The Interpersonal Relationship Side Of Steve Jobs

Your Name Course No. Professor 8th May 2018 What is the most important lesson to learn from the interpersonal relationship side of Steve Jobs? (What to do . . . or what not to do, and why) Although Steve Jobs’ legacy is revered and reviled in equal measure, it is doubtless that he remains themost iconic technology entrepreneur of the 21stCentury. He is idealized as the epitome of corporate American success, notwithstanding his complex interpersonal relationships. Scholars remain sharply divided on their anecdotal perspectives and analysis of Steve Jobs’ leadership with some aptly labeling him as an erudite of corporate success and others as a man who was akin to a string of leadership and interpersonal pitfalls. Despite his success at Apple, most of his acolytes and critics concur that his greatest shortcoming was in the management ofinterpersonal relationships. One important lesson that can be learned from Steve Jobs’ life is that success in the corporate world is not solely dependent on an individual’s adeptness in managing interpersonal relationships. Although effective management of interpersonal relationshipscan enhance leadership success, it’s not a prerequisite for corporate success (Goodell 2011). While at the helm of Apple, Steve Jobs was able to successfully steer the company into a global technology giant that we know today in spite of his relationship challenges. Though he was estranged from his biological father, a daughter he fathered in his youth and his biological sister, this did not hamper his quest for corporate accomplishment (Murugesan 2011). Nevertheless, he mended most of these relationships before his demise save for his relationship with Mr. Jandali, hisSyrian biological father. Jobs’ was in a formal marital relationship with Laurene Powell and sired three children- Reed, Erin and Eve. The lesson that we learn from Jobs is that we should not place corporate success above interpersonal relationships (Isaacson 2011). It is important to live a balanced life and to not sacrifice personal relationships at the altar of corporate success. However, given that he mended most of his hitherto broken relationships, we learn that leaders should embrace reconciliation as a virtue and should not burn bridges in the pursuit of personal accomplishment (Argenti2009). During his tenure at the pinnacle of Apple, Jobs did not recognize the importance of corporate social responsibility. What we learn from this shortcoming is that companies should give back to the society as a means of appreciating thesociety for supporting its objectives. His critics though, believe that he was overly autocratic, arrogant andobsessed with corporate success to the extent that he did not have a good rapport with his employees (Goodell 2011).Finally, we learn that interpersonal relationships are as important as corporate success and that one has got to strike a balance between the two to be perceived as truly accomplished. What is the most important entrepreneurial lesson to learn from the business acumen ofSteve Jobs? The most important entrepreurial lessons that we can learn from Steve Job’s business acumen is that entrepreneurs should aim at offering solutions rather than products (Hoerr 2012). This is because providing a solution b...