What Steve Jobs' story taught me - iTribute
As many other people around the globe, I too, was saddened by the news of Apple founder and former CEO Steve Jobs death last Friday.... not only because he has been one of the most successful entrepreneurs of this century but also because it hammered in a very painful but truthful fact about life and death.....when it is time to go, you've got to go. Unfortunately, the best of resources, wealth and fame along with the finest of medical advancements in the world cannot change what has been destined.
In 2004, Steve Jobs was detected with pancreatic cancer and given 6 weeks to live but after a surgery he survived and went on to do some remarkable things in the communications industry. In his address at Stanford University in 2005, while recalling the near-death experience, Jobs expressed hope that he would not encounter death again for many decades. But sadly, 4 years later doctors discovered that the rare degenerative cancer had reappeared with a vengeance and was literally gnawing his body from inside. Anyone who saw pictures of the former CEO at the launch of the iPad2 in March this year would remember his very frail frame. Steve Jobs resigned from the company in August this year and it was clear that his health was deteriorating.
It is a tragic story alright. But at the same time Jobs' story is a story about a life well spent, about hope, about success and about resilience. Barely 12 hours before his death was announced to the world, the new iPhone 4s was launched along with improved versions of other Apple products in sync with his indefatigable spirit.
As millions of others, I personally had no connection with Steve Jobs except through the very stylish products which have changed forever the way the world communicates. But out of sheer curiosity, I started reading about the man to try and understand if there was really any magic in what he weaved. I was most moved by his address at Stanford University which is a summation of his life's struggles and success (if you haven't seen it yet, I strongly recommend you to). To me, Steve Job's story is a reminder of some of the facts about life which we all know in our minds but constantly undermine. It is a story about;
- how one needs to follow one's dream with single minded determination despite the odds - A lack of college education, an initial lack of capital, setbacks in his own company and then knowledge of an incurable disease.....nothing deterred Steve Jobs from pursuing his dream of Gen next gadgets and the world is witness to his resounding success.
- how if you do follow your dream, destiny brings a turnaround sooner or later - Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple, the company he set up himself with a friend. But instead of playing victim, he set up two companies NEXT and Pixar after his ouster. In a surprising turn of events, NEXT was acquired by Apple and Steve Jobs was back again in the company he built ...this time for good.
- how college education is no substitute for an entrepreneurial mind and the lack of it is no handicap for a man's vision - Steve Jobs famously did not complete his college education, dropped out of the Reed University preferring to learn calligraphy instead. But he ended up heading a multi-billion company which even derailed Exxon temporarily to become the most valuable company in the world in the year 2010.
- finally, how in every competitive industry, marketing your product is as vital as conceptualizing it and sometimes even more - Apple's detractors have always commented how his technology and product features are already available in other brands. Some of these comments are true, some not so true. But what really matters at the end of the day is that Apple products sell and not just because of the product but because of the marketing strategy and the brand value. Steve Jobs famously said "it is not the customer's job to know what he wants." That means that Steve Jobs created a demand where there was none .....introducing the product to the world while showcasing what it could do for them, hard-selling and in turn creating a market for an entire range of products where there was none!!! And that was the sheer genius of Steve Jobs which will live on through his products in millions of households worldwide.
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