he learned when he was 27 years old. He became positive in life and lived peacefully and happily with his foster parents. He went to school and had some challenges in schooling starting with elementary level where he had problems coping with curriculum and making friends.

This followed high school years where he frequently dropped on and off from school until such a time that he identified an area, typography, his interests were concentrated at. In starting the Apple Company, he encountered financial challenges that made him sell his valuable vehicle. To him attaining his dream overshadowed all other challenges. This was followed with being locked out of Apple as the CEO (Bilton, 2011).

He did not take the challenges negatively, instead of that he went and built another company that excelled in all respects to an extent of merging with the Disney and later becoming the greatest share holder. (Bob, 2007) His successful venture enabled him return to Apple and continue being the CEO on a position he held until his demise. Truly his path was a life well lived, he rectified his mistakes to improve his future life.

Alison, M. 1996. Building a Bulging War chest, The New York Times . 26August 2011

Bently, P. 2011. Steve Job’s biological mother doesn’t know he is dead. London daily

Bilton, N., 2011.Apple is the most valuable company. New York times .9 August 2011

Bob, E, 2007.Appeal court says Jobs can’t raze Woodside mansion. San Francisco Chronicles10 January 2007. Retrieved

Butcher, L, 1987. Accidental Millionaire : The rise and fall of Steve Jobs at Apple . Paragon House.

Duncan, C , 2004. The guardian profile: Steve Jobs. The Guardian (UK). 31 March2006

Harper, C, Q 2011.Steve jobs: a relentless rise in graphs and charts

Levy, S., 1994. Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything. Penguin Books .

Linzmayer, O, W., 2004. Apple Confidential 2.0: The Definitive History of the World’s Most Colorful Company. No Starch Press. ISBN 1-59327-01

O’Grady, J. (2008). Apple Inc. Greenwood Press.

Simon, W, L, Young, J, S, 2005. Icon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business . John Wiley & Sons

Spector, G, 1985. Apple’s Jobs Starts New firm, PC week.p p.109

Stross, R. E. (1993). Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-1213-0 pp. 117, 120, 246.

Wozniak, Steve (2006). IWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I invented the personal computer, co-founded Apple and had fun doing it . W. W. Norton & Co.

Young, J, S., 1988. Steve Jobs: the Journey is the Reward . Scott, Foresman & Co

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The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs

• Walter Isaacson

Reprint: R1204F

The author, whose biography of Steve Jobs was an instant best seller after the Apple CEO’s death in October 2011, sets out here to correct what he perceives as an undue fixation by many commentators on the rough edges of Jobs’s personality. That personality was integral to his way of doing business, Isaacson writes, but the real lessons from Steve Jobs come from what he actually accomplished. He built the world’s most valuable company, and along the way he helped to transform a number of industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing.

In this essay Isaacson describes the 14 imperatives behind Jobs’s approach: focus; simplify; take responsibility end to end; when behind, leapfrog; put products before profits; don’t be a slave to focus groups; bend reality; impute; push for perfection; know both the big picture and the details; tolerate only “A” players; engage face-to-face; combine the humanities with the sciences; and “stay hungry, stay foolish.”

Six months after Jobs’s death, the author of his best-selling biography identifies the practices that every CEO can try to emulate.

His saga is the entrepreneurial creation myth writ large: Steve Jobs cofounded Apple in his parents’ garage in 1976, was ousted in 1985, returned to rescue it from near bankruptcy in 1997, and by the time he died, in October 2011, had built it into the world’s most valuable company. Along the way he helped to transform seven industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing. He thus belongs in the pantheon of America’s great innovators, along with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney. None of these men was a saint, but long after their personalities are forgotten, history will remember how they applied imagination to technology and business.

• WI Walter Isaacson, the CEO of the Aspen Institute, is the author of Steve Jobs and of biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein.

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Steve Jobs, Essay Example

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Among all business leaders in recent times, Steve Jobs is arguably the best example of the fact that perseverance commands success. Steve Jobs was considered a difficult boss at Apple before he was ousted but when he returned, there was little change in his leadership style. This demonstrates that Jobs always remained true to himself whether others approved of his leadership style or not. Jobs might not have been a likeable person on a personal level but he was authentic.

Even though we often hear about the virtues of democratic leadership style as it motivates employees and improves communication between leaders and subordinates, Jobs ruled in an autocratic manner. No wonder, Fortune magazine called him one of the leading egomaniacs in the Silicon Valley (Williams, 2012). When Jobs started his second term at Apple, he was not happy with one of the shipping company. He asked them to be faster with delivery but they refused since their service was already in accordance with the agreed upon terms. He directed his manager to break the contract despite manager’s objection that it would lead to costly lawsuit which did happen eventually (Austen, 2012). Author Andrew Keen wrote in his book The Cult of the Amateur that there is not an ounce of democracy at Apple and without Jobs’ authoritarian leadership, Apple would be just another Silicon Valley outfit (Chaudhuri, 2012). Jobs would be involved in all the details and hired like-minded people (Branson, 2011). But he still drew admiration because he personally demonstrated what he said. He didn’t only preach innovation but practiced it himself.

