“Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future.”
Steve Jobs.
This is a really interesting snapshot of Steve Jobs’ mode of thinking roughly 8-10 weeks after re-joining Apple as Interim CEO in 1997, at the start of one of the more famous turn-arounds in corporate history.
In typical Jobs fashion, he focuses on threes… just three things… a simple, clear list of three objectives.
- Great Products – smaller, more concise, more relevant product line
- Great Distribution – simplifying the supply chain and reducing backlog of inventory [I also associate this with “delivery” for project/services organisations]
- Great Marketing – clear messaging and investment in the brand and core values rather than the product features
The video is well worth a look. I can see strong alignment with the OSS market (but then I always find a way of seeing through OSS-coloured glasses don’t I??). If these three things helped to Engineer the Apple resurrection, could they also work for the OSS industry?
If not, what are your three things?