This week Apple became America’s most valuable company—ever. Remarkably, Apple is worth more than Microsoft and Google combined. As the author of several books on Steve Jobs as well as the Apple retail store, I’m often asked about applying Apple’s techniques to companies and leaders in other fields. I’m happy to share my ideas. I think anyone can learn to give a presentation like Steve Jobs, to be more creative and innovative like Steve Jobs and to offer customer experiences on par of the Apple Store. But learning the techniques and adopting the techniques are completely different. It requires a curious mind to learn about Apple’s techniques, but it takes courage to implement them. Unfortunately, courage is in short supply. But for those who have it—true bravery—anything is possible.
One day last year I drove by the house where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple. Contrary to the legend, Apple actually started in the spare bedroom of the house before moving to the kitchen table and finally to the garage! I got out of the car to take a walk around the neighborhood, thinking about the walks Jobs and Wozniak must have had together, dreaming about changing the world. I wondered to myself, What attribute did those two young men have that others don’t? One word kept coming back to me: courage.
Here are 7 areas where you need to show courage if you intend to stand apart from the competition.
Courage to block out the bozos. I like to say that that innovation sits in a lonely place because few people have the courage to pitch radically new ideas and the self confidence to stick to their convictions. Steve Jobs had a vision to put computers in the hands of everyday people. Remember in 1976 computers were relegated to the hobbyist market and few people believed they computers would be household items. Some skeptics told Jobs that there was no reason why anyone would need computers in their homes. Jobs didn’t listen and went on to pioneer the personal computer. In 1997, Apple was months away from declaring bankruptcy. Michael Dell said he would shut it down and give the money back to shareholders. Steve Jobs didn’t listen, streamlined Apple’s inventory significantly, and outpaced every public company in America. In 2001, most retail analysts told Jobs that his Apple Store ‘experiment’ wouldn’t work. Jobs didn’t listen and today the Apple Store is the most profitable retailer in America and copied by stores in every category. In 2007, many observers questioned why Apple would enter the market for smartphones. Jobs didn’t listen and today, as fellow Forbes contributor Tim Worstall discussed, the iPhone business is now worth more than all of Microsoft. And in 2010, many customers were skeptical that they needed a third device between a notebook and a smartphone—the iPad. Jobs didn’t listen and today the iPad has revolutionized the way we live, work, play, and even the way we take care of health.
Courage to keep things simple. Steve Jobs once said, “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.” In 2007 cellphone manufacturers were adding features to phones to make them ‘smarter.’ More features added complexity for consumers. Steve Jobs had the courage to eliminate the clutter, including the keyboard itself. Part of the iPad’s success is that it is incredibly easy to use. Since there’s only one button on it, even a 2-year-old can use it. Don’t believe me? Search YouTube for “2-year-old” + “iPad” and see how many people post videos of their children picking up an iPad for the first time. Apple’s lead designer, Jonathan Ive, once said, “We are absolutely consumed by trying to develop a solution that is very simple, because as physical beings we understand clarity.” In 1998, Steve Jobs told a business reporter that one of his mantras was focus and simplicity. “Simple can be harder than complex. But it’s worth it in the end, because once you get there you can move mountains.”
Courage to communicate simply. The average PowerPoint has forty words. It’s nearly impossible to find forty words on the first ten slides of a presentation given by Steve Jobs or current Apple executives. Bullet points don’t inspire; simple stories and pictures do. When I tell middle managers to simplify their slides, many will tell me that their boss wants more words and that it wouldn’t be received well. So we compromise, making small changes that can still help their presentations be more impactful. Some leaders, however, go all in. They create and deliver presentations that inspire their audiences and generate more sales.
Courage to say no. When Mark Parker became the CEO of Nike, he called Steve Jobs for advice. Steve Jobs told Parker that Nike had a lot of great products, but also a lot of crap. “Get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff,” Jobs said. Enough said.
Courage to enrich lives. When Steve Jobs and former Apple head of retail, Ron Johnson (now CEO of JC Penney), started the Apple Store, they decided not to ‘sell stuff.’ They had the vision of building a retail store that would ‘enrich lives’ instead. When you start a company with the vision of enriching lives, interesting things begin to happen. Jobs and Johnson challenged retail convention in many ways. Enriching lives meant they opened stores where people live their lives—in the mall, not twenty miles away. They had the courage to run a non-commissioned sales floor, alleviating the pressure on customers to buy something ‘today’ and, as a result, build long-term customer loyalty.
Courage to empower employees. Apple Store employees are empowered to do what is right for the customer. If a specialist (sales associate) spends one hour with a customer and doesn’t make a sale, that employee will not be reprimanded by his or her superior. This doesn’t happen in most other retail environments or call centers where employees are pressured to spend less time with customers, not more. Another brand considered the gold standard in customer service—The Ritz Carlton—applies the same philosophy, as does the online shoe retailer, Zappos. It takes courage to trust your employees and it pays off in customer satisfaction.
Courage to hire for passion over proficiency. The Apple Store values a magnetic personality as much, if not more, than proficiency. It can train people to explain its products. It can’t teach passion. It can’t teach friendliness. It can’t teach personality. Steve Jobs once said, “What made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.” It takes courage to have this attitude and to hire people from outside your industry. The Apple Store learned that former teachers make great salespeople. Today Apple has some of the best staff of any retailer. It took courage to get there.
If you’re tired of below-average results, you need to change your thinking and make radical changes in your attitude. Stop taking the path of least resistance, the easy way. Be brave. Be bold. Have the courage to believe in yourself and your ideas.