Founder, Apple
About The Leader
About The Leader
Steve Jobs believed in marrying art with technology to build great products which could potentially change entire industries and influence long term customer behaviors
Steve Jobs (24 Feb 1955-Oct 5, 2011) was an American business magnate, industrial designer, investor, and media proprietor.
He was the co-founder of Apple Inc. and after being fired from Apple went on to start other companies like Pixar and Next. When Apple acquired Next he returned back to Apple to turn around the company.
After dropping out of Reed college in 1972, Jobs founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and invented multiple products like the first personal computer, GUI, and a range of current Apple devices etc which completely changed the way people used these devices.
His Purpose
Steve Jobs intent was to always challenge the status quo and what people believed was the right things to do. By doing so he would create customer use cases which were never envisioned and then merge technology to realize those goals.
After dropping out of Reed college, jobs stayed there and only studied courses which really sparked an interest. One of the courses which he loved was calligraphy, which he developed a deep interest in.
As the founder of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs believed in challenging the general belief of things should be done in a particular way. For example, early computers required expensive hardware to be assembled by experts. Jobs challenged the business model and wanted to build a less complex and expensive computer system, giving birth to Macintosh. With his love for art, he invented the typeface and GUI in computers.
After a few years at Apple, Steve Jobs was fired. While extremely disappointed, it gave Jobs the opportunity to work on new initiatives and start new ventures like Pixar and Next. A few years later, Apple's acquisition of Next marked the return of Jobs back into Apple.
Case for Change
Case for Change
"The way we see current technology is broken. We build the technology and then hope people would adopt it thinking that's the way it's done. It is important to change the way we think and challenge things."
Growth Gap
Growth Gap
"In the case of phones, people made us believe that smartphones were of a particular type. They needed to have this huge keyboard at the bottom and a fixed screen at the top... We challenged that assumption and developed a completely new smartphone... we call it the iPhone."
Investment Portfolio
Investment Portfolio
We plan to use floating keyboards on the screen along with the best touch navigation device.. fingers.. we are going to change the history of smartphones.
His Leadership Qualities
His Leadership Qualities
Steve Jobs demonstrated strong product innovation capabilities, loved to lead by example and support his teams to achieve phenomenal results
Product Innovation
Product Innovation
Jobs believed that product innovations should start with understanding customer needs but eventually should change the entire industry. Because of this Apple has been a pioneer in computers, GUI, touch screen smartphones.
Key Actions
Key Actions
Jobs would often question the status quo of things that existed. In the case of phones, he questioned the need for the fixed keyboard with large phones which didn’t fit in hand. With those challenges in mind, he set out to tap into technology innovations that could impact the whole industry. He would then keep improvising on the initial versions of these products
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Product Innovation
Portfolio & Pipelines
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Jobs understood that building great products required leaders to think and do things differently
He understood that to build successful products that stand the test of time and end up attracting the mass market, you need to question the status quo, create solutions for human problems and then look at technologies that could address the issues.
Supporting teams
Supporting teams
Jobs strongly believed that successful product innovations needed trust and support of the teams that worked to bring them to fruition. Surrounded by a complete ecosystem in Silicon valley offering huge benefits to his team, he was able to build a successful core team that was driven by a strong purpose.
Key Actions
Key Actions
When observers were questioning what exactly they were trying to build at Apple, Jobs was quick to jump to the defense. He mentioned that people might question your path you take or not believe in your vision, but you need to create a strong purpose for your team and support them to ensure they move through problems towards success.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Sell and communicate a bold vision with case for change
Set stretch goals
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Jobs understood that while great products are built around customers, it is the support and strong actions of the team which immensely contribute the success of the company and its products.
He believed that the world may challenge and question you, but a strong core team could help you achieve impossible feats by working through these difficult problems and ensurre that the company meets its goals.
Lead by example
Lead by example
Jobs believed that great leaders are not people who are born with a dream of leading a large amount of people; rather, they are, rather, people who like doing things. He believed that a close group of smart individuals who are strong doers and lead by example could create a strong circle and attract other individuals of the same caliber.
Key Actions
Key Actions
In order to lead by example for every product Apple built, Jobs would personally get involved in the strategy, planning, and execution, interacting with engineers on the ground and providing his inputs. For example, when he built the first personal computer he considered himself more as an individual contributor than a people manager.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Execution superiority
Talent retention
Team culture
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Jobs believed that great teams are built by a group of strong individual contributors
He believed that this strong group of people who liked moving things forward would then attract similar-minded people which would provide the foundation for a strong culture. This closed group then makes work fun, tasks engaging and intellectually rewarding, and workplace culture better.
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