Steve Jobs – Reflections 10 Years After His Death

By Michael J Griffin

5 minute read

October 5th, 2011 saw the world losing one of the best entrepreneurs of all time – Steve Jobs. Having 10 years to see how he has impacted the world even after his death has led me to these personal insights on his enduring leadership lessons.

Fail Forward. Steve Jobs was fired from the company he founded, Apple, in 1985. He failed forward and started NexT computers and Pixar Films which created “Toy Story.” Apple eventually bought NexT with Steve rejoining the Apple team. Pixar was sold to Disney. Jobs is the only Fortune 500 leader in history to be fired and rehired as CEO. The lesson I learned is to “Fail Forward” to borrow a Maxwell phrase. Learn from your demotions, don’t throw a blame or pity party, but get on with your goals in life. Getting fired and moving forward can be a big door opener for you and your leadership growth.

“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” he says. “All fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”

Focus on What’s Important. “Focusing is about saying ‘no,‘” the late co-founder explained at Apple’s 1997 Worldwide Conference. “You’ve got to say ‘no, no, no’ and when you say ‘no,’ you piss off people.” He would say later in 1997 that Apple’s ability to execute was really high, but that it was “executing wonderfully on many of the wrong things.” In other words, focus one what’s important. Billionaire Warren Buffett shares the “no”mindset.  “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” My learnings from Steve on saying “no” are three: If you know your strengths and life calling you can focus making it easier to say “no” to projects and ideas that do not align with your strengths and focus. Secondly, saying “no” saves you and others from future headaches. Thirdly, saying “no” may not make you a people pleaser, but will build your character and integrity.

“I’m as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.”

“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. 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.”

 Grooming Strong Successors Ensures Future Success. Many organizations do not do a good job of grooming successors as the next CEO. We see this in both the for profit and not for profit worlds. Steve Jobs was wise enough to mentor and prepare Tim Cook to take over as Apple CEO even before Steve knew he was dying. Steve started the “Apple University” which became Apple’s incubator for growing potential loyal leaders.

Carmine Gallo has followed Jobs' career over the years, and authored two popular books, The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, explaining how Jobs' leadership and management practices have made Apple the world's most valuable company. Gallo observed "He surrounded himself with people who share his passion for design, user experience, and excellence. He built a culture within the company that puts the user first." But for Gallo, the message to other leaders at all levels of business is clear: Great leaders build companies that can excel without them.

The proof of visionary successions is in Apple’s adjusted stock price: USD 11.97 in October, 2011 to USD 141.00 today.  Apple is now worth over $2 trillion! A question here: What are you doing to groom successors after you are retired or gone (dead!) in your department, division or organization? Are you surrounded by “yes men/women” or do you have the following of strong loyal leaders who can succeed you?

Reconcile Seemingly Divergent Values. Steve Jobs was able to practice and execute on seemingly opposing values. The best example was how he combined the values of function with beauty when creating the Mac, iPhone and eventually leading to the Apple watch. His vision to integrate IT with music is another example that has spawned millions of loyal buyers of iTunes, iPhone, and now Apple TV.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex; you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” 

Being Inclusive is a Winning Strategy. Steve himself had a Syrian biological father. Jobs understand diversity’s value and significance. He recognized that a diverse team of smart and creative people was essential to the success of his company. “Creativity is just connecting things. …A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem.”  He went on to say, “The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” Steve understood diverse teams of high trust inclusive people led to better solutions. I always sensed Jobs did not care much about one’s ethnic background, but looked for a person’s potential to add value to the Apple team. The lesson for me has been curb your hiring appetite for people like yourself and hire team members that share the mission and values your company lives to be successful.

“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… The ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” 

May you learn, grow and lead from the leadership lessons of Steve Jobs. Have a great week living a life of significance.

Michael J Griffin
Founder of ELAvate
6E Coach
John Maxwell Team Founding Member