Steve Jobs success was built on the contributions of many. ?

The Wisconsin State Journal Editorial page on October 8, 2011, included a letter under the headline "Jobs an Entrepreneur who earned his wealth"). He recognizes that Steve Jobs was incredibly creative. He notes the hard work and genius Jobs brought to his life. He says that Jobs effort benefited all of us and made him rich. He also states that "there is no evidence that big government gave him any help or encouragement". The writer asserts there are thousands of creative hard working folks in the world like Steve Jobs. He concludes "Once successful, they are deservedly wealthy. They are not the evil, selfish economic empire described by the left".

I am unashamedly on the left and I believe that creativity and hard work deserve reward. I also believe that the wealth which Steve Jobs earned was not earned by his efforts alone. I do not believe that we should use his death as an occasion to assert  our cultural myth of individual talent as the sole source of wealth. I also doubt any assertion that "there is no evidence that big government gave him (Jobs) any help or encouragement".

 A quick look on Google reveals that Jobs grew up in Cupertino, CA. In the year of his birth, 1955 voters approved the incorporation of the City of Cupertino. Cupertino officially became Santa Clara County's 13th City. This was after the dramatic post World War II demographic and economic change which was challenging the area. Cupertino eventually became the home of Apple Computer and the heart of "Silicon Valley".

Nathan Newman explored the development of Silicon Valley in his book Net Loss: Internet Prophets, Private Profits, and the Costs to Community. He wrote

At the most obvious level, government spending was the engine of economic and technological growth in the region, from federal contracts that built the intercontinental railroad to defense contracts that spawned the first wave of electronics companies during and after World War II to the spending on the Internet funneled through key Bay Area institutions like Stanford, UC-Berkeley and Xerox PARC. For decades in Silicon Valley, winning a defense contract was almost the only reason a startup company had a chance to enter technology markets against already established firms...... It was a synergy between federal government and local actors, aided by periodic infusions of federal cash, that slowly evolved the interconnected cooperative model of technological development that became Silicon Valley's hallmark.

Steve Jobs and other creative people become wealthy in the United States for a variety of reasons. At least since World War II those who achieved economic success owe much to those who were workers, consumers and citizens. Each of these groups contributed to our country's and our individual success's. Wealth was built in and with communities, large and small, who provided roads, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications, schools, and libraries. The local, state and federal governments which we created provided legal and economic institutions essential for enterprise to flourish and create wealth. Certainly during and since World War II we have used government as a partner in economic development. At times that partnership is obvious in the individual wealth of the citizens who benefit. When an extraordinarily talented and driven person such as Steve Jobs, dies it is easy to forget all those who helped him including our government .

See -- Net Loss: Internet Prophets, Private Profits, and the Costs to Community [Paperback]
Nathan Newman (Author), Penn State University Press, 2002

Rod Nilsestuen's Legacy as a Learning Leader

Rod Nilsestuen, a hard working and respected Wisconsin citizen, died this week. Much has been written about his humanity and his contributions to his state and community. I believe that Rod Nilsestuen was a life long learner. He was curious and willing to ask questions without fear that he would be thought stupid. Rod often poked fun at his Norwegian heritage and its supposed limits on intellectual capacity. Perhaps this was his way of opening the opportunity to ask the "stupid" question and learn more about the subject. I think Rod understood that a genuine humility about what we know and what we have yet to learn is a key capacity of leadership. I believe that Rod's humanity and leadership that was celebrated throughout his life was an appreciative response to our knowing he was learning all the time. Not only learning but willing to grant the role of teacher to nearly everyone he encountered

We will miss Rod Nilsestuen in many ways. I will miss him most as a leader who was willing to say "I don't know, tell me what you know about that". The capacity to say I don't know seems in very short supply these days. That shortage is made greater by limiting those we acknowledge as having something to teach us. I hope many of us can honor Rod by encouraging leaders to show us they know they don't always know and they are excited to get to work learning from anyone who can help them understand the complex world around us.