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Steven "Steve" P. Jobs


Self Description

December 2006: "Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple, which he co-founded in 1976. Apple leads the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook Mac computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also leading the digital music revolution with over 65 million of its iPod portable music players sold and over 1.5 billion songs legally downloaded from its iTunes online store.

Steve also co-founded Pixar Animation Studios, which has created seven of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Cars. Pixar has won 20 Academy Awards and its films have grossed more than $3.2 billion at the worldwide box office to date. Pixar merged with The Walt Disney Company in 2006 and Steve now serves on their board of directors.

Steve grew up in the apricot orchards which later became known as Silicon Valley, and still lives there with his wife and three children."

http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/jobs.html

Third-Party Descriptions

April 2012: '“See, I’m a simpleton; I’ve always had this view that we pay taxes, and the city should do those things,” Mr. Jobs replied, according to a video of the meeting. “That’s why we pay taxes. Now, if we can get out of paying taxes, I’ll be glad to put up Wi-Fi.”'

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html

January 2012: '“I actually think Apple does one of the best jobs of any companies in our industry, and maybe in any industry, of understanding the working conditions in our supply chain,” said Mr. Jobs, who was Apple’s chief executive at the time and who died last October.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html

November 2011: "The fact is, Steve Jobs didn't succeed because he was an asshole. He succeeded because he was Steve Jobs. He had an uncanny sixth sense about what consumers wanted, an unmatched ability to adapt existing technology and turn it into something new, and a commitment to quality that turned ordinary Apple customers into fans for life. Being an asshole was part of the Steve package, but it wasn't essential to his success. But that's not a message most of the assholes in the corner offices want to hear."

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/11/be-a-jerk-the-worst-business-lesson-from-the-steve-jobs-biography/249136/

October 2011: 'In the days after Steve Jobs' death, friends and colleagues have, in customary fashion, been sharing their fondest memories of the Apple co-founder. He's been hailed as "a genius" and "the greatest CEO of his generation" by pundits and tech journalists. But a great man's reputation can withstand a full accounting. And, truth be told, Jobs could be terrible to people, and his impact on the world was not uniformly positive.'

http://gawker.com/5847344

June 2010: 'Unfortunately, Jobs seems to have tripped over the line where hype ends and falsehoods begin. For example, Jobs claimed the iPhone 4 offers a "retina display," a disturbingly anatomical description of the phone's 300-dpi screen that calls up unpleasant images from "Minority Report."'

http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/lies-damned-lies-and-technology-hype-751

March 2010: "Mr. Jobs, of course, is the master marketer and innovator who exerts authoritarian control over every aspect of Apple. Since he helped to found the company in 1976, he has been known to elevate the fight against rivals — first I.B.M. and Microsoft, and later Dell — into corporate calls to battle, using the specter of the enemy to motivate employees and sharpen Apple’s image in the public eye."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/technology/14brawl.html

March 2010: '"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said in a statement. "We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."'

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2360838,00.asp

July 2009: 'Apple began allowing independent developers to offer iPhone applications online in June 2008. But before any app can be offered for sale, it has to go through a vetting process that many say is unclear and cumbersome. Although some apps are barred because they are offensive to almost anyone—Baby Shaker invited users to rattle a virtual crying baby to death—others are nixed because they might upset political sensibilities. Freedom Time, which featured a countdown clock to the end of the Bush Administration, was nixed because "it would offend roughly half of our users," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a rare e-mail to the developer.'

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2009/tc20090731_732921.htm

July 2009: "Though Apple has declined to comment on iPhone security issues, the company has more or less admitted iPhones are vulnerable to security threats, because an emergency measure exists. In August 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs acknowledged the existence of a remote kill switch for iPhone apps, meaning if a malicious app made its way onto iPhones, Apple could trigger a command to delete the app from users’ devices. There is no evidence that the kill switch has ever been used."

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/iphone-encryption/

June 2009: "But even by Apple’s standards, its handling of news about the health of its chief executive and co-founder, Steven P. Jobs, who has battled pancreatic cancer and recently had a liver transplant while on a leave of absence, is unparalleled."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/technology/23apple.html

June 2009: "Apple's handling of reports that CEO Steve Jobs had a liver transplant has rekindled concern among corporate governance experts that the company and its board are disclosing too little, too late on the health of its highest-ranking executive."

