Wednesday Words
To Go Where Your VisionPoints, a few inspiration points for you and your business.
I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.
—Steve Jobs
The iconic leader-guru of Apple Computer is a favorite source of quotations here at Maximum Customer Experience, and this gem (from an interview in BusinessWeek magazine) is one of his best. Like examining a fine Mac computer, you can spend a long time thinking of all the dozens of facets of this deceptively simple statement. Here’s a baker’s dozen that I’ve learned from Mr. Jobs:
How to be like Steve? Just Don’t Do It!
Don’t go for the easy short-term dollars over long-term loyalty.
Don’t compromise quality to follow fads.
Don’t complicate your message.
Don’t overthink.
Don’t overdesign.
Don’t underprice.
Don’t make decisions by committee.
Don’t walk forward while looking over your shoulder at the competition.
Don’t pay staff one penny less than your company’s growth is worth to you.
Don’t abandon a fresh idea when you know the customer is ready for it—find a better way to communicate it.
Don’t scream when speaking plainly will do.
Don’t pay for flounces.
Don’t give up.
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
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16 February 2011, 8:08 am
Don’t try to be like Steve Jobs — he never tried to be anyone else. He’s successful, I think, because in the end, the only opinion that matters is his. That’s why investors are skittish when they hear he might be stepping donw.
And, to extrapolate from one of yours, Don’t overthink “think different”. For grammarians, it was a painful campaign, but the rest of the world thought it was catchy…
~Graham
Graham Strong´s latest blog… Checking In With Amanda Hocking’s Reality – Day 162
16 February 2011, 8:20 am
Graham,
Excellent! A perfect addition to the list.
(And you’re right—sometimes it’s precisely because you bend a little teeny rule, grammar or otherwise, that you get noticed, which is exactly what “Think Different” had going for it!)
Regards,
Kelly