It's all about Steve Jobs
1. What are the factors that contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur?
I watched the 1999 film entitled, “Pirates of the Silicon Valley”, starring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs, Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates, the main casts of the film, and many more, which was about the history of the two big companies nowadays, the Apple and the Microsoft. This film is also about the humble beginnings of these two main cast namely, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. But the life of Steve Jobs really marked in the film because of the ups and downs that he encountered. There are actually a lot of factors to be considered that really contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur. The first factor that I noticed in the film that Steve Jobs was a very competitive person. Even though that he and his friends were still starting their own business which was developing an Operating System, he already want to compete with some of the biggest computer companies that time. Even when they were still in college, they started to develop new things and make a change in our world. His friend Steve Wozniak, starring Joey Slotnick, made something that could get a free phone calls anywhere in the world and they called it the ‘Blue Box’. They actually tested it out by calling the Pope that time. His friend keep building the boxes and Steve keep selling them. Until one day, they almost got busted by some cops who did not even know what a Blue Box was. So his friend started trying to build something that would not going to get them in trouble. His friend starting to create a computer, then Steve asked, why he was making a computer and not a blue box, because they need blue box to sell. Then the mom of his friend phoned the Mercury News and told them that his friend was making a computer and they want to do a story about it. His also staring to make a new gadgets which he actually used them for jokes. That time, they were actually broke and needed money, so they ended up doing anything to make money. The time comes that his friend already made his own personal computer. Which his friend actually wanted to sell it out to the company named IBM or International Business Machines Corporation, an American multinational technology and consulting corporation, with headquarters in Armonk, New York. That time, Steve treat IBM as their enemy. Even though they were still starting their small business, he does not want to be connected to IBM. The second factor is his default mindset. Unlike us as normal student, the things that we only want is to graduate in college and seek for jobs for us to get money, any job as long as it is decent. After that, help our family to have a better life, until we could build our own family and give them everything and live happily. That is the common default mindset that we all have. But for Steve Jobs, he want to make something that could make money. He actually do not want to be just an employee. He want to build his own business, together with his friends. He want to make a company that could change the world. Then the time comes that he already made his own company, the Apple Computer Incorporated. Where he was the president, of course as the president, he want the best employees, such as the Programmers, Artist, and anyone that could help build the Company. So he always want his employees to make the best things, the best among anything. He do not want ideas that are cheap or ideas that he found useless. Steve Jobs is like our facilitators in our subject, Technopreneurship I. In this subject, he required us to join contests, not just one but many, that involves technopreneurship. So we actually need to think new ideas, innovations that could make a change in our city, in our nation and in our world. He want us to think an idea that is not common, that is not already existed, so literally new. We actually started pitching for our ideas, I found out that our facilitator is not that easy to please. So we had hard time thinking new ideas that could really change the world. The bright side is that, it is for own sake. He actually doing those things for us, not for him. He want us to learn how to make money just for an idea that we can think. He want us to learn what really the reality is. So for Steve Jobs, to build a company that could make things that could help change the world, he want his employees to be creative. Just like an artist or a poet that make their own unique things to be distinct from anyone. And also Steve wants to be ahead from any company in computer world. He wants to be the best among the rest. He want to be the most successful among everyone.
