How much do you care about your stakeholders – colleagues and customers?

Since the death of Apple co-founder, iconic innovator Steve Jobs, everyone with a smartphone and a keyboard has been pontificating about the value of his legacy.

Admittedly, I wrote this column using one of his ground-breaking products, but this article has nothing to do with the products he became famous for, and everything to do with how he felt about the people who used them – us.

Speaking about his passion for his tightly controlled integrated approach which led to such beautifully designed and poetically simple products (MacBook, iPod, iPad), he was once quoted as saying, “We do these things not because we are control freaks, we do them because we want to make great products, because we care about the user and because we like to take responsibility for the entire experience rather than turn out the crap that other people make.”

Jobs’s family history, education (or lack thereof) and the vicissitudes of his career will be studied closely, with his biography due out in a month or so.

The answers to why he cared so deeply for the relationship between his brand and the user have yet to come.

But the fact remains, he wanted the user satisfied and inspired.

“They’re busy doing whatever they do best, and they want us to do what we do best. Their lives are crowded. They have other things to do than think about how to integrate their computers and devices.”

I believe when Jobs said this, he knew his devotion to amplifying the desires of his consumers was the holy grail of innovation.

Many treat their stakeholders as an afterthought. There is a huge difference between worrying about what people think of you and seeking to serve other’s deepest desires.

At a very basic human level, when we engage with another, even as friends, we exchange strong nutrients in the form of our values.

When someone makes you laugh, offers advice or gives you directions, there is a deposit of “social nutrition”.

At a higher economic level, where the stakes are greater and your livelihood depends on having a thriving workplace, offering nutrition in your output through a commitment to your values is far from being a compromise to who you are.

It all starts with caring for yourself. It’s impossible to build a sustainable relationship with your colleagues and customers if you aren’t first dedicated to personal mastery.

Jobs understood the need for a simultaneous dance between what he cared for and what his stakeholders loved.

l For personal brand talks, contact Timothy at info@timothymaurice.com