We all may have differing opinions about the products that Apple launches every year, but what is undeniably agreed upon, almost universally, is that Steve Jobs is one of the best entrepreneurial minds to have existed.

Long ago I read a book by Jay Elliot, author and former Senior VP of Apple, called The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation.

Now, if you have read anything about Jobs’ leadership, you would know that he was particularly known for being impatient, rude, and tough on his team. But once you dive a little deeper, you’d see why he was able to have his top employees stick around for a long time, and why Apple took off under his leadership.

He was definitely doing something right.

One of the key lessons I take away from his leadership style is his deep commitment to understanding what the user wants.

In the book Elliot says:

“Steve Jobs understood something that a lot of companies try to do, but are rarely successful at.  The more he advanced, the simpler his products became.  In some instances, it’s less about the product and more about the user.  Every user wants to be successful.  When you know how to operate something masterfully, how does it make you feel?  More people will buy if customers feel good using the product.”

This attention to the user experience can be seen in the way the iPad was designed. Jobs suggested that the edges be round so that users can whisk it away with ease and feel comfortable handling the product.

Jobs was also masterful in paying attention to the details without missing out on seeing the bigger picture. Even as he envisioned a “cloud” where users could upload all their data and access it from multiple personal devices, he was still fretting over the shape and color of the screws inside the iMac. If you want to know why this trait is important, I’d suggest reading this blog.

You can immediately sense his desire to place his products over the need for profits. After Jobs was removed from the company due to his erratic behavior, Apple was run for 11 years by John Sculley, a marketing expert from Pepsi. During this time the company saw a steady decline. When Jobs was brought back, he shifted the focus to product design, and the rest is history.

There is a lot more that you can learn from Jobs, but these three lessons are the ones I believe most entrepreneurs could use today. I highly recommend reading the book for more insights into his life and how the man himself was shaped through his experiences.

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