Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the

square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can
quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is
ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while
some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy
enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”- Steve Jobs, Think
Different (1997)

Every person has peculiar traits that make him who he is or can be. It is a well-known proverb
that it’s not the person who makes habits but habits that make a person. Steve Jobs is one of the
most successful entrepreneurs of our times whose personality traits are as exciting as his ideas.
Many successful personas follow his leadership style and admire his temperament. Let’s look at
a few of the major personality traits of Steve Jobs:

1. IMAGINATIVE, INNOVATIVE: Steve Jobs was very imaginative, as we can clearly see
from his products, and designs. But the imagination factors takes on to another level
when someone is able to envision how his products will change the ways people
communicate, live their everyday life and how things functions. Jobs did not just
predicted and planned for his company to grow but he took it to such a height through his
imagination that the products are integral part of people’s lives. His view of the facts was
usually quite different from every else and he was absolutely convinced that he was right.
Example:
 Job’s company was the first one to replace a five-inch floppy disc with 3 and a
half inch floppy disc and it was Apple which got rid of the optical drive with
MAC book AIR. It was indeed the first company to adopt USB. It was Apple.
 Steve Jobs wanted to get rid of the keyboard and replace it with multi-touch
display and we all know how Apple works. He wished to have an elegant design
and a simple user interface and he successfully got his vision implemented with
his products. He was against the approach of Microsoft, which runs its OS on
multiple platforms and so he reduced his software to run on Apple products
2. PASSIONATE: Jobs’ passion can be seen in his work, he would take unconventional
steps to grow his company and make it successful. He also took some questionable steps
in his professional career which even risked the company but his persistence won above
all. Since he was so passionate, he also expected his employees to be as committed and
passionate about work as well, and that bought some controversy when he pushed them
to be the most efficient self who did the most efficient work.
This particular trait birthed several others traits that termed him hard to work with, rude,
and abrasive.
3. PERFECTIONIST: Steve Jobs very well known trait was that he needed things to be
perfect. He had on several occasions rejected prototypes and designs that went into
millions of dollars worth of research and work because it was not up to his expectation.
Jobs’ obsessed over many fairly meaningless details in the development, manufacturing,
and marketing of Apple products. He wasted millions of dollars over details that had no
bearing on customer satisfaction or product sales.
Example:
 Steve Jobs rejected a prototype (made by his engineers) on the basis of its weight
and when the engineers told him that it was impossible to make it small, he
dropped that IPOD in the aquarium. The moment that IPOD touched the bottom,
he could see the bubbles floating to the top. At that very moment he said that as
those are air bubbles, there is space in there, and so asked his engineers to make
that IPOD smaller than what it were.
4. STRONG AND CLEAR VISION, OPINIONATED: From a young age he was
determined, had clear vision of how he wanted to live, what he wanted to do and did just
that. Jobs opined that time was less, so one should not waste it in living for someone
else’s expectations. He believed that others’ opinion shouldn’t let one’s inner voice get
vanished. This particular trait helped him achieved all that he desired, he was not
manipulated by others, he did not let other’s opinion make him question his choices and
aspirations and thus, he just did what he envisioned. Since most of the steps Jobs took
was well calculated, it bode well for him that he did not let other’s doubt and opinions
affect him.
Since Jobs was notoriously known for his ‘dark’ temperament as well, I would also like to
discuss them. The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) provides feedback on 11 dark side
personality traits, which are irritating, counterproductive behaviours that interfere with a
person’s ability to build cohesive, goal oriented teams or get results through others. Dark
side characteristics are hard to detect when someone is actively engaged in impression
management; they are more readily seen in high stress situations or when people are not
actively managing the impression they want to leave on others. Jobs didn’t care about how
others felt about him, so predicting his dark side trait scores is fairly easy. I would also like to
discuss some of these traits that made a lot of difference in the he was perceived.

5. EXCITABLE: Excitable people are unhappy, easily annoyed by others, suffer from wild
mood swings, prone to emotional outbursts, and wax and wane on projects and people.
Steve Jobs was at high risk of this particular trait.
Example:
 Jobs had a mercurial personality and would change moods in minutes; he cried
over getting badge #2 while at Apple, when Scully relieved him, and finding a CD
slot in the iMac; he saw staff as gods or shitheads and it was only a matter of time
before one fell off the pedestal.
6. RESERVED: People with this trait are considered mean, grumpy, and use silence as a
way of intimidating others. They want to be left along and often disappear during crises.
Steve Jobs was termed to be very reserved, rude when works were not done according to
his instruction and showed temper tantrums.
Example:
 Jobs’ perfected the art of silence and staring without blinking in order to
intimidate others. His tyrannical interpersonal style caused him to be banished to
the night shift at Atari, he abandoned almost everyone who was loyal to him, was
incredibly mean and demeaning, and seemed to take pleasure in punishing others.
7. MISCHIEVOUS: People who are termed as mischievous come across as charming and
witty, but enjoy lying, stealing, pushing limits, and seeing whether they can break rules
and not get caught. Steve Jobs has been under numerous considerations and allegations
for stealing ideas, taking credit for things that was not done by him, and was termed
manipulative.
Example:
 Jobs could convince anyone of anything. He took to heart the Picasso quote,
“Good artists borrow, great artists steal” and shamelessly stole ideas from
XEROX, his direct reports, and others. He blatantly lied to Wozniak about a
bonus from Atari, about poaching key staff when he left Apple and selling his
stock when he rejoined. He loved speeding, driving without license plates, and
parking in handicapped spots (i.e., Park Different).