Book of Jobs: 7 Lessons That Can Be Learned From Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs has developed a cult-like persona that extends beyond the legions of Macintosh faithful who hang on his every word. Like him or not, he has a track record of notable accomplishments. His willingness to go against the grain make him an interesting study in the "rules" of management.

The tip-laden blog Advice and Rants came up with their list of "7 Things About Success That You Can Learn From Steve Jobs":

1. Niceness is overrated

Steve Jobs is an assh**e.

Hey, i’m being completely impartial here: that’s what’s said by his co-workers, subordinates, and even Steve Jobs himself. He’s famous for throwing tantrums during meetings, being rude and abrasive to colleagues, snarking away at journalists, and calling his competitors unpleasant names.
And yet he’s successful: company owners later admit that he was right about their idiocity, and subordinates claim that though he’s an asshole, he’s extracted their best work from them.

Steve proves that you don’t need to be nice to get ahead. (Personally, though, I would rather try to be as nice as possible). Of course, if you’re an assh**e, it’s even more essential that you make use of Fact Number 2.

2. Hard Work Is the Most Essential Element Ever

Do you really believe that successful people sit on their asses all day long?

Steve Jobs works hard, and is good at what he does. Most successful people won’t admit to being hard workers since it’s not cool, but you can rest assured that no company CEO has a laid-back life.

Did you really think that Steve’s presentations are unrehearsed? Even Steve admits he doesn’t sleep the night before.

3. You Must Be In Tune With What the Market Wants

So far, Steve Jobs has been successful because he knew what we buyers wanted. Whether is was style, functionality or “coolness”, Steve was able to create it, and get it out to the market.

I doubt that Steve would have succeeded if all he did was flood the market with mackintoshes that looked as clunky as PC’s.

Your product absolutely must be something that buyers want, not what your competitors think they want.

4. Promote Your Product

I think Steve is just as bad as Donald Trump.

“This is huge” and other phrases are a big part of Steve’s vocabulary when describing his products, especially during the launch phase when most people haven’t used them yet.

Promote you product, and tell people how great it is. If you don’t, chances are that other people won’t do so either. Repeat it often enough, and people will start to believe you.

It helps a lot if past performances back up your claim. You can apply this tactic to yourself, too, when you’re looking for a job or trying to win over that girl.

5. Create Charisma!

Steve has the ability to create an amazing “reality distortion field”. Subordinates claim he has the power to open their chests, reach in, and take out their hearts.

If Steve can do it, so can you! Did you know that most successful CEOs are actually closet introverts? You can fake Steve’s charisma by being interested in people, being confident, and learning all tricks used to impress and charm people. Trust me, it can be learned!

6. Believe in Yourself and Your Product

Don’t just promote something, believe in it.

Unless you believe that you will be successful, you won’t make it. You simply won’t take the time and effort required to invest in yourself. You won’t even be that convincing when you promote yourself.

The same applies to your products.

Steve really believed in Apple’s products. When subordinates tried to discourage him from creating the iMac, he shot them down, saying, “I know what people want”.

You need to have that much belief in yourself, and whatever you do.

7. Luck is Underrated

Steve Jobs has been one hell of a lucky guy. I especially think that the way he got out of that options-backdating scandal was very, very lucky indeed.

Nobody wants to attribute their success to luck, but the fact is that you can’t get ahead without some element of it.

The trick is in creating the backdrop, so that you can take advantage of whatever luck comes your way.

As Samuel Goldwyn said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get”.

While on the subject of Mr. Jobs, the Ririan Project has their "10 Golden Lessons from Steve Jobs", which they explore by analyzing quotes attributed to Mr. Jobs. Two of the more interesting ones cited are:

1. “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

2. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

In short, these statements are worth framing and putting above one's desk. Business book after business book will (or should) tell you that 99% of the work you do in your career will not matter in the long run, it's the 1% of critical achievements or failures that will define define you. The biggest successes will come from instances where you stand out and do something different than the people in your group, division, company or industry and of course it succeeds. If you want to succeed in your chosen career, then cancel every single meeting that doesn't matter and stop returning calls that are unimportant. Now apply this time to focus on your big, important, groundbreaking initiatives. If you are in sales, you are going after the biggest account, if you are a lawyer you are winning the important points in a negotiation and closing the important deals. If you are in technology, it's innovation that rules the day--which is Steve's point. Of course execution matters but executing just allows you stay with the pack, it doesn't put you up with the leaders.

As for the second quote, this theme shows up in LifeTwo posts phrased different ways but always with the same underlying message. Passion always wins. Steve Jobs is a great example of this. Since Apple first went public, Jobs has not needed to work so this has allowed him to do those things that he's wanted to. Namely Pixar and Apple. He's passionate about them and that's allowed him to clobber the people who've gotten in his way that were just doing their job.

Those interested in learning more about what makes Steve Jobs tick might want to check out Jeffrey Young's "iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business".

Finally, back to Advice and Rants. While checking out their Steve Jobs post, make sure to also read this. Even Steve Jobs has had his share of set-backs (e.g., the Lisa and being fired from Apple to name two) and would benefit from their advice.

Speaking of advice, here is the text to Steve Jobs Stanford commencement speech given on June 12th, 2005. It is very good and appears to have been the source for some of the Ririan Project's quotes.

steve jobs apple