Steve Jobs the greatest CEO - the greatest Marketer... OR ... Steve Jobs the Genius?

Posted by Udayan Banerjee on August 26, 2011 · 7 Comments 

Nobody else in the history of business has achieved what Steve Jobs has achieved as a CEO. He has taken Apple from death bed (in 1997 it was dying) made it the most valuable company on earth.

Interesting story: What Happened After Apple Fired Steve Jobs and How we was able to turn it around

Robert X. Cringely says “Lots of CEOs make products. Many make millions. Very few make history.”

So, does that make him the greatest CEO? Maybe … maybe not – but will posterity remember him as a CEO?

Nobody else in the history could launch a product the way Steve Jobs could do. Each of his product launches has become folklore. Remember when he pulled out the MacBook Air from an envelope?

There is no doubt that he has redefined innovation. Nobody else in the history has designed 5 path breaking products.

Good summary of what he has achieved: Master Inventor, Master Marketer

So, does that make him the greatest Marketer? Maybe … maybe not – but will posterity remember him as a Marketer?

Who is a Genius?

Wikipedia refers to Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman as geniuses and defines it as:

“Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight.”

• Exceptional intellectual ability – check
• Creativity – check
• Originality – check

The page also has quotes from Immanuel Kant …

“Genius is a talent for producing something for which no determinate rule can be given, not a predisposition consisting of a skill for something that can be learned by following some rule or other.” – Check

It also quotes Arthur Schopenhauer …

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.” – Check

So what will posterity remember Steve Jobs as?

You can decide!

Udayan Banerjee on Google+

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Filed under Random Thought · Tagged with Albert Einstein, Apple, Arthur Schopenhauer, Genius, Immanuel Kant, Richard Feynman, Robert X. Cringely, Steve Jobs