Tuesday 18 October 2011

The start of an era. A salute to Steve Jobs.

A visionary like former Apple Inc. executive Steve Jobs only comes along once in a blue moon. A mind so fertile with ideas, that dozens of products he invented & developed changed the way we interact, work & live today. And although his legacy will live on, I'm sure he would expect that his brand wouldn't die once the pieces currently in development hit the market.

While the world remembers the legacy of a genius inventor, marketer and strategist, there's some aspects of Mr Jobs' life that are worth remembering. Ideals that he lived by, and certainly ones that we could do well to mimic in our own lives and businesses.

"The broader one's understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have."

"We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important."

"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."

"I used to say that Apple should be the Sony of this business, but in reality, I think Apple should be the Apple of this business."

"innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem."

"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works."

"My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time."

"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."

"Things don't have to change the world to be important."

From the quotes above, you can see that Steve was a man of confidence and vision. He didn't care what other people were doing or achieving - rather - creating the next thing that was going to make people's lives easier. Looking for a need, and solving it. He didn't sit around holding group meetings asking people what they thought of something - he created the solution for problems that most people didn't even know existed.

I titled this blog the start rather than the end of an era because Steve's passing hasn't ended a chapter, it's only just beginning. I think more of us need to take initiative and stop trying to just do things the way they've always been done. There's no ground to be broken in a well plowed field so challenge yourself to think outside the box. Who knows, you might just be the start of the next household name.