October 6, 2011
Steve’s Magic
Steve Jobs’ brilliance was not in creating a technological revolution, or in pushing the edge of creativity, or in reinventing how we work, think and play. It was far more basic, simple and singular. Steve Jobs put the consumer at the center of everything he did.
His drive was to create simple, intuitive products that achieved the full capability of the technology, that aligned closely with the way humans think and work, and that, because it extended our own vision and capabilities so greatly, made us love them.
He understood that people wouldn’t fall in love with a large plastic box on their desk, or a groovy colored cube or a palm-sized gizmo that also made phone calls. But what they would love is that someone put thought, consideration and passion into creating a product that we could easily use, that would expand our boundaries of possibility, and that would broaden our horizons.
Steve approached his business the opposite way most every other executive does: rather than building a thing and trying to get people to buy it, he built things that people would love when they tried them. And rather than setting limits for what he would build, he set unlimits to what he could build. The result was not just game changing, it was revolutionary. Steve Jobs fundamentally altered the way companies approach their businesses, because he fundamentally changed the expectations and measures that consumers have for the brands they interface with.
Steve was the rare visionary to intuitively put the customer’s vision at the center of his. And that is why he will be so greatly missed.
