In 2008 I got an iPhone 3GS. Just a few days later, standing in the auto aisle of Fred Meyer, I used it to look up what type of replacement oil filter I should use for my 1998 Jeep Wrangler.
For such a mundane task, it pretty much blew my mind.
It's been said that Steve Jobs' secret power was knowing what people wanted before they knew they wanted it. But is that really true? To me, it seems more likely that we always knew what we wanted but were used to never getting it. I bought my first clunky cell phone in 2001 and remember thinking: this is it? Before the return of Apple as led by Jobs, technology for ordinary people was stuck on a treadmill of risk-adverse mediocrity, the potential of computing devices as amazing, life-changing and fun things dangling just out of reach.
There is so much of Steve's leadership style that is applicable to almost every creative endeavor. What really intrigued me was his ability to execute, to get things done. "Real artists ship." That's probably my favorite lesson from Jobs. It's not good enough to make awesome things. You also have to push them out into the world to see where you're really at.
Who knows what else he had up his sleeve. I hope he was satisfied with what he'd accomplished.