What Steve Jobs taught us about passion and communication

Being the charismatic leader behind the apple conglomerate can be described as perhaps one of the most dauntingly irreplaceable position ever. The man and the mind were both unfathomable and complex.

However, all would agree that Steve Jobs was a committed and driven individual who only sought to seek the best always and expected the same from those around him. What we can all learn from him is right here.

Being fiercely private about his personal life, he was popularly known for continuously steering any interview session to ensure the focus was on Apple and its journey.

Among other things Steve Jobs was also known for his super individualistic style, anti political stand, while being mostly a libertarian at heart, he would take any opportunity to discredit any and all economic doctrines whenever possible if it did not conform to his unique thought processes. This of course either rightly or wrongly perceived him to be constantly against a society where conformist behavior patterns are the order of the day.

Adopting the styles where interaction and sharing of ideas was the basics of the work teams, Steve Jobs often encouraged a varied group of individual of all levels within the organization to talk, discuss, and argue about ideas being tabled. In this way he would then be able to gauge the sentiments and acceptability of anything being designed or to be launched.

Exploring this particular style is definitely an advantage that should be adopted and practiced as often as possible within any organization as the participation of varied mindsets is both informative and beneficial.

Believing that the person at the helm of every endeavor should be committed and competent to the highest levels, he also saw the wisdom in ensuring that individual would be loyal to the Apple brand rather than other elements like self interest, pleasing the boss or any other elements.

 In order to be successful at anything one must have the ingredient of passion in the mix. Without this very vital ingredient many projects or endeavors have run aground at the very first hint of trouble. However, for some this passion may seem apparent and even evident but it should not as is often done be mistaken for enthusiasm.

The Passion

There are several ways to know if one is really passionate about a particular endeavor. Below are just some indications that are worth exploring to ensure one has what it takes to succeed:

·        Once a project has been identified and the interest is apparent in seeing the project to its end, the individual should start the process of learning as much as possible about the varied aspects of the said project. This will give the interested party an idea of what the project requires on every level until the end is reached. It will also give the individual a chance to evaluate his or her interests against the possible problems that the project presents. If the confidence and passion is still not shaken or diminished even a little then there is a good possibility that the project chosen is a suitable match for the individual.

·        Being around other people who have the same interest and still feel the desire to explore further into the said interest is another good indication of the level of passion available for commitment. Living and breathing as some would refer to the sentiment required to be passionate about something will be very apparent when there is a strong desire to be immersed in the interest to the fullest.

Being able to spend a large portion of one’s time devoted to the endeavor also is being passionate about it. When the time spent is considered pleasurable, the level of passion is evident. However being overly consumed with being immersed with the interest could also project some level of unhealthy passion, especially when the commitment is disruptive to other aspects of the individual’s life.

Communication is an effective and necessary tool to employ when trying to carry out any endeavor or project successfully. However the effectiveness of the communication plays a very important role towards the smoothness and achievable standards of any endeavor.

The importance of effective communication should never be underestimated not disregarded if complete success is to be achieved.

Communicate

Understanding that people generally respond in a variety of ways to the various style of communication is perhaps a very important advantage to acknowledge.

Using one style of communication for everyone and everything is both unwise and can contribute to a lot of wasted time and effort. Also choosing the best communication methods will allow the intended message to be clearly conveyed and properly understood so that whatever is required can be done with minimal or no mistakes at all.

Some tasks may require written communications while others would be better addressed with a more interactive style like verbal communication, and yet other may require some form of visual or a combination of visual and audio communication. Thus finding out which style best suits the situation is very important indeed.

When it comes to more urgent and formalized communications there may be a need to have a combination of styles to ensure all parties are clear on what is being communicated and their individual roles to ensure success.

The lines of communications should always be accessible and non threatening, as this will help ensure all participants are comfortable enough to ask or question where and when in doubt. There are also some areas where simple verbal or written communication is not enough and this is where there may be a need to have complimenting charts and other visual aids to help paint a clearer picture as to what is required.

The important point to always remember is to ensure all that is being communicated is well received and understood before moving onto the next step in any situation.