CEO Head-To-Head: Steve Jobs vs. Richard Branson As host of BBC CEO Guru, I am fortunate to meet many of the worlds top CEOs every week. I often get asked whos the best CEO Ive ever met and to make comparisons between the biggest CEO Gurus. Now there is one pair I get asked about the most So Who Is the Ultimate CEO Guru Out Of Richard Branson Of Virgin And The Late Steve Jobs of Apple? Most CEOs are ranked based on hard shareholder value, and the impact that their companies have made, typically on a single industry. For a true CEO Guru, the measures of achievement need to be much higher and taken over a longer time period. CEO Gurus therefore should deliver massive long-term sustainable value. Their work must impact on our individual lives and move the world forward. They also need to have a distinctive leadership style and system that helps bring their magic to life. Their efforts should withstand the test of time and serve as an inspiration to others. Branson and Jobs and the first two candidates for entry into our Hall Of Fame Of The Top 30 CEOs Of All Time. Any other CEO Gurus you think could also make the cut? I encourage you to propose your personal favorites and I will feature the most interesting ones in a future CEO Head-To-Head. Steve "Genius" Jobs vs. Richard "Challenger" Branson Our CEO Head-To-Head starts here, looking at the following five criteria: (1) Massive & Sustainable Value Creation Jobs 8/10 It seemed somewhat counterintuitive that, in January 2013, 16 months after his untimely death, Harvard Business Review named Steve Jobs the Best CEO In The World. However, there was no arguing with the financials, as in his second tenure as CEO of Apple between 1997 and 2011, Jobs increased its market capitalization by $359bn and created total shareholder return of 6,682%. In recent years, Apple has yo-yoed with Exxon Mobil as the most valuable company in the world.

The legacy Jobs left Tim Cook, his anointed successor, was particularly strong on two levels: first, he left Apple a money-making machine, with gross margins of over 42%; second, in innovation, Jobs already had several future product launches stored up. However, as we have seen those play out under Cook one slightly improved iPhone, iPad and Mac after another the charge is that the mighty Apple has become more iterative than innovative. Much has been made of the recent fall in Apples share price from a peak of over $700 to about $450 today but bears should note that this is still over 18% higher than on the date of Jobs death on October 5th 2011. Jobs previous choice of a CEO for Apple, John Sculley in 1983, nearly led the company to bankruptcy, and theres now a question mark surrounding Tim Cook. Apple still has great products and its $100bn cash pile is a good problem to have can it now successfully expand into new product categories, such as TV (Jobs said in 2011 that he had finally cracked it), watches or even cars? Branson 7/10 Richard Branson is known as the only person in the world to have created eight separate billion-dollar companies from scratch, each in a different sector. He has also created several millionaires among his executive team. Branson currently holds the rank of #261 on the Forbes List of Billionaires. Its hard to judge Virgins sustainable value creation in financial terms, as most parts of the business are private companies. One of the challenges for Virgin is that its airlines are very capital intensive, with added uncertainty around oil prices and its delayed orders for the new Airbus A380. Also, Virgin Atlantic, despite its new tie-up with Delta, is still something of a niche player. Longer-term, as so much of the value in the Virgin brand is tied up in Branson himself and his pioneering ideas, theres a legacy risk that Virgin would become just another corporation, and that the brand couldnt survive without him. (2) Impact On Individuals Lives Jobs 10/10 If you look around any office, city street or commuter train, Apple products are everywhere. Jobs magical iDevices have are now embedded as part of our day-to-day lives. People have appreciated beautiful product design, ultra-portability and ease-of-use. For many, Apple has become a status badge, one of the things they connect with as part of their identity. Faced with growing competition from Samsung and the charge that it could be losing its X-factor, Apples latest This Is Our Signature ad is very much a restatement of the core Jobs philosophy: its strapline states, We simplify, we perfect, until everything we touch enhances life.

