I had a boss back in the 1990s who emphasized the logic of going beyond the first step or two on everything. He viewed every issue....every problem....every solution....to a idealistic point five steps ahead. By doing something....were you really fixing the problem or making a new problem?
At some point around 2001/2002, I watched an interview with Steve Jobs, and he impressed as a guy who looked beyond what was in front of him.....and was going to the idealistic point of ten steps ahead. This was a skill that very people are willing to put effort into and think beyond the normal vision we tend to operate with.
When I look over all the things he delivered in three decades....they all led onto more inventions that a step or two beyond. He knew the next trend. He knew the next demand. He knew how to take a simplistic concept and make it possible.
For this reason, we are going to miss Steve Jobs. There are probably five or six things in the Apple tunnel which have his fingerprints on them.....and when they clear....it will be questionable if the future can stay focused on Apple's past.
The bottom line? Imagine if we just had twenty Steve Job-like characters walking around the US today. The sad truth is that we were lucky to have just one.
