Apple Employees Adjusting To Return Of Steve Jobs, Portrayed As A Tyrant

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Steve Jobs is back at Apple and working hard on his latest masterpiece, the Apple Tablet. That’s not very surprising. We know Apple is working on a new tablet and of course Jobs is the one in charge of it. He was in charge of the iPhone, and so, you’d expect him to be on top of Apple’s latest product. But that’s not what caught my eye.

What caught my eye during the article was about how the moral of the employees changed after Jobs’ return. Many are having to readjust to working for a guy who does not talk to people and expects flawless results. Those working with Jobs on the Apple Tablet probably wished he hadn’t come back. This is what some had to say about working with Jobs after his return:

Those working on the project are under intense scrutiny from Mr. Jobs, particularly with regard to the product’s advertising and marketing strategy, said one of these people. The people familiar with the matter declined to give details on the tablet or disclose when the device would come out.

Mr. Jobs’s focus on the tablet has been jarring for some Apple employees, who had grown accustomed to a level of freedom over strategy and products while the CEO was on leave, said a person familiar with the matter. “People have had to readjust” to Mr. Jobs being back, this person said.

I’m not surprised by this at all. I’ve come across some pretty important people and many of them have a very similar attitude, one that says they mean business all the time. It’s probably why they’re extremely successful at what they do. That doesn’t apply to everyone but it does to many, like Steve Jobs.

I had my suspicions about Jobs being an A-hole to his employees, but I would never pictured it the way the WSJ portrayed it:

My boss, she’s been with Apple since 1979. But she’s only talked to Steve Jobs twice. She did a presentation for him when he was 24. He showed up half an hour late and without shoes. She needed money to start up a team. Steve Jobs listened to her presentation for an hour, said no and just got up and walked away.

That line is from a current worker describing how Jobs does his business and his lack of interaction with people.

Does it surprise you that Steve Jobs is a tyrant? Or are Apple employees just making a fuss out of nothing?

(Via WSJ)