We chose Steven Paul Jobs as an innovative leader that exemplifies leadership. Steve Jobs proved to be a leader in computing innovation, led multiple companies to success, pushed his employees to produce high quality work. Jobs also proved to be a showman, by personally presenting Apple's latest releases.
Steve Jobs worked with Steve Wozniak to develop and build the Apple computer and start Apple Computer Inc. in 1976.Production and sales to hobbyist was run out of Steve Job's garage. (All about Steve Jobs.com) This was not the first personal computer, as there was already IBM, Tandy, and Commodore. This more simplistic design took personal computers out of the work place and the hands of hobbyist and into the general public. (The Macintosh: 30 Years of Innovation, Influence and Invective) The Apple II computer was introduced in 1977 at the West Coast Computer Faire, improvements on technology is expected in order to promote growth for a company like Apple Computer Inc., what is innovative about the Apple II was the marketing. (All about Steve Jobs.com) Apple introduced the "Kids Can't Wait" initiative to get a computer in every school, Jobs worked with his state representative to draft a bill and then he lobbied the halls of congress until the bill passed. This brought the Apple II to the classroom and into the hands of the public. Everyone who grew up in the 80's remembers the Apple II and the Oregon Trail game. (How Steve Jobs Brought the Apple II to the Classroom)
Steve Jobs proved he was a leader that take a company from a garage and turn it into a worldwide-recognized brand. Jobs left Apple to pursue other entrepreneurial ventures, but returns as CEO in 1997 and start the "Think Different" campaign to restore Apple's damaged image and brand name. (All about Steve Jobs.com)
Steve Jobs has been touted as a controversial leader, he inspires some and some believe his style to be use as cautionary reference. Jobs demanded the best out of his employees and 3rd party companies that did business with Apple. In one instance, he broke contract with a shipping company that was not meeting his expectations, a lawsuit did ensue, however he was able to hire another company in the meantime that did meet his expectations. (The Story of Steve Jobs: An Inspiration or a Cautionary Tale?) By holding everyone he worked with accountable to his own high expectations, Jobs was able to inspire his creative team to continually come up with revolutionary ideas. This was not a slight pressure by Jobs; one employee's account illustrates this pressure with the bi-weekly Monday meeting.
"Every two weeks, we meet with Steve Jobs and it's on a Monday. So that means every other weekend, I don't get. No matter what's going on, whether it's a deadline or new ideas for the future. We have to work every other weekend all the time no matter what ... And then you meet with him, and he craps on all of it. He might like one or two ideas, and usually he wants you to redo those one or two ideas. And so that whole next week, you're redoing those one or two ideas plus coming up with new ones. That's all year, all the time, every two weeks." (Former Apple Employee Reveals One of the Worst Things about Working for Steve Jobs)
Controversial or revolutionary, Steve Jobs had a vision and he was able to have his vision realized through determination and leadership.
3. Explain the strengths and limitations of this person as a leader and how we know these characteristics.
"Jobs cofounded Apple in his parent's garage in 1976." (1.The real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs) Until his death in October 2011 he led many employees with a vision and focus to produce great and inspiring products within many different companies. From a global perspective you can find that for every negative aspect displayed within his personality and leadership style, you can find examples of where he adapted and created a copacetic environments and workplace communities. These communities helped to create focused and passionate teams that contained some of the most talented technological and artistic minds of our time. These environments enabled his staff to collaborate and create revolutionary and unprecedented products.
In an article titled (2.Eight Unforgivable Leadership Mistakes Steve Jobs Made) it states that "He was a jerk and a bully who would fly off the handle at subordinates. He was arrogant. He would publicly question and humiliate the intelligence of anyone he found fault with or didn't understand the goal or fire them on the spot". Working in that environment would have been brutal for anyone. But according Jobs he stated "I don't think I run roughshod over people, but if something sucks, I tell people to their face. It's my job to be honest (1)." This roughness and matter of fact approach were accompanied with his ability to showcase his vision and to be inspirational to team members. He was able to infuse his employees with the necessary passion to create original and groundbreaking products. "CEOs who study Jobs and decide to emulate his roughness without understanding his ability to generate loyalty make a dangerous mistake (1)."
Steve Jobs knew and was a very strong believer in face to face meetings and the active engagement that comes from conversation and random discussions. "Apple was known to have a cult of secrecy. Programmers were not allowed to see the product. Designers were broken into small focus groups and assigned to work on different elements. Employees were fired for letting information out" (2). This method allowed each team focus on and simplify each component in the pursuit of producing superior functionality, elegant design, simplicity into the products..
