Pirates of Silicon Valley - Reflection

1. What are the factors that contributed to the success and failure of Steve Jobs as a technopreneur?

The movie, “Pirates of Silicon Valley” was a film based on a historical fact regarding on Steve Jobs and how Apple got started and also about Bill Gates and how Microsoft got started. The movie then proceeds to narrate the events that led to the development of the first Apple computer. The movie is called Pirates of Silicon Valley because it is about piracy in the computer world and Silicon Valley is a place in California where computers are built. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs performed many unethical actions during the beginnings of Microsoft and Apple. Steve Jobs is now known as one of the famous technopreneur in the world of business. Furthermore, he already attained his success but with his attitude problem this brought him to a failure one. But as years passed by, the Apple Company decided to give him another chance to continue his visions and to develop more new technologies.

 

By watching this movie, I learned a lot of things about two of the most successful business man in the world. Well, definitely I was amazed with the story of Steve Jobs. Achieving what Steve Jobs had reached is actually a hard thing to do. His success is like a pie in the sky. I would definitely believe that Steve Jobs is not actually as genius as Einstein but I can say that the best thing that he got are his guts and his big dreams. I was amazed with Steve Jobs’ ability and confidence that made him achieve his greatest objectives but on the other hand he showed some negative sides that brought him some lost. In Steve Jobs’ case I can consider intelligence as one of the dynamics of his success and also his interpersonal skills. I can see how he considers efficient factors. What amazes me is how he never runs out of ideas. He thinks fast and anything just pops out into his mind. He never ceased to believe that someday, somehow, he would be able to shoot down IBM from his own creations of computers. Who would actually say that it was all possible? It’s only him. He is really smart in a way that anything falls into his will. He is not into programming or any mathematical nerdy stuff, but he is more successful than the ones who programmed his computers.

In the movie, Steve Jobs is an open minded person and has the ability to put new twists on old techniques in technologies; this is the reason why you can distinguish an Apple product with their different competitors. He also has the ability to foresee future demands of technology. He also thinks systematically in which he can incorporate elements and ideas to make a product or project effective. He was able to grasp the essentials in a given situation and can respond appropriately to them. Steve Jobs dreamed is to change the world and he wants to prove in any way you should need an Apple computer to do it. He still continues to pursue what he thinks and believes that maybe he is the one who could change how people thinks in the manner of technology.

Tend to focused not what you are now but instead what you are in the next five to ten years. Steve Jobs continues to work towards ensuring Apple a place at the top of the market for years to come. He kept his eyes and ears open and had the courage to seize new opportunities as they came along. He always concerning himself with the next big thing, developing a new personal computer that people will amazed and continue to move forward. Whether risky or outright foolish, Steve Jobs was from then on out determined to follow his abilities in guiding his business decisions.

As I can see in the movie, Steve Jobs is very determined to succeed in any way he can. He never lets his eyes out of the trophy. He has this great drive on pursuing what he wanted. He even went on establishment up to another establishment to sell computers. The way he decided to sell his products, his way of reasoning and convincing large companies is amazing. He never cares of what other people might think about him, as long as his following his own path. His motivations were great that he gets whatever he wants using his charms.

One factor that affects Steve Jobs in his failure is his attitude to abuse his co-workers in his team. Steve Jobs thinks he is the one who founded the Apple Company without any acknowledgement in any of his teams. In the movie Steve Jobs split his company into two camps. One is the old Apple computer camp and the other the new Macintosh development camp. He even wants to battle the two different teams in Apple. He thinks this is right and continues to deal with it not knowingly the feelings of his team or workers on how they feel on their job. As an employer you should consider the needs and wants of your employees. You cannot be an employer if you don’t have an employee as well as you cannot be an employee if you don’t have an employer. It should correspond to an interpersonal skill. Learn how to deal with your employees and learn how to deal with your employer. Steve Jobs over worked his employees in the result of, his own employees arise over him and even had a confidence to shut him in his face. What his doing is an abuse to his employees.

Other factor that affects Steve Jobs in his failure is that he cannot control his temper, it is because of being too perfectionist, and the want to be on the highest peak of his career. He keeps on yelling to his people, making them paranoid, resulting to miscommunication, misunderstanding and chaos. His partner, who was his programmer, left him because he cannot take it anymore. This is one factor of an individual should watch out for. Not all the time that people around you will adjust, they also have limitations. So it is important to limit your anger as well.

