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Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

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Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#41
post #15

I can't believe people compare Jobs with Musk. Jobs was so much better put together in public and seems like he can still be very coherent and persuasive even when angry (likely in this video) and insulted in public.

There’s no interesting comparison to be made, really. Both are rich CEOs, I guess. That’s it.

I think some people are drawn to this video because they want others to think that Jobs made big changes that were painful and he was very successful, therefore when Musk makes big changes that are painful he will also be successful. I disagree and think the similarities are only superficial, but I can see why some might think that.

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#42
Other comments rightfully address Jobs' extraordinary talent in presentation and persuasion. He was certainly right in the diagnosis about what ailed Apple at the time, and where it needed to get to (or get back to).

Having said that, I have to feel for the guy asking the question, and by extension, all the developers who invested time and money building on top of this platform (OpenDoc) that Apple previously championed. OpenDoc sucked, that's for sure, but Apple killing it they way they did, and the lack of empathy demonstrated here by Jobs to the developers facing the loss of their investment in the platform - basically telling them "tough shit" - must have felt like a real slap in the face.

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#43
post #20
post #15

I can't believe people compare Jobs with Musk. Jobs was so much better put together in public and seems like he can still be very coherent and persuasive even when angry (likely in this video) and insulted in public.

I don’t think he was anywhere close to angry. It seems to me by his affect that he regards the audience member as simply not knowing any better about the big picture and what needed to be done to turn Apple around from its darkest days.

I agree, he doesn't look even remotely angry. The guy asking the question sure did, but Jobs looked pretty relaxed. And his response was amazing. No wonder he could create the Reality Distortion Field ;).

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The title is "insult response" because he is responding to an insult. Not that he is responding with an insult. At least that is how I interpreted it.

Oh same here, but Jobs's reputation was for... not suffering fools gladly. Based on that reputation, I expected him to come down on the guy like a hammer.

Jobs was a showman. And a leader. He was hard on fools at close range, mostly behind closed doors. He had a really high bar of excellence. But punching down at someone in the audience, whether a fan or an employee, that isn't anything he was ever really known for.

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#45

Other comments rightfully address Jobs' extraordinary talent in presentation and persuasion. He was certainly right in the diagnosis about what ailed Apple at the time, and where it needed to get to (or get back to). Having said that, I have to feel for the guy asking the question, and by extension, all the developers who invested time and money building on top of this platform (OpenDoc) that Apple previously champio…

One of the Jobs' virtues was that he didn't sugarcoat his opinions. It was pretty harsh a times, but what should he have said instead?

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s because back then your interaction with the public was maybe twice a year. Now it’s daily. Apples and oranges.

> back then your interaction with the public was maybe twice a year. Now it’s daily. If you choose it to be. Plenty of CEOs are relatively recluse. For example, Apple’s, today.

I seriously doubt Steve Jobs would be.

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#47
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "You've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can't start with the technology and try to figure out where you're going to try to sell it." Crypto still hasn't figured this out. The entire focus is on how to get people using the technology. If you start out being completely unwilling to use a database, that should be a red flag you're falling into this trap. Would a bloc…

Jobs importantly said the customer experience . Remember Jobs also famously said: “Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why…

No post body was provided.

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#48
post #15

I can't believe people compare Jobs with Musk. Jobs was so much better put together in public and seems like he can still be very coherent and persuasive even when angry (likely in this video) and insulted in public.

> can't believe people compare Jobs with Musk

Go back to Elon learning, during an interview, the things Buzz Aldrin—a childhood hero of his—said about SpaceX. I believe Musk once had the progenitors of this sense of reflection and maturity. Instead, he’s degraded where Steve Jobs learned.

Re: Steve Jobs Insult Response (1997) [video]

#49
post #39

My favorite part is when audience clap to “some mistakes will be made and that’s good because that means decisions will be made “. As a guy who just quit 18 year career at multi billion dollar corporation, that was the biggest reasons for my quitting.

Indecisive leadership was your reason for leaving? (just clarifying!)
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