Steve Jobs : Are entrepreneurs artists ?

shekhar

Which part of the brain does Steve Jobs use when he makes what we call a ‘seat of the pants’ decision ? Where the idea or solution lies in the realm of the subconscious – or as some would say in the universal consciousness – that somehow the mind/brain accesses. Not unlike Mozart’s discovery of an harmony in discordant and contradictory notes. Not unlike Einstein’s moments of finding the connecting equations between impossibly disconnected ideas/theories of time/space. Not unlike Archimedes’s Eureka moment. Not unlike Van Gogh’s first brush stroke knowing and trusting that there is a pattern that will emerge if he trusts his instincts and has the courage to move with it,
And so to the other similarity between an artist and an entrepreneur. Courage to paint an empty canvass, courage to create harmony where there was none in musical notes, courage to create a new products where there are no models to follow. Courage to isolate oneself for years even writing a novel. So is Steve Jobs and entrepreneur or an artist ? …….


And where does this courage come from ? Is it the brash risk gene that the scientists are touting so much these days ? Maybe – but then do the artists have the same gene ? But one thing is certain, courage comes from passion. And passion defines both the true entrepreneur and the artist both. What drives you to do what you have sensed through your instincts against all odds. True entrepreneur ? Someone that has changed something fundamental.
But finally which part of the brain is operating when the instinctive, the seat of the pants decision is made ? I believe the true entrepreneur and the artist are using the ‘right brain ‘ faculties for those moments. The moments where the mind goes into the ‘dream mode’ – or I would say into the ‘fantasy mode’ where it assumes that answer is already found, that the answer or the thought or the melody already exists. And having then created the existence of the yet ‘unknown’ melody and answer in the universe, the entrepreneur/artist propels all the the ‘learnt’ discipline, the experience of one’s particular art or field, and through that discipline the answers are accessed in a more explicable and usable form for the real/practical world.
Interestingly at that moment, both the artist and the entrepreneur are behaving in a completely impractical manner by completely blocking out the ‘left brain’ tendencies The practical tendencies. Those that say ‘if there is no empirical data, it does not exst’. If it cannot be specifiacally measured, it deos not exist. It’s another thing that the entrepreneur will then go to great lengths to hire business school graduates to justify his/her decisions to present to shareholders and to the banks !

9 thoughts on “Steve Jobs : Are entrepreneurs artists ?”

  1. Thanks to superforce of the big bang or the kundlini shakti in our case (collectively forming our mind), our right brain intuites our next evolutionary destination and the left brain takes us there step by step. On a larger scale the same is conveyed by ‘spirituality intuites and science takes us there step by step.’ And then for a split second they merge. In scientific terms it may be called reaching a particular symmetry. It is in fact the end of any small or big cycle.
    Then the right again intuites its/our next destination. In scientific terms it will be called symmetry breaking. It will also denote the beginning of the next cycle. The left brain then will follow suit as above in step by step mode.
    This ‘right brain intuiting again’ is what comprises Eureka experience of any kind at any level. (The universal evolution too begins with Supersymmtry breaking in the same manner).
    Seat of the pants decision may stand for the decision taken at the beginning of any small or big cycle because in our case it is identified with what in Yogic philosophy is called Mooladhara chakra right there at the seat of our pants. A cycle is supposed to begin from there and then end there (At least so far we can depict it physically otherwise it begins from what is called spiritual heart and ends there and which may be identified with even our whole body but which for physical identification is again identified at two digits to the right of our physical heart – where Christians mark the center while making the cross with their hand).
    The above explanation does not differentiate between an artist, a scienstist, an enterpreneur…because it is applicable to all who are supposed to give some paradigm shifting something.
    Harb

  3. Jesus I need a special tailor to see which side is larger which is constricted…darn those brains!!
    tis the conviction, the inner voice, the faith, the fire in the belly the race against all odds…that makes ye what ye are!!
    Going beyond mere statistics conditioned by man itself!!
    Smileee Shekhar…