There is this certain scene in the movie that I cared a lot the most. This was Steve Jobs had a baby with his girlfriend, but he refused to accept the child. He doubted if the child was really his own. He abandoned his girlfriend but he returned when the baby was born. Although he didn’t accept the baby, he was the still the one who gave the name which was Lisa. After that he named one of their computers, Lisa. The thing that confuses me is that why does he bothers to give the baby a name when he didn’t even accepted her as his own blood. The other thing is that he doesn’t want any help with any companies; he wants to do it on his own, to succeed alone. He wanted to raise Apple without linking it other big companies. One thing that makes him fail is that he sees everyone as a threat, although we should be vigilant, but not look at others as enemies. Even the ones who wanted to help him. Having a high pride is also one of the factors why there are people who are in a chaotic situation at this very moment. But after, he still ended up having business with Bill Gates whom he had a little misunderstanding with.

Everyone deserves a second chance, and it’s a matter of coping, not just only on your determination to succeed again but also most especially on altering your unconstructive character because we cannot alter our lives by not altering our unconstructive attitudes. Success is based on a feeling that no matter how difficult the objective is, it can be achieved and that requires a personal belief that everything is possible. We then realized that what they have achieved as individuals, they didn’t get it overnight. Rather, they worked really hard for it. They suffered hardships, failures and rejections thus creating them as geniuses of their field as what they are right now.

In this movie, it teaches me one thing; you should not be arrogant in whatever soaring accomplishments you will have. Because you will never know what the future will be, sometimes those who are not considered before might be the one who will succeed more in their striving endeavor. Just maintain a humble profile and you don’t need to hurt someone’s feelings just to focus on your own interest, a good explanation will be a good step, and consider other people’s point of view. Because in an organization, it’s not only a matter of one brain functioning in, it’s sharing of ideas and information in the organization to make it effective and successful. I learned that for us to become successful technopreneurs, we must strive and work hard for our dreams to turn into reality. We must always think that for us to succeed, we must make our dreams into reality. 

2.  How do you see yourself as a technopreneur?

The film is a must see movie because it shows the beginning of computers which is a product of technology that we make use nowadays. Also, for an IT student like me, this movie is very valuable since it reveals a part of the IT history. By watching this film, I could be able to know how to develop my new ideas, knowledge and learning regarding on a specific thing that I am sure that it is my field to be proud of. By having any skills that I know I am capable and worthy enough, I would use this as my own key to my success in my endeavors. And help myself to build my confidence to pursue what is on my mind to have a business through the use of my own capability and skills that may able to help myself.

In the job creation it is always starts by identifying ourselves. It is indicated in the SEED model that the primary step when you need to be a good technopreneur is that we need to identify what we really are and we must be aware to ourselves in order to know our passions and even our limitations. The next thing to be a good technopreneur is to be independent. Being independent to yourself is essential for you because this is the way that you are able to identify your limitations of being a technopreneur. You must also depend on the things that are important to you. Especially when you are trying to find some solutions that you cannot handle, you must also think of being dependent to the other things that surround you. Don’t be fooled with other things and don’t be like a robot that there is some other person is controlling your body. Instead, be the controller so that you would achieve what you want for your job. Perhaps these factors should be the aspects that I must possess. By watching the movie I have also reflected that passion and confidence is truly important in dealing with business matters. We got to find what we love in order to achieve success. In the movie I have observe that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have passion for their job. They get involved with something that coincides with their interests. In the movie I can see how much they exerted efforts to finish the computers they made. Even if it seemed to be tiring and difficult, they never gave up which made me realize that I must not give up easily on things. I must possess confidence and I must believe in myself and in what I can do. It is important to have the trust for yourself in order to pursue and defend your ideas. With the confidence you have you can also deal with other people effectively which may be a big help for your business. You should be the kind of person that would take risk because of you know you can do it. You must trust in your own skills and have to be prepared to lose something to have the possibility of gaining what you really want. A good technopreneur must also be patient in any ways. Everything begins with a scratch so you should work hard to do a step- up, especially now that the competition is very tight. As for myself, I am a little impatient. I want to earn right from the very moment that I started. But I always believe that, if I will strive harder, money will come. Alongside with patience is the perseverance, it is really important, you do not just wait but you also make your move. Although I am impatient, I am by the way persevered in a way that I am really willing to learn and enhance the things I that capable of doing as of now.

