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The Bozo Explosion
December 17, 2013
Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.
-Mary Anne Radmacher

Steve Jobs remarked, "I don't think I run roughshod over people, but if someone sucks, I tell people to their faces.  It's my job to be honest."  In the article, "The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs" in Harvard Business Review (April 2012; hbr.org), Walter Isaacson points out that in fact Jobs was "famously impatient, petulant, and tough with people around him."

"But his treatment of people, though not laudable, emanated from his passion for perfection and his desire to work with only the best.  It was his way of preventing what he called 'the bozo explosion' in which managers are so polite that mediocre people feel comfortable sticking around....

"It is important to appreciate that Jobs' rudeness and roughness were accompanied by the ability to be inspirational.  He infused Apple employees with an abiding passion to create groundbreaking products and a belief that they could accomplish what seemed impossible... Jobs had a close-knit family, and so it was at Apple:  His top players tended to stick around longer and be more loyal than those at other companies, including ones led by bosses who were kinder and gentler.  CEOs who study Jobs and decide to emulate his toughness without understanding his ability to generate loyalty make a dangerous mistake."





 


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Comments (2)

Displaying All 2 Comments
Edna Ranck · December 17, 2013
OMEP-USA
Washington, District of Columbia, United States


Thank you for including Steve Jobs in your holiday list of EEDs. I was pleased to see that Walter Isaacson mentioned Jobs and Walt Disney in the same paragraph. In 2012, I presented a NAEYC History Seminar segment comparing Walt with Steve: my main points were: built a company that has lasted, cussed a lot, loved the concept of story (stories had to be great!), started in a garage, and "it all started with a mouse!" Jobs saw the potential in the little object created by Xerox and made it as magical as the original. Enjoy working hard and making your work the most beautiful thing possible. Happy holidays!

Marcia Lieberman · December 17, 2013
United States


I think this piece is simplistic. Are there examples of entrepreneurs who manage to be both successful and kind? What are our core values and when do they matter? This piece excuses the negative because it was "successful" - I don't doubt that good things have been invented by seriously flawed people, but I prefer to aim for treating people well even when sending them on their way.



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