An exec who worked with Steve Jobs for 26 years says everyone got it wrong about him
Filed under: Finance, Business, People
A legend surrounds Steve Jobs. He is described as brilliant and tone-deaf, dynamic but with a sharp tongue. A bunch of movies and books have sought to describe what made Jobs, who died in 2011, so special and so different.
"The word genius is used a lot these days — too much, I think — but with Steve, I actually think it was warranted. Still, when I first came to know him, he was frequently dismissive and brusque. This is the part of Steve that people love to write about ... To let them drive Steve's narrative, however, it so miss the more important story. In the time I worked with Steve, he didn't just gain the kind of practical experience you would expect to acquire while running two dynamic, successful businesses; he also got smarter about when to stop pushing people and how to keep pushing them, if necessary, without breaking them. He became fairer and wiser, and his understanding of partnership deepened — in large part because of his marriage to Laurene and his relationships with the children he loved so much."
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