“My neighbor, Steve Jobs, has been in the news lately. The talk of the town is the recent announcement he will be stepping aside to let other seeds grow at Apple. The business press, the general press, the blogosphere, and just about everybody else has waxed poetic about the ‘greatest CEO of all time’ saying that this ‘boy wonder’ has shaped the very nature of our lives with his genius. It’s all true, but here in Palo Alto, Steve Jobs isn’t just an icon, he’s also the guy who lives down the street.” I like stories that put a human being behind a public figure. As much as I dislike Apple’s recent policies, Jobs is still just a regular person, like all of us. It’s easy to forget that when you’re sitting behind a glass desk 4000 kilometres away.
Does he ever wear anything else?
Edited 2011-08-31 21:13 UTC
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t waste brain power on petty things such as ‘hmmm, what to wear this morning?’
and does it even matter? come on, it’s not you who’s wearing this outfit. Why do you even care? why are you talking such stupid things? It’s an “ad personam” thing and it is totally stupid. You didn’t even say anything corresponding to the subject of this news.
Someone could also say that you look ridiculous in this red thing on your head and a pony tail in the back of it.
Do you like it? I’m sure you do.
When you view the evil deeds done by many corporations at a distance, you might get the impression that the CEOs of these companies are complete scumbags, but I think most are genuinely good people, despite the evil deeds done by their companies.
As the guy who made the documentary ‘The Corporation’ points out, running a corporation is like playing hockey. When you’re playing hockey, you may body check some dude and cause him to slam into a wall, which is even permitted under some circumstances (like if he has the puck, I believe). But if you did that on the street to a complete stranger, you might get put in jail for assault.
In other words, people running a corporation or inside a hockey rink usually play by a different set of rules when they’re inside of these systems as opposed to when they’re outside. Some people might argue that the rules should be changed, but that’s not really the point in this context.
People are still responsible for their actions.
If you have ever been exposed to corporate culture, it should be clear that one does not reach the upper echelons of capitalism by being “nice.” In most cases, businesses do operate in a sociopathic manner structurally. I am sure those fellows may be nice people in private. But that still does not diminish the responsibility they bear for their actions in public.
BTW, let’s not forget that “responsibility” is one of the reasons used by CEOs and other highly paid officials to justify their exorbitant salaries and compensations.
Save your concern for those who really need/deserve it.
Edited 2011-09-01 01:55 UTC
(deleted)
Edited 2011-09-01 04:16 UTC
Hmmm…I read somewhere that sociopaths grow up to become great leaders, successful businessmen or serial killers.
I agree
Edited 2011-09-01 16:00 UTC
… or economists 😉
If you look at the majority of our social institutions, be it government, churches, or corporation, they are for the most part sociopathic in nature: they look out for their self preservation first, prioritizing it over their supposed mission statement in many cases.
So it is no coincidence that for the most part, people who end up in power positions tend to be somewhat sociopathic, since that is the qualities the systems expect.
Even if they are the nicest people at home, the ability to compartmentalize empathy is a defining trait of sociopathy. Which is ironic, since some posters are using that compartmentalization as proof of the opposite. That is basically a manifestation of cognitive dissonance .
And that cognitive dissonance ultimately is what ends up preventing societies having an open and honest debate about the implications of the institutions/systems we have based our societies around.
Anyhow, that is neither here not there. As this is a blog about Operating Systems. But then again this fluff piece by a bored housewife was equally out of place…
Edited 2011-09-01 21:40 UTC
or they end up burning everyone around them and end up broken and alone. I’ve known a few girls that are like this. They treat everyone like crap and play people off against each other for their own ends. Guess what? people generally grow to hate these people and they become outcasts from everyone they knew.
And what do you think “CEO” stands for? come on … !
She has a point but she seems to be hyper ventilating while making it.
Steve Jobs has been a public and corporate icon; a vision obsessed guy rather than a bean counting droid; the world needs a few more like him in that respect.
He is also a famiy guy with a need for regular privacy. The whole cancer thing is tough on anyone; and also very hard for his kids.
Some of the recent jibes and abuse, on OSNes, wrt Steve Jobs seemed out of order and saddening.
Yes, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, just regular guys. They have friends, families, neighbors, pets. Then they go to the office and proceed to give orders to destroy other companies run by other regular guys, or launch lawsuits that ruin the lives of others. Or hire corporate lobbyists to screw up the law of the land with patents. Even pressure other countries to screw up their laws too. Then they come home and pet the family dog.
