z

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY
PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
----------------

GROUP 11
ANALYSIS ON STEVE JOBS’
MOTIVATION METHOD
Credit Class:

QTRE303.3

Instructors:

PhD. Hoang Anh Duy

Ha Noi - 6/2020

1


GROUP MEMBERS

Students’ Name

Student ID

1

Bach Khanh Linh

1810150011

2

Nguyen Le Chi

1811150064

3

Bui Dai Nhat

1711150047

4

Tran Doan Lam

1815530029

5

Pham Ngo Quynh Giao

1814450028

6

Tran Nguyen Thuy Duong


1815530018

7

Le Phuong Thao

1814450078

8

La Thi Phuong Nhi

1815530057


TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
I.

About Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. ........................................................................... 2
1. Steve Jobs .................................................................................................................. 2
2. Apple Inc. .................................................................................................................. 2

II.

Literature Review on Motivation .......................................................................... 4

1. Definition .................................................................................................................. 4
2. Types of Motivation .................................................................................................. 4

3. Importance of Motivation ........................................................................................ 5
4. Motivation Theories.................................................................................................. 6
III.

Analysis on Steve Jobs’ Motivation Method ...................................................... 14

1. Steve Jobs refers to Vision. .................................................................................... 14
2. The content in his employee’s sayings is Inspiration. .......................................... 15
3. He prefers using high stake metaphors. ................................................................ 17
4. There is always an enemy in Steve Jobs’ stories. .................................................. 19
5. Steve Jobs is a “Theory X” person. ....................................................................... 20
6. Steve Jobs’ Strong and endless belief. ................................................................... 21
IV.

Recommendations for Other Managers ............................................................. 22

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 25
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 26


INTRODUCTION
Leadership plays the most prominent role in the acquisition of organizational success. An
organization without a leader is like a ship without a captain, for he is the one guiding the
sails, steering the helm and dropping the anchor. Steve Jobs, in the prime of his career, was
a man with a vision turned into actions, the man extracting the best and presenting a
victorious picture that crowns all.
Steve Jobs cofounded Apple in his parents’ garage, was ousted, came back to its rescue
from near bankruptcy and had built it into the world’s most valuable company by the time
he died. Therefore, we chose Steve Jobs as the subject of our research, especially his traits
as a successful leader. In particular, analysis of his motivation methods and techniques will

be carried out and recommendations for him as well as other managers will also be put
forward.
On carrying out the research, we are determined to look into Steve Jobs’ motivational
speeches that applied some levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. All findings are based
on statistics from Apple’s annual report and real footage collected from Apple’s staff
meetings and press interviews.

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I.
1.

About Steve Jobs and Apple Inc.
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American business

magnate, industrial designer, investor, and media proprietor. He was the chairman, chief
executive officer (CEO), and co-founder of Apple Inc.
Steve Jobs played a prominent role in the growth of Apple. While Steve Wozniak was
a hobbyist who designed a computer board which was comparatively small and wanted to
give this for free to all the hobbyists, Jobs thought he would sell those small awesome
computers. Jobs had a vision for a company that would do more than just create computers
for the masses. He had a thought of a company that would create technology for the world
that would allow users to quickly get tasks done, and to do so with ease. Later on, he was
also largely responsible for helping revive Apple, which had been at the verge of
bankruptcy in the 1990s.
2.

Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in

Cupertino, California, which designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer
software, and online services. It is considered one of the Big Four technology companies,
alongside Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976.
Apple retail footprint has since expanded to 510 stores spanning 25 countries and regions,
including 271 in the U.S. and 239 combined in other countries. Even though Apple the
second most valuable brand in the world in 2017, it was not among the world’s largest
companies in terms of staff. As of 2019, the company’s number of employees stood at
137,000 thousand. Other information technology companies, such as Samsung Electronics
or IBM, had employed a larger number of people. However, the revenue per employee of
Apple turned out to be the highest among leading technology companies.

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Apple’s number of employees in the fiscal years 2005 to 2019 (in 1,000s)
In 2018, Apple announced its highest annual revenue to date with 265.6 billion U.S.
dollars generated in revenue. About 218 billion U.S. dollars of this was generated by sales
of the iPhone, meaning that the smart device was responsible for an average of around 82
percent of the company’s total global revenue. Sales of the iPhone reached about 218
million units. In 2018, a significant increase from the 150 million units that were sold in
2013 and the 40 million units sold in 2010. Apple also increased sales of the iPad, earning
the company revenue of 4.1 billion U.S. dollars. The iPad contributed an average share of
6.5 percent to Apple’s total global revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018. Even though the
global market share of the iPad has dropped since 2012, it still dominated the tablet market
with a 31.4 percent share as of the third quarter of 2019.