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2009/tc20090622_877379.htm

January 2009: 'Apple co-founder Steve Jobs announced yesterday that the illness he has downplayed for months even as it rendered him strikingly gaunt has turned out to be "more complex" and that he was taking a leave of absence from the company.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/14/AR2009011402790.html

January 2009: 'Schiller took the stage in place of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who this week disclosed a "hormone imbalance" as the reason for a dramatic weight loss in recent months that has left investors and Apple watchers concerned about the company's future. The company announced last month that it would not attend the Macworld trade show after this year.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/06/AR2009010602936.html

January 2007: Apple has essentially blamed former chief financial officer Fred Anderson and former general counsel and board secretary Nancy Heinen, both of whom are no longer with the company. But Apple makes clear that Jobs was directly involved in some instances of backdating. The investigation 'found that CEO Steve Jobs was aware or recommended the selection of some favorable grant dates.' The committee hastens to add that Jobs 'did not receive or financially benefit from these grants or appreciate the accounting implications.' In other words, he didn't recommend backdating his own option grants. Still, given that (a) backdating helps make earnings look better than they are; and (b) Jobs is a huge shareholder of Apple (10.12 million shares, as of last April), how could he not benefit from this behavior?

http://www.slate.com/id/2157160

December 2006: Apple Computer disclosed yesterday that it had falsified approval of 7.5 million stock options for its chief executive and innovative co-founder, Steve Jobs, raising new questions about the role he may have played in a scandal that has swirled around the dynamic technology company for months.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122900253.html

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Founder/Co-Founder of Apple Computer Organization Dec 30, 2006
Founder/Co-Founder of Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Pixar Animation Studios Organization Dec 30, 2006
Student/Trainee (past or present) Reed College Organization Oct 13, 2006
Director/Trustee/Overseer (past or present) Walt Disney Company Organization Dec 30, 2006
Advised by (past or present) Bill Campbell Person Mar 16, 2010
Supervisor of (past or present) Succeeded by Tim Cook Person Oct 7, 2011
Research/Analysis Subject Alan Deutschman Person Oct 7, 2011
Research/Analysis Subject Mr. Walter Isaacson Person Nov 30, 2011
Research/Analysis Subject Prof. Robert I. Sutton Ph.D. Person Nov 30, 2011
Friend (past or present) Colleague/Co-worker of (past or present) Steve Wozniak Person Dec 9, 2005

Articles and Resources

31 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 11]

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Apr 28, 2012 How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes

QUOTE: The growing digital economy presents a conundrum for lawmakers overseeing corporate taxation: although technology is now one of the nation’s largest and most valued industries, many tech companies are among the least taxed, according to government and corporate data. Over the last two years, the 71 technology companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index — including Apple, Google, Yahoo and Dell — reported paying worldwide cash taxes at a rate that, on average, was a third less than other S.& P. companies’.

 New York Times
Jan 25, 2012 In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad

QUOTE: workers assembling iPhones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocates and documents published by companies themselves. Problems are as varied as onerous work environments and serious — sometimes deadly — safety problems....More than half of the suppliers audited by Apple have violated at least one aspect of the code of conduct every year since 2007, according to Apple’s reports, and in some instances have violated the law.

 New York Times
Nov 28, 2011 Be a Jerk: The Worst Business Lesson from the Steve Jobs Biography:

QUOTE: Apple's founder and CEO could be a cruel and nasty guy. He was also the greatest chief executive of our time. Don't go thinking those two things are related.

 Atlantic Online, The (Atlantic Monthly)
Oct 07, 2011 What Everyone Is Too Polite to Say About Steve Jobs

QUOTE: In the days after Steve Jobs' death, friends and colleagues have, in customary fashion, been sharing their fondest memories of the Apple co-founder. He's been hailed as "a genius" and "the greatest CEO of his generation" by pundits and tech journalists. But a great man's reputation can withstand a full accounting. And, truth be told, Jobs could be terrible to people, and his impact on the world was not uniformly positive.

 Gawker
May 27, 2011 Easing Out the Gray-Haired. Or Not.

QUOTE: Some jobs will always have age restrictions — police officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and the like. And in corporate America, mandatory retirement ages for senior management face less resistance, thanks in part to generous incentives to leave early that are perfectly legal. What is more, federal law permits age limits for the top brass who set corporate policy. But chief executives still have a habit of hanging on...

 New York Times
Jun 09, 2010 Lies, damned lies, and technology hype

QUOTE: in this age of short attention spans, where stories flare up and die off on the Web in the matter of hours, it could well be a tactic. Get the headlines first, correct the mistakes later, hope nobody notices.

 InfoWorld
Mar 12, 2010 Apple’s Spat With Google Is Getting Personal

QUOTE: Google and Apple had worked together to bring Google’s search and mapping services to the iPhone...Mr. Jobs, Mr. Schmidt and their companies are now engaged in a gritty battle royale over the future and shape of mobile computing and cellphones, with implications that are reverberating across the digital landscape.

 New York Times
Mar 02, 2010 Apple-HTC Suit Cites Multitouch, Gesture Patent

QUOTE: ...Apple announced that it had filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware against HTC, alleging twenty instances of patent infringement....HTC has developed numerous touchscreen and other phones to rival the Apple iPhone. Of late, most have used the Android operating system...

