The relationship between Jobs and Apple hasn’t always been a cosy, harmonious one.
In 1985, Jobs had a bust-up with then-CEO John Sculley, causing him to walk out of the company he co-founded. Rather than mope, he bought studio animation firm Pixar before returning to Apple in 1996.
He immediately binned a range of products that he felt were a waste of time and went about pointing Apple in a new direction, focusing on just four products, firstly with the brightly-coloured series of Macs and then onward to the iPod and beyond.
Whether it’s taking an axe to Apple’s product range or creating entirely new categories with devices such as the iPad, Jobs has never been afraid to think big.
Everything about Apple under his command has been geared towards the brave and genre-defining. Jobs’ product presentations, to packed crowds, added a sense of theatre and occasion to the Apple brand.
That doesn’t mean that ambition can be fulfilled without hard work. As Jobs put it: “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
Jobs may have a favourable image in the media, but those who have worked under him describe a man obsessed with perfection. As well as thinking big, Jobs liked to be across the detail too.
“My job is not to be easy on people,” he once stated. “My job is to make them better.”
Jobs’ exit may have shocked many observers, given that his long absences from Apple in the past two years have never been fully articulated, but it’s clear that a solid succession plan has been built behind the scenes.
Cook has already got runs on the board as acting CEO and will be tasked with driving the company forward, with help from Jobs as chairman.
If you fell under a bus, who would replace you? Hopefully, you will have an answer as Jobs did: “My job is to make the whole executive team good enough to be successors, so that’s what I try to do.”
Jobs made the black skivvy look his own. He probably has a wardrobe stuffed with hundreds of them.
Maybe you should adopt a distinctive style. Bow tie perhaps? Or maybe a hat worn at a jaunty angle?
