Steve Jobs Built His Click

Note: Image features on the cover of The Times on Friday, October 7, 2011

This week came with a bit of a shock -- the death of Steve Jobs -- a man who had impacted the world as strongly as Johannes Gutenberg (inventor of the printing press) and Thomas Edison (inventor of the lightbulb).

I think we all knew the inevitability of this, but I don't think we expected it to be so soon.

In the past, I questioned whether Jobs was telling time - continually executing on and creating the Apple brand, without enabling others to deliver on the brand independently -- or building a clock -- creating an internal structure that provides a brand compass, enabling the brand to sustain itself well after Jobs' departure.

After his first medical leave, Apple's share price plummeted, indicating the market's lack of confidence that Apple was able to remain successful and drive long-term demand without Steve at the helm.  Truthfully, I, too, felt pretty confident he was only telling time up to this point. And perhaps he was only telling time.

But clearly, Apple took note, because after each subsequent medical leave, the share price dipped less and less, indicating that the market was beginning to believe Apple could remain strong even without its iconic and legendary co-founder leading the way.

So this is proof that Steve didn't just tell time by developing tools for the mind that advance human kind, but he built the clock too!

"We will honour [Steve's] memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much"

--Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, from his email to the Apple Staff

Having said that, the real test will be a year from now, when we will see whether Apple continues to change the world in a beautiful and impactful way.

Now, in memory of Steve JObs, a person I would call a brand guru, here are a few of his philosophies, which I believe have led to Apple's brand success:

• Apple's innovations come from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure they don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much
• The human brain craves meaning before details. What does it mean in one sentence (i.e. iPod = 1,000 songs in your pocket)
• Don't bother to create manifestos, mantras or guidelines - LIVE THEM.

Thank you Steve Jobs for teaching and inspiring us for so many years!