A great deal has been written about the late Steve Jobs.⁴² How he took Apple, a niche business, and turned it into the most valuable company in the world as measured by market capitalization. How he was extremely charismatic and extremely compelling in getting people to join with him and believe in his vision. But also how he was despotic, tyrannical, abrasive, uncompromising, and a perfectionist. So what is his leadership legacy?

Everything Jobs did and how he did it was motivated by his desire to have Apple make innovative products products that were "insanely great" "insanely" being one of his favorite descriptors. That singular focus shaped his leadership style, which has been described as autocratic and yet persuasive. As one reporter said, Jobs "violated every rule of management. He was not a consensus builder but a dictator who listened mainly to his own intuition. He was a maniacal micromanager He could be absolutely brutal in meetings."⁴³

 

His verbal assaults on staff could be terrifying. The story is told that when Apple launched its first version of the iPhone that worked on 3G mobile networks, it included MobileMe, an e-mail application that was supposed to provide seamless synchronization features similar to those used by the fanatical corporate users of BlackBerry phones. What was the problem? MobileMe didn't work well at all, and product reviews were quite critical. Since "Steve Jobs doesn't tolerate duds,"⁴⁴ it wasn't long after the launch when he gathered the MobileMe team in an auditorium on Apple's campus. According to a participant in that meeting, Jobs walked inin his trademark black mock turtleneck and jeansand simply asked if anyone could tell him what MobileMe was designed to do. When he finally got an acceptable answer, Jobs asked plainly why the it didn't do that. Then, for the next 30 minutes, Jobs blasted criticisms at the team. "You've tarnished Apple's reputation. You should hate each other for having let each other down."⁴⁵ Ouch. And this wasn't the only example of his taking employees to task. He was tough on the people around him. When asked about his tendency to be rough on people, Jobs responded, "Look at the results. These are all smart people I work with, and any of them could get a top job at another place if they were truly feeling brutalized. But they don't."⁴⁶ On the other hand, Steve Jobs could be thoughtful, passionate, and "insanely" charismatic. He could encourage and get people to do what they didn't think was possible. And there's no arguing with the fact that the results from the company he co-founded have been market-changing. From Macs and iPods to iPhones and iPads, Apple's products have revolutionized industries and created a fan base of consumers who are very loyal to the Apple brand, and employees who are very loyal to the company.

9-13. Think about what you thought you knew about Steve Jobs prior to reading this case. How would you have described his leadership style? 

9-14. After reading this case, how would you describe his leadership style?

9-15. Discuss whether or not Steve Jobs' leadership approach would work for others and in other organizational environments.