An Insider's Take on Steve Jobs

Jerry Rivers writes "Business Week has an interesting, if short, interview with Edgar Woolard Jr., the man who brought Jobs back to Apple in the dark days of 1996. "Old money" Woolard offers some interesting insights into the man behind the iMac and the iPod, including his take on Jobs' 'five special characteristics' that make him the success that he is."

Comments

Great interview.

[jcr]

People have been talking for years about how Steve "schemed" to replace Amelio. Woolard makes it very clear what really happened.

-jcr

The Five Characteristics

[vmardian]

From the article...

1. Incredibly creative and has great vision.
2. Absolute perfectionist.
3. Great ability to attract outstanding people to work with him.
4. If he respects you, he will interact with you and modify his ideas
5. The damn guy knows how to make money!

Re:The fifth quality is true

[SgtChaireBourne]

No. That's what the marketeers would like you to believe, though. Here's how it is:

1. Two years ago [1995], the company hired an outside consultant, Craig Smith, to devise a strategic plan to direct Microsoft's corporate giving in ways that guarantee the greatest return to the company. ... "Bill Gates is not so much a philanthropist as he is a Virtual Philanthropist. Of the $73.2 million that Microsoft donated to charity in 1995, $62.1 million, or about 85 percent, was in the form of free software."

2. "Billg's personal $100 million goes to health initiatives over ten years, while $421 million of Microsoft's money goes, over a mere three years, to support MS-friendly development and 'educational' initiatives." ... "let's not forget the five, count 'em, five, vanity puff-pieces appearing in the New York Times this week glorifying Billg's generosity, one of which he wrote himself."

3. the software tycoon's global philanthropy exercises carry a hidden agenda to persuade beneficiary governments to reverse policies promoting the use of open source software.