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Steve Jobs Effect

Steve Jobs is perhaps the most quoted (or misquoted) person in business today. Perhaps even more than Peter Drucker and Warren Buffet.

Every business presentation that you go through has some reference to Steve Jobs or other.

Recently, I attended a program where almost all speakers quoted Steve Jobs.

Now, dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in quoting a great man such as he.

But the fact is, Steve Jobs was unique - there is exactly one person like him in the universe. Nobody else is even comparable. In terms of vision, execution, creative ability, ability to almost visualize the future and take the team there, talent, hard work. Therefore, using him as an example, will only get you so far, because you are talking outlier among outliers.

When people quote Steve Jobs and point to him as an example, mostly they miss the hard work that went into making him the icon he is today. He failed and failed big. He took an immense amount of risk. He spent time on getting everything from his presentations and products exactly right. The way he went about it. Getting every nuance right. Every screw. Every panel. Every aspect of design. There was nothing he left to chance. He was an icon and icons dont make great examples - not every time. Especially without context.

Even his own company does not seem to be the same post his departure. And obviously - that man was unique. There are no two Steve Jobs.

Second, for good or for bad, he and Apple are among the most written about in the business world. That means, unless you look for other stars, the Apple sun will always be brighter. And what does that communicate to the audience? You stopped at  Steve Jobs - because it is easy - and did not care to dig around for more gems.

So, dear speakers, if you still have to quote Steve Jobs - please quote something that is not reasonably public (and there is such stuff around still - older videos, write ups)  - if you quote something people already know (which is to say, Google and find out the first few things that show up) you are just being lazy. Unless of course, you have other examples and experiences to make your point.

And a general note, please go beyond Google and Apple in your examples.

The world of business is shifting faster than you can change your slides. 

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