Leadership Paper

Leadership is defined as a process of influencing individual and group activities towards goal setting and goal achievement. I researched Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple and I'm going to analyze him as a leader. I chose this leader because he is not your typical CEO, and is credited for his casual work place (jeans and a t-shirt). Steve Jobs is a transformational leader; he is passionate and enthusiastic about what he does. He is very charismatic, creates visions, and injects energy and motivation into his company. Steve Jobs is a leader we can all learn something from in the ever changing corporate workplace.

Steve Jobs is a unique CEO, Steve never graduated from college. Steve went to Reed College in Oregon for one semester and dropped out. Here's what he said about this experience 32 years later"After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was

spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop

out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking

back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop

taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones

that looked interesting. It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna

temple. I loved it."(Stanford Commencent Adresss, 12 June 2005) Steve's lack of a degree did not stop his success.

In 1976, at the age of 21 he founded Apple Computer, Inc. Five years after its founding, Apple had grown into a $500 million public corporation. Under pressure from Apple's board of directors, Job left the company in 1985. Job's immediately founded NeXT Computer, Inc. He also purchased Pixar animation studios in 1986. When Apple purchased NeXT in 1997 Jobs returned as an advisor and then as an interim chief executive of the troubled company. In the next two years Steve shined as a leader and helped engineer a spectacular turn around at Apple. He restored the company's profitability and innovative products. In January 2000 Steve Jobs was appointed permanent CEO of Apple. When the acquisition of Pixar Company by the Walt Disney Company in 2006, Jobs became the largest shareholder at Disney and joined the company's board of directors.

Steve Jobs career path of building company's to the top shows his great leadership skills. Steve Jobs transformational leadership style is based on charisma, passion, vision, and empowering. Steve Jobs charisma really comes out in his well thought out speeches. Steve Jobs is Apples mascot. His speeches are strong and inspiring. He doesn't just give the consumer the statistics of Apples products, but sells you an experience and the benefits of having his product. He states "It's not about the technology, But what the product can do for you." His charisma also engages his employees. The employees are his followers that he motivates through his giant personality and company