Have you even met any? The reason I'm asking is that to know genius one has to see one in person. And the work of a genius cannot even come to be without the persona. It is always the personality that fascinates and then as if trying to find the essence for themselves, people go around looking at the work and life of a genius, pondering what it is that makes them so.
And its passion. Pure single minded passion. The dark side of the force, all the way. Thats what genius is.
Another thing they have in common is that they simply cannot be classified in concise terms without calling them genius.
You might be right that certain undefinable qualities taken together are what genius amounts to. But I guess I feel it means having a special insight in some area(s). Thing about Jobs is he so carefully tried to cultivate the sense that he had a special insight, and I feel like he desperately wanted to believe he did, and was superior to others because of it. I have met geniuses, but I haven't met Jobs, and second hand evidence is unreliable to me here given his abilities (ironic since they may be the crux of his genius).
Do you say he has no insight? iPod introduced: analysis say it will fail. iPhone introduced: analysis say it will fail. iPad introduced: analysis say it will fail.
WWDC 1997 video shows that Jobs clearly had a vision for many many years into the future.
I thought the iPod and iPhone would do great. So did many others. As I'm sure is the guy who actually came up with the ideas that were present in the iPod, which may or may not have been Steve Jobs himself. My point is, he may have had the insight to design the iPod in its glorious form, or maybe he just recognized it in someone else's work (Apple engineers/designers/whatever), just as millions did when it went on sale. So who's the genius(es)?
There are many fine product designers and maker geniuses around the world. I'm not trying to say that it is a common gift.
But it is certainly more common than an inspired and/or visionary business managers. At least I have met many of the former type and maybe only one or two of the latter. And they will probably never get a chance to take a shot at making a story as Job's.
That he was a genius manager is even a bigger cred to me. Since keeping ones true self and inner voice intact in cacophony of minds, emotions and ambitions that is a multinational is a worthy feat of its own accord.
Hell, the biggest team I ever got a shot at running was 15 people big. And for myself the wide variety of emotions and motives experienced, was barely a taste of what it means to run an organization 10's of thousands people strong.
Have you even met any? The reason I'm asking is that to know genius one has to see one in person. And the work of a genius cannot even come to be without the persona. It is always the personality that fascinates and then as if trying to find the essence for themselves, people go around looking at the work and life of a genius, pondering what it is that makes them so.
And its passion. Pure single minded passion. The dark side of the force, all the way. Thats what genius is.
Another thing they have in common is that they simply cannot be classified in concise terms without calling them genius.