Over the holidays I read “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. I was curious about the man who had left such a legacy, a man so many people were talking about especially with his recent death, and a man who had left behind such amazing products that I love like the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone. 

After reading this gripping account of Steve Job’s life I was struck by some of the leadership lessons one could gain by his incredible life:

1. Follow Your Passion - Steve Jobs’ career always followed a trajectory of bringing together technology and creativity. Everything he created that was incredibly genius always came back to those two core strengths and passions. As a leader it is important to focus on what you are truly passionate about as well as what you are the best at which is what Jobs did at this nexus of creativity and technology.

2. Surround Yourself with A Players - Although Steve Jobs was tough on his employees, he always strived to only have the A players on his team. When he was creating the first Mac he constantly was focused on bringing the best talent to the team in order to make the best product. He knew that A players wanted to work with A players and that it would draw more and more talented people to his company.

3.  Focus and Keep it Simple - When Steve Jobs returned to Apple the second time he turned around a company that was struggling. He recognized that a truly successful company has to focus on its top strengths and let everything else go. He cut down on product lines, service offerings, and got back to the simple basics - being best at bringing technology and creativity together. He knew what to say yes to and what to say no and that is a key strength of a leader.

4.  Think Outside the Box - Steve Jobs key strength as a leader was his innovation, ability to think differently, see possibilities that others could not, and encourage those who worked for him to also think outside the box. He would routinely criticize other leaders and companies who were not innovating and he really lived by the theory of living each day as if it were his last. It allowed him to take risks and innovate in a way that created lasting value for so many.

5. Think as an Integrated Whole - instead of structuring his organization into silos he focused on really integrating his divisions of the company to ensure speed, flexibility, and products that were thought through from end to end. This differentiated Apple’s products and services - for example being able to create the iPod and iTunes which worked together so seamlessly.

Steve Jobs left an enduring legacy behind. One that is innovative, creative, forward thinking, and tirelessly perfectionistic. He was a legend in so many ways and this biography does a good job of portraying the man and the legend.

In the second part of “Breaking Away” the authors Jane Stevenson and Bilal Kaafarani say that without leadership there is no innovation. They say that innovation can be an inspiration, but leadership is the way that it becomes reality or a commercial success.

The authors say that true leaders create an environment in their organizations to allow innovation to prosper as well as become successful. It shields the innovation from the quarterly financial mindset of many organizations and creates an atmosphere that encourages employees to try things and fail. Innovation leadership also inspires people to take risks and reach their potential.

They define innovative leaders in four ways: 

1.Have certain capabilities and characteristics such as confidence, intuitive, good listening skills, genuine, courageous, humble, and tenacious as well as the ability to dream big and have others follow that dream

2.Have a large network and affiliations outside of just their organization in order to broaden their thinking and learn and grow from others

3.Whole thinking or being able to balance both right brain (creative, intuitive) and left-brain (logical, analytical) thinking

4.Sustainability through living in a balanced way (e.g. - having interests outside of work, having downtime, etc)

They then break down these innovative leaders into personality types described below: 

1.Transformational leader - bold, visionary, independent, see things in a way that few other people can, want to change the world

2.Category leader - a builder and thrives on growth opportunities, entrepreneurial, comfortable with risk, like to be in a collaborative environment

3.Marketplace leader - know the game plan and what their role is, in tune with other’s moods, emotions, politically savvy, and good at motivating

4.Operational leader - organized, detail oriented, risk averse, need for safety and predictability

Each of these types of personalities can be present in an organization at different times in order to help a company or business go to another level. In a previous company I worked for the leader to took the company public was a category leader, but then the leader who was brought in to stabilize and eventually sell the company was more of an operational leader. Each leader brought in different types of skills and yet were needed at that particular time in the growth of the company.

What type of personality are you as a leader or are the leaders in your organizations? Do you have the characteristics of an innovative leader? How can you develop or hone some of the characteristics of this type of leader?

What is innovation and how does it relate to leadership? This is answered in the book “Breaking Away: How Great Leaders Create Innovation that Drives Sustainable Growth - And Why Others Fail” by Jane Stevenson and Bilal Kaafarani. The first section of the book focuses on defining types of innovation and the risk that is involved in each of those levels of innovation.

Breaking Away defines innovation as a product, service, or company that is “unique, valuable and worthy of exchange.” Steve Jobs left a legacy of innovation with his Apple products including the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad changing the markets and categories he worked in and adding much value to his shareholders along the way.

Apple is an example of one of the four types of innovation described in the book. The following section describes these types as well as the risk associated with each one:

Transformation Innovation - “a disruptive breakthrough that changes society.” Examples would include electricity, the internet, and mass produced cars. This of course takes the most risk and often needs an incubation period to create in order to allow for its longer term payback.

 Category Innovation - this is the new application of ideas, products or services rather than a creator of inventions. Examples include Apple’s products. The risk here is an equal mix risk and opportunity as it builds incrementally on current revenue streams.

 Marketplace Innovation - this is building or creating new markets by coming up with unique modifications for products, services, and delivery methods. Examples include environmentally friendly packaging introduced for Sun Chips as well as the social networking marketing program used for the launch of Ford Fiesta. The risk here is fairly controllable as you it’s broadening a customer base instead of creating one.

 Operational Innovation - this is innovation in the “how” of the business to stay efficient, productive, and evolving. Examples include Dell’s building computers to customer specifications and sending them directly to customers. This is the least risky as it is internal innovation, but still can have a big impact.

Overall innovation can be done in many different ways, but the impact is the same - something is created that is different, adds value, and people want to spend money on it.  It is also about progress and moving forward in your business or organization. I believe innovation is a key way to have your organization stand out from others and truly make a difference, just like Steve Jobs did.

Have you created anything valuable in your business or organization? How can you can be more innovative in your day to day work? Which type of innovation has the most opportunities for your business?

Next time I will discuss how leadership impacts innovation.