Leading Apple With Steve Jobs: Management Lessons From a Controversial Genius

Finale

It only seemed fitting and in the Steve Jobs style that just after Steve’s death, Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook sent the following e-mail to all employees:

Team,

Like many of you, I have experienced the saddest days of my lifetime and shed many tears during the past week. But I’ve found some comfort in the extraordinary number of tributes and condolences from people all over the world who were touched by Steve and his genius. And I’ve found comfort in both telling and listening to stories about Steve.

Although many of our hearts are still heavy, we are planning a celebration of his life for Apple employees to take time to remember the incredible things Steve achieved in his life and the many ways he made our world a better place. . . .

I look forward to seeing you there.

Tim

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. . . .

If you haven’t found [your goal] yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. . . .

The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.

—Steve Jobs

Thank you, Steve, for connecting the dots by looking backward, while at ...