Is Steve Jobs a Leader or a Manager?
Nathan Girard
9/27/2011
Is Steve Jobs a Leader or a Manager?
John Sculley former CEO of both PepsiCo & Apple states that the differences between leadership and management is; “Leadership is often confused with other things, specifically management. Management requires an entirely different set of skills. As Sculley sees it, leadership revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation…One can’t lead unless he can leverage more than his own capabilities… You have to be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on top of them with a checklist-which is what management is and not leadership.
There 's no doubt that Steve Jobs will go down as one of the most creative, visionary, and high-impact leaders of his generation --- or any generation for that matter. How many corporate executives can make a legitimate claim to have reshaped not just one industry but four: computing (the Mac), music (the iPod), mobile communications (the iPhone), and movies (Pixar). How many CEOs can make the legitimate claim that they achieved their wealth and power by making tens of millions of people so unbelievably happy that they worship the company and its products with near-religious devotion? The answer is most likely zero.
After reading an exclusive interview from CNN money Steve Jobs highlighted a lot of the questions that many people have about his company; “Steve has built a very deep bench of managers, including the leadership of Tim Cook, who clearly understands Steve’s vision, goals and direction,” said Mr. Bajarin, who has followed Apple for 30 years. Others were not so sure. “You could make the case that Steve has injected so much of his DNA into Apple that Apple will continue,” said Guy Kawasaki, who was an Apple executive in the late 1980s. “Or you can make the case that without Steve, Apple will flounder. But you cannot make the case that Apple
9/27/2011
Is Steve Jobs a Leader or a Manager?
John Sculley former CEO of both PepsiCo & Apple states that the differences between leadership and management is; “Leadership is often confused with other things, specifically management. Management requires an entirely different set of skills. As Sculley sees it, leadership revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation…One can’t lead unless he can leverage more than his own capabilities… You have to be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on top of them with a checklist-which is what management is and not leadership.
There 's no doubt that Steve Jobs will go down as one of the most creative, visionary, and high-impact leaders of his generation --- or any generation for that matter. How many corporate executives can make a legitimate claim to have reshaped not just one industry but four: computing (the Mac), music (the iPod), mobile communications (the iPhone), and movies (Pixar). How many CEOs can make the legitimate claim that they achieved their wealth and power by making tens of millions of people so unbelievably happy that they worship the company and its products with near-religious devotion? The answer is most likely zero.
After reading an exclusive interview from CNN money Steve Jobs highlighted a lot of the questions that many people have about his company; “Steve has built a very deep bench of managers, including the leadership of Tim Cook, who clearly understands Steve’s vision, goals and direction,” said Mr. Bajarin, who has followed Apple for 30 years. Others were not so sure. “You could make the case that Steve has injected so much of his DNA into Apple that Apple will continue,” said Guy Kawasaki, who was an Apple executive in the late 1980s. “Or you can make the case that without Steve, Apple will flounder. But you cannot make the case that Apple
Bibliography: Elkind, Peter. "Steve Jobs Speaks out - On His Management Style (7) - FORTUNE."CNNMoney - Business, Financial and Personal Finance News. Cable News Network, 07 Mar. 2008. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0803/gallery.jobsqna.fortune/7.html>. STREITFELD, David. "Jobs Steps Down at Apple, Saying He Can’t Meet Duties."Nytimes.com. New York Times, 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/technology/jobs-stepping-down-as-chief-of-apple.html?_r=2&scp=5&sq=steve%20jobs&st=cse>. Shriberg, David L., and Arthur Shriberg. "Chapter 7." Practicing Leadership: Principles and Applications. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, 2011 Nusca, Andrew. "Are Steve Jobs ' Management Skills a Corporate Risk? | ZDNet."Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet. ZDNET, 09 July 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/are-steve-jobs-management-skills-a-corporate-risk/20755>.