Steve Jobs: Visionary, Perfectionist, Legend
Steve Jobs (1955-2011) co-founded Apple, was ousted, returned, and built it into the world's most valuable company. His products changed how we live.
Early Life
- Adopted at birth; biological father was Syrian immigrant
- Grew up in Silicon Valley during its emergence
- Dropped out of Reed College after one semester
- Traveled to India seeking enlightenment
Founding Apple (1976)
With Steve Wozniak, Jobs started Apple in a garage. The Apple II became one of the first successful personal computers.
Rise and Fall
The Macintosh (1984): Revolutionary graphical interface, but sales disappointed.
Ousted (1985): Board sided with CEO John Sculley. Jobs was forced out of the company he founded.
Wilderness years: Founded NeXT (computers) and bought Pixar (which became hugely successful).
The Return (1997)
Apple was near bankruptcy. Jobs returned, simplified products, and launched:
- iMac (1998): Revived Apple's fortunes
- iPod (2001): Transformed music industry
- iPhone (2007): Revolutionary smartphone
- iPad (2010): Created tablet market
- App Store: New software distribution model
Management Style
- Reality distortion field: Convinced people impossible things were possible
- Obsessive design focus: Sweated every detail
- Brutal feedback: Could be cruel to employees
- Product vision: Knew what customers wanted before they did
Philosophy
> "Stay hungry, stay foolish."
- Intersection of technology and humanities
- Simplicity and elegance
- Integrated hardware/software experience
- Saying no to 1,000 things to focus on what matters
Legacy
Jobs died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer. Apple became the first trillion-dollar company. His products remain in billions of pockets worldwide.
Related Reading
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