Steve Jobs' 12 Rules of Success: How is the Nigro Firm doing?

Steve Jobs was listed as one of the world's greatest business thinkers in 2007 and offered 12 famous rules of success to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University. We decided to put the Nigro Firm to the test and compare our thinking to Steve Jobs, for curiosity and insight. You may also want to look through the rules and see how you compare as well.

1) Do what you love to do. Find your true passion. Do what you love to do to make a difference! The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

Ok, we do alright on this one. We love our work and we enjoy the people we work with. Sometimes we get a little frustrated with the quality of the drawings, but that does help us sympathize more with those that have to build from those drawings.

2) Be different. Think different. “Better to be a pirate than to join the navy.”

For sure, we try to be ourselves, run our company our way and we provide a unique product.

3) Do your best. Do your best at every job. No sleep! Success generates more success. So be hungry for it. Hire good people with passion for excellence.

We are extremely quality oriented and work with people that are this way as well. We enjoy questioning ourselves and problem solving. We also like to continually learn and pursue new ideas.

4) Make SWOT analysis. As soon as you join/start a company, make a list of strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your company on a piece of paper. Don’t hesitate in throwing bad apples out of the company.

We have been doing this type of work for over 17 years, however, we do continue to evolve and have no problem changing practices or ideas that are not working for us.

5) Be entrepreneurial. Look for the next big thing. Find a set of ideas that need to be quickly and decisively acted upon and jump through that window. Sometimes the first step is the hardest one. Just take it! Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

We have been working on this. We have begun the practice of just moving forward and doing, instead of over thinking to the point of non-action. Sometimes the first step is the hardest, but before you know it you will look down at your feet and see yourself running.

6) Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. “I want to put a ding in the universe,” when Steve Jobs revealed his dream.

Sometimes we can get caught up in the moment or beginning or intermediate goals, but we try to think about what we really want when defining these goals. We are however open to the idea that we may see an opportunity that does not match our original idea, which may be beneficial, and we are ready to act on that opportunity should it arise.

7) Strive to become a market leader. Own and control the primary technology in everything you do. If there’s a better technology available, use it no matter if anyone else is not using it. Be the first, and make it an industry standard.

Our product is always evolving and we think cannot be matched by anyone.

8) Focus on the outcome. People judge you by your performance, so focus on the outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. Advertise. If they don’t know it, they won’t buy your product.

We (sometimes painstakingly) provide an excellent product. And since we provide a service that requires exceptional quality, we take extra steps to ensure this.

9) Ask for feedback. Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you’re at the top of the chain, sometimes people won’t give you honest feedback because they’re afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources. Focus on those who will use your product – listen to your customers first.

We are always open to client feedback and will in the future make it easier for our clients to communicate their post review concerns or praises.

10) Innovate. Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower. Delegate, let other top executives do 50% of your routine work to be able to spend 50% your time on the new stuff. Say no to 1,000 things to make sure you don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. Concentrate on really important creations and radical innovation. Hire people who want to make the best things in the world. You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together.

We are too small to have "other top executives." However, we have been working at concentrating our talent in the most beneficial way. We are also working on spending our time in the best way. We are learning to say no to the "1,000 things" and concentrate on a handful of the highest priority ones.

11) Learn from failures. Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

This is easy for us, nobody on our team has a problem with admitting mistakes and moving forward.

12) Learn continually. There’s always “one more thing” to learn! Cross-pollinate ideas with others both within and outside your company. Learn from customers, competitors and partners. If you partner with someone whom you don’t like, learn to like them – praise them and benefit from them. Learn to criticize your enemies openly, but honestly.

We are always learning from our team members and from our customers, competitors and partners. We are not so ego centered to think that we know everything or that we are done learning. In terms of partners and client relations we always try to see the positive aspects of the relationship and have never had a problem openly communicating with our clients. We feel that the questions, even the hard ones, should be asked.

Well, that is how we did. How does your company hold up to the Steve Jobs rules for success?

Author: Pamela S. Stevens