Dan Lyons: Steve Jobs is a "petulant narcissist."
Dan Lyons of Newsweek — otherwise known as Fake Steve Jobs — offers a devastating take down of Steve Jobs' narcissism, unfavorably comparing Jobs' failure to groom a successor in the face of his various health problems to Gates' job setting up Ballmer to lead Microsoft.
Jobs, in contrast, seems determined to hang on at Apple no matter what. See, in the world of Steve, it's all about Steve. When he does go, he will be remembered as a tremendous genius—but also as a petulant narcissist with a grandiose sense of his importance and a sadly limited view of the world around him.Ironically, it is Gates, his archnemesis, who will likely go down in history as the classy one: the one who knew how to exit gracefully, the one who is devoting the later years of his life, and all of his billions, to helping the world's poorest people—and not clinging to his CEO job while he insults reporters and plays petty cat-and-mouse games with Apple shareholders and fanboys.
Apple: Who Will Succeed Steve Jobs? [Newsweek]
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Boy I can't wait until I grow old, contract a debilitating mystery illness, and then have the public pick me apart for wanting to keep the details private while I run a successful business. This is just TMZ celebrity gossip/stalking for a slightly different audience.
Steve Jobs would be wise not to follow the path of Thomas Watson and IBM though.
I agree with #1.
This comes off as a shoddy takedown attempt trying to gather clicks from the fanboys.
Apple manages to keep quite a bit secret. You don't think they can keep Steve's succession plan a secret?
I just bought a Mac for the first time in 20 years, despite my suspicion that Jobs has a dead-hand switch built into this thing.
I am Spartacus.
My take on Apple is that Jobs is trying to inculcate a culture, not raise a mini-me dictator. If all the VPs and department head think "the Apple way" then it's much harder for a petulant narcissistic autocrat of a CEO like John Sculley to undo the company culture from the top down.
Steve Jobs' 12 years at Apple have left his stamp on the company -- but consider how his 11 years in exile must have left their imprint on him, forced to watch from the outside as Sculley and then Amelio floundered around, damaging the company he co-founded.
While I agree that this text is rather heavy handed, Steve's note about his health on the apple website was unnecessarily crotchety. The note ended by telling the public to shove off and leave him alone. It started with a candid and honest health update. The whole thing felt like someone had threatened him get it written. That note only furthered my perception that Steve views Apple fans and the public as the unclean trying to view the anointed.
I like these two comments:
I love it when people read a whole article and spend at least seven minutes crafting two different responses in which they explain how they were going to respond, but the article wasn't worth it...
Come now, Steve may not be publicly grooming a successor, but I don't think any of the people that work close with Steve and are higher-up are really Ballmer-level.
To assume that Apple and Microsoft would allow similar people to reach the top of their respect corporations is, at best, completely fucking crazy.
That said, of course Steve has an ego! Would Apple be any fun to talk about if he didn't!?
Personally I hope thst 2 people take over from Steve, one good dictator for running it, and one charismatic public face (who can also be talented and one of the highest ups, technology officer, designer, a charismatic department head.)
It seems as though being a petulant narcissist is what it takes to succeed in many fields these days.
C'mon, Lyons screwed up pretty badly lately.
Everybody knows Steve's a tyrant anybody would love to be subjogated to!
Anyway somewhere i read the right definition for people like lyons: he's a click whore.
If anyone didn't get the memo that Dan Lyons has reached his level of incompetence, here's your follow-up reminder.
Bill Gates has fanboys?
@noen
I don't think it's unique to 'these days'. History is filled with successful petulant narcissists.
And thus we glory the sniveling vermin which is called Dan Lyons
Ballmer? Really? Come on, you could have made a monkey the CEO of Microsoft and it would still be a successful billionaire. The guy is an over-hyped motivational speaker. Bill Gates made him rich with a convenient monopoly.
I agree that Jobs is probably trying to form Apple into a culture that will continue to exist even after he is gone.
The day Ballmer comes up with an innovative idea I'll eat my hat. Not very worried about having to do this.
I agree this description fits many highly driven people with a strong vision of the future.
I worked for one once, they are enlightening and a pain in the ass. They are amazing people, but can be easily infuriated, and infuriating. When asked, how do you want this done? They say, just do whatever you think is best. Then when they see what you did, they go off with why the hell did you do that!?! Jesus christ, I never expected you to do that! Well, why the hell, did you think I asked you?
He was The Brain and I was Pinky. I probably should have had therapy, I know he did.
Any other Ayn Rand fans here who think that excerpt reads like one of her villain's lines?