I don’t really have a lot of work experience but this happened at meetings both when I was an intern (though not as often as I would have liked) and I have this professor who is really fond of asking people to leave details out and only present the big picture (and I appreciate that very much). We met regularly to present the progress of our thesis and he knows how to keep it tight and relevant for everyone.
Maybe this has something to do with culture? All that happened to me in Germany and it doesn’t seem extraordinary to me.
Most business meetings aren't led like a professor guiding students (or, frankly, interns). Steve also doesn't talk like the quote, it would be something more like, "Why the fuck are you wasting my time? What the fuck do you even do here?" He's one of a kind--arrogant as they come but with the talent, smarts and execution that actually back it up.
As an intern I was sitting in on the meetings, mostly just watching. Those weren’t meetings targeted at interns, they were normal, everyday meetings. (I was there mostly to get to see how those things work and to get a bit of context.)
I’m not sure why you are just asserting a different language. I see no evidence for that. The article treats the statement as a quote, as long as we don’t know any better we have to treat it like that.
I was asserting different language because I've never heard of Steve being so kind. Competent professional adults don't collude to not be in the elevator with someone who simply kindly asks someone to move on.
Steve is a genius, but he leaves a huge trail behind for HR/PR to clean up.
A fun anecdote from a friend of mine, who was excited as someone can be to meet Steve for the first time. It was a press meeting at the Macworld conference, years and years ago. Steve asks his handler who my friend was, she replied it was so and so from MacCentral. What followed was something to the effect of, "MacCentral? I fucking hate MacCentral. How did he get in here? Who the fuck invited MacCentral? What have they ever made?" End of meeting followed by profuse apologies from everyone but Steve. Friend was still stoked, reality distortion field and what not.
Maybe this has something to do with culture? All that happened to me in Germany and it doesn’t seem extraordinary to me.