Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons From a Controversial Genius

It’s Personal

One secret behind Steve’s success is that his outreach was so profoundly personal. He knew how to connect with consumers in ways that made technology a part of humanity. His leadership style reflected his deep connection to what the interactions would be between product and user.

In an Apple store recently I overheard a conversation between a staff member and a customer about a technical issue, and what struck me was that the staffer was using the term we. Instead of talking about “the problem you’re having,” he was in effect saying, “We are all in the same boat here; let’s work together to fix this problem.”

Again the genius of Steve was reflected in the Apple store employees adopting the customer’s viewpoint as part of the equation of solving problems: us instead of you. That’s brilliant.