Steve Jobs' death is being mourned worldwide because he changed the world. He democratized technology. He liberated it to do good. Most importatnly, he brought optimism, creativity and joy to the lives of ordinary people.
His passing is particularly saddening for people in creative professions, and within the agency world in particular. His impact upon people in our industry extended well beyond the power of his products to inspire and enable creative expression. Steve meant more to us than that.
On the surface, we admired his creative instincts - in the design of his products and in the campaigns he approved.
Perhaps we looked up to him as the archetypal client. Those who worked with Steve say he was tough and demanding, but always in pursuit of greatness.
And, maybe, just maybe, on a deeper and more personal level, we wanted to see a bit of ourselves in Steve Jobs and identify with him as a kindred spirit - one of the dreamers; the crazy ones; the few people in corporate America who dared to think different.
We can honor Steve Jobs' legacy by honoring his standards. Don't accept anything less than great, because life is too short to be merely average.
His passing is particularly saddening for people in creative professions, and within the agency world in particular. His impact upon people in our industry extended well beyond the power of his products to inspire and enable creative expression. Steve meant more to us than that.On the surface, we admired his creative instincts - in the design of his products and in the campaigns he approved.
Perhaps we looked up to him as the archetypal client. Those who worked with Steve say he was tough and demanding, but always in pursuit of greatness.
And, maybe, just maybe, on a deeper and more personal level, we wanted to see a bit of ourselves in Steve Jobs and identify with him as a kindred spirit - one of the dreamers; the crazy ones; the few people in corporate America who dared to think different.
We can honor Steve Jobs' legacy by honoring his standards. Don't accept anything less than great, because life is too short to be merely average.