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Thank you for writing this and sharing your thoughts. That was the impression I got from your piece too - that he had a knack for seeing past the obvious.

But the fact that you felt you "have to do the right thing and keep it secret from Steve until later" speaks volumes to Steve's leadership style. If everyone has to walk eggshells around you, that's a sign you're prone to flip out on them.

Being stubborn is not the same thing as being hostile. I wonder if steve ever learned how to separate the two.

The instructors may be tough, in order to motivate you. But there's a difference between being tough and being mean. I would imagine your instructors wouldn't talk down to you outside of class.

Working for an abusive boss can seriously take a toll on your mental health.

And then the thing you get in return - building the future. You think that will make you happy. But I know people who have a long list of accomplishments, who are deeply unhappy, because of the crushing work schedule and toxic people they work for. And in the end, the future you build may not be what you hoped. You wake up and realize you sacrificed your wellbeing all for a phone app or a new piece of adtech.

It's just not worth it. There are plenty of places where you can impact your industry and not be treated like shit. Your dignity is worth more than that.

Yeah but it's not journalists telling these stories, looking for the right angle. It's independent accounts from people who worked with Steve. And not just the two I mentioned. Read folklore.org or read the walter issacson biography. You get to see the good and bad sides of Steve. And the same patterns emerge.

So no this isn't an artificial narrative. There's probably some truth there.

Yeah every leader has flaws. But not every leader is an asshole on the level of Steve Jobs.

> he had a knack for hiring and inspiring world class talent

Never said the guy didn't have any good traits. Obviously, Apple and NeXT had lots of great people work there.

> I'd work for anyone with that ability.

Yeah you lost me. I won't work for someone who can't admit fault and treats their employees like dirt. I don't care how good they are at convincing people to work for them.

You should have priorities in your life. "Not being abused" should be higher than "being able to say you've worked with the greatest talent."

So now we've seen a few Steve Jobs stores like this, including the one from John Carmack. A recurring theme is that Steve is such a bonehead that his underlings have to do things to "manage him." Whether that be doing things behind his back, withholding information from him, controlling who he meets and talks to. You also read about people working insane hours to complete things which probably didn't merit it, just to please steve's whims.

Since there's a cult-of-personality around the guy, I think it's important to remind everyone that these behaviors are actually signs of poor leadership. If you work for someone like this, don't! You're better than that.

Not saying Steve Jobs didn't do great things. But let's all agree he accomplished them in spite of these flaws, not because of them.