Connecting the dots: Steve Jobsโ timeless wisdom for designers
How this mindset changed the way I work with others
๐ฐ๏ธ Est. reading time: ~2 minutes
โ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐๐ง'๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ.
๐๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ง๐'๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐."
~ Steve Jobs
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That was a piece from Steve Jobs' interview with Smithsonian1, looking back on his career up to 1995. While Jobs didnโt explicitly mention collaboration as the catalyst for a broader understanding, he always stressed that working together would bring diverse experiences. He called it โcross-pollination,โ similar to how pollen from different plants mixes to create stronger, better plants. He believed that bringing people from different areasโlike engineering, design, art, and the humanitiesโtogether could lead to new ideas and breakthroughs.
Throughout his biography and from the eyes of Apple's ex-designers like Jony Ive and Ken Kocienda, I've noticed that Jobs rooted his work principles in a collaborative culture.
Even in the early days when Pixar merged with Disney Animation when Jobs was the major shareholder of Pixar, the first thing he focused on was remodeling the building. He removed barriers and created inviting spaces for people to work together.2
Hereโs what makes it more interesting: Jobs saw collaboration as spontaneous interactions and discussions about ideas among the team or within a close-knit group that could quickly poke at each other.
His definition may seem simple, but this doesnโt mean that collaboration is easy to initiate.
I didnโt intuitively collaborate with others early in my career. I used to believe that designers worked solo, crafting remarkable pieces with their own hands. This belief was comforting to my introverted nature.
But trust me, it would never have been effective!
We need to collaborate with others.
Collaboration helps us see more dots from different perspectives and find waysโฆ
To connect them.
To flesh out half-baked ideas.
To uncover answers to ambiguous questions.
To spark different ideas.
To get or provide feedback.
To challenge your thinking.
And sometimes, collaboration helps build alignmentโto gain support for your ideas (read: politics).
I encourage you to collaborate in whatever form it takes.
Collaboration can have downsides, like interrupting others or wasting time. But if we focus on making it an exchange of strengthsโwhere we fill gaps and aim for broader understandingโwe can make every collaboration meaningful.
Happy collaborating, opening more dots, and connecting them.
So, how will you start connecting your dots today?
Your design buddy,
Thomas
Reflection prompts
Think about a time when talking with someone gave you a new idea. How did that help you finish the project or solve a problem?
How has working with people who think or work differently from you helped you solve a problem? What did you learn from them?
Teamwork can be great but also sometimes distracting. How do you make sure working with others helps you focus and get things done?
Feel free to take a moment and reflectโIโd love to hear your thoughts in the comments if youโre up for sharing.
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Interesting readings on Substack:
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