Like so many I have been deeply saddened by the passing of Steve Jobs. When I heard the news late in the evening at my desk, after a day of battling with attorneys, I bowed my head and cried.
Part of my reaction stems from the fact that I started my career at Regis McKenna where I did Apple PR, and I remembered the promise and light of that bright and often challenging young man. But something else has been at play, and I've been thinking a lot about that.
Visionaries mean a lot to people at large - they inspire excitement, and hope, with their communications. They create a sense of new possibilities not previously imagined. But so very often visionaries come and go - like presidents or corporate leaders come and go. Here today with their promise, gone so very soon after their "terms" end.
What moves us deeply is what endures. Visionaries that can hold on to their big ideas and keep working at realizing them are those that are truly inspirational. And yes, Steve Jobs was absolutely one of those people with his 30+ year vision of making computing easy. Bill Gates, with his profound vision of philanthropic impact and global computing empowerment, is clearly another. They were competitors and compatriots in the truest sense.
We cannot and should not forget these special people - when alive, and after they are gone. But more importantly, each of us should reflect on what our personal visions are and what we can do to work at them for a lifetime. We may not have the universal impact of these more high-profile and broad impact visionaries, but we certainly can make a difference in the lives of those we commit to.
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