steve jobs the best man...............no one can beat him

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

-Steve Paul Jobs.

Steven Paul Jobs born February 24, 1955 is the co-founder and CEO of “Apple inc.” and was the CEO of ‘Pixar’ until its purchase by Disney. He is currently the largest Disney shareholder and a member of Disney's Board of Directors. He is considered a leading figure in both the computer and entertainment industries. Job’s is also known as the one man who could have upstaged Bill Gates. But Jobs was as excited about innovation as Bill Gates was interested in making money.

Jobs' history in business has contributed greatly to the legends of the strange, individualistic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of design while understanding the crucial role aesthetics play in public appeal. His work driving forward the development of products that are both functional and elegant has earned him a devoted following.

One week after birth, Jobs was put up for adoption by his unmarried mother. He was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. They gave him the name Steven Paul Jobs. Jobs’ dislikes hearing the "adoptive parents" term applied to Paul and Clara Jobs and refers to them as his only parents.

He attended Cupertino Middle School and Homestead High School in California, and frequented after-school lectures at the Hewlett-Packard Company in, California. He was soon hired there and worked with Steve Wozniak as a summer employee. In 1972, Jobs graduated from high school and enrolled in Reed College in Portland. Although he dropped out after only one semester, he continued auditing classes at Reed, such as one in calligraphy. "If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac (MACINTOSH) would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts," he said.

In the autumn of 1974, Jobs returned to California and began attending meetings of the “Homebrew Computer Club” with Steve Wozniak. He took a job as a technician at ‘Atari’, a manufacturer of popular video games, with the primary intent of saving money for a spiritual retreat to India. Jobs then backpacked around India with a Reed College friend, Daniel Kottke, in search of philosophical enlightenment. He came back with his head shaved and wearing traditional Indian clothing. He returned to his previous job at Atari.

When twenty-one-year-old Jobs saw a computer that Steve Wozniak (co-founder of APPLE) had designed for his own use, he convinced Wozniak to assist him and started a company to market the computer. Apple Computer Co. was founded as a partnership on April 1, 1976. Though their initial plan was to sell just printed circuit boards, Jobs and Wozniak ended up creating a batch of completely assembled computers and thus entered the personal computer business. Its successor, the Apple II, was introduced the following year and became a huge success, turning Apple into an important player in the growing personal computer industry. In December 1980, with a successful IPO, Apple Computer became a publicly traded corporation, making Jobs a multi-millionaire at the age of 24yrs.

As Apple continued to expand, the company began looking for an experienced executive to help manage its expansion. In 1983, Jobs lured John Sculley away from Pepsi-Cola, to serve as Apple's CEO, challenging him, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?"

While Jobs was a influential and charismatic evangelist for Apple, some of his employees from that time had described him as an erratic and violent manager. An industry-wide sales fall towards the end of 1984 caused corrosion in Jobs' working relationship with Sculley, and at the end of May 1985 – following an internal power struggle and an announcement of significant layoffs – Sculley relieved Jobs of his duties as head of the Macintosh division. And Steve left ‘APPLE’

In 1986, finding himself sidelined by the company he had founded, Jobs sold all but one of his shares in Apple. Around the same time, Jobs founded another computer company, NeXT Computer. In 1996, Apple bought NeXT for US$402 million, bringing Jobs back to the company he founded. In 1997 he became Apple's interim CEO. In the coming months, many employees developed a fear of encountering Jobs while riding in the elevator, "afraid that they might not have a job when the doors opened. The reality was that Jobs' summary executions were rare, but a handful of victims was enough to terrorize a whole company." This practice became known as "getting Steved". At the 2000 Macworld Expo, Jobs officially dropped the "interim" modifier from his title at Apple and became permanent CEO, a job he still holds today.

Jobs works at Apple for an annual salary of US$1, and this earned him a listing in Guinness World Records as the "Lowest Paid CEO." His current salary at Apple officially remains US$1 per year, although he has traditionally been the recipient of a number of lucrative "executive gifts" from the board, including a US$46 million jet in 1999 and just lesser than 30 million shares of restricted stock in 2000–2002. As such, Jobs is well compensated for his efforts at Apple despite the nominal one-dollar salary. This approach reduces his personal tax liability. It acts as a tax minimization strategy. Jobs is both admired and criticized for his complete skill at arguments and salesmanship.

Much has been made of Jobs' aggressive and demanding personality. Fortune magazine noted that he "is considered one of Silicon Valley's leading ego-maniacs."

Jobs married Laurene Powell, nine years his junior, on March 18, 1991 and has had three children with her. He also had a daughter named Lisa from Chris-Ann Brennan, whom he did not marry. Lisa is a journalist who wrote for The Harvard Crimson.

Steve Jobs is also a devoted Beatles fan. He has referenced them on more than one occasion at Keynotes and also was interviewed on a showing of a Paul McCartney concert. He also enjoys Bach and other classical music. Jobs’ is not a vegetarian as is often claimed. Although he does not eat mammalian meat or poultry, he eats fish from time to time.

When Jobs spoke at the Stanford Commencement, he spoke frankly about his opinions on entrepreneurship, work, and life. He reflected on what kept him going through challenging times: "I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going is that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love." He continued to stress the importance of "finding something you love" and "following your own inner voice." In mid-2004, Jobs had been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his pancreas. The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is usually very grim; Jobs, however, stated that he had a rare, far less aggressive tumor. On July 31, 2004, Jobs underwent surgery that successfully removed the tumor, and did not require chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

On August 20, 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced that Steve Jobs will be inducted into the “California Hall of Fame” this December 5, 2007 located at “The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts” in Sacramento.

After having read this biography and very short account of Steve's career, we get the feeling what an incredible man he is and what he is worth of! An orphan raised in a modest background, his flair for business and passion for technology have allowed him to reach fame and fortune in his early 20s. His most highly criticized flaws are also his strongest assets: his drive for perfection, his refuse of compromise with products as well as employees, his undeniable business skills, his love of aesthetics. He has left an indelible mark on every one of the three companies he's founded: one has failed, the two others have become giant successes and corporate icons, but all were recognized as being at the edge of innovation in their respective fields.

Steve has also learned from his failures and has gained maturity. Isn't it ironic that it is the enfant terrible of Silicon Valley (as he was often called) who never graduated from college who was honored to pronounce the Commencement Address at Stanford at age 50? His speech has circulated all around the globe as an example of wisdom.
While many would have given up after the two successive downfalls he's endured, Steve Jobs has made his way back to the top with his characteristic intensity and force of will, and with astonishing success: twelve years ago, he was a technological outcast, and he's now considered one of the most important personalities in the world.