I recently read Ben Austen’s WIRED article about Steve Jobs, which prompted me to put together my thoughts about the tradeoffs of being a successful entrepreneur. Austen’s article draws a caricature of Jobs and puts forth a series of false choices. After reading it, you might be convinced that you can either be a jerk and successful or decent and mediocre. Let’s take a look at some of the examples that the article highlighted from Jobs’ life:
1. In 1975, Atari paid Jobs and Steve Wozniak to create the iconic game Breakout. Woz pulled four all-nighters to get it done—but Jobs pocketed the whole bonus that Atari paid for the game’s efficient design. Austen cites this to set up a choice between “pushing colleagues to extraordinary lengths” (implicitly, screwing them over) or being fair and honest. Pushing employees to excellence doesn’t mean you’re being unfair or screwing anyone over. On the contrary, people respond well to challenging but fair environments.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Do You Need To Be A Jerk To Be A Successful Entrepreneur? | TechCrunch
