When I was asked to write something about Steve Jobs, I was at a loss. What could I say that had not already been said? In the end, I opted for a solution that Jobs himself might have appreciated - I went online. In fact, I asked my Facebook friends for suggestions.
Some of the ideas sounded too familiar: technology as a fashion statement; the future of Apple without Jobs, etc. One quotation was particularly apt: «Bill Gates made us more productive, Steve Jobs made us more playful.» (Thank you, Mairi.) But another comment was more cryptic. My friend Melanie wrote: «Behind every great man...»
What did she mean? The conventional phrase is «Behind every great man is a great woman». Mrs Steve Jobs is Laurene Powell, a former investment banker now involved in several non-profit projects, including College Track, which helps kids from low-income homes get a decent education. Powell was no doubt a source of inspiration to her husband.
But perhaps that's not what Melanie meant. Back in 1996, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, its reputation was in tatters and it had no new products on the table. Jobs knew that Apple's role would be to deliver beautiful creative tools using technology. But it took Lee Clow of TBWA to sum up this vision in two words: Think Different. The rest is history. Behind every marketing genius is an advertising agency.
