iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Computing by Jeffrey S. Young

Author:Jeffrey S. Young [Young, Jeffrey S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-11-08T03:11:37+00:00

7

We've found that when the technology is strong, it inspires the artists. And when the artists are strong, they challenge the technology.

—Ed Catmul!

Master of Ceremonies

For someone who had attended only one year of college—and without actually showing up in a classroom very often, at that—the idea of being invited to lecture at one of the nation's great universities had unmatched appeal to Steve Jobs. Whenever an invitation arrived, he always accepted if he could. He was on the Stanford University campus in the fall of 1989 for another of these appearances, this time at the invitation of a group of students from the business school.

Partway through his remarks, he lost his train of thought, stumbled, and seemed unable to get back on track. He seemed curiously muddled and unfocused. This remarkable guy who could stand before a packed auditorium of one or two thousand people, talk impromptu for an hour, and hold listeners enthralled suddenly couldn't seem to concentrate. People in the audience who knew him were baffled.

The explanation was simple. Steve was smitten.

His gaze had settled on a young woman so irresistible that just looking at her distracted him. She had an attractive face, a bright, intelligent look, a dancer's long legs and slim waist, and flowing blond hair, and was endowed with curves just where most women want them.

Her name was Laurene Powell, as Steve learned when he spoke to her after the session. He asked for her phone number and gave her his own, the private home line he shared only with his closest friends and business associates. He thought of asking her to dinner but already had plans, so he left.

Then he felt an emotional tug too powerful to resist, one of those

"this may be a door to the rest of my life" moments. He said, "I was in the parking lot, with the key in the car, and I thought to myself, 'If this is my last night on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting or with this woman?51 ran across the parking lot [and] asked her if she'd have dinner with me. She said, 'Yes.' We walked into town and we've been together ever since."

Laurene came equipped with impressive credentials. Raised in a well-to-do Pennsylvania family, she had earned dual undergraduate degrees—a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. from Wharton. From campus she went straight to Wall Street, first at Merrill Lynch Asset Management, then switching to Goldman Sachs in training as a fixed-income trading strategist.

Like Steve, she was a vegetarian; unlike him, she had broad interests much beyond her career. When she received her acceptance from the Stanford Business School, she quit her job and flew to Italy. Settling in Milan, she spent months studying art history, soaking up the life of a city that is one of the glories of Europe. She remained in that stunning environment until it was time to return to the States and join her new classmates.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.