I sure did love reading Walter Isaacson’s detailed biography of Steve Jobs. It reminds me how different visionary skills are from operational leadership skills. There is no doubt that Jobs could see into the future of technology and drove technology to new heights. But he lacked personal self-control and communication skills during the days of the Apple I and II and Macintosh computers. The book is lengthy but a fascinating study of leadership style and corporate politics.
A young Steve Jobs and his mentor John Scully
Jobs sought help in learning how to be a better leader from John Scully whom he brought into the company from the soft drink producer Pepsi. This interview with Scully reminiscing about Jobs is also quite revealing. (Click to read)
Countless numbers of people have seen Steve Jobs onstage at Apple events introudcing his marvelous new products. But perhaps his most poignant speech was the commencement at Stanford University in 2005. In it he talks about getting fired from Apple in 1985, life and death. Watch it by clicking here.
What kind of a leader are you? Are you someone who likes to start new things and develop new concepts, but maybe grows weary of the day-to-day drudgery of running a mature business. Or do you thrive on tweaking a well-running company to keep it maintaining optimal performance? It is worth thinking about, because this may define the kind of job you should seek out, more than any other factor.
- Herb