Executive summary
The report is about Steve Jobs and his leadership style in the contemporary world. He is the founder of Apple and later again rejoined the company in 1997 and led to the massive turnaround of Apple to become the technology giant. During his tenure, he made the company into the most profitable technology company of the world. Organisations which began their operations before Apple were left behind.
This happened due to the charismatic and transformational leadership of Jobs which made the company turnaround from being just a plain technology company making computers to an electronic and technology giant. He has been known to be a hard task master in getting the work done in his way through the employees. He was very passionate about innovation, creativity, designing, new products, etc and inspired his team to believe in competitiveness to lead.
After his passing away his team comprising of Tim Cook and Jonathan Ive have the responsibility to take Apple forward to sustain on the same pinnacle of success which Steve Jobs has made it reach. They would have to put in a lot of effort and innovation in order to sustain the position it has reached today.
Introduction
Leadership is a study of individuals who have the ability to inspire and convince people towards a meaningful direction which would lead to both personal and professional growth. This field of study encompasses the understanding and critical appraisal of how leadership theories and perspectives
Leadership is “the fusion of heart and mind, selfless action, encourage betterment of others, and to make a difference. It is the process of influencing
Steve Jobs was most famously known for his ideas that skyrocketed the Apple’s revenue in the American entertainment and technology market. It was not Apple as a company that created such an impact in the American economy but it was Steve Jobs’ creativity, vision, and leadership. When Steve Jobs left apple for six months due to health
Steve Jobs was like the Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the Albert Einstein of our time. He not only innovated personal computing, but personal media and communication, iTunes which became one of the most popular music and video retailers and Pixar which was one of his side projects had become one of the greatest animation digital movie creators and software. But all that is a just part of the list of his legacy, because in the end he still left behind Apple which is world’s most valuable company, which is valued at $350 Billion Dollars.
Steve Jobs on the other hand has a very innovative leadership style; he was a perfectionist who had the courage to change his mind. Steve was a very unconventional leader, he was very `high-maintenance’ who demanded excellence from his staff and was known for his
One of the major challenges facing Apple was to get the appropriate replacement of the company’s visionary Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Jobs who died on October 2011. The CEO was responsible for turning Apple into what it is today. Apple is in this case challenged to purse the strategies employed by Steve, that propelled the company to new heights, and which saw the company become a
From its inception in 1976, Apple was run by Jobs with an iron first. He was infamous for being consumed with his sense of importance and brilliance to the point where he unfalteringly damaged others by exploiting and bullying them. He was rightly accused of being egoistic, controlling, manipulative, condescending and impassive. He was often guilty of humiliating subordinates publicly, planning coups against colleagues and overriding other’s opinions and suggestions. His weaknesses lead to his ouster form Apple in 1985. At just 30 years old, he was jobless, branded a public failure and on the verge of depression.
Leadership is a concept that is constantly discussed yet there is seldom agreement about what it is. Even though most agree leadership is crucial to success of any people, project or venture. People define leadership differently and often times misconstrue leadership with management. Leadership provides the vision and focuses on the people while management focuses on objectives and tasks. It is however valid that a budding leader may sometimes need to act as both a leader an as a manager whenever necessary.
Steve Jobs is the CEO at Apple. Jobs founded Apple in 1976, and the company has developed into a major force within the electronics industry. Much of the success of the company has been due to the leadership of Steve Jobs. He has the personal attributes which are needed in order to be a successful leader, for example he is smart, communicative and is a great co-ordinator. However, there are limitations to Jobs leadership at Apple with factors such as shareholders, corporate governance, corporate social
With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, there has been an intense spotlight focused on both the man and the company he built. Most of the attention has rightfully been focused on Jobs’ passion and creativity, as well as the remarkable period of innovation he preside. As a symbolic leader, the man not only once saving the company from bankruptcy but also building up a well-known brand that had integrate with our daily life – Apple.
Over the years, a great deal of time, and research has been dedicate to the study of leadership. Even with extensive data on the topic, many still disagree on what leadership really means. Hence, leadership is a word that has many different meanings and different researched theories associated with it. On a basic level, leadership involves having and establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with followers, respecting followers, and leading an organization with excellence while ensuring that everyone is part of the team. Leadership is also a method by which a leader uses his or her influence towards getting a group of followers to take ownership or buy into a vision.
A good founder and leader is always the reason for success. Steve Jobs and Apple seem like interchangeable terms. Jobs insists his idea and ways to manage his business. His ability, confidence, sensibility and innovative thinking contribute to
As millions around the world swipe through their iPhones today, not much thought is given to the visionary man who played a pivotal role in the development of this innovative device. Steve Jobs, the man behind the development of iPhone and multiple other devices such as the iPods, iPads etc., was the backbone of Apple Inc. (CNBC Titans: Steve Jobs, 2011). Under his guidance and supervision, Apple Inc. has achieved new heights by re-defining the manner in which we, as consumers of electronics, interact with technology (Kane & Fowler, 2011). Apple Inc. not only introduced new and innovative devices into the market but also fulfilled Jobs vision of taking complicated technologies and simplifying them so that they can be used as consumer products (CNBC Titans: Steve Jobs, 2011). Jobs’ technology company was unique from others as it was the “one that developed tightly integrated packages of hardware and software.” (Steve Jobs: Insanely Great, 2011). Jobs creative ideas and visionary thinking enabled Silicon Valley to transform from a fruit orchard into the technology industry’s innovation center of U.S. today (Kane & Fowler, 2011).
His strong beliefs, vision and knowledge motivate us. Steve Jobs was not an ordinary leader because of his own administration style, which we may not be able to find in any management schoolbooks.
He has crossed all the levels of leadership and become the top managers in the world .He was intensely focused when committed, brave enough to take risky leaps, and charismatic enough to enlist legions of employees and clients in the constant objective of his aspirations. When Steve Jobs formed Apple in 1997 and the company was in financial crisis, he knew exactly how to get rid of almost all but a few of key products and projects that matched his vision. The way he stood by his vision inspired his employees and granted great respect from his business partners and
Jobs demonstrated his ability to effectively perform change management within the company. One of the things he did well was create a felt need for change as described in the change management lesson (Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education [BCEE], 2017a). Jobs had a way of communicating his vision to get buy in from the company’s members. This is the first step to effective change management (BCEE, 2017a). If Jobs had not been able to accomplish this successfully, the change would’ve been more difficult due to increased resistance from the employees (BCEE, 2017a). Jobs’ actions in this situation helped the company through the vision change.