Next month I plan to review a recent book that has been much discussed in the USA – Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It suggests various reasons why certain people are highly successful and quotes the year of birth – and the opportunities this creates – as key to potential achievement. He quotes an impressive number of high achievers who were born in 1955 and included among these are those two great rivals, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
Jobs is perhaps the most fascinating business person of his generation, because of the roller coaster career and, not unconnected, the two dimensional personality that is disclosed by his life story. His early career reveals a man who was great at innovating but less great at running the companies he created. A classic example of this problem was his first time at Apple when he became the man that Apple could not live with but then could not survive without. He clearly inspired people to achieve for him but was such an impossible taskmaster that nobody could cope for long with his demanding standards and insensitive communication style. Thus he was booted out of the company he created and inevitably they struggled without him as Microsoft and IBM took a stranglehold on the PC market.
He then tried to prove himself by starting a new computer business – NeXT - with some handpicked former Apple people who were prepared to give up their careers to follow him. His two edged personality was confirmed again as every one of this group left the company because they could not cope with his behaviour under pressure as the company teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. He was saved because two things happened, partly due to luck and partly due to his genius.
First he had made another major investment - in animated films with Pixar - and this company also seemed to be going bust until his faith in their innovative methods of computer film making finally paid off. Just in time the enormous success of the Toy Story films enabled Pixar to sign a lucrative contract with Disney. It was significant that Disney wanted to poach the genius behind the films – John Lasseter – but despite getting the usual Jobs management treatment, Lasseter remained loyal to the man who had kept faith with him.
The second happening was Jobs’ return to Apple as its second time around saviour as his leadership and vision took them into the music business through the enormous success of I Tunes and the I Pod. His insistence that customers would pay for innovation of style and design – his strength in Apple’s early days - paid off big time. One of his frustrated marketers is quoted as saying that ‘Steve’s idea of market research is to look in the mirror each morning and ask himself what he wants’. Often he was wrong but with the Apple Mac and the I Pod he was right and that was enough to turn Apple round and vindicate those who had argued for his return (though Steve soon ousted Gil Amelio, the CEO who had brought him back!)
Towards the end of the book there are signs of a new and more mature Steve Jobs as he finally proves that he can run a business for the long term and also finds late personal fulfilment with a wife and family. A successful battle with cancer also seems to have added to his maturity but the very sad latest news is that a heart attack has added to his challenges. Maybe he is paying the price for the amazing and finally successful roller coaster of his life but I suspect that it is a price that many more ordinary mortals might be willing to pay.
The book ends with the rather sad comment that he will never find true fulfilment until he proves he is better than his nemesis Bill Gates. After reading this highly recommended book, I was of the view that, whatever the numbers may say, he is already there. I am just grateful that I never had to work for him.
