Quotes- Inspire

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give the orders. Instead, teach to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
-Antoine De Saint-Exupery

I talk a lot about perception. It directs your life. It's what you see. The ability to inspire people to see what you see is what makes great leaders. Steve Jobs took a medical leave of absence this week. It's not said in the reports, but the concern is that the captain is no longer steering the ship. The fear is not that Apple will lose their culture, it's that Apple will lose its inspiration.

It was interesting reading The Pixar Touch by David Price. You see during the 90's Jobs purchased Pixar from LucasFilms. Jobs also started NeXt (eventually bought by Apple) and was completely immersed in the project. Pixar was an after thought. In fact, Jobs tried to sell Pixar more than once though he would spend more than $50M on the fledgling company.

An interesting take away from the book was the meetings between Pixar and Jobs. Jobs never liked requests for more money, giving $45 million extra to an unprofitable company for 6 years doesn't sit well with anyone, but the Pixar team would have a plan going forward and come out with a different one they were even more excited about. Jobs has a way of making you feel that great things will happen if you follow his plan. Jobs can make you believe in his idea and all of a sudden your course is his course. It's better to make someone your ally than force someone toward a destination they don't believe in.