Did you know that Steve Jobs hated the color white on the 1st iPod? Yeah, he did. He disliked it so much that even though the iPod and it’s cords appear to be white, they are actually called “moon gray” and “seashell gray”.
Despite his dislike for white, he still went with this whitish color. Why? Because of the people around him convinced him to. And, it proved out to be a good decision. The iPod and eventually the iPhone and iPad became associated with white from the case to the headphones. And that white headphone became the trendy, cool thing to have. That’s right, before Beats became the cool, trendy headphones to wear, it was the white Apple headphones.
This decision ended up being a good one by Steve and Apple. It also teaches us a great lesson about the people you have around you.
Trusting the Right People
- Steve Jobs had people he trusted people to get a job done. When Steve didn’t like the white, he had a team in place that could present him with a color that satisfied both his desires and what his trusted advisors suggested. He had a task and he had people who he knew would get the job done.
- He had people in his inner circle whom he trusted to give good input. I am not saying these are “yes” men/women who always did what he wanted. But these are people who would give him information and input that would be important in making a decision.
Tom, thanks so much for writing this. It’s a really powerful message!
Great thoughts, Tom. Trust and flexibility are two qualities for a successful leader!
Thanks Adam. I trust my “inner circle” a lot and get some really good feedback. But they are my inner circle for a reason…gotta trust them. 🙂