Steve Jobs' Leadership and Business Acumen

This assignment is an in-depth analysis of Steve Jobs' leadership and business acumen. It explores how he led Apple Company to success and how his life has inspired future entrepreneurs. The analysis also delves into his personal struggles, including depression and a mental breakdown, but highlights his positive work ethics and development as a true businessman.

RUNNING HEAD: LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
NAME OF THE STUDENT
NAME OF THE UNIVERSITY
AUTHOR’S NOTE

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Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Company started his company in his parent’s garage.
Today, Apple is a global brand and is widely respected and regarded for its brand value and
innovation. Any product launched by Apple Company is warmly welcomed and people wait for
a long duration to buy Apple products. Possessing an Apple product is often considered as a style
statement and it increases the status of the individual who possesses the Apple product. The
Apple products have state of the art technology and rarely does one face any issue in the Apple
products. The life of Steve Jobs shows us as to how enriching it is to be disciplined and
persevering. Steve Jobs faced both success and failure in his lifetime, but he was resilient in his
outlook. He never ignored the aspect of innovation and introspection. The essay deals with the
biography of Steve Jobs written by Walter Isaacson and how the book reflects on the life of the
great leader. The book explicitly mentions about the life and works of Steve Jobs and how he
shaped the business and growth of the company right from its start in his parent’s garage to his
death when Apple Company was renowned as a Global Brand and reputed internationally. The
essay attempts to analyze the work of Walter Isaacson through addressing the key issues of the
style of leadership qualities Steve Jobs focused on and whether or not he was successful
throughout his endeavor. The analysis is done in a critical manner.
The kinds of issues that Steve Jobs dealt with in his life, can positively arouse the
emotion and can inspire any person to strive for excellence and hard work. Steve Jobs, the CEO
of Apple Computers revolutionized the whole digital software industry. His life is an inspiration
for millions of people all over the world and his creation the Apple corporation is a global giant.
People have great inclination to buy the Apple Products whether it be the Apple Smartphones or
the Apple MacBook’s solely because all the products of Apple are distinguishable from the other
competitors as they lay emphasis on the finish, the enhanced software and the brand value. Steve
Job’s death was attended by many people from all over the world, who turned up at the
company’s headquarters with flowers and candles and post cards of mourning and gratitude.
Such appreciation for the founder of Apple was unprecedented in the modern age. The reason for
choosing Steve Jobs as a leader is because he single-handedly established the company and made
it one the world’s most well established and valuable corporation (Hilsenrath& Davis, 2016).
The Apple Company’s founder led a life which was full of ups and downs and he braved the
turmoil of his life in a way which was rarely seen before. The biography of Steve Jobs was
written by Walter Isaacson, which is widely regarded as one of the best biographies of Steve
Jobs and gives important insights into the personal life of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs considered
himself less of a leader or a visionary and more of a businessperson. His Business acumen was
astounding, and he had a great understanding of the business his company was doing. He knew
how to market his products in a very effective way. Steve Jobs was fully aware of the customer’s
needs and expectations regarding the products, so this enabled him to fully address the
requirements of the customers. Steve Jobs was very passionate regarding his profession and fully
immersed himself in exploring innovative and new softwareso as to upgrade his products (Soni,
2017). Steve Jobs believed that the money is important to a certain extent but more important
than the money is the products. If the products are manufactured in an efficient manner, then the
money will keep coming. Steve Jobs was a leader who emphasized more on efficiency and
innovation and this is the reason as to why Apple Company is now regarded as a brand which is
associated with innovation and efficiency. Steve Jobs was instrumental in revolutionizing the
whole digital industry by patenting the Macintosh software of the newly launched Graphics User
Interface (GUI) software. This was possible due to the visionary talent of Steve Jobs and he

