Genius, innovator, visionary, entrepreneur. There are many words to describe Apple Inc.co-founder, Steve Jobs, but one certainty is that he played a pivotal role in shaping the technological era. With an unwavering focus – some would say obsession – on simplicity, user experience and elegant design, Jobs was a charismatic and sometimes polarising individual who inspired a cult-like following among his employees and admirers alike. His uncompromising pursuit of perfection, inspired creative mindset, and his courage to take risks forever changed the way we interact with computers. Products from the Macintosh and iPod to the iPad and iPhone reshaped entire industries and forged a path for the future of personal computing.
Key take aways about running a high-performing team from “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson:
1. Foster a culture of collaboration
Jobs encouraged his team to put forward ideas and to work together to solve problems, and he sought to hire candidates who shared his passion and vision.In 2007, Jobs spoke about the importance of collaboration for retention: “If you want to hire great people and have them stay working for you, you have to let them make a lot of decisions, and you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy – the best ideas have to win, otherwise people don’t stay!”
2. Focus on long-term goals
Those who worked with and for Steve Jobs over the years have repeatedly referred to his “reality distortion field” – his charismatic and visionary way of seeing what he wanted to achieve and working to make it happen. He believed in setting long-term goals and working tirelessly to achieve them, and not getting side-tracked by those who doubted him.
3. Attention to detail is critical
Steve jobs was both famous and infamous for his meticulous attention to detail. Jobs ’father was a mechanic, and as a boy he would work with Jobs in the garage of their home. In the biography, Jobs recounts that when building something as simple as a household dresser, his father would ensure that the hidden back cover was built as with as much care and consideration as the parts that were visible. This ideology inspired his insistence on simple, perfect craftsmanship when it came to Apple products.
From a Sprintmodo perspective, we constantly come across teams that do not have clear goals and the result often is, that there is no reason to collaborate well together as everyone tends to have their own specific goals in this situation. Setting clear team goals and encouraging collaboration to achieve them can really help so many teams.
