#1 Choose Simplicity
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, according to Jobs. He said "no" much more than he said "yes" in order to create products where only the necessary tools stood out. Jobs didn't like bells and whistles, which is clear in any Apple product.
According to a recent article in Fortune Jobs detests people who simply say yes to everything. Jobs and his management team would rather have people speak honestly about what Apple and its products are capable of doing, rather than pushing bad ideas. As one person quoted in the article states, “Over and over Steve talks about the power of picking the things you don’t do.”
According to a recent article in Fortune Jobs detests people who simply say yes to everything. Jobs and his management team would rather have people speak honestly about what Apple and its products are capable of doing, rather than pushing bad ideas. As one person quoted in the article states, “Over and over Steve talks about the power of picking the things you don’t do.”
#2 Have a "Beginner's mind"
“There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind," Jobs said.
Approach everything with an open mind and experience it like it is the first time. Have a sense of wonder.
Approach everything with an open mind and experience it like it is the first time. Have a sense of wonder.
#3 Expect excellence
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected," said Jobs.
The 35-year-old company has more than 50,000 employees, annual sales of close to $100 billion, grows 60% per year and produces hit product year after year. The company is able to do that because Jobs will take nothing less than perfection. Though he has been called a "corporate dictator" by some, he has made Apple an untouchable company.
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected," said Jobs.
The 35-year-old company has more than 50,000 employees, annual sales of close to $100 billion, grows 60% per year and produces hit product year after year. The company is able to do that because Jobs will take nothing less than perfection. Though he has been called a "corporate dictator" by some, he has made Apple an untouchable company.
#4 Pick and cultivate talent
Apple has around 50,000 employees and then within this organization it has an upper echelon called “The Top 100,” a group of leaders who participate in annual strategy retreats. Though you would think the group would only have the higher-ups, it actually often selects junior employees that show strong skills and great ideas. According to Channelnomics.com, "Apple shows the cultivation and rewarding of talent is more important than maintaining some artificial hierarchy and notions that rank has its privileges.”
#5 Believe and stay with unusual projects
Because they may become Pixar. In 1986, shortly after leaving Apple, Jobs made what would turn out to be the most profitable investment of his life, according to Fortune. For $5 million he picked up the collection of computer graphics experts assembled by George Lucas into his Industrial Light and Magic Computer Division and renamed it Pixar. In 2006 he sold Pixar to Walt Disney Co. in a deal worth $7.4 billion, in which he ended up with a Disney board seat and the single largest share of Disney stock (7%, worth more than $3 billion). And think of what a sad world this would be without Woody and Buzz?
#6 Don't be afraid to be different
The Apple retail store is one example of this. The stores were considered a huge risk for the company, according to Jay Elliot, author of The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation. Elliot tells many stories of how Jobs saw things differently and capitalized on these differences to great success. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower," Jobs said.
The Apple retail store is one example of this. The stores were considered a huge risk for the company, according to Jay Elliot, author of The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation. Elliot tells many stories of how Jobs saw things differently and capitalized on these differences to great success. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower," Jobs said.
#7 Start Young
Not all of us are lucky enough to know what we want to do with our lives when we are young but if you are, go for it. As a teenager, Jobs phoned William Hewlett, president of Hewlett-Packard, to request parts for a school project. He got them, along with an offer of a summer job at HP.
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," he told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005. "You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," he told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005. "You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
#8 Be involved in all facets of your company
During Jobs' time as Apple's CEO, the organization chart resembled a wheel with Steve at the center and managers or departments as the spokes. Jobs had his hand in every part of his company and that helped him build a better team.
#9 Change the world multiple times
Jobs changed several industries and he just kept doing it. From ComputerWorld: "He helped usher in the PC era with the Apple II; made GUI computers marketable; created the first MP3 player to gain mass market appeal; oversaw the digital distribution of music and other media through iTunes; created the first all-touch screen smartphone and helped build a new software distribution method for it (and for desktop computers); and took the concept of a tablet computer from niche product to mainstream must-have.
We may not all be able to change the world, but real leaders strive to do as much as they can. That's the difference between being a leader and simply being a manager or boss."
We may not all be able to change the world, but real leaders strive to do as much as they can. That's the difference between being a leader and simply being a manager or boss."
#10 Love what you do
It is clear that Apple was Steve Jobs's life.
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he told the Stanford grads in 2005.
"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he told the Stanford grads in 2005.
"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."
[author of this article]
No comments:
Post a Comment