Creative Vision

"Dad, in this life I've learned there are Mac people and PC people, and the choice defines you." — Dawson Leery, "Dawson's Creek"

My first computer was a PC. In fact, I had that computer all throughout college and I thought it was great. I had it for a long time, in fact I still have it. Then I started working for a newspaper, and we worked exclusively on Macs. In 2007 I got a MacBook Pro. I will never leave Mac.

The footprint of Apple — the company co-founded by Steve Jobs — is almost as large and outsized as the man was. In fact, people have iPods for music, iPads for reading and entertainment, iPhones to keep them connected to the world and some iteration of Mac computer to do their work. The vision of Jobs, a beautiful, accessible piece of equipment, is a reality. It's hard to imagine a world without that glowing apple with a bite missing.

The new biopic, "Steve Jobs," takes a look at the man and his enduring vision. It's not an all-emcompassing biopic. In fact, writer Aaron Sorkin said if you want to read the journalists' take on his life, read Walter Issacson's book. It covers all the group in a way a movie never could.

Instead, this biopic — which is the finest film I've seen in 2015 — focuses on his driving vision, his caustic personality, and his trouble relating to his daughter. Steve Jobs was brilliant, but he was far from perfect. It was his vision, and his talent at reaching the masses that made him a genius. It's also what got him — at one point — fired from the company he founded, and the company that's his enduring legacy.

His personality and singular vision didn't allow for engagement, and it made him a target. He also seemed to lack tact. At one point saying to the board and the CEO, "I sat in a garage and invented the future because artists lead and hacks ask for a show of hands!"

I remember in business school reading about how boards are supposed to be constructed and function. Then it talked about Jobs in his return to Apple, and how he discarded all the rules and his was one of the most successful companies in history. Artists do lead, and Jobs was an artist.

The film released about him is fitting. You marvel at his passion while being aghast at his flaws. It doesn't make him out to be something he wasn't, and like the man himself it doesn't worry about making him likable. It's about the power of vision, and the kind of will necessary to see that vision through.