If the janitor didn't have reasons to hide behind, then he should have taken initiative to get the new keys or pick the lock or break the door or whatever it'll take to achieve his goal.
The notion is that a VP shouldn't have reasons to hide behind. She must achieve her goal using any approach necessary, especially since her process is not spelled out for her like the janitor's is. A VP should take initiative even if it takes hiring a new team, or doing it herself, or changing the product, or getting the necessary partnership or distribution deal--whatever it takes to surpass Steve Jobs's expectations.
Steve Jobs doesn't have expectations for janitors.
I don't really think it's about expectations or initiative. It's about accountability. He's simply saying that there are times when the guy on the bottom of the ladder has his hands tied and can say there is nothing he could have done(breaking and entering is not a viable option for a janitor). At some point someone has to take responsibility, Jobs says that starts at the VP level.
I also think people get a little carried away with this due to Jobs' persona. I don't think he means it in a, "you must get X done at all costs". I think he's simply saying, "This is your responsibility. You're accountable. Don't blame someone or something else".
Roughly speaking, this is also supposed to be the difference between a professional and an employee, and between an officer and an enlisted man (though a good military will also encourage initiative at all ranks).
"Steve Jobs doesn't have expectations for janitors."
That whole ideology is unsettling to me. The way in which janitors are singled out as not having the same level of expectations to accomplish their tasks as a VP or any other position. I was a janitor for my high school, and I can tell you from my experience we busted our tails making sure the floors were swept and mopped and the all garbage was taken out on time every single day. Management had high expectations of us and refused excuses, which I respected them even more for. If you started slacking, you were out the door, period. Janitors are professionals too and I don't think it's professional to exemplify them as having inferior expectations or purpose compared to any other job. It's still a job and somebody has to do it, and do it well.
If it makes you feel any better, I was a janitor too. My first job with a steady paycheck was being an assistant superintendent at a condo. Effectively I was doing the work of a janitor.
Asses were busted but at the end of the day you go home and there's no lingering stress. I did my rounds, I cleaned my floors, I noted the gauges and rewound the tapes. It's someone else's shift now, they can deal with the leaky pipes or the stuck elevator or the mold in the stairwell. It was a very different type of job from say... founding a startup, or even just being yet another software engineer.
I guess the more you introduce creativity, ownership, and absence of process... the more you depart from the land of janitorial services.
"If it makes you feel any better, I was a janitor too."
It doesn't make me feel any better. I don't need sympathy.
"It was a very different type of job from say... founding a startup, or even just being yet another software engineer."
Agree, but so is every other job. Why single out Janitors? Are they easier to pick on because of their stereotype? Each occupation has expectations which must be fulfilled to a high level of quality. Janitors have a ton of responsibilities of which they're responsible to, including getting creative when need be. Unexpected events do occur, and janitors have to be able to adapt and make personal decisions on the fly.
"Asses were busted but at the end of the day you go home and there's no lingering stress."
I don't know about you, but I know there was a ton of paralyzing stress around my whole body working those shifts. Enough where I couldn't even think about founding a startup, let alone stay awake. Maybe in my dreams though.
The notion is that a VP shouldn't have reasons to hide behind. She must achieve her goal using any approach necessary, especially since her process is not spelled out for her like the janitor's is. A VP should take initiative even if it takes hiring a new team, or doing it herself, or changing the product, or getting the necessary partnership or distribution deal--whatever it takes to surpass Steve Jobs's expectations.
Steve Jobs doesn't have expectations for janitors.