Inspiration or motivation?

We have all enjoyed Steve Jobs' and Apple's inspiration and creativity, but what drove them, or more like what drove Steve Jobs to fight for the top again? Well, just last week an E-mail, from Steve Jobs, was sent to all Apple employees to reflect on something said 9 years ago. In 1997 Steve Jobs came back to Apple in hopes of saving it (Apple at that time was in financial trouble). Shortly after Steve Jobs went back to Apple, Michael Dell, Dell's founder and chairman, was asked what he would do if he was in Steve Jobs' shoes. Michael Dell responded by saying this:

"I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

This E-mail was triggered by the stock closing Friday, which Apple closed with a market cap of 72.13 billion, surpassing Dell's market cap of 71.97 billion. In the E-mail Steve Jobs had this to say:

"Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future. Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today. Steve."

Well, if this is what motivated Steve Jobs and Apple to bring us iLife, iTunes, and the iPod, I hope it continues to motivate them! Who knows what they have up their sleeve...

Sources: News.com and NYTimes.com

Drew