Even though Steve Jobs experienced success in his journey in building his own company, together with his friends, he also experienced failures. Failures is unavoidable when building a business. But for Steve Jobs, there were factors that lead him to fail. The first factor was when the time he already had his company, because he want his employees to be the best, he never noticed that he actually became inconsiderate to his employees. He wanted his employees to make the best things, he want them to be active and hard-working, and he want to see them really dedicated to their works so that he can really tell that they were making the best things. Even his employees really gave their all in doing their jobs, they actually tend to disregard sleep and spend until midnights just to do their jobs. Of course, as a human, we have limitations, so his employees sometimes unconsciously get to sleep. The second and third factor are, Steve is a short-tempered person and always throw a tantrum. There were time where he actually witness one of his employee who got slept. So he got mad and even though his employee was explaining about his situation, he disregard it and he actually fired his employee right away. So because he started to got bad vibes, everything that he saw, he then get mad right away even though it is just a small thing. There are also a time where he stopped-by to one of his employee, and told him that he cannot still present the thing that his doing. Even though it is already midnight, Steve got mad at him because he think that it is already an enough time to make something that he required him to do. So the patience of that employee was already gone, he then immediately pushed Steve on the wall which Steve actually hit his nose on the wall. Because that employee had enough of Steve’s tantrums every time he got mad to something, everyone and everything is included from his being short-tempered. Even though that Steve was the president of the company that his employee was working at, he still done it to Steve because of every negative thing that Steve done to them. Because of his too much anger that he gave to his employees, a time came that he was really fired from his own company. His attitude towards his employees made him failed from his journey to success. I also noticed that Steve is a type of person that whenever it is a serious time to make do their jobs and finish their assigned tasks, it should really be a serious time to do it. And whenever it is a fun time, well, he is also cooperative when it is time for fun. There was also a one thing that perhaps made him failed to his journey. Which for us Filipino is one of our Cultural Traits, which is being fatalistic. Whenever we do something bad towards other people, we tend to think that they will experience “gaba”. So I think that is what happened to Steve Jobs. When the time his ex-girlfriend named Arlene, starring Gema Zamprogna, told him that she was pregnant and he was the father of her baby. Steve intentionally avoid his ex-girlfriend because he really thought that the baby was not his. Because of that, his ex-girlfriend stopped disturbing him and preferred to go far away from him. But few years, when he heard that she already gave a birth to their baby. He actually visited them and named their baby ‘Lisa’, and he just want to make sure that their baby should not have a weird name. But when the time they made their very first personal computer, he named it from his daughter, Macintosh Lisa. Even though he named it from his daughter’s name, he do not want anyone to asked him about his daughter or talked about it. Few years after Steve Jobs was fired from his own company, the Apple Computer Incorporation experienced losses, which Steve was then brought back to his company and rebuild it again.
2. How do you see yourself as a technopreneur?
How I see myself as a technopreneur is a patient and responsible employee. I will start from the bottom and endure all the hardships at the same time gaining experience and gathering knowledge from each company I have been. I would not be a stubborn and arrogant employee, I will be as wise and clever and aim for every day new knowledge and interesting ideas I can work on with. I shall know what I am inferior and superior with and I am using it as my advantage to gain a step closer toward the top even a little bit, I should be aware of what I lack and how I can work on with it. I would not do anything that would give me much stress instead I will make the stress my adversary and my perseverance as my companion, in that way I would not have much stress and I could still concentrate on learning new things. Resting once in a while is important so I can replenish the stress and review all the knowledge I have gained and reimagining myself at my best to seize the future and reshape my goal if I see fit. I will work hard to make myself recognize and I will pursue bigger and bigger companies as I progress, the popular the company is the better knowledge I could have. It might be tricky sometimes but I am no new to that because I know my goal and I know every wisdom that I seek comes with a price. Sooner or later I will settle on one company and get a high position and will try to manage the whole company to apply all the experiences and knowledge I had gained to the extent that I will recognize myself ignorant again in such position thus, I have to learn again to make myself a better manager, leader, technopreneur than I am. I cannot be at my best if I only acknowledge myself and look down on my fellow companions I will help them also to become better, at the same time I can hone my own knowledge and apply them in that way I would not forget it. If I encounter again a scenario where I find myself having a hard time to deal with, I would not hesitate to seek help from other companies If needed keeping in mind I would be better again and sooner I could be best. I might need to discipline my employee and push them to be better for the success of the company, but I will not forget the reason why the company succeeded thus, I will treat my employee fair and square, give them some break and lend them money for emergencies business is business but I know when you work by heart and loyalty to your superior, the lesser the stress you have, the convenient you are, the passionate you are, are the key factors to make you work at your peak often and harder for the company you belong.
