An inspiration to entrepreneurs and business owners everywhere, Steve Jobs built a nearly unmatched empire. From the cult following surrounding his brand to the amazing team he cultivated at Apple, founders could probably learn a lesson or two from the master.
So to find out what those in the process of building their own successful companies would most like to learn from Jobs, we polled 10 YEC members on what questions they would have asked him, given the chance.
“What Are the Traits of Your Team That Allowed You to Succeed?”
Steve Jobs was a genius and Apple is an A+ company. He was able to assemble a team that was capable of delivering on — and augmenting — his vision. I’d love to understand how he knew he was building the right team, and what traits were consistent for those colleagues who could help build Apple into the business it became.
– Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches
“What Was Your Relationship With Fear?”
I would ask him to describe his relationship with fear and how he managed fear in his career and personal life.
– Samira Far, Bellacures Franchising LLC
“How Would You Improve on the Design of the Way We Think?”
Our brains have limitations that software mimics with memory and process limitations. I would love to know how Jobs would improve the brain operating system. Would he install a humor API, increase data storage or add new loops to evaluate different perspectives of analysis?
“How Would You Help Prepare Our Products for the Future?”
It’s apparent that humans are increasingly going to feel and experience more of our lives through technology as time goes forward. I would be interested to hear the advice Jobs has for creating products of the future.
– Lane Campbell, Syntress SCDT
“What Are the Things You Wish You Had More or Less Of?”
Each of us has an extremely tight budget of the time we have here on Earth. How we decide to allocate that time and energy is the most important decision we have to make on a daily basis. I’d love to hear from somebody like Steve Jobs, who had such an extreme personality, lifestyle, and impact, on how they would improve what was obviously a very remarkable life.
“How Would You Bring Consumer-Centric Design to Healthcare?”
Steve Jobs was a patient for many years prior to passing away from cancer. Healthcare is wrought with archaic processes and technologies. I’m sure he would’ve had some very interesting ideas on what would’ve made his life as a patient easier. I want to know what would’ve engaged him more with his care team, his disease and his ability to manage his own care well.
– Divya Dhar, Seratis
“How Did You Know When to Say No?”
One of the reasons Apple has historically made such great products is that they’ve always known when to say no. Whether it be to feature creep or too many buttons, their choices have always led to much simpler and more elegant hardware and software. This seems easy enough, but in practice it proves to be quite difficult. So how do you know when something is a yes or a no?
– James Simpson, GoldFire Studios
“If You Could Live Another 300 Years, What Would You Want to Accomplish?”
I would love to discover his ideas for innovation, lifestyle, and even his interest in new industries he could transform.
– Kevin Xu, Mebo International
“How Did You Know What People Wanted?”
Jobs had an uncanny ability to know what a consumer wanted before the consumer knew they wanted it. I would love to pick his brain and see how he went about doing that.
“What Was Your Greatest Accomplishment?”
I would love to know what Steve thinks his greatest accomplishment, personal or professional, has been. I really think his answer would be surprising.
– Brooke Bergman, Allied Business Network Inc.
Featured Image: TonyV3112 via Shutterstock
