Battle of the Steves
Pop Culture loves to espouse Steve Jobs as the intellectial, spark of charasmatic genius that hoisted one of America’s original technology companies onto the map, only to pick up up and raise it like a Phoenix from a near deather experience.
We tell our university students to be like Jobs. We tell them wathc the movie. We tell them mimic his qualities.
I would say we are getting it all wrong.
If you had a party,Steve Jobs shows up late, drinks you beer, and changes the music to show you some cool new artist you would have found on your own about 7 months later. He hangs out for a bit, and leaves early.
Steve Ballmer, by contrast, is quite the opposite. Steve Ballmer is not heralded as unequalled genius. Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft exec, retired from his post with a portly bank account. Call it success, call it “Yacht Money” - he did “alright.” I would be so lucky to have a career netting that outsized reward.
If you had a party, Steve Ballmer is the guy who shows up at the posted start time with a cooler of beer, is the loud obnoxious guy that genuinely loved being there an got everyone excited to be there too. He turned your party into something you still talk about, “that one time - when your friend fell out of her chair laughing so hard.” Steve Ballmer is a smart guy. Steve Ballmer is not unreachable. Steve Ballmer is incredibly hard working, prinipled, passionate. and under-rated as an archetypal leader.
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