The Influence of Steve Jobs

[JDW]

After watching this Recode interview with Jony Ive, Laurene P. Jobs, and Tim Cook about the influence of Steve Jobs, I must say it really does harmonize with what I have long felt about Steve. I highly recommend you give it a complete watch.

I especially appreciated the discussion around the middle of the video, which talked about Steve being misunderstood. As mentioned there, he loved debate. He took positions he didn't even feel passionately about in order to stimulate debate and flesh out ideas.

I myself have always felt that we need to debate things, even heatedly, yet in the end remain on friendly terms. That is what mature and educated adults do. If we in a group fear debate, the resulting decisions we make will be less than optimal. So while it's hard to remove emotion from debate, we need to try do that for the sake of not getting angry or hurt. And yet, we need just the right amount of emotion to debate with passion. The ultimate aim being to make something as great as it can be.

Think about someone in our community that you refuse to get along with. Is it because they have only bad ideas perpetually, or is it because you merely have a personality incompatibility with them? Maybe they just rub you the wrong way. Do you despise that person so much that you have fanned the fire which burned the bridge between you and them? If so, is it not possible to re-engage with them to benefit from the outside-the-box input they may be able to offer?

I know I can't get along with everyone, but man do I try! I refuse to end relationships with other people only because I am advised to do so, because I know if I maintain relationships with a diverse number of people, I will reap benefits of those ongoing relationships somewhere down the line. But if I burn a bridge with someone, I have lost them as an information and idea resource, as well as (perhaps) a friend. I am evening willing to forgive the sins of bullies, so long as they turn from those ways and prove their newfound commitment being tolerant and understanding of others.

All of this really does pertain to the video I linked for you above. You see, to debate a matter properly involves slowly and carefully considering that matter from all angles. That takes time. And when things take too much time, some grow weary and frustrated. But when we consider the amazing products that Apple has created, largely for the good of humanity (in my humble opinion), we see their approach to internal debate has worked well. That debate you and I never see has crafted "the insanely great." That's why I cannot help but feel the tremendous need for mimicking that thinking in our own lives, and in our own committee meetings wherever possible. Debate is a good thing. Yes, we need to maintain order and prevent screaming matches, but debate is nevertheless important. Let's never shy away from it or do anything to discourage it.

Follow your passions and your dreams! Be prepared to defend your feelings, yet be open minded enough, like Steve, to change on a dime when you're presented new and compelling ideas and information. Be willing to fight for what you believe in, yet do it with tact and go the extra mile to ensure everyone you debated and disagreed with understands you and seeks to remain friends in the end. This is easier said that done, but it's a noble goal I try to strive toward in my own life. We don't have to agree on everything perpetually to get along. Diversity of thought spawns wonderful and amazing things. When we open our minds to different ways of thinking, we usher in delightfully new possibilities!

 

[Mu0n]

Yes, but counterpoint with this to establish limits, because there are legions of people trying to push the boundaries of what is normalized these days:

Paradox of tolerance - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JDW]

Yes, but counterpoint with this to establish limits, because there are legions of people trying to push the boundaries of what is normalized these days:

Paradox of tolerance - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Your counterpoint potentially sparks debate, which as I said, is a good thing.

I noticed the phrase "unlimited tolerance" in your Wiki article. I don't preach that, and I have never engaged with anyone who does. I also don't believe that all boundaries need pushing. There is more that could be said on that, but that would potentially lead us into the area of "politics" which we disallow on TinkerDifferent, due to the fact it sparks too much emotion in people these days. We disallow things like that as per our Forum Conduct section, which is a set of "limits" on how we all interact on TinkerDifferent. And yet, despite having written limits, this forum doesn't subjugate members with an iron fist. That's not true of every forum out there. You have more freedom to speak your mind here without fear. That's something we all can be thankful for.

My personal philosophy focuses on the ability of others to speak as freely as reason allows. Quite obviously, that is NOT the "freedom" to make death threats or similar craziness that no educated mind will tolerate. I am talking about affording one's neighbor more freedom than we afford ourselves. For example, I don't smoke or drink alcohol, but I am not going to selfishly call for a prohibition against those things only because I dislike them. In like manner, we shouldn't be so eager to put our preferred blinders on others. Sometimes when we give others a chance to truly speak, yes even folks we don't really like, we can sometimes learn something new and even important.

