Fortune

At the age of 12, most people are worrying about their school crush or a science project that’s due next week. But Steve Jobs had his mind on something else as a tween: spare parts needed to build a frequency counter. So he found Hewlett Packard (HP) cofounder Bill Hewlett’s phone number in the yellow pages and called him up for a favor. “I never found anybody that didn’t want to help me if I asked them for help. I always call them up,” Jobs said in a 1994?interview, archived by the Silicon Valley Historical Association. Jobs recalled that Hewlett laughed when Jobs introduced himself as a 12-year-old highschooler in need of the parts. But ultimately, he offered him the components—and a job. The HP cofounder was so impressed by his drive that he set him up with a summer job at the company, putting nuts and bolts together on frequency counters. Read more: https://lnkd.in/es5qQ2Y6

A former sound engineer for award-winning rapper Eminem—also known as Marshall Mathers—was charged on Wednesday with stealing the rapper’s unreleased music and selling it for?Bitcoin, according to?federal prosecutors. Joseph Strange, 46, allegedly sold 25 of Eminem’s unfinished songs to a Canadian man he met on the internet in exchange for $50,000 worth of Bitcoin, according to a?criminal complaint?filed in Michigan on Wednesday. Prosecutors allege that Strange stole the songs from Effigy, Eminem’s music studio that is based in Michigan, and that Strange worked for Eminem between 2007 and 2021. “It’s important for people to understand that a criminal complaint is merely a set of allegations signed by a prosecutor and publicized by press release,” Wade Fink, a lawyer representing Strange, told?Fortune. “We haven’t even been in a courtroom yet let alone had the allegations tested by a judge or jury. That’s where these allegations belong.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eeeQtxeP

After a stormy town hall where JP Morgan’s CEO addressed employee frustration over the bank’s latest return to work directive, Jamie Dimon conferred with workers anew on Thursday. This time, the vibe was decidedly more laid back, according to two employees who viewed the meeting, as Dimon addressed issues including his future plans, the bank’s DEI program and the importance of AI. Dimon, who is known for his salty tongue, started off the roughly hour long meeting with a joke. “No swearing this time,” he said, which produced laughs from the 1,000 people who were able to get seats. Read more: https://lnkd.in/enUgFMW9

"The nature of this job is one of urgency." We asked the following business leaders at the Fortune CEO Initiative dinner on Tuesday in New York City what time they start their workday: ?? Xerox CEO Steven Bandrowczak ?? Burson Global Chairman AnnaMaria DeSalva ?? Kyndryl CEO Martin Schroeter ?? Mercer CEO Pat Tomlinson ?? Danone Group Deputy CEO Shane Grant Learn more about the Fortune CEO Initiative here: https://lnkd.in/ecnwDjNs

"I take a lot of notes and I organize those notes." https://lnkd.in/dA_T-hxR Airbnb?CEO Brian Chesky has achieved many things in his 43 years of life. To name a few: launching a $100 billion brand, graduating with a fine arts degree in industrial design,?befriending?a former U.S. president, and becoming a?body builder. In a 2024 interview with Fortune, Chesky shared how he uses his journal as a tool to achieve his goals. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dA_T-hxR

When Bluesky CEO Jay Graber walked on stage at SXSW wearing a dark T-shirt that subtly took a stab at Mark Zuckerberg, she likely didn’t realize she had stumbled onto her company’s next big moneymaker. The black shirt with black lettering was a dopelganger of one the?Meta?CEO wore onstage recently. Zuckerberg’s read “Aut Zuck aut nihil,” a self-promotional reworking on the Latin phrase “Aut Caesar aut nihil,” which means “Either Caesar or nothing.” Graber’s read “Mundus sine caesaribus” –?“a world without Caesars.” The shirt turned heads and, before long, Bluesky?began selling?them for $40. Within one day, it made more from the sale of those shirts than it did in the past two years selling custom domains, the company’s chief operating officer reported earlier this week. (Admittedly, Bluesky doesn’t promote its domain sales very heavily.) Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebQgU4Hy

“I think just being fearless in this environment is so important today." In an interview at the Fortune CEOI dinner on Tuesday in New York City, Xerox CEO Steven Bandrowczak shared his top leadership advice: Be fearless. "In the times that we're in today, uncertainty requires fearlessness in a leader," Bandrowczak said in an interview with Fortune. Learn more about Fortune's CEO Initiative here: https://lnkd.in/ecnwDjNs

President Donald Trump?signed?an executive order on Thursday aimed at winding down the U.S. Department of Education. While Republicans cheer on the move, which many observers are calling?legally dubious, it has left nearly 45 million student loan borrowers with one more thing to worry about: what happens to their monthly payments? The Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) office manages a student loan portfolio valued at around $1.7 trillion, and oversees repayment and deferral plans. Trump has said that FSA isn’t up to the challenge, saying the Treasury Department or another larger agency is better equipped to handle the portfolio load. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAs77rMc

OpenAI CEO?Sam Altman dropped out?of Stanford University after two years of studying computer science. But if he had to do it all over again today, he’d advise a new strategy. “The obvious tactical thing is just get really good at using AI tools,” Altman said to?Stratechery’s?Ben Thompson. “Like when I was graduating as a senior from high school, the obvious tactical thing was get really good at coding, and this is the new version of that.” Although Altman’s revelation seems more apt for the next generation of wannabe tech CEOs, it was his response to a question about career advice for general Gen Zers graduating from high school this year. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMSjmXwh

Elon Musk sought to reassure?Tesla?Inc. employees through what he referred to as “a little bit of stormy weather,” after the carmaker’s shares plunged more than 50% in just three months. “If you read the news, it feels like Armageddon,” Musk said during an?all-hands meeting?broadcast late Thursday on?X. The chief executive officer joked that he can’t walk past a television without seeing?a Tesla on fire, then mocked his detractors. “I understand if you don’t want to buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down. That’s a bit unreasonable.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eKC5y-Tw