Short Biography of Steve Jobs

Reading comprehension: steve jobs biography.

Steve Jobs , the American businessman and technology visionary who is best known as the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. , was born on February 24, 1955. His parents were two University of Wisconsin graduate students, Joanne Carole Schieble and Syrian-born Abdulfattah Jandali. They were both unmarried at the time. Jandali, who was teaching in Wisconsin when Steve was born, said he had no choice but to put the baby up for adoption because his girlfriend’s family objected to their relationship.

The baby was adopted at birth by Paul Reinhold Jobs (1922-1993) and Clara Jobs (1924-1986). Later, when asked about his “adoptive parents,” Jobs replied emphatically that Paul and Clara Jobs “were my parents.” He stated in his authorized biography that they “were my parents 1,000%.” Unknown to him, his biological parents would subsequently marry (December 1955), have a second child, novelist Mona Simpson, in 1957, and divorce in 1962.

Jobs’s youth was riddled with frustrations over formal schooling. At Monta Loma Elementary School in Mountain View, he was a prankster whose fourth-grade teacher needed to bribe him to study. Jobs tested so well, however, that administrators wanted to skip him ahead to high school a proposal his parents declined. Jobs then attended Cupertino Junior High and Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. During the following years, Jobs met Bill Fernandez and Steve Wozniak , a computer whiz kid.

Through Apple, Jobs was widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution and for his influential career in the computer and consumer electronics fields. Jobs also co-founded and served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios ; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006 when Disney acquired Pixar.

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Steve Jobs and the 21st Century Entrepreneur, Essay Example

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In recent years, many authors have examined leadership and entrepreneurship in terms of personality traits and interpersonal relationships. Undoubtedly, Steve Jobs was one of the most influential modern leaders of recent years. Creating a multi-billion dollar company from one single idea, and focusing on constant innovation, he keeps on motivating entrepreneurs all around the world, even after his death. The below essay will focus on four areas of Steve Jobs’ leadership approach: interpersonal relationships, entrepreneurship, innovation, and simplicity and focus.

Enterpreneurship In The 21st Century

According to Kanchana et al. (71), “an entrepreneur can be regarded as a person who has the initiative, skill and motivation to set up a business or an enterprise of his own and who always looks for high achievement”. The below review of Steve Jobs’ entrepreneurial career will reveal that he indeed possessed all the above mentioned traits: he had the initiative to do what others did not dare to: creating personal computers, he could maintain his motivation, and continuously aimed higher.

Embracing challenge

Steve Jobs was looking at other people as a challenge. He surrounded himself with people who were at the same wave length, or at least as intelligent as him. Steve Jobs was focused on his company, and used other people to serve the same goal. If they did not, they had to leave the circle of Apple. This review also indicates that Steve Jobs focused on productivity and goals.

Transformational leadership

He was also able to motivate others, and this indicates that he manifested transformational leadership skills. According to Toma and Marinescu  (267), Steve Jobs was a charismatic leader who believed in face-to-face communication. Further, “Jobs had the ability to create small teams of top talents and to express ideas to the team for their realization” (267). Transformational leaders can provide intellectual stimulation for employees, inspire, and motivate others, just like Steve Jobs did.

Entrepreneurial personality traits

Some of the personality traits of Steve Jobs have made him a unique, charismatic and transformational leader. He did not only have an idea, but also the ability to create and communicate the vision towards people. He had the clear vision in his head well before he founded Apple. As the interview is quoted by Isaacson (57): “My vision was to create the first fully packaged computer… We were no longer aiming for the handful of hobbyists who liked to assemble their own computers, who knew how to buy transformers and keyboards. For every one of them there were a thousand people who would want the machine to be ready to run.” From this quote, it is evident that having a clear vision and the ability to execute the ideas made Steve Jobs successful.

Having a clear vision

Many entrepreneurs are able to come up with a rough idea, but only visionary people can transform them into visions that drive companies forward.  Toma and Marinescu (266) call him  “genius and a visionary”. According to Bass, transformational leaders can raise their level of organizational goal consciousness, rise above their self-interest, and address higher level needs. They can act like a strong role model, provide intellectual simulation for employees, and inspire others.

