Steve Jobs: The Power of Leadership - Assignment Example

Steve Jobs: The Power of Leadership Introduction Steve Jobs is rightly considered as one of the most outstanding leaders in the contemporary corporate world. The founder of Apple, Inc., Jobs is recognized as one of the most talented innovators of his generation. The path he passed in his professional evolution can become a role model for other leaders to follow. Rigid and arrogant, Steve Jobs, nevertheless, exemplified a unique type of the visionary leader who is dedicated to his leadership mission and devotes his life to his organization and people. Since the moment Jobs returned to work at Apple, the company has become the central provider of cutting-edge technologies for customers around the world. His products has been successful not because of their sophisticated technological nature but because of their inherent ability to make the lives of people easier and more fascinating. It is no secret that most of what Jobs was able to invent has become part of customers’ daily lives. Millions of people in all parts of the world no longer imagine their lives without iPods, iPads, and other Apple products. The contribution made by Steve Jobs in the expansion of his company cannot be overestimated. Through his persuasion, slight arrogance and perfectionism, Steve Jobs was able to create success for Apple, Inc. and attain his reputation of a strong leader. Steve Jobs was a well-known perfectionist. In everything he did and accomplished, he always sought to be absolute best. As a result, he also expected that everyone working for his company would seek to the same standards. It is no wonder that, at times, Jobs was called a “tyrannical perfectionist” (Morrison 5). Like Jobs’ leadership itself, his perfectionism has been irreplaceable. Without Jobs’ perfectionism, there would have been no iPod, iPhone or Mac (Morrison 5). Jobs’ perfectionism drove and guided thousands of engineers working on Apple products. Through Jobs’ perfectionism, consumers eventually got the products that really served their needs (Morrison 5). Contemporary reporters and scholars in leadership studies are almost unanimous in that perfectionism has one of the definitive features of Jobs’ leadership style. However, while Morrison calls Jobs a “tyrannical” perfectionist, Lyons chooses to describe Jobs as “relentless perfectionist whose company creates such beautifully designed products that they have changed our expectations about how everything around us should work” (1). However, nothing is perfect in this world, and even perfectionism by itself cannot be immaculate. The perfectionist model of leadership advises high ideals and informs risky endeavors, but it may also result in an unpredictably high prevalence of avoidable failures (Rosenbaum, Rosenbaum & Stephan 181). Even in education, professors that set the stage for pursuing high ideals among students also expose these students to the elevated risks of professional and learning failures (Rosenbaum, Rosenbaum & Stephan 181). However, it seems that Steve Jobs was able to tame the wildness of perfectionism and turn it to work for his own and his company’s benefit. Like perfectionism, the personal and professional arrogance of Steve Jobs has long been a matter of a hot debate. Back at the very beginning of his company, Steve Jobs was strong enough to persuade Steve Wozniak to invest $1,000 in a new venture (Bielazka-DuVernay 4). They would use Wozniak’s money to create one hundred printed circuit boards to sell them later to computer hobbyists (Bielazka-DuVernay 4). Researchers generally agree that, as Apple’s founder and CEO, Steve Jobs used his persuasion skills to promote his leadership and corporate agenda. According to Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, who also cites “The Magician”, an editorial from The Economist, Jobs’ persuasion stretched to make people love what had previously been impersonal (10). Even early in his career, Jobs was claimed to emit a ‘reality distortion field’, which reflected, confirmed and further reinforced his persuasion powers (The Economist; Dungy 10). In Steve Jobs, persuasion and perfectionism could be readily compared to the fire metaphor, meaning that he had a burning desire to do what he loved and could do, but necessarily with a focus on the future (Dungy 10). However, Jobs’ persuasion came up with intimidation and fear. He could easily make people cry even for minor issues. No one could predict whether Jobs would flatter them or call names. As a result, Jobs’ persuasion could sometimes be quite destructive. Jobs was one heard saying that people would never react to love, but fear would keep them focused on their goals (Kahney 163). Jobs was confident that intimidation as a method of persuasion would be effective and motivational. However, even now, years after Apple’s sustained success, it is difficult to decide whether being persuasive through intimidation