He was a visionary businessman who turned his small computer company into a market-leader and changed the world with his vision, innovative ideas and uncanny attention to detail. The man in the black-shirt and denim jeans did this by finding out what consumers wanted before they even knew they wanted it.
As it stands the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod all dominate their individual markets. I don’t know one person who doesn’t own one of the three. Apple managed to take high-end products, with higher price-tags than their rivals and make them the most must-have items amongst consumers. Steve Jobs was central to that achievement.
Now, I’ve never been a massive fan of the iPhone, the touch screen revolution is one I just haven't bought into yet, and the iPad is well out of my range of wealth. However even I can recognise how cutting-edge they are and it’s thanks to this innovation that the market as a whole can carry on improving.
I know people who can’t be without their iPhones, literally can’t be without them. If they leave it at their house they’ll travel all the way home and back again just so they can touch it, swipe it and flick birds at pigs. It’s like a limb, I’m personally stunned these people leave it at home in the first place. It’d be like a mum leaving her child in Mothercare for the day.
Apple as a company, don’t just have customers, they have fans. None of its competitors can really boast the level of loyalty Apple has with its consumers. It’s incredibly strange for companies to get fans, after all they’re not football teams! Short of the gaming industry, I can’t think of any other companies that have the amount of loyal customers Apple has.
Tributes have of course been flooding in for Steve Jobs, and rightly so, he really is one of the most innovative pioneers of the modern era. Most of the tributes refer to Apple, and of course the inevitable products such as the iPhone and iPad. But for me, the thing I’m most grateful to Steve Jobs for is his purchase of Pixar in 1986.
Without his $10million investment the likes of Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Wall-e, Finding Nemo and Up would never have seen the light of day; nor would their competitors’ efforts such as Shrek, Kung-Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. Without Steve Jobs, none of these masterpieces would have been made, which would have been a massive blow to cinema let alone animation. He recognised John Lasseter’s vision for Pixar way back in 1986 and look at them now, no-one can hold a candle to their work.
Back then Lasseter wanted to make feature length computer animated movies, which was a huge risk to back financially since it was something that had never done before. At the time Pixar were simply making shorts that were obviously impressive, but to transform those into feature length box-office hits looked like Everest to the power of 3000. Pixar’s story is a wondrous one, and Steve Jobs is a big part of it.
Most of the time in the business world you’ll find that the top brass have very little initiative or creativity about them. They don’t recognise real quality, real creativity, real talent. Steve Jobs saw what Disney didn’t, he saw Pixar’s potential and I’m ever so thankful for that.
Steve Jobs may have died but his legacy and innovative thinking lives on through Apple, Pixar, and those he’s inspired to carry on doing what he did his whole life. To innovate and revolutionising the future.
"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me… Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful… that's what matters to me." -Steve Jobs, Wall Street journal, 1993.
RIP Steve Jobs. 1955-2011
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