Steve Jobs: Mayor of Cupertino

The iPod was a runaway success. It was the saviour of both music and Apple. Steve’s company is now worth more than his wife’s old boss, Goldman Sachs.[1] Steve needed more room for his exploding population of engineers. He needed to buy more land to build a larger campus. On April 18^th, 2006, he stood up at a Cupertino Council meeting to talk about an approval for a bigger boat to carry all his pirates. This small event in Steve’s calendar was one of the finest examples of Steve in the ‘zone’.  Although his audience was neither staff nor customers, and the hall was practically empty, he was still Mister Charisma. Council member, Dolly Sandoval introduced him, “We purposely set a very light agenda tonight just to highlight your presentation”. There were some knowing chuckles from the small gathering. His reputation had preceded him as a long-winded sales-man. Citizens are given three minutes to make their case. Steve took seven. He approached the microphone playing the role of the humble citizen. However, everybody recognised the man in the black turtleneck was a far cry from their humblest voter. Steve wasn’t there to ask permission from the council. He simply told them what was going to happen. He told them:

(1) He has been a Cupertino businessman for thirty years.

(2) His business has grown into a twenty billion dollar company.

(3) He is going to expand his business site, because he has already bought the property, and that’s that.

(4) They should feel lucky that he chose Cupertino because it’s cheaper to build on the land of the council next door.

(5) They should feel happy because he is their biggest tax-payer.

Considering the council’s delighted applause, he needn’t have pitched the ball so hard. The doe-eyed Councilwomen were especially happy for Cupertino’s favourite pin-up boy. Vice Mayor, Kris Wang fumbled an awkward analogy comparing buying property to educating a child. She just couldn’t think straight in front of Steve. He is now the largest landowner in Cupertino.[2]

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[1] Elkind, P. (2008 March 5) The Trouble With Steve Jobs. Fortune Magazine.

[2] International Business Times (2010, November 26) Apple Buys HP Campus, Becomes Biggest Landowner In Cupertino. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/86003/20101126/hp-apple-iphone-ipad-cupertino-california-campus-real-estate.htm