In the fourth in a series of extracts from The 100: Insights and lessons from
100 of the greatest speeches ever delivered, by Simon Maier and Jeremy
Kourdi, they look at the lessons to learn from Steve Jobs. Steven Paul Jobs
is the co-founder of Apple and former chief executive officer of Pixar
Animation Studios, which he also founded. He is viewed as a leader of the
technology revolution and one of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial greats.
He has superstar status and whenever he speaks there is not an empty seat.
Many believe that the two are inextricably linked: Jobs is Apple. That shows
the regard in which he is held.
One of his best speeches was the commencement address he delivered at Stanford
University in June 2005. There are several key lessons we can take from the
speech:
Be yourself When Jobs spoke at Stanford his address was simple, frank
and open, with opinions expressed about entrepreneurship, work and life. He
reflected on what kept him going through challenging times. He understood
that people wanted to hear what made him tick. It is the stories of what
makes the person that mesmerise. People want to know why — and how — you’re
up there speaking to them. So tell them. Wearing jeans and sandals under his
black university robe, Steve Jobs delivered an address that spanned his
adoption at birth to his insights into mortality. His speech struck a
balance between the obstacles he encountered during his very public life and
the lessons he learned.
Be honest People like honesty even if it is painful (to you or them)
and they warm to it. Jobs said: “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. Don’t let the noise of others’
opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the
courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what
you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary . . .”
Be modest – but recognize that there’s little room for false or excessive
modesty People often want to learn from your achievements and they will
value a connection, insight or source of inspiration. People in audiences
want ideas. At the Stanford University Commencement, University President
John Hennessy welcomed the estimated 23,000-strong audience students,
academics and families by saying that Jobs embodied the university’s spirit
and its “willingness to be bold and strike out in new directions”.
Jobs was modest about his achievements and his advice was uncomplicated:
“Don’t lose faith ... And the only way to do great work is to love what you
do ... So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
His legacy: Jobs has said: “My model for business is The Beatles. They
were four guys who kept each other’s negative tendencies in check. And the
total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are
not done by one person; they are done by a team of people.”
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