STEVE JOBSUNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE

Jaclyn Falzarano & Justin Phifer

Common Knowledge: Adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View California. Uncommon Knowledge: Early in his Childhood he confronted his parents in tears about “why his real parents had rejected him.” His parents sat him down and explained to him he wasn’t rejected rather he was “specifically picked” by them.

Early Life & Upbringing

This would go on to influence his thinking throughout the rest of his life as he realized he wasn’t abandoned but rather chosen. This is something that would carry over to his design of Apple products as he wanted consumers to feel as if they specifically “chose” them as well.

Common Knowledge: He dropped out of College after only six months of schooling.

Uncommon Knowledge: Despite Dropping out of College Jobs was still looking for opportunities to learn. He would drop in on college classes that he found interesting.

Education & Experience

The most beneficial to him was a calligraphy class that he took. This class taught him about “serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, and about what makes typography great.” This would be something he would later use when designing the Macintosh Computer.

The question is often posed: “Which ingredients of character, talent, skill and/or knowledge accounted for the Jobs’s entrepreneurial success and genius? The big thing about Jobs was not his genius or charisma but rather his ability to be an extraordinary risk-taker. Risk-taking alone wasn’t the key but rather he was always well prepared to take these risks. The key then being in the preparation not in the desire to take the big gamble. Some characteristics that helped make this possible were Jobs’s ability to: Question, experiment, observe , associate ideas, and network.

Thought Processes & Continuous Innovation

Creation & Development of Apple

Apple is known all over the world for the life-altering technological products it offers.

Had the mindset that Apple products needed to be a necessity for all consumers rather than just a desire.

He was extremely successful in doing this, as the majority of individuals all over the world have a least one Apple product.

Motivation for SuccessJobs was an extremely motivational person and had a great positive impact on those around him.

First I Phone: Jobs told his team that he was not interested in creating a phone that had all sorts of Apps and media options.

Jobs wanted the team to construct a phone that consumers simply would not be able to leave the house without.

I Phone vision: create the first phone that people would actually fall in love with.

But the idea was simple: create a phone that people could not be without, and that they would rather leave home without their wallet.

Leadership Style

Jobs had very unique styles of management and leadership.

Considered a “high-maintenance co-worker” who demanded detailed excellence.

He would not settle for average.

Jobs had a very impressive ability to articulate his vision to his team members, investors, and customers.

He did not call for group consensuses; he dictated his employees and followed his personal intuition.

Known for being a very tedious micromanager, and would not let up on his employees for unsatisfactory work.

Without his ways of leading, Apple would certainly not be where it is today.

Loved/Hated as a Manager

Common Knowledge: Jobs was known as a tough boss who had unreasonable expectations of employees. He was also known for yelling and swearing at subordinates when something did not meet his level of satisfaction. Uncommon Knowledge: During Jobs’s time at Apple he received a 97% approval rating from employees. Jobs was also ranked number one when it came to the top 25 highest rated CEOs (rated by employees via one question: Do you approve of the way your CEO is leading the company?) This proved the effectiveness of his unconventional leadership style.

http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/glassdoor-reveals-top-25-highest-rated-ceos-2012/http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/03/30/tim-cook-approval-rating-97-percent/http://www.biography.com/people/steve-jobs-9354805?page=2http://timelines.latimes.com/steve-jobs/http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/management/steve-jobs-an-unconventional-leader-20111007-1lcmo.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2011/10/23/tech/innovation/60-minutes-steve-jobs/index.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/profile/steve-jobs/http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/93066

Sources