A useful contribution. O’Leary, who co-worked with Steve Jobs at Apple, provided a harsh illustration of Jobs’ methods in Steve Jobs: The Original No-Nonsense Leader.
A product manager proposed investing $2 million in market research for the instructional game Oregon Trail at a quarterly meeting. Jobs immediately silenced her.
The manager sobbed as she left the meeting. Stunned, O’Leary said to Jobs, “Steve, you’re an ahole.”** Jobs remained unflinching. He retaliated:
Cruel? Of course. However, Apple’s success is self-evident. According to O’Leary, Jobs allowed certain distractions to get through,
Describing him as 85% signal, 15% noise. Musk and Jobs stand out from the others due to their brutal efficiency, which may come out as conceit.
By slicing through the clutter and making bold, self-assured choices, they created firms that changed the world, such as Apple, SpaceX, and Tesla.
