<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.yiv120410350apple-style-span
{mso-style-name:yiv120410350apple-style-span;}
span.EmailStyle18
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>I just finished reading Walter Isaacson's book "Steve Jobs". The last chapter has an interesting summary of some of the issues that his successful life raises particularly with regard to open versus closed IT product systems.<br><br>Jobs chose to drive towards integrated, high quality, creative design and mostly closed products and systems. The openness is primarily for app developers who can count on a consistent operating system across products. This makes it easier to develop high quality applications that you know will work on phones iPad or iPod my son says. <br><br>Jobs did not believe in market research because his ideas were beyond anyone's expectations and he believed that this vision would create the products that people would want. He pushed his engineers and the details of his vision mercilessly. Even Isaacson saw that the technical term assh*le applied to him quite often. He was a self centered Zen Buddhist who did not appropriate the more subtle qualities of a caring person. He was open to learning as long as it came to be his idea.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>His vision “opened space” for those who would work at their top level to realize it. When they didn’t he was mean and spiteful. And many didn’t understand his view of good design together with good technology. He was used to getting what he wanted, even as a child, and this provided the hubris to move forward. The space of silicon valley with its nutrient rich environment of engineers and garages and good schools made it possible for Apple to get going. His personal Zen Buddist journey provided the self development, but did not make him self aware, just confident in his own vision.<br><br><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>People around the world got engaged in his visionary leadership and became followers of Apple as a counter culture product, even when it stumbled. It certainly has worked in the market place to integrate superior products that then set the model for the others to come. Will Google and Microsoft be able to catch up? <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>As a PC person, I now find the products are quite amazing and the integration makes it easy for me to connect my iPad with my iPhone and project pictures on Apple TV with out enormous effort and technical know-how. The products and the integration are fun even if they are more costly. I think the book is a great read .<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>So where is the Open Space and the self-organization, other than at the beginning – maybe that was enough for real, committed if crazy leadership to emerge? <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Larry<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Toronto, Ontario, Canada<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><a href="mailto:larry@spiritedorg.com"><span style='color:blue'>larry@spiritedorg.com</span></a> 416.653.4829 <a href="http://www.spiritedorg.com/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.spiritedorg.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>