"And while it is true that Jobs was as charismatic as Clooney and as manipulative as Machiavelli, the legend we helped him construct served many purposes beyond pumping up his own ego. He was an irresistible force who knew that in order to bring to market the amazing technological wonders that bubbled in his imagination, he also had to become the Svengali of the digital revolution that was to be the hallmark of his generation."
"Nevertheless, Steve was merely mortal. And his storied life was one of dissonances and contradictions. He proudly flouted authority, yet he embodied extreme self-discipline. He wouldn't suffer fools, but that wouldn't keep him from turning on the charm to woo a "bozo" who had something he needed. He was the ultimate nano-manager, who also could limn the grand strokes of a big picture that others rarely could fully perceive without his help."
"While he never settled for anything but the extraordinary and dearly loved his Gulfstream jet, he led a curiously modest domestic life, especially after he had married and embraced fatherhood. He was intensely private, yet he hid in plain sight. He took his physical health far more seriously than most of us, yet his body utterly failed him. And the final irony is that when he died, by many measures he was at long last reaching his full stride."
Steve Jobs cultivated a mythic public persona combining charisma, manipulation and relentless vision that helped bring his technological ideas to market. He balanced extreme self-discipline with authority-flouting, and mixed harshness toward incompetence with strategic charm when needed. He managed details obsessively while articulating rare, large-scale visions. He sought the extraordinary and enjoyed luxuries like a Gulfstream jet, yet maintained a modest family life after marriage and fatherhood. He remained intensely private while remaining highly visible. He pursued health seriously but ultimately succumbed to illness. Journalists and others exploited his fame, and his drive ultimately exhausted him.
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