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Global revenue of Apple from 2004 to 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars)
II. Literature Review on Motivation
1.

Definition
Motivation is the process by which a person’s efforts are energized, directed and

sustained towards attaining a goal.
− Energy: The energy element is a measure of intensity, drive, and vigor. A motivated
person puts forth effort and works hard
− Direction: the quality of the effort must be considered as well as its intensity. Effort
must be directed toward, and consistent with organizational goals
− Persistence: motivation includes a persistence dimension. Organization wants
employees to persist in putting forth effort to achieve those goals
2.

Types of Motivation
Motivation is divided into 2 different theories known as intrinsic (internal or inherent)

motivation and extrinsic (external) motivation.
− Intrinsic motivation
o

Intrinsic motivation has been studied since the early 1970s. Intrinsic motivation
is a behavior that is driven by satisfying internal rewards. It is an interest or

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enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on
external pressures or a desire for consideration. The cause of the behavior must
be internal, and the individual who engages in the behavior must perceive that the
task increases their competence.
Intrinsic motivation comes from one's desire to achieve or attain a goal. Pursuing

o

challenges and goals come easier and more enjoyable when one is intrinsically
motivated to complete a certain objective because the individual is more
interested in learning, rather than achieving the goal. An advantage (relative to
extrinsic motivation) is that intrinsic motivators can be long-lasting, selfsustaining, and satisfying.
− Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation comes from influences outside of the individual. Common
extrinsic motivations are rewards (for example money or grades) for showing the desired
behavior, and the threat of punishment following misbehavior. Competition is an extrinsic
motivator because it encourages the performer to win and to beat others, not simply to enjoy
the intrinsic rewards of the activity. Advantages of extrinsic motivators are that they easily
promote motivation to work and persist to goal completion. Rewards are tangible and
beneficial. A disadvantage for extrinsic motivators relative to internal is that work does not
persist long once external rewards are removed.
3.

Importance of Motivation
−

To Individuals: Motivation will help him achieve his personal goals, job
satisfaction, self-development. Motivated employees can lead to increased
productivity and allow an organization to achieve higher levels of output.

o

Increased employee commitment: When employees are motivated to work, they
will generally put their best effort in the tasks that are assigned to them.

o

Improved employee satisfaction: Employee satisfaction is important for every
company because this can lead towards a positive growth for the company and
lower turnover rates.

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o

Ongoing employee development: Motivation can facilitate a worker reaches
his/her personal goals and the self-development of an individual. Once that
worker meets some initial goals, they realize the clear link between efforts and
results, which will further motivate them to continue at a high level

o

Improved employee efficiency: For the company to get the very best results, an
employee needs to have a good balance between the ability to get the very best
results, between the ability to perform the task given and willingness to want to
perform the task.

−


Leads to stability of workforce: The employees can remain loyal to the enterprise
only when they have a feeling of participation in the management. This will lead to
a good public image in the market which will attract competent and qualified people
into a concern.

4.

Motivation Theories
− Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow

in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in Psychological Review. Maslow
created a classification system which reflected the universal needs of society as its base and
then proceeding to more acquired emotions. Maslow used the terms "physiological",
"safety", "belonging and love", "social needs" or "esteem", and "self-actualization" to
describe the pattern through which human motivations generally move. This means that in
order for motivation to arise at the next stage, each stage must be satisfied within the
individual themselves in order for an individual to complete their hierarchy.
✓ Physiological needs: This foundation concept is the main physical requirement for
human survival. This theory states that humans are compelled to fulfill these
physiological needs first in order to pursue intrinsic satisfaction on a higher level.
Physiological needs include: Homeostasis, Reproduction, Food, Water, Sleep,
Clothes, Shelter.
✓ Safety and security needs: Once a person's physiological needs are relatively
satisfied, their safety needs take precedence and dominate behavior. In the absence

