Five HR lessons from Steve Jobs!!

Steve Jobs has changed the way the world uses mobile phones, no more just an equipment to call on the go, but a device for all round communication and entertainment. Steve Jobs was not known to follow trends but he made the trends which people followed.

But what lessons can HR learn from Steve Jobs?  Steve’s leadership qualities and his ability to think outside the square was what made Apple into a force to reckon with. Here are five lessons HR can learn from Steve Jobs:

Innovation

“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” -Steve Jobs

Innovation requires passion and the right environment to fuel the passion. Hire for potential and not just for experience. When people are passionate they produce exceptional results. We have all heard of the 80/20 rule of Google where employees get 20% of their time to innovate. HR pros let’s give innovation a chance.

Think Different

“Because the people, who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do!”-Steve Jobs 

Innovation comes from ideas, and ideas from thinking. Don’t let ideas and creative thought process be drowned by red tape, legislation and procedures. Like Steve said, encourage crazy ideas which may seem preposterous because they may change the world.HR pros champion innovation and reward different thinking.

Continuous learning

“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."-Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs continued to learn from his failures throughout his life. Encourage people to continue learning and not be afraid to fail. People should feel that trying something different is not taboo. Focus on how the individual can learn from the mistakes and how they will not repeat it in the future. Continuous learning is important even for the HR professionals. Continuous learning is not only in classrooms but opportunities to work on secondments in other departments, learning from each other - through lunch and learn sessions, master classes and cross-mentoring.HR pros don’t stop learning.

Marketing and promoting by unusual means

“Customers don't know what they want until we've shown them.”- Steve Jobs 

Steve did not wait for the customer to demand something instead he created products which the customer would desire and couldn’t do without.HR teams often fall apart when it comes to promoting their agenda whether it is related to Talent and succession or new social media policies or learning programs. Many HR teams make everything compulsory and get away from promoting and marketing to their customers, but they surely would not go a long way. If you have designed a great intervention or learning program find unique ways of promoting it.

User experience- creating experiences, customer comes first

“You've got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology - not the other way around."-Steve Jobs

While it is important to follow regulation and legislation, it is paramount to put yourselves in the user’s shoes before creating the next HR policy or procedure. No one is fond of filling long winded forms to get to a HR benefit. Just keep it simple silly!!

In conclusion, while there are several great lessons that Steve has taught us and will continue to inspire generations to come, here is a last one which applies to us all whether working in HR or not.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me ... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me.”-Steve Jobs

About the Author

Garima Gupta is a global HR Professional with passionate about all HR things even after 13 years in the field. She holds a rich working experience in different industries ranging from FMCG, retail, education and largely in financial services and has been fortunate to get opportunity to work in India, China, Australia and USA. After various stints internationally, she has recently returned back home to US and can be contacted for career advice and consulting on garimagupta.usa@gmail.com