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realized that the new software would enable his company to rise higher in the global market.
After all, in the corporate world, it is all about outperforming the opponent. This business
investment proved to be a masterstroke for not just Steve Jobs but for the Apple Company as
well. The incorporation of Macintosh Operation Software in the Apple Products changed the
dynamics of computing and later the mobile technological advancement. Every Apple Product
that is sold in the market whether it be the Apple iPhone or the MacBookcomes with pre-
installed Macintosh Software which is genuinely produced by Apple. These give the company
up-to-date technology and provide the latest feel to the customer (Sarja, 2014).Walter Isaacson
states in his book that Steve Jobs handled the company in the very crucial period when the
market was resurgent and doing business, as usual, was a very risky affair. There were instances
when he earned huge revenues as CEO of the company and likewise there were also unwanted
instances where he lost huge revenues. Steve Jobs handled all these situations with calmness and
brevity and focused more on upgrading his products and innovating software so that the
customers can be further attracted to buying the Apple Products. Steve Jobs emerged as a great
public leader and this can be seen from the fact that to this day, he is revered by not just the
employees of Apple Software but also among the employees of rival companies as well as
people from all over the world. The essence of Steve Jobs is such that examples of him are given
to the youngsters to encourage them to perform better and become great innovators and great
human beings. The love and affection Steve Jobs received from the people can be deduced from
the fact that even after his death, his followers have still not lost their trust and affection for
Apple Products. Even though the Apple products being costly and considered a luxury product,
still people all over the world prefer an Apple Product over any other product. Steve Jobs raised
the benchmark for the Apple Company, he believed in giving the best product to the public and
this is the reason why Apple is in the position it is today. Such positive qualities are very difficult
to maintain all the time (Grandinetti 2014). Steve Jobs was a very determined and disciplined
individual and his life teaches us as to how important it is to have such virtues to be successful
and progressive in life.
The personal behavior of Steve Jobs, as mentioned in the biography was not agreeable in
ethical viewpoint. In his personal life, Steve Jobs was not so consistent as he was consistent in
his professional life. According to the Biography, at one instance it is mentioned that Steve Jobs
has a narcissist disorder. He impregnated an ex-girlfriend and denied taking parental
responsibility and there are instances where he cheated his friends for money. On other
occasions, Steve Jobs indulged in bullying and insulted his contacts and humiliated the people
who came for interviews. There were instances when he lied to his employees. These are totally
unworthy of his stature and these are values which demean his stature and position (Enrich &
Wright, 2016). As Steve Jobs matured and grew in age, he overcame these deficits and realized
his mistakes. He even apologized for the pains which he made his ex-girlfriend undergo and even
agreed to take the responsibilities of his daughter by attempting to build a relationship with her.
Steve Jobs himself being an adopted child was fully aware of the difficulties and problems which
are faced by the adopted children (Chan, 2017). So, Steve Jobs regretted his follies which he
committed in his younger age and tried to rectify those problems.
The motives of Steve Jobs were never questionable as the leader led by examples and
encouraged his employees to outperform their tasks. Steve Jobs started the company in the
garage of his parent’s house in 1976 and from that position, he went on to become the CEO of
one of the most valuable companies in the world. Although there were instances when he

