On Thu, Jan 25, 2001 at 01:55:24PM -0800, Samantha Atkins wrote:
> >
> > You missed the Gilbert and Sullivan alusion (the Lord High Executioner's
> > song). My point was that Jobs is one of those egomaniacs the industry
> > tends to throw up, like Scott McNeally, Bill Gates, and Larry Ellison.
>
> Doesn't this miss or ignore that these "egomaniacs" are often the moving
> forces of whatever industry or activity they are part of? It takes a
> bit of ego and personal power/confidence, even bordering on the
> pathological, to successfully start and execute something new in the
> world. Of course, some times I get cynical and bemoan not be neurotic
> enough to be a mega-success. :-)
Yes, it does.
On the other hand, there's a point at which having a big ego and being
success-oriented and forceful stops being good and starts being dangerous.
Ruthless drive un-hampered by compassion or empathy is _not_ a trait I
want to encourage in my peers. And I'm not convinced that those guys
don't have it. I may be wrong -- they may be truly wonderful folks when
you get to know them -- but some of them (Larry Ellison in particular)
give the impression of being about as easy to coexist with as a cobra.
-- Charlie
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