Born with visionary powers unlike those of mere mortal men, Steve Jobs stepped down yesterday as CEO of Apple, stunning the world with his resignation.
“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come” ~ Steve Jobs
Though most wouldn’t equate Jobs’ success with the paranormal, per se, there are some, including this blogger, who would have to disagree. According to Joe Nocera, a New York Times columnist, “His (Jobs’) intuition has been phenomenal over the years.” He may not have invented every feature of the Mac, the ipod or the iphone, but intuitively he knew what would work for the consumers, if he just tinkered with those ideas that he was sure would make his technology desirable to the masses.
Like most heroes, the road wasn’t an easy one for Jobs to travel. He was an adopted child who quit college after one semester, did some drugs and backpacked through India, not knowing what to do with his life. And then just when he was finally on a steady business track, he was ousted by Apple, the very company he and fellow computer club geek, Wozniak, founded together, in his garage in 1976. Though his dismissal was a devastating period in his life, Jobs saw it as a gift, too. The weight of corporate pressure had hung around his neck like an albatross, chaining his creativity. After his firing, he was able to get back to the basics of what he loved best and start, once again, to revolutionize the computer industry, from the ground up.
“His (Jobs’) intuition has been phenomenal over the years.” ~ New York Times columnist, Joe Nocera
Jobs sort of reinvented the wheel with Apple, taking concepts he’d seen before, in their infancy, and improving them for mass distribution. He fiddled with mouses and graphic design so that users could simply click on a picture, instead of having to type voluminous code. He streamlined design, making his technology simple, yet elegant. This, he learned from a course in calligraphy!
In fact, Jobs used everything he had seen and learned, sort of like Mr. Miyagi’s wax on, wax off principle. Every past experience became part of his future formula for success—even his use of drugs. Though I would not recommend dropping hits of acid as a shortcut to achieving worldwide acclaim, Jobs survived the experience with a new outlook that would serve his marketing campaign well. “Think Different,” became the successful slogan for the Mac.
“Anyone know when the ipad 3 is coming out?” ~ Stephen Colbert
The music industry wasn’t always happy with the changes he forced upon them, but with the advent of the ipod, their artists could be heard more widely with the simple ease of a customer downloading a song from itunes.
I, myself, have a Mac, an iphone and an ipad, and like many greedy consumers, I’m with Stephen Colbert when he asked his audience immediately upon getting the ipad 2, “Anyone know when the ipad 3 is coming out?” When we think of something shiny and new, we look to the great visionary, Steven Jobs, to supply us with it. He is our capitalistic, modern day Santa Claus. Who are we going to turn to now for our next techno fix?
With his announcement of his departure, Jobs recommended that Tim Cook takeover the reigns. We can only hope that the Apple doesn’t fall too far from the towering great oak tree that is Steven Jobs.