By the way, that 1.2 billion CoH reported in the August 27, 1997 article was based on the previous quarter's report... the final report of that current quarter upped that to 1.4 billion dollars. Apple was doing well at that point, although since that figure includes most of September, it might be inclusive of the infusion of cash from the $150 million from MS. I don't know if it does or not, because I'm not absolutely certain of when MS bought the shares, but I suspect so.
I read a chapter in a book about Jobs about him shopping for a washer. Apparently he drove everyone crazy because he hated all the designs, and kept talking about what a washer should be and how design changes could make them more efficient and easier to operate. IIRC, he wouldn’t buy any of them, and someone else finally bought one because they had to have one at the house. Been a while since I read it, but that was the gist. The book wasn’t particularly negative towards Jobs, but explored tendencies that I’ve noticed about his attention to detail.
I love the products, but I strongly suspect that in the world of ulcers, Jobs is a carrier. I couldn’t imagine living around someone that’s that much of a perfectionist.
I’ve had a theory for a while that most people who achieve great things would probably be diagnosed as having personality disorders. There’s something going on, like obsessive-compulsiveness or something that makes them want to shake things up in ways that most people wouldn’t do because it’s too much trouble.
You’ve studied him a lot more than me, your thoughts?