The nature of this project is to understand the leadership styles and effectiveness of the styles of two leaders. This paper will compare and contrast the leadership styles and traits of Steve Jobs of Apple Inc and Bill Gates of Microsoft. The concepts and techniques derived from this investigation are designed to show how Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, although they have completely opposing styles of management, still made their respective companies billions of dollars. Their products changed the way the world communicates and does business. Both men have left an indelible mark on the world of personal computers, software and technology.
Steve Jobs of Apple Computer was the most dynamic and innovative technological genius to ever grace this earth. Having recently died with pancreatic cancer, the memory of Steve Jobs will never fade ( Manila Bulletin, 2011). His creations are with us throughout the day. We listen to music on the iPod. We use the Macintosh computer for our serious data processing and graphics. Jobs enhanced graphics with color to the computer screen. This was something that had never been done before Steve Jobs and Apple accomplished the impossible.
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"Steve Jobs versus Bill Gates: A Comparison in Leadership Styles".
Steve Jobs was not afraid to take chances. In fact, from the very beginning of Apple computers, Jobs was a premier negotiator. He was a marketing genius. Everything he touched turned gold. He was ruthless in business though. He had no problem stepping on his friends to get where he wanted to go. It was not all for money or selfish reasons. It was because like all great leaders and visionaries, Steve Jobs wanted nothing less than to make the computer as easy to use as an appliance (Burrows, 2012). He encouraged and demanded that computer technologists who worked for him think outside of the box, to try things that had never been done before, and to be willing to take the risk even if that means personal and professional failure. Jobs expected much from his coworkers, but that was because Jobs had a passion for creating the personal home computer that was user friendly and encased in a practical yet stylish. Jobs was on a mission, and that mission was to make the world fall in love with the home computer just like he did.
Steve Jobs cannot fit into any particular category or leadership style. Jobs was a hands-on manager. He was very arrogant in the way he handled his coworkers which cost him his position with his own company, Apple. He then came back and made Apple a great success. His style is autocratic because he centralizes all decisions and does not involve a subordinate in the decision process.
Bill Gates has a totally different leadership style then Steve Jobs. Bill gate is a participative leader. He is a flexible person in general, and also with his coworkers and subordinates. Gates has been said to be energizing and strong in his leadership capacity. He came up with the idea of creative capitalism (Manila Bulletin, 2008). He defines creative capitalism as the group will be more successful and profitable if each individual thinks in terms of what will benefit the group. He also urges large corporations to help the world by thinking about its global position (Daily Mail, 2006) . Microsoft was built on Bill Gates’ hard work, vision and enthusiasm. Gates is a genius when it comes to adapting to technological advances and market conditions.
Bill Gates believes in the participative style of leadership. He also promotes a shared responsibility in his company so that everyone feels like they are contributing to a greater cause. Bill Gates is very persuasive and motivational, and as such, is a transformational leader. This is in stark difference to Steve Jobs leadership style which is autocratic and centralized authority rather than shared authority. He takes risks and is highly innovative.
Bill Gates is a moderate risk taker. An example of this is when Gates signs an agreement for IBM to make software in basic in other languages. Bill Gates believe that there should be “a computer on every desk, and in every home, running Microsoft software.” He learned this software should be treated as a business (The Journal, 2011). Bill Gates is a mastermind. Even prior to that the launch of the IBM PC, Bill had acquired the operating system from Seattle computers and designated it 86 OS.
Bill Gates takes the long term approach to management. He understands the impact of the Internet and the new market conditions that it presents (Burs, 2005). Gates is a great convincer, and he knows how important the internet is. In fact it said that it has been said that the internet was the most fascinating thing to ever happen to the world of computers. Although Bill Gates was a moderate risk taker, he was intelligent. He aggressively bundled the Internet Explorer with Microsoft Windows operating system.