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suffered from immense mental pressure and turmoil and even suffered mental breakdown for
which he had to visit India to regain his mental vigor and mental strength, what is commendable
is that he never allowed these issues to halt his progress (Nur, 2016). In the Biography, Isaacson
also mentions that in his younger days, Steve Jobs was a very arrogant and some of his arrogant
attitude cost him and his company dearly. But with time, he became matured and resilient
enough to understand the nuances of the business and he not only skillfully managed to salvage
his company from turmoil but also revolutionized the whole Business doing the process. Steve
Jobs showed us that a human being is a culmination of the positives as well as the negative
virtues. It is therefore important for a person to realize that the negative virtues need to be
overcome and improved. Steve Jobs was able to do that, and this is the reason as to why he was
successful in the modern world. The main encouraging factor of Apple Company was that Steve
Jobs laid enough emphasis on the overall development of the company as well as the innovative
aspect of the company. The company has gained the trust of the people as well as the investors
mainly since the leader Steve Jobs was fully focused on meeting the expectations of the
customers as well as the investors who had invested in the company (Lunenburg&Lunenburg,
2015). The expectations of the people regarding the company were raised by the excellent
performance of the company over the years. Steve Jobs was fully aware of the rising
expectations of his company and to the surprise of all the people, he did accept the challenge in a
very brave manner. He never allowed the company to compromise on the qualitative aspect of
production. Although, quantitatively speaking, Apple produces much less quantity of products as
compared to its rival companies, yet it always gives prime importance to the quality of the
products manufactured. The service centers also offer excellent services to the customers such
that the customer feels important in the company. The Apple Company has fully followed the
policy of making the customer king. The work ethics of Steve Jobs is an epitome of excellence
and discipline coupled with innovation and excellent marketing skills. The marketing acumen of
Steve Jobs was way higher than most of his competitors. It is no wonder that apart from Bill
Gates, the founder of Windows, no other company has managed to pose a serious threat to Apple
Company.
There was no information in the biography, which can be stated as an exaggeration and
therefore, cannot be systematically ignored. Walter Isaacson has written the biography in a very
comprehensive, lucid and elaborate manner. Reading the biography makes one visualize the
incidents which shaped the life of the Great Leader of Apple and helps one to understand as to
how the Company reached the position where it is today. Walter Isaacson was personally hired
by Steve Jobs because he has a unique way of expressing the personal details of an individual’s
life. Isaacson’s biography gives one a very comprehensive detail about the life of Steve Jobs and
after reading the biography, the reader will get an overall information as to how Steve Jobs
became the person, and which were the incidents which shaped his life. The biography of Steve
Jobs written by Walter Isaacson is filled with moments which makes the reader re-live the
wonderful achievements which went down in history books and how the company emerged as a
global valuable giant from the simple startup company which was started in the garage of Steve
Jobs’ parents.
The actions of Steve Jobs cannot be criticized based on the contribution he made to the
Apple Company. The actions of Steve Jobs were always lauded and appreciated even by the
leaders of his competitors such as Bill Gates, founder of Windows. There was never doubt
regarding the ability and performance of Steve Jobs because his understanding of the business

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was impeccable and his innovative skills and emphasis on the design of the products were praise
worthy. The only critical aspect of Steve Jobs would be his personal life where he could have
been a little careful and sensitive towards repercussion of his own actions. Although he did
realize it later that he committed some mistakes in his younger age, still it can be said that he
could have acted a bit more sensibly in his younger age. Apart from his personal life, his
professional life has no points of doubt or problems. He was always a focused and intelligent
leader who was fully aware of the demands of the customers as well as the need for innovation to
help his company flourish. Steve Jobs not only laid the foundation for Apple Company but also
showed the future entrepreneurs as to how to do business (Tung & Henry, 2014). His life is an
institution from where the future entrepreneurs can gain important insights as to how to carry the
business from the scratch to the pinnacle of success. Walter Isaacson has immortalized Steve
Jobs and through his biography, a lot of people, especially the youth can gain inspiration to work
harder with impeccable dedication and innovation (Frankowska et al., 2015). Steve Jobs was not
only a great Businessman but a wonderful human being as well. His speeches which are
available in the online video streaming sites such as YouTube inspire people even today after so
many years since he died.
From the above analysis, it can be concluded that Steve Jobs was a great leader and he
showed his leadership abilities in all the business decisions he undertook as the founder and CEO
of Apple company. It is due to his profound business acumen that Apple Company has reached
the position where it is today, and he has led from the front towards the making of the Apple
Company as a Global Brand. Walter Isaacson has done full justice towards authoring the life of
Steve Jobs and has written the book in a very unbiased way. Walter Isaacson has not only
mentioned the positive aspects of Steve Jobs as a leader but has also revealed the humane side of
Steve Jobs as well. The negative aspects of Steve Jobs are also explicitly mentioned which
makes us understand that apart from being a leader, Steve Jobs was a human being and like all
human beings, he also committed mistakes. There have been moments in the life of Steve Jobs
where he has faced severe depression and has even suffered from an extreme mental break down.
But the most important thing is that he has developed his work ethics accurately and has
developed himself as a true businessman. Steve Jobs has made the company earn the goodwill of
all the people and he is revered internationally as a great business leader. The analysis also
makes it clear that Steve Jobs suffered a lot during his later life due to his inconsistent health, but
he remained positive even in the worst of health. He was aware that he committed mistakes in
the younger age of his life, and he even regretted his mistakes which he committed in his
younger age.

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