Steve Jobs | Leadership Lessons

The Visionary Chronicles

The Visionary Chronicles Podcast

CHRONICLE: January 26th, 2023

" Sometimes, when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations."

Life from Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs | Leadership Lessons

There have been many books written on Steve, and I believe I have read every one. His life is so unique and impactful it is hard to wrap your arms around all that he accomplished in such a short time.

Success is never accomplished alone but rather through others who execute the leader's Vision. Steve had a special knack for “seeing the future” and “what could be”. Few leaders over the last several centuries have had this type of intuition. Vision is driven by Visionaries, those who can see what others cannot, those who are committed to realizing their vision through others and can see it through. See it through, as you will face many barriers and failures along the path to category disruption. This is what Steve was consistently looking to achieve, simple Sophistication through disruptive products, services, processes, or technologies. Michelangelo was also a great Visionary.

So how did Steve manage to keep this disruptive, innovative product pipeline flowing for generations? As a result, most of us still use them every day and are considered indispensable!

Steve would have a method to his genius and follow a fairly consistent process.

• Pure Focus, identify your core consumer, and simplify your product mix.
• Simple Sophistication, if you have to read the owner’s manual, it is too difficult.
• Own the Vision, take first-hand responsibility for commercializing the Vision.
• Breakaway Products, when you are behind leapfrog with a disruptive product or process.
• Innovation before Profit, understanding that product drives revenue, and customer loyalty to a brand.
• Ownership, give power to the team, but understand the why?
• Reality Distortion, bend reality wherever possible, and convince others of the future.
• Perception is Reality, ensure all the details are working out and part of the overall product presentation. First impressions and experiences are everything.
• Perfection, do not cut corners. Packaging IS important.
• A+ Only, no B players allowed. To achieve perfection, those who understand how to complete it should be on the team.
• No e-mails, face-to-face is the best way to bring the Vision to reality.
• Bring in the Misfits, those who are creative, not technical, and can provide the insight for simple Sophistication.
• Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish, always be looking for the next generation, the next disruption. Stay ahead of the curve.

These principles are timeless, and everyone can take some part in these to build a better brand, a more passionate culture, and insanely great products. Take the time to commit to the Vision, and don’t compromise. This is not what Great brands do.

Stay True, Stay Authentic, be Different, and be Great!

Enjoy the Journey!

Bryan Smeltzer, President

LiquidMind Inc.

#TheVisionaryChroniclesPodcast

#TheVisionaryBrandBook

@LiquidMindsite.com

@BryanSmeltzer.com

© All rights reserved, Bryan Smeltzer, 2023

Bryan Smeltzer is a consumer products business executive and entrepreneur. He has held executive-level roles in business development, product, and marketing with some of the world's most prestigious brands, including; Oakley, TaylorMade, Adidas, K-Swiss, and Schutt Sports, among other international brands. He also founded a men’s apparel brand, successfully running a profitable business for ten years, eventually selling to a VC firm.

He also hosts a Podcast called The Visionary Chronicles, and recently finished his first bestselling book, The Visionary Brand, The Success Formula Behind the World’s Most Visionary Brands, and recently received the prestigious Readers Favorite Award for BEST Non-fiction, Marketing Genre book.

He is also a member of the Board of Advisors at UCI’s BCIE along with their New Venture Program, an Innovation Advisor at the UCI’s Applied Innovation program at the Cove, a Mentor/Advisor to UCLA’s Price Center Venture Accelerator Program, and a Mentor/Advisor at the San Diego Sports Innovators Accelerator (SDSI) center.

Bryan currently oversees LiquidMind Inc., a global brand strategy firm that partners with start-ups and established mid to large-cap consumer brands to empower businesses to think differently, be different, drive a passionate culture, and execute relentlessly.

You can contact or follow him at;

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@bryansmeltzer33

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