Урок №18. The 7 Success Principles of Steve Jobs
MMR совместно с Business Spotlight Ukraine представляет восемнадцатый урок в рамках новой рубрики «A Lesson for a Marketing Person».
by Carmine Gallo, Source: www.Forbes.com
[…] leaders, entrepreneurs and business owners are looking for new and innovative ways to grow their brands. Who better to turn to than one of the most innovative leaders of our time — Apple CEO Steve Jobs? Through first-person interviews with Apple employees, experts, and analysts, as well as Steve Jobs’ own words over the past thirty years, I discovered that there are 7 principles largely responsible for Jobs’ breakthrough success. […]. Briefly, here are the principles that anyone can use to «think differently» about their service, product or brand.
Principle One: Do what you love. Steve Jobs once told a group of employees, «People with passion can change the world for the better.» Jobs has followed his heart his entire life and that passion, he says, has made all the difference. It’s very difficult to come up with new, creative, and novel ideas unless you are passionate about moving society forward.
Principle Two: Put a dent in the universe. Passion fuels the rocket, but vision directs the rocket to its ultimate destination. In 1976, when Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple, Jobs’ vision was to put a computer in the hands of everyday people. In 1979, Jobs saw an early and crude graphical user interface being demonstrated at the Xerox research facility in Palo Alto, California. He knew immediately that the technology would make computers appealing to «everyday people». That technology eventually became The Macintosh, which changed everything about the way we interact with computers. Xerox scientists didn’t realize its potential because their «vision» was limited to making new copiers. Two people can see the exactly the same thing, but perceive it differently based on their vision.
Principle Three: Kick start your brain. Steve Jobs once said «Creativity is connecting things.» Connecting things means seeking inspiration from other industries. At various times, Jobs has found inspiration in a phone book, Zen meditation, visiting India, a food processor at Macy’s, or The Four Seasons hotel chain. Jobs didn’t «steal» ideas as much as he used ideas from other industries to inspire his own creativity.
Principle Four: Sell dreams, not products. To Steve Jobs, people who buy Apple products are not «consumers.» They are people with hopes, dreams and ambitions. He builds products to help people achieve their dreams. He once said, «some people think you’ve got to be crazy to buy a Mac, but in that craziness we see genius.» How do you see your customers? Help them unleash their inner genius and you’ll win over their hearts and minds.
Principle Five: Say no to 1,000 things. Steve Jobs once said, «I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.» He is committed to building products with simple, uncluttered design. And that commitment extends beyond products. From the design of the iPod to the iPad, from the packaging of Apple’s products, to the functionality of the Web site, in Apple’s world, innovation means eliminating the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
Principle Six: Create insanely great experiences. The Apple store has become the world’s best retailer by introducing simple innovations any business can adopt to create deeper, more emotional connections with their customers. For example, there are no cashiers in an Apple store. There are experts, consultants, even geniuses, but no cashiers. Why? Because Apple is not in the business of moving boxes; they are in the business of enriching lives. Big difference.
Principle Seven: Master the message. Steve Jobs is the world’s greatest corporate storyteller, turning product launches into an art form. You can have the most innovative idea in the world, but if you can’t get people excited about it, it doesn’t matter.
Simply put, innovation is a new way of doing things that results in positive change. Innovation is attainable by anyone at any organization, regardless of title or position. Make innovation a part of your brands’ DNA by thinking differently about your business challenges.
VOCABULARY
ultimate [‘ʌltɪmət] — здесь: конечный
crude [kruːd] — сырой, незрелый, грубый
research facility — исследовательский институт
to kick start sth — активизировать что-либо, дать чему-либо толчок
genius [‘ʤiːnɪəs] — гений
unleash [ʌn’liːʃ] — развязать, дать волю
uncluttered [ˌənˈklətərd] — незагроможденный, слишком сложный
to eliminate sth — удалить что-либо
insanely [ɪn‘seɪnlɪ] — безумно
cashier [kæ’ʃɪə] — кассир
to enrich sth [ɪn’rɪʧ] — обогащать/улучшать что-либо
attainable [ə’teɪnəbl] — достижимый
LANGUAGE POINT
Put a dent in the universe — Что положить во вселенную? Смотрим в словарь — dent — зарубка, насечка, вмятина, оттиск, отпечаток. Если возьмем последнее значение, то станет понятно, что речь идет о том, чтобы оставить след во вселенной, или, как у нас (а не в англоязычных странах) принято говорить ‑ в истории, то есть сделать что-либо значимое для общего дела.
LANGUAGE LEARNING TIP
Есть такой способ изучать иностранный язык — тандем. Не всегда есть достаточно денег (180грн. и больше), чтобы заниматься с носителем языка. Если вам встретится иностранец, который изучает русский-украинский, договоритесь, что будете преподавать ему/ей русский, а он/она вам английский (любой другой). Встретились два раза в неделю, полчаса одним позанимались, полчаса другим. И больших финансовых затрат не понадобилось и урок состоялся.
Exercise
1. Share in the comments your personal principle (secret) of success.
2. Are there any principles you disagree with? Write in the comments below.
3. Think on how are these principles implementable in your case (your job, your business). Put your ideas in the comments.
4. In your opinion, which principle is the most important one and why? Put down your thoughts below.