 PC Magazine
Nov 14, 2009 Apple Wouldn’t Risk Its Cool Over a Gimmick, Would It? (Digital Domain)

QUOTE: ...Apple is seeking a patent for technology that displays advertising on almost anything that has a screen of some kind: computers, phones, televisions, media players, game devices and other consumer electronics.

 New York Times
Jul 31, 2009 iPhone Apps: What Makes Apple Say No? Recent app rejections, including Google Voice, have developers—and the FCC—asking Apple to clarify its criteria

QUOTE: Other programs are rejected because they duplicate (or potentially compete with) Apple's iPhone software. On July 31 the Federal Communications Commission sent a letter to Apple questioning its rejection of Google Voice, a telephony application. Many analysts believe the service was blocked because it could have snatched revenue from Apple's exclusive wireless service provider, AT&T (T), by providing cheap call rates over Google's (GOOG) lines. AT&T denies any involvement in the move. Among the FCC's questions: Why was Google Voice rejected? What are the standards for acceptance and rejection?

 BusinessWeek
Jul 23, 2009 Hacker Says iPhone 3GS Encryption Is ‘Useless’ for Businesses (Gadget Lab: Hardware that Rocks Your World)

QUOTE: Apple claims that hundreds of thousands of iPhones are being used by corporations and government agencies. What it won’t tell you is that the supposedly enterprise-friendly encryption included with the iPhone 3GS is so weak it can be cracked in two minutes with a few pieces of readily available freeware.

 Wired
Jun 24, 2009 Steve Jobs's health: A personal or public matter?

QUOTE: Many investors see the innovative Apple CEO as fundamental to the company's success. If he's unwell, they think they should be told.

 Christian Science Monitor
Jun 23, 2009 Experts: Apple Disclosure 'Falls Short'

QUOTE: Legal obligations aside, Apple nevertheless has a responsibility to be more forthcoming with shareholders, says Steve Davis..."As long as Steve Jobs remains the CEO of Apple, he cannot necessarily claim the same degree of privacy as an ordinary citizen,"

 BusinessWeek
Jun 22, 2009 A Transplant That Is Raising Many Questions

QUOTE: Waiting times for a liver vary in different parts of the country, and people who can afford to travel are free to go to a city or state with the shortest wait and bide their time until they have reached the top of the list.... It is even conceivable that someone could go to the time and expense of registering for the waiting lists of several transplant centers around the country.

 New York Times
Jun 22, 2009 Apple’s Obsession With Secrecy Grows Stronger

QUOTE: Few companies, indeed, are more secretive than Apple, or as punitive to those who dare violate the company’s rules on keeping tight control over information....Apple’s decision to severely limit communication with the news media, shareholders and the public is at odds with the approach taken by many other companies
Jan 15, 2009 Apple's Ailing CEO Takes Leave: Tech Icon's Absence Called a Blow to Firm

QUOTE: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs announced yesterday that the illness he has downplayed for months....Jobs's long-standing reluctance to discuss details of his ailment and prognosis has infuriated some investors....his piecemeal, vague health disclosures led some Apple watchers to wonder whether they might reflect a corporate decision to withhold bad news, using privacy as a shield. Or the inconsistencies of a man wrestling with his mortality.

 Washington Post
Jan 07, 2009 ITunes to Sell Songs Without Restrictions: Four Record Companies Back Tiered Pricing Plan

QUOTE: Apple kicked off its final Macworld trade show in San Francisco yesterday with announcements about new versions of the company's photo management software and an update to its productivity suite. But in true Apple tradition, it was the company's "one last thing" that had people talking: ITunes will now sell songs without any restrictions and at three prices: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29.

 Washington Post
Dec 26, 2008 Bits: Naughtiest and Nicest C.E.O.’s

QUOTE: Glassdoor.com, a site that lets employees anonymously review their employers and share salary information, is out with a list of the naughtiest and nicest chief executives of 2008, based on those reviews.

 New York Times
Oct 06, 2008 Newest Net Scam: Phony Grassroots Campaigns

QUOTE: There's no such thing as grassroots anymore. Everything is manipulated and fake. Sound cynical? Read on.

 PC Magazine
Jan 13, 2008 Two Views of Innovation, Colliding in Washington

QUOTE: ...in changing the nation’s patent laws, Congress runs the risk of throttling the little guy — the Stephen Wozniaks and the Steven Jobses — who strike out from their garages with novel ideas that change the world. On the other hand, consumers have clearly benefited from the ability of large technology companies like Intel and Microsoft to use their prodigious market power to drive down prices.

 New York Times

31 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 11]