The Story of Steve Jobs: An Inspiration or a Cautionary Tale?
Jobs has been
dead for nearly a year, but the biography about him is still a best seller.
Indeed, his life story has emerged as an odd sort of holy scripture for
entrepreneurs—a gospel and an antigospel at the same time. To some, Jobs’ life
has revealed the importance of sticking firmly to one’s vision and goals, no
matter the psychic toll on employees or business associates. To others, Jobs
serves as a cautionary tale, a man who changed the world but at the price of
alienating almost everyone around him. The divergence in these reactions is a
testament to the two deep and often contradictory hungers that drive so many of
us today: We want to succeed in the world of work, but we also want
satisfaction in the realm of home and family. For those who, like Jobs, have
pledged to “put a dent in the universe,” his thorny life story has forced a
reckoning. Is it really worth being like Steve?