Steve Jobs provoked some to greatness and some to anger with debates at Apple. He gets a bad rap for that, and I'm not suggesting he was always right. But without Steve, you and I wouldn't be having this conversation today, and I doubt the likes of the Mac or iPhone would even exist. I prefer to focus on the amazing good he did in his life, which really does transcend the bad.

It's good to see past the SINS of others and instead center on the great things that can be achieved by working together, especially when it comes time to heatedly debate important matters. Loving others as we love our own selves is a giant leap toward that otherwise lofty goal.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

I see both POVs as complimentary to one another. Both are characteristic of a thoughtful individual. An intellectual & rigorous mind that values debate certainly would also understand the value of & visualize the precondition & need to defend free thought from intolerant dogmatic tyranny. Neither is exclusive. Both are necessary.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Great video BTW. Thank you for sharing. Part of that video that resonated deeply with my own experience is how Steve acknowledged how design choices impact how users react & augment their use/behavior from said design. This was reflected in his privacy stance up to his passing & is just as relevant today. It’s value can be seen in policy set forth to establish & foster respectful dialog & debate vs one to control & direct it.

 

[Bolkonskij]

I've read the official biography, I've watched nearly all keynotes and even the old internal Apple videos of Steve. I even read what those who worked together with him (Hertzfeld & co.) had to say.I still feel like I have no idea about this man.

But one thing is apparent for an outsider. Ever since he returned and then left forever, you can tell what a difference he made at Apple. You could see it in their products. You could see it in their communications.

Is that all because "his Steveness" did that? Surely not, he was just a single person after all. But he obviously had a great talent to get people "on board" and steer them in a direction, which was remarkable. And he wasn't too shy to make a decision about something. Both skills are something that 98% of so called "top managers" in Western countries lack today. Which made him really stand out.

About the other traits of Steve Jobs? No idea. And i don't think that'll ever change. But hey, I'll gladly continue to read even the next biography ...

 

[retr01]

When I met Nolan Bushnell (Founder of Atari), I asked him if he knew Steve Jobs. He smiled and nodded as he spoke the affirmative word "Yes." Many loved and despised him, whereas he was a good man who influenced more than seven industries. It will be interesting to see what happens by the 2050s. Will Earth be messed up or better off? I am optimistic. We shall see.

 

[JDW]

I've read the official biography, I've watched nearly all keynotes and even the old internal Apple videos of Steve. I even read what those who worked together with him (Hertzfeld & co.) had to say. I still feel like I have no idea about this man.

I have done the same, but for some reason I feel I know the man better than many who have written books about him, despite the fact I've never met him in person. That's probably because I am often greatly misunderstood and end up spending a lot of time fondling the emotions of others so they won't get so frustrated about something I wrote without any malice intent whatsoever. To further understand what I mean about, here's my book review of Becoming Steve Jobs, written back in 2015...

Amazon.com

Amazon ranks it as the top "critical review" to this day although, sadly, only 10 people thus far (after 7 years) found it helpful. That low number of 10 indicates to me that most people prefer the dominantly negative narrative about the Steve Jobs.

 

[retr01]

I met John and learned he was a TV repair man and then an Apple Tech guy. I discovered that he graduated from Reed College before Steve Jobs attended there. Here is what I learned:

"My Linear Algebra professor later becomes the Dean of Students at Reed. He befriended Steve, who always seemed down on his luck. He'd give him twenty bucks every so often, and used to tell everyone he ran into, 'That young man is going to amount to something.' Steve dropped out of Reed after his first or second year, but when Apple got going big Dean Dudman would get a package every year with the latest and greatest Mac courtesy of Jobs."​

 

[retr01]

Back in the late 1990s, I was driving on a big road in Cupertino, California. My friend was the passenger. He motioned to me and exclaimed, "I just saw Steve Jobs in his Mercedes!" Yep, he was zipping by and of course, as usual, going to park in his usual spot at Apple HQ. IIRC, Jobs was extremely busy going back and forth between Apple and Pixar.

