In 2007,$2007,$ Fortune named Steve Jobs the Most Powerful Person in Business. In 2009,$2009,$ the magazine named him CEO of the Decade. Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc. ($($NASDAQ: AAPL),$),$ has transformed no fewer than five different industries: computers, Hollywood movies, music, retailing, and wireless phones. His Apple II ushered in the personal computer era in 1977,$1977,$ and the graphical interface of the Macintosh in 1984$1984$ set the standard that all other PCs emulated. His company Pixar defined the computer−$-$animated feature film. The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone revolutionized how we listen to music, how we pay for and receive all types of digital content, and what we expect of a mobile phone.

How has Jobs done it?$?$ Jobs draws on all six types of power: legitimate, expert, reward, information, coercive, and referent. His vision and sheer force of will helped him succeed as a young unknown. But the same determination that helps him succeed has a darker sidean autocracy and drive for perfection that can make him tyrannical. Lets take each of these in turn.

1.$1.$ Legitimate power. As CEO of Apple, Jobs enjoys unquestioned legitimate power.

2.$2.$ Expert power. His success has built a tremendous amount of expert power. Jobs is renowned for being able to think of markets and products for needs that people didnt even know they had.

3.$3.$ Reward power. As one of the richest individuals in the United States, Jobs has reward power both within and outside Apple. He also can reward individuals with his time and attention.

4.$4.$ Information power. Jobs has been able to leverage information in each industry he has transformed.

5.$5.$ Coercive power. Forcefulness is helpful when tackling large, intractable problems, says Stanford social psychologist Roderick Kramer, who calls Jobs one of the great intimidators. Robert Sutton notes that the degree to which people in Silicon Valley are afraid of Jobs is unbelievable. Jobs is known to berate people to the point of tears.

6.$6.$ Referent power. But at the same time, He inspires astounding effort and creativity from his people. Employee Andy Herzfeld, the lead designer of the original Mac operating system, says Jobs imbues employees with a messianic zeal and can make them feel that theyre working on the greatest product in the world.

Those who work with him say Jobs is very hard to please. However, they also say that this means that Apple employees work hard to win his approval. He has the ability to pull the best out of people, says Cordell Ratleff, who worked closely with Jobs on OS X for 18$18$ months. I learned a tremendous amount from him. Jobss ability to persuade and influence has come to be called a reality distortion field. As Bud Tribble put it,$,$In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything. Herzfeld describes his

CHAPTER 5$5$: Negotiation & Political Skills and Teamwork

style as a confounding mlange of a charismatic rhetorical style, an indomitable will, and an eagerness to bend any fact to fit the purpose at hand. The influence works even when youre

aware of it,$,$ and it works even on enemies: No other high−$-$tech impresario could walk into the annual sales meeting of one of his fiercest rivals and get a standing ovation, which is what Jobs got in 2002$2002$ from Intel Corporation ($($the ally of Apple archrival Microsoft in the partnership known as Wintel: Windows +$+$ Intel).$).$ Jobss power is not infalliblehe was ousted from his own company in 1987$1987$ by the man he hired to help him run it.$.$ But he returned in 1997$1997$ and brought the company back from the brink of failure. The only years that Apple was unprofitable were the years during Jobss absence.$.$ Many are watching to see how Apple and Jobs succeed with the iPad in 2010.$2010.$

Answer the following questions.

1. What were some possible negative consequences of the level of power that Steve Jobs held at Apple?
2. Think about the bases of power listed above. Think about the most recent non-managerial job that you held (it might be your current role). Think about yourself in that current or former role. You might not have legitimate, reward, or coercive power, but how could you develop your expert, information, and referent power?

 

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Some possible negative consequences of the level of power that Steve Jobs held at Apple include 1 Autocratic Leadership Jobs authoritative and perfect... View the full answer