By now, you’ve heard the same news that has saddened us. Apple founder and visionary Steve Jobs has passed away.
We’ve made no secret of our admiration of Apple. There’s just so much that Apple does right. That’s why they’re one of the few, elite organizations called Cult Brands. The responsibility for Apple’s success is due to the leadership of Steve Jobs. It is with sincere and lasting admiration and respect that we offer our condolences and best wishes to Steve’s family, friends, and the extended Apple community.
It’s impossible to think about Steve Jobs without marveling at the impact this man, this one single man, has had upon the world. His influence shows not only in the technology we use, but in the way we do business, communicate with each other, and view the role of individuality and creativity in our individual and collective lives.
Steve Jobs didn’t do this by selling MacBooks and iPhones to the masses. He did it by selling his customers what they wanted the most: personal empowerment and self-fulfillment. Steve Jobs’ genius, if we must pick a single one to name, was to thoroughly understand his customers. He was tapped so deeply and completely into his loyal customer bases’ psyche that he understood what they wanted and why they wanted it. Using this knowledge is what propelled Apple into a dominant organization in the marketplace.
When customers buy Apple, they’re buying into the belief system that they can be amazing. That’s Steve Jobs’ gift to the world. There are no limits anymore. There are no barriers of entry to a life filled with creativity, connectivity, music, video, games, and play. You just need the right technology, and you can transcend class, background, or a serious lack of talent. It’s a message strong enough to build a community around and a community people couldn’t wait to join.
For Steve, bringing people to the Apple community looked effortless. Some said he had an intuitive marketing sense; others that he was a born salesman. We think it comes down to Steve’s (and by extension, Apple’s) practice of putting the customer first. His ability to focus on what his customers wanted, in every aspect of their engagement with his company, and deliver that consistently in ways that surpassed their expectations serves as an example that we can all aspire to.