"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." –- Aristotle
"I am convinced that the only thing that kept me going is that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love and follow your inner voice." -- Steve Jobs
Story Line: “Excellence is not an act but a habit”: The journey of Steve Jobs
There is a saying, “Three times is a charm.” But when it comes to the business of revolutionary innovations with major impacts on the world, there are just a few who have even reached that milestone once. So what would you say about a person whose intellectual and creative achievements have already gained worldwide recognition, with four revolutionary products, and he is about to do it fifth time? “Fifth time is a….” In my books it has to be “…the work of A Creative Emotional Genius.”
The introduction of the Apple II in 1977 created the personal computer industry. When it was already the major revenue producer for the company (a cash cow in financial terms), in 1984, he bet the company on his next creation, the Macintosh with Graphical User Interface technology. Unfortunately he got fired from the very company that he had created in a dispute with the board.
Then he joined a company called Pixar and created a revolution in the entertainment industry by introducing computer animated films. Remember the movies: Toy Story, A bug’s life and many more? Pixar was later acquired by Disney and he is now the largest stockholder of Disney.
Many would have called it a day after the first such creation, and enjoyed the lifetime of financial independence that this creation would have enabled. But not for Steve Jobs. He returned to Apple in 1997 and four years later, introduced his fourth creation, iPOD, that revolutionized the music industry.
Well, that should be enough to take it easy; more importantly when you are battling cancer. But again, he won the battle against cancer and created the fifth product, iPhone that is about to revolutionize the phone industry. Wonder if he is ever going to stop?
But what I have described so far is the work of A Creative Genius. So where is the emotional part? Steve recognizes that a technology is relevant to people as long as it satisfies their emotional needs. The keen understanding of the importance of design and the role of aesthetics is reflected in all his products. His ability to combine and recombine ideas, draw associations from his experiences in other fields (example: calligraphy class and Mac special fonts) and establish emotional connection with people have not only created great products but also created great markets for them.
His emotional side was very evident when he and Bill Gates appeared together in D/All Things Digital interview. The last question was,” What is the greatest misunderstanding about their relationship?” Steve while looking at Bill replied with a line from Beatles song, “You and I have memories longer than the road that streches ahead.”
Reflection:
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