When Steve Jobs stepped down from Apple, I had an eerie feeling that he might be dying, but other than a fleeting thought I dismissed it. When my office found out he passed, someone said, “Let’s look at what we can learn from his legacy,” and the team took a few minutes to talk about how he affected people on all levels. Some thought he was great leader, others argued for other contributions, however everyone agreed on one thing; he forever changed the world we live in through his innovation, spirit and instinct. One of the team members asked me if I would like to go to the Apple campus in Cupertino after work; and I did not think twice, of course! I wondered what I would see and even more about what I would experience. When we arrived, it was about 8:45 PM, there were still a streams of people there from: fathers, mothers, and children carrying iPods, iPods, iphones, Video cameras, flowers, apples and more. We walked up to an area that beautiful candles were lit, and there we saw a shrine that had been created. The massive crowd surrounding was indescribable, people brought flowers, apples, pictures, and personal letters to paying tribute to a man they most likely had never met.
"Innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem. It's ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea." Jobs
And then it hit me. The last 5 years have been a very rough time for businesses, for consumers and for work, yet in Cupertino Apple was hiring. Thousands of people work at Apple, and have been gainfully employed through one of the worst recessions of our lives. Many of my friends who do IT staffing service at Apple, have grown tremendously because of what the company is. I thought about the jobs that Mr. Jobs’ innovation and determination created. Everything from Apps, to cloud to just about everything technology gives us, the Apple store, the apple service, the programmers, design houses, staffing firms, support centers and more. As I was standing there paying reverence to a man I knew very little about the tears begin to stream down my eyes. A high school dream about changing the world of technology has caused so many people to flourish, remain gainfully employed and carry their head high with dignity. People were are inspired from Jobs and are taking the initiative to go out and being game changers and truly make a difference. Not only did Mr. Jobs provide a plethora of employment opportunities for Cupertino and Silicon Valley, his impact and job creation permeates throughout the world.
I found myself moved, touched and inspired by one mans commitment to make a difference and how it impacted thousands, if not millions. He has caused peoples capability to flourish, earn a living and thrive in a world where lack of innovation costs people their jobs, their livelihoods and ultimately their happiness.
Then as my thoughts always do, it came back to me personally and how I can learn from this experience. I have been saying I want more for myself; more challenge, more impact, more difference making. I hear myself say, I want to do more than help companies’ just hire. I want to make a deeper impact and the reality is finding people work, and giving people the opportunity to be gainfully employed is truly a honorable way to earn a living. Especially when the work you do impacts an area of peoples lives that matters to people the most. With gainful employment comes fulfillment, satisfaction, dignity, freedom and in most cases some element of peace; without it hopelessness, fear, embarrassment, self-deprecation and depression set in. In that moment of prayer and gratitude for what Steve Jobs brought to Cupertino, Silicon Valley and to the world, I realized why so many people were paying him homage. Yes he was an innovator, yes he was a risk taker, and YES through his innovation, spirit and determination Jobs brought jobs to the world when we needed them most.
