I have never been a fan of Apple. I only switched to the iPhone several months ago out of sheer anger and frustration over my 3rd Blackberry pearl button breakdown. Then it happened and I fell in love with my iPhone. I now see what all the hype is about. So simple and easy to use, my 3-year-old can use 80% of the features of the phone. As if that wasn’t enough to enchant me with the man who created it, I am in the last chapter of my Steve Jobs audio biography and I am crying at every stop light as I hear about how many more dreams he had for improved education systems, a boat and so much more. Naturally, I was curious to see what this article said about what we could learn from him. Here are some leadership lessons:
He was willing to start over.
Jobs started from scratch when he came back to Apple and made it bigger and better than it was before. The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone fundamentally changed multiple industries and serve as prime examples of Jobs’ willingness to throw out the rules and start over.
He demanded simplicity.
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”–Steve Jobs
He spoke his mind.
Jobs never shied away from controversy. He knew that his company and flock looked to him for his brilliance and leadership. He was very comfortable in that role and “owned” it.
He believed in the potential of others.
Jobs surrounded himself with what he called “A” players. He believed in them, and then willed them to super human feats of product development and programming.
via 4 Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs.
The biggest lesson I learned from the man I largely ignored through most of my life is that he thought differently than everyone else around him and had the conviction and courage to fight for his beliefs. Think about what your business can do if you had the same fire and courage and conviction and never let bad times get you down. Never copied your competitors. Never stopped dreaming of making this a better world.
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