|
My tribute to Steve Jobs
One thing people come to know about me is that I am a tough critic, and there are very few people who truly earn my respect.
Steve Jobs is one of those few.
Prior to Wednesday, October 5th 2011, I had prepared a usual newsletter. But like so many other times in life, things happen and our plans must change.
I hold Steve Jobs in the very highest regard. I don't idolize him, nor do I think he was perfect, and there are dozens if not hundreds of people who remain emotionally scarred by his uncompassionate ruthlessness.
But.
There has never been anybody who blended business with art, like Steve Jobs did.
About Steve Jobs' Contribution
His business mentor was Picasso, not Wharton. Although he charged very high prices for his products, he never considered his great accomplishment to be his net worth. His personal inspirations were Thomas Edison, Jim Henson, Jackie Robinson, Mohandas Ghandi and Amelia Earhart.
Steve Jobs remained a hippie at heart. His example of great corporate top management was the Beatles, because they complemented each other so well. He shamelessly talked about his coming of age, during the wild sixties that "happened in the seventies." Pictures of Steve with his sweetheart wife Laurene, made them look like 1960s flower children, and like so many successful couples, their shared relationship personality and style fit perfectly. His advice to Bill Gates was to take acid or spend time at an ashram, to fill out his perspective. And until the very end, Steve Jobs refused to engage in any sense of conformity to corporate cultural expectations that so often limit and restrict creative expression.
Spiritually speaking, and make no doubt about it Steve Jobs' leadership training came from the ashrams of India, Apple products exemplified impeccability. Even when Steve acknowledged that "changing the world" was impossible, he continued to change, define, and influence others through HIS world. He effectively blended the art of receiving inspiration from a source greater than himself, with effective ways of getting things done. Apple (and Pixar) became his instruments of leverage for making his contribution to the world.
Steve's refactored quote, during his famous Stanford commencement address, was, "Stay hungry and foolish." I would add, for the many visionaries who are thin-skinned, "...and grounded and focused." In my opinion, Steve blended these qualities together, along with ruthless and effective. He responded to a calling that was greater than him, and these personality traits were the toold that got things done.
His most productive phase came at the end of his life; his output kept accelerating (iPod, iPhone, app store, iPad). I view the new Siri feature, introduced for the iPhone 4S, as a Steve Jobs-inspired invention, as it is a huge step in the direction of what people long envisioned the home of the future as being. Waking up and saying, "Computer, make me a cup of coffee" is not far away. Once again, Apple has been a pioneer, and Steve Jobs' last full day alive was the public announcement of this feature.
Influence on my life
My childhood family's first ever computer was an Apple ][+. I remember hearing how expensive it was. Soon I coded games in BASIC, and that was my introduction to the world of computers.
Most of my tech life has involved non-Apple products; IBM clones were my norm, UNIX machines in college, and recent professional life, most work has been done on Windows and Linux servers.
The emergence of Steve Jobs' life story, as an influential role in my life, first became apparent when watching Robert X. Cringely's documentary, Triumph of the Nerds. Whereas other interviewees talked about glory days, shoring up their legacies with the gleam in their eye of an ex-NFL lineman reminiscing about a big super bowl victory 20 years ago, Steve Jobs was different. Everything he said...just made sense. In 1996, before he returned to Apple, he was widely considered a failure, and he was certainly bitter about what Apple had become. But he was still the same person, with the same drive and creative force, that pushed the original Apple computer, the 1984 Super Bowl commercial, the original Macintosh, and would later push out the iPod, the Fifth Avenue store and the beautiful iPad.
Four years ago, I bought my first MacBook Pro, and right away it was the best computer I ever owned. Three years ago, I bought my first iPhone, and right away it was the best phone I ever owned. How many other things can I say this about? Maybe a BMW, or an Armani suit.. the list is short.
What's Next
After the death of Steve Jobs, a mighty clock in the world stopped for a day.
A Facebook friend of mine, posted the question, "Who will be the next Steve Jobs?" I responded with, "There will never be a next Steve Jobs, just as there was never a next Bruce Lee. People who fulfill their destinies are one of a kind."
No person lives forever, and this is a good thing. The chapter of Steve Jobs is now over. What new chapters emerge, is yet to be determined. Steve Jobs has been an Ayn Randian "prime mover," as any person in the business or technology world will agree. It is my hope that others are inspired by his example, enough to succeed at rolling out their own contributions of equal or greater magnitude, each according to their own strengths. It has already happened, Google being a prominent example, and I hope the trend continues to snowball.
During the outpouring of tribute on Twitter, somebody suggested the iPhone 4S be renamed, "4 Steve." I will be buying one.
Jason
|
