Rules of business of Steve Jobs

"Field of distortion of reality": Steve Jobs's method on management of people

In July, 2018 the former employee of Apple Joe Shelton in an interview to the Business Insider edition told the details of a method of management of employees which was practiced by the cofounder and the former head of the company Steve Jobs.

It is about a method which in Apple is called we weed distortions of reality. This phrase was taken from  series "Star Trek" in  which newcomers created own new world by effort of a will.

The essence of such method of personnel management consists in involvement of the interlocutor in the phenomenon familiar to it, parameters or conditions of which the negotiator changes to  inadequate forms. Thanks to skillful manipulation of the facts, digits, estimates and  other data possible  not only to convince the interlocutor,  but also  to radically change his views of  the discussed phenomenon even if all hold other opinion around.

The former employee of Apple told all truth about well-known a method of management of employees from Steve Jobs

Jobs had a set of qualities which helped a field of management of reality to work as hypnosis. First of all, it is charisma and  eloquence.  Not only ability to convince,  but also  own deep-seated faith in  the idea. Everything that  did not match  its coordinate system, was just ignored. And  certainly, its influence on  employees was supported with professionalism and  authority. He believed that the truth is what he trusts in and this method worked.

In the biographic book about Jobs written  by Walter Isaakson the striking example proving capability of the founder of Apple is given to convince interlocutors. The cover plate of Gorilla Glass became popular in smartphones after Jobs convinced the head of the producer of such Corning panels Wendell Weeks of capability of the company to arrange serial production of such glasses in only six months.^[2]

Don't be afraid. You can make it — resolutely told Jobs Uiksu.

The field of distortion of reality represented complex mix of charisma, eloquence, unrestrained will and readiness to provide any phenomenon as it is necessary for it, said in the book Isaaksona.

However not all daring ideas of Jobs which he tried to impose others were thought over and correct. Sometimes they were even crazy. For example, as Joe Shelton told, in the 1980th years Jobs insisted on that Mac computers should have at most 128 Kb of memory. He told to programmers the following:

We want that developers wrote the small effective code as the code of Microsoft.

Such logic extended to everything. Steve Jobs thought that restriction of memory will give to Apple advantage and will allow developers to carry out more tasks at smaller efforts.

Staff of division of Macintosh gathered near office of the company before start of the computer at the end of 1983 or at the beginning of the 1984th

The gift of persuasion of Jobs forced employees to believe in correctness of an invention, but Shelton, according to him, remained the only person who refused to support the head in it, knowing as source codes quickly grow in operating systems and the software.

It is really silly. We cannot develop software with a sharp stop in the code — Shelton said.

Joe Shelton worked as the head responsible for designing, production and sale of the first computer of Apple. Under its management there were 345 people. He addressed one of developers Andy Hertzfeld, and that categorically rejected Jobs's idea.

Steve will do that he wants. We will do what is necessary from us, except cases when we need to do what we need to make — Hertzfeld told.

As a result programmers wrote the code in that volume which was necessary, and at first did not say to Steve Jobs how powerful computer, that there were no questions of how performance was reached. Afterwards Jobs guessed it, but did not begin to recognize the wrongfulness publicly.

Work, and people will start to respect you

Having returned to Apple in 1996, Steve Jobs began to work hard in the company: its working day began at 7 in the morning and came to the end at 9 in the evening, despite some problems with health. It could achieve from employees of high motivation on creation of the innovation products though in the company he was only a consultant and had no actual power. Jobs began to be respected quickly.

Show passion to work

Jobs always paid much attention to giving of the ideas. For example, trying to involve musicians to development of iTunes, he could tell for hours them about the forthcoming project.

"He was obsessed with the person. After a while I began to look not at the computer about which it spoke, and on Jobs as I was simply struck with his hobby" — the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis remembers.

Emotional Steve Jobs's approach to marketing was same. Thanks to the known advertizing campaigns which, for example, are devoted to the output of first "Macintosh" and iPod Apple became more than just computer company.

Apply flattery and temptation to disarmament of people

The working person, regardless of that, directs it or to them, always needs support and approval of the work. It reaches for you when receives it. Ayzekson writes that Jobs could and liked to tempt and fascinate people, summoning respect and love.

"It seemed that Jobs distributed insincere portions of flattery by that who waited for them from him. He could charm the people hated by it with the same ease with which offended those which were pleasant to it" — it is written to biographies of the founder of Apple.

Appropriate the good ideas

As well as any person, Steve Jobs was mistaken, but up to the end insisted on the. If the idea or the point of view of the interlocutor was better, the Apple CEO appropriated it and convinced that he never thought differently.

The section Genius Bar which is taken to networks of Apple Store retail stores for free consultations and technical support of users of products of the company is an indicative example. At first Jobs called this project mad, having said that employees of these racks cannot be called geniuses (geniuses). However already next day after this statement of Apple patented the Genius Bar trademark.

Make the fast and final decisions

At new product development of Apple seldom conducted researches, studying potential demand and also did not tighten with significant solutions as Jobs was quickly bored by all this. According to the chief designer of Apple Jony Ive, Steve could decide all for half an hour on any question on which solution several months usually left.

Be not afraid to be extremely fair

Having returned to Apple in the mid-nineties, Steve Jobs began to revive the company which had too many products and there was no accurate direction in work. Jobs did not hesitate of sharp expressions to devices which Apple developed at the time of his return. At the same time the founder of legendary corporation asked employees to be absolutely fair in everything even if the truth was impartial.

Do not postpone problem solving

"If you made something incorrectly, it is not necessary to close eyes to it and to say that you will correct an error then. Competitors act this way" — Jobs said.

When the project of the first Apple Store shops was almost ready to delivery, the head of retail RON Johnson said that it is necessary to change it. Jobs agreed with the top manager and start of outlets was postponed for 3-4 months.

"We had only one chance of making everything it is correct" — told Ayzeksona Jobs.

Deal with the problems face to face or ignore them

Steve Jobs lived in the binary world in which the person should be either the hero, or the layman, and a product — magnificent or disgusting. When Jobs asked one of engineers to create the computer mouse capable to react to movements in the different directions, and heard in reply that it is impossible, he dismissed this specialist, despite all his merits.

At the same time Steve Jobs did not want to resolve some difficult and inconvenient to him issues therefore ignored them, Walter Ayzekson writes.

Make hay while the sun shines

Having achieved success, some people stop working and only rest on laurels. Steve Jobs does not treat them. After an exit of popular "History of toys" which became the first full-length animation film Jobs conceived to bring Pixar Animation Studios to the exchange for receiving money to be financially independent of Walt Disney.

Advised Jobs to wait a little with the IPO and to wait for income from other projects of Pixar, but the founder of Apple insisted on the and finally hit a jackpot. In 2006 Walt Disney purchased Pixar for $7.4 billion that made Steve Jobs the largest shareholder of Walt Disney.

Use pressure levers

Though Jobs after return to Apple called himself the adviser, all in the company realized who this head. Understanding the important role in Apple, Steve Jobs achieved reduction of price of an option exercise of key staff to hold them. Besides, he updated the structure of Board of Directors, having invited the close friends.

Require perfection

Steve Jobs never went on compromises concerning time frames or the budget at product development. He did not pursue the aim to be ahead of competitors or to earn money, he just wanted to create an ideal product or "it is even slightly better". It seemed that Jobs demanded too much from the subordinates, but these tasks allowed to achieve finally, for example, reduction of load time of computers, management of an iPod player of only three buttons, reduction of time of production of all PCs from four to two months and t. item.

Notes