Steve jobs: not just CEO, but also customer satisfaction director.

• Author: Motley, L. Biff
• Position: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

STEVE JOBS WAS OBSESSED WITH CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. As CEO of Apple, he sometimes frustrated his talented employees who advanced ideas designed to save time, money or extra effort by reminding them to create results that "make users' hearts sing." In other words, it's not purely about the technical specifications of a device, but rather what the product can do to "surprise and delight us."

As CEO of what became one of the largest, most profitable and revered companies in our time, Jobs didn't view his position in the same way as traditional Fortune 500 leaders. Rather, his passion was in the entirety of the design and functionality of his ideas. More like an artist than an accountant, he knew what he wanted his ideas to accomplish and oversaw virtually every aspect of Apple affecting customer satisfaction. As we all saw, he reveled in his annual theatrical introductions of the next new Apple surprise.

His creativity was not limited to new product introductions, either. He was just as obsessive in the oversight of the other aspects of his company's marketing mix. For example:

* Products. With every new product concept, his creative genius began with usability and his goal was to astound customers. To achieve this, Jobs insisted on a happy intersection of technology with liberal arts, two seemingly disconnected disciplines. Following the dictum of "form follows function," Jobs obsessed over the tiniest details of every new iPod, iPad, iPhone and Macbook. He did not view his job as overseeing a bunch of disparate corporate fiefdoms, but rather like a head coach preparing his team for the next big game. It was his game plan.

* Placement (or "Distribution"). Jobs came to recognize that his products were beautiful and that people wanted to come to a place to touch them, try them, talk about them, adore them. Apple stores were built for customers to form relationships with their beloved extensions of themselves, since Apple products enabled people. Products were displayed on accessible...