Think Different
Writing your first blog post is hard. I thought up a few topics I wanted to cover, even drafted a few out, but none of them felt like The First. Then it happened: Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, passed away at the age of 56. So, with that, my first blog post is dedicated to him - someone who lived out his dreams and in the process changed our lives and the world. It’s something that I’m working (not hoping) to achieve myself so that one day, when I die, I know that I too will have inspired someone to “put a ding in the universe.”
I didn’t know Steve Jobs, but I did know his work. Whether it was an Apple computer in school, iTunes on a PC, a Pixar movie, my first iPod, my Macbook, my second iPod, iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, or my latest purchase, the Macbook Air, Steve Job’s impression was felt in each and every one. He was a CEO, but foremost he was an innovator and a visionary - everything he did, whether success or failure, pushed the boundaries.
Evident in every product and communication under his reign was a clear understanding of the interplay between technology and human nature. This delicate balance was epitomized by the usability of a GUI system, the realistic expressions of computer animated characters, the seamless download of an MP3 and the touch of ones finger to control a window of possibilities. As Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak summed up nicely in a recent interview, Steve Jobs understood one thing that many CEOs, and ultimately companies, fail to realize: you shouldn’t just create products that people use, you should create ones they love. Sure, this was the way Jobs sold more products for Apple; but, in the process and on a grander scale, he vastly improved the experiences people had doing things they already did: using a computer, listening to music, communicating with friends and family, and of course, creating and enjoying content. The brillance of Steve Jobs was that he spearheaded products that seemingly felt and functioned more human than anything before them.
Perhaps even more inspiring than his uncanny ability to meld tech with nature was his ambition to do things bigger and better than everyone else. What Jobs saw and acted on was something he brought to the core of Apple - the ability to think different. By challenging the conventional, he oversaw the development of computers, phones, movies and even advertising that broke the rules and redefined categories in their entirety. And although many have realized this as a key to success, unlike the rest, Jobs had the determination to unwaveringly execute and test the market.
From his 2005 Stanford speech we learned that he constantly innovated to satisfy his own needs, not for anyone else. However, in his own pursuit and conquest to push boundaries, he brought thousands of people along for the ride to experience it too. To quote the final words of his commencement speech, despite never meeting the man or working with him, I’m thankful that I bared witness to his “hunger” and was a beneficiary of his “foolishness.” The inspiration, direction and lessons he left with the world, myself included, will last far longer than any product ever could - even an Apple one.