Steve Jobs also subscribed to Herzberg’s ‘Theory X’ according to which workers are lazy and need guidance. This should not imply that Apple’s employees were lazy and incapable but only that Jobs’ approach reflected his pursuit for perfection. Jobs often reiterated that Apple’s mission was to build the best products in the industries it competes in. This is he micromanaged his employees and no product left the company’s door without his approval.

Steve Jobs was also a transformational leader. When he re-joined the company, Apple was waiting to join the list of extinct companies (Chakrabortty, 2011). Jobs didn’t only save the company but also made it into one of the most admired companies, with a loyal customer base that most other companies only dream of. Jobs’ subordinates believed in him because they knew he was passionate about the company and the products it delivered to the market. They also witnessed Jobs’ obsession with quality and, thus, became motivated themselves to deliver the best products to consumers.

Steve Jobs was not afraid to think outside the box and he encouraged his subordinates to do the same. In fact, the company’s original motto was “Think Different”. Steve Jobs was not only transformational but also visionary. Effective leaders scan the external environment to look for emerging trends but Jobs told the consumers what the trends should be (Verganti, 2011). He singlehandedly redefined several industries including smart phones, portable music players, and tablet computing.

Steve Jobs might not have been great at human relationships but he did believe in his people and pushed them to do their best. An effective leader understands that people are one of the company’s best assets and he invests in them. Despite Jobs’ cold treatment of his subordinates, one would rarely read about Apple’s best employees leaving the company which is a proof of the fact that Jobs’ subordinates also believed in their leader and admired his pursuit of perfection.

Jobs was also a successful leader because he understood the strengths of his company and focused on few things Apple could do really well instead of trying to be everything. Jobs knew that the reputation of the company is built on ‘innovation’ and ‘quality’ and Apple can only defend its reputation by doing few things doing them really well. On annual retreats, Jobs would ask his subordinates to recommend ten products and would eventually shortlist them to only three. When Google’s new CEO Larry Page visited Jobs, Jobs advised him to focus on only five products Google could do really well and get rid of the rest (Isaacson, 2012). This also teaches us that Jobs didn’t overestimate his own or Apple’s capabilities and focused on utilizing limited resources efficiently.

One of the most important qualities of an effective leader is to provide direction to their employees and ensure everyone is working towards the same objectives. Every employee at Apple knew where Jobs was taking the company and they also knew what Jobs expected from them. Apple’s employees were also willing to trust Jobs’ judgments and vision because he had proven himself right time and time again. Jobs didn’t only held legitimate power that came from being the company’s CEO but also expert power over his subordinates.

Steve Jobs might not have the most friendly communication style but his direct communication style did prevent miscommunication. Jobs was known to be blunt and straight forward and he himself admitted, “If something sucks, I tell people to their face, It’s my job to be honest.” (Pullen, 2012). Jobs got away with his abrasive communication style because he commanded respect and admiration from his followers but he did demonstrate the importance of clear communication so that there are no misunderstandings and subordinates know exactly what their leaders expect from them.

Another reason why Jobs was a successful leader is that employees at Apple were given roles that made the best use of their specific strengths and abilities. Thus, there was a good fit between their responsibilities and capabilities. In addition, Apple hired people who were a good fit to the organizational culture. As a result, the employee turnover was low because the new recruits also believed in the company’s mission (McInerney, 2011).

Steve Jobs has cemented his place as one of the most inspirational leaders of all times but that doesn’t mean his leadership style can be successfully adopted by anyone.  This is because Job’s leadership style was situational. When he returned to the company, it had no vision and proper strategy in place and everyone had given up on the company. Jobs not only provided everyone with a vision but also won their loyalty and admiration through passion for the company and its products as well as by delivering results. This is why his ordinates even kept up with his cold temper because they shared his vision and they trusted him (Henson, 2011).

Steve Jobs had unconventional leadership style but he still enjoyed high levels of loyalty because of his commitment to the company and his impressive track. Jobs also gave his subordinates a clear vision and made sure that everyone in the company was compatible with the company’s culture. He also understood his company well and demonstrated through commitment to few products that quality and innovation were central to the company’s mission. He pushed his employees to do their best and gave them responsibilities that suited their strengths and abilities. In addition, he was also straight forward with his employees so they also knew what their leader wanted from them and what he liked or disliked.

