The Myth of the Maverick Founder
They’re still just people — and not always good ones
Over the years, I’ve met my share of CEOs, founders, entrepreneurs, and “visionaries.” What they all have in common is a deep, bottomless belief in their ideas and the will to make them happen.
They can be myopic, dismissive, unpredictable, but are also often charismatic, exciting, unusual. As they build their dreams, become successful, and gain notoriety, the public, if they see them — and they often do — start stripping away the things that make them average, human, and like us.
Steve Jobs might’ve been the best example. An average engineer, but brilliant designer and marketer, Jobs almost willed the Mac into creation. His failure soon after (ousted from his own company) was part of the Maverick journey and when Jobs returned in 1997, he soon willed more market-defining products, the new colorful Macs, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, into existence.
As adoring fans idealized Jobs, he modified his look, honing it into a uniform and presentation that was at once, completely recognizable but also enigmatic.
I think we all know that Jobs was much more complex than that. He could be harsh, angry, dismissive, self-destructive. He was just a man, perhaps an extraordinary one, but still flesh, blood, and bone.
