Steve Jobs’ Leadership Lessons: How His Advice Shaped Apple, Salesforce, and Starbucks
Many companies are inextricably tied to their iconic founders—from Mark Zuckerberg being the face of Meta to Warren Buffett leading Berkshire Hathaway for decades. But when it came time for Tim Cook to take the reins of Apple, the brand’s late cofounder Steve Jobs instructed him to forge his own path at the $3.83 trillion technology giant.
The Gift of Independence
“[Jobs’] advice to me was ‘Never inquire what I would do, just do the right thing,’” Cook told CBS Sunday Morning in a recent interview. [1] This guidance stemmed from Jobs’ own experiences with Disney and Pixar.
Jobs observed how Disney suffered from “paralysis” by constantly debating what Walt Disney would do. He didn’t want Apple to fall into the same trap. He imparted this lesson to Cook, emphasizing the importance of independent leadership.
A Unique Transition
Apple’s succession planning was unusual. Prior transitions occurred during times of “panic,” but Jobs proactively prepared Cook for the role, offering the position without pressure to mimic his style. “I’ll never forget that and it was such a gift for me, because he took off of my shoulder this question of, ‘What would Steve do?’” Cook explained. [1]
Core Principles Endure
Cook, who joined Apple in 1998 and became COO in 2005, learned essential principles during his time working under Jobs. While encouraged to lead independently, Cook was similarly instilled with core tenets of Apple’s “DNA.”
These principles include the power of collaboration—believing that one plus one equals three—and the importance of passionate debate. “If you care enough that you call somebody at 10 at night because you just had an idea, that incredible things can come out of that,” Cook stated. [1] Jobs also emphasized focus, advocating for saying “no” to many things to prioritize the truly important, and striving for “insanely great” excellence.
Jobs’ Influence Beyond Apple
Jobs’ mentorship extended beyond Apple, impacting leaders at other prominent companies.
Salesforce’s AppExchange
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, shared on Lenny’s Podcast in 2024 that Jobs helped him overcome “entrepreneurs block.” [2] Jobs advised Benioff to grow his business tenfold in two years, secure a major customer, and build an application economy. Benioff interpreted this as a call to create an app store, leading to the creation of AppExchange and ultimately gifting the App Store trademark and the appstore.com domain to Apple.
Starbucks’ Leadership Shakeup
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz received blunt advice from Jobs during a 2008 crisis. Jobs advised Schultz to fire his entire leadership team, predicting they would all be gone within nine months—a prediction that proved accurate. [3]
The Importance of Passion
Jobs consistently emphasized the importance of loving one’s work. In his 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, he stated, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” [4] He encouraged individuals to continue searching until they found work they were passionate about.