The things mentioned above could possibly be my expectations towards my future. But as of now, I never thought about what would be my situation after, if ever, I will graduate in college in the course where I am right now. Now, I am still thinking about my dream being a famous animator, because of the fact that I am an anime enthusiast. I am also dreaming of being a voice actor of any anime that could possibly be. Maybe a known graphic artist or an illustrator, or a photographer, anything that deals with arts. Right now at my age, I never still thinking about having a job with a big salary or having my own business or building my own company. I am still thinking how could I take every subjects without having a failing grades again and again. I am still thinking every problems that I will encounter before I could finish my college. I am still thinking about what will happen every day in school. Whenever we will have quizzes, activities, examinations or any events in school. I am still thinking if I could really finish my college in the desired time. I am still thinking how I could possibly deal with every one that I will encounter in my college life. I am still thinking how I could deal with every professor or facilitator that would handle our class, if ever they are strict, or nice or whatever they may be. Right now, I am still enjoying my college life at my young age, to be not too stress and could still have a fun time despite of a lot of requirements to be pass. I want to enjoy my college life and disregard about thinking what my future would be. If ever I already finish my college and already have my job, if that time comes, I do not want to regret having a boring college life. I want in that time to have something to recall about what my college was then. I want to reminisce with the best memories I could ever imagine. I want to experience in my college life the things I never had experience in my high school life and maybe the things I cannot have a chance to do when the time comes that I will be employed. I want to do good things or perhaps also the bad things that I cannot imagine to do. I want to have the best stories that I could share to my future family, to my children and also to my grandchildren. Now, I want to do everything that I will not regret in the future for not trying it to do. I want to live life to the fullest. We only live once, we should do whatever things we could to avoid regretting it when the future comes.
Despite of these things, I never disregard the fact that the reason why I was sent to school is to help my family to have a comfortable life when the time comes that I will finish my college. I want to experience fun while I am studying even having a hard time finishing my requirements to graduate in every subjects that I would take to have a good grades and to finish my study in the desired time. I am actually trying my very best to have a good grades, to recoup the sacrifices that my parents did just to let me have a better future. Even though there were times that I wanted to give up already, but then I was thinking if ever I will decide to just to stop from studying and would not pursue on graduating in college, the sacrifices that my parents did would be useless. I always tried my best just to not receive a failing grades. Despite of the obstacles and hard times I experience or I am experiencing even right now. I will never forget the main reason why I need to encounter those kind of things. I always think that it is not only for the reason that I need to recoup to my parents sacrifices, but also it is for my own good and to have a better future. So sometimes, I tend to disregard the things that give me problems. There were times that even though I am experiencing a hard time, I just make fun of it just to never give up just because of those things. Every obstacles and problems I encountered, I just made them my inspiration why I need to pursue and finish my study, and I made them the lessons that nobody could ever experience. I always thought that I am lucky to experience those kind of things, because of those things, I am now who I am right now. Such as being procrastinator, which I tend to make my task when the deadline is almost near. Sometimes, or let me say, all the time, I make my school works when the deadline is getting nearer. Where the times I learn how to finish things in a rush way. Sometimes because of too much procrastination, I ended up not finishing my works. I ended up not to pass it in desired schedule because of my laziness. Because of that, I learned my lessons not to do things in a rush way because there are two ways that will end it up. The first one is, I could pass it before the deadline comes but I could not check it again because of lacking of time. While the second one is I could not finish it and could not pass it before or on time because of lacking of time. But now, even though I am still procrastinator, I always tried my best even though it could deprive me from sleeping. As of now, I want to enjoy my life as a college student, but I would not disregard the fact of why I am sent to school and in the future I will decide what path would I wanted to pursue, is it to be an employee or an employer of my own business.
3. Would you take the same career path that Steve Jobs took? Why or why not?
I do not want to take the same career path that Steve Jobs took. Even though our subject now which is Technopreneurship I has a goal of leading us to technopreneurship world and help as become a technopreneur now or maybe in the future, I am not that interested in technopreneurship. Where we actually need to learn how to change our default mindset into the alternative mindset. Default mindset is what we all thinking towards our future. We all thought of the same things. We were sent to school, to learn new things or the things that we needed to learn. We graduate in grade school, in high school, and then in college. After that, we will look for a job to make money. Then after we were sent to school by our parents, we will be then help them in exchange of them sending us to school and study. We will provide the things that they provided for us to be able to finish our studies. We will now then give them everything that they need to recoup everything they have given to us. We will now the one who will provide them food and shelter. It is like an exchanging gifts in Christmas Day, they gave us gift and in exchange, we will also gave them gift with the same quality that they have given to us. That is our default mindset. Another mindset which will the one to change our default mindset is called Alternative mindset. . We were sent to school, to learn new things or the things that we needed to learn. We graduate in grade school, in high school, and then in college. After that, we will not focus on looking for a job, as just an employee. We should aim being an employer of own business, if it will grow bigger, will become a company sooner or later. We could make money with our own way, with our own business. So then we could everything that our family, not only needed, but also the things they wanted. If things could get better, we could be famous in the whole world. We will become the boss, we will give our people their tasks. We will forget about the Default mindset that we always have in our mind. It could make a big change in our life.