Sorry, I don’t buy it. You can’t be a psychopath at work and just a “regular guy” at home.
Hitler loved animals too. He was a vegetarian. He’d pet his dog, kiss his girlfriend (Eva Braun), then pick up the phone and order a few million more people exterminated. Regular guy.
Edited 2011-09-01 02:48 UTC
Actually you can, which was the point of my post. Not saying that every CEO is a nice guy, but it’s possible to be a bastard at running your business, but not in your personal life. It’s like the guy you play hockey with… dude might f**k you up on the ice rink, but then turn around and buy you a beer afterwords
Have I known any CEOs like this? Not personally, but have associated with execs high up the food chain. They’ll do some stuff at work which I would consider to be ‘questionable’, ethically speaking. But otherwise, great guys to hang out with.
You are what you act like. People that mostly see you act like a bastard find you a bastard. People that mostly see you act like a nice guy find you a nice guy. Most of the time I hear of Steve Jobs he is being an asshole so guess what he is.
Easy, guys.. I put my pants on just like the rest of you — one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold records
Thank you for the Walken quote.
One needs to distinguish situational psychopathy and constitutional psychopathy. The Milgram and Stanford prison experiments shows that most people are capable of the former.
No, you can’t. Either you’re a psychopath or not.
Not saying all CEO’s are though.
Some people said that about Ted Bundy.
Isn’t it a bit early in the discussion to enforce Godwin’s law?
In all seriousness though: it’s not really known for certain if Hitler was a vegetarian not. There’s as much evidence to say he still eat mean, albeit a reduced consumption, as there is to say he was a vegetarian. Thus many argue that the term ‘vegetarian’ is misused in this instance.
Plus the reasons for his diet wasn’t to do with animal wealth-fair; it was primarily dietary reasons. So whatever the semantic is correct, it wasn’t out of love for animals the lead to his dietary habits.
Actually in his own words he turned vegetarian after visiting a kosher slaughter yard where they forced the animals to slowly bleed to death. If that is true (that he did) i do not know. But that is the way kosher meat is done.
Why would he even visit a kosher slaughterhouse given his stance on Jews?
I’m confused
People create their gods, people can destroy them too.
So, this whole 3D craze, it applies to people too?
I know someone who lived next-door to Idi Amin in Saudi Arabia. Doesn’t make Mr Amin any less of a murderous bastard.
How did Steve Jobs managed to become successful despite dropping out of college?
Where did Jobs go to college; when did he dropout? Do you believe that sometimes you don’t need a college degree to succeed in life? What is the true definition of “success (you can talk about yourself here)?” Bill Gates is kind of like Steve Jobs too; is it creativity?
As a tech support, i love to follow Steve Jobs footsteps to become successful.
Tech Support
http://www.chipremier.com
Edited 2011-09-02 03:05 UTC
What a POS of an article. I don’t give a damn about SJ’s private life — unlike, say, Bill Gates, he’s done nothing worth of mention. Oh, wow, he remembered your name! Pathetic. Very.
Jobs has the characteristics of a person with Asperger’s not a sociopath.
Asperger’s Disorder (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, p. 80)
‘Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviours such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures and gestures to regular social interaction
failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests or achievements with other people (e.g. by a lack of showing, bringing or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
lack of social or emotional reciprocity.
B. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
apparently inflexible adherence to specific, non-functional routines or rituals
stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
persistent preoccupation with parts of objects.
The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g. single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years).
There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behaviour (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.
He gamed the organ transplant system to get his liver transplant… in Tennessee. He doesn’t live in Tennessee.
Nobody but the ultra-rich can afford to put their names on 14 liver transplant waiting lists around the country.
I think about the poor soul who died because Steve Jobs got the liver intended for that pour soul.
Shame on you, Steve Jobs.
Edited 2011-09-02 13:39 UTC
Steve also thinks about the people who died while he lived. He actually did something about it too.
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-steve-jobs-got-sick-2010-04
Like what? Brought them back to life?
This blog came out right after TMZ posted photos of Jobs on their website.
Something about this doesn’t quite add up. He obviously is very sick, but I what I don’t understand is that this guy can get practically any level of treatment or medical support money can buy. What couldn’t he have?
Apple is and has been a very secretive corporate culture, even more than Microsoft is.
Lets hypothesis for a moment. What if he has contracted HIV? Would that have a detrimental effect on Apple? Maybe he is much more sick than really is being told. And if he is, than its his choice to keep it silent, for the company’s sake.