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of physical safety, people may (re-)experience post-traumatic stress disorder or

transgenerational trauma. In the absence of economic safety, these safety needs
manifest themselves in ways such as a preference for job security, grievance
procedures for protecting the individual from savings accounts, insurance policies,
etc. This level includes: job security, health, and safe environments, personal
security, employment, resources.
✓ Love and belonging needs: After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the
third level of human needs are seen to be interpersonal and involves feelings of
belongingness. This level includes: Friendship, intimacy, family, series of
connection.
✓ Esteem needs: Esteem needs are ego needs or status needs. People develop a concern
with getting recognition, status, importance, and respect from others. Esteem
presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People often
engage in a profession or hobby to gain recognition. These activities give the person
a sense of contribution or value. This level includes: respect, self-esteem, status,
recognition, strength, freedom.
✓ Self-actualization: This level of need refers to the realization of one's full potential.
Self-actualization can be described as a value-based system when discussing its role
in motivation. Maslow describes this as the desire to accomplish everything that one
can, to become the most that one can be.
In addition, Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower levels. Physiological
and safety needs were considered lower-order needs; social, esteem, and self-actualization
needs were considered higher-order needs. Lower-order needs are predominantly satisfied
externally while higher-order needs are satisfied internally.
− ERG Theory
ERG theory is a theory in psychology proposed by Clayton Alderfer. Alderfer further
developed Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by categorizing the hierarchy into his ERG theory
✓ Existence: The existence group is concerned with providing the basic material
existence requirements of humans. Alderfer categorized the lower order needs
(Physiological and Safety) into the Existence category.


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✓ Relatedness: the desire people have for maintaining important interpersonal
relationships. These social and status desires require interaction with others if they
are to be satisfied. He fits Maslow's interpersonal love and belonging needs into the
Relatedness category
✓ Growth: an intrinsic desire for personal development. The Growth category
contained the self-actualization and self-esteem needs of Maslow’s
Differences between Hierarchy of Needs and ERG Theory
✓ ERG suggests that people can be motivated by needs from more than one level at
the same time. There is not necessarily a progression from one level to the next,
differs from Hierarchy of needs, Maslow stated that the lower level must be fulfilled
for the next level to be satisfied.
✓ ERG acknowledges that the importance of the needs varies for each person and as
circumstances change. Some people might put a higher value on growth than
relationships at certain stages of their lives
✓ ERG has a “frustration-regression” element. This means that if needs remain
unsatisfied at one of the higher levels, the person will become frustrated, and go
back to pursuing lower level needs again.

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− 3 needs theory:

This theory, also known as Achievement Theory of Motivation or Acquired Needs, was
developed by an American Psychologist - David McClelland in the 1960s. This
motivational theory states that the needs for achievement, power, and affiliation
significantly influence the behavior of an individual, which is useful to understand from a

managerial context.
✓ Need for achievement:
The need for achievement depicts an urge to achieve something in what you do. People
who possess high achievement needs are people who always need to set and accomplish
challenging goals. They are willing to take calculated risks, work in a result-oriented
environment and constantly receive feedback on their work. Achievement-based
individuals prefer to work alone and derive their satisfaction from working toward their
goals.

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✓ Need for power:
The need for power is the desire within a person to hold control and authority over
another person and influence and change their decisions. This need is expressed as
enhancing their self-esteem and reputation as well as competition are the drives behind
these people’s actions and they desire their views and ideas to be accepted and
implemented. People with such drive are suitable for leading positions, they are selfdisciplined and expect the same from other people. This motivational type is accompanied
by needs for personal prestige, and better personal status.
✓ Need for affiliation:
The need for affiliation describes the need for interpersonal and social relationships with
others or a particular set of people. People with this motivation tend to favor collaboration
over competition, they try to avoid risks and uncertainties. They enjoy developing and
maintaining relationships, and possess a strong desire to be accepted and loved.
According to McClelland, every individual has these three types of motivational needs
irrespective of their demography, culture or wealth. Therefore, identifying and categorizing
team members among three needs will provide a useful tool to better manage the team. To
apply this theory, two steps are required: (1) Identify drivers of motivation; (2) Structure
the approach based on drivers.
− 2 factor theory:

Herzberg’s Motivation Theory model goes by a number of different names, including
Two Factor Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, and Dual Structure Theory,
argues that there are two factors that an organization can adjust to influence motivation in
the workplace.
✓ Motivating factors:
The presence of motivators causes employees to work harder. They are found within
the actual job itself, achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth.
✓ Hygiene factors:
The absence of hygiene factors will cause employees to work less hard. Hygiene factors
are not present in the actual job itself but surround the job including: company policies,
supervision, relationships, working conditions, salary, status, security.