Bill Gates is also an innovator because his company, Microsoft is able to use existing products and develop new products that are designed to work with the Internet. He deployed authoring tools and productivity software. Gates also accepts criticisms like predatory monopoly in which in 2000 he was found guilty of anti-competitive practices. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is the largest private philanthropic organization in the world. It is also a private grant making organization. The 29 billion dollar endowment partially funds improvements in global learning and health. It also funds polio, AIDS and grants money for minority college students (Baldauf, 2004). Seven hundred and twenty million dollars went to the global polio eradication. This inspired Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett to give half of their income to charity.
Steve Jobs was a difficult man to work with, he had his own ideas about how to run his company and his coworkers said that he was extremely demanding and dismissive of their ideas for innovative products. This is in sharp contrast to Bill Gates’ leadership style of participatory nature which encourages his fellow workers and employees to share in a collaborative fashion any innovative ideas for the purposes of improving the company and benefiting the world in general (Goodale, 2012). Steve Jobs on the other hand could be described as ruthless and self-aggrandizing in his leadership style. His employees and coworkers would come to him with new ideas and innovations for products for Apple Computer, however, Jobs wanted to use his own creations. People had to get on board with Jobs’ idea of doing things or else they were out.
The significant findings and perspectives of this study show that although two leaders can have two completely different leadership traits and styles, each are/was incredibly successful, both personally and professionally. Steve Jobs was the rough and tumble leader who was willing to put all of his cards on the table and take risks. Jobs was not as personable as Gates. Jobs has been compared to a dictator in many circles, particularly by the people who worked with him. Apple was his dream, and no one was going to get in the way of making it an enormous success. With Steve Jobs, everything was personal. He micromanaged everything right down to what would be served in the cafeteria (Western Mail, 2011).
Bill Gates, on the other hand, is more laid back in his management and leadership style than Steve Jobs. He believed that it takes a village to build Microsoft. This means that Gates was not afraid to step back and listen to someone else’s ideas for improvement and innovation of the Microsoft software. Bill Gates is a shrewd businessman even if his leadership style is more relaxed than Jobs’. He created a monopoly on computer software by bundling Microsoft software with the internet explorer. This indicates that Gates may be softhearted, but he is a businessman first and foremost (Geisst, 2000).
In conclusion, the study evaluated the leadership styles of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Both are/were titans of the personal computing industry. Gates is a participatory leader while Jobs ruled his company, Apple Inc as an autocracy. Neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs received a college degree, both were college dropouts. In a time when a college education is considered the doorway to success in the business world, Gates and Jobs showed that a degree is not necessary to run a billion dollar technology company.
Steve Jobs is no longer with us, but his legacy lives on in the form of the new Apple watch. Bill Gates continues to upgrade his Windows operating system and makes billions of dollars doing so. With the death of Steve Jobs, the fate of Apple relies upon the new leader’s ability to move the company forward while still retaining Jobs’ vision. It is quite possible that when Bill Gates retires, the next leader who follows him will have to keep Gates’ vision alive as well. The longevity of Microsoft depends on it, and the longevity and success of Apple depends on the future leaders.
Whether or not these leaders follow in the same leadership style and traits as Gates and Jobs cannot be assessed at this time. However, the new leaders particularly Jobs’ successor, can learn from the leadership mistakes that Jobs made. Contrarily, Bill Gates’ successor can learn the same. Apple and Microsoft each revolutionized the way the world does business, and the way everyday people organize their lives. The sign of a great leader is his or her ability to motivate people. And even if their leadership styles are different, there is no room for debate when it comes to the fact that both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were great motivators and great leaders.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are/were media darlings. They caught the attention not only of their peers in the technology industry; they captured the hearts and minds of the average person. Their impact reaches beyond the technology field. Many books and made for TV movies have been made about the life of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. The two leaders have the two most recognized names in the world.
The world appreciates good leaders who can motivate others and encourage them to dream the impossible. But Jobs and Gates are examples of how billion dollar companies do not always start with a huge influx of investor contributions. Both men started their respective businesses on a shoestring. Their individual stories of starting up their companies in a basement or out of a garage is an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs who do not see how they are going to be successful in such a competitive market place regardless of the industry they are in.
