Who Was Steve Jobs?

Written By Brian Tracy | General, Leadership Success | October 12th, 2011 | 12 Comments »

Who wasn’t Steve Jobs?

Steve Jobs was undoubtedly one of the greatest visionaries of our time and will always be famously known for his countless accomplishments, innovation in technology, and numerous titles.  Genius, entrepreneur, innovator, and icon are to name a few, but I feel his most memorable and respected legacy was his LEADERSHIP STYLE.

In the time of corrupt corporations and untrustworthy CEOs, Jobs gave hope to managers and businesspeople everywhere by demonstrating that authenticity, integrity, and diligence are not only rewarded, but imperative for success in any industry.

Jobs had many noteworthy managerial successes, but his most well known was taking over Apple when it was on the verge of bankruptcy and turning it around to become one of the most successful and innovative companies of our time.  Not only was Steve Jobs a brilliant businessman and inventor, but also an incredible manager.  His passion and intensity for his work sparked energy in the people around him.  Jobs constructed a truly unique work environment where creativity, innovation, and employee empowerment thrived.

I believe that success comes when you do what you loved to do, and commit to being the best in your field, and Steve Job’s work ethic and leadership style embodies that exact principle.   He’s a prime example of how to be a leader and also that work and passion CAN go hand and hand.

No matter what industry you’re in, Steve Jobs’ contribution to the world has touched your life.  He has changed the way we communicate, work, and interact, and he did it all with honor and integrity.  He took responsibility and held himself accountable, regardless of success or failure.  Below are the 6 key responsibilities of successful leadership that Steve Jobs and other great leaders have all exemplified.

Leadership Style: Six Key Responsibilities

Set and Achieve Business Goals

The number-one reason for business and executive failure is the inability to achieve the sales, growth, and profitability goals for which the leader is responsible.

Setting and achieving business goals embraces every part of strategic and market planning, including products, services, people, productivity, promotion, finances, and competitive responses.

Innovate and Market

As Peter Drucker said, the purpose of a business is to ‘‘create and keep a customer.’’

Only through continuous innovation of products, services, processes, and promotional methods can companies create and keep customers. As Bruce Henderson of the Boston Consulting Group wrote, ‘‘All strategic planning is market planning.’’

Solve Problems and Make Decisions

A goal unachieved is merely a problem unsolved. A sales target unachieved is a problem unsolved. The only obstacles that stand between you and the business success you desire are problems, difficulties, hindrances, and barriers. Your ability to go over, under, or around these problems is central to your success.

Set Priorities and Focus on Key Tasks

One of the most important jobs you do is to deploy limited resources, especially of people and money, into those areas where they can make the greatest contribution to the success of the enterprise.

The law of the excluded alternative says, ‘‘Doing one thing means not doing something else.’’ Time is your scarcest resource. It is limited, perishable, irretrievable, and irreplaceable. The way you allocate your time can be the critical determinant of everything you achieve—or fail to achieve.

Be a Role Model to Others

Albert Schweitzer once wrote, ‘‘You must teach men at the school of example, for they will learn at no other.’’ Throughout the ages, the example that you establish in your character, attitude, personality, and work habits, and especially the way you treat other people, sets the tone for your department or organization.

You do not raise morale in an organization; it always filters down from the top. There are no bad soldiers under a good general. One of the great questions for you to continually ask yourself is, ‘‘What kind of a company would my company be if everyone in it was just like me?’’

Marshall Goldsmith, top executive coach for senior executives in the Fortune 1000, has demonstrated over the years that a single change in a behavioral characteristic of a key executive can cause a positive multiplier effect that impacts the behavior of an enormous number of people. Leaders conduct themselves as though everyone is watching, even when no one is watching.

Persuade, Inspire, and Motivate Others to Follow You

Tom Peters said that the best leaders don’t create followers, they create leaders. It’s true that you want your people to have initiative and the liberty to act on that initiative. But all initiatives must be in the support and service of what you are trying to achieve as a leader.

If people aren’t following you, you are not a leader. If no one is listening to you, believes you, or cares what you say, you are not going to succeed. If people are only going through the motions to earn a paycheck, the greatest business strategy in the world will fail.

You must motivate others to follow your vision, to support and achieve the goals and objectives that you have set, to buy into the mission of the organization as you see it. Today, getting others to follow you takes more than command and control. You have to earn their trust, respect, and confidence. That is the key to sustainable success as a leader.

Steve Jobs

2/24/1955 – 10/5/2011

Tags: Great Leaders, how to be a leader, inspirational quotes, inspirational stories, leadership qualities, leadership style, Steve Jobs, technology and innovation, What is Leadership, who is steve jobs?, Who was Steve Jobs?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 at 9:03 am and is filed under General, Leadership Success.