“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” - Steve Jobs. It is easy to forget that Steve Jobs was once forced to leave Apple. This happened in 1985 when Jobs was thirty years old. He lost a power struggle against John Sculley who replaced him for twelve years before Jobs made his triumphant return to Apple in 1997. This return paved the way for the development of some of the most iconic products that presently dominate the consumer electronics industry. Yes, I'm thinking about the iPhone, the iPad and iAnything that has a very impressive design and costs a lot of money. A friend of mine argued that buying an iPhone in 2020 is like buying a car in 1990. I believe the dude although the only product that I remember from 1990 is a black and white Game Boy console. But back to Jobs. Just like the products that he imagined and ultimately created, there have been different versions of him during his lifetime. The version that I prefer is the 1985 - 1997 one during which Steve Jobs took his creative powers to new heights. No one outside the tech industry really paid attention to what he was doing because he was longer the super charismatic CEO of Apple. However, this was the period which I believe laid the critical foundations that subsequently made Jobs an absolute master at his craft. He was still very young and had that boundless energy that connected so well with his entrepreneurial flair. The company that he founded and led after his departure was called NeXT. Does that ring a bell? If you were born after 2000, it probably won't. But if you own an Apple product, you might be interested to know that there is a fairly good chance that this product would never have been created if Apple had not purchased NeXT and brought Jobs back in 1997.
Steve Jobs was the kind of person that could change the molecules of a company and create new market space just by expanding his creativity. It sounds simple enough but remember that 99% of people out there will never have the vision and talent to take their careers beyond a very conventional corporate job. And that's perfectly ok since this fact makes people like Steve Jobs even more exceptional especially when one remembers that he dropped out of college and that the only course that he took seriously was calligraphy.
So, with all of that said, what would be the Human Value Index of Steve Jobs in Market Dystopia? What would a thirty-five-year-old Jobs do in the merciless world of 2053? Would he be as incredibly successful? Yes. I have no doubt about this. Except that he would do things differently. I imagine that his strategy would not be about leading one single company. He stands more to gain by controlling a whole business ecosystem and remodelling it as he sees fit than trying to take on the world with revolutionary products. The reason is very simple: in the world of Market Dystopia, people do not buy products anymore. They create their own stuff through highly sophisticated systems and three-dimensional technology. Each home is a super-advanced micro-factory that has destroyed the need for complicated logistics. Steve Jobs would be among those who understand the opportunities presented by this new economy. He is not a formated businessman that is operating off obsolete models. Disruption is part of his DNA and he would completely embrace the new business realities instead of trying to protect markets that are already dead. We can assume that the iPhone of 2053 would be a system that is leaps and bounds ahead of every three-dimensional printing technology that was created before. And for the sake of good memories, let's imagine Steve Jobs introducing it like he introduced the first iPhone in that memorable presentation that took place back in 2007.
For all the reasons mentioned above, I believe that the Human Value Index of Steve Jobs in the Market Dystopia universe would be equal to 1550 points. This level is very strong and it is assumed that it cannot go higher because I believe that the Jobs of 2053 would not be interested in controlling society as those with HVIs above 2000 points would be.
1550 points for Steve Jobs. Let me know what you think.
Happy reading, Ashley Boolell
Market Dystopia is available in the Amazon Bookstore on the following links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
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Intro video here
