10 lessons from Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is one of the key figures in the IT field. This truly great entrepreneur can serve as a clear example for all of how you can achieve unprecedented heights in business. His inventions and projects had a tremendous impact on the entire computer industry as a whole, and Apple, which he founded, is one of the richest in the world.

Steve Jobs left us in 2011, unable to cope with a terrible disease – cancer. But to his followers, he left a lot of useful tips that he personally guided in the life and management of the business. Today they have become almost commandments for all who wish to succeed.

1. Simplify the hard
I have always admired simplicity. To create something simple but incredibly useful, you can’t just ignore all the complexities. Create useful simplicity – great work. You have to work hard, analyze, compare, exclude all unnecessary things from the overall picture – and then a product may appear in your hands that amazes you with its simplicity and genius. Such products will always have tremendous popularity with consumers.

2. Combine creativity and technology.
I have never considered myself either a humanist or a techie. I like both areas of activity and thinking equally. The most useful inventions are created at the intersection of the humanities and natural sciences, so it is important to be able to combine two directions in one’s work – creativity and technology, art and science. When a person harmoniously combines the ability to poetry and an understanding of the work of processors or other similar things – this person is very, very promising.

3. Cooperate with professionals.

I am always honest with the people around me. This applies to both partners and subordinates. If a person does not reach the professional level I need, I will tell him so. Perhaps in some situations I am too harsh or even cruel. So it may seem from the side. In fact, this is my behavior due to the fact that I always strive to work only with professionals, only with the best specialists. Some managers are so polite that the people around them can calmly shirk their work and nothing will happen to them. This is not my management style. But the real business is not a club of gentlemen, but real life, in which everything is not always sweet.

4. Strive for excellence
When I was a boy, I helped my father build a street fence. And my father taught me that the fence from the inside should be as beautiful and neat as the outside. Immediately I did not understand why this was necessary, because from the inside, the fence would not be visible to anyone. My father said to me: “But you will know how he is.” And since then, I always strive for perfection in everything. My inner perfectionism accompanies me everywhere: in work, in family life, in rest. If you do something – do it perfectly. To achieve perfection from the first time, few people succeed, but this is normal. Try and rework as many times as necessary so that you can look at your product and say: “Yes, it is perfect!”.

5. Follow your intuition.
A person will be truly happy only when he does his favorite work. Do not be led by your parents and other advisers who want you to become a doctor or an economist. If your soul does not lie in this – do not ruin your life. Listen to your heart, only it will tell you what can make you happy. Listen to your intuition and when you make other important decisions in your life. It happens that everything goes according to plan and is about to sign a contract with a partner or go to work in another country. But something is holding you back. If you follow your intuition in such a situation, in 90% of cases you will say “thank you” to her in the end.

6. Set your own rules
Before you have already been invented many rules that you impose to abide by. If you think a little differently than others (and this ability must be present, if you dream of “turning the world around”), then the rules already established by someone are not for you. It is impossible to change the world according to the canons prepared by someone. Do not be afraid to break them. Create your own rules. Take the risk.

7. Make people dream
The product you create should be not just a product, but a dream come true. All people want a happy and better life. If you give them a product that at least brings them closer to the kind of life they desire, you will feel their grateful return to the full. And this feeling is much more pleasant than when you just sold something profitably.