Introduction
One of the biggest and wealthiest companies, Apple, has reached unexpected heights with Steve Jobs, which is the major moving force of the business. Steve Jobs has left a legacy behind by being a successful entrepreneur, a skilled worker, and a determined person.
Steve Jobs: Biography
Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, unfortunately, his parents were university students and they set him up for adoption. The gifted child was adopted by Paul Reinhold Jobs and Clara Jobs. As Paul was somewhat involved in vehicle mechanics and electronics, he taught Steve some things which developed his interest in technology and mechanisms. Steve was talented in other areas as well; his mother taught him how to read even before he went to school, which was another proof of his quick learning brain.
In school, Steve was a rebel and was not interested in formal education, which is very characteristic of gifted children, as school seems simple and distant to them. He often got involved it problematic situations, receiving a label of a troublemaker (Gilliam 15). His passion for electronics got only stronger which led him to be in constant attendance of several electronics clubs in a number of schools. Steve’s bad behavior forced the family to move around and change schools, which turned out to be extremely beneficial. When his family moved to Los Altos, California, he met a friend by the name Bill Fernandez. Steve Wozniak was another electronics enthusiast whom Bill introduced to Steve. Wozniak and Jobs became good friends, as their interest in electronics were mutual and equally consuming.
Steve’s next major step was to convince Bill Hewlett, one of the owners of Hewlett-Packard, to give Steve computer equipment. Hewlett was surprised by Steve’s intelligence and gave him a job on the assembly line; he was thirteen years old (Imbimbo 27). At fifteen, Steve acquired a vehicle with the money saved. The bargaining skills he gained from his adoptive father while selling cars and his knowledge of electronics became very useful for him during his whole life. As Steve got older and went to college, he encountered the same problem as in school and so he went off to search for the “meaning of life” in India. There, he realized that to make something great out of an idea there must be active and so, he decided to pursue his meaning in life by returning home and resuming his passion in electronics, which happened in 1974 (Doeden 16).
When he worked at a company called “Altair” he was thought of as the very impolite and impatient person who often insulted co-workers because they could not understand something or complete a job fast enough. In 1975, he reunited with his friend Wozniak and saw the machine that he had built. Jobs was fascinated by it and proposed to create their own company. In 1976, the first step towards Apple was taken, and Jobs, Wozniak, and Ron Wayne, officially signed the papers cementing their own company. Their first model was called Apple I and was made by Wozniak. By the end of their first year in business, they have sold 150 units of Apple I. In 1977 Apple II became a model of mass sales. While at Apple, Steve was always thought to be separate from the rest of the team, he pursued his own ideas and paid great attention to details, which many times created problems by delaying the product for the market. In 1985 Wozniak resigns from Apple and Jobs is replaced as chief executive.
In 1986 Steve Jobs decides to start another company called NeXT. His computer and software were successful but too expensive and so, in 1993, he is forced to close the manufacturing plant and focus his efforts on the software only. In1996, Apple realizes that Jobs is the “missing link” and he returns. Steve is consumed by his work, focusing all his attention on the search for an idea that must change the world (Lusted 20). He visits different departments to see their progress and spends countless hours working on the new technology. In 1998 the world is introduced with iMac, a computer with easy access to the internet, in 2001 the iPod comes out.
Steve continues to work hard, often being impatient, searching for the breakthrough. Even though in 2003 Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he recovers and puts much effort into that, which revolutionized the world. In 2007 Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone. This device united several previous inventions in one: easy internet access, the cell phone, and the iPod. Steve Jobs is known for his originality in designs, innovation, and persistence. Even though he was sometimes impatient towards his co-workers, his perfectionist nature and attention to detail made him the person he was. His ability to quickly change decisions was one of his great strengths (Elliot 47). His entrepreneurial skills can be traced to his childhood and have lasted all his life, making him famous.
Works Cited
Doeden, Matt. Steve Jobs: Technology Innovator and Apple Genius. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2012. Print.
Elliot, Jay. ILeadership: The Steve Jobs Way. New York: Vanguard, 2011. Print.
Gilliam, Scott. Steve Jobs: Apple & Ipod Wizard. Edina: ABDO, 2008. Print.
Imbimbo, Anthony. Steve Jobs: The Brilliant Mind Behind Apple. Pleasantville: Gareth Stevens, 2009. Print.
Lusted, Marcia. Apple: The company and its visionary founder, Steve Jobs. North Mankato: ABDO, 2012. Print.