Steve Jobs was named CEO of the decade by fortune magazine. Unless you have been living on another planet you will know that Steve Jobs is Apple’s current CEO and co-founder.  Steve’s rise to the top sure was an interesting journey. After being booted out of Apple in the 80’s, Apple went through some real dark days. Over time, revenues dropped, their product line was stationary and innovation was nonexistent.

Steve returned to the Helm in the 90’s and really turned things around for the fledging company. He practically restructured everything from Product lines to executives and staff. He also chopped a lot of products and products in development.  In terms or organization, he got rid of complex management and executive hierarchies in favor of a more simplistic organization model.

Steve’s return in the 90’s marked the beginning of now incredible innovation Apple churns out every year. Steve’s painstaking attention to detail is evident in every product Apple released. His input touched all elements of Apples products : Interface design, Hardware performance, Casing, Packaging, Logistics. I read in “Inside Steve’s Brain” that even the circuitry of the mother boards in the Macs had to pass Steve’s eye for detail.

Mr Jobs was also a very controversial figure in the industry and had a fierce reputation (especially in the early years) in Silicon Valley. He was known for his tantrums, throwing chairs across the room. It’s even rumored that during the restructuring of Apple, he placed people on the spot, grilled them about their roles and fired them there and then if he was not impressed. It’s even rumored some unfortunates were fired on the elevator. After reading a lot about Steve and meeting some Apple employees over the years, I’m now convinced that most of these stories were just hype and press fodder.

One thing is for certain : Anyone working for Steve Jobs had to stay at the top of his/her game. He rightfully expects nothing but the best from his talented employees. Anyone not pulling their weight or not talented enough did not last long in Apple.

Steve is quite a conservative man, even though he is a multi-billionaire he certainly isn’t too extravagant with the cash. He lives with his family in a modest home.

Steve Jobs has been a pioneer in several industries:

  • Mobile Phones
  • Music
  • Computing
  • Movies (Pixar)

He had to take 6 months out in 2009 over needing a liver transplant but thankfully is now back at Apple commanding his 34,000 strong troops.

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