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Larry Ellison Reveals the Real Test for Being the Next Steve Jobs

By Steve Jobs · Mindset & Career · 1 min read

Larry Ellison was Steve Jobs' best friend for 25 years. His test for greatness is brutally simple.

Key Points

Jobs was obsessed with perfection -- he made Ellison watch 73 versions of Toy Story
The 'next Steve Jobs' test: Picasso's aesthetic + Edison's inventiveness + total obsession
Jobs wasn't trying to be rich or famous. He was obsessed with the creative process.

Apple became the most valuable company on Earth and it wasn't even one of Steve's goals.

73 Versions of Toy Story

Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs were neighbors in Woodside. Best friends for 25 years. Jobs had a peacock that kept waking Ellison up. That's how they met.

Jobs would call Ellison over to watch Toy Story. Not once. Not twice. Seventy-three times. Each version had tiny improvements. A new rendering engine. Slightly better shadows. Jobs wouldn't stop until it was perfect.

Ellison watched 73 versions of Toy Story because Jobs demanded perfection.

The Three-Part Test

Ellison says the test for being like Steve Jobs is simple. Combine Picasso's aesthetic with Edison's inventiveness. Then add total, consuming obsession.

That's it. If you can't stop thinking about the problems at work, if you obsess until you solve them, then move on to the next obsession -- you might have what it takes.

Picasso's aesthetic. Edison's inventiveness. Consuming obsession. That's the test.

He Never Cared About Money

Apple became the most valuable company on Earth. That was never the goal. Jobs wasn't chasing money. Wasn't chasing fame. Wasn't chasing power.

He was obsessed with the creative process. With building something beautiful. The billions were just a side effect.

Jobs built the most valuable company on Earth without trying to.