Read Online What Would Steve Jobs Do? How the Steve Jobs Way Can Inspire Anyone to Think Differently and Win by Peter Sander - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Peter Sander
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to get the product
done
and then
to market
.
As such, I see “Customer” (an intense scrutiny of the customer and the customer experience) as one unique piece of Steve’s leadership, and I see “Product” as another and perhaps more obvious and transparent step. But what lies between Customer and Product?
It is in this gap where, in my view, many companies fail. They may know their customers pretty well (although I believe that most don’t), and they may have good machines to produce products. But something gets lost in the translation. Interestingly, look at the successes and failures of the Japanese. As Steve was, the Japanese are very close to their customers and their customers’ needs, and can produce excellent products. But the absence of the connective tissue between the two—the lack of creativity, the ability to see a holistic outcome, and a cultural reluctance to think differently—all together get in the way of the Japanese.
Where I believe Steve excelled—and what really made the Jobs difference—are the two steps between knowing the customer and producing a perfect, breakthrough product. Those steps are “Vision” (the translation of customer experience and needs into a product need and concept) and “Culture” (the creating and nurturing of an organizational innovation culture that actually can get things done and exceed everyone’s expectations).
So now we have four “steps”: Customer, Vision, Culture, and Product.
But products don’t sell themselves, and Steve didn’t stop there. He was an expert at launching and creating the buzz around his products—more so than anyone else in American corporate history. So there’s another step, “Message,” that included not only his message to the consuming public, but also the messages to his internal teams that kept them so motivated and on task and eager to tackle the next iProduct.
These five steps define the right product and get it to the right market, and normally I’d stop there, but I see one more thing that isn’t really a “step” but more of a Steve Jobs protocol. It’s a bit more abstract. I think Steve thought about, and continually perfected, his own personal brand (as well as the Apple brand; they went hand in hand). Good leaders get stuff done, but most of them don’t seem to have the right approach to marketing themselves, their organizations, and their successes. Doing so builds and solidifies respect in the process, enabling them to go out and do it all over again. The building of the personal “Brand” perpetuates the success.
So now we have six “steps,” or elements, of the Steve Jobs Leadership Model.
1. Customer
2. Vision
3. Culture
4. Product
5. Message
6. Brand
•
Customer
. Steve had a unique way of getting to what customers need by understanding what causes them pain today. Most organizations take the wrong approach (if they take any approach at all) to understanding what is really going on with their customers. Chapter 4 shows how Steve viewed the customer and the customer experience.
•
Vision
. Visionaries all have visions, of course. Steve Jobs had a unique way of tying customer needs and experiences to complete and holistic product and customer experience visions. Chapter 5 covers how Steve’s “seeing over the horizon” visioning really worked, and how he spread his visions through his organization.
•
Culture
. Where the rubber really fails to meet the road in many organizations is in culture. Innovation is often set off in some ivory-tower R&D lab far from any other element of the company. It isn’t part of everyday life for the company. Or, people are not rewarded for, or are even discouraged from, thinking outside the box. Chapter 6 shows how Steve built his organization throughrecruiting and he irrigated an innovation mindset within it.
•
Product
. Once we have the vision and the culture, we can start producing products. But are these products
done
and then
to market
.
As such, I see “Customer” (an intense scrutiny of the customer and the customer experience) as one unique piece of Steve’s leadership, and I see “Product” as another and perhaps more obvious and transparent step. But what lies between Customer and Product?
It is in this gap where, in my view, many companies fail. They may know their customers pretty well (although I believe that most don’t), and they may have good machines to produce products. But something gets lost in the translation. Interestingly, look at the successes and failures of the Japanese. As Steve was, the Japanese are very close to their customers and their customers’ needs, and can produce excellent products. But the absence of the connective tissue between the two—the lack of creativity, the ability to see a holistic outcome, and a cultural reluctance to think differently—all together get in the way of the Japanese.
Where I believe Steve excelled—and what really made the Jobs difference—are the two steps between knowing the customer and producing a perfect, breakthrough product. Those steps are “Vision” (the translation of customer experience and needs into a product need and concept) and “Culture” (the creating and nurturing of an organizational innovation culture that actually can get things done and exceed everyone’s expectations).
So now we have four “steps”: Customer, Vision, Culture, and Product.
But products don’t sell themselves, and Steve didn’t stop there. He was an expert at launching and creating the buzz around his products—more so than anyone else in American corporate history. So there’s another step, “Message,” that included not only his message to the consuming public, but also the messages to his internal teams that kept them so motivated and on task and eager to tackle the next iProduct.
These five steps define the right product and get it to the right market, and normally I’d stop there, but I see one more thing that isn’t really a “step” but more of a Steve Jobs protocol. It’s a bit more abstract. I think Steve thought about, and continually perfected, his own personal brand (as well as the Apple brand; they went hand in hand). Good leaders get stuff done, but most of them don’t seem to have the right approach to marketing themselves, their organizations, and their successes. Doing so builds and solidifies respect in the process, enabling them to go out and do it all over again. The building of the personal “Brand” perpetuates the success.
So now we have six “steps,” or elements, of the Steve Jobs Leadership Model.
1. Customer
2. Vision
3. Culture
4. Product
5. Message
6. Brand
•
Customer
. Steve had a unique way of getting to what customers need by understanding what causes them pain today. Most organizations take the wrong approach (if they take any approach at all) to understanding what is really going on with their customers. Chapter 4 shows how Steve viewed the customer and the customer experience.
•
Vision
. Visionaries all have visions, of course. Steve Jobs had a unique way of tying customer needs and experiences to complete and holistic product and customer experience visions. Chapter 5 covers how Steve’s “seeing over the horizon” visioning really worked, and how he spread his visions through his organization.
•
Culture
. Where the rubber really fails to meet the road in many organizations is in culture. Innovation is often set off in some ivory-tower R&D lab far from any other element of the company. It isn’t part of everyday life for the company. Or, people are not rewarded for, or are even discouraged from, thinking outside the box. Chapter 6 shows how Steve built his organization throughrecruiting and he irrigated an innovation mindset within it.
•
Product
. Once we have the vision and the culture, we can start producing products. But are these products
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