WIRED: "How Apple Wins by Breaking All the Rules" (Evil/Genius)
| by Joe Leo, Columnist |
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But like we said, this "evil" is what has helped drive our favorite company back to the forefront, which is why the WIRED article is very, well, absurd, at the same time very real.
Writes Kahney, "...now observers, academics, and even some other companies are taking notes. Because while Apple's tactics may seem like Industrial Revolution relics, they've helped the company position itself ahead of its competitors and at the forefront of the tech industry."
"Sometimes, evil works," he says. So just what is Dr. Evil, er, Steve Jobs guilty of?
He is described as being a "notorious micromanager" or an "inveterate stick man" who has made some of his employees cry. Jobs is a "tyrannical boss." He's also given the title of being one of the "great intimidators" by Roderick Kramer, a social psychologist at Stanford whom Kahney interviewed for the cover story.
Then there's the one that puts the nail in the coffin. Guy Kawasaki, described in a Wikipedia entry as one of the original Apple employees responsible for marketing the Mac back in 1984, comments in the article, "Steve proves it's OK to be an [expletive]... He just has a different OS."
In stark contrast, in the March 2008 edition of Fortune magazine released last month, where Apple is labeled as No. 1 among "America's Most Admired Companies" (with, shall we mention, CEO Steve Jobs adorning the cover of that issue), a side story paints Jobs as a, "charismatic boy wonder." His successes making him a, "Silicon Valley pantheon." And yes, a "superstar."
Of course, we spoke too soon, because right after being called " 'the most successful CEO of today' " and a "global cultural guru"? In the next paragraph he immediately turns into one of "the most controversial figures in business."
Guess we forgot to mention the title of this side story is entitled, "The Trouble with Steve."
Fortune magazine's Peter Elkind writes, "He oozes smug superiority, lacing his public comments with ridicule of Apple's rivals, which he casts as mediocre, evil... No CEO is more willful, or more brazen, at making his own rules, in ways both good and bad. And no CEO is more personally identified with--and controlling of--the day-to-day affairs of his business."
Looks like some reporters have gotten their wires crossed and had the same idea. Evil? Seems more like they've gotten their crosses wired, labeling Jobs as an evil god.
How can anyone label Steve Jobs as evil? One can't deny the fact that if not for him, Apple would not be where it is today. Of course, first, for founding the company in the first place along with pal Steve Wozniak, and two, for his creative vision.
Add to that his own personal rise out of the ashes, as mentioned in Elkind's story, about his fight with cancer, and his battle with the feds--somewhat--over the infamous stock options scandal. Both of which he survived and came out a clear winner. (Plus, didn't they see the "In 2007" Year in Review cartoon from JibJab, where Jobs is clearly up in heaven, with iPhone too? Heh heh!).
If Steve Jobs is evil, then every one of his followers is guilty of worshipping anything but good--you can count this columnist in as well--and everyone out there who owns an iPod or iPhone, or uses a Mac, is in the same ark, er, boat. And all those PC-using converts from the other side too!
We guess we'll just let the, powers, that be, be the final judge on our favorite deity, uh, CEO.
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