On the other hand "He had the PIXAR building designed to promote unplanned encounters and collaborations. (1). All conference rooms, offices, corridors and stairs were designed to overlook a central atrium that encouraged employees out of their offices to mingle in public space where the café, restrooms and office mailboxes were located. This allowed free flowing encounters and conversations to occur amongst all levels of management and staff.
4. Relate the accomplishments and leadership of this individual to the concepts we have discussed in class.
When trying to narrow down Steve Jobs leadership style I think best to not think of leadership style as a gift. Meaning that not every leader and leadership style fits nice and neat into a cute box with bow that will solve all personal and organizational problems.
From Skills Based approach in our textbook lists three personal skills, Technical, Human and Conceptual (3. Leadership Theory and Practice 7th edition, p44). In comparing Jobs to this approach, it is easy to see his Technical and Conceptual skills highlighted his leadership style. His perfectionism, craftsmanship and love for both the humanities and sciences developed a strong and balanced work ethic which allowed him to create products that were more simplistic and intuitive. "No one else in our era could better firewire together poetry and processors in a way that jolted innovation (1)". His Human skill set comes becomes scrutinized when stories of a tyrant driven by his pursuit of perfection surface.
I also see Path-Goal Theory where jobs communicated with team leaders and employees to define goals, clarify path, remove obstacles and provide support (3, p116). "Each year he would take his top 100 people on a retreat and on the last day he would stand in front of white board and ask; what are the 10 things we should be doing next? After all the debate and jockeying with the list in order of priorities he would slash the bottom seven and say we can only do three"(1)
Overall though I see jobs as a Transformational Leader. He engaged others to create a culture that raised expectations and motivations in the follower to reach their fullest potential.
His push for perfection was created by many different factors including his ability to communicate his vision, scope and focus. His leadership focused on the ability see the big picture while focusing on the smallest details and take responsibility from beginning to end with impute. Also to put the emphasis on the products and not just on the profits.(1)
1. Explain why this person is significant over the long term as a leader.
Steve Jobs created his business from his parents' garage in the mid 1970's. Apple is now one of the most valuable companies today, but this change did not happen overnight. With a near bankruptcy, he returned to the company in 1997 and was able to get the company back on track.
He made a number of impressions on people and is now looked at as one of the great innovators. His ability to look at the problems in different ways and focus on what was important at the time lead the company back to success. Although he was known to be tough on fellow colleagues, it was that push that brought them to become one of the most successful companies today.
Over the long term, many people learned from his personality and became devoted to the company. Jobs' was able to focus on what mattered most and filter out the distractions. He once stated that "Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do". This mindset, over time, helped focus the employees on less projects and hone in the most important.
Steve Jobs was known as a heroic leader, in that, his ideas and the way he did business dominated the company. Everything went through him without taking much consideration from others. He was a very powerful person who had many followers.
This type of leadership style does not always prove beneficial in the long-term. A company with this type of leadership style finds itself unable to go much further beyond than that of the specific leadership cycle. It becomes difficult to change performance structures once that leader is gone. This is an example of how Apple struggles to meet performance goals once Jobs left the company in 1985.
Once Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1998, his leadership style had changed. He directed his focus from what the company produced to whom and how it did it. He learned over those years that a great company carefully selects employees providing a positive working environment. It is with this type of leadership style that provided lasting success.
2. Show ways this leadership made important changes in the field they are known for.
Steve Job's recognized as a visionary and genius that was highly innovative. He contributed to many industries including computing, movies, music, cell phone, and publishing. He not only developed a number of new technologies within his respective field but also included the world outside of technology. In 1986, he purchased Pixar in order to provide support for environmental issues and charities. His innovations had a profound impact on industries and peoples lifestyles around the globe.
His early leadership style was known as "out-of-control". He was highly focused on his ideas and did not take much consideration for the needs of his followers. His style of leadership was mostly achievement-oriented.
Once he returned to Apple 12 years later, his perspective changed. He was open to criticisms and was able to acknowledge his imperfections. His emotional stability was something he struggle with and continued to work on his whole life. With this openness, he grew to become a great leader.
His unique leadership style included focus, adaptability, sense of urgency, and vision. This leadership style brought about many new innovations within the world of technology. In 2001, the iPod was developed that was designed to be a better user experience than that of other MP3 players. Users now had the ability to carry endless amounts of music and able to download music directly from the iTunes Store. He continued on to develop the Apple iPhone. This device included features of a phone, iPod and computer. The introduction of these devices helped revolutionized the field of technology.
The development of Apple's Unix-based operating system continues to lead in intuitiveness. It was designed to be easy to use with sophisticated capabilities. The App Store was developed to give users the ability to install software without the physical copy. The iPad was the next device that was considered to be a reinvention of the computer. Other concepts include iBeacon, Touch, Apple TV, and Auto discovering networks.