A631.9.2.RB_DellElceCamila

A631.9.2.RB – Video Debrief of Team MA

            Steve Jobs was and still is to be known as one of the biggest entrepreneurs of all times. His vigorous need to innovate the computer and technology world, led him to create numerous products. Nevertheless, such success did not come without its challenges. His demanding and perfectionist personality attributed to been removed from his first company, Apple Computer. After such bitter moment, he decided not to give up and create, Next Incorporated. It was not easy to start allover again with the reputation he brought from his first company. Thankfully, some of the previous employees ended up following him, as they believed in his ideas. The true journey starts then, where innovation and money is not enough.

            Jobs had unreasonable expectations about how he wanted to handle and deliver a start-up company, in this case, Next Incorporated. He really did not care much for how much stress this was going to create to his employees. He truly wanted to believe that his mission was, “to build computers that change the world and that our friends can afford to buy; to build a great company, so exciting and fulfilling that we can't wait to come to work in the morning” (Nicholson, 1997, para. 4). Comparing his management styles with mine, I believe with have some similarities, as I am a perfectionist by nature. My assessment results indicate that I belong to a large venture dynamic with independent business units or divisions. In other words, I need to belong to large organizations but have the flexibility to work on my own with little to no supervision if possible. The data and perfection characteristic results reflect a, “tendency to prefer gathering significant quantities of data, and driving for perfection such that their ability to accept less of either may lead to indecision or frustration” (NextSteps Research, 2015, p. 5). Consistently, Jobs management focus was in creating a perfect product. Moreover, Steve Jobs, wanted to create or build the company’s technology from the heart, and not just a product that would eventually provide financial stability.

            Additionally, Jobs has a dreamer/believer personality, and he does not fear failure; he was a risk taker. As he mentioned, “make it or break it” (1989). He would much rather go broke and spend even more than the $7 million dollars he spent on the company at the beginning, than having to deal with the deception of knowing he never tried. Similar to my report, I am not afraid to takes risks. “The ability to both assess the “risk vs. reward” of a decision or situation, and rapidly make choices based on those assessments is a key to success in this environment” (NextSteps Research, 2015, p. 3). It is not that I have no care for the outcome of the situation, but I rather say I failed than to regret not trying at all. I would have probably done the same thing in this specific case. According to the Management Assessment Profile (2015), I report a logistical leadership management style. This translates to having focus for questions such as who and what. Leaders with this management style tend to be concerned about who did something and what exactly happened. We really do not care how or why, we just do it.

            Although, his innovation creativity was leading him to the “big moment,” the price they wanted to collect from the public was too high. Three thousand dollars is not an accessible price to students, much less affordable. In this regard, I would have tried being more realistic as to what the general population considers affordable at that time. Lastly, the new company was already under pressure, as the competed against Apple Computer. Consequently, most of the employees were not ready for a change, and were faced with having to accept those changes. Additionally, they were not ready to confront the future of the company with their previous reputation.

            A good alternative that could have suited their problems was, that of being more credible. Steve Jobs should have been more realistic about the product he wanted to launch to the market and offer his employees more time to come out with an innovative computer. Although, Jobs’ management skills did make the company go far; he failed to be a true leader, as he never gave the opportunity for others to provide their opinion without being judged or declining their ideas. Therefore, it is recommended to develop listening skills and provide that time to his employees who have expertise in how long it really takes to have a product done. The critical deadline he was trying to impose into his followers only brought unnecessary stress.

            Reflecting back on my past experience, the Management Assessment, and the information presented in the video, I feel certain that I would have fit into the initial NeXT culture. As long as there were new and challenging projects for me to work on I would have continued to thrive at the organization. Once the organization settled into a repetitive cycle, I would have been looking for stability that might not have occurred at NeXT.     

References

Nathan, J. (1989, Mar 17). Entrepreneurs. Nathan/Tyler Productions. Retrieved from 

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loQhufxiorM&feature=youtu.be

NextSteps Research, (2015). Management Assessment Profile Report. Pp. 1-8. Alexandria, VA 22314.

Nicholson, D. (1993, Nov 23). Book world; how Steve Jobs hexed NeXT. The Washington Post (Pre-1997 Fulltext) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/307691153?accountid=27203