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In a general sense, there are four states an organization or team can find themselves
in when it comes to Two Factor Theory:

There is a two-step process to use the Two Factor Theory model to increase the
motivation of your team: (1) Eliminate job hygiene stressors; (2) Boost job satisfaction by
optimizing three techniques: job enrichment, job enlargement and employee empowerment.

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− X&Y theory:

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous X-Y theory
in his 1960 book 'The Human Side of Enterprise'. McGregor's ideas suggest that there are
two fundamental approaches to managing people, Theory X presents a pessimistic view of

employees’ nature and behavior at work, while Theory Y presents an optimistic view of the
employees’ nature and behavior at work.
✓ Theory X:
Theory X is found in the behaviors of autocratic managers and organizations which use
autocratic management styles, it encourages use of tight control and supervision but does
not encourage innovation. It implies that employees intrinsically do not like work and try
to escape it whenever possible and are reluctant to organizational changes.
✓ Theory Y:
Theory Y implies that the managers should create and encourage a work environment
which provides opportunities to employees to take initiative and self-direction. Employees
should be given opportunities to contribute to organizational well-being. Theory Y
encourages decentralization of authority, teamwork and participative decision making in an
organization. Theory Y searches and discovers the ways in which an employee can make
significant contributions in an organization. It harmonizes and matches employees’ needs
and aspirations with organizational needs and aspirations.

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− Equity theory:
Adams' Equity Theory calls for a fair balance to be struck between an employee's inputs
(hard work, skill level, acceptance, enthusiasm, and so on) and an employee's outputs
(salary, benefits, intangibles such as recognition, and so on).
According to the theory, finding this fair balance serves to ensure a strong and
productive relationship is achieved with the employee, with the overall result being
contented, motivated employees.

− Expectancy theory:

Vroom's expectancy theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices

among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Vroom
realized that an employee's performance is based on individual factors such as personality,

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skills, knowledge, experience and abilities. He stated that effort, performance and
motivation are linked in a person's motivation. He uses the variables Expectancy,
Instrumentality and Valence to account for this.
✓ Expectancy is the belief that increased effort will lead to increased performance i.e.
if I work harder then this will be better. This is affected by such things as: having
the right resources available, the right skills to do the job, the necessary support to
get the job done
✓ Instrumentality is the belief that if you perform well that a valued outcome will be
received. The degree to which a first level outcome will lead to the second level
outcome. This requires clear understanding of the relationship between performance
and outcomes, trust in the people who will take the decisions on who gets what
outcome, transparency of the process that decides who gets what outcome
✓ Valence is the importance that the individual places upon the expected outcome. For
the valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not
attaining it.
The three elements are important behind choosing one element over another because
they are clearly defined: effort-performance expectancy (E>P expectancy) and
performance-outcome expectancy (P>O expectancy).
Thus, Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation is not about self-interest in rewards but
about the associations people make towards expected outcomes and the contribution they
feel they can make towards those outcomes.
III. Analysis on Steve Jobs’ Motivation Method
1.


Steve Jobs refers to Vision.
“What we're about isn't making boxes for people to get their jobs done, although we

do that well. We do that better than almost anybody in some cases, but Apple's about
something more than that. Apple, at the core, its core value, is that we believe that people
with passion can change the world for the better. That's what we believe in” – Steve Jobs
said. Those sayings were just same as self-actualization in theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs.

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About theorical review, Psychologist Abraham Maslow's theory of self-actualization
contends that individuals are motivated to fulfill their potential in life. Self-actualization is
typically discussed in conjunction with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which posits that selfactualization sits at the top of a hierarchy above four "lower" needs.
In Steve’s point of view, he and Apple believe that people with passion can change
the world for the better. They fulfill their employees and set out for people who bought
their products. This is exactly Steve’s vision, Apple’s core value that motivate their
subordinates and promote their customers. People, ex: Steve’s employees, will wish to
achieve everything in their field, to be on top and to continuously improve themselves and
what they own due to Steve Jobs’ Leadership Skill and his excellent vision.
And of course, it is incredibly effective but actually very simple. Almost any of the
marketing messages that we have heard from Apple or Steve Jobs boil down to just a few
words, certainly one sentence. So, if we think back, there was the iPod campaign that was
"1,000 songs in your pocket." Therefore, we need to keep our vision, our core set of values
extremely simple, because the employees, the people beneath us, the people who are buying
our products, they need to be able to communicate it succinctly to the people around them.
Steve wants to send a message to his partners that they need improvement, need
progress to be able to change the world. It is a great impetus for them to explore their
potential. Apple would like to express their opinion that they not only make people get their

