The marketing director of the first Apple Macintosh from 1984 was fired by Steve Jobs 5 times. Today, she is grateful for the founder’s earlier behavior. In this way, he spurred her to achieve her best.
Steve Jobs was a great visionary and is still regarded as one of the most famous personalities in the IT industry. His ambition and will to perfection made Apple what it is today.
These traits also affected his employees. A former employee shares her experiences working with Jobs. During this time, she was fired 5 times and is grateful for it today. You can read about how this happened here.
Steve Jobs – an extraordinary leader with unconventional employee motivation
Who is this former employee? The American marketing entrepreneur Andrea “Andy” Cunningham worked with Steve Jobs from 1983 to 1984. During her time as an external project manager at Apple, she supported the launch of the first Macintosh.
At that time, she was fired by Steve Jobs a total of 5 times. However, she kept returning and ultimately thanked him for this experience. This made her a better version of herself and the successful businesswoman she is today.
What was the Apple founder like as a leader? Due to his unconventional methods in employee management, working with the Apple CEO was not easy. Jobs was known for his perfectionism and determination. He demanded these traits from his employees as well.
What did Jobs do to his employees? If someone did not meet his standards, he would throw sharp criticism, sometimes even objects in the direction of that person. Occasionally, he did not hesitate long and separated from parts of the workforce, even if he saw them as important for the company.
How does the former employee feel about it today? Cunningham also had to submit to Jobs’ working methods. Many employees found this to be toxic behavior. For the marketing specialist, however, these difficulties in dealing with him were necessary. He helped her to become better at what she does and to surpass her previous limits.
Why did the Apple founder rehire her? When Cunningham first had to leave the company, she used her good connections to the press and media. She exerted great pressure on Jobs through this. With the threat of getting bad publicity, he rehired her. In this way, she demonstrated her determination to the Apple CEO and worked with Steve Jobs several more times later on.
This auction proves that Steve Jobs is still relevant even today.
