When Apple founder Steve Jobs passed way, it ended an era of 
innovation that forever changed the face of consumer electronics.
What he accomplished in his life is impressive, but even posthumously there are many lessons any business owner can learn from him. Perhaps the most important lesson was accurately captured in title of the AP story by Jordan Robertson, “Steve Jobs told us what we needed before we knew.”
Jobs had an insatiable hunger for innovation, but in his pursuit of it he never, ever forgot his end user – and that was the real key to his success. As a result, he knew the world needed personal computers in the late 70s, long before we knew. He put digital music in the palm of our hands and made it easy to download (legally) when we were still perfectly fine with CDs. He showed us the possibilities of a touch screen, made animated movies that are must-watch films for all ages and, of course, changed mobile phones and tablets forever.
In the end, Jobs truly did know what we as consumers needed before we knew ourselves. He broke the mold and led the industry, yet every move he made was predicated on his understanding the future needs of consumers. So how can you go about achieving the same type of success in your own company? It starts with asking a lot of questions.
How well do you really know your customers and their current needs? How can you find out more? Can you anticipate their future needs? What will that require? Phone calls, Lunch and Learns, getting out of the office, research, what else? What products are like-minded companies around the world finding success with? Are there new, successful products being made with precast concrete that you can introduce to your area? What precast concrete products will be in demand one, two or five years down the road? How can you figure that out? What custom products can you make? What can be better made with precast concrete than with other products? How do you get engineers, contractors and other specifiers to understand that? Can you translate all of this into calculated, successful product diversification and increased sales?
These questions, and many more, are the ones you need to be asking if you not only want to survive the down times, but also be strong enough to seize the opportunity when better times return. By asking them, you can shift from reactive to proactive. You can branch out, find success and even show your customers what they need before they know they need it. Steve Jobs may have been one of a kind, but the lessons you can learn from him are universally applicable.
Ty Gable,
President, National Precast Concrete Association
Ty,
You are so right about how Jobs predicted what consumers would want, or maybe it was he created products that they felt they just could not live without – either way, he was quite the innovator. And the questions you suggest companies consider to improve their opportunity for success in the future are right on the mark. The only suggestion I would make is to have NPCA help answer some of them. Many NPCA members do not have the personnel, time, or expertise available to adequately collect this information. However, NPCA seems well-suited for pulling at least some of this data together, particularly at the national or global level, and sharing it at future meetings and in future publications. I know some of this is already done, but would encourge you to push for more. Every useful tidbit can make a huge impact.
Regards,
Alan