It was really a great movie showing us great passion on pursuing our dreams and aspirations. Steve Jobs became our inspiration on that one look. You see, he did not finish college, but he became successful. His personal life was not perfect, but he was successful. I was interested by the fact that Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs able to start building computers out of a garage. Instead of giving up or deciding that it couldn’t be done because they didn’t have the money, they took action given the limited financial resources they had. It shows that if you believe in something or truly you are passionate on your business, you shouldn’t let the resources get in the way. I have learned that each of us has our own ways on reaching our goals. We may be encountering different obstacles but it is a part of learning in order for us to become motivated, wise and brave. As I was watching the movie, lots of realizations came out, finishing college is not a necessity to be successful, although it is an advantage, guts and persevere are the most important things to be possessed in order to succeed.

In building your own business, it is not all about you, we need others to attain our goals. In every success there is always behind us, it is whether our family or not, our friends or not. But remember that we should acknowledge those persons that help us in every little way they were. Likewise in Steve Jobs, he uses the idea of Xerox which is using a graphical interface and then implement in with the Lisa computer. Then it was followed by the Macintosh computer which is also known as a very expensive for today’s market. On the part of Bill Gates, he pays an operating system for a worth of $50,000 in order to make some arrangement with the IBM Company. Through this, they become the two richest men in the world as of today and still both of them reach what they are aiming for in both of their lives, the two of them developed the two company which is the Apple Company and Microsoft Corporation and brought into a huge and more successful until today. Two of them changed how people live and think in their lives, they changed the world of technology, they developed high technologies to make people lives easier. Because of them we feel the ease of our everyday life and in fact these technologies had made our works easier to do. Both companies are still emerging and developing things in a world of computers. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates still managed to uplift and give a renowned recognition of the Apple and Microsoft Company until today’s era. If I can develop my own mastery in business then maybe I would be a successful someday, but I really don’t assume anything. Today, Apple Company has their own gadgets to develop; they use the computer in other form, like using an operating system by the use of iphone, ipad and etc. On the other hand, Microsoft Company was also has their own operating system in cell phones, they are top selling in the market today.

But talking about making myself as a technopreneur, I am not that sure if I’m that good one. Honestly, I did not think or foresee myself as a technopreneur or a business person. I was not a techie person after all. I am not aware of the latest trends or the latest inventions that were made available to make life convenient. But through technopreneurship, it made to us students, to realize its functions not only for us to become entrepreneurs but as well as for us to know ourselves more and become better individuals not only for our family but as well as for ourselves. Even though having the factors of being a successful technopreneur are easy to get, there were still some doubts in me. If we talk about business, the first thing that pops out into my mind is selling; the first question that pops out into my mind is “what am I going to sell?” I do not have anything to offer to any consumers. I have known some of graphic designers, web designers, bloggers and article writers. They earn money and I mean dollars by just only sitting and staring on their computer. They have great minds, they are smart and open-minded, but me? I don’t think so. To sum it all up, I am still in the process of absorbing all the adjustments that were happening around me. I am keeping an open mind for important learning to sink in so I should be able to use them when the time comes. I am still learning and taking steps to move on and reach in order to achieve my greatest success in life. For now, I still need to develop first my idea regarding on what are or the possible business I should take or I should be develop. Of course, all of us want to have good businesses that could be managed well. 

3.  Would you take the same career path that Steve Jobs took? Why or why not?

Pirates of Silicon Valley is a worth watching film, any criteria of people could relate to this movie. Whether you are a successful business man or woman, a programmer, an engineer, a student on any fields or majors, or any profession, this is the movie that can relate to us how the individuals engage the skills of entrepreneurship through the use of their idea, knowledge and skills.

Steve Jobs has the possible capabilities for being a technopreneur. He has his own idea, knowledge and the courage to pursue his own passion which is by developing a personal computer that everyone at in their home can have this. He attains the success as a technopreneur with his own visions, faith and the courage. If we analyze the journey of Steve Jobs on his way to success, we will see that not all of his experiences and decisions are on the positive side. There are both positive and negative things that contributed to his success. I was able to know those factors because of watching the movie. He even experience failures and this failures brought him to a new, change and improve person as a business man. Yes, he lost his direction by his success but this the one reason to build him more enough courage to continue his passions. He founded the Apple Company with a great assistance of his ideas.

