Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is taking another leave of absence from Apple. I hope that his health hasn't declined so much but it might be that way. Keep fighting, Steve.

Why is there such a fascination with him? I think besides what he's done with Apple and making the easy-to-use products key to everyday lives, and coming back to a company that kicked him out, and his visionary language, I think the sum of the parts is he's a CEO we like. I would argue that most of us would love to have lunch with him and that parts of us want to be him. There aren't many CEO's that we think that about. We may envy the lifestyle of the (business) rich & famous but we don't overwhelmingly respect them as people.

I've thought about this before - how successful businessmen and women in movies are rarely portrayed positively. They are greedy, scheming, vapid, intellectually lacking, abusive. Most movies are about their conversion from selfish, successful CEO's to kind, give-away-the-business folk. Think Elf or Scrooge (with Bill Murray). I know those are Christmas movies but I saw them recently so they're fresh in my mind. Sometimes there is no ah-ha story; the take-all businessman from Wall Street has not changed at the end.

If we are to believe Hollywood: sales people are sleazy and liars, financial people are slick and out for the dollar, and any plot involving successful lawyers usually reveals some sketchy ethical stuff. If the lawyer is honest and good, the character never makes any money or tries their darnedest not to make any (Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice). To make money, or want money, is to equal a shady soul.

There's one movie I remember portraying someone that works in business, In Good Company, as a good person who's reasonably intelligent and trying to just make a living. I remember being surprised. And a new tv show, Men of a Certain Age, shows a character inheriting his dad's car dealership and wanting to make something out of it. He's basically honest and hardworking. It's refreshing.

So back to Steve Jobs. A lot of CEO's today, I don't know the depth of their style. I have to imagine they're smart to get where they are, and that some/most are trustworthy women and men. But my mind instantly thinks of them as greedy and only about themselves. Steve has felt different.

I'm sure it's not always a picnic to work for him; I've heard he's the tiniest bit detail-oriented. But I appreciate his micromanaging and creativity if it gives us what Apple has.

Steve, can't wait until you come back.