What Would Steve Jobs Do?

I was saddened to hear of Steve Jobs’ passing last week. While I’ve never owned an Apple product, I’ve always admired the brand. The uncanny ability to make sexy, user-friendly products for which people are happy to pay a premium, has been a defining characteristic of Apple’s meteoric rise. Although the PC vs. Mac debate has been raging for almost as long as we’ve had a personal computer industry, even the most rabid anti-Mac brigade paid tribute to this remarkable individual last week. There can be no doubt that Steve deserves much of the credit for making Apple what it is today.

The Apple IIe was sold for nearly 11 years. The Macintosh launched the desktop publishing industry, and later brought the digital audio workstation to home and professional recording studios. The iPod became to the MP3 player market what the Hoover was to the vacuum cleaner market. The MP3 player market was then made largely redundant by the iPhone, which could also play your MP3s, take photos, clean the toilets, do your tax returns, and even make phone calls.

There are 317 patents filed under Steve’s name. These and other innovations, coupled with some very talented employees under Steve’s control and direction, took Apple to the very pinnacle of the US stock market. That’s quite a legacy.

Now that he’s gone, Apple best and brightest continue to work by the mantra that served them well throughout Steve’s tenure, namely “What would Steve Jobs Do?” It’s a question that I sometimes ask myself when faced with a new challenge. I hope that the company can regroup, assess it’s management team, and continue to grow and innovate.

So long Steve, and thanks for fighting the culture of mediocrity which used to be so commonplace in the computing and electronics industries. Next time you’re out of inspiration, facing seemingly insurmountable odds, or simply feeling a little undermotivated, ask yourself: “What would Steve Jobs Do?”