  5. Dear Shekhar,
    Someone once said that the art of getting successful is in “understanding the way the
    world works and then creating your uniqueness within that framework.” The reason why most people can’t make it is either that they don’t understand how the world works or they try to create their uniqueness outside that framework. So, although Jobs is unique he still
    works in the framework of selling a portable music player/phone to the masses through retail outlets. The real art is not just of creating a great product but to be able to sell that to the masses i.e. to cultivate that desire and then deliver with a quality product. Spielberg is a superstar not because he makes films that are superior to others but because he can sell the films to the masses in a big way, so the real differentiator is the ability to generate revenue e.g the 24 billion of Apple’s is what makes Steve Jobs a superstar. It begins with market research and ends with marketing so the real creativity lies in the business acumen of the individual rather the ability to just create a product.The ability lies in selling the product at a high price and getting it made on the cheap in China and at the same time keeping market share to have a significant botton line.
    This quote goes perfectly here:
    Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and
    working is art and good business is the best art.
    Andy Warhol
    If we read the detailed approx. 15 page article on him in Fortune this year we see a very
    different steve Jobs, one who thinks only he is right and everyone around him is wrong,
    one who brings people to tears in meetings and fires them for small things, one who is
    hell bent on creativity but one who values his creativity over all his employees and
    doesn’t feel that anyone comes close – mayabe his cancer surgery and return to life in
    some sorts, plus the success of Ipod has something to do with it (no other mac
    product became successful like that before). Fortune did a year of research to dissect the man and they found tons of controversial areas – Ths is the article, the most exaustive one on Steve that appeared in Fortune this year:
    “The trouble with Steve Jobs –
    Jobs likes to make his own rules, whether the topic is computers, stock options, or even
    pancreatic cancer. The same traits that make him a great CEO drive him to put his company, and his investors, at risk.”
    http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/02/news/companies/elkind_jobs.fortune/index.htm
    This paragraph from the article explains his vision when he took over as the CEO in 97:
    “In 1997 Apple was on the ropes. Right away, Jobs dug into the mucky details of the business, creating a sense of urgency, radically reducing Apple’s product line, and accelerating a wholesale cost cutting that would shrink the company back to profitability. Jobs had become a far better leader, less of a go-to-hell aesthete who cared only about making beautiful objects. Now he was a go-to-hell aesthete who cared about making beautiful objects that made money.”
    Best Regards,
    Himanshu

  6. I find documentary about steve job very interesting.
    Steve Jobs is an unlikely candidate to have become the prototype of america computer industry entrepreneur.
    Inside Steve’s Brain by Leander Kahney might answer that question.
    from the review– people skills not his strength. in explaining why employees and coworkers put up with him (Jobs), critics invoke the Stockholm Syndrome. His employees are captives who have fallen in love with their captor.

  8. “No guts, no glory” these are the words that I would use to describe Steve Jobs. But instead of just analyzing entrepereneurs as artists I’d first like to ask: what is an artist? When people think of an artist, often actors, singers, or painters come to mind, but is that all there is to art? simply writing , pretending or drawing? I hope not….an online definition of ‘artist’ at wordnet.princeton defines an artist as “a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination”…. perhaps this is the one of the most general definitions of ‘artist’ outhere…and b/c of that very same generality, I’d like to propose that it is the most appropriate definition as well.. at the risk of rolling a few eyes of the viewer(s) reading this, I’d like to propose that every single human being on this planet, is an artist…we just have different canvesses on which we paint…. if being an artist only requires application of one’s creativity, then mathematicians are artists with the way they see numbers, lawyers are artists with the way they arrange arguements, doctor’s are artists with the way they see the human body, general’s are artists with the way they strategize defences….these are all artists in the ‘non-traditional’ sense because the same functions of the brain and spirit is being used in creating…namely, imagination! I don’t understand why people would give different defintions to the same action simply because it is done under a different context…. if a painter uses his paintbrush and knowledge of brush stroke to create a breathtaking canvess from mere imagination, then why can’t a civil engineer (painter), by using his city maps and population statistics (paintbrush) to create something (city landscapes) out of mere imagination, also be considered an artist as well? The key to applying these concepts to non-traditional artists requires an open mind, the ability to step back and look at the “whole” picture …which ironically is needed to create art on it’s own as well…so in a sense simply figuring out the philosophies of life by learning as you grow older and applying them uses the works of an artist as well…namely you’re life is a piece of art on it’s own…so paint the picture you’d be proud of 🙂

  9. Hi Admin,
    I forgot to mention in my last post, that I LOVED LOVED LOVED ELIZABETH THE GOLDEN AGE EVEN MORE than ELIZABETH!!!! Just fantastic film-making story-telling!!!!!
    Please tell Shekhar I would like to meet him if he’s in London Aug 5-8th (we had been in contact previously thru Quasar Films but I think he no longer has that address) re: a meeting for film work, and also I want to give him a copy of my film, DHARINI which went to Cannes 2007. If you have his direct email address please forward it to me or please forward my contact address:
    npancholikhatod@yahoo.com
    http://www.natashapancholikhatod.com (Pics, resume, reel)
    THANKS SO MUCH!
    Natasha

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