I recently finished reading the exclusive Biography of Steve Jobs by Bestselling Author Walter Isaacson. Being an avid apple fan, I was quite interested in the life story behind the man who certainly changed the landscape of the digital world in his time. Although I was fascinated with all that Steve Jobs achieved before his life was cut short, one nagging question remained after reading his biography. How far is reasonable to go in a strive for excellence?
Steve was a man who strived and pursued excellence in all his business endeavours. When it came to the people who worked with Steve, an enormous amount of pressure was put on them to achieve greatness in all that they strived to accomplish. Steve was known for surrounding himself with "A players" on his teams, but would berate them on many occasions. In the end, many of the people who worked for Apple, or for Steve Jobs achieved things that even they had not thought possible. I am sure, however, that there was a personal cost, not only to those people, but ultimately to Steve Jobs as well.
Steve may have reached heights of greatness in vision, through the invention of amazing products, but I am left to wonder if the personal cost of his pursuit for excellence was worth it. I believe that many of us do not realize what our true capabilities are and that Steve had a remarkable way of bringing out the best in people to achieve his goals.
In our business, at Big Footprints, we strive for excellence in all that we do. Whether we are designing a marketing piece for our clients, or producing a commercial print, we look for ways to give our clients the best. If it's not excellent, we're not afraid to do it again, rather than give our customer a job that is second rate. At times the balance to strive for excellence can be frustrating for our team. But at the end of the day, I hope, our team is able to create work that exceeds our client's expectations, that they feel good about the work they've accomplished AND feel valued for their contribution. Maybe this makes us "B players" from Steve Job's perspective, but I am good with that. I'd be curious to know what you think.
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