Success has been defined as 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration. Without that inspiration no amount of perspiration can make a significant success.
Apple’s Steve Jobs announced today that he will be taking medical leave to address health concerns but will stay on as the company’s CEO . Jobs has been the inspiration for Apple’s success. Although the company is not likely to immediately fall on hard times, everyone can wonder who will be the person to lead the company in its quest for leading edge technology?
Other companies have faced the same dilemma. Microsoft has not been a leader after it developed Windows and the office programs that interface with that operating system. Bill Gates is no longer actively involved in the company. AIG was a worldwide success when it was lead by Maurice Greenberg. The first recorded attempt at building a digital camera was in 1975 by Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak. Kodak is not the leading digital camera manufacturer today.
There have been companies that lost their inspiring leaders and went through difficult times only to re-emerge once they found a new strong leader. The Walt Disney Company is a good example. That company languished for years until Michael Eisner became CEO.
There are many books written about leadership. One of my favorites is Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. While it may be well written and easy to read it does not discuss inspiration.
Inspiration cannot be taught and cannot be learned. It is the mystical stuff that differentiates effective people from the really extraordinary.
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