Identifying Opportunities and Creating Them

When creating  the iPod, Steve Jobs found an opportunity for making music consumption simpler, while allowing Apple to transform from a computer manufacturer into “being the world’s most valuable company” (Isaacson, 196). Every development was about identifying, and creating markets. At the time of creating the iPod, there was no real demand on the market, as the type of product did not exist. However, based on his initial vision, Steve Jobs  managed to create an opportunity for Apple to become the first company that would fulfill a market demand that does not yet exist. While many people would consider this business decision bold,  creating the iPod was the first step of transforming Apple from one of the many tech companies into the leading innovator of the industry.

Aiming higher

Steve Jobs had the drive to aim higher. When he created a new product, he did not simply sit on it, but carefully researched the competition and the market to find new needs to fulfill. He wanted to provide customers with better solutions than the competition. While Steve Jobs was  keeping an eye on other companies’ development, he kept his focus on being better than them. Competition motivated him, and he could motivate others to aim higher,  too. He pushed for perfection all the time, and expected his employees to do the same. According to the Harvard Business Review article, he only tolerated “A players”, while constantly looking for a “better way”. The article (Harvard Business Review, 10) states: “. He infused Apple employees with an abiding passion to create groundbreaking products and a belief that they could accomplish what seemed impossible”.  He also lived by the principle: “Stay hungry, stay foolish” (Isaacson, 51). He believed that he could create a better world, and never stopped working on it.

Works Cited

Bass. B.  Leadership and Performance Beyond Exceptions. 1985. Print.

Harvard Business Review. The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs. April 2012.

Isaacson, W. “Steve Jobs” Simon & Schuster. 2011. Print.

Kanchana.R.S, Divya, J. and Beegom, A. Challenges faced by new entrepreneurs. International Journal of Current Research and Academic Review. Volume 1 Number 3 (2013) pp. 71-78  2013. Print.

Toma, S. and Marinescu, P. Steve Jobs and modern leadership. Change in Leadership. Manager. No. 17. 2013. Print.

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steve jobs essay 100 words

Steve Jobs Deathbed Speech

Apple co-founder steve jobs did not leave behind a deathbed warning about how the "non-stop pursuit of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me.", published nov. 7, 2015.

False

About this rating

In November 2015, a rumor began circulating on social media that when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs passed away at age 56 in 2011, he delivered a speech or left behind a deathbed essay about the meaning of life.

One of the earliest iterations of this rumor we've found was published on gkindshivani.wordpress.com under the title "DID YOU KNOW WHAT WERE THE LAST WORDS OF STEVE JOBS?":

"I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others' eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death. In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer ... Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth ... Should be something that is more important: Perhaps relationships, perhaps art, perhaps a dream from younger days Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone's heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love. That's the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. Love can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands. What is the most expensive bed in the world? Sick bed ... You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost — Life. When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading — Book of Healthy Life. Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others."

Although Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, the above-quoted essay didn't begin circulating online until November 2015, was not published anywhere outside of unofficial social media accounts and low-traffic blogs, and has not been confirmed by anyone close to the founder of Apple.

Furthermore, after Steve Jobs passed away on 5 October 2011, his sister Mona Simpson remarked on her brother's final words while delivering his eulogy:

Steve's final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times. Before embarking, he'd looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life's partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them. Steve's final words were: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

While the above-quoted essay does not represent either Steve Jobs' final words nor remarks he made (in either oral or written form) at any time during his life, his biographer Walter Isaacson did record Jobs' expressing regret at the end of his life about how he raised his children:

"I wanted my kids to know me," Mr Isaacson recalled Mr Jobs saying, in a posthumous tribute the biographer wrote for Time magazine. "I wasn't always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did." "He was very human. He was so much more of a real person than most people know. That's what made him so great," he added. "Steve made choices. I asked him if he was glad that he had kids, and he said, 'It's 10,000 times better than anything I've ever done'." It wasn't always thus. In the early stages of his career, Jobs, who was adopted, denied being the father of Lisa and insisted in court documents that he was "sterile and infertile". He acknowledged paternity when she was six, and they were later reconciled.

By Dan Evon

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

steve jobs essay 100 words

Fact check: Commentary on wealth is falsely labeled as Steve Jobs' last words

The claim: steve jobs' last words were a commentary on wealth.

Steve Jobs’ last words were about his admiration of his family, not a critique of wealth, as a viral post claims.

A post that has been circulating in different forms since 2015 claims the Apple founder and billionaire died disillusioned with his wealth. 

