Few major business leaders exhibit the contradictions in character of Steven Paul Jobs, who is developed the Apple I and II, which were among the first consumer-oriented Macintosh computers. In this chapter, Jobs's record of leadership illustrates what we described as the “fragmentary” nature of virtue. Whatever Steve Jobs's other failings, one virtue permitted him to overcome numerous reverses and emerge as a global leader: his outstanding sensitivity to aesthetics and design. Throughout his business career Steve Jobs brought to his work, and to the companies he led, an acute sense of the importance of industrial design in all its meanings. This aesthetic sensitivity (plus a lot of luck and brilliance) saved his career and added immeasurably to our society's richness.

Controlled Vocabulary Terms

business; industrial design; leader; leadership; sensitivity