1. What are the factors that contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur?
The success of Steve Jobs was very remarkable; he was able to make it as an individualistic Silicon Valley entrepreneur for his madness for innovation. He dreamed well that he made it into actuality.
The first factor that contributed to the success of Steve Jobs is the dream. Steve Jobs had a very crazy dream. He dreamed to wipeout IBM. Since he saw how IBM was very sought through by people, he wanted to replace it and place himself in it and make competition with IBM. It was one of the craziest dream I have ever heard in my entire nineteen years of living; I can’t imagine myself competing with Apple and Microsoft, planning to wipe them out of the society with my products or services. He dreamed so hard that he had put his mind to it and without hesitation that it might not work out and that a lot of people might not like it as well as have been laughing at him.
The second factor that contributed to the success of Steve Jobs is the determination. He was well determined that he did not mind the rejection of banks in every time he asks for loan. In every success determination is of great importance, like businessmen who made it to be rich and soldiers who was able to win a war. And that determination was able to uplift the mindset of Steve Jobs that he was able to dress well and shave his beard when he was to present his computer in the exhibition which was really inspiring because the way I look at him, it was merely impossible. It was really wanted after by people that it was only his product that was new to their eyes and people was really amazed. Because of that exhibition, it opened a new eon for technology that was envied by many of his competitors.
The third factor that contributed to the success of Steve Jobs is his independence and confidence. He never asked for help from other people and never pirate products but instead has come up with original products. The fourth factor is originality, authentic products of Steve Jobs was a good competition to IBM since in their time, the apple computers was so amazing especially when they applied the usage of mouse technology and the graphical user interface. They saw the potential of a mouse that might be very helpful to make ease in you work that was rejected by Xerox; it was inspiring how he saw the potentials of other technologies and supports it. Independence and authenticity comes hand in hand in the success of Steve Jobs. He never pirate other products, instead he buy the mouse technology and created Macintosh.
The fifth factor that contributed to the success of Steve Jobs is hard work. During the time when he was still starting and asks for loan in banks, he never surrendered and worked hard for his products to be funded and for it to sell in markets. He encouraged his employees to create arts through the use of computers. In every successful man, hard work also plays a very crucial part, and hard work also played a very crucial part in the success of Steve Jobs. He planned everything that it brought Apple to success. In the beginning, his plans were really uncertain to be effective or should I say it was uncertain if their products would really sell, but because of hard work, it was made to actuality. It was difficult to run a business especially when you haven’t finished college, but he did it. He continued to create functional yet elegant products.
The sixth and the last factor that contributed to the success of Steve Jobs are the consistency of his dream and the consistency of his hard work to reach that consistent dream. He set his vision early before he was starting the company and continually doing everything to make that vision to reality. He continued to create magnificent art and never grew tired of doing it. When I compare him to other people I’ve known, they are way too far since he persistently do what he wanted to do without feeling tired doing it. He was a man that wanted innovation, not just to generate money but to give the society an inspiration and an example to never stop dreaming and never stop doing what you love.
If there are factors that lead Steve Jobs to success, I think that there are also factors that lead him to his failure. When I asked my classmates about it, they said it was not failure in the part of Steve Jobs, but for me it was. He never treated his employees the way they should be treated. He was prejudiced about the efforts of his employees; he thinks that they are not doing their best to fascinate people with their crafts. He continually insults them and he shows insolence in front of many people by wearing shorts and faded t-shirts in the workplace and in front of his clients. If I were an investor that is planning to invest to Apple, I would really felt insulted when he will show that kind of attitude in front of me. As a businessman, Steve deserves two thumbs down for that attitude. He should learn to communicate with people so that he will understand more things.
Another factor that leads Steve Jobs to his failure is his exaggerated madness to innovation that he fell to believe to what Bill Gates’ alibis about his piracy. It was a pure mistake that he bought that reason, he was competing with IBM and he fell to an employee of it and even pirated his products and sold it to a much affordable price. Wanting innovation is not bad at all, but what Steve Jobs’ madness about it is not healthy anymore. He should learn to control himself and make better of himself for his company. That was the beginning of the rising again of IBM against the technology of Apple.
