October 6, 2011
JOBS WILL BE A 'GREAT OF ALL TIME'
Steve Jobs' impact on consumer technology and mobility will be felt for years to come says David Carroll, Associate Professor of media design at Parsons School in New York.
Read more:
Steve Jobs' impact on consumer technology and mobility will be felt for years to come says David Carroll, Associate Professor of media design at Parsons School in New York.
Read more:
Modern-day business has spawned successful entrepreneurs, clever innovators and a smattering of marketing gurus - Steve Jobs was possibly the only one who ticked all three boxes.
His ascension to business legend was no accident and had little to do with luck. He created two multi-billion dollar companies, Apple and Pixar, within a working timespan that was shorter than most. He died today aged 56.
His brilliance was not in reinventing the wheel - it was in smoothing its edges. The Apple products worked better, faster and most important were intuitive to use.
Apple's website commemorates Steve Jobs.
Ordinary people became captivated by Apple technology, and a generation now exists for whom Apple comes in many colours - not just red and green.
Apple is a testament to how the best innovators have created demand rather than responded to it.
Smart manufacturers and retailers assess what customers are looking for and supply it. But Jobs anticipated what customers might like, made it and then convinced the market it was a must-have.
The products were simple enough to appeal to the mass market, stylish enough to be sought after by the fashion set and clever enough to satisfy the geeks.
Apple is in another league when it comes to creating new products. International media count down the days until launch, people sleep outside retail outlets, it’s the buzz around the office.
It is a form of marketing that needs far less advertising. Indeed it reinforces the strength of the Apple brand - one which Jobs has been careful to protect.
Apple is in another league when it comes to creating new products. International media count down the days until launch, people sleep outside retail outlets, it’s the buzz around the office.
It is a form of marketing that needs far less advertising. Indeed it reinforces the strength of the Apple brand - one which Jobs has been careful to protect.
Part of the company’s genius has been to ensure that the Apple customer - in effect - joins a club of users whose members are properly serviced by the company. The retail shop fronts are stacked with experts that love and understand the product.
When technology, image and usability combine Apple has discovered a formula that shields it from the need to discount - despite the threat from copycats.
Jobs deserves his place in business history as Apple deserves its place in the top 10 of the word’s largest companies.
Inside Apple, Jobs was not just the key man, he was the man. As one investor noted today, Jobs was Apple and Apple was Jobs.
It was the textbook growth story of the past 15 years.
eknight@smh.com.au
Read more:
eknight@smh.com.au
Read more:
