Steve Jobs Dead

So I read again my blog post about Schmidt and Jobs and have a feeling of guilt. I put both names in the heading something he would have hated, I know more about him now than I did previously, however, I still stand by my comment he was no genius in the Einstein sense of the world; an individual who discovered something radically new.

He should though be acknowledged for his bravery and perfectionism. There are few people who want to excel in the world who want to do their best, Apple succeeds more than anything because people are committed to producing the best quality products they can, not just delivering at the lowest cost. His adulation is also a sad reflection on our world where too many products are produced at the lowest possible cost, where perfectionism isn't aspired too.

In many ways I am sure he was not a particularly nice man, I would dare to say Bill Gates is probably a more decent human being, but Steve Jobs would always be more interesting. Bill wants to please you as does Microsoft, Apple want to show you and dazzle you. They reflect their owners and founders so clearly.

He resents Mr Gates not for his success but for leaving before he could beat him, for not allowing him to have that feeling of success and fulfilment.

Great men such as Steve are different to the rest of us, it is that capacity to succeed massively or fail, that ability to take risks that most of us would not dare to, that ability to gamble their lives, their careers on a belief, they maybe wrong or right but they will do it. When they win we adore them, when they fail we ignore them. On my way to work I walked past the apple store on the first day and there sitting at the side of the road was a tramp drinking the last dregs of his beer. There are many men who gambled like Steve and will have a very different ending to their lives.

So he was no genius not in the sense of the word I understand: an individual who discovered something radically new. He was though a great man, a great builder of companies, a great developer and recruiter of talent and he was a perfectionist. The world needs more perfectionist and thanks for giving us the great perfectionist of the iage.

I salute you Steve even though you perhaps would not like my blog posts.