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Steve Jobs. 2011.

It’s hard to believe that Steve Jobs died on this day in 2011.

In may ways, it feels like yesterday. In many ways, it feels like he’s been gone forever. Nerds like me remember exactly where they were when the news broke. It’s constantly amazing to think about the power and impact that his personality pushed out into the world. Talk about a true “personal brand.” It’s hard not to marvel at his magic every time you touch an iPhone (or iPad… or MacBook). His spirit lives on.

And the company, Apple, lives on and grows.

Go back in time. The armchair pundits thought that the company would be doomed without Steve. They did not believe in Tim Cook. They certainly would not have believed that the company could hit a market cap of a trillion dollars (and, become the first company to do so). Today, Vice published an interview with Apple’s Tim Cook. It’s worth the watch. Cook holds no punches about privacy, what Apple sells, and how they decide what comes to market. The current state of these tech companies look more like monopolies, than a brand that exists to help you to create your next big idea, but Cook acts humble and culture-focused. It’s the perfect conversation for this day, even though the anniversary of Steve Jobs’ death is not even mentioned.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.