Word count: 2,608
Assignment Topic
Compare and contrast two leaders, at least one of whom must be a business leader. Which of the two was the more effective leader? Why? What skills did they demonstrate?
Executive Summary
It is said that leadership is the process of influencing an organised group towards accomplishing its goals. Two of the most influential men of the 21st century field who achieved this aim were Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. They were both working within the information technology field but their leadership styles couldn’t have been more different, to the point it feels like they in competition to be the direct opposite of the other. Both men were highly innovative with the ability to see the future of personal computing but other than that how they ran their companies and inspired their subordinates and proved they were effective leaders were complete dichotomies to each other.
Introduction
This essay will compare and contrast the leadership styles of William (Bill) Henry Gates and Steven Paul Jobs. Bill Gates was the co-founder and Chairman of Microsoft, a software development company, and Steve Jobs was the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apple, a hardware development company. There has been much written about both leaders, their intense rivalry and their drive to be the best at what they do. Both men have revolutionised the information technology industry but with very different leadership styles. Without doubt Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, before his untimely death, were the most powerful business leaders in the world of personal computing.
Background
Both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were born in 1955 to very contrasting lifestyles. Bill’s family were seen as being very successful within the Seattle community with his father, William H Gates Sr. being a prominent lawyer and his mother serving on the board of directors of various companies. In contrast Steve Jobs was adopted into a middle class family after his unmarried...