Steve Jobs - a Legacy Greater than Apple

It would be wrong to let today pass without writing something about the passing of Steve Jobs - a man who has, whether we own an Apple product or not, had a massive impact on all our lives.

Before I go on I should say that I'm not an Apple devotee - and tend to have pity on those disciples of Apple who treat the brand with such reverence that they think it can do no wrong.  I buy Apple products when I think they provide superior value, utility or delight, and buy other brands when I make a similar judgment. But, the very fact that this man created a brand that inspired such cultish and evangelical following is something that, as a marketer, I can't help but admire enormously. 

Steve Jobs has, of course, been the driving force behind the Apple brand, but the brand has a life beyond him, and that makes his work an even greater achievement.  What we see in Jobs is a man who had such drive, passion and vision that he drew people into his world; his sheer enthusiasm for his product was infectious in a way that the Apple product announcements by his successor a few days ago proved is going to be difficult to replicate.

In a bizarre coincidence I showed a video of Jobs in class yesterday, he was speaking in 1997 about what he believes marketing to be.  It's pure Jobs, stripping it all back to emotion.  'Marketing is about values' he says 'it is about passion':


I admire Steve Jobs as a marketer, a charismatic leader to the 'n'th degree, and I use the above clip in class as a discussion point, but I admire Steve Jobs more as a man who lived by his values, and to that end, the Jobs speech that inspires me most as a human being is the one below.

I believe this to be one of the best motivational speeches of all time, a must watch for all students.  Yes, Apple as a company may be a fantastic legacy for jobs, but this speech, for me, has equal (if not greater) value...


RIP Steve Jobs