Steve Jobs Gave His Secretary a Brand-New Jaguar After She Was Late

Known for his high standards, Steve Jobs could also be unexpectedly generous. When his secretary arrived late because her car would not start, he handed her the keys to a brand-new Jaguar. Here’s the story.

Steve Jobs built a reputation for being demanding and relentlessly perfectionist, yet he also had a knack for catching the people around him off guard. Among the many tales told about his career, one in particular highlights both his strict approach and his instinct for taking decisive action.

Apple in the 1980s: discipline first

Cast your mind back to the 1980s, with Apple on a sharp upward trajectory. As one of Silicon Valley’s defining figures, Steve Jobs ran the company with firm control. Punctuality, for him, was non-negotiable. He was known to start meetings without waiting for anyone who was late, setting a tough standard across his teams.

Even so, behind that uncompromising exterior, there were moments when a more human-and surprising-side emerged.

Ron Givens, a former director of quality at Apple, recounts this unusually striking episode. One day, Steve Jobs’s secretary turns up late. Instead of scolding her or imposing a penalty, as many might have expected, he calmly asks why she is late. She explains that she is a single mother and that her car failed to start that morning, leaving her in an awkward situation.

Steve Jobs and the Jaguar: a practical solution to being late

A few days later, Steve Jobs arrives at the office with the keys to a brand-new Jaguar. He hands them to his secretary and says simply: “take them, and you’ll never be late again.” The gesture neatly captures how Steve Jobs often tackled problems affecting his colleagues-head-on, pragmatically, and sometimes with real theatrical flair.

Between strictness and empathy

For Steve Jobs, the point was not merely to ensure his secretary got to work on time. He understood that personal difficulties could sometimes spill over into professional performance. So he was willing to step in to remove obstacles that might undermine his team’s effectiveness. As startling as it was, the gift functioned above all as a concrete fix to a straightforward logistical issue.

Ron Givens notes that this sort of initiative was not a one-off. Steve Jobs could energise people in ways that went beyond pressure or intimidation. He was able to spot what his colleagues needed and respond in unexpected ways, helping them stay fully focused on their work. That blend of rigour and empathy also helped shape Apple’s distinctive culture of innovation.

Listening as a management tool at Apple

In Steve Jobs’s world, managing people was not limited to assigning tasks or setting targets. He often opened meetings with a simple question: “What’s on your mind?” For him, it was a way to take the temperature of the room, identify anything holding back creativity, and foster conditions in which innovation could thrive. The famous “Think Different”.