Dear friends,
Steve Job’s death left a big emptiness in all of us, Steve was a lot more than just a brilliant gadget creator or business strategy example to follow. Steve Job is a sort of idol for all people that dream to become one day like him, those that try to learn from him, from his seminar speeches. From what he has accomplished and the way he did it.
We will never forget « Stay hungry. Stay foolish ».
Passion, talent, fight hard and try again, work work work, don’t give up, check it again, quality, look for quality, have a strategy and apply it, check for details, be a manager do not follow, be in action stay awake, be a leader, think… use your hearth and after your brain.
What does it take to be like this? What does it take to behave for succeeding in life and be a main actor to change things in better? Of course many people can succeed in life, however only few have that extra something that makes the difference.
Car designers and students should follow Steve Job as an example because there are many aspects in common compared to Design mission and Car Design in particular. In the automotive design field we had several idols whom inspired many of us, in Italy Pinin, Giorgetto Giugiaro or Nuccio Bertone, and few others. Internationally recent times I can think easily of Chris Bangle or Patrick le Quement for the change they were able to make in very traditional automotive companies succeeding with their intents (new Design politics and business strategies with passion, professionalism and love).
In Car Design schools also we have few good examples. In my case Art Center College of Design performing, since its born, as a closed philosophical group founded on a specific Design philosophy & strategy, made of sacrifice, hard work, discipline, creativity, talent, mission, quality, management. Teachers like Harry Bradley, Strother McMinn, Ted Youngkin or Joe Farrer are still today great examples to follow for their lessons as human being and design professionals. I am sure that all of you have similar examples from your schools.
Steve Job’s death has to help us to move on thinking about what we can still do in our small everyday life, what I am trying to say is that the best way to honor Job’s death is not going to buy next Apple gadget (even if it is worth doing it..) , the best way is thinking about his messages and thinking about us.
To « stay hungry and foolish » we have to give all ourselves for what we do with honesty, being humble, being correct, giving and helping. Most of all we do not have to loose the hope that we can make it too! To do so we have to sketch many times that perspective assignment because it is the only way to learn it, we do not have to get tired too quickly because the project needs the quality and if we have to redo a detail it is better if we do it again, at so on… ( I already wrote too many articles about portfolios and mistakes to avoid….)
Steve Job was also about things like this, if you read books about him you will discover a maniac of perfectionism, someone could not sleep if all details on his project where not well finished, Job was very demanding with himself and naturally with all people working for him…and everybody loved and still love him. That is how he built part of his success.
We should be very demanding with ourselves this is about « Stay hungry » or curious and never be happy with what you are doing because you think already about how to make it better. Our creativity should be expressed without psychological limits because we want to « Stay foolish » ,too. It is thanks to « Stay foolish » that great ideas come to life Vs pre-ordered creativity which puts a cultural frame to ideas. Of course both qualities « Hungry & Foolish » will be key elements only if strategically managed as Steve Job did very well at Apple.
However it is also about cultures, Job was an American and what about us Europeans or Asians or Latinos? What about our cultural backgrounds? How much our History is negatively forcing us not to be « Foolish »?
My conclusion and suggestion to all young designers and students reading is: try to remember Steve Jobs for his lessons more than his Apple products, by learning his culture and strategy we might hope to get a little closer to him…in other words work your ass off with passion and professionalism!
