The Steve Jobs Persona and Messianism
If nothing else, Steve Jobs has such a reputation, that it borders on messianism in the eyes of many people. Jobs has been able to spin that aura around himself, some by his rhetoric, and a lot be being able to follow through on that rhetoric.
It's one thing to boast and project, it's another thing to be able to accomplish what is being boasted about. In the end, boasting is only boasting when what is being said can't be accomplished. Otherwise it's projecting. Steve Jobs knows how to project, because he understands the market he's entering into, and also knows how to interject a new product into that market, convincing consumers it's far and above better than its competitors. A large number of consumers believe him.
What's fascinating about this is even though people are willing to follow him almost anywhere, he is described by most that had continuous contact with him as a jerk (and I'm using a nice word there). They usually use something much more coarse to describe him. At the same time, other terms used to describe him are "genius" and "sociopath."
As founder of 3Com Robert Metcalfe has said in the past, his abrasiveness and obnoxiousness “comes from his high standards ... He has no patience with people who don’t either share those standards or perform to them.”
The reason he can get away with it is because most the time he's right, and when he's right, it's in the "billons of dollars" right.
His own sense of destiny and belief that he's meant to be leader of mankind, brings the type of messianism and ego that comes along with Steve Jobs.
While he's running Apple (AAPL) that's a good thing and competitive advantage. The problem becomes in making his vision and operations duplicable. If things aren't able to be duplicated, where will Apple end up once Jobs is off the scene? That's a very legitimate question.
Assuming Jobs lives a normal lifespan, and he wants to continue to run Apple for years ahead, it's temporarily not relevant. But to find a way to take the core beliefs and attitude of Steve Jobs and embed it throughout the Apple culture in a way that will continue on after he goes, isn't something that can be done overnight.
The problem with rock star types of CEOs, is they are hesitant to spread who they are throughout the organization.
If Apple is to take advantage of who Jobs is, and embrace that long after he's gone, there must be ways of tapping into and identifying who he is, and communicating that across the company in a way that he lives within it.
If that isn't able to be accomplished in any way, it won't take long after Jobs is gone for the company to falter and lose the unique attributes contained in who Steve Jobs is.
Other than taking care of obvious business at hand for Jobs, I think with where he's at now, he needs to seriously look at ways to make who he is, as far as his attributes go, part of the future of the company.
A company that has done this fairly well in the past and currently, has been Disney (DIS), which while faltering at times, always goes back to Walt as a guide on where to go in the future. It has worked for them very good. Something like that is what needs to happen with Apple and Jobs, or any company for that matter.
It's not only necessary for continuity, but it's even necessary in the present, as the ability to take the vision of a great leader and implant it in a people is one of the keys to long-term success. Jobs and Apple definitely need to make that happen, as do all business leaders.
Other Steve Jobs Resources:
You've got to find what you love
Steve Jobs, Business Personality
Steve Jobs' Greatest Presentation
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