Thursday, January 20, 2011

Replacing Steve Jobs

Human uniqueness makes us all individually irreplaceable. Nevertheless, there are core competencies that we all possess that are worth learning, especially those that we admire in others and we do not have.

Apple Inc. is concerned, yet again, with Steve Jobs's health, and the impact it may have both on the price of the company's stock, as well as in the company's future. Jobs seems to be the driving force behind Apple's sound success.

What I find more remarkable and imitable in Jobs's character is his holistic vision of technology. He wants to "become one with technology," which is an interpretation he may have well learned throughout his Buddhist practice.

Additionally, having been a vegetarian probably granted him a hyper-sensitivity for all living beings, and this may have impacted the way in which he has imagined his interaction with technology: a soft touch or a slide of the finger. Nothing more gentle than a human that does not kill to eat.

I would suggest a volunteer recruitment for Apple employees who would like to explore Buddhism through study and meditation, and vegetarianism through nutritional sacrifice, to start a guided program to be trained and develop the holism and sensitivity that Steve Jobs has had.

Perhaps his vision and his passion are irreplaceable. But his spiritual awareness can (and should) be imitated. It's worth a try anyway, inasmuch as he is still willing and able to guide with it further.