Austen, B. (2012, July 23). The Story of Steve Jobs: An Inspiration or a Cautionary Tale? Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://www.wired.com/business/2012/07/ff_stevejobs/all/

Branson, R. (2011, October 7). True business leaders think differently . Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog/true-business-leaders-think-differently

Chakrabortty, A. (2011, January 24). CEOs like Steve Jobs style themselves as messiahs, not mere managers. But that’s just an excuse to rake it in . Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/25/chief-executives-coin-it-as-messiahs

Chaudhuri, A. (2012, April 26). Authoritarian leadership, the secret behind Steve Jobs success! Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/authoritarian-leadership-the-secret-behind-steve-jobs-success/33963/

Henson, R. (2011, November 1). Faculty Insight: The Leadership of Steve Jobs . Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://business.rutgers.edu/news/faculty-insight-leadership-steve-jobs

Isaacson, W. (2012, April). The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs . Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs/ar/1

McInerney, S. (2011, October 7). Steve Jobs: an unconventional leader . Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/management/steve-jobs-an-unconventional-leader-20111007-1lcmo.html

Pullen, J. P. (2012, May 18). Jobs or Zuckerberg: Who’d Make the Better Boss? Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223570#

Verganti, R. (2011, October 7). Steve Jobs and Management by Meaning . Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/10/steve_jobs_and_management_by_m.html

Williams, R. (2012, April 12). Why Steve Jobs is not a leader to emulate . Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://business.financialpost.com/2012/04/12/steve-jobs-is-not-a-leader-to-emulate/

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Home — Essay Samples — Business — Steve Jobs — Steve Jobs Legacy: Shaping the Modern Technological World

Steve Jobs Legacy: Shaping The Modern Technological World

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Summary and Study Guide

Steve Jobs (2011) is an authorized biography written by Walter Isaacson about the life of the late Apple founder and tech revolutionary. Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs, the book is an in-depth exploration of who Jobs was, from the story of his birth and subsequent adoption to his massive success at the helm of Apple. Jobs himself personally requested that Isaacson write his biography on a phone call in 2004. By the time the book was published seven years later, Isaacson and Jobs had formed a special bond. The book went on to become a New York Times bestseller and was later adapted into a feature film in 2015 starring Michael Fassbender with a screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin.

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Isaacson introduces the book by describing how Jobs called him in 2004, requesting that he write his biography. Jobs was born to two graduate students who gave him up for adoption. His birth parents were adamant their son be raised by college graduates who would make his education a priority. Upon learning more about Paul and Clara Jobs, Steve’s adoptive parents, they agreed to allow the couple to adopt the boy with the promise that they would fund Steve’s education. Paul Jobs was a member of the US Coast Guard during the Second World War. His wife, Clara, was the daughter of Armenian refugees who fled the region during the Turkish conflict. The couple moved to San Francisco in 1952. The narrative then shifts to Jobs’s biological parents. His biological mother, Joanne Schieble, was a devout Catholic who fell in love with Abdulfattah Jandali, a teaching assistant from Syria. As her father forbade them to marry and abortion was frowned upon in their strict Catholic community, the couple decided to give their infant son up for adoption.

Isaacson chronicles Jobs’s relationship with his business partner and co-creator of Apple, Steve Wozniak (Woz). The two met while attending the same electronics class and soon realized that their ideas and goals were similar. Before long, the two developed a lasting friendship and a working relationship that would revolutionize the technology industry for decades to come.

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Chrisann Brennan became Jobs’s first girlfriend in 1972. Around this time, Jobs began experimenting with various changes to his lifestyle, including an exploration of vegetarianism and LSD. Jobs also entered college in 1972. His adoptive parents tried to convince him to attend Stanford or Berkeley, but Jobs had his eyes set on Reed College.

Jobs attended undergraduate school for two years until, in 1974, he left Reed College and began looking for work. Eventually, he landed a job at Atari. The author illustrates the somewhat flamboyant attitude that would follow Jobs throughout his life by recounting an instance at Atari where Jobs barged in and demanded he be hired. His attitude ostracized Jobs from the Atari culture; his supervisors relegated him to the night shift because of his body odor and the fact that no one wanted to work with him. However, Jobs’s time at Atari provided the blueprint for what would become a lifelong appreciation for mingling simplicity with elegant design.

The cultural climate of the early-mid 1970s had as much influence on Jobs as did his stints at various companies. Working at Hewlett-Packard gave him access to the resources and brainpower needed to perfect his initial designs. During this time, dissension began among the Apple co-founders, specifically Wozniak, whose father was concerned that his son would not receive the same equity and esteem as Jobs.

Notable in Jobs’s life at the start of Apple’s rise in the tech industry was Steve’s refusal to embrace his own daughter Lisa, who Chrisann had given birth to in 1978. Jobs denied he was the father, and ultimately was only convinced when a DNA test proved his paternity. Eventually, he would go on to have three more children during his marriage to Laurene Powell.

Despite personal and professional setbacks, Apple Computers skyrocketed in brand recognition and usability with the launch of the first Mac in 1984. Although the company experienced an initial loss of sales due to the ubiquity and market share of IBM, Jobs’s ingenuity and creative prowess provided the springboard for a marketing campaign that drastically increased the company’s popularity.

After chronicling the meteoric success that Apple would experience through the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone , Isaacson concludes the book by reiterating Jobs’s position as one of the great innovators of the twentieth century. 

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