In a 1994 PBS documentary, Steve Jobs famously said:
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
You might think, “Well, that’s easy for Jobs to say. He had the resources to hire top-tier executives. I have to work with the team I’ve got!”
Fair enough. But even Jobs faced major challenges with NeXT Computer in 1994, such as:
- Struggling to break out of niche scientific and academic markets.
- Competing with Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Unix.
- Pivoting from hardware to software with meager revenue streams.
- Failing to attract developers because of overly complex applications.
- Battling weak value propositions and overpriced enterprise software.
In other words, NeXT was fast running out of options—and cash.
Jobs still chose to empower his team to tackle these obstacles. And the same principle applies today: empowered leadership teams are the key to…
