Hi! Manager: The one and only Steve Jobs

There are so many words people use when talking about Steve Jobs as a genius like him comes along only once in a blue moon. For me, he is a revolutionary, visionary, exemplary and legendary.
Steve Jobs initiated revolutionary changes in the IT industry with the combination of technology and arts, which have had a tremendous influence on several other industries. He made computers accessible and delightful to use for adults and children, both at home and on the go. The introduction of iPod and iTunes has revolutionised the music industry. To have our selected favorite songs in our pockets at cheap prices had never been made that easy.
He was a visionary entrepreneur by making us need what we did not realise we wanted before. It is astonishing how he could come up with the ideas for monumental products like iPhone and iPad, which were seemingly impossible to be materialised. Now it goes without saying that the world cannot be a better place without them.
Steve Jobs was not just an innovator but also an unrivalled marketer himself. The black long-sleeved turtleneck together with the Levi’s 501 jeans and the running shoes became his signature look. The way he introduced his new products clearly reflected how deeply he got involved in them. He was extremely magnetic and could take the audiences by storm. The long standing ovation for him on March 2 this year when he temporarily returned from medical leave to launch iPad 2 is still vivid in my memory like many others.
His famous commencement address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005 is inspirational. The dramatic ups and downs in his life have encouraged the younger generations to be bold and follow their heart’s desire. He showed us the heaviness of being successful and the lightness of being a beginner again and highlighted the importance of living each day as if it was our last. He made us understand how an exemplary man lived.
This great man was a legend not because he created one of the richest and most iconic companies in the world but because he was the leading light in the digital age as Sony’s CEO said in his tribute to Steve Jobs. And as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in his statement: Steve Jobs was a genius who would be remembered with Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein and that his ideas would shape the world for generations to come.
Steve Jobs has touched the lives of so many people that his death has resulted in a great outpouring of emotion from all over the world. For me, there is one tribute I first heard on CNN on the day of his passing away, and which I found later on many websites that I think aptly eulogises Steve Jobs: there are three apples that changed the world – the one that Eve ate, the one that awakened Isaac Newton and the one that Steve Jobs built.
Thank you so much Mr Jobs for changing the way we live, with your great innovations and for inspiring us with your thoughts and wisdom. We all owe you a great deal!

Panatda Chennavasin is the vice president for Corporate Strategies and Corporate Relations of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales as well as the senior vice president for overseas marketing of Isuzu Operations (Thailand).  Her column is published every third Wednesday of the month.