“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
-Apple’s Think Different Commercial, 1997.
It is also a fitting (but at the time premature) tribute to the recently departed Steve Jobs. The individualistic rebel who turned corporate culture on its head and who helmed what is today the most valuable company, by share value, in America - Apple Inc.
Apple products are now just about ubiquitous. Everyone and his cat owns either, or any number of - an iPod, iShuffle, iPhone or iMac. This column itself is picked out on an iPad every week. The iPhone introduced the world to the smart phone; the hand held personal communicator/computer with a limitless number of functions and applications that thirty years ago was the stuff of science fiction.
But it was not just Apple. Fortune Magazine has named him in a list of 'Influential businessman on earth'. He reshaped three different industries; that of computers, music and mobile phones.
The iTunes store, in countries that are more protective of intellectual property at least, has changed the way that music and films are consumed. In these countries, the music store as we know it has almost been wiped out.
Also, one must not forget that he was a founder and major shareholder in Pixar, the ground breaking studio responsible for such animated productions as the Toy Story trilogy, Oscar winner Finding Memo, The Incredibles, Cars, and Wall-E.
Other bon mots show that he was responsible for the computer fonts that we use today. One of his many patents includes the design of a glass staircase. Commonly used office gear like the mouse and lanyard? He designed those too.
His life and career path was obviously not typical.
Born in San Francisco, California in 1955 to a Syrian Muslim father and an American mother.
In 1973 he dropped out of college after just one semester, and only attended classes that he was not supposed to, such as calligraphy. In his twenties he fathered a daughter whom he would not admit to having even when everyone else around him knew that she was his.
After founding Apple Inc. with Steve Wozniak in 1976, Steve Jobs was kept out of the company he started in a reorganization of Apple’s management in 1985, only to be begged to come back in 1996.
It is the time in between 1985 and 1996 that shows how he thumbed his nose at corporate America. After leaving Apple, he set out to build his ideal company, and managed to hire the best and brightest even when they didn't know what they were going to produce.
This new company neXt, bucked the traditional notions of what a corporate culture should look like. In organizational hierarchy (flat versus tall, casual versus formal attire, etc.), things were different. No management car parks, only two pay grades. Steve Jobs often walked around the office barefoot. He wanted his company to have a campus style, complete with a gym and cafeteria catered by one of the best Italian restaurants in the Valley. It was designed to be comfortable and encompassing and above all to promote a culture of individuality and excellence.
Which was so contrary to big staid corporations like IBM in the early 90s.
Think of an IBM employee and what comes to mind?
Short sleeved shirts, standard issue dark suit, and thin tie. Neatly combed hair. Harassed, 'we must work we must work' look.
Did these traits help in differentiating Steve Jobs’ company from others? It sure did.
Apple's high-end design and its intuitive user-friendly technology have made it dominant in consumer computing. Not to mention that by all accounts Steve Jobs was an all round nice guy and good to work with.
The irony is, given the trail blazing individuality of the man, that we now all own one of a sameness. The question that we all ask is whether Apple will remain the same on the passing of its guiding light, or will it become one of the staid and unyielding corporations that it skipped passed on its way to the top?
@emmagoodegg
Illustration by Cuboi Art.
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