Branson 7/10 Branson has gained a formidable reputation as a challenger CEO, shaking up established industries with an unforgettable brand that stands for quality, innovation and a sense of fun. Branson said in his 2009 book Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur, that if there was one company in the world he could have bought or merged with then it would have been Apple. We are touched by the Virgin service at certain key moments (usually of leisure), but probably less so than by Apple in our everyday individual lives. Virgins total impact on individual lives is also limited by not having a true global footprint, with limited involvement in China. However, in disrupting industries from air travel to rail to TV to health clubs, Branson should be also given due credit for improving the competition. British Airways and Sky TV customers would probably agree that their service has improved by having to keep up with Sir Richard. (3) Leadership Style, Culture & System Jobs 6/10 Jobs ruled with a combination of inspiration and fear. He operated what I call a hub and spoke leadership system. He was a genius firmly at the center of every major decision, and many minor ones too. He was obsessive over fine details of both hardware and software products, running Apple with an almost paranoid approach to secrecy in new product development. The abrasive Jobs could also be a bully, which let him down a bit. Yet he also gave Apple its swagger. For all his faults, his official biographer Walter Isaacson concludes that he built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering. Jobs Apple was filled with creative designers and daredevil engineers who could carry forward his vision. In leading, he had a small number of trusted people, who were talented deliverers. Those with whom he developed a special bond, like Executive VP of Design, Sir Jony Ive, thrived. Those who modeled his dictatorial style in their mini-fiefdoms, notably Scott Forstall, VP of iOS Software, also did well, until being fired by his successor CEO Tim Cook for not being sufficiently collaborative. Jobs claims that his crowning achievement was not any individual product, but Apple itself: a lasting company, endowed with his DNA. Tim Cook is praised as being more of a team player, but the jury is still out on whether, under him, Apple can maintain his predecessors edge. Branson 8/10

With his own private island and daredevil image as something of a global playboy, you probably wouldnt accuse Richard Branson of spending too much time in the office. However, what he lacks in attention to detail, Branson makes up for in his ability to inspire others to greatness, and infect them with his sense of fun. He exudes charm and charisma, as well as a groundedness that means he is always prepared to pitch in. He is bold and decisive, essential qualities in an entrepreneur, and his favorite business motto is screw it, lets do it. Within the Virgin Group corporate structure, Branson himself has always had the titles of founder and chairman. He has been particularly shrewd in hiring industry experts to do the day-to-day business of running his various companies. CEO lieutenant Steve Ridgway served an impressive 23 years at Virgin Atlantic, while the financially numerate Stephen Murphy has worked with him for 18 years as Group CEO. (4) Moving Society Forward & Wider Contribution Jobs 9/10 Official biographer Walter Isaacson argues that Jobs passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. You might even add a seventh, retail stores, which Jobs did not quite revolutionize but did reimagine. As a society, Jobs products have made us feel more comfortable with technology. His iTunes Store has given a lifeline to a piracy-stricken music and movies industry. The mighty Apple ecosystem that now exists has not just locked in customers and cemented loyalty, it has created a $10bn app economy and a snowball effect that has opened up new possibilities and made us more connected. However, Jobs focus on a few great things may however ultimately limit the dent that Apple finally makes on the universe. He was no philanthropist, and despite his carefully crafted image as an LSD-taking creative liberal, he was a classic capitalist. At his final public appearance before his death, at Cupertino Town Hall (the town where Apple is headquarted), he was asked whether Apple would like to create a free Wi-Fi network for local residents. He replied: I've always had the view that we pay taxes and the city should do those things. Cut off at his prime, it is societys loss that we didnt have at least another decade of Jobs. We can wonder whether he would have mellowed, and moved into a legacy-focused elder statesman phase of life. I suspect that he would probably have stayed much the same. But I am sure that his personal genius would have created another wave of products and services that would again have moved the world forward.

Branson 9/10 Branson is impressive on this front, now spending the majority of his time on his ambitious global projects and philanthropic efforts. He has committed $3bn and 10 years worth of profits from his travel businesses to develop new renewable technologies and fight climate change. He has also founded Virgin Unite, a non-profit foundation, and states the mission as follows: We unite people and entrepreneurial ideas to reinvent how we live and work in the world to help make peoples lives better. Our aim is to do our bit to revolutionize the way businesses, government and the social sector work together driving business as a force for good. We also incubate new, independent approaches to leadership including the Elders, the Carbon War Room, and the Branson Centers of Entrepreneurship. Furthermore, Branson is thinking about the next planet as well as the current one, pioneering the boundaries of mankind with ventures such as underwater cities and Virgin Galactic. (5) Followership (Both Real World And Social Media) Jobs - 8/10 Jobs had a very strong personal brand, and for years enjoyed a cult following. It began with a core of creative rebels and slight misfits, who placed themselves firmly in the Apple camp when it came to the Im A Mac, Im A PC ads. As Jobs churned out one hit product after another, from the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad, his tribe grew, winning over many former skeptics, who had previously dismissed Apple as all style and no substance. Jobs was a master of spin, famed for his reality distortion field. The promise of his products was it just works: his beautiful glass iPhone 4, with its antenna integrated into its stainless steel frame, didnt drop calls, you were just holding it wrong. He never embraced social media he preferred to retain absolute control of the message and the environment, and his legendary keynote product launches were his true stage. This didnt stop a satirical Fake Steve Jobs from gaining 460k followers on Twitter. Skeptical of focus groups, Jobs wasnt immune however from customer feedback, and would occasionally personally respond to customer emails with a terse one-line response. Branson 9/10