 

[Alf Torp]

A small, personal Steve Jobs anecdote:

I was working for an Apple dealer in Oslo just when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. I had seen and heard a couple of "incidents", decisions made by my company that reflected poorly on both Apple products and service performance. I had taken it up with my manager who happened to be on the board of directors in the company. Nothing happened and the bad practice continued, leaving a few customers with... shall we say less than optimal Apple customer experience. It made me pretty frustrated if not downright furious.

So, with no small amount of youthful hubris and potentially equal amounts of frustration I wrote an email. To Steve Jobs. At Apple. Bypassing the Norwegian Apple offices completely, no less...

I outlined the issues, I explained what had happened to some customers and that I felt that as an Apple Certified Service Engineer working for an Apple authorized dealer, this was way, WAY beneath the service level we ought to be on.

It took less than a working day:

I got called in to my managers office. I was told "I don't know what you said, but I know that Steve Jobs has been in touch with the Norwegian Apple office and voiced rather ....clear questions regarding our service level and what can be done to improve it and our customer service. We will make changes. Don't send further emails."

This spoke volumes to me about how serious he took his company and his products. I stayed with the Apple dealer another year - nothing changed much - so I went on to better Apple things.

 

[Alf Torp]

I've read the official biography, I've watched nearly all keynotes and even the old internal Apple videos of Steve. I even read what those who worked together with him (Hertzfeld & co.) had to say.I still feel like I have no idea about this man.

But one thing is apparent for an outsider. Ever since he returned and then left forever, you can tell what a difference he made at Apple. You could see it in their products. You could see it in their communications.

Is that all because "his Steveness" did that? Surely not, he was just a single person after all. But he obviously had a great talent to get people "on board" and steer them in a direction, which was remarkable. And he wasn't too shy to make a decision about something. Both skills are something that 98% of so called "top managers" in Western countries lack today. Which made him really stand out.

About the other traits of Steve Jobs? No idea. And i don't think that'll ever change. But hey, I'll gladly continue to read even the next biography ...

One thing I personally feel has changed since Jobs died is the general quality control and feature implementation of the software, and to some extent the hardware. It reflects in minor things, like small inconsistencies in GUI, changes to minor functionality (like change active windows of an application by using ctrl - < / ctrl - >, or wake your computer from sleep with the space bar, not the mouse?). Then there are all the "bells and whistles" that really don't add anything significant to the user experience, but seem to be added because "well we need to set THIS release apart from the previous one". The integration of social media in to MacOS is something I have hated since System Preferences ->Internet Accounts became a thing, but maybe that's just me

 

[luminescentsimian]

I feel I've seen a dip in quality control since we lost The Steve. With the OS developers no longer living in mortal terror the amount of logged errors you see in Console on a healthy and idle system has exploded. I don't think jobs would have stood for a steady stream of "expected" errors, even in the invisible debug logs.

 

[retr01]

Back in 1984, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had a meeting with ComputerLand executives. As a woman observed, both Steves triumphed as the suits from ComputerLand were shut down. Here is something interesting:

The suits evacuated the conference like roaches running from the light. Wozniak scooped up a pastry to go and Jobs retrieved the Macintosh from the center of the conference table and spoke directly to me for the first time.​

​

“So, how’d you enjoy the show?”​

​

“I’d give it three and a half apples,” I replied making a play on the standard movie reviewers' one to the four-star rating system.​

​

“What’d you think of the leading man’s performance?”​

​

“It was filled with well-played arrogance and a refreshing splash of _.”​

​

Wozniak smiled for the first time that day.​

​

Jobs looked at me a moment and for the first time, that day considered his words before speaking, “And you should not be relegated to a supporting role. You don’t belong here with these people. You’re brighter and better. When you wake up one morning and realize that, call me. I’ll hire you.” And with that, he handed me his business card and walked out.​

​

I never did call him but I kept the card taped to my bathroom mirror for two years, through three promotions until I “woke up” one morning. Corporate was not where I belonged. I quit that day, packed up my office, and never looked back.​

Source: Off the Record: Steve Jobs remembered (Oroville Mercury-Register, October 15, 2015)

(edited for grammar correctness)

 

[retr01]