After he was fired from the company he founded, he founded another company and was called NeXT, a computer platform company specializing in the web development, object oriented programming, etc. he was able to raise himself again after he got fired and even founded PIXAR, an animation studios that created the movies Cars, Toy Story, and others. He is an amazing man that he can raise himself again from those trials. That inspiring attitude could also contribute in the success of Steve Jobs. He was hired again by Apple by the year 1997 and merged with Microsoft, I have no idea why he did that but I am certain he is up to something.
2. How do you see yourself as a technopreneur?
Being a technopreneur is a very challenging yet exciting yet very difficult career to take in life. I have considered a lot of things before taking such difficult path.
When I look at myself and think that I am businessman, it makes it hard for me to figure out considering I have no trust in myself especially in those very difficult tasks and careers. In other words I have no confidence, but I know deep within me that I have dreams and I wanted those crazy dreams to be seen in actuality. I am really inclined to technology that it amazes me to see people that are able to discover such barely impossible things, but they did. Technology has affected the society since it makes the lives of people easier and sometimes more effectively. Despite the fact that technology has improved the living of a lot of people, there are also instances that I wanted technology to be sensitive of the alarming tragedy of e-waste disposals. I wanted to create a company that are able to recycle whatever materials that can be recycled and create materials that are biodegradable to help other advocates in saving our society.
I want to create a company that makes inventions that can be thrown in the trash cans together with the biodegradable stuffs and uses recycled resources for the raw materials of our products. I wanted our products to meet no matter what needs of the people that will buy it, yet environmentally friendly. And thinking o this mad dreams, I suppose I will make a good technopreneur, but of course with the help of good employees and researchers that are also advocates for the environment. Taking this path may be too impossible for now, but who knows, what will happen to my life two or three years from now? These fantasies of mine or ideas will be of a very big help for the society and products that are very affordable since the materials are second hand and biodegradable.
When I handle the company, I will make sure that I am not only a functional chief executive officer, but also a relational chief executive officer. I will make real good friends with my employees and make sure to that they will also do the same so that we will make products in harmony and pure dedication together. This will make our teamwork more than a hundred percent effective. Since we are relational teammates, I will be able to encourage them to whatever plans I have in mind, and also to listen to their ideas for the betterment of our company. Through this type of management, we will make good products and innovations that will help the society. Encouragement, friendship, workmanship, and hard work will be the primary factors in my style of handling my business.
When I make a business of my own and to effectively create innovations, I should have a vision that will guide my business and employees in our voyage to accomplishments. I wanted to save the future from the disturbing destruction of the disposals of the e-waste materials, considering as of now I really see the future to be a garbage spot, and people do not care of this. I visualize the society to have clean air to breath, clean water to drink, and to the extent eradicate e-wastes. I want our company to become one of the advocates for the environment and creators of jaw dropping and envying technologies. Even if other companies make even better technology, our products would be way far more useful and sought from beginning to end since it is biodegradable and affordable. A lot of investors will come and invest in my products and inventors may want to work in my company since its way more affordable when it regards to materials. With that, my company will create a new diversity in technologies.
By having that vision, our company should also have a mission to be efficient. That is to make a whole new diversity in technology. To bring people the solution to the alarming cases of e-wastes, to bring them a new technology that will meet their needs, and to give affordable products. And since the company is an advocate for the environment, part of our mission is to support the organizations that support the advocacy that our company has chosen. As I see myself as a technopreneur, I think this would be of great importance so that we will be able to raise the company to its peak. But of course, these mission will not be implemented when it lacks support from my employees, thus, I will encourage them to accomplish this mission.
To complete all of it, since I already have a vision and a mission I should also have a goal. My goal is to bring the company to its success through good teamwork and to make many people to become an advocate for the environment. The company should know and be able to meet schedules and make innovation that will make living easier. Part of our goal is to be globally competitive and most sought after company by many investors and envied by many companies. This goal is of vital importance in making my visions for the company to actuality and be appreciated by many.
I also have an outlook for future expansion. I see when these plans are made to reality, it contains a lot of potential and that company will become globally renowned and globally admired by many people. I see that in that expansion, I will have different branches in different continents with very tall buildings and wide range of resources. My researchers will also be well renowned for being able to make that new eon into reality and I will be very proud of them. I will be the next man that will be called “The person that could stag Bill Gates” right after Steve Jobs.
Although I’m already thinking of these businesses, I can never forget my family. I wanted my family to live in harmony and I wanted my ever caring and thoughtful parents to live in a simple and easy life. I will encourage them to become advocates also and to praise God for all of those blessings He has given to me and to all the people I have inspired. Our trials will be worthwhile and that will lead us to living full of love and compassion for each other.
