In 1976, I was 16 years old, the same time Steve Jobs was building the world’s first computer in his parent’s garage. No one knew then how this idea would come to dominate us today and in those years, most of us had no education on how to use it either.
When interviewed years ago by Rolling Stone magazine, Steve Jobs said, “But it’s not a faith in technology. It’s faith in people,” he said. ‘Tools are just tools. “They either work, or they don’t work.”
Jobs believed that in order to achieve great success and create revolutionary changes in the world, we must learn to prioritize the intersection of technology and the humanities because that’s how the best ideas emerge.
Steve Jobs, built an enduring company that prioritized people. Everything else — products and profits — while still important, would be secondary. His vision paid off.
So how can we put our faith in people today?
1. Hire the right people to perform as the wrong people are too costly.
2. Hire smart people who can tell us what to do rather than us tell them.
3. Really good people do not need hand-holding.
4. In a world of stark dichotomies, it’s good to be fearless about taking educated risks or altering courses.
5. Practise intrapreneurship regularly as it could land you an even better opportunity.
6. After each successful event, ask your team what you should be doing next?
7. Never stop listening, learning and practising.
If Jobs were alive today, It’s unlikely that anyone would get a slack reply from him. He believed in the power of in-person conversations and always preferred face-to-face meetings. Human connection was part of his DNA.
Can you imagine him going through the pandemic? Would the inventive minds that surrounded him be as creative today in an environment where creativity has been suppressed for two years?
“There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed outside of our live interactions. “Jobs” may not agree with that, but many creative ideas did develop from bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, rather than corridors, stairs and breakout rooms over the past two years.
Technology continues to percolate, but what would “Steve” think about the metaverse? I applaud this man for always putting people first and foremost.
Author: Janice Cardinale has been named a Woman to Watch, a Top 100 Entrepreneur by Smart Meetings magazine and a powerful woman by Reiimagine in 2022. She is a heart-centric leader, visionary, mentor and change maker. As an editor, facilitator and speaker, she talks about mental health and is leading the newly formed EVENT MINDS matter, a community for event professionals, building brave spaces to amplify the industry’s conversation on mental health. She is the board chair for Seneca College’s event management and creative design program and has opened up her own charity under the name of “Giving Butterflies.” Janice is passionate about global trends, human connection, and the future of events and people.