Steve Jobs for Fortune Magazine by Tsevis
Though he's got plenty of flaws, Steve Jobs is one of my heroes. How could you not admire someone who beat cancer, helped spawn the personal computer revolution, reinvent mobile phones, not to mention nursed Apple back to health?
With the iPhone red hot, Mac sales flush and corporate earnings strong, Apple is riding high right now. In this recessionary climate, there are lessons each of us can take away from Steve's svengali-like reign at Apple. If you're committed to succeeding, it doesn't matter if you're a start-up CEO or a PR account executive, here are three tips to help you ride the recession the Steve Jobs way.
- Soar with your Strengths - Question: What is your "core genius?" What product or service do you provide really well that others can't match? What as an individual or company do you do really well that adds value? What niche do you serve? Identify it then build on it. Figure out how to soar with your strengths.
Apple makes high-quality, well-designed products that are sexy, perform well and are innovative. That's their core genius. They stick with it and continually delight customers. They're not efficiency champions like Dell or netbook enthusiasts like HP (an Edelman client). They leave those markets to others. They also catering to their core audience, recognizing there's room for everyone.
If you're a media pitch maven, double down and learn how to become even better at it. If you're a startup like Twitter that provides a messaging platform, focus on making it even more essential to our lives. Soar with your strengths and try to eliminate anything that gets in the way. What are you known for? What can you be known for both inside your company and externally? Land on it and ride it to success.
- Simplify Everything - The world is complex. The web is a complicated landscape. Business is complicated. Life is complicated! Make it simpler for people. Find ways to eliminate complexity to streamline operations/costs and also drive the top-line.
Steve Jobs is notorious for avoiding feature creep. He is equally proud of the products they did not launch (like PDAs) as the ones they did. Apple looks to simplify everything: from products, support to the entire customer experience. They're not always successful (e.g. MobileMe), but they are continually writing the book on simplicity.
All of us in this climate are going to have to do more with less. As a minimalist, it excites me. I am looking forward to streamlining my life even more than I already have. If you're in PR, figure out how to provide greater value to clients via digital channels. If you're working for a startup, how can you make the user experience simpler and turn it into a competitive advantage? If you're a blogger how can you simplify your posts and make them more readable? People don't have time for complexity, especially now.
- Be a Premium Brand - Although everyone will be looking to streamline their costs in this environment, I believe that premium brands will only get stronger. A premium brand is a company that offers high-quality products, services or experiences that are worth paying a little more for. Think Starbucks Coffee (an Edelman client), Sub Zero, BMW, etc. How can you become a premium brand that's worth paying more for? This applies equally to individuals or teams.
John Gruber summarized Apple's philosophy in quoting COO Tim Cook. He said "We don't compromise on quality." Darn straight. They would never ship something that does not live up to their exacting standards. Now, how can you live that way?
Apply the same quality mantra in your career and you will go places. Sweat the small stuff. Never sacrifice quality in your product, service or in what you produce. Be a premium brand that people are just dying to either a) work with or b) buy from. This applies equally for individuals and brands. Do only your best work. Be a quality champion!
These are just three of the lessons I think all of us can take away from Steve Jobs.
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