Apple CEO Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs: It's worse when he's not yelling Steve Jobs's hot temper is as notorious as it is well-documented. The Apple CEO parks in handicapped spots. He'll fire employees in a tantrum. But more fearsome yet is Jobs's indifference. Even calm, calculated words can shrivel his underlings' spirits. He's created a cold atmosphere at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, one former employee tells us:
No one greets him or says hi to him. Low ranking employees are afraid of him. I remember him walking around the campus one time and groups of people in his way would just split and let him walk through.
"My boss," says our source, "She's been with Apple since 1979. But she's only talked to Steve Jobs twice. She did a presentation for him when he was 24. He showed up half an hour late and without shoes. She needed money to start up a team. Steve Jobs listened to her presentation for an hour, said no and just got up and walked away." Another former employee told Variety in 2006: "Steve is always the smartest guy in the room and he knows it." Next: RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser: Screams to make the pain stop (Photo by AP/Gavrysh)