Steve Jobs’ decision to quit the coolest company ever, Apple Inc was not surprising nor was it unexpected. His health has been deteriorating for some time and it was plain for all to see his cadaverous frame at the launch of iPad 2 recently.
Described variously as a genius, an artist, visionary and entrepreneur, it would be a mistake to write his professional obituary prematurely. He has shown that he almost has nine lives and keeps resurfacing when least expected or when Apple needed a messiah.
Having said that I would like call out his dedication and almost singular focus on building connections and relationships as the key to the success of the brand, the enterprise and the lifestyle.
Jobs made Apple. Jobs made it hip and stylish. He somehow transcended the technical world of “geekdom” to make technology palatable, fun and coveted by technology novices, geeks, advertising suits (ala Mad Men), creative folks, grandpas, grandmas, moms and pa’s alike!
How did he do that? How did they make that happen? Connections and relationships. The ability to share with friends, family, acquaintances and the like, photos, music, images and videos has made this the most relevant and connected technology.
Jobs recognised this way ahead of time, like he did with the icon based operating system when the rest of the world was grappling with MS DOS.
He recognised that making sharing ubiquitous, easy and fun has ensured that girls from the ages of 6 to 66 can share gossip, photos, music and pictures while getting the men in the lives to get with the programme. That includes all the moms, daughters, nieces, girlfriends, fiances, aunts, grandmas and teachers that we have been connected with in our lives.
Another interesting point about the Apple phenomenon is that the age demographic is more widely distributed than some individual technologies including the MP3 players, Wii, Playstation, Blackberry, mobile phones and Android based tablet PCs. A better spread of 15 – 55 year olds use either an iPad, iPhone, or the iPod. Now critics can argue that this is not an “Apple for apple” (pardon the pun), but my assertion is that this company has transcended boundaries of age, gender, cultures and even language to become the hippest lifestyle company.
Jobs instinctively empathises, connects, sees and acts on initiatives that others in his peer group possibly see but do not realise.
That is the measure of the man. He understands that relationships make the world go around. He has been true to his goal of enabling that and I thank him for that.
Well done sir and a big thank you for breaking the mold and daring to do!