Jim Walsh
Among the thousands of positive words, and a few negative ones, that were written and spoken about Steve Jobs last week one article struck a chord with me. Ironically it was written before he died but could well have been his epitapth.
In the form of a thank you the “Bling’ column in Fortune magazine expressed what many of us would have loved to write. For many years the Stanley Bling column called ‘While You Were Out’ has cast a wry eye on the workings of corporations in the US.
In the current issue Stanley says, ‘Thanks Steve. We’ve all been lucky to live in a world where there was a person with such an imagination. We’ve been lucky enough to run along behind you, picking up goodies as you dropped them in our path. (http://stanleybing.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/12/thanks-steve/)
He goes on “I have never had the privilege of meeting you, or had the chance to get yelled at by you in a business meeting, or even watch your charisma transform an audience into acolytes, But I feel as if I know you well enough to express, as you ascend to your new role as chairman, the sadness I feel and my gratitude for so many of the good things that you have brought to my life. It’s not business. It’s personal.
While acknowledging the iPod, iPhone and iMac Bling offers thanks for some of the things we now take so much for granted. For example; the graphical interface introduced by Apple at a time when computers only ran one programme at a time and had no graphics. “Last night I watched a movie, printed photos, harvested emails and bought a bunch of business cards and socks, all at the same time” says Bling.
And then there is the mouse. Before Jobs bred them for commercial use, a person needed a host of keyboard commands to get anything done.
He acknowledges that not all Steve Jobs creations were original but that he had the vision to know what to do with them while others struggled. “Because that’s the way
You did things. All in. Feet first.
And Bling concludes “And oh, yeah. Thanks for Toy Story and Up”.
Amen to that.