Filed under: Steve Jobs, Apple History
Steve Jobs, the moral high ground, and the return to Apple
Jobs declined, although Ellison had funding all lined up to allow The Steve to make a hostile takeover of the company. He told Ellison that a takeover would make people think he was greedy, just wanting to make money out of Apple. Ellison later stated that "He (Jobs) explained to me that with the moral high ground, he thought he could make decisions more easily and more gracefully."
Diaz went on to conjecture that it was more than decision-making that went into Steve's refusal to push his way back into power; it was love. As Diaz notes,
"Steve wanted to be wanted. He knew he was loved by the public and the press. After all, everyone likes the story of a legend coming back-to see him succeed or, better yet for Hollywood drama, fail. More importantly, the company was his company. He didn't have to buy it! That was absolutely preposterous, he probably thought at the time. He knew he was going to return as King once again, acclaimed by his troops and his people, so why spend any money?"
Since his return to Apple, Steve Jobs has, of course, brought the company from the brink of extinction into profitability and recognition. Whether or not he would have been equally successful as a result of a hostile takeover is a great plot for an alternative universe sci-fi novel, but it adds a lot to the legend of Steve Jobs to know that he was able to regain control of the company through a combination of connections, persuasion, and his love for his company.
The rest is history. As Ellison stated in an interview in Fortune, "The difference between me and Steve is that I'm willing to live with the best the world can provide-with Steve that's not always good enough." That difference explains why Apple continues to amaze us with their products, why Steve Jobs is so important to the company, and why Jobs was the hands-down choice for Fortune's CEO of the Decade.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scott said 9:35AM on 11-09-2009
Not a single direct link to the actual Gizmodo story. Good old TUAW.
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KaJe said 9:41AM on 11-09-2009
Are you that lazy? They have a link to the story via Digg...
Scott said 9:46AM on 11-09-2009
It's about efficiency, not laziness. The effort required to post a direct link is infinitely smaller than the effort of dozens/hundreds/thousands of readers having to click through Digg.
It's also bad blogging etiquette. Probably for exactly the same reason.
Robert said 10:08AM on 11-09-2009
I was expecting and searching for a link, too. I really wanted to see it on "a fascinating exposé", but there is a direct link (now, at least) on the "Source" link in the footer of the post.
Michael Rose said 1:14PM on 11-09-2009
I'm editing the "Gizmodo" link to clarify; however, as noted, the 'Source' link always goes to the source of a post.
irnbru001 said 10:15AM on 11-09-2009
This "More importantly, the company was his company. He didn't have to buy it! " has always reminded by of what Paul McCartney has said about not wanting to buy back the right to the Beatles catalog. The two apples really do have a lot in common.
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shmooopy said 10:46AM on 11-09-2009
"through a combination of connections, persuasion, and his love for his company."
Don't forget that Apple bought NeXT for $400 M, so actually, Jobs took over Apple and MADE money doing it.
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Jon H said 11:27AM on 11-09-2009
Apple announced they were buying NeXT in 1996. That merger brought in NeXT's team. They then went out and hired some ex-NeXTers to do hardware.
Good lord, that Fortune article is a botch.
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drumstik76 said 1:03PM on 11-09-2009
It's a pretty much known idea that when Apple bought NeXT - that NeXT more or less took over Apple... So Apple gave them money for them to basically be taken over, good deal Steve.
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SSteve said 5:07PM on 11-09-2009
"it adds a lot to the legend of Steve Jobs to know that he was able to regain control of the company through a combination of connections, persuasion, and his love for his company"
And a little operating system that got renamed OS X.
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