The Apple of Technical/Community Colleges

In reading an article about Steve Jobs, I came across the following statement:

“The lessons we could learn from Steve Jobs aren’t all that remarkable. Many of them contain wisdom that we already know – we just don’t apply it. Why not? Is it that we lack courage? Or is it that we find it hard to believe that tenets so simple can prove so effective? Surely that’s the moral of the Apple story: there is genius in simplicity. But simple is hard.”

In my mind, what we are trying to achieve at York Tech is no different than what Jobs was trying to achieve at Apple. Providing people a product/experience like none other. Our efforts to improve the student success rates and the experience at York Technical College for students seems so simple yet so difficult! So, what can we learn from Steve Jobs’ achievements and those of his team?

1. Be Real
Steve Jobs was true to himself. He believed in his vision and the courage to change the world. Jobs and his creative team made Apple the most influential and valuable corporations in the world. And one way to see the measure of the value they created is by tracking the stock price of Apple from 1997, when Jobs returned to Apple, to its peak. We too should be true to ourselves and to others. As I have said previously, being real doesn’t mean telling people whatever is on your mind or being unprofessional, but rather, helping real people navigate through the real world. Real people care, are appropriately vulnerable, and separate themselves from the noise to focus on the goal. We should try to better understand students, fellow employees, and ourselves in an effort to help us all improve.

2. Be Bold
Steve Jobs dared to think differently. He pushed the envelope in product design and is now known as one of the greatest inventors of our time. He imagined the unimaginable and will inspire generations to come. What would happen if we perceived no limits to our success; if we were unafraid to step outside our box, daring to expand the horizon of possibility? Being bold means taking personal responsibility and being a value-added part of the whole. Thoughtfully stepping up to solve problems and exemplifying what we represent. We should take personal responsibility for adding value.

3. Be Better
Steve Jobs designed products better than they had to be. Even when he failed, he learned from those failures and tried again. If we never try, we’ll never get it right. In the words of Sir Ken Robinson, “Now, I don’t mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative. But what we do know is that if you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original.” Be Better means striving to continuously improve. The very core of our mission is about helping people learn, grow, and achieve. We desire that for our students and ourselves as we seek to better the community we serve. We must be better than we have to be!

Together, we can be the Apple of Technical/Community Colleges. Be Real, Be Bold, Be Better!