Well, I knew that Jobs was "supposed to have been a difficult man". But after reading the biography it's pretty clear that this guy had some serious, deep running flaws, character traits that other people could never get away with. Just to name a few, based on the biography, he was pathologically self-centered, a habitual liar, he belittled people in public for his own personal gratification and so on.
Now, not just from a management perspective - Is this something to emulate? Do we want a society where everyone is like this?
In my opinion, people like Jobs need level-headed, strong people around them. Without people who are willing to work with them despite their flaws, guys like Jobs would probably end up in the gutter with a knife in their back.
Everyone lies, most people are self-centered since birth, and his belittling is pretty much non-existent when you compare it to a CEO like Steve Balmer.
I think Jobs was just a guy who had a vision for computers, and knew that he had to be relentless to reach that goal in a short amount of time. I also think Jobs is probably one of the most level-headed people in the tech industry. Check the beginning of this video, very observant and calm, and I don't think he is necessarily as self-centered as you wrote.
Now, not just from a management perspective - Is this something to emulate? Do we want a society where everyone is like this?
In my opinion, people like Jobs need level-headed, strong people around them. Without people who are willing to work with them despite their flaws, guys like Jobs would probably end up in the gutter with a knife in their back.