Ahead of Twitter's looming IPO, the business and media worlds have a newfound fascination with Twitter founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey. In the space of a few weeks, he’s been the subject of a lengthy New Yorker profile, a new book by New York Times technology reporter Nick Bilton and countless blog posts questioning his actual role in the creation of Twitter.
Perhaps it's Dorsey's reserved, seemingly stoic nature that is turning him into something of an enigma. Whereas Apple founder Steve Jobs' explosive personality was the stuff of legends, Dorsey is, in person, almost unreadable -- and on paper, a sort of unfinished sketch. The New Yorker's 10,000-word-plus profile of the 36-year-old billionaire entrepreneur offers some insight, but is also filled with Dorsey’s own endearing aphorisms, bits of wisdom and observations that could go over well in the board room or at dinner parties.
I've collected my favorites from the New Yorker profile below, illustrated by some of Jack own tweets.
“Twitter has this unique ability to bring you closer to whatever you care about the most.”
"i drive a yellow Volvo, '86 submarine..." Not really. Testing Twitter's ability to handle various marks of punctuat ...— Jack Dorsey (@jack) October 30, 2006
“I keep my [e-mail] address pretty private,” he says. “That keeps it down, because it’s such a burden.”
Attempting to finally get through all of my email lag from the holidays. I have a new special tool I'm trying out to help...— Jack Dorsey (@jack) January 10, 2013
“Twitter is about moving words. Square is about moving money.”
I spent some money today. Lots of some money.— Jack Dorsey (@jack) June 4, 2006
“The best camera is the one you carry with you.”
Does this camera work? pic.twitter.com/4s0MhTV3ww— Jack Dorsey (@jack) September 6, 2013
He also, apparently, feels the same way about notebooks:
The best notebook, just like the best camera, is the one you have with you.— Jack Dorsey (@jack) December 7, 2012
“I like technology that is unbiased.”
While it's awesome to have, the payment experience in NYC taxis is terrible. There, I said it. #unbiased— Jack Dorsey (@jack) April 21, 2010
“Some of those small details of life -- here’s a beautiful sunset -- make everything feel a lot smaller, and more human.”
All entrepreneurs who strive for the small details, precision, team rhythm, engaging experiences, & hard work, should watch "This Is It."— Jack Dorsey (@jack) July 12, 2010
“There’s an approach of going really deep or going really broad. I’m always looking for the one thing for me, rather than tasting everything I can. If you have a table in a consistent space, you can actually notice more things within it.”
agreeing with sara that limon is indeed delicious (and so close!). I find myself dining there often. weekly?— Jack Dorsey (@jack) May 25, 2006
“I’m perfectly happy being by myself, walking and thinking, and going to movies by myself ... A lot of people are not comfortable doing things completely alone, but I am.”
Walking around and exploring the city alone. One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday.— Jack Dorsey (@jack) July 12, 2009
“I definitely feel the most fundamental issue is economic equality.”
"In general, the shift toward a cashless society appears to improve economic welfare." http://t.co/jCo5lzQU— Jack Dorsey (@jack) August 15, 2012
“When you’re doing something and you’re doing it wrong, you usually either stop it or try to fix it … I did a bit of both.”
Wearing the wrong shoes.— Jack Dorsey (@jack) January 24, 2008
“When something interests me, I don’t just read about it ... I do it. I go all in.”
Love this simple furniture from @humanbrewed: https://t.co/JFlarOfAvg— Jack Dorsey (@jack) June 27, 2013
“I believe fundamentally that the next Gloria Steinem, the next Gandhi, the next Martin Luther King—they’re out there and they’re actually using Twitter today. And our job is to insure that people find them.”
"Judge a man on how he reacts to failure, not success." - MLK— Jack Dorsey (@jack) March 23, 2011
“I’m at a point in my life when I want to go deeper.”
@noradio mainly a guideline to help me make decisions and go deeper.— Jack Dorsey (@jack) January 4, 2013