Opinion
Gates Says Steve Jobs Cast ‘Spells’ to Keep Apple From Dying
(Bloomberg) — Apple’s Steve Jobs was singular in his ability to take a company “on a path to die” and turn it into the world’s most valuable — in part by “casting spells,” billionaire Bill Gates said.
Gates spoke of Jobs, the Apple Inc. co-founder and chief executive officer who died of pancreatic cancer in 2011, in a segment on leadership to be broadcast Sunday on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”
“I was like a minor wizard because he would be casting spells, and I would see people mesmerized, but because I’m a minor wizard, the spells don’t work on me,” said Gates, the world’s second-richest person, according to a transcript provided by the network.
“I have yet to meet any person who” could rival Jobs “in terms of picking talent, hyper-motivating that talent, and having a sense of design of, ‘Oh, this is good. This is not good,’ ” Gates added of his sometime collaborator and competitor.
Even when he failed, he succeeded, Gates said, citing the 1988 introduction of NeXT, the computer that “completely failed, it was such nonsense, and yet he mesmerized those people.” NeXT ceased making hardware five years later, and in 1996 it was bought by Apple.
‘Incredibly Positive’
While it’s easy for leaders to “imitate the bad parts of Steve,” said Gates, who described Jobs as an “asshole” at times, “he brought some incredibly positive things along with that toughness.”
Reflecting on the culture he created in the 1970s as Microsoft Corp. co-founder, Gates said the company in its early days had “a self-selected set of people who were mostly males, I’ll admit, and yes we were pretty tough on each other. And I think sometimes that went too far.”
Now a philanthropist with a fortune estimated at $107 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Gates said he’s “not pushing quite as insanely.” Yet he admitted to a tendency to micromanage at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he established with his wife in 2000.
The foundation’s primary aims are to reduce extreme poverty globally and to enhance healthcare. “I’m still clear about, ‘Hey, that toilet design’s too expensive. It’s a dead end. We’re not going to put more money into that,”’ Gates said.
-
Uncategorized2 months ago
Oman Oil Marketing Company partners with Ihsaan Association to support its activities
-
OER Magazines1 month ago
Signature, October 24
-
Alamaliktistaad Magazines1 month ago
Al-iktisaad, October 24
-
Commodities2 months ago
Gold Rangebound as Investors Brace for Key US Economic Data
-
Oil & Gas2 months ago
OQEP Appoints United Securities as Liquidity Provider Ahead of Landmark MSX Listing
-
Magazines4 weeks ago
OER, October 24
-
Lifestyle2 months ago
Royal Opera House Muscat Welcomes First Shows of its 2024/25 Season
-
Oman1 week ago
Shell Oman Partners with Oneroad Automotive Gives Away 2 Forthing Cars as Part of its ‘Win Big’ Campaign
You must be logged in to post a comment Login