Steve Jobs' impact on
your life cannot be overestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly
every aspect -- computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach,
I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire. For
entrepreneurs, Jobs' greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his
success.
Over the years, I've
become a student of sorts of Jobs' career and life. Here's my take on the rules
and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our
"inner Steve Jobs."
1. Do what you love. Jobs once said, "People with passion can
change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer
would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something
until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much
it meant to him. Passion is everything.
2. Put a dent in the
universe. Jobs believed in the
power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you
want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the
world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.
3. Make connections. Jobs once said creativity is connecting
things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see
things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any
practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to
India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble.
Connect ideas from different fields.
4. Say no to 1,000
things. Jobs was as proud of
what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in
Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10
products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on
each product. What are you saying "no" to?
5. Create insanely
different experiences.
Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first
came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different
because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything
about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to
enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the
Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?
6. Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world,
but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter. Jobs was the
world's greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a
presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he
entertained, all in one presentation.
7. Sell dreams, not
products. Jobs captured our
imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets
would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result?
One button on the front of an iPad. It's so simple, a 2-year-old can use it.
Your customers don't care about your product. They care about themselves, their
hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach
their dreams, you'll win them over.
There's one story that I think sums up Jobs'
career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store
once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? Dream bigger. I think
that's the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness,
believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to
defend those ideas.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220515
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