If Steve Jobs was such a bad boss why did so many people work with him?

This is only slightly related so I ask forgiveness in advance. But historical accuracy is a pet peeve of mine.<p>That said Steve Jobs bought Pixar after seeing the Luxo Jr video (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxo_Jr." rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxo_Jr.</a>). The true genius behind Pixar is John Lasseter and always has been. Steve Jobs just provided funding.<p>Don't get the wrong impression. I think it says even more of Jobs in that he recognized a visionary in Lasseter and was smart enough to just get out of his way. And Jobs did make some smart business decisions like selling off Pixar's hardware business. But he was not the visionary behind Pixar.

<i>The gift/curse of the visionary is that they can see the future as clearly as they can see the present.</i><p>When Disneyworld opened in 1971, a reporter remarked to Roy Disney, "It's a shame that Walt didn't live long enough to see this."<p>To which Roy responded, "He saw it before you did."

Talented creative people want to work on projects that matter. Steve jobs had the vision to create those projects. They also want to work with people who have ideas that are groundbreaking. Again Steve Jobs provided those ideas. Is Steve jobs a bad boss... I doubt it. It probably depends on who you ask.<p>This question reminds me of my kid's Jiu Jitsu instructor. People have said he's a jerk and he's received bad reviews online. I have a different view of him and so does my son - he loves his students and expects a lot of them. He wants nothing but the very best you can do and doesn't accept excuses. Does that mean he calls you out sometimes? Yep. Does it bruise the ego and make you feel bad? Maybe. But most of the time he's right.

"...but all this "reality" keeps creating excuses, delays, etc. Can you imagine how frustrating that is if the product is so clear in your head you actually used it last night? Just get the fucker done! Enough excuses!!! Do you have any idea of the change in the world this will have, and if I give a shit about your kids little league game?!? He's not trying to be an asshole. But if he doesn't say it, he's not being true to his vision. It's a big weight to carry."<p>Wow, how self absorbed can the author be? Treat people around you like crap or you're not "being true to your vision?" Oh no, he's frustrated so it's okay. Of course if any of his employees responded to their frustration in a similar fashion they'd be canned....

Sorry, but I'm about to Godwin this thread:<p>"If Adolf Hitler was such a bad leader why did so many people follow him?"<p>I think both statements are ludicrous and smell of intellectual laziness.

The thing that sets visionary leaders like Steve Jobs apart from your common CEO is threefold: First, and the article went in to this is the clarity of their vision. Second is the ability to inspire people to do more than they think they can. People in these companies often work well above the normal workweek, yet they aren't being forced or intimidated to. It's because they are inspired to do so. Finally, they won't accept anything less than perfection from their team. Steve Jobs was(and is) well known to dress down, or even fire employees if their work wasn't up to standards. Bill Gates apparently had no problem saying that his employees ideas were "the stupidest thing I've ever heard". The first two qualities are what attract the people to work, and keep them there and the last one is what makes their work stand out from the crowd.

"sometimes it's a vision other times it's a hallucination"<p>According to Martin Varsavsky, Steve Jobs hallucinates too. <a href="http://martinvars.com/post/3761365862/mi-dificil-encuentro-con-steve-jobs" rel="nofollow">http://martinvars.com/post/3761365862/mi-dificil-encuentro-c...</a> (spanish) reads:<p>"Steve Jobs insisted european mobile networks were worse than american networks, that Apple invented WiFI and that the iPhone is the WiFi product with more sales. Stuff simply not true."

I will offer a possible explanation that might not be popular. There are certainly bad bosses, but there are many more bad employees. Many employees will not be happy with any boss. These people want a friend and not a boss. Even people outside of this group generally try to avoid confrontation. Avoiding confrontation seems to be the main goal of the average corporate employee and it leads to bad work. I am personally willing to tolerate a lot of flaws in a leader if he or she is actually a good leader. I think that Jobs may fall in that category.

Working for a visionary often brings about opinions on opposite sides of the spectrum; you either love them or hate them. This is true for Apple as it is for other tech giants. If you are on board with Steve's vision and can even remotely grasp what in fact you are working towards, you will love it. If not, you will probably hate it.<p>Much of this stems from an outward opinion of Steve Jobs being a jerk, which will of course vary based on who you talk to. This is true for every visionary.<p>Many people will tell you Bob Knight is a jerk, but he was one of the best college basketball coaches in history. If you talk to any of his past players that were willing to put in 100% effort and understood what his intentions were, they would tell you they loved playing for him.

Here's my question: Is being a bad boss a necessary requirement for being a visionary?<p>I am betting the answer is no. In my experience you can drive people to work really hard without being an asshole as long as you are willing to share the load.<p>Caveat: My experience is with &#60; 10 people unlike Jobs and Blank.<p>Thoughts?

Response to headline: If cults are so bad for people, then why do so many people join them?

I would guess that what some perceive as "bad boss" behavior is simply unfiltered honesty in communications.<p>To be as successful as Steve is, one must see the world the way it is, which requires complete internal honesty.

The pursuit of perfection is damn hard.<p>But the process far outweighs the proceeds.

considering a choice between wasting your life (very productive between half and 1/3rd of it) under a bad boss or making [technology] history and gaining valuable experience under Jobs ...<p>Hm-m... Why am i not working under Jobs? :)

That's kind of like saying, "if having unprotected sex can kill you than why do Thai prostitutes offer to do it bareback?"<p>Making money is important. Steve Jobs could literally be the devil and people would STILL work for him because cash is important.

The problem with Steve Jobs and the Apple gang is that, they indeed innovate first, but then they stop. The iPad was a revolutionary approach at tablet computing, even if the device was quite dumb. But making your second iPad exactly the same (sorry but a cover and slimmer does not equal innovation) that is just plain ridiculous, especially when they have the capability to make something incredible.<p>They are just taking advantage of their brand right now, like if they were still the old Apple that struggled to innovate!<p>The vision and execution is there, it's still Apple, but now they are just taking advantage of their market!