jobs done effectively but also promote people’s ability hidden from inside themselves.
Steve Jobs constantly was refocusing his people on this vision of doing something big that
was going to change the world, and, honestly, that was their heyday was when they came
out with the iPod and the iPad, and even the iMac before that. That focuses on the vision is
what made it so powerful.
2.

The content in his employee’s sayings is Inspiration.
Related to his sayings “We believe that people with passion can change the world for

the better.”, that is what inspired the people around him, and if we will look at his
employees, as what we will do in just a second, they picked up the message loud and clear.

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“I have to say, of all the people I've met, there is nobody, clearly, nobody like Steve.
When you are next to him and he was talking to you, you could feel the electricity in your
body. You could feel his charisma, and it wasn't it's because he was a cult leader or
anything, you just, actually, could feel it, because I'm not necessarily a cult follower. And,
he made you feel he could inspire you. He made you feel like you could do anything. And
as long as you believe that, you, really, could do anything, as long as you're willing to
sacrifice everything else.” – Steve’s employee shared. This is exactly an application of selfesteem needs.
Reviewing theory of self-esteem: Esteem needs are ego needs or status needs. People
develop a concern with getting recognition, status, importance, and respect from others.
Esteem presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People often
engage in a profession or hobby to gain recognition. These activities give the person a sense
of contribution or value. This level includes: respect, self-esteem, status, recognition,
strength, freedom.
So, really, that's what Steve Jobs did for the people around him, the people under him

that worked for him. He made them feel like they could not only change the world, but that
anything was possible if they worked hard enough. Therefore, they were willing to go to
really extreme measures to pull the kind of things off that he asked for were oftentimes
were quite frankly, technologically infeasible and ridiculous, and very, very hard to pull
off, but they managed to do it because of this belief that it was possible, that passionate
people could change the world.
Steve’s influence on his subordinates is positive, makes them willing to work, become
more confident to face with problems or even sacrifice everything. This enhances their
esteem, overcome themself to develop. Recognizing them is a good way for others make
efforts, attracts people to join competitions or campaigns or professions to gain recognition.
Indeed, should we be confident in ourselves, we will have a healthy esteem as well,
everything would be done effectively. As a result, the harder we work, the more recognition
we achieve.

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3.

He prefers using high stake metaphors.
Steve Jobs has always been considered as the Apple wizard that casts spells on his

audiences during each of his presentations. Some say that his presentations are always both
mesmerizing and of course, inspiring since they are most likely a well-prepared
performance or some kind of a magic show.
One of the most powerful tools that this man has in his toolbox is METAPHOR.
Metaphor is a figure of speech that uses symbols which have a similar meaning
instead of reality to denote or describe something. It helps explain an idea or make a
comparison, and helps represent abstract concepts using colorful language. As we already
know, metaphors are not only important in poetry, literature but also so powerful in creating

a remark in a speech. Psychological research within the last decade has exploded that
metaphors are not just a literary technique; they are a very potent psychological technique.
By illustrating a point without coming right out and saying it, an author can get his/her
audiences to really think about something with a totally new meaning, from a different
angle. Telling a story using metaphors also helps an author illustrate a point on a deeper
level. Figures and symbols also have bigger impacts, and often on a more emotional level.
Let’s have a closer look at how Steve Jobs used high stake metaphors to ignite the
enthusiasm of his employees. In the video that we use as a reference for this report, Steve
Jobs has mentioned: “SunX, if you will, are our friend, because they're going to spend their
marketing money to convince people to move into this segment. But the minute they've made
their choice to move into the segment, whether we've convinced them or Sun has convinced
them, Sun and Next are mortal enemies”, or “In other words, if we zoom out the big picture,
it would be a shame to have lost the war because we won a few battles. And, I sort of feel
like I, and so are the rest of us, are concentrating too much on the smaller battles, that, and
we're not keeping the war in perspective, and the war is called survival”. He was talking
about “mortal enemies”, “war”, “smaller battles” and “survival” - things that are completely
human, emotionally-driven, and archaic-type, almost. They drive people back hundreds,
even thousands of years in history, to once again find out what war, battle or survival is, to
once again experience the thrill of the long and terrible fights, of eventually glorious
victory, of deliberate survival.

