Be Insanely Great

I've lived my professional life in the entertainment, technology and mobile industries, and I am a conspicuous consumer, so, like so many of the humans on this planet, for the past 30 years my daily life has been touched in some way by the innovations and spirit of Steve Jobs.  When Steve Jobs resigned from his position as CEO of Apple, like most of you reading this, I took a moment to reflect upon how Jobs has impacted everyone who has a job in the industry I work in. How, for many years and in many ways, we have been touched by the Apple master.  Now, sadly, it is time to reflect again.

In Good Company

If you have ever started a company or worked for a startup, you know that going from good to great is not enough.  Today's best entrepreneurs want to go beyond, good, beyond great, to become an insanely great company.  The aspirations of a tech company to be "insanely great" are in part inspired by Apple's success and the term "insanely great" is most often attributed to Steve Jobs's description of his company and its products (some say he first used the term when introducing the Macintosh in 1984).

There's no question that Apple's iTunes has influenced the music industry and MP3 distribution in ways that have trickled down into every aspect of the music business.  Working in the mobile industry for over ten years, my world has certainly benefited from the positive impact the iPhone has had on pushing forward mobile web usage and handset innovation across the board (as I wrote about in Forbes). The entire mobile ecosystem has been directly and beneficially changed by the mobile app marketplace that the iPhone and iTunes App Store jump started.  The iPad, and all it has inspired, is leading the way to the "post PC" era, that Steve Jobs envisioned, and that our children will inherit and thrive within.

Be Insanely Great

We can certainly appreciate all that Steve Jobs accomplished, and tip our proverbial hats in honor and remembrance as we continue to enjoy the products and inspiration that are his legacy.  However, perhaps the best way to remember and honor Mr. Jobs is to recognize, once again, that our time here is limited, and that every single day we have the choice, in everything we do, to be good, to be great, or to be like Steve Jobs and be insanely great.

I am going to aspire for the latter.  How about you?

Above image: Hugh MacLeod