As I wrote on July 16th, when publishing The World Of CEOs Social Media Top 30, the first global ranking of its kind, Branson is the undisputed king of social media. He boasts 3.3m followers on Twitter, 2.2m followers on LinkedIn, has a Klout score of 91 out of 100 and is an active blogger. Bransons notoriety of course pre-dated social media, and over the years he has gained millions of dollars worth of free PR from his numerous publicity stunts. His business books, such as his autobiography Losing My Virginity have also been bestsellers. Sometimes considered more of a celebrity than a CEO, Branson has displayed an admirable ability to magnify himself and his personal brand through PR and social media. I deduct one point from his score here as he is yet to do it in China. Like with Jobs, Bransons expansive personality brings with it a legacy risk that he is a one-off and his reputation-led followership model is not repeatable. So Whos The Ultimate CEO Guru?

Its a very close-run thing between Jobs and Branson. The criteria we are applying is exceptionally high. They have very different and neither is perfect; both are incredibly gifted people. As both score 40+/50 it means that they can both justifiably be regarded as a CEO Guru and so enter the CEO Hall Of Fame. My sense overall is that Steve Jobs is unrivaled for his personal genius, impact on our lives and value creation. In terms of individual contribution, and what one persons done with a company, nobody has achieved more. However, on the broader criteria of being a CEO Guru, he gets marked down due to his difficult leadership style. As Jobs biographer writes, he was not a model boss or human being, tidily packaged for emulation. Driven by demons, he could drive those around him to fury and despair. Through Virgin, Branson has maybe not achieved as much to impact on all our lives directly, but he has been fantastic at magnifying himself beyond his own company. By creating a positive pioneering spirit of anything is possible, he has inspired so many of us to do great things. Very difficult to choose between them. For the wider impact he has had on our lives, Jobs takes it. So congratulations, Steve Jobs. Only just. However let's see what Richard Branson does in the next chapter of his life. The challenge for the next decade of CEO Gurus will be to go beyond Jobs and Branson. I believe future CEO Gurus will need to have their own brand of personal magic like Branson and Jobs, but that they will also be better at being personal leaders. The big challenge will be how to create an environment where they can harness the best efforts and collective magic of their people across the world not just their own. Over to you Think I made the right call? Do you have any other CEO Guru current or historic nominations for leaders you think have a rightful place in a Top 30 CEO Hall Of Fame? Any CEO gurus you would like to see in a head -to-head in a future article. Please let me know in the comments below. Reckon youve got what it takes to become a CEO Guru yourself? Read my posts here on LinkedIn on 7 Steps To Becoming A Fortune 500 CEO and Fly To The Top The 30:30:30:10 Rule. Do follow me here on LinkedIn to get weekly updates on both Eastern and Western CEOs, as well as the latest leadership insights.

--------------------- By Steve Tappin Chief Executive, Xinfu, Host BBC CEO Guru & Founder, World Of CEOs www.twitter.com/SteveTappin www.worldofceos.com www.xinfu.com www.facebook.com/ceoguru www.bbc.co.uk/ceoguru Steve is a personal confidant to many of the worlds top CEOs. He is the host of BBC CEO Guru, which features in-depth, on-the-record interviews with the CEOs of General Electric, Lenovo, WPP, China Vanke, Wholefoods and Unilever. Founder Of WorldOfCEOs.com, Steve is the author of The Secrets Of CEOs, which interviews 200 CEOs on business life and leadership. His latest book, Dream to Last, was published in Mandarin in December 2012, by Beijing University Press, and will be released in English later this year. To receive Steves weekly CEO Insider email, sign up at: http://www.worldofceos.com/ceo-insider-signup