Some of the most powerful entrepreneurs in the world history have gained great wealth and popularity by building successful businesses. Although building a successful business has never been easy, these entrepreneurs have defied all odds and stood with their businesses during the good and the bad times. Becoming a good entrepreneur begins with identifying untapped needs and organizing a great tem to meet the needs of the people. The discussion in this paper will examine the case of Steve Jobs, the founder and former CEO of Apple Company.
Steve Jobs was an American iconic entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of Apple Company. Before he died in 2011, Jobs had already created a name as one of the most innovative leaders of all times. As the company’s CEO, Jobs made major contributions that saw the company become one of the most profitable across the globe. During his tenure, Jobs transformed the company by growing its share value from $4.95 in March 2000 to $50.22 in March 2011 (Segall, 2016). Jobs did not only create a good name for himself and his company, he also created a good name for the shareholders and the surrounding community.
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"Steve Jobs, the founder and former CEO of Apple".
I consider Jobs to be a great entrepreneur and leader because of the innovative contributions he made at Apple Company. Apple was launched in 1976, at the start of increased popularization of computer technology (Segall, 2016). Since jobs took over as the company’s CEO he worked closely with a team of designers and made developed unique designs that put the company in its own league in the computer and watch market. The company introduced numerous computer brands including, Apple I, Apple II, and Macintosh, Imac, and PowerMac (Segall, 2016). Jobs continued to motivate his team and the introduction of IPod, Mac OS, Apple Stores, and ITunes store were a proof that Jobs was indeed a great leader who was committed to securing a great future for the company and committed to ensuring that the shareholders got great value for their investment in the company.
Job’s main contribution as an entrepreneur was seen when he introduced the iPhone series of Smartphone. In late 2007 and early 2008, there was increased popularization of Smartphone (Isaacson, 2012). Being an innovative leader he was, Jobs saw a great opportunity to expand the business and this is when he introduced the iPhone Smartphone. This product not only received great market acceptance but also helped in improving the company’s value. People started looking at Apple as an innovative company with a great future. The company provides the iPhone in a series including iPhone 3, iPhone 5, iPhone7, and iPhone 7 Plus (Isaacson, 2012). The company’s business model of introducing modified brands of the initial product shows its commitment to quality, innovation, and meeting the needs of its customers.
As the leader of a great organization, Jobs was always committed to meeting the needs of the customers. In addition, Jobs was always concerned of the surrounding community and he showed his concerned by developing initiatives to boost community and related community programs. As a leader, Jobs remained ethical and professional by providing accurate information to employees, managers, customers, and investors. Because of his great commitment to ethics, he was entrusted to run the most successful company in the world for years.
As competition in the technology industry intensified, Jobs had to look for alternative ways of maintaining the company’s profitability. This time, he did it by focusing on reducing the cost of manufacturing. Jobs made deals with leading manufacturers in China, who agreed to produce the company’s products at relatively lower costs (Isaacson, 2012). The company’s cost of manufacturing reduced greatly and profits and share value increased. The decision to move to China greatly helped the company in coping with the financial crisis of 2007 and 2010.
- Isaacson, W. (2012). The real leadership lessons of Steve Jobs. Harvard business review, 90(4), 92-102.
- Segall, K. (2016). These Traits made Steve Jobs a Smart Leader, according to his Right-hand Man. Business Insider. Retrieved February 28, 2017 from http://www.businessinsider.com
