Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs

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.

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