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I wrote the 4 Small Business Lessons from Steve Jobs immediately after he resigned as CEO of Apple Inc. long before he died of Cancer…. So long Steve – the world misses you!!!
Its no longer news that Steve Jobs has resigned as the CEO of Apple Inc., what might be news today are some of the Small Business Lessons inherent in his life and time as Apple’s CEO.
The question that’s got me thinking is; what could have motivated an assuming guy to build what is arguably the most capitalized company in the world today?
Could it be sheer luck, passion, commitment, his team etc.? Steve Jobs is one guy I admire so much just by reading his compelling story. Here’s a guy who got kicked out from his own company, only to be called back some years later to help rescue it.
Let’s explore some Small Business Lessons from Steve Jobs
1. The first Small Business Lesson is that Steve Jobs had a great team
This guy was surrounded by the best in every field needed to make the Apple dream a reality, he sold the Apple dream to them and they bought into it. These people are so proud to be insanely great (one of Steve Jobs’ favourite phrases), they joined him to shape Apple into what she is today!
Do you have a great team or you are doing all the work alone?
2. The 2nd Small Business Lesson is that he stayed focused and kept the entire organization focused.
It is reported that every Monday, Steve Jobs and his executive team usually checks out the entire business, including products under development. A tedious process that is almost always the same from last Monday’s and the reason for this is simply because he wanted everyone to be on the same page. This partly explains why Apple is so innovative as a company.
Is your small business focused?
3. Another Small Business Lesson is that he was a great story teller
Steve never had a challenge telling the Apple story when called upon. Each time he tells a story about his plans and beliefs to the amazement of the whole world. Anytime Steve stands to give a presentation, he always in most cases holds the entire audience spell bound. What this means for you as a small business owner is that you have to master the art of communicating effectively especially when it comes to selling your product or service.
Do you have an elevator pitch for your product and/or services?
4. The last Small Business Lesson is that he is first and foremost an Apple customer.
Every time a member of Steve’s team presented anything, he listened like a customer would, he loved every product Apple created, he was passionate about it. That’s why every Apple product launch usually has customers queuing up with joy, happiness and adoration (for Steve) to buy – this is a feat. (Post Steve – iPad 4 experienced the same rush)
For Steve Jobs – the Apple customer is King, so treat her like one. Apple products are expensive but their customers pay with little or no complain.
Do you see yourself as an internal customer of your small business?
The questions under each Small Business Lessons will help you take stock of where you are today!
The purpose of this blog post is to point out some of the small business lessons from his one-of-a-kind career. Maybe his legacy would be the fact that he came, he saw, he conquered building what is arguably the most capitalized company in the world as the time of his retirement. Let’s hope the new CEO Tim Cook takes Apple Inc. to greater heights.
Click here to read Steve Jobs commencement speech to Stanford’s graduating class on June 12, 2005. A speech that helps me seat up and push on………
The concluding question of this small business lesson article is what legacy do you intend to leave and how do you hope to be remembered?
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