Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs He was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, California. His unwed biological parents, Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, put him up for adoption. Steve was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a lower-middle-class couple, who moved to the suburban city of Mountain View a couple of years later. Steve Jobs grew up in a neighborhood of engineers working on electronics and other gizmos in their garages on weekends. This shaped his interest in the field as he grew up. At age 13, he met one the most important persons in his life: 18-year-old Stephen Wozniak, an electronics wiz kid, and, like Steve, an incorrigible prankster. Five years later, when Steve Jobs reached college age, he told his parents he got enrolled in Reed College — an expensive liberal arts college up in Oregon. Steve spent only one semester at Reed, then dropped out, as he was more interested in eastern philosophy, fruitarian diets, and LSD than in the classes he took. He moved to a hippie commune in Oregon where his main activity was cultivating apples. A few months later, Steve returned to California to look for a job. He was hired at the young video game maker Atari, and used his wages to make a trip to India with one of his college friends, in order to 'seek enlightenment'. He came back a little disillusioned and started to take interest in his friend Woz's new activities. Seven Leadership Traits of Steve Jobs: The first trait that is commonly associated with leadership is drive. A prime example of a leader exhibiting this trait is Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc. After Jobs was ousted as chairman of the company in 1985, he could easily have retired or been satisfied to go work in another industry. Instead he formed another startup called NeXT, manufacturing high-end computer workstation hardware and software. In addition, he purchased Pixar Animation Studios and championed CGI-animation during a seminal and crucial period in the art and science of the

field. Twelve years later, his desire to lead, caused him to rejoin Apple, which acquired NeXT. Jobs not only rescued the balance sheet, but led the company toward a new period of resurgent, dramatic growth. During the accounting and finance scandals of the mid-2000s, many high-profile firms were investigated by the SEC in regards to illegal options back-dating. Although Apple employees other than Jobs were found to be responsible for the illegal acts, Jobs demonstrated honesty and integrity by formally apologizing for the activities taking place during his watch and insuring that measures were being put in place to prevent further financial irregularities in the future. At a time when Apple and Microsoft were in a heated battle for market share in the personal computer business, Jobs could have decided not to utilize Microsoft Office for the Macintosh operating system, however he recognized the superiority of the software application and due to his self-confidence in himself and the company's products as a whole, he chose to make a decision that was in the best interest of his customers’ who would benefit from using Office. Jobs' ability to negotiate deals with suppliers, recognize opportunities in the marketplace, have a long-term strategy for sustained growth, and understand end-users needs and desires, provides a valuable set of skills that demonstrates his intelligence regarding these matters. The need to communicate with various stakeholders that run the gamut of product lines including the personal computer, mobile phone, and portable media player, highlights the job-relevant knowledge that he must aggregate about many subjects in order to be able to communicate with folks that specialize in a multitude of technical fields. Finally, Jobs was known for unveiling new Apple products and services during trade shows in which developers, the press, etc., were invited to watch a presentation given by Jobs during the event. His extraversion contributed to and amplified his ability to clearly market the items in an educational, fun manner, thereby enthusiastically transferring the lifestyle and culture of the employees of Apple to the audience. Steve Jobs' Rules of Success: Do what you love to do: Find your true passion. Do what you love to do a make a difference! The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

Be different: Think different. "Better be a pirate than to join the navy." Do your best: Do your best at every job. No sleep! Success generates more success. So be hungry for it. Hire good people with passion for excellence. Make SWOT analysis: As soon as you join/start a company, make a list of strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your company on a piece of paper. Don't hesitate in throwing bad apples out of the company. Be entrepreneurial: Look for the next big thing. Find a set of ideas that need to be quickly and decisively acted upon and jump through that window. Sometimes the first step is the hardest one. Just take it! Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Start small, think big: Don't worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. "I want to put a ding in the universe,” reveal Steve Jobs his dream. Strive to become a market leader: Own and control the primary technology in everything you do. If there's a better technology available, use it no matter if anyone else is not using it. Be the first, and make it an industry standard. Focus on the outcome: People judge you by your performance, so focus on the outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected. Advertise. If they don't know it, they won't buy your product. Pay attention to design. "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." Ask for feedback: Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you're at the top of the chain, sometimes people won't give you honest feedback because they're afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources. Focus on those who will use your product – listen to your customers first. Innovate: Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower. Delegate, let other top executives do 50% of your routine work to be able to spend 50% your time on the new stuff. Say no to 1,000 things to make sure you don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. Concentrate on really important creations and radical innovation. Hire people who want to make the best things in the world. You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of

companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together. Learn from failures: Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations. Learn continually: There's always "one more thing" to learn! Cross-pollinate ideas with others both within and outside your company. Learn from customers, competitors and partners. If you partner with someone whom you don't like, learn to like them – praise them and benefit from them. Learn to criticize your enemies openly, but honestly. Steve Jobs' vision of a "computer for the rest of us" sparked the PC revolution and made Apple an icon of American business. But somewhere along the way, Jobs' vision got clouded -- some say by his ego -- and he was ousted from the company he helped found. Few will disagree that Jobs did indeed impede Apple's growth, yet without him, the company lost its sense of direction and pioneering spirit. After nearly 10 years of plummeting sales, Apple turned to its visionary founder for help, and a little older, little wiser Jobs engineered one of the most amazing turnarounds of the 20th century.