Think Different — The Legacy of Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs Legacy is about How more than What

On this sad day, we mourn the passing of Apple founder Steve Jobs.  He was perhaps the greatest innovator to actually commercialize his inspiration since Thomas Edison.   One of the best things about working in Silicon Valley at this time in history, is the chance to interact with a lot of smart people who do interesting things.  To my regret, I never did meet Steve Jobs in person.  Still, like most of my fellow Earthlings, I am forever touched by the products he helped imagine and sell.  Even more than what he made, though, I think his lasting legacy will be how he made those great things.

Edison is remembered for what he made – light bulbs, phonographs and moving pictures.  His remarkable inventions changed the world – literally giving humanity more productive hours in the day – “let there be light” indeed.  The company that sprang from his ideas is still fundamental to the global economy – General Electric.

What about Steve Jobs?  Apple and Disney (where his estate is the largest shareholder) combined are worth more than any other company on earth.  But, is that his legacy?  The economic value of his estate?  I don’t think so.

Steve Jobs’ legacy, or at least a big part of it, is going to be lasting change to the process of innovation and business-building.  When Jobs was fired by the board of directors of the company he founded, in 1985, he famously told his assembled team “I don’t wear the right kind of pants to run this company.”  As reported in the New York Times, “he was barefoot as he spoke, and wearing blue jeans.”  There were very few blue jeaned CEOs, even in Silicon Valley, before Jobs.  When he returned, in 1997, it looked like he never wore anything but blue jeans (and his trademark black shirt) again.

Along with a new dress code, Steve brought a new way of thinking to technology product creation.  The thing that I admire the most in Apple products is their simplicity on top of hidden complexity.  It is hard to make simple things that do a lot.  Steve and his teams made it look far easier than it possibly could be to crank out simple, elegantly designed devices, software and physical stores.  Making the process look easy became another element of Steve’s over all design.  While other companies miss release deadlines and make the process look hard, Apple’s new product announcements became events unto themselves, on time and on cue, like the next Swiss train.

The ultimate testament to Steve’s legacy will be what happens next.  That’s how it is for everyone.  Our time on Earth is fleeting.  What happens when we’re gone?  Have we left a baton for the next generation to pick up and run with?  In the case of Steve Jobs, I think he definitely did.  An entire legion of consumers expect to be sold simple, powerful and elegant technology products, with marketing flair.  And…there is a new generation of blue-jeaned Steve Jobs wannabes off and running to deliver the same.

Rest in Peace Steve and thanks for thinking different.

Related articles

• His Other Gig: How Steve Jobs Turned Pixar Into A Billion Dollar Empire (DIS) (businessinsider.com)
• Apple and Samsung – the Ultimate ‘Frenemies’? (legallyeasy.rocketlawyer.com)