I couldn't help but respond to this as an Apple fan (since the eighties) and having read SJs book.
It seems clear to me that Steve made lots of mistakes particularly in his early career. I believe that one of the key resons he returned to Apple apart from the obvious that he was returning to his first love the company he started, is that he recognised he got it wrong first time round and his experiences at NeXT and Pixar gave him valuable knowledge both in management skills, albeit unique, and of course the money to enable him to come back to Apple.
For me what he learnt is the most basic of management techniques but the most difficult, suround yourself with talented people and look after them and make them your team. The perfect exmple is Johnny Ive but you also have people like Schiller and Tim Cook. These three individuals brought skills to Apple that if they had these the first time round and SJ wasn't so bad at management they would have wiped the floor with Microsoft and IBM.
From design wiith Ive to the incredible skills of Cook who transformed Apples inventoy policies and supplier relations which Apple never had before and there is no doubt that this has led to maximising the profits of the incredible new designs that have been created.
Steves strong Apple legacy is ironically now based around the one area that his critics highlight as his biggest fault. He has left an incredible team of people at Apple who completely adopted and adapted his methods. The real test will come when they have to launch a new product and its success will show how valuable Steve was to the comapny and whether the legacy he left in place has worked.
It seems clear to me that Steve made lots of mistakes particularly in his early career. I believe that one of the key resons he returned to Apple apart from the obvious that he was returning to his first love the company he started, is that he recognised he got it wrong first time round and his experiences at NeXT and Pixar gave him valuable knowledge both in management skills, albeit unique, and of course the money to enable him to come back to Apple.
For me what he learnt is the most basic of management techniques but the most difficult, suround yourself with talented people and look after them and make them your team. The perfect exmple is Johnny Ive but you also have people like Schiller and Tim Cook. These three individuals brought skills to Apple that if they had these the first time round and SJ wasn't so bad at management they would have wiped the floor with Microsoft and IBM.
From design wiith Ive to the incredible skills of Cook who transformed Apples inventoy policies and supplier relations which Apple never had before and there is no doubt that this has led to maximising the profits of the incredible new designs that have been created.
Steves strong Apple legacy is ironically now based around the one area that his critics highlight as his biggest fault. He has left an incredible team of people at Apple who completely adopted and adapted his methods. The real test will come when they have to launch a new product and its success will show how valuable Steve was to the comapny and whether the legacy he left in place has worked.
