On Squawk Box This Morning Defending Steve Jobs: I Can't Believe I Did It

I was on CNBC's Squawk Box this morning along with the author of this month's Wired cover story on Steve Jobs, Leander Kahney. He argues that Apple has succeeded by "breaking all the rules" and that Jobs is an "evil genius." I am on record as describing Jobs as an asshole, and in fact, he leads-off my chapter on "The Virtues of Assholes."  I didn't want to write this chapter initially, but realized that I ought to because there are times and places when assholes do get ahead -- even though most times they are more trouble than they are worth.  As I looked more closely at Mr. Kahney's story, however, I became annoyed because it was such an oversimplification. 

First, it didn't talk about how Jobs has changed over the years.  Many of the stories about the worst of his behaviors go way back to his first tour of duty at Apple (before he was fired, in essence, for being an out of control jerk) and at NEXT, his failed computer company.  It is pretty clear that -- although he is still very tough and does have some nasty moments now and then -- the humility that came from these failures, growing older, raising children, and battling cancer have mellowed him.  Indeed, when I look back at my long list of "Steve Jobs as an asshole stories" (many told me by people who experienced them first hand, and who quickly told me something like "if you use my name, I will kill you"), most happened when he was a young man. So I thought that it was an oversimplification to mush together the old and the new Steve Jobs. Indeed, I hope there is statue of limitations of some kind for all the times I lost my temper before I was 35.  I also confess that I didn't make this distinction in The No Asshole Rule either; but an argument can be made that Jobs' early career suffered because he was too much of an asshole; and his later career has been more successful because -- by toning down his act -- his genius could shine through.

Second, Mr. Kahney seemed to view Steve Jobs managerial toughness as a sign he is evil, and to argue that his style is different than most other Silicon Valley firms.  I would argue quite the opposite; that toughness is the hallmark of many firms out here including Intel, Oracle, and even HP as it operates now. Jobs and his team are geniuses when it comes aesthetics and to understanding what people want and will buy. But Apple operates a lot  like many other companies out here in other ways. And being tough isn't the same as being an asshole.

I was sufficiently annoyed by the article that -- to my surprise -- my reaction was to take Mr. Kahney to task for his oversimplified argument.  As you can see here, he actually seemed to agree with most of my arguments, which surprised me further.  I am still a bit shocked by my behavior, as I never thought I would be on national TV defending Steve Jobs and Apple.  I was also amused when one of the announcers commented afterwards that she didn't expect "a smack down from the author of the no ahole rule."

Well it is only 7:00 AM and way too much has happened already. Time to get my kids up and off to school.

P.S. I am still not willing to let Apple off the hook for everything; I was really annoyed by Apple's recent rather sleazy move: When you updated your iTunes account, they tried to sneak in a copy of their new version of Safari (their web browser) for windows.   Check out Mozilla CEO John Lilly's comment on this bit of evil  (note he got almost 500 comments) and what happened on the fake Steve Jobs web site in this post: Dear John Lilly of Mozilla: You are a Craven Hypocritical Vagina and I Hope You Get Crabs.   

Comments

[guillone]

It's 'Statute of Limitations'. If you find a 'statue' of limitations, send us a pic. hahaha

[BillB]

A random technical tip: If you want a simple way to stop those Apple Software updates from pushing Safari to your windows machine, you can do this:

1. Open "C:\Program Files\Apple Software Update"
2. Rename the file SoftwareUpdate.exe to instead be named SoftwareUpdate.exe.DISABLED

That's it. No more Safari update attempts. Of course, you don't get any more iTunes or Quicktime updates either. If you ever want those, you'll have to temporarily restore the original name of the SoftwareUpdate tool...

[Michael Lee Stallard]

Bob,

I'm glad you defended Jobs. Job's doesn't strike me as someone who behaves badly for the sake of dominating others. He behaves badly at times out of his frustration when Apple fails to create products that inspire by meeting his vision of aesthetic beauty and functional excellence. His paranoia that Microsoft wants to destroy him (and Apple) makes him even more anxious and likely to blow his top when his expectations are not met. When his expectations are met, I suspect the Apple employees who meet them share in the sheer joy Job's feels. It makes for a volatile workplace where the occasional highs help to offset the lows.

[Brian Sherwood Jones]

http://grassrootsinnovation.blogspot.com/2008/04/being-nice-saves-money.html has evidence for the prosecution so far as Steve Jobs is concerned.

[dblwyo]

Bob, as it happens you were part of my bfast break though I watch online. Thought you did a fine job, you & Kahney were close (enough) and I quite watching when he started trying to save his argument. As for the toughness where's Sgt. Striker when you need him. Tough but fair is not only o.k. but essential. After considerable thought over the last few weeks (nice timing)it occurs to me we're leaving something out of the equation. Two things actually. Jobs also inspires loyalty. My teams gave me a Darth Vader doll but worked their butts because I asked and they'd never had the chance to do as much good work. There's the central lesson IMHO - if you're actually building good stuff that makes a difference you're willing to put up with a lot. ESPECIALLY when toughness and a consistent vision are essential. Otherwise you end up with a Camel - a horse designed by committee. And Jobs has clearly learned, learned to balance his behaviors and had more success. How does one think he built the most successful and talent dependent firm in Hollywood by being a pure a-hole. We need to be evidence-based here :)

[Bill (Dr. William J. Ward) a.k.a. Dr4Ward]

Thank you for civilizing and humanizing the conversation.
We Bloggers and Twitterers need to be reminded that the No Asshole Rule applies online and especially to Social Media. Congrats on the Squawk Box story and with the success of your books.

Wishing you continued success.

Keep Digging For Worms!

Bill a.k.a. Dr4Ward