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So, for Steve Jobs, it is not just about winning or the company will suffer major
losses, we might not receive a salary or even lose our jobs (not just about the fear of losing
jobs). This sort of term, this sort of metaphor gets people emotionally engaged, and that
was something that Steve Jobs was able to do to an incredible level with his own employees.
According to Maslow’s theory of Hierarchy of Needs, this method of Steve Jobs has
pretty much of an impact on an employee's needs for safety. His metaphor of war and battles

give his employees the feeling of shudder, of unsecure, unsafety and the feeling that their
first priority of survival and safety is not yet met. As the assumption made by Maslow in
this theory, having unmet (safety) needs will push the workers towards actions aimed at
satisfying those needs. And so, in this particular case, Steve has turned the company's
purpose of winning this tough battle into each employee’s vital goal so that each of them
will fiercely fight to achieve that goal.
We can also see Steve Jobs in other contexts, using words of metaphor to mobilize
his employees. It all started in January 1983, by what he said to the development team who
was working on the original Mac, the company’s hugely ambitious personal computer back
then: “It’s better to be a pirate than join the navy”. And we can immediately see the
immense impact this saying has on his employees, since in August 1983, it was spotted that
a pirate flag was flying at Apple’s headquarters: a black flag with the familiar white skull
and crossbones, and perhaps most importantly, the final touch of an eye-patch that rendered
by a large, rainbow-colored Apple logo.
Being a pirate, by his means, wasn’t about treasure maps and eyepatches, it is about
“moving fast, unencumbered by bureaucracy and politics”, says software engineer Andy
Hertzfeld, an original member of the Macintosh team. Indeed, pirates can function without
a bureaucracy, they support one another and support their leader in the accomplishment of
a goal, they can stay creative and on task in a difficult or even hostile environment, they
can also act independently and take intelligent risks, but always within the scope of the
greater vision and the needs of the greater team. Pirates with passion are all it needs for
Apple to make anything possible, to do something that matters, that can change the world.

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4.

There is always an enemy in Steve Jobs’ stories.
“Well, Big Blue dominates the entire computer industry, the entire information age.


Was George Orwell right?” - Steve Jobs talking about IBM - the Big Blue, and how they
have the majority of market share in the 1980s.
In almost every classic story, there are heroes and villains. Villains represent the
problem that needs to be solved, and heroes play the role of a solution helping the victims
(usually consumers) break out of that problem.
In the early days, Steve Jobs made IBM the enemy of Apple, especially in the year of
1984, when Apple released a television ad where IBM played the role of the villain. Later
on, there was Microsoft, and then there was the entire PC platform the enemy in the late
1990s.

The PC guy versus the Mac guy in an ad titled “Out of the Box”

This bring us back to the theory of Maslow, after satisfying the safety needs (that is
when Steve Jobs mentions of “war” and “survival”, reminds the workers of their
insecurities, and encourages them to seek to strengthen their certainty and safety) and the
esteem needs (when he mentions the vision and fosters the belief in each of his employees
that with passion, and the willingness to trade-off, they are capable of anything), higher
level of needs will incur. An employee will continue to seek to meet these needs, in this

19


case, the self-actualization needs. It refers to people’s competitiveness and their ambition
to win. Here, they seek to fulfill their highest potential and create a positive impact on the
world.
Having an enemy gets people incredibly fired up. The moment the employees
recognize their enemy’s presence, they behave differently. The simple existence of an
enemy, even one that hasn’t acted yet, provokes a change in the posture of workers, makes
them more aware and alters how they prepare for the up-comings, how they organize

themselves. Creating an enemy, as a supplement of the previous method - using a metaphor
that riled up employees by their emotions, is once again an extremely effective move of
Steve Jobs. It makes the employees, again, feel like their survival is on the line, like they
actually need to win a battle, and eventually, they worked that much harder.
5.