Steve Jobs had an eye for talent and would pluck folks left and right if he saw would benefit Apple and cause big waves of influence. Here are two examples:

Horizons first invested in Siri in mid-2009, and Meehan and others started kicking around ideas with Siri founder Dag Kittlaus (some of which were demonstrated by the iPhone 4S on Tuesday). In February 2010, Kittlaus launched Siri as an app on Apple's App store, and soon after it rose to 1st place in the store's Lifestyle section.​

​

Then in early March, Kittlaus got a phone call -- it was Steve Jobs. He had been playing with the Siri app and liked it. One thing Kittlaus had done well, Meehan says, was create a well-designed user interface. If it had just been the technology, Jobs probably wouldn't have noticed the app, he says. But the Apple impresario was "extremely keen. He saw that there's this need to find an easier interface for the end user to get things."​

​

(Source: Steve Jobs Leaves A Legacy In A.I. With Siri, Forbes)​

​

When they were looking for people to design the graphical interface for Apple’s new operating system, Jobs got an email from a young man and invited him in. The applicant was nervous, and the meeting did not go well. Later that day Jobs bumped into him, dejected, sitting in the lobby. The guy asked if he could just show him one of his ideas, so Jobs looked over his shoulder and saw a little demo, using Adobe Director, of a way to fit more icons in the dock at the bottom of a screen. When the guy moved the cursor over the icons crammed into the dock, the cursor mimicked a magnifying glass and made each icon balloon bigger. “I said, ‘My God,’ and hired him on the spot,” Jobs recalled. The feature became a lovable part of Mac OSX, and the designer went on to design such things as inertial scrolling for multi-touch screens (the delightful feature that makes the screen keep gliding for a moment after you’ve finished swiping).​

​

(Source: Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson, Chapter 28)​

 

[JDW]

@retr01
I made time to read the original article you linked in its entirety just now...
Off the Record: Steve Jobs remembered

I highly recommend everyone else read it too.

When I came to the end, I couldn't help but think, "What a missed opportunity!" Sure, everything is crystal clear in retrospect, but to have had the opportunity to be hired by Steve Jobs, only to late never call him back! That's not quite as bad as what Ronald Wayne missed out on, but it really could have turned into a life changing opportunity for her, despite the fact Steve departed Apple only a year later. Who knows. Had she been at Apple at the time, Steve might have snatched her up to work at NeXT.

1st Moral of the Story: When presented with an amazing opportunity, don't turn it down.
2nd Moral: Learn how to properly identify opportunities that are amazing.

 

[JDW]

...Jobs got an email from a young man and invited him in. The applicant was nervous, and the meeting did not go well. Later that day Jobs bumped into him, dejected, sitting in the lobby. The guy asked if he could just show him one of his ideas, so Jobs looked over his shoulder and saw a little demo... The feature became a lovable part of Mac OSX...

Moral of the story: Stop being nervous! Get your point across quickly!

Had Jobs not crossed paths with that nervous young man in the the lobby, we probably wouldn't have an OS X Dock today (not as we know it). But how many of us get such a lucky second chance. Most of the time, we've got one chance to do it right.

 

[retr01]

From the Recode interview YouTube video posted by @JDW at the beginning of this thread, one thing that sank in my head was Laurene Powell Jobs' explanation of Steve Jobs' notion of being partners with the natural world:

"Steve's long-held notion that once you understand that outside of the natural world, everything in the built environment and all the systems that govern our life on the planet was built and designed by other humans and once you have that insight, you understand that you as a human can change it can prod it can perhaps interrogate it and stretch it and in that way human progress happens and so he would reference the fact that everything that you're born into the design of everything around you the clothes that you wear all of these decisions were made by someone else um and the actual artifacts were made by someone else, and so as humans, we have a responsibility to put things back into that pool of human existence in a way that benefits all and that moves things forward in that and but thereby we have human progress.​

So, creating things that work naturally and connect to human intuitiveness was a big thing that Steve Jobs did that influenced our world.

• Our life is governed by nature, designed and built for us.
• We can change ourselves and things and make choices.
• Human progress is from the choices and changes we make.
• We are responsible for putting things back into human existence to benefit everyone and move progress forward.
• Human progress happens once we understand nature, use it, and put it back in human existence.