Lessons from Chairman Steve

One of these days, someone will compile Steve Jobs’ wisdom into a handy little book that can be carried everywhere. The world will be better for it. Until then, though, we bring you a few lessons from the Apple oracle himself. They’ve long been gospel for the tech-savvy, but they apply to every business, and all parts of life.

1. Be Brave

When Jobs was 12, he wanted to build a frequency counter. Demanding the best, he tracked down Bill Hewlett, founder of HP, to buy parts from him.

2. Trust Yourself

Jobs famously asked: “Did Alexander Graham Bell do market research before he invented the telephone?”

3. Looks Count

For Jobs, utility wasn’t enough. Apple products are an unparalleled marriage of form and function. They’re beautiful, and they speak to the user as they work. Jobs: “Design is not just what it looks like. Design is how it works.”

Apple’s chief  designer Jonathan Ive follows up: “Design can be theatre; it can tell a story.”

4. Don’t Waste Time

Jobs knew he was dying for the last several years of his life, time that coincided with Apple’s greatest triumphs. He said: “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”

5. Policy Is Who You Work With

Jobs: “My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts.”