Modern influential leaders in the field of science and technology would arguably include Bill Gates, who founded the Microsoft organization, and Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. Both have been extremely successful in their revolutionary innovation of technology yet it is interesting to compare their respective innovations, and also their management styles.
Bill Gates has earned his entrepreneurial status by building, to date, the most successful software business in the world. Born into a middle-class family, he achieved this by co-working with his business partner, Paul Allen. His passion for mathematics and equations arguably gave him the motivation to develop the successful Operating System OS, which took over Office Suites Products. Such is his success that he decided to concentrate on his charity foundation in 2014 with his partner, Melinda, stepping down from his role as Microsoft Chairman (Kunga 2020).
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Whereas Bill Gates demonstrated success by adopting a more traditional, textbook management style, Steve Jobs achieved success with a different, more authoritarian approach., and an interest in studying people and learning what makes them tick. Colleagues have described him as a 'high-maintenance co-worker' who demanded excellence from his staff and was known for his blunt delivery of criticism.
Steve Jobs, had different academic achievements from Bill Gates. He was given up for adoption in 1955 and dropped out of college despite his potential for academic achievement. He started inventing at home in a garage, and together with his friend Steve Wozniak, co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 at just 21 years old. Their innovation began with the sale of a car and a scientific calculator which funded the cost of inventing smaller computers that were cheaper and attractive to their customers. They revolutionized the computer industry with smaller machines that were cheaper, smaller, and accessible to customers.
So in comparison, it could be argued that Jobs had to work harder than Gates to build his success from humble beginnings. Jobs was motivated by people and Gates by maths and economics. Jobs had an eye on the future and wanted to assist people by making their lives easier, he lost money in the beginning and had to overcome hurdles to achieve financial rewards. Gates on the other hand concentrated on the here and now, achieving massive profits to make him one of the wealthiest men in the world. Steve Jobs thought about long-term profits while Bill Gates had short-term profits in mind (Kunga 2020).
Comparing management styles, Gates, although more reserved than Jobs, was more open to considering ideas from his employees when creating new concepts for products. His style was autocratic. Jobs had an authoritative style, taking control over everything throughout the manufacturing process. This comparison demonstrates that success can be achieved from different managerial styles and that one size does not fit all in leadership and management, (Kotter 1990).
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