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Steve Jobs's leadership style was legendary, often described as a mix of demanding perfectionism and charismatic inspiration. He famously utilized a 'reality distortion field' to convince his team that the impossible was possible, pushing them to achieve feats of engineering and design they hadn't thought achievable. While often criticized for his abrasiveness, his leadership was rooted in a deep passion for the product and a refusal to tolerate mediocrity. Jobs believed that 'A-players' want to work with other 'A-players,' and that a leader's job is to safeguard the quality of the team and the vision.
"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice."
"You’ve got to find what you love."
"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
"It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them."
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future."
"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."
"My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other's kind of negative tendencies in check."
"True focus is not merely about choosing one path, but rather the discipline to reject a hundred other good ideas that might lead you astray."
"Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could."
"Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people."
"Picasso had a saying: 'Good artists copy, great artists steal.' We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas."
"Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them."
"Hire the best people and get out of their way."
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