Steve Jobs Leadership Analysis

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Introduction: "No big deal. Just three stories" Steve Jobs (Transcript Line 4 = TL4) said in the beginning of his speech in Stanford University commencement ceremony in 2005. My analysis will argue that in these three life stories Jobs shares with the audience his life philosophy, and suggest that if they listen to his tips, they would have a better life. I am interested to understand which artistic and rhetorical tools he used to persuade the audience in his ideas. My question is whether Steve Jobs can be describe as a transformational leader, which uses storytelling as a method to transform his audience' perception of life? (Driscoll& McKee, 2007, p.211). Description of the Artifact: Before Jobs' speech, the president of Stanford introduced…show more content…
Stories have the function "of teaching us about the world, showing us how it works, enabling us – through the devices of focalization – to see things from other vantage points" (Culler, 2000, p.91). I will start with a short analysis of the structure of the speech as a whole. Then, I will show the connection between stories to the transformational leadership theory. This theory recognize a form of leadership in social system and individuals that create positive change in the followers. The theory defines the main characteristics of these leaders to have "idealized influence, inspirational motivation (charisma), intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration" (Bono& Judge, 2004, p.901). I will highlight the language and the rhetoric tools which demonstrate these leadership characteristics: the rule of three, repetition, anaphora, metaphors, simple sentences, and…show more content…
First he shares his conclusion: "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart" (TL68-70). He describes very realistically what happens when you are informed you are about to die. He uses anaphora repetition, which means he repeat the same word in the beginning of each sentence: "(1) It means to try to tell your kids everything... (2) It means to make sure everything is buttoned up…. (3) It means to say your goodbyes" (TL76-78). Doing that, you, as the audience, are invited to imagine yourself in the same situation and by that almost feel it. It endorse the conclusion he stated in the beginning of the story. Death as invitation for pursuing life in its

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