- RichKao.org

While we're on the subject of addictions, here's my latest read on another of my heroes - Steve Jobs, Apple CEO. This book takes us into the mind of Steve and into the secret chambers of Apple and gives us a peek at how Steve works and how Apple works. It's a fascinating read with tons of great leadership tips.

Here's a sampling of them:

> Focus means saying "no." One of things Jobs is most proud of is the not just the products they released (Macs, iPods, iPhones), but products they didn't release. Takes extreme discipline to say no to the "good" product and only launch the "great" ones. Ministry application: Stay in your strength zone. Practice "intentional neglect' to keep quality high, even if it means missing out on meeting "every need."

> Design pixel by pixel. There's no detail too small for Jobs to tend to. He made his UI (user interface) team work on the scroll bar for six months before he approved it. He helped design the packaging of Apple products to insure the user experience begins the moment they open the box. He even forced his engineers to try and make the mother board look aesthetically better, even though no one would see it. Ministry application: Have a passion for excellence; not everyone will see the details you sweated over but the sense of excellence will be there.

> Burn the boats. Jobs killed the most popular iPod to make room for a new thinner model. Translation: Stay ahead of the curve, get out while you're still hot. Ministry application: Know when to kill your own baby.

> Steal. Be shameless about stealing other people's great ideas. Ministry application: Since we can't be genius' all the time, steal from others' genius. Then return the favor. Have a standing policy that any one can steal your ideas. Remember, we're on the same team.

> Don't worry where the ideas come from. Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing head, came up with the scroll wheel idea for the ipod - not the engineers or development team. Ministry application: Promote an open organization where great ideas can come from anywhere and be appropriately acknowledged.

> Small teams of high skill do great work. Me: I was sitting next to the General Manager of Nike-Japan on a trip back from the Orient a while back. Nike & Apple had just released their dual iPod-exercise gizmo. It was fascinating to hear him talk about Nike and Apple. One amazing nugget I found out -- all of Apple's product design is controlled by a group of approx. 10 people. I thought they'd have hundreds of designers. But then it made sense - the unity of product design and quality control was kept high by keeping the group small. Ministry application: Great things can happen through small dedicated teams. Think the twelve apostles.