Steve Jobs was the co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc. He led Apple’s transformation from a nearly bankrupt company in the late 1990s to one of the most successful technology companies in the world today. Jobs was known for his inspirational yet blunt personality and his passion for design and innovation.
Over the years, Jobs shared his perspectives on business, technology, and life through speeches, interviews, and quotations. He gave advice about entrepreneurship, creativity, leadership, and more. Here is a look at some of Steve Jobs’ most memorable words of wisdom.
On Entrepreneurship
Steve Jobs had an unconventional path to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He dropped out of college after just 6 months and co-founded Apple at age 21. Here is some of his advice for entrepreneurs:
- “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
- “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”
- “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
- “Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
Jobs believed in the power of perseverance, intuition, and passion when starting a business. He encouraged entrepreneurs to trust their vision and not be swayed by others’ beliefs.
Key Ideas
- Perseverance is key to entrepreneurial success.
- Trust your intuition when making decisions.
- Love what you do and don’t settle for less.
- Don’t let others’ opinions override your own inner voice.
On Innovation
As the driving force behind Apple’s groundbreaking innovations, Steve Jobs had a lot to say about cultivating creativity:
- “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
- “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.”
- “Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”
- “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”
Jobs believed innovation requires connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated things. He encouraged businesses to intimately understand their customers’ needs before they even arise.
Key Ideas
- Innovation is the key differentiator between leaders and followers.
- Creativity comes from making connections between disparate ideas.
- Truly understand your customers’ latent needs.
- Admit mistakes quickly when innovating.
On Design
Steve Jobs was passionate about design and user experience. He helped make Apple products both visually appealing and intuitive to use. Here’s some of his advice on design:
- “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
- “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
- “It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.”
- “Details matter, it’s worth waiting to get it right.”
Jobs believed that design goes much deeper than appearances – it’s about how a product functions. He strove for simplicity in both form and use.
Key Ideas
- Design is how a product works, not just superficial qualities.
- Simplicity should be the ultimate goal.
- Achieving simplicity requires hard work and perseverance.
- Get every detail right, don’t settle for less.
On Leadership
As the CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs needed strong leadership skills to manage the company. Here is some of his advice for leaders:
- “My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.”
- “You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.”
- “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
- “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
Jobs believed in hiring top talent, challenging them, and giving them freedom to do excellent work. He wasn’t afraid to push people to achieve more.
Key Ideas
- Great leaders hire great people and motivate them to achieve more.
- Leaders need passion and commitment for their vision.
- Set high standards for quality and excellence.
- Hire smart people and empower them to do great work.
On Teamwork
While Steve Jobs was known for his demanding personality, he also gave advice on building strong teams:
- “Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.”
- “The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.”
- “It’s better to be a pirate than to join the Navy.”
- “You shouldn’t let your moat [competitive advantage] turn into a moat full of alligators that will eat you alive.”
Jobs knew that having a talented team was vital to Apple’s success. But he also warned about isolating yourself and creating a closed culture that eats itself.
Key Ideas
- Build a team of the most talented people.
- Great innovation comes from collaboration.
- Don’t shut yourself off from outside ideas.
- Stay nimble and adaptable.
On Failure
Steve Jobs experienced his share of setbacks, from being fired from Apple in the 1980s to products that flopped. Here is his advice on failure:
- “I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
- “If you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long.”
- “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”
- “You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.”
Jobs learned not to fear failure, but to move past it and retain faith in yourself. He used setbacks as an opportunity for growth and self-improvement.
Key Ideas
- Failure can lead to new beginnings.
- Don’t dwell on successes, move on to the next thing.
- Have faith when things go wrong.
- Do what you love in both work and life.
On Life
In addition to business insights, Steve Jobs also shared poignant perspectives on life:
- “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.”
- “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. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”
- “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
- “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Jobs encouraged people to live life on their own terms, follow their hearts, go against convention, and change the world. He wanted people to build fulfilling lives by doing what they love.
Key Ideas
- Live your own life, not the life others expect.
- Stay focused on what truly matters.
- Have courage to follow your heart’s desires.
- Embrace the misfits and troublemakers who change the world.
Conclusion
Steve Jobs was a visionary leader who helped shape the world of technology as we know it. He provided wisdom and insights that can apply to almost any endeavor in business, design, leadership, and life. Some of his most inspiring words of advice were:
- Never give up persevering on your goals and visions.
- Thinking differently leads to innovation.
- Strive for simplicity and elegance in design.
- Hire great people and guide them to do excellent work.
- Build collaborative and talented teams.
- Learn from failures and move forward.
- Follow your heart and intuition.
- Live life to the fullest on your own terms.
Steve Jobs was one of the most influential business leaders of our time. Implementing even a few of his ideas and words of wisdom can help on the road to success no matter what you do.