I have learned a lot from Steve Jobs, especially, he showed us different kinds of attitude or outlook that we have to possess when we are engaging in the technopreneurship world; the way he deals with the every uncertain encounter in his life and how he handles and manages his growing business. So if I am going to be asked if I would take Steve Jobs’ path, I would preferably say no. Why? Simply because, I want to have my own experiences and I want to decide on my own without being influenced by other people. I want to see how I am going to deal with my own problems, uncertainties and sudden sacrifices. My parents are really working so hard for me to finish college and I do not want to waste them away because of desperation on being the same as Steve Jobs. In myself, I know right now that I don’t have the courage, ideas and the knowledge as what Steve Jobs have. But, I will make this as my inspiration to develop it. I will try my best to become as what Steve Jobs have today. This is not that simple to do it. Of course I will think in a way of a gambler. I will risk all my assets just to improve my standing in life. I can’t promise anything to myself right now. Instead I will pursue my wants to become better and bolder as a business woman. I want to earn a degree and see on what I can do from it. I know it is really risky, but I feel like I am going to miss half of my life if I would not do it. Although I am not going to follow Jobs, I will still set him as someone to look up to, someone that whenever I think about him, it would give me the courage to fight, go on with everything and succeed. I will get something from what I see from him and try to apply it in my own life.

Steve Jobs is Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs has his own way of thinking; his own ways of living and way much smarter than me. We are different and I want to experience everything on my own and not because Steve Jobs did. I have my own definition of success and he has his own. Maybe not as same as Steve Jobs career to develop a personal computer, but still I would know first what my passions really are, what are the things that I want to be engage of. If I would be able to determine this, then this is the time to continue. And have the factors of what Steve Jobs have while engaging my passions. I should have the courage and a self confidence to be able to face the possible consequences regarding in my business. Steve Jobs do some sneaky moves in his business; it is when he grabbed the idea of XEROX which is the Graphical User Interface. At this event I came to an idea that when having your business you should do any strategy to improve your business how you give services or sell products to your different level of customers.

It is not that easy to take the same career path of Steve Jobs took. I will not make myself engage in anything that I don’t want to be. Steve Jobs did his best to become a successful and I believe also that this is what God wants him to be. I won’t take the same path of career of Steve Jobs; instead I would make his factors to success as my inspirations when deciding my career to be taken up in the future. I will distinguished first my wants and try to develop it and make some innovations with it and then try to develop my own will. On how Steve Jobs runs his company is just a not a matter of who gets the idea first, but who delivers it to market successfully as with the XEROX Graphical User Interface. I know I have the ideas but still it is not worth to pursue what Steve Jobs earned today. Instead I will make my own way to make myself a good technopreneur someday. I need a help with my friends that are also wants to engage their lives in developing a new technologies. We will make a team that cannot be broke of anything that’s trying to fall us down. It is not about all by myself, it’s all about how we can make things possible together with them. By having them in each of our sides I ensure that we can make difference by founding our own company someday. We will consider our success in each and every one. Today it’s impossible to make your own business without the help of others; we should know when to call someone that can help us.

In any career that we are taking, we should pour our very best in order to succeed. Like what I have said, you cannot get anything by watching, you should do a thing in order to catch something. Even in our studies, we should be persevered in order to get good grades. Studying is one way; you will not be able to understand anything if you will just depend on what your teacher has taught you, you should learn how to understand your lessons in your own way. Striving hard is one factor that will be helpful for humans to survive in this world. That is why everyone must possess such characteristic. If everyone will have it, I am sure that there will be no more hungry people living in this country. The next thing is to be determined; this is very common among people like us. We tend to become determined enough to know what we want and to get what our hearts shout for. Being determined will give us directions on where we should go, leading to our greatest dreams. Next is being creative. Every each of us has these artistic skills which hidden inside. We just have to let it out and it would give us motivation and direction. You see, these are just some. We could be creative enough and unique if we do not close our hearts and our minds for great ideas to come. And through this, we will be able to create something and contribute to the betterment and advancement of the world. Starting and thinking of great ideas may be hard, it was hard for me at first too since I am not that creative when it comes to creative stuffs. I struggle a lot since I am not that into techie gadgets although I am fond of using some, I cannot see myself making one. Even thinking how to make the physical components of any device makes me scared since I do not know how to be crafty. Maybe because I just do not know myself that much. I know I could do something but maybe it is just not the time. I know that my thoughts are not that so simple to imply in the real world. By attempting to pursue my idea is not impossible. I know this is not easy, it is whether you loss or win. But then I am just hoping soon enough, I will be able to create one great invention. I am always longing to have a business someday that would bring myself to the next level. So if we want that to happen, let us all learn the principles and the mindsets of being a technopreneur.