is a good or bad thing. Nevertheless, it is clear that, in Steve Jobs, persuasion was uniquely combined with remarkable influence and unprecedented arrogance. Arrogance is a distinct theme Jobs’ leadership analysis. Scholars in leadership and Jobs’ partners and colleagues commonly agree that arrogance was one of the most distinguishing and important features of Steve Jobs’ leadership style. The legitimate role of arrogance, especially in companies that have just started, cannot be easily dismissed (Alsop 98). From the very beginning of his company, Steve Jobs had an arrogant assumption about the future of the computer market which, eventually, led him through achievements and failures (Alsop 98). The effects of arrogance on Jobs’ leadership were double-fold. On the one hand, Jobs always knew he was the smartest guy in his company and he never wished to conceal the fact (Romain). Jobs always wanted to persuade his customers and partners that Apple was better than everything else in this world (Romain). Jobs’ arrogant ego expanded to make customers believe that Apple products were truly irreplaceable and perfect. On the other hand, Jobs’ arrogance had another, dark side. Jobs’ arrogance was claimed to prevent him from getting along with other employees (Lusted 23). The problem was so huge that he was often compelled to work nights only (Lusted 23). That was the best time when Jobs could invent new ideas and did not have to contact with people. Jobs’ arrogance made his employees believe that Apple was infallible – one of the biggest mistakes they made in their history (Alsop 98). For example, and because of arrogance, Apple failed to persuade business customers that the Macintosh was an appropriate choice for doing business (Alsop 98). Jobs’ arrogance persisted, and the entire company consistently believed that they could never do anything wrong until, during the Super Bowl, they allowed themselves to depict business buyers as lemmings running after IBM (Alsop 98). Most probably, that was the turning point in the realization that arrogance could actually do more harm and be useful to the company. Yet, even now, those who knew Steve Jobs better than his employees did, continue to believe that arrogance is extremely important for effective leadership: one of Apple’s general partners, Allegis Capital and its leader Jean-Louis Gassee confesses that he knows Jobs as an arrogant leader but arrogance as a matter of leadership is somewhat undervalued (Blendstrup 24). Gassee believes that leaders do not need to be pleasant in order to be effective (Blenstrup 24). In case of Jobs, even arrogance could not stop him from achieving his corporate goals. Even though employees had diverse opinions about their leader, he moved towards his goal and was extremely successful in his corporate decisions. Needless to say, Apple employees and partners have diverse opinions and perceptions of Steve Jobs, both as a personality and a leader. Some regard him as an inspirational figure, whereas among others, Jobs earned a reputation of being an extremely demanding leader (Poeter). The latter built their perceptions on Jobs’ commitment to arrogance, perfectionism, intimidation and fear. This is why many have portrayed Jobs as being “an obsessive control freak” (Poeter). Jobs was claimed to be difficult to work with and had a reputation of being a hot-tempered manager during his life (All About Steve Jobs). With time, however, Jobs’ leadership changed and employees and partners no longer described him in such rigid terms. One reason is that, years before his death, Jobs interacted with fewer employees (Poeter). His health problems kept him from staying on the campus for long (Poeter). Moreover, as the company expanded, Jobs moved his sales personnel to Cupertino, California (Poeter). After his death, employees could not dare to express their disagreement with Jobs’ leadership style. Yet, even during his life, many people had regarded Jobs as magical and life altering (Carr). Lee Nadler, the founder of Sherpa Marketing, told the story of her meeting with Steve Jobs, when she suddenly realized that, contrary to her expectations, Jobs was not an icon but behaved like a human (Carr). Fred Cook, the CEO of Golin Harris remembers how he and Steve Jobs were discussing the idea of helping Pixar to build a new, prospective reputation (Carr). He remembers Jobs as an open, amiable and friendly man who liked going into detail and being scrupulous in everything he was doing. Again, Brett Lovelady, the Chief Instigator of ASTRO Studios, describes Steve Jobs as a regular guy, just like the thousands of engineers and other employees working for his company (Carr). He never hesitated to attend a gym he himself had built next to his office; that was probably the time when Jobs could contemplate on his ideas that later came true one step at a time (Carr). All these ideas and perceptions (a) suggest that Steve Jobs was a good leader and (b) raise the question of whether it is worth being rude and arrogant to be a good leader. To a large extent, through his persuasion, slight arrogance and perfectionism, Steve Jobs was able to create success for Apple, Inc. and attain his reputation of a strong leader. Jobs had a unique ability to envision future changes in the consumer market and use them to adjust his products to the unique needs of consumers (Godwin). Jobs was not an engineer but he sought to make technologies easy in use (Godwin). As a leader, Steve Jobs took a raw idea and shaped in ways that showed other companies how well they had to work. He had strategic vision, showmanship, and an unprecedented attention to detail, which made his products virtually perfect (Godwin). As a result, he inspired and sustained fanatic loyalty in his customers and partners. He used the emotional spark among consumers and turned his technologies into a matter of personal touch. Everyone having an Apple product certainly feel that it is extremely personal. “Yet nothing really explains, let alone justifies, the fact that Jobs was so often an unrelenting jerk” (Godwin). He had irony and sarcasm, the power to intimidate and scare his employees. In his arrogance and perfectionism, Jobs did not fit in any of the old leadership molds and could not be described in usual terms (McKay). So, it is worth being rude to be as successful as Steve Jobs? Certainly, it is not. Steve Jobs was a unique type of personality, and arrogance and intimidation were essential parts of his leadership style. Jobs’ rudeness and roughness were accompanied by his unique ability to be inspirational (Bilton). May be a good leader does not need to be pleasant, in order to be effective, but it is always possible to take the best features of Steve Jobs and use them so that followers do not suffer the effects of fear and intimidation, as they are working towards a common goal. Conclusion The name of Steve Jobs is forever carved into the history of leadership. The contribution made by Steve Jobs in the expansion of his company cannot be overestimated. Through his persuasion, slight arrogance and perfectionism, Steve Jobs was able to create success for Apple, Inc. and attain his reputation of a strong leader. He was equally arrogant, rude and visionary. He persuaded people through intimidation and fear and could easily flatter them. More often than not, Jobs’ employees did not know what to expect from him. As a result, Jobs found it extremely difficult to build productive relationships with his employees. Yet, in case of Jobs, arrogance, perfectionism and persuasion were the three features that actually made him a unique leader. Rudeness and roughness were accompanied by inspiration and motivation. That, however, does not mean that being an effective leader is the same as being a rude leader. It is better to take the best features of Steve Jobs and use them, so that followers are not scared by intimidation and rudeness as they are working towards a common goal. Works Cited All about Steve Jobs. “Reputation.” All About Steve Jobs, 2012. Web. 31 March 2012. Alsop, Steven. “The Zen of Arrogance.” PC Mag, 27 May 1986: 98-99. Print. Carr, Austin. “The First Time I Met Steve Jobs…” Fast Company, 05 October 2011. Web. 31 March 2012. Bielazka-DuVernay, Christina. “Take a Strategic Approach to Persuasion.” Harvard Management, July (2008): 3-5. Print. Bilton, Nick. “Do You Have to Be Rude to Manage Like Steve Jobs?” The New York Times, 20 March 2012. Web. 31 March 2012. Blendstrup, Angelika. They Made It!: How Chinese, French, German, Indian, Israeli and Other Foreign Born Entrepreneurs Contributed to High-Tech Innovation in the Silicon Valley, the U.S. Happy About, 2007. Print. Dungy, Gwendolyn Jordan. “The Magic of Leadership.” Journal of Student Affairs, XXI (2011-2012): 10-17. Print. Godwin, Mike. “Steve Jobs, the Inhumane Humanist.” Reason, February 2012. Web. 31 March 2012. Kahney, Leander. Inside Steve's Brain. London: Penguin Group, 2008. Print. Lusted, Marcia Amidon. Apple: The Company and Its Visionary Founder, Steve Jobs. ABDO, 2012. Print. Lyons, Daniel. “Think Really Different.” Newsweek, 26 May 2010. Web. 31 March 2012. McKay, Zoe. “How Steve Jobs Reinvented Leadership.” Forbes, 10 October 2011. Web. 31 March 2012. Morrison, Chris. “How to Innovate Like Apple.” Bnet, 10 August 2009. Print. Moisescot, Romain. "Vision: Steve's Real Genius." November 2010. allaboutSteveJobs. 04 February 2012. Web. 31 March 2012. Poeter, Damon. “Steve Jobs, Beloved by Apple Employees.” PC Magazine, 5 October 2011. Web. 31 March 2012. Rosenbaum, James E., Janet E. Rosenbaum and Jennifer L. Stephan. “Perfectionist Dreams and Hidden Stratification: Is Perfection the Enemy of the Good?” Frontiers in Sociology of Education, 1.1 (2011): 181-203. Print. The Economist. “The Magician: The Revolution that Steve Jobs led is only just beginning.” The Economics, 8 Oct 2011. Web. 31 March 2012. Read More