“In other eyes, my life is the essence of success, but aside from work, I have a little joy. And in the end, wealth is just a fact of life to which I am accustomed,” the post claims Jobs said.

“At this moment, lying on the bed, sick and remembering all my life, I realize that all my recognition and wealth that I have is meaningless in the face of imminent death,” it goes on to say. “You can hire someone to drive a car for you, make money for you — but you can not rent someone to carry the disease for you. One can find material things, but there is one thing that can not be found when it is lost — life.

“Your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world. Whether you’re flying first class, or economy class — if the plane crashes, you crash with it.”

The post, made by Sergio Cardenas, then goes on to talk about the importance of seeking happiness, health and love in how you live your life over material possessions. The post has over 36,000 shares.

USA TODAY reached out to Cardenas for comment.

Fact check: Camping World CEO is misquoted in viral meme

What did Steve Jobs say on his death bed?

When Jobs died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, his sister Mona Simpson spoke about his last words as part of her eulogy . 

She said, “With that will, that work ethic, that strength, there was also sweet Steve’s capacity for wonderment, the artist’s belief in the ideal, the still more beautiful later.

Jobs' final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.

“Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them,” she continued.

“Steve’s final words were: 'Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.'”

Fact check: Ernest Hemingway quote falsely attributed to Joe Biden

Where did the other speech come from? 

No one who was close to Jobs has ever said the often-circulated essay was ever written or said by Jobs, according to a fact check by Snopes .

Snopes found the speech didn’t start circulating until 2015, four years after his death. 

The version being fact-checked in this article contains slightly different language than the one Snopes checked, but there are enough similarities that there is a clear thread between them. 

Fact check: NBA legend Larry Bird did not tell players to 'shut up and play the damn game'

Our rating: False

We rate this claim FALSE, because it is not supported by our research. There is no evidence Steve Jobs used his final moments to deliver a speech against materialism. Instead, a relative has recounted that he looked at those he loved for a long moment before saying “Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.” 

Our fact-check sources:

  • Facebook post
  • Snopes, Nov. 8, 2015,  "Steve Jobs Deathbed Speech"
  • New York Times, Oct. 30, 2011, "A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs"

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

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The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs

  • Walter Isaacson

steve jobs essay 100 words

Reprint: R1204F

The author, whose biography of Steve Jobs was an instant best seller after the Apple CEO’s death in October 2011, sets out here to correct what he perceives as an undue fixation by many commentators on the rough edges of Jobs’s personality. That personality was integral to his way of doing business, Isaacson writes, but the real lessons from Steve Jobs come from what he actually accomplished. He built the world’s most valuable company, and along the way he helped to transform a number of industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing.

In this essay Isaacson describes the 14 imperatives behind Jobs’s approach: focus; simplify; take responsibility end to end; when behind, leapfrog; put products before profits; don’t be a slave to focus groups; bend reality; impute; push for perfection; know both the big picture and the details; tolerate only “A” players; engage face-to-face; combine the humanities with the sciences; and “stay hungry, stay foolish.”

Six months after Jobs’s death, the author of his best-selling biography identifies the practices that every CEO can try to emulate.

His saga is the entrepreneurial creation myth writ large: Steve Jobs cofounded Apple in his parents’ garage in 1976, was ousted in 1985, returned to rescue it from near bankruptcy in 1997, and by the time he died, in October 2011, had built it into the world’s most valuable company. Along the way he helped to transform seven industries: personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, retail stores, and digital publishing. He thus belongs in the pantheon of America’s great innovators, along with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Walt Disney. None of these men was a saint, but long after their personalities are forgotten, history will remember how they applied imagination to technology and business.

  • WI Walter Isaacson, the CEO of the Aspen Institute, is the author of Steve Jobs and of biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein.

steve jobs essay 100 words

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Reference Page

  • https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/steve-jobs-pancreatic-cancer-timeline/story%3fid=14681812
  • https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.uk.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-quotes-life-advice-2015-9
  • http://time.com/1847/steve-jobs-mac/
  • https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

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Home / Essay Samples / Government / Free Speech / A Reflection On Steve Jobs’ Commencement Speech In Stanford University

A Reflection On Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech In Stanford University

  • Category: Business , Government
  • Topic: Business Success , Free Speech , Steve Jobs

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