A631.9.2.RB_DiazBrian

After watching the Steve Jobs Brainstorms with NeXT Team video something became very apparent to me.  I would have been a terrible fit for the NeXT team based on my management assessment profile.  Steve Jobs would probably have fired me faster than I could say Mac.  I can imagine him having one of his classic tirades as he disparaged me into exile.  I would have had a great story to tell my grandkids!  Imagine being fired by one of the most ingenious minds of the 20th/21st century.

Why would I have been such a horrible fit for a team with so many other issues at play?  The only characteristic in my favor would be I know that I would have had the courage to leave Apple and follow Jobs to NeXT.  My history of taking business risks would have led me to that team but not much further.  For one, product inventiveness is not in my DNA.  It is practically non-existent.  I have never had a desire to build products or invent them.  Strike one!  I also have a strong need for structure.  For me it is important to have organizational structure.  As a start-up, I feel this is something NeXT lacked.  Organizational structure determines how companies perform and operate.  It seems at NeXT there was some confusion as to how the company should work.  "Team members who joined before 1986 were paid $75,000 while those who joined afterwards were paid $50,000. This caused a few awkward situations where managers were paid less than their employees." Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT

To be part of the NeXT team one of the most important characteristics I could have had was my innovation.  However I am extremely conservative when it comes ambition.  Strike two!  I can already see Steve asking some to bring me to his office.  Not only am I conservative but I have a need to ask for advice before acting.  I don't think this quality would be highly thought of in this organization.  The individuals of NeXT are there to innovate, design, problem solve, and most importantly deliver.  My personality needs for there to be tangible results in order for me to measure my success.  Jobs approach to measuring success is the timely delivery of his product, on budget, and at a price that attracts the masses.

I can imagine that working for the NeXT team would involve quite a bit of multitasking across different groups.  Not another one of my strong attributes.  I prefer to work alone but I am able to function as a part of a team.  I enjoy autonomy and is is very unlikely I could contribute to a team of engineers in building this product acting as a lone wolf.  Strike 3!  I can see myself walking into Steve Jobs office for the last time now...

As someone situated to work best in a large rapid growth environment, I think being a part of the NeXT team would have been a horrible fit for me.  A start-up is just not for me.  But it would have been awesome to be anywhere near someone as talented and as brilliant as Steve Jobs.  If there was anyone I could ever dream of being fired by, it would definitely be him.