Steve Jobs is a “Theory X” person.
As Jobs once said: “Quality if much better than quantity. One home run is much better

than two doubles.”
He chose theory X as he believes that every employee is needed to be given a clear
instruction and under supervision. Theory X is based on assumptions regarding the typical
worker. This management style assumes that the typical worker has little ambition, avoids
responsibility, and is individual-goal oriented. In general, Theory X style managers believe
their employees are less intelligent, lazier, and work solely for a sustainable income.
Management believes employees’ work is based on their own self-interest. Managers who
believe employees operate in this manner are more likely to use rewards or punishments as
motivation. Due to these assumptions, Theory X concludes the typical workforce operates
more efficiently under a hands-on approach to management. Theory X managers believe
all actions should be traceable to the individual responsible. This allows the individual to
receive either a direct reward or a reprimand, depending on the outcome’s positive or
negative nature.
Steve Jobs recognized the impact of discipline and chose to focus on this first as he
begins remaking Apple in 1997. Great companies are built through discipline. Great
achievements require discipline. Jobs created an accountability system to make sure

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everyone could do their best work on what they should be doing and nothing else. In

meetings, Jobs create an “action list” and next to each task he would assign one “DRI”
(Directly Responsible Individual). DRIs were responsible for the task and had to ensure it
was accomplished. This simple system ensures that every person leaves the meeting with a
clear understanding of where things are headed and what they have to do. Marking
responsibility also clarifies communication protocols. Finally, it removes all room for
excuses and makes everybody more productive.
Another example is the launch of Apple’s MobileMe web service in 2008. It was a
subpar product and created an embarrassing email blackout for thousands of customers.
Jobs was outraged. After the launch, he asked the MobileMe team: “Can anyone tell me
what MobileMe is supposed to do?” After receiving a reply, he continued, “So why doesn’t
it do that?” But he didn’t stop there: “You’ve tarnished Apple’s reputation. You should hate
each other for having let each other down.” Jobs immediately named a new executive to
run MobileMe, and shortly after the meeting, most of the team was disbanded.
6.

Steve Jobs’ Strong and endless belief.
Steve Jobs believed everything that he said to a fault. He had this vision of the world

that he truly felt was going to come true, and when he communicated with people, they
sensed how much he believed it, and that certainty made them jump on to his bandwagon.
John Scully is the guy who was asked to be the CEO of Apple when Steve Jobs was
working there. He was currently the CEO of Pepsi, and here he is, recounting the story of
how Steve Jobs got him to leave his cushy gig at Pepsi. “And then, he looked up at me, and
just stared at me, with this stare that only Steve Jobs has, and he said, "You want to sell
sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to come with me and change the world?"
And I just gulped because I knew I would wonder for the rest of my life what I would have
missed.” That is what fires people up. But there's one way that conviction comes through
very, very clearly, and it's in the choice of words that we use.
The truth is that Steve Jobs didn't talk in terms of possibilities, he talked in certainties.
He would say, "We are this." "We will release this computer by this date." He talked as if


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things had already happened. For example, when he come back to Apple, he talked about
the company bouncing back, and it wasn't we will likely do this, it is "We will do this.".
Occasionally, we say exactly what we think, and we show other people exactly how we
feel. See if we are speaking with certainty or, actually, if we are betraying the fact that we
are very uncertain ourselves. This isn't something we can fake. This is communicated in a
thousand micro expressions, in our vocal tonality, and in our word choices. So, if we want
to have the conviction around something we are saying, we first need to have confidence.
IV. Recommendations for Other Managers
According to the video, it is easily seen that employee motivation plays a very
important and decisional role in the company’s success. The main reason why employee
motivation is important is mainly because it allows management to meet the company’s
goals. Without a motivated workplace, companies could be placed in a very risky position.
Motivated employees can lead to increased productivity and allow a company to achieve
higher levels of output. Having understood the importance of employee motivation, many
companies, especially the leaders, tend to put more attention and resources into employee
motivation. However, in reality, a variety of managers meet difficulties in creating
motivation for their staffs. Some remarkable issues that leaders often face are not aware of
the diversity in their workforce and thus are not aware and clear about different ways of
motivating their diverse workforce, the leaders can face challenges to understand the
different needs of each people or they can meet a lot of difficulties in how to communicate
effectively with their staffs and so on. Therefore, through analysis which based on the video
and problems that many managers face in reality, our group haves some recommendations
for others mangers which can help them create more motivations on their employees.
First of all, a leader needs to have a clear and persuasive vision.
Vision can be defined as a picture in the leader's imagination that motivates and inspire
people to take action in the same direction to move that company forward. A vision shows

where the company is headed and it is a very important thing for leaders to prepare for the

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