“The difference between a good software person and a great software person is fifty to one, twenty-five to fifty to one, huge dynamic range.”
Steve Jobs
Smithsonian Oral and Video Histories: Steve Jobs (Primary source)
A riveting testament to American ambition, capturing Jobs at a pivotal moment—exiled from Apple yet unbroken—reflecting on innovation, entrepreneurship, and the relentless pursuit of excellence that would define his second act.
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“The difference between a good software person and a great software person is fifty to one, twenty-five to fifty to one, huge dynamic range. Therefore, I have found, not just in software, but in everything I’ve done it really pays to go after the best people in the world. It’s painful when you have some people who are not the best people in the world and you have to get rid of them; but I found that my job has sometimes exactly been that to get rid of some people who didn’t measure up and I’ve always tried to do it in a humane way. But nonetheless it has to be done and it is never fun.”
Steve Jobs
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“One of the things that happens in organizations as well as with people is that they settle into ways of looking at the world and become satisfied with things and the world changes and keeps evolving and new potential arises but these people who are settled in don’t see it. That’s what gives start-up companies their greatest advantage.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“If I think something’s a waste of time or inappropriate I don’t wait to point it out. I say it right away. It’s real time. So you might hear me say That’s the dumbest idea I have ever heard many times during a meeting”
— Bill Gates Primary source“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”
— Richard Feynman Primary source“I think it’s the same with all relationships between a man and a woman. They can survive anything so long as some kind of basic humanity exists between the two people. When all kindness has gone, when one person obviously and sincerely doesn’t care if the other is alive or dead, then it’s just no good.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“I don’t drink tea. I hate it. It’s mud. Moreover it’s one of the main reasons for the downfall of the British Empire. Be a good girl and make me some coffee.”
— Ian Fleming Primary sourceComputer Programming Productivity Greatness