3. Would you take the same career path that Steve Jobs took? Why or why not?
In some aspects I would follow the path that Steve Jobs took as a technopreneur. I would make an industry that would wipe out the potentials of several small time companies and starting companies so that investors will see all the potentials of growing into bigger business in the company I will generate. Steve Jobs opened a whole new era in the field of electronics and computing that made his competitors envy his ideas and creations. He became eminent for being the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple despite that fact that he is a college dropout; this only proves that if you really wanted something that you put your mind in it and put it into actions you will be able to generate innovation.
He was able to successfully commercialize the 1st personal computers for $666.66 in 1980 that sparked the torch of bigger modernism; with this idea alone, it has inspired me to become a technopreneur and think of gadgets, applications, or simply products that will make living easier as well as bringing it to live experience and be proud and thankful for being able to create such product that is certain to sell for its valuable help to life. He had given many enthusiast and non-enthusiasts of innovation a great opportunity to be challenged, to make even better products and innovations that people would go crazy about.
It is very inspiring that a college dropout was able to establish a very successful company that is well renowned all over the land up to date. In that company I will make, I will make products that will focus in the contribution for the environment. Say for example, the commercialization of gesture sensitive computers and its materials is made out of biodegradable materials so that I will be the 1st man to be able to throw a computer to a trash can that is guilt free of e-wastes or destructions of the environment. That company will have a mission to save mother earth from the destruction of severe e-wastes, and become an environmentalist. Through those crazy ideas of Steve Jobs, I am able to say of this great things, and in God’s mighty hands, I might be that person to do it.
But there are also aspects that I will not follow, and I would cite the work ethic and his relationship to his employees and his co-founders. He really does not know how to treat well his employees that he does not allow them to sleep without any progress in their work. If I was one of those employees, even if Apple will make me a billionaire, I would really resign he does not have the right manners to treat his employees and he is very insensitive of their health, and feelings. As a technopreneur, you should also care of your employees to gain loyalty and respect. He is so cruel that he insults other people because of his obsession to innovation and new products.
His work ethics is so appalling and jaw dropping for the fact that he is the chief executive officer of Apple and wears shorts and faded t-shirts at work, inside his office, facing clients, being with his employees as well as raising his feet and lays it in the table in front his clients and applicants unbothered that these people might feel uncomfortable in his presence. And in the time that he was still starting and asking for loans from banks, he does not shave his beard and go out of the bank mad not thinking of the main reasons why he was not able to ask for loan.
Well these negative aspects will never stop me and will never affect the reasons why I wanted to take that career path. Besides, I wanted to become an entrepreneur that has the guts to make my mad dreams to actuality. I wanted to become an icon when information technology is the subject matter. I wanted to be rich and I wanted to take my family from the difficulty of bringing us their children all to college. I’m not saying that I only wanted to generate money but instead to raise our living. This might be impossible for now, but Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were able to do it through their crazy dreams. I am nothing now but like them when they were still starting to build that career they wanted.
I know I can improve my self esteem through dedication, determination and hard work. Since I am lacking confidence in myself when it comes to matters like this, I will develop my self esteem so that I can develop confidence and become a different person and be able to create that business I am dreaming. I will be kind to my employees and make our workplace a good spot for friendship so that I can encourage them to do better especially when I demand something in a short period of time. I know it may sound pathetic that friendship is an essential part of the business, but I think it does. I will encourage them to any advocacy I will chose, and since I wanted to be an environmentalist, I will encourage them to create products that are environmentally friendly. And I will encourage my employees to have inspiration in life so that they are inspired to create good things.
When we talk about the characteristic of an entrepreneur, I am knowledgeable that somehow I have those traits to become what it takes. I am always willing to take risks despite the fact that I lack confidence. I have an attitude that I wanted to be heard that causes me to be persistent to my ideas because I know somehow I have points that is worth noting for. I know how to listen ideas of other people because I am aware that not all of my ideas are correct. And above all these characteristics of mine, I am always and willing to learn, considering I am conversant to the fact that I do not know everything and many people’s ideas may be efficient and less costly than that of mine.
I think with all of those I’ve mentioned, I have the potential to take that path and I am willing to prepare myself if God would let it happen to my life.