I actually has no interest to be a technopreneur now or maybe in the future. I also has no interest to build my own company and become a president of it. I do not want to lead a group of people and just tell them what they need to do. I was not born to be a leader nor to become a leader. I do not want to lead, I am much preferred to be just a follower. I am much comfortable of following instructions that the leaders gave. Even actually in my high school life, I preferred to just follow instructions than being a leader whenever we have activities. Like when we have a group project in one of my subject, which is Physics. We were assigned to make a recycle electric lamp. Then our group discuss about how we will do it, our leader assigned our own task for each of us. When the deadline gets nearer, we have not finish anything. So I was so conscious about what my grade could become if ever we could not pass our project. Then I decided to tell them about our project, yet others were not focus about it, especially that our leader was a consistent honorable student which she could not prioritize the project than the examinations. So then I decided that I will make it on my own, even though the fact that it is a group project. I ask anyone from them that whoever could help about the project. Fortunately, there was one who could help me yet she was there when I almost finish our project, still she helped me. My father also helped me on the electrical side, because I never have any idea how could it be worked with those wires, batteries and other things that were needed for our project. So my father did on the electrical part, while I am doing the design which needed to use a recycled materials. I just used a one point five (1.5) liter bottle of Coca-Cola and cut into half then color it with paint. It actually look like a mini house. It also has a mini garden inside it. I also put a mini fence around it. Because I love arts, our project look like a mini house electric lamp which was full of colors, there were flowers in it for the mini garden. Then when the time we pass it, the whole group was there because our teacher ask as to be all there whenever the time come that we will pass it already. So she ask as if we all made the recycled electric lamp. I just keep quite because I really do not know what to answer, so I just wait what they will answer to our teacher. But then they just also keep quite. So I decided to talk and told our teacher that we all made it. But then our teacher told us to return to our classroom, because we are actually in our corridor just outside the classroom’s door, and I was the only left talking to our teacher. Then she ask me again to answer honestly whoever made our group project. Before I could answer honestly, I told her that we all really did our decided tasks. But then perhaps I think she never believes on what I am saying. She told me that if ever I will tell the truth, she will give the highest grade she could give to me and the others would have the lowest grade. So she ask me again and I was forced to tell her the truth. I nervously told her that I am the only one who made our group project, but then I was helped by one of my co-member of our group. Then I immediately told her that I am fine of not having the highest grade, I just do not want them to have a lowest grade, so it is better to let her give me a passing grade the same with them. But then our teacher told me that she could do it but I still have the highest grade among them. From the first place, I did not really want to be a leader and preferred to receive task that is given to me. But when the time comes that we really need someone to be the replace leader, I could volunteer myself but I really have no trust to my ability becoming a leader.
There is also a one fact between Steve Jobs and us. Before on Steve Jobs time, there were still a lot of things that were not yet discovered or invented. Despite of the fact that he was really an intelligent person, before, they can just invent anything that they could think of. Just like what his friend Steve Wozniak, invented his own telephone which he called it ‘Blue Box’. Then later on the first personal computer that they made and lead their company, Apple Computer Incorporation, towards success. Compared to our time today, even though we have the craziest idea that we could think of, it is not enough to make a changes in our world now. For me, it is very impossible, as a simple student, to make something that could make a change to our world. I know there are already a lot of people that invented something that helped to make a changes in our situation now, in our world. I am not good in thinking something, something new that could help the world. I am not the type of person that want to be famous and rich because I had invented something. Having a job and having an ability to make money just to be an employee is enough for me, as long as it is a decent job and it could help our family to be in comfortable situation. I actually got interested about having the alternative mindset, which was the main goal of our subject. Because of the fact that we could make money easily by creating our own company. But the fact that, I know to myself, I have no ability in generating new ideas or innovations that could make work things easier than what we are used to do now. I know that this kind of field in my course is not the field that I belonged to or wanted to. I have no guts to take a risk in entering this, one of the field of my course, just because I could become make money easily. In the future, if ever I will already be able to get a job, I want it to be something that fits my interest, my skills, and a job that I could enjoy doing. I do not need a lot of money, a money that could make our family situation much comfortable is enough for me. I was not dreaming of a big house, a lot of cars, or a lot of expensive things. Having the things I need is much important than the things I want. As long as we could eat three times a day or more than that is enough already. As long as I could provide them the things they need. As long as we are happy in our situation is very much enough for me. And I am contented already with my default mindset.
