Personal

Jobs’ death has touched the lives of countless individuals who were inspired by his journey. One personal account of his touch is documented in this piece by Robert Scoble for The Next Web.

Quotable

Jobs will go on to inspire for many years to come. Some of our favourite quotes from Jobs include:

“I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building.”

“This is not a one-man show. What’s reinvigorating this company is two things: One, there’s a lot of really talented people in this company who listened to the world tell them they were losers for a couple of years, and some of them were on the verge of starting to believe it themselves. But they’re not losers. What they didn’t have was a good set of coaches, a good plan. A good senior management team. But they have that now.”

“A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets.”

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

“No-one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share; no-one has ever escaped it, and that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

“I think we’re having fun. I think our customers really like our products. And we’re always trying to do better.”

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

“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.”

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”

“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

“The people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organisation and keep it at bay.”

“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?”

“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”

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Article by: Lou Pardi: @loupardi, @smkapac