Back in 1994, Rolling Stone had a chat with now Apple’s boss, Steve Jobs during his NeXT period. What makes this interview so interesting is it took place at a time in which he was more willing to speak to the press, as he’d been ousted from Apple, etc.

With the iPad in mind, ponder this quote:

“To make step-function changes, revolutionary changes, it takes that combination of technical acumen and business and marketing — and a culture that can somehow match up the reason you developed your product and the reason people will want to buy it. I have a great respect for incremental improvement, and I’ve done that sort of thing in my life, but I’ve always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes. I don’t know why. Because they’re harder. They’re much more stressful emotionally. And you usually go through a period where everybody tells you that you’ve completely failed.”

Also worth pondering what industry “insiders” thought of him at that point – they considered him a spent force. As illustrated – now he makes the cover of The Economist.

“Remember, this is a guy who never believed any of the rules applied to him,” one colleague says. “Now, I think he’s finally realized that he’s mortal, just like the